The Jewish Chronicle

A rebbetzin who clowns around

December 23, 2013 12:04
Rebbetzin Kaplan does a magic trick with a young audience member

Like any caped crusader, Freda Kaplan has an alias identity.

As the wife of Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue's senior rabbi, Dov Kaplan, she is known by their 3,000-strong congregation as the community's stalwart Rebbetzin.

But soon enough, she loses the costume and lets her "true self" shine - comedy wig, oversized shoes and balloon animals included.

This is because, in her other life, Rebbetzin Kaplan is a fully qualified hospital clown - and, as she told an early morning session at Limmud on Monday, it is in this guise that most feels herself.

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