The Jewish community. What does this expression, which we bandy about so freely, actually mean?

Is it the person you sit next to in synagogue every Shabbat? Is it standing outside a bagel shop with a mask on, two metres apart during Covid?

Is it meeting someone at a work conference, playing Jewish geography and realising your sister used to date their cousin?

Is it cycling 100km to raise vital funds for children with disabilities, or is it standing under a banner emblazoned with a rainbow-coloured Magen David at Pride?

My aim, as I embark on my new role of JC Community Editor, is that these pages will reflect all the multifarious strands of our community.

I would like it to be a space to celebrate the community’s successes, whether it is climbing Kilimanjaro to raise money for cancer support services or cartwheeling across 12 London bridges as a bat mitzvah challenge for charity. (Yes, this has been done!)

3ACCAA3F-B814-432E-868A-3E8FA69B641C

The JC has a new Community Editor (Photo: Daniel Ben-David/Jewish Chronicle)

The Hebrew word for community is kehillah. We are introduced to this concept in the Torah when the Jewish people are asked to bring materials to build the mishkan (portable sanctuary) in the desert.

One of the messages from this story is that all individuals have something different to bring to the whole, making it richer because of it.

So, while these pages are an opportunity to showcase the Jewish Community with a big C, they also give us the chance to learn about the community with a small c, the stories of the individuals within it.

It should be a platform for leaders of charities and organisations to amplify their voices, but also a place to cheer the thousands of unsung heroes who keep the wheels of the community turning.

Occasionally, it will also have to be a space to express differences of opinion, some of which may feel uncomfortable. We might be a small community, but we are by no means a homogeneous one. Let’s hear all sides of our story.

JeffGILBERT JCM ByLines July2023 25

JC Community Editor Gaby Wine (Photo: Jeff Gilbert)

As I take on what feels like a huge privilege, I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Barry Toberman, who did so much to raise the profile of many organisations, charities and individuals within Anglo-Jewry over so many years.

Barry has left big shoes to fill, but fortunately, I will be working closely with my excellent colleague Danny Ben-David.

Please send us your news — and your views. We’re interested in stories which are quirky, uplifting and funny; stories of human interest; stories about the people who make up our community. We’re interested in you.

Please get in touch.
Gaby Wine: gwine@thejc.com
Daniel Ben-David: dbendavid@thejc.com