18. Maidenhead Synagogue, 14th October 2022

 

With Rabbi Jonathan Romain

Yesterday evening it was a great delight for us to accompany one of our church members, Peter Wilkinson, to a Shabbat Eve service at Maidenhead Synagogue.  Over the years Peter has developed a strong relationship with this Jewish congregation and their Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Romain.

 
Maidenhead is a Reformed Synagogue and its Rabbi, who writes frequently for publications such as The Times and Guardian and regularly broadcasts on the BBC, is a liberal thinker who constantly (and in my view, helpfully) pushes the boundaries.

The Friday evening service is held at 8.30pm (after sundown) and is therefore a celebration of Shabbat.  The Synagogue is a splendid building, subdivided into many areas used like a well-run community centre.  The service was held in the Prayer Hall, with the Ark behind the Reading Desk containing the Torah Scrolls, the first five books of the Bible.  Rabbi Jonathan came in just before the service started and introduced himself to us with ‘Ah, you are the people from Amersham’.  His welcome was warm hearted and put us completely at ease.  And we stayed that way throughout the service, constantly being given prompts as to what page we were one and directions as to whether we should stand or sit.  There was no organ or instruments, instead the congregation sang unaccompanied and were in good voice.  Indeed, in some of the hymns and songs a lady opposite even offered a descant line, which sounded very beautiful.

We followed the order from a service book and our time together in worship lasted just under the hour.  The liturgy consisted of scripture (and it was very moving to read the Psalms, which are so familiar to us Christians, in their ‘originally’ intended Jewish setting), written reflections which we all ‘said’ together, songs and hymns (and these are the same every week), written prayers and a ‘sermon’ from the Rabbi.  In many ways it felt similar to our worship pattern at AFC, although I confess it would take me a few more visits to really used to the rhythm of the service.

A couple behind us, from Gerrards Cross, were celebrating their 56^th wedding anniversary on Friday and they played a special part as the service opened.  Rabbi Jonathan invited them to the front where they lit the two candles and said the opening prayer.  Indeed, the whole service was a celebration, a time to give thanks to God, often referred to throughout as our Sovereign, for the joy and rest of the Sabbath.  Everything we read, sang and prayed on Friday pointed us to a God of love, compassion and justice.  We both came away sensing we had been in the presence of both Good people and a Good God.

I was struck, not only by the beautiful wall hangings, but also by the prayer for the Royal Family that was hung in the Prayer Hall.  It is the Jewish tradition for members of the synagogue to pray for the ‘rulers’ of the particular country they are in.  Of course, this particular plaque will now need updating.

 The service ends with the Kiddush, a time of fellowship around bread and wine (and much else!), a sort of celebratory meal.  Yesterday we were fortunate to be attending a service during the closing days of the Festival of Sukkot, or Tabernacles.  This is the seventh festival (in the Jewish liturgical calendar) held during the seventh month.  During this time booths are constructed outside both homes and synagogues.  It has something of a harvest festival feel. Well, a ‘tabernacle booth’ had been built in the Synagogue garden at Maidenhead, decorated by the children with corn, apples and carrots (amongst other things), and the Kiddish part of our time together ended outside, first under the decorated booth as Sukkot blessings were said (I think there may well be a Jewish blessing for just about everything – and that’s wonderful!) and then around the Kiddish table as food was shared and conversation had.

We much enjoyed our time with our Jewish cousins, recognising afresh and celebrating all that binds us together under our Sovereign God.  Two moments really stood out for me.  The first was when we read the Psalms together.  Such familiar words but hearing them on Friday in a Jewish setting touched my heart and made me so aware of our roots.  The second moment was a blessing at the start of the Shabbat Eve service entitled The Creator of the Universe. I find these such beautiful and inspiring words, and I hope very much that they become part of my own Evening Prayer in the future:

Blessed are You, our God and Creator,
Sovereign of the universe,
whose word brings on the evening twilight,
who opens the gates of dawn with wisdom,
and with foresight makes times pass and seasons change.
Your plan sets the stars in their courses in the sky,
creating day and night,
turning light into darkness and darkness into light.
You make the day fade away and bring on the night,
separating day and night.
You are the Ruler of the hosts of heaven.
Blessed are You God,
who brings on the evening twilight.

So ends my Sabbatical journey and View from the Pew.  It’s been a fascinating time and a real blessing.  There will be just one more Blog to come on this site, a brief evaluation and summary.  But for now, I give thanks for the fellowship we enjoyed with our friends at the Synagogue on Friday evening.  They welcomed us and we worshipped God together – a wonderful way to bring this particular journey to its conclusion.