JVN Blog

I read with great interest the speech by the Prime Minister on stating her government’s desire to create a ‘shared society’ in a post-Brexit Britain. For many, this has echoes of David Cameron’s notion of the ‘big society’, which focussed on generating social cohesion by putting local people and local governments in greater control of […]

The refugee “crisis” in Europe has spurred many into action and there are plenty of people in our own Jewish community eager to help those in need. JVN is coordinating the volunteering effort on behalf of the Jewish community. Our Director Leonie Lewis here gives her perspective on the situation and notes how, with Pesach […]

Leonie talks about her visit to the refugee camp in Calais and how we can all do something to help. Last Thursday, in my role as Vice Chair of the Faith Forum for London, Vice President of the United Synagogue and Director of the JVN, I made the journey to visit the refugee camp in […]

As we approach Passover and Seder night, and we follow a service from the comfort of our dining table, family members often including several generations read and relive the sort of the Exodus through ritual and through the eternal Jewish story book, the Haggadah. This year our Seder will be even more meaningful as I […]

There is a famous saying about #volunteers: “Volunteers are worthless not because they are no good but,  because the work they do is impossible to cost out – its priceless.” Traditionally, most people volunteer because they will be making a difference to the lives of others, while also generating benefits for themselves – greater confidence, […]

This year as in the past few years, the national Volunteers’ Week coincides directly with the Jewish Festival of Shavuot. This gives us at JVN an opportunity to link the valuable contribution volunteers make to our community with the festival of chessed (kindness).  But this year, we have an added significance – it’s the 30th anniversary […]

I must admit it’s been a very busy couple of weeks in preparation for the release of the JVN Newsletter for Shavuot, which you can expect to land in your inbox next Thursday (provided you’re signed up – if not you can register here). And there’s also the small matter of the brand new and […]

A refrain made popular by the Beatles was surely meant for the Festival of Chanukah! Of course a week has seven days, but Chanukah is about the extraordinary; the miracle of a small container of oil that burned beyond its one day lifespan for an additional week. The number eight is itself an extraordinary number […]

A Familiar Refrain… The awe inspiring prayer Unetaneh Tokef, questioning who will live and who will die, is a most familiar refrain for Rosh Hashanah. The prayer repeatedly states that G-d has inscribed a judgment against all who have sinned, but teshuvah (repentance), tefillah (prayer) and tzedakah can alleviate the decree. None of these elements […]

Chag Sameach, everyone. I have just come back to Britain from a week in Berlin. I have walked passed the Gestapo HQ; I visited the Wannasse House where the “Final Solution” was agreed in a 90 minute meeting; I walked on platform 17, the goods railway track at Grunewald Station,where most of Berlins Jews were taken to concentration […]