ShabbatUK @Northwood
Event
ShabbatUK in Northwood was a truly intergenerational event with a brilliant atmosphere and more participants than ever, as members flocked to enjoy explanatory services, communal meals and the scholarly input of both Rabbi Zerbib and visiting Rabbi Shisler, who spoke about the topic du jour, Shabbat! The Mayor of Hillingdon had such an enjoyable time at Friday Night, that he secured himself an invite to Rabbi Zerbib’s induction.
Objectives
To reach out to the local community and make our presence known by inviting the Mayor of Hillingdon to Friday Night
To attract as many people to Shabbat services as possible, with a view to increasing attendance in the future
To provide high-quality talks that provoke thinking about Shabbat
Evaluation from David Davis:
“Our Friday Night met our objectives on all accounts. We reached out to the local community successfully, we had a good mix of ages across our community, we created a great atmosphere for the service and our Friday Night meal that ran into Shabbat day with explanations as to certain prayers, a big Kiddush, afternoon quiz, Seudah Shlishit and Havdalah. This all played a part in facilitating community bonding.”
Participant Feedback:
- We definitely feel even closer to our friends in the community, and now have an even greater reverence for our great rabbi and his wife
- We seem to have a full social diary at our shul thanks to the Chief Rabbi’s initiatives which helps us offset certain costs, so that we can organise more events
- ShabbatUK at Northwood gave me a real sense of community spirit and a better relationship with all age groups within the community
- There was a great community spirit and sense of closeness from challah baking right through to Kiddush lunch
