Summer @ IJC

Granada Sephardic Museum

The summer break is drawing to a close and we can look back on some very warm weeks, and hopefully sweet holiday memories. While I have continued to work at a more relaxed pace, preparing for the High Holidays with our cantor Marty, creating the basis of a new Pesach Haggadah, and much more – I look across the table at my husband Peter who is supervising the logistics of the upcoming Days of Awe.

He’s already in awe of the task, and aware he will need a lot of volunteer assistance. Please be generous with your time if he reaches out to you. 

While the kids got ready for an exciting trip to Australia to visit their stepbrother, Peter and I managed a short holiday in Granada (+/- 45° from noon to 6pm). The city is beautiful and has many magnificent monuments (the Alhambra being the most spectacular), but its Jewish past has been almost completely eradicated. Yet hidden among the steep and narrow winding roads of the Jewish district – the Realejo – we found the tiny Sephardic Museum run by one of the few Jewish families in the city. Despite its size, it’s definitely worth a visit. On the outskirts of the neighbourhood there is a statue of Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120 – after 1190), the patron of translators. But beyond these two Jewish references there is nothing Jewish to see or experience in the city.

Informal Kabbalat Shabbat@Home Events

July and August are both summertime and holiday time at IJC when the community does not organise formal services, but the desire to stay in touch still needs to be satisfied. This year’s informal Kabbalat Shabbat@Home events were hosted by Sarah S and Veronika L. I’ll let our hosts speak for themselves:

“In July I hosted shabbat for the second time in my garden in Grimbergen. It was a warm and sunny day. My kids and two granddaughters did me the honour of being present as we said kaddish for their late father and grandfather Gilbert Lederman z’’l.  We were about twenty-four people. Fortunately, my neighbour recalled I had four large party tables in the cellar, which saved the evening on a practical level.  We sat in the sun, enjoyed the food that was generously offered by all, chatted away amiably, changing places. The four little girls of the same age made sure they had a lot of fun together that evening. We had a beautiful shabbat service using a short, printed siddur from our Rabbi. As they say in my profession as a coach: when something happens once it is an incident, twice it is a coincidence, and three times it is a pattern. Will we see you next year in July?” (Veronika L)

“On 15 August my son Mattia and I hosted a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat. I was so happy to welcome Sarah W and her lovely mom, Anneke and Mark, Rabbi Brian and Peter, Tiene, Monica and Gustavo, Emmanuel D, Nada and Jonathan, Veronika, Pierre and his sweet daughter Dora, Golan and Pascal. Even my usually shy cats decided to join in, becoming unusually sociable and asking for attention. The weather was perfect, so we stayed outside until late, enjoying delicious food together. I baked a no-egg challah for the first time, and it turned out to be a real success! For me, hosting this evening was an act of hachnasat orchim – welcoming guests, and felt like such a mitzvah: opening my home, sharing my table, and welcoming Shabbat in an atmosphere that was stress-free, full of warmth, and where everyone felt comfortable and part of the family. It was the perfect way to slow down after a busy week, to be together, and to greet Shabbat with joy. I should definitely do this more often!” (Sarah S)

Looking Ahead

With the holiday behind us, there is much to look forward to in the coming months. We

return to our regular service schedule on September 6^th when we join Beth Hillel for a

double Bat Mitzvah – cousins Clara and Yael. Just one week later on September 13^th our own

IJC celebrates the Bat Mitzvah of Anaé Goldenberg. So we hit the ground running.

And now is also the time to turn our hearts and minds toward the High Holy Days– days of reflection, renewal, and community. The IJC warmly invites you to join us as we welcome the New Year 5786 together in prayer, music, and fellowship. This year, Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of Monday, 22^nd September 2025. Together, we will celebrate the birthday of the world, sounding the shofar and sharing in the hope for a year of peace, health, and sweetness.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins on the evening of Wednesday, 1 October 2025 and concludes at nightfall on Thursday, 2 October 2025. Our services will provide time and space for prayer, reflection, and renewal of spirit, culminating in the powerful final shofar blast at Ne’ilah. A full schedule and registration form should already be in your mailbox.

The IJC is a home for Jews and friends from many backgrounds, nationalities, and walks of life. Whether you are a regular participant or joining us for the first time, you will find an open and welcoming community in which to celebrate these sacred days.

We will conclude the festivals of Tishrei with a special celebration of Simchat Torah where we will welcome a new Torah Scroll received on permanent loan from the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London. It is a kosher scroll written in the middle of the last century and will complement our regular scroll and the so-called ‘Czech’ scroll.

Some other innovations coming after the High Holidays will include alternating Torah Breakfast / Torah Lunch (check What’s On for details), to allow those who need a little longer in bed on Shabbat morning to participate in our informal study sessions. We will also be starting Windows into the Siddur – short ‘learning moments’ focusing on different parts of Shacharit services.

Rabbi Brian