Issue No. 4 of CeNeS: The Magazine of Cardiff New (later Reform) Synagogue, December 1994

Description

The fourth issue of CeNeS: The Magazine of Cardiff New (later Reform) Synagogue that came out in December 1994.

Noteworthy features:

1) A think-piece from the Chairman about Hanukkah in the modern world.
They describe how Hanukkah has traditionally represented how Jews and Judaism were under attack and that they were rescued from it and survived. They name 'New Age' cults among the threats to traditional community in society in general. These have taken the place of religion in certain cases.

2) The regular segment of Cheder News.
The children of the congregation were recently involved in various Tzedakah projects: Guide Dogs for the Blind, Incorporating attitudes towards disability, Jewish Child's Day. An additional project that the children chose to support was supporting street children in South America.

Tzedakah is a Hebrew word that has roots and connotations of justice and charitable giving. It refers to the Jewish duty to give material support to those in need.
Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tzedakah-101/.

3) A piece which recounts the then recent terror attacks that took place in London, Israel and Argentina along with the fear of how they could lead to Jewish and Israeli institutions in the UK being under threat.

4) A description of a procession with scrolls that was partaken in by a number of adults and children on Simchat Torah.

5) A recounting of the Van Der Zyl Memorial Lecture that took place on the tenth anniversary of his death.
This highlights his importance in the history of the Reform Synagogue in Cardiff: He addressed a meeting immediately prior to the decision to establish it.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The services were initially held in the Temple of Peace. The congregation now worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.

• https://cardiffReformsynagogue.uk/new/ (link opens in new window)