Some 25 men, mainly regular attendees at various Shiurim given by the Shul’s Rav, Rabbi Mordechai Ginsbury, gathered together in the newly refurbished foyer of the Sol Cohen Hall at Raleigh Close, to celebrate a Siyum on Gemarah Succah on Thursday 15th September. Rabbi Ginsbury has been giving a regular weekly Gemarah b’iyun Shiur over the past thirteen years and this is the third Massechta the Shiur has concluded in that time.
Dayan Shmuel Simons of the London Beth Din was guest speaker at the Siyum and he stressed the critical centrality of Torah learning to the wellbeing and strength of a Community’s being. He also praised the regular participants and their wives for the self-sacrifice necessary in ensuring regular and whole-hearted participation in the Shiur. Rabbi Ginsbury expressed his gratitude at being mesayem the Massechta and the sense of inspiration he gains from those who join him at the Shiur. The arrangements for the Siyum were overseen by Dr and Mrs Alan Steuer, who dedicated the Siyum in memory of Alan’s recently deceased father, Jack a”h who used to attend Rabbi Ginsbury’s Tuesday night Parsha Shiur on a regular basis. Alan himself is one of the stalwarts of the Thursday night Shiur. The Shiur will be commencing Gemarah B’rachos as of next Thursday evening, 22nd September at 8.30pm.
On Sunday 18th September the Shul hosted a stimulating pre Yamim Noraim learning morning led by Rabbi Ginsbury and the Shul’s recently appointed associate Rabbi, Rav Jonny Hughes. Focussing on the theme of ‘making prayer more meaningful’, Rabbi Ginsbury spoke about ‘the seven secrets of effective prayer’ and Rabbi Hughes spoke on ‘the seven wonders of the world of prayer’. The sessions followed on from Shacharit and a light breakfast was served.
Next Shabbat morning, after conclusion of the various Shabbat morning Minyanim, Rabbis Ginsbury and Hughes will again be joining forces in presenting a post-Tefillah learning and Q and A session for the entire Community. Next Motzaei Shabbat sees a special Melave Malka, jointly promoted between Hendon and neighbouring Mill Hill Shuls with Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet of Mill Hill as the main speaker. This will commence at 10.15pm and be followed by a choral selichot service in the Main Shul which will be conducted by Chazan Jonathan Murgraff assisted by an augmented Shul choir conducted by Alan Freedman. Rabbi Ginsbury will give an introductory address at 11.45pm.
Regular learning opportunities abound at Raleigh Close. In addition to the longstanding Men’s and Ladies’ SEED programmes and Rabbi Ginsbury’s regular Shiurim, Rabbi Hughes has instituted a twice weekly early morning Chabura on the teachings of R’ Chaim of Brisk and a Shiur for young men and young ladies on alternate Monday evenings. Full details of all the Shul’s many educational and social activities can be found in the education section of the site.
