MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since last Rosh Hashanah.  So much has happened, not only in our personal lives, but also outside in the wider world.

In our prayers during the forthcoming Holy days, we say: 'All creatures of the world pass before You like sheep before a shepherd.'

It's a fundamental part of a Jew's belief that the entire world is judged on Rosh Hashana, not just the Jewish people.  The Jewish concept is that every human being passes before the Almighty, as it were, one at a time, and He meets out reward or punishment, as deserved.

The most important implication of this notion is that Jews are a part of the world.  Although there are some Jews who would like to live totally separate from the other peoples who inhabit our planet, in the Almighty's sight, every person He created is worthy of His personal consideration.

The Rabbis never suggested that we should turn our backs on the world and live totally divorced from what our non-Jewish neighbours were doing.  They believed that Jews have a major part to play in the development of civilisation.  And throughout the millennia, Jews have been in the forefront of every kind of scientific, political, artistic, and economic advance.

In his excellent book, 'Jews, Gd and History' Max Dimont writes, "although less than one half of one per cent of the world's population are classified as Jews, no less than 12 % of all the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, and medicine have gone to the Jewish people. The Jewish contribution to the world's list of great names in religion, science, literature, music, finance and philosophy is staggering."

There's a line, however, that has to be drawn between integrating into society and abandoning our heritage, and it's one that we all have to learn to tread with care, if we desire to remain Jews.

Many theories have been advanced for the antipathy that's always been shown towards the Jewish People by so many other nations of the world. In some curious way, perhaps it's because of the success that Jews have achieved in so many branches of society.  It's because of the countless boons to mankind that have come about through the endeavour of Jews. Such achievements have ensured that Jews have always retained a high profile in society, one far higher than our small numbers would be expected to justify.

As we look ahead into the coming years, we must ensure that our children have the best possible education that we can get for them.  We must be sure to equip them with all the skills they will need to function successfully in age of the computer.

But we also owe it to them to make certain that they know just as much about their heritage.

They will never be able to escape being identified as Jews, even if, Gd forbid, they might want to.  For that reason we have to give them a complete understanding of who they are, where they come from, and what special privileges they inherit from their people.

May the coming year be one in which we all strengthen our commitment to Judaism, and extend our knowledge and understanding of it.  And may the Almighty make it a healthy, sweet, and happy one for you, and all your family.