As part of our Shavuot evening, we’ll be holding our annual Shavuot Service and Supper. We’re delighted to be joined by guest speaker Professor Vernon Bogdanor who will explore the future of Judaism, including Israel’s role, see blurb below.

After the dinner, we invite you to join us for a variety of learning sessions, each continuing the topic of ‘the future of Judaism’.

Saturday 4th June
6:00pm - Singing with Yoav
6:30pm - Erev Shavuot Service
7:30pm - Supper with Keynote speaker Vernon Bogdanor
9:00pm -  Limmud Style Tikkun Leil (3x 45 min sessions)
Midnight-5:00am - Night time Study (Chavrutah, Israeli film, study sessions led by members of our adult education team and chillout spaces with ice cream)

Vernon's blurb:
As a historian, I find it difficult enough to discover what happened in the past, let alone what is to happen in the future. But perhaps the past is the best guide to the future. Someone once said - why look at the crystal ball when you can read the book. If one compares the position of Jews today with the position a hundred years ago, one can discover two prominent features. The first, sadly, is the persistence of anti-semitism in Europe. The second  and happier development is the centrality of Israel, where around 45% of the world's Jews now live. A hundred years ago the centres of Judaism in Europe were Warsaw, Berlin, Prague and Budapest. Today the centres of Jewish life are in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Tikkun Leil

9:15pm-10:00pm - First Session 

Shavuot: from Past to Future with Rabbi Benji 
To kick off our Tikkun Leil part of the evening, join Rabbi Benji  to explore some of the text's central to the Shavuot experience.

10:15pm-11:00pm - Second Session

What does Judaism say about the future of our planet?  with Yael
We will be looking at texts from across the ages, we will learn about Judaism's relationship to the environment. As we live in an age where so many are worried about our planet's future, how can our sacred texts move us from worry to action?

or

Cocktail making session with Lukas Mach
In this session we will take more of a practical approach and explore new cocktail recipes together.

11:15pm-12:00am - Third Session

Late-night sing-along with Yoav
We’ll come together again as a group as Yoav leads us in learning new songs for Shavuot and beyond. If you’ve never learnt with Yoav before, have no fear. Whether you’re a trained musician or have never sang before, Yoav teaches in a fun easy way that brings everyone along! We will also be learning some music for our shacharit service.

or

Future of Kashurt with Student Rabbi Kamila

Where do the laws of kashrut come from? Are there any new and modern elements that we want might want to consider? Come and learn!

Midnight - 5:00am 

We will continue our all night learning with ice cream, an Israeli film, chavrutah, study sessions led by members of our adult education team and chillout spaces from midnight to 5:00am. The tikkun leil will culminate in a 5:00am community-led shacharit.