Annual Report - Mill Hill Shul

Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
Annual Report
Michael Goldstein, Chairman
May 2012
I am pleased to be able to report on another successful year for the Mill Hill Community.
You will see from the separate portfolio reports that follow, the year has seen a lot of activity in all areas.
Clearly the commencement of our building redevelopment is a great achievement. We now have the challenge
to ensure that this great resource for the community if fully utilised. I will be interested in hearing from the
AGM any ideas members have to ensure that we are able to take full advantage of this new facility.
Administration
The members of the Board of Management and Council who served during the year were:
Chairman – Michael Goldstein
Vice Chairman – Gill Gallick
Financial Representative – Dr Anthony Kravitz OBE
Wardens – Charles Daniels and David Davis
Board of Management – Marshall Hoffman, Jason Greenspan, Per Simonsson, Andrew Gilmore, Dan Zinkin,
Sarah Sultman, Julia Ben-Nathan Claudine Mark, Judy Mizrahi, Michele Levy and Rosalind Redbart.
US Council Representatives – Gill Gallick, Andrew Gilmore, Charles Daniels, David Davis Michael Goldstein and
Bradley Reznick
Board of Deputies – Alan Broch, Sam Kuperberg, Andrew Levene and Adam Dawson. Alan, Sam and Andrew
have indicated that they will not stand for election for the next triennial if other members wish to represent the
community. We thank them for their efforts on our behalf.
We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of our dedicated office staff – Rainer
Newman, Karyn Orchant and Charles Loeb. During the year, our long standing caretaker Margarita Figueroa left
us. We were delighted that Anne Marie Lynch agreed to join us on a full-time basis (she had previously worked
as support for Margarita) and we thank her for her all her work for us to date.
Can I take this opportunity to thank all of those who contribute in so many different ways to the running of our
community – we have much to be proud of
Membership
Our growth of membership slowed in 2011, as a result of an intensive effort to rationalise our database and
remove from membership those who had paid nothing or very little for some time; these were usually newer
members. Of course, we always allow concessions for those who can demonstrate real financial difficulty.
We have instituted a new rule: new and re-joining members must pay for their first year in full at the outset, or
sign a Direct Debit form to pay monthly. This should mean that we will have to cancel fewer memberships in
future.
At December 31 st 2011 we had 933 households as members.
Mill Hill Shul Website
www.shul.co.uk
Currently, 53% of our membership is under 50 years of age. We also have one centenarian and several
members who have celebrated their Diamond Weddings.
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2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1985
1986
Male
Female
Total
1987
1988
1989
Finance - Report from Anthony Kravitz
Dr Anthony Kravitz assumed the position of Acting Financial Representative at the beginning of 2011 and took
control of our finances from then. He was elected Financial Representative (for 2 years) at the last AGM, in May
2011.
We made a concerted effort in 2011 to bring our membership subscriptions up to date, deal sympathetically
with the many members who were having difficulty paying their fees and, as noted above, cancelled
membership for those who showed no inclination to pay their subscriptions. Many members brought their
account balances up to date, resulting in membership income well above our budgeted figure.
On the Expenditure side, strict budgetary controls were introduced and detailed analysis of planned
expenditure is undertaken, before it is permitted.
A summary of our Income and Expenditure Account is set out below.
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
1990
1991
1992
MHS Membership figures since 1985
(Female spouses not recorded until approx 1998)
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
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Mill Hill Synagogue
Income and Expenditure Account
2011
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
2012
Budget
£
Membership fees 455,000
Gift Aid recovered
84,000
Other income 42,500
Total income
581,500
Religious salaries, expenses and services 156,543
Educational salaries and costs 72,000
Income from Cheder -35,000
Administrative salaries 105,000
Administrative costs 18,860
Establishment salaries
27,000
Establishment costs 87,652
General costs
Total Synagogue costs
Contribution to United Synagogue
costs
2011 2011
Actual Budget
£ £
446,548 375,000
93,722 65,000
73,671 68,797
613,941 508,797
156,317 142,693
59,379 83,504
-44,000 -35,000
87,616 80,996
25,113 28,605
21,933 26,748
72,372 67,092
50,260 ** 11,097 11,908
482,315
85,000
389,827 406,546
80,000 86,000
2010
Actual
£
392,630
103,026
50,071
545,727
134,411
63,536
-20,000
102,958
30,788
23,329
92,297
13,191
440,510
70,000
Surplus for the year 14,185 144,114 16,251 35,217 ##
Contributions to Funeral Expenses Scheme 79,169 71,857
Contributions to Board of Deputies 10,729 10,740
** This figure includes £40k allocated towards Shul refurbishment, but this is now likely to be spent in 2013
## In the Summer of 2011 the US advised us that there had been a mistake with the figures previously supplied
to us and that we had actually incurred £21k of expenditure more than we showed in last year's figures. So, the
surplus was actually £14k. The money was repaid to the US from the General Reserve Fund in early 2012.
The following additional points should be noted:
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� Membership income for 2011 has been inflated by the receipts from a number of members who were in
arrears and have paid during the year
� Further successful campaigns were undertaken to promote Gift Aid and there was a one-off introduction of
funds reclaimed from HMRC for previous years
� The budget for 2012 takes into account increased salaries necessary in this year, together with our
increased costs from the transitional arrangements – such as the rent for our office, the cost of the storage
of the pews, the higher costs anticipated for the Yomim Noraim; and the cheder and children’s services
being at MMK.
� We have also commenced building up funds for the necessary refurbishment of the Shul, which we expect
to commence in late 2012 or during 2013. We will transfer further amounts into this, from our 2011
surplus, once the figure has been finalised (see below).
We have now consolidated all of the Shul bank accounts into the United Synagogue accounting system, and
these are being properly recorded to reflect our financial position.
The funds statement as at 31st December 2011, which excludes our general reserves, is as follows:
Mill Hill Synagogue
Funds Statement, as at 31/12/11 (excluding Redevelopment) 2011
Building Reserve
Kol Nidre Appeal Fund
Gemach fund
Sefer Torah fund
External bank accounts (NW7, Youth, Ladies)
Funds, at year end (excluding General)
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
50,000
11,646
10,034
5,257
62,466
139,403
2010
4,095
13,116
14,188
5,233
106,080
142,712
We do have additionally a figure in excess of £100k in our General Reserves, arising from our surplus for the
year, but at the time of writing this report, the US audit had not been completed and they had not informed us
about the final amount. An oral report will be given at the AGM, if the final figure has been confirmed.
Redevelopment – Dan Zinkin
Some believed it would never happen but hopefully all are delighted that our redevelopment is now well
underway. As the builders are completing the Foundations, hopefully we will see our new facilities as the
foundations for our communities ongoing growth over the coming years.
The final tender price, plus our professional fees, remain close to our target estimate of £3mm. We are also on
track to have our new facility up and running early in 2013.
As noted previously, whilst not part of the same project, it is important that we make provision for important
works that are needed to improve the physical state of the Shul. These include toilets, disabled access and
general redecoration. We hope to make progress on these items in 2013.
There is still work to do from a fundraising perspective. We have a shortfall of around £300,000 in terms of
pledges against our total target as well as needing some of our existing pledges to be converted into actual
donations. Of our membership, we have pledges/donations from around 30% so believe there is potential to
raise the remaining funds and will be working on this in the run-up to the opening of our new facilities.
If you haven’t already contributed, please do as soon as possible. Every contribution is valued and welcome.
Please contact Dan Zinkin if you would like to discuss a donation, or contact the office to make a donation
directly.
WARDENS REPORT – Charles Daniels & David Davis
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For those unaware, the wardens of the shul, myself and colleague David Davis not only sit on the board of
management but also are members of the Shul Executive where we involve ourselves in all aspects of
Synagogue life. The one area which is our sole domain however, is to ensure the smooth running of all services
which take place and this of course is the heart of Shul life and raison dâ€etre of any religious community. In
our kehilla, we do this in accordance with the ethos of The United Synagogue and in line with any religious
ruling from our esteemed Rabbi.
The weekday services as well as Shabbos services all require organisation. On a Shabbos, we have had a
successful davening rota of baalei tefila and chazanim over the past few years and since the last AGM, there has
been no change to this.
The rota consists of a few members in our community who fulfil the religious requirements laid down in Jewish
Law allowing them to have this honour. As usual, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the following
gentlemen who have led and assisted with services on Shabbos and Yom Tov for the community over the past
twelve months.
Reverend Stanley Michaels, Moshe Caplan, Gershon Cohen, Jonathan Birns, Michael Goldstein and Neil Minsky.
With so many members each with varying tastes in chazonim and style of services it is essential everyone is
catered for. For this reason we also employ one external chazan who brings a unique style of davening and
enhances the services in a different way to our members. We are fortunate that Chazan Jonathan Murgraff has
fulfilled this role for the past eighteen months and look forward to another year ahead with him as a regular
fixture here.
Other chazanimim we would like to thank, who have been invited from outside the community for various
reasons over the past year are Chazan Zvi Lider, Chazan Simon Cohen and the Reverend Michael Simons.
We also must thank Aryeh Leib Godlewski who is our full time Baal Koreh for his fantastic leining. He has also
acted as a Baal Tefila when needed and is always keen to help with the shabbos afternoon shiurim when Rabbi
Schochet is absent. Thanks must also go to our loyal member, Dr David Lewis, for his continual shabbos
afternoon and midweek leining for which we are very much indebted.
As mentioned earlier, we are a large community and understandably comprise of members who have different
tastes and enjoy different styles of service. The combination of one outside chazan and the various lay
members we call-upon seems to result in an exceptionally professional service and a winning combination in
our main Shul.
Each week our office diligently sends us lists of all members who have a yahrzeit during the coming week. As
wardens, we strive to ensure everyone who requests a call-up is honoured whether it is in the Hashkoma
service or in the main Shul. If it is not a call-up, then some other honour is normally found. We would like to
take this opportunity to clarify that anyone with a yarzeit on the day itself will always take precedence. There is
no obligation for us to call up anyone on behalf of a spouse however, if requested we will try and do so but
please note once again that there is no halachic obligation for us to do this. Please note that any names
submitted to the office in time for a yahrziet will be read out when the memorial prayer is recited.
As is always the practise, we would like to take this opportunity thank those members who assist us by being
the weekly shammas. The rota is drawn up by Stuart Dickson and we thank Stuart along with David Smulovitz,
Nick Crowne, David Gallick and Andrew Whiteman for their efforts.
As has been mentioned in previous years, we would like a similar meet and greet in the ladies gallery.
Unfortunately this is yet to take off but I am hopeful, if we put our minds to it, David and I will achieve in getting
this up and running this year.
We would also like to thank Ruth Davis for organising the Anim Zemiros rota which ensures all our children
who are able to sing in Shul and wish to do so get an opportunity.
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
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As usual, the past year has seen all types of simchas take place in the Shul. Numerous Barmitzvahs,
Batmitzvahs, Aufruffs and baby namings have taken place which is yet another sign of our youthful and vibrant
community. When making a simcha, David and I feel it is our duty to make the service as accessible as possible
and try and ensure that we are flexible to deal with and only enhance your special day.
Mill Hill Shul now has a successful Hashkoma minyan which is led by our members Roger Cohen & Bradley
Reznick who we would like to thank for their on-going hard work. The halachic standards which are adhered to
in the main shul are also kept at the Hashkoma with regard to davening and leining.
Each week at the conclusion of our main service we have excellent kiddushim laid out and we would like to
thank the ladies organising the Kiddushim and all those participating on the rota who ensure everything is kept
to an exceptionally high standard. Even this year while our rebuild is taking place, the organisation has been
exceptional and despite the fact that we do have certain limitations, the standard still puts many other Shuls to
shame!
One of the biggest challenges we have during the year is organising the various minyanim over the Yomim
Noraim, a task which this particular year with our rebuild taking place will be even more complicated than
usual. We would like to pay tribute to the hard work of those members who we ask to be wardens at the other
minyanim.
This past year, both David and myself were away for Pesach and we would like to say a special thank you to
both Stuart Dickson and David Gallick for their efforts and help with services while we were absent.
This past year has seen two major changes to the services.
The first change was that weekday evening services were recently moved from 7.30pm to 7.45pm as some
suggested this as a more convenient time. Many of you will be aware that for many years, it is not exaggeration
to say we have struggled for a minyan in the evenings. Recently Aryeh Leib Godlewski has taken the role on
Sunday and Tuesday evenings of ensuring we have a minyan. He not only attends but invites a group of men to
come and learn in our Beis Hamedresh. It is wonderful to see our Beis Hamedresh being used for Torah
learning and this is also open to our members. Aryeh Leib will happily arrange for a learning partner to sit with
anyone who wishes to attend and this ensures that when Maariv commences, we have a built in-minyan ready
to daven.
The second change was in regard to Friday night davening. This summer, the decision was also taken to move
Mincha on a Friday night from 7.30pm to the earlier time of 7.15pm. The reason for this was to try and become
more family friendly and allowing for a longer night at home after shul. The fifteen minute move to an earlier
time has also meant that we have brought forward the time Shabbos commences in our community to 7.40pm
throughout the summer months.
In a large community good communication is vital for us all to work harmoniously. Our annual AGM report is an
apt time for David and I to re-iterate the following message. If any member plans to do anything which affects
or alters the shul service in any way, as always, the wardens must be your first port-of-call before putting any
plans into action. If a new idea has halachic ramifications, we will of course consult with Rabbi Schochet who is
our halachic authority. Once a halachic ruling is given and a discussion has taken place regarding procedure, it
is down to the wardens alone to decide if we wish to implement a change or not.
Any work we undertake as wardens is only possible with the help and support we receive on a daily basis from
our Shul office. Thank you to Karen, Rainer and Charles who continue to assist us in our duties. We would also
like to thank our fellow members on the honorary executive for their support on all matters.
As briefly mentioned earlier, the Rabbi is the Spiritual head of our community and the person who we wardens
turn to for help and guidance on all communal matters. Once again, we would like to thank our esteemed
minister, Rabbi Yitzchok Schochet for his support, guidance, leadership and wisdom in all communal and
halachic matters over the past year.
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
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Our hope is that you, the members, have enjoyed attending Mil Hill Shul this past year and have even
participated in our services where possible. For David and myself, we view our role which has been entrusted
to us as an honour and a privilege and very much look forward to another busy, exciting and fulfilling year
ahead.
ADULT EDUCATION – Julia Ben-Nathan
2011/2012 has been a busy year for Adult Education in Mill Hill.
At the beginning of July 2011, 100 people came to listen to the ‘Great Debate’, where Rabbi Schochet, Rabbi
Smuli Boteach and Sally Berkovics discussed whether we needed a new Chief Rabbi and if so, what role should
this take within the community. The panel was chaired by Steven Pollard (from the JC) who kept the audience
in check whilst they posed many challenging questions to the panel.
In September we held out annual Pre Rosh Hassonah talk. Although the attendance was disappointingly low, we
were treated to 2 excellent shiurs, from Barry Kleinberg and Rabbi Jonny Solomons. We discussed ‘Reward and
Punishment according to Mainmonides’ and the vitues of inconsistency.
January 2012 saw Mill Hill start the pilot of the ‘Living Judaism’ course, which has been devised by the Chief
Rabbi in conjunction with LSJS. The course runs twice on a Monday with 20 people attending the afternoon
session and 25 people attending the evening session. In the first term the course covered 8 sessions on Torah.
The second term will cover Avodah and the third term Gemilut Chasadim.
In February, we held another session of ‘History in a Flash’ by Ronnie Halibard. The audience of 30 people were
treated to a lightening tour of Jewish history through a transmission presentation.
In April we held an evening to commemorate Yom Hashoah. The audience of 250 people were treated to a
moving presentation by Mill Hill Youth, including some personal experiences of what visiting Poland had meant
to them. This was followed by Rabbi Schochet interviewing holocaust survivor and step sister of Anne Frank -
Eva Schloss. This fascinating discussion was followed by Eva answering some questions from the audience.
An interesting programme of talks by women for women has also taken place in Mill Hill over the past year.
Guest speakers have included Maureen Kendler, Michelle Sint, Sally Berkovics, Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, Lauren
Levin and Lindsay Simmons. We also held the ever popular women’s tikun leyal, where 50 women enjoyed a
learning session with Danielle Woolfson. For the first time we also held a service on Simchat Torah for the
women of the community. Entitled ‘Seven days of creation, seven generations of women’, 70 women were
treated to seven shiurs from women of all different ages from teens to 70s on the 7 days of creation.
MILL HILL CHEDER – Report from Michael Mowlem
The past year has been one of consolidation for Mill Hill’s Cheder, our second year since our head teacher,
Rabbi Jonny Spector joined us from Bushey United Synagogue’s Cheder in September 2010. We welcomed a
number of new teachers in the summer and the United Synagogue chose Mill Hill to trial its new Cheder
curriculum which we have enjoyed deploying. This is giving our pupils an insight to the latest thinking in term
of cheder educational structures, something that should prove very valuable to pupils and the community in
general in the future.
We welcomed 24 new pupils in September 2011. We are now running two-forms in two year groups and this
will continue next year given demand for 31 confirmed applicants for September 2012 in Year 1. Cheder pupil
numbers in Years 1-6 increased from 83 in academic year 2010/11 to 96 this year and we are projecting to
have more than 110 next year. Meanwhile the YES Bnei-Mitzvah programme for children beyond Year 6 has
proved to have been successful in bringing together children from across the wider community. From
September Cheder is launching new programmes for children post Year 6 with the Challenge (Bnei Mitzvah),
TnT (Year 9) and Jewish Studies GCSE programmes.
In late 2011 the decision was taken that Cheder could not continue in the current premises due to space
constraints and an approach was made to the nearby Mathilda Marks-Kennedy School to seek temporary
housing there until the completion of our building works. We were delighted that they agreed to host us for
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
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2012 and following the end of our first term there, we can report that use of the facilities there have been
welcomed by teachers, pupils and parents alike.
Financially Cheder generated another surplus above its costs in 2011 with fee levels having been maintained
for members. Additional fees are being charged for the small number of pupils whose parents are not
members of Mill Hill Synagogue. The increase in pupil numbers has allowed us to fund the costs of our stay at
Mathilda Marks-Kennedy. Debt collection remains strong with 92% of fees thus far collected for the current
academic year and prior years’ arrears collected as well.
While we are very happy in our temporary home at Mathilda Mark-Kennedy School, we look forward to
returning to the excellent new facilities the new Hall will provide when completed.
NW7 – Report from Jason Greenspan
Another successful year for NW7. The group responsible for the Social, and Fundraising events at Mill Hill Shul.
The name “NW7” is now synonymous with Mill Hill Shul and reaches out to the wider community from regular
shul goers to the twice a year crowd. The events and activities are open to the entire community and the cross
section of the audience we get for these events is there for all to see.
Monies raised from NW7 events and activities support the Welfare activities (via Rebetzen Schochet) being run
by the shul- whether that be providing meals for bereaved/ needy members through to providing counselling
services and advice
The (Board reporting) year comprised several events which have been organised by the team this year:
Pre Pesach Seed Educational Event 10th April 2011
The seed evening organised last year had 119 attendees for an educational event- huge success- largest ever
with Rabbi Schochet and Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz.. Met Su Yan provided Chinese Food and hugely successful
evening.
Summer Barbeque- 3rd July 2011
Hosted again by David and Helen Sinclair- the event was a huge success with largest ever attendance of over
345 people. Weather held for the event and the activity catered for all ages with Bouncy castles and swimming
for the younger children and food, drink and sunshine for the wider community. We have been offered the
venue again for the BBQ in 2012.
Community Supper Quiz. 30th October 2011
Once again a sell-out event with largest crowd 234 people attending in the shul hall. “Snakes and Ladders” was
once again the theme for the evening and a light supper was provided for the attendees. C. £2.7k was raised for
this event -people had to be turned away from attending the event as the hall was at complete capacity.
Magical farewell to the “old” shul hall 10th December 2011
Nick Einhorn who wowed everyone at both the 60th shul celebration and indeed on the recent “Penn and
Teller- Fool Us” was the guest Magician who entertained c.215 attendees. The crowd was a real cross section of
the community from the youth to the very old. An unbelievable event and what many are still calling the best
“social event ever held by or on behalf of the shul”. A fantastic send off for the hall. Catering was provided by K-
Grill and from an organisation perspective all ran smoothly.
NW7 Bingo Evening- 26th February 2012
Event held at Mathilda Marks Kennedy school. Inaugural solus Bingo evening. 83 players, pizza provided by K-
Pizza and enjoyed by all attendees. We have been encouraged to make this an annual event and this has now
been scheduled in the NW7 calendar. £390 profit from evening.
NW7 Poker Tournament 29th March 2012.
Event held at Mathilda Marks Kennedy School. 31 attended despite four other community events taking place
on that night. Utilising all the table tops and chips which we were donated last year. Employed a tournament
director for the occasion and all ran smoothly.
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
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£1000 profit from 31 players is a huge achievement and we will be running this event now twice per year as
the entire crowd were asking when the next one was coming- and this is a format which worked for
fundraising.
Committee changes/ succession planning:
Committee has grown from strength to strength- there are now 12 active members of the team.
After nine years successfully running the NW7 team (from an initial conversation and idea with Rabbi
Schochet!) Jason Greenspan will be standing down as chair of the committee. Jason will of course stay on the
team in an advisory capacity.
Lucy Jackson will be taking the chair for the NW7 committee from May 2012. We wish Lucy continued success.
Several thank-you’s need to be made:
To the committee who work tirelessly on behalf of the community to create and manage the events:
Lucy Jackson, Sarah Samuels, Eva Jackson, Zoe Fine, Daniel Sassen, Melanie Kaye, Alan Wetterhan, Simon Ansell,
Marc Heller, Emma Sheridan, Josh Farleigh
To the shul office for their help in publicising the event and for making the shul available to host these
activities.
To Anne -Marie for helping to set up the Hall as required for NW7 events.
To the Board of Management and the Rabbi for their support in attending and supporting the events.
We are looking to grow the committee over the coming months- if you would like to get involved please speak
to the shul office. .
YOUTH – Report from Michele Levy
Over the past year there have been activities organised on a regular basis which, outside of Shabbat and other
religious events, have regularly included all year groups from Year 7 to Year 10. Regular activities have included
Year 7 – Kolot and YES programmes (in conjunction with the cheder)
Year 8 girls – learning programme with Siobhan
Year 9 – 9 Alive (boys & girls), fortnightly activities
Year 10 – The Challenge (boys & girls), fortnightly activities
A number of social activities have also been organised through the year, including bowling and a trip to the
Harry Potter Studios (booked for June).
Siobhan and Steven regularly host small groups of children in their home for Friday night dinner or Shabbat
lunch.
Religious based activities and events
It was widely agreed that the services held this year during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were the best ever.
This was due to much pre-planning in advance and effort by the youth to get involved and learn either davening
or leining. Special thanks must go to Gershon Cohen, John Mitchell, Simon Lipowicz, Charles Daniels, Jonathan
Birns and Moshe Caplan who all supported this great effort with Steven.
In the region of 60 youth attended the Purim megilah reading and bingo activity. Thanks are extended to the
Sinclair family for hosting the event.
Regular Shabbat services are enhanced by a variety of activities such as cocoa club, CHAT for girls, Next
Generation and SMS 3D. Additionally, the youth learning programme has continued with the support of Miriam
Selby, Moshe Caplan, Rafi Cohen and John Mitchell.
Steven and Siobhan Dansky are the brain child and engine behind most of our youth events and so our thanks
go to them for continuing to create fresh ideas which respond to each new year group and the challenges they
bring with them. However, we recognise that parental participation is a vital part of bringing the youth agenda
and activities to life. In particular, we should recognise all members of the Youth Advisory Committee who
regularly give up their time to support the programme development as well as specific activities.
ERUV – Report from Gill Gallick
Mill Hill United Synagogue Annual Report
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Map at http://www.millhilleruv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/resizedmap1.jpg
We have had a very busy year, and this brief summary does not do justice to the number of hours put in by a
small team of individuals without whose dedication we would not be where we are. I thank them all
wholeheartedly: Ian Boonin, Glenn Carp, Beverley Crowne, Charles Daniels, Stuart Dickson, Bradley Resnick
and new recruits David Gallick & Jason Winton.
The Mill Hill Eruv covers an elliptical area of approximately 4.4Km x 2Km. It has been achieved with the
greatest possible utilisation of “natural boundaries”. Poles are required where natural boundaries do not exist,
and we have managed to limit the number of poles to just 34 poles on 14 sites, plus approximately 300metres
of fill-in mesh fencing at various sites along the route.
Where are we now? We have come a long way since we started to plan our Eruv in January 2008. We have
devised a route covering 95% of Mill Hill, which will link Stanmore and Edgware with Hendon and Golders
Green, and have achieved (our original) planning permission in just 2 and a half years, which is an
unprecedented time period for any Eruv past or present.
Conditional Planning Permission was granted in July 2010. This meant that prior to building our Eruv, we
needed to fulfil 2 planning conditions: a wildlife survey at Sheepwash Pond on the Ridgeway, and specialist
tree root reports at several of our sites. These have involved complex discussions with Rabbonim and Barnet
planners, which were very time-consuming and potentially expensive to resolve. The end result is that we have
had to alter our route and our timeline accordingly.
In addition, ever since we began, a number of changes have occurred along the route: a road has opened and
closed, a fire broke out at an M1 bridge and large pieces of fencing have appeared and disappeared. We have
had to creatively problem solve on many occasions, and the changes have caused further delay.
We were told in November last year (2011) that we would need to resubmit a new Planning Application rather
than the planning variation that we originally intended.
In mid March this year we sent a Press release to several local papers, Jewish and non Jewish, to inform the
public of our imminent planning resubmission.
Our Eruv planning resubmission was hand delivered to the Borough of Barnet Planning Department on 28th
March 2012. This resubmission contains amendments to half a dozen of our 14 sites. The planning application
number is H/01250/12.
This can be viewed in more detail (including support and opposition) via the Barnet Planning Portal.
http://www.barnet.gov.uk/info/940090/planning_portal/160/planning_portal
There will be an 8 week Consultation period starting from when the Submission is registered and validated. It
may also go to Committee in 8 to 14 weeks time. If it does, we will need as much support as possible from you
all at the planning meeting.
We have announced the resubmission in the Shul newsletter and the Shul website, and on our Eruv website
www.millhilleruv.com, which was designed and set up by Jason Winton our new team member. These media
are also being used to ask for letters of support during the 8 week Consultation period; with proforma letters
available on the websites.
During the Consultation period we may be able to liaise with Highways with regard to the Highways licence
needed, and to produce a build tender document.
The Mill Hill Eruv Committee has now been registered as a Company, independent of the United Synagogue,
and has Charitable Trust status; it also has its own Bank Account and will be responsilble for funding the build
and the maintenance of the Eruv.
Although we do not anticipate being able to build before the Yomim Noraim, we are hopeful that the build
timing may dovetail with the Shul redevelopment programme and we will be fortunate to have an operational
Mill Hill Eruv by the end of this year.
The build costs are still estimated in the region of £40,000. These funds have been assured through the
generosity of Shul members.
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NW7 KIDS (0-6 year olds) – Report from Claudine Mark
Another Year has flown by and I still can't believe we established this group over 5 years ago. NW7 kids is a
name known throughout the community and again you have supported us and made it another special year.
This year, what was important for us as a committee was to cement all the hard work from the previous years
to ensure we had a formula that worked.
Purim was a successful and well attended event, it was fantastic seeing all the children dressed up and having
lots of fun.
Simchat Torah again proved a hit. We decided that preparing packed lunches for the children to eat whilst
being entertained was the right way and again having over 100 children we were able to ensure the smooth
running of the day
Following on from the success of last year's event, we felt it was important to give something back to the
community, so put on a Succot Drop in Session where the children made decorations which we displayed in the
shul succah and brought fruit which we hung up.
Mitzvah Day was just fanstastic this year and MMK was packed!! The children made cards for the children of
Reuth Rehabilitation Centre in Israel. We did a clothes collection for Tikva and a Toy Drive for a variety of multi
faith charities. We also made sparkly decorations to raise awareness of Sparks, a childrens medical research
charity.
Chanukah was the last event of the year. Despite a lower turn out than usual a great time was had by all. A big
lesson learnt is that the event is more popular when held during the festival. Unfortunately this year it was not
possible.
After 5 years of running and being involved in NW7 Kids, Charlotte Sassen and myself feel that now is the time
for us to focus on a new area. Now that our kids are getting older we would like to concentrate this year on
developing activities for the 7-11 year olds. If you are interested in getting involved in our new committee,
NW7 Juniors, we would love you to get in touch. (charlottelucysassen@hotmail.com)
Melanie Goldberg (melanie.wynne@dlg.co.uk) and Nicola Kotkis (nicolafreinkel@hotmail.com) are looking
forward to taking over the reigns of NW7 Kids and we wish them every success. Due to the changeover of the
committee and no shul hall, NW7 kids will not be able to run any events this coming year.
Thank you once again to our fabulous committee, the shul office, Rabbi Schochet, the board of management,
Amanda Levitan, Anne-Marie, Beverley and Nicholas Crowne and Simon Lipowicz.
A quick reminder that CRP season starts May 5th 2012. Please go to www.millhillShul/CRP
NW7 Munchkins – Claudine Mark
A big thank you also goes to Louise Lewis and Kata Lister who run NW7 Munchkins and managed to
successfully relocate the group to Mill Hill East Church in January. Louise tells me that they were able to borow
their toys so could put Munchkins into storage. The group is running well but unfortunately the location is not
ideal but was the best they could find after a great deal of searching. Parking is also one of the issues they have
come across. Numbers have dropped by approximately half as a result. Purim did however pull in a big crowd.
From May this year they have decided to run the group fortnightly as they do not want to close the group until
it relocates back to the shul site.
COMMUNICATIONS – Sarah Sultman
With the website now fully functional one of our plans for the next year is to assess how user friendly it is.
Ideally 80% of the community could be using the website to gain all shul information and to make payments
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ut take up is a slow process; this is something we should try to change and it will take some time but I think
the site also requires a few amendments that should help facilitate this.
The shul magazine 2011 was successful being virtually self funding. This is quite an achievement given its new
volume and format. It was felt that the community needs a modern up to date magazine and given the size of
the congregation there is much more material to be included than in years gone by.
It is hoped that we, ie Clare Zinkin (co editor) and myself together with our team, will bring out a Pesach
edition next year to celebrate the launch of the new building and depending on its cost and how it is received
we will review whether we reintroduce the Pesach edition going forward.
This year also saw the redesign of the weekly/monthly shul letters which are now using the same fonts, logos
as the website and magazine so that all communications are sync'das NW7 comms. The new format has been
well received. Thank you to all involved especially Dr Jonathan Singer for his effort and contribution.
Other communication projects are tied up with the new building; for example how we will display notices, what
leaflets/pamphlets we will have on display for people to take and the costs involved.
I have also assembled a small team of talented Mill Hill members to create artworks/installations in the new
building.
Outside of comms whilst on the board my aims for 2012/13 are, together with Claudine Mark, to produce the
new childrens siddur in time for the opening of the new building and to look into the possibility of creating a
childrens choir for 7-11 year olds for a performance at the launch of the new building in spring 2013.
SECURITY
Security remains a constant issue for the community going forward. With the CRP process upon us we will be
securing two sites for the next 12 weeks akin to a yom tov, albeit with reduced numbers of volunteers. The
security team mounted their best ever operation over the previous yom tov – however with multiple sites likely
this September we will need to effectively rip apart our plans and go back to the drawing board. The security
team is providing more and more cover for evening events (when we are advised so) in order to reduce the
demands on the security budget. Our proportion of events that we cover is growing year on year.
We have a particularly tough time ahead of us for the next six months and we will need the co-operation of all
members of the community to ensure we provide the best levels of security – events in France has shown that
Jewish people remain a target for our enemies.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Executive, the Board and the office for their support as well as
all the individuals that play a part in the security rota.
Finally special thanks to the Chairman for allowing my input into the new building and for supporting me
accordingly.
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