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Jewish life in Aberdeen is never dull. Many people think that it must be very isolated, as we are so far away from the main Jewish populations in Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow); we have no permanent Rabbi, and the nearest kosher deli is 150 miles away. But although we are a very small community, we are very close, and very diverse. We try to maintain as Jewish a life as we can, with regular services and High Holiday observance. Picture shows the Ner Tamid (eternal lamp) and Aseret ha-Dibrot (Ten Commandments) above the Ark in the shul.
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Our shul is housed in a four-storey converted Georgian terraced house in central Aberdeen. It was consecrated on D-Day - 9th June, 1945. Unfortunately in September 2017 we had a bad flood and part of the ceiling fell in; it was touch and go at that point whether the shul would even survive. But thanks to the hard work of the committee, and the unbelievable generosity of the wider Jewish community, we are now working with our insurers and contractors to repair the damage and be back in business as quickly as possible, hopefully by January 2018. Although this accident was a major blow to our tiny community, we remember the two words that appear the most often in Torah - Al Tirah, do not be afraid. We are fully confident that we will bounce right back, even stronger than before. Picture shows a Civic Reception for the 70th Anniversary of the Shul in 2015.
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Before our present shul, the Jewish community rented a flat in Marischal Street to use as a synagogue. This dated back to 1893. In those days, Aberdeen even had it’s own sochet (kosher butcher) and used to supply the Jewish communities in England with top-quality Aberdeen beef. This in turn led to the famous Aberdeen Shecitah (ritual slaughter) case of 1893, which returned a uniquely Scottish verdict of “not proven” – a verdict which is still controversial even today. Picture shows the founders of the Shul at it's consecration in 1945.
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I’m honoured to have been a Trustee and Office Bearer of the Shul for a number of years. We are nominally an Orthodox shul, with a liturgy in Hebrew, separation of the sexes etc., but on occasion we have run Masorti or Liberal services depending on who is visiting. It’s a real honour for us to have a Minyan present and be able to take out our beautiful Torah scrolls for a full reading. It has also been a great honour for me, on occasion, to be called up to the Bimah for an Aliyah (requirement to do the mitzvah of reading a portion of the Torah). Picture shows us dressed up for the festival of Purim, taken by photographer Judah Passow as part of the photojournal project Scots Jews, commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2013.
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Over the years I’ve acquired enough Hebrew to be able to lead part of the services, and although it is extremely unusual for Orthodox services to be led by a woman, we are such a tiny community that it is absolutely necessary for everyone to pitch in. I’ve also done outreach teaching and given guided tours of the shul to various parties, and of course we are open every year for Open Doors Day, usually the first week in September. Picture shows the interior of the Shul, set up for Open Doors Day, 2016.
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The shul has it’s own Wordpress site where you can see pictures and read more about Jewish life in Aberdeen. If you would like to help out by donating to the Flood Relief Fund, we have a MyDonate page. Every single penny counts, and is very much appreciated. Or feel free to email me – I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.