The light in the world

My dear Friends
Now that I have got over the excitement of my sixtieth birthday I can concentrate on the real plot, which is the Light coming into the world. In pagan times they lit bonfires and celebrated the light to alleviate the darkness.

In 160 B.C. in Palestine the Greeks, under the emperor Antiochus, overran the Jewish Temple and desecrated it. A small band of zealots, called the Maccabees, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, fought against the Greeks and won and went to rededicate the Temple. They found that the light above the Ark, supposed to burn permanently, had been extinguished. They searched around for some oil and found only enough to burn for a short while. But God made a miracle and the oil lasted for eight days, long enough for them to get replenishments. Hence the Feast of Dedication, Chanukah, when the Jewish people light candles for eight days, to commemorate the power of God and the miracle of the light.

140 or so years later, Jesus was born. In John's Gospel we don't have the narrative of His birth, as in the Gospel of Luke, but we have an extended mystical description of the Light coming into the world. This is the Christ, the Logos, who was with the Father before time and space began. Not only was everything made through Him, but He came into the world so that He could be the Light and life of men and women. It is a Light that the darkness cannot extinguish or overpower, and, more, a Light that the darkness cannot (according to the original Greek) even comprehend.

I met a young German woman at university who was an atheist. We became friends and she told me that she had an African boyfriend. She once travelled with him to Africa. They arrived at night and she was struck by the darkness of the Veldt, the huge rural expanse of the African landscape. They were taken into a room, where there was nothing but a matress on the floor.

Then someone lit a candle. She told me that that was the closest to a religious experience she had ever had.

Every blessing for Christmas, may the Light shine on you.
Health and happiness in the new year.
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Till 120 Years

My dear Friends
I am halfway there! In the Jewish tradition and also the Arabic tradition when you have a birthday you say to the person 'Till 120 years!'. This presumably refers to the figures in the Bible who were purported to have lived that long, Moses being the most famous amongst them.

My own mother, God rest her beloved soul, lasted, and in good shape too, to 97 years. My friend Eva's mother mde it till 102 and we know that in the Caucasian mountains people live until 160. I have always thougth it was due to a combination of vodka and honey, both of which I take by the way.

Getting back to my 60th birhtday, which I celebrated yesterday on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, so it was even more special, in the Korean tradition 60 is the most important age of all. I am not sure why. I think of life as a play, with successive ages or decades as different acts in the play. Now surely 60 is coming up to the curtain on the final act, whether the act lasts one year or thirty seven as in my mother's case. I have a feeling that these years may be the most fulfilling of my life. and so far I have had an interesting and adventurous life.

I have only one unfulfilled ambition, apart from seeing my friends again in Amsterdam. That is to go the Metropolitan Opera in New York. I listen to it on the radio, and enjoy the intervals, when a very friendly lady gives credit to everyone from the Producer down to the cleaner. I love the Americans and their country and the fact that they are so egalitarian. So I have collared a close Polish friend of mine and virtually extraced a promise from her that we will 'do' New York together sometime in the coming years.

I celebrated my birthday by starting on Saturday with a group of diverse friends, food and drink. Yesterday I went to Mass, where grace was poured out and I felt overwhelmed by the love of it all. In the afternoon more friends came round, and also in the evening.

I have a friend who celebrated her 60th birthday for the whole year. So watch this space!

Love and shalom
Sister Gila

The busker

My dear Friends
I haven't been too well lately, but I am hoping to do another Concert for Peace and Reconciliation in about three weeks' time. I wanted to tell you about someone who has been a great inspiration to me down the years. i won't tell you her name but just that she is about my age, with fine silvery hair and a black coat, which she wears on her daily busking trips in Cambridge.

Her voice is low, because of her smoking but still fine and clear and she has an enviable range of songs, with quite a lot of Bob Dylan in there. Go away from my window otherwise known as it ain't me babe, is one of her stock in trade. She sings it with a poignancy which brings tears to your eyes.

Her strumming style is much to be envied. I usually use the same technique but hers is varied according to the song and mood of the piece. Blowing in the wind which I do too is in there, and it rings out over the streets of Cambridge and the alleyways where she sings, tucked in between coffee shops.

She varies her pitch and i don't know if this attracts more or less custom but she usually earns enough for coffee and sandwiches and sometimes more. And there is always the satisfaction of knowing that people are listening to the music, even if they don't put money in the hat.

She is a real feature in these parts, going out daily to do her thing. She has been an inspiration and a friend in times of need, sharing a fag and sharing her song-long may it go on.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

Remebrance Sunday

My dear Friends

Remembrance Sunday is a very important day. The chance to remember and pray for the ones we have lost,but not quite forever. The two minute silence observed all over the world is a sign of solidarity and hope. We have lost so many over the centuries to war and conflict, but hopefully now is a time of renewal and strength. More later.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

The Feast of Tabernacles.

My dear Friends
Recently the Jewish community celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a very joyful occasion and I met many of my old Friends who seemed pleased to see me. At the end of the service the story of Creation was read out and different people were called up to receive a blessing. We also danced with Torah scrolls and the children came up also to receive a blessing.My friend Jane Liddell King who writes for the Jewish chronicle was there and together we prayed and sang.

Altogether an interesting time and one which recalls the dwelling of the children of Israel in booths in the wilderness.People erect booths and sit in them, having decorated them with fruits and flowers.

Shalom for now
Sister Gila

No more war

My dear Friends
Sorry for the delay in blogging, but its been a busy month. We are at the start of the Jewish Festivals. We have just finished the New year, and are in the Ten Days of Penitence, leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when the Jewish community fasts and prays for personal healing and the healing of the world.

The Sudan has just taken a samll step towards Peace and it is to be commended and encouraged. It wants to reduce its military personnel and take all the disabled and others out of the military and into other employment. This was featured as a news item in the middle of the night on BBC Radio Four's World Service. The Western interviewer asked if they wouldn't be reluctant to leave their military career, and who would fight in their place? The man from the Sudan said that they could always train up their young people, who would also feel that they had a job.

It struck me, sleepy and all that I was in the middle of the night, that the questions were arrogant and patronising.We in the West are behind military action in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and surely we must find a way to make peace. The question of whether a war is just is a difficult and complex one, but we must pursue it and questions of can we justify war for the greater good in all circles, religious and secular.

The laying down of weapons for universal peace is prophesied in the Bible in the Book of Isaiah Chap 2, verses 2-4 and also at the beginning of the Book of Micah. I have another reflection which I will share with you another day, but in the meantime I continue to sing, humbly in the tradition of Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie and many others for Peace.

'Yes, an how many times will the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned?
The answer, my Friend, is blowin in the wind, the answer is blowin in the wind.'

Shalom and Happy new Year
Sister Gila

Hope from disaster

My dear Friends
We are coming up to the tenth anniversary of 9/11.It was a terrible tragedy at the time.I spent the afternoon with my landlady and her daughter, a Vicar's wife, who had come up from Kent. She observed that 'there's always Redemption.' God can always bring good out of evil, although it can take a while.

I was mulling this over when I went to the large Catholic church in Cambridge the Sunday after 9/11 happened. I went with a young american friend of mine, who was to become my goddaughter. The church was packed. Fr Tony Rodgers, the Parish priest, gave a fine sermon. He said that the day after the tragedy people saw something going on around the area that it happened but they couldn't quite make out what it was. So they drew nearer and discovered that a group of people were dancing...for the joy of living.

I went to church all that week. I seemed to feel the arms of Mary, our universal Mother, around me. It occcured to me that she was holding the whole world in an embrace, and i remembered that one of her designations is Our lady of Sorrows, to be in solidarity with us when we are suffering, just like her son.

Let us hope and pray that the anniversary at the weekend passes without violence or bloodshed, just in quiet remembrance.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

Canterbury

My dear Friends
After the peace and tranquillity of the sea, I moved on to busy Canterbury. My first visit. You could still hear the gulls crying overhead. Underneath the roundabout leading to the town there was a wonderful mural, depicting Canterbury's history, and explaining that in times gone by people from all over Europe and England would come to Canterbury to trade.

The High Street was incredibly packed, so I took the advice of someone I had spoken to in Ramsgate and stuck to the side streets. But not before I had seen the Cathedral, magnificent although overwhelming in its size. I was lucky to find three Anglican guides who explained to much of the history. When I said I was full of hope for Anglican-Catholic reconciliation she took me down to the spot where Thomas a Beckett was murdered in the Cathedral, around 1100, and showed me where Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Runcie had knelt together and prayed. So we did too and it was a moment of great grace.

Then I went down to the crypt, a place of silence and prayer and where you were invited to pray for Peace. Back up at the top, I went to the choir, where the original monks had said their devotions and which faced East-I thought the whole looked like a Sephardic Synagogue or even a Mosque-the guide was intrigued.We stopped on the hour for prayer, just like they do in Ely, which was recited by the Rector, but the Cathedral was quite empty.

Next day I found the Catholic church in Burgate and sat in the little garden outside. The outside facade was lovely and lots of people passing took photos. although the building only dates from around 1847. But it's lovely inside too, with a kind of monastic feel, and one or two of Thomas's relics.( I confess,coming from a Jewish background I have never cared for relics.) I stayed for Mass, conducted by the elderly, but rather radiant Fr George from Dublin.

Walking round the streets I felt happy and found the people 'soft' and approachable. I ended up taking a trip on the river, which was fascinating. We floated past all the old monastic buildings, including the Dominican Priory and also the 'hospital' which was where the pilgrims had a free night's board, albeit uncomfortable. The river Stour was very different to the river Cam.

In a shop next to the Catholic church I was given a present of a pilgim badge, and I felt as proud as if I had been to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, or Jerusalem or elsewhere. I know I will go again.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

A pilgrimage continued

My dear Friends
On Sunday morning I went to the local Catholic church. I was greeted warmly as I went in. I sat beside a lady who told me that she had been to Israel and would like to go to the Reform Synagogue in Ramsgate. (I meant to tell you that I had attended a service there on the previous evening and it was very moving.)

The Mass was taken by a visiting French priest, now in Algeria. Unlike my church back in Cambridge, there was an organ and a choir and even a pulpit! The first reading was taken from the book of Kings, about Elijah and the presence of God he hears, not in the fire or the thunder but in the 'still small voice.' It is a theme which has run throughout my life, and the voice I heard in a graveyard near the sea which brought me into the Church in 1988/1989.

After the Mass I jumped on a bus, to discover it was going back to Broadstairs. The folk festival was in full swing there and we bowled along and I had a lovely chat to a local man.Once there I spent hours wandering the town, into second hand bookshops, and olde worlde tea shops. I met a delightful English lady there, who is a Buddhist and who is going to dicover why there is no Hebrew writing on the Montefiore Synagogue in the woods in Ramsgate.

Everyone was eating fish and chips.I sat near the sea and from my post could see the Morris men dancing on the pier. Then the Morris ladies danced right beside me. I chatted to a nice Anglican lady from Ramsgate. Sat in a cafe in one of the oldest buildings in Broadstairs and determined to go back. Finally I went right through the town and through the York Gate, which must have been the entrance to the town at one time.1774 was written on it. As I passed through I got the whiff of smugglers and later dicovered that The 39 Steps was written there.
To be continued
Shalom from
Sister Gila

A pilgrimage

My dear Friends

I haven't journeyed very far away, but I had an interesting and marvellous time.I started off in a place I last went to when i was eight-Ramsgate, on the coast of Kent. I had visited the Synagogue there as a child and it made a deep impression on me. It was founded by Sir Moses Montefiore,from a Sephardic Jewish family from Italy. He built a house on the cliffs in Ramsgate and Queen Victoria was one of his guests.

My guesthouse was one minute from the sea and the weather was glorious. I tagged along with a mother and her daughter and followed them down the steep steps to the sea, where I paddled to my heart's content. After a couple of hours, in which the little girl ran in and out of the sea in great delight, I moved on and found a congenial restaurant, where they said I could bring my guitar next time if I liked.

The next day I discovered that there was a folk week in Broadstairs, the next town. I started on the beach again, talking to a nice English family at the cafe, and then walking to Broadstairs with the sea on my right. Again i chatted to a nice English couple, who knew Cambridge. From the town bandstand a crowd was entertained with the children and we all ate ice creams and bags of lovely chips. I was having a lot of fun and was quite out of my normal routine.

I wandered through the town, passing merrymakers along the way, avoiding crowded pubs but finding a nice little cafe at the edge of the town.I talked to an Austrian lady from Vienna and her son who were doing the coastal tour. I took a taxi, quite inexpensive, back to Ramsgate, and rested for a while.

(To be continued)

Shalom from

Sister Gila

Holiday

My dear Friends
I am going away tomorrow to a place near the English Channel, then an historic location and I will bring you up-to-date when I return on the 13th.

Be well
Sister Gila

Hope

My dear Friends
The day after 9/11 some people were doing something on the site of the tragedy. Other people, at a distance, wondered what it was and drew nearer to find out. Then they saw that a group of people were dancing, for the JOY of living.

And so we must hope that something good comes out of the terrible events last week in Norway. We have learned, and so said one of the Norwegian government ministers, that evil can happen anywhere, and is not just a result of Islamic terrorism. We learn from the Prologue of the Gospel of John that the Light was coming into the world, and that the darkness could not overpower the Light. In the original Greek, the darkness cannot even comprehend the Light.

There was a Norwegian man who was living in a cabin on the shores of the lake where the terrible incident happened. Having received a phone call from a friend, he took his boat out on several successive occasions and mangaed to rescue one hundred teenagers.

As the bells tolled from Oslo Cathedral and the people left hundreds of bunches of flowers, we can reflect that the reaction of the Norwegian people was one of a people wanting to affirm their democracy and their tolerance. That gives us hope for a better world.

In Peace
Sister Gila

More gifts

My dear Friends

I moved onto other artists just last weekend. Again, they were very different. The first one, Robin, is a photographer, taking interesting and unusual photos of the beach at Aldeburgh where Benjamin Brittten wrote much of his music and where there is a performing arts centre to this day. Robin specialises in interior landscapes, whereas her daughter, Isabel, paints large canvasses of sweeping colour, in dynamic blues, reds and yellows. There was one wonderful painting, almost like Cezanne, of a large bowl of yellow flowers.

Round the corner was Sue, a Jewish sculptor of some dimension. She was taught by Ester Joseph, whose amazing work I also went to see and which I will describe in a moment. Both sculptresses express the human condition on their work. Sue depicts some sorrow; a wonderful sculpture of figures like Adam and Eve(although she says they are not) being cast out of something like Paradise. A woman protecting her brood under a sort of canopy, and many more. I came away feeling very moved by her exhibits.

Going back to Esther; her figures are cast in stone and are lifesize. Sue was taught by Esther, although her figures are much smalller. Esther's figures really depict the fragility of our human condition, by the expression of the faces particularly. She uses different types of stone, some pink and I was amazed that such a slight figure as Ester could wield and mould such enormous figures.

Last but not least I visited the studio of Anna from Italy, near Lombardy. She does silk painting and they are really are exquisite, landscapes in the oriental style in a fine brush. I used my inner eye to gaze into the paintings and I didn't go unrewarded.

What a feast!
Shalom from Sister Gila

Gifts

My dear Friends

Every year the Cambridge artists open their studios to the general public. They started two weeks ago and I have been amazed at how God has showered them with gifts, all of which are unique.

I started on the South of the city, in a street lined with beautiful trees. The first artist I came across was Jane, who does striking still life, landscape and animal paintings in in a highly original style, combining Chinese painting methods with Western influences. I was very struck by a painting of Loch Rannoch, at the entry to the Scottish Highlands. I ascended to the first floor, and Jane's studio, and sar for a while in a lareg wicker chair.

Quite a contrast when I went on to Heloise! She is a young painter and paints bold and quite radical portraits, one of a handsome black young man. She also had two paintings which I could have sworn were Pre-Raphaelite-the style was almost identical. Heloise has four sisters and her mother was in the house, which has a quite definite feel of the turn of the twentieth century. Heloise's nudes were good too and lined the wall on the staircase leading up to the first floor.

Round the corner was Eithne(I suspect her name is Gaelic, although she sounds English) and some beautiful abstract paintings. The one I liked the best was of the standing stones on the isle of Harris in the Hebrides. Drawn from photos, it was nonetheless authentic and the dark red colur of the stones was striking.

It was nice to receive hospitality from these artists and to glimpse a little of their artistic life.

More later!
Sister Gila

Yiddish concert

My dear Friends

Sorry for the delay in writing. I seem to be surrounded by music at the moment, and I have just been to a very interesting concert. Mark Glanville is a bass-baritone who has much experience in opera as well as lieder, and his accompanist, Alexander Knapp, is an acclaimed musicologist, arranger and composer, mainly of Jewish music. I met Alex about 25 years ago, when I was thinking about becoming a Jewish Cantor in the Synagogue. (This was just before my Christian days.)

These two friends gave a very moving and impressive Yiddish version of Schubert's great song cycle Die Schone Mullerin. Mark, the singer, explained in the programme notes that the German-Yiddish juxtaposition was his contribution to reconcilation and forgiveness, as his mother had lost a lot of her family in the Holocaust. That aspect gave me much heart for my own work and the little concert I gave two weeks ago.

The concert consisted of twenty one songs, quite a musical feat! They were varied in tone and although not a direct translation of the Schubert cycle, follwed the tale of unrequited love. They were dark in tone, with a few glimpses of something lighter, but were a tour de force of the Yiddish language, which I hardly know. Yiddish is the language of the Ashkenazi Jews, who came from Russia and Poland and others parts of the Slavonic world. My own paternal grandparents came from Belarus, and their language was Yiddish, which was passed down to my father, who spoke it fluently although he was born in Leeds in 1897, the first of eight children.

After the concert I met a yooung man from Baltimore who teaches Yiddish in the university with his wife, and we discussed the fact that I had always felt Hebrew to be superior to Yiddish, and he said they had co-existed for hundreds of years.

But that's another Blog!
Shabbat Shalom, have a great weekend!
Sister Gila

Concert

My dear Friends

Sorry for the silence but I have been preparing for a Concert for Peace and Reconciliation. It took place yesterday. Some of you may know that around 2003 I met an elderly lady called Dr Sessions, a remarkable lady with a remarkable life. We were sitting in a beautiful garden in Cambridge one day and she suddenly said to me' You have to sing for your supper.' And so the series of concerts began, some in college chapels like Clare and Pembroke, one in a lovely hall in Wolfson college, again in Robinson college where I sang at my best, and now in the chancel of Michaelhouse, a cafe and a church which dates back a long way.

Thirty assorted people gathered yesterday to hear me play. The first to arrive was an American Jewish lady who asked me if I knew it was the Jewish Pentecost, which I did. It is a grace-filled time, as it is also between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost in the church, with the descent of the Holy Spirit.

I started the concert with Blowing in the Wind-I had the words printed on the programmes so everyone was able to sing-and they did! We came full circle at the end as when my time was up I asked them what they wanted and they said-to sing Blowing in the Wind all over again, which they did and it was quite moving.

Last thing on my mind by Tom Paxton was another favourite-every song in my breast dies a-borning says the last verse and a member of the audience explained what that meant. Otherwise there was my usual mix-Donna donna(originally composed for the Yiddish theatre), All my trials -'you know your mamma was born to die' and my best performances were Autumn leaves, a classic love song and Last night I had the strangest dream by Ed McCurdy. a dutiful anti-war song.

I couldn't leave out the Jewish music and there were three, culminating in Hinay Matov, psalm 133, which speaks of how good and pleasant a tribe of brothers living together.

I am very grateful to Annabel, the Chaplain of Michaelhouse, and Sue Binns, for allowing me to sing there in such a beautiful and historic place.

Shalom from

Sister Gila

Dansette

My dear Friends

I would like to share with you a little about the history of my father's business. You may have heard of Dansette, a firm which produced record players in the fifties and sixties, and which contributed to the pop music culture in those decades.

Heading up the business, and before I was born. was my grandfather Morris Margolin, who came to England from Russia in the 1890's and who started a small family business in a furniture factory as a cabinet maker. He also had an interest in musical instruments, which he imported from the continent to sell. Instrumental in making the business successful in the 50's and 60's was my brother Samuel, who went into the business at age 20, and who was responsible for much of the subsequent design.

The Margolins decided to combine their interests in cabinet making and music to produce the 'Plus-a-Gram.'It was the first electric player in this country and was produced from 1934 until 1950. It became the forerunner of the Dansette. In the early 1950's BSR inroduced a British made autochanger at a realistic price as a basis for a new portable record player and suggested the name for it-Dansette-which was registered as a trademark in October 1952, the year after I was born. It was Mr McDonald, the chief of BSR, who invented the name-was he thinking of 'dancing?' We'll never know, but the name caught on and so did the record players, given the enthusiasm the new 'teenagers' showed in these players and their records.

I remember being taken to Old Street in the East end of London to see where the machines were made. I remember quite clearly all the wood shavings from the cabinets and the Garrard needles which were put on.

The Rock and Roll movement helped to boost sales of the Dansette, and the Beatles would have listened to records to give them inspiration for their own music. You could get all sorts of models of the record players and in different colours. Between the years 1950 and 1970 over one million Dansettes were sold. The company lasted until 1969; from a large profit-making organisation the company went into liquidation. But they had left their mark on the population of Britain and some people have kept their Dansette to this day.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

River cruise

My dear Friends

Did you know that the river Oose (hope that is the correct spelling) was about 169 miles long? That makes it the third longest river in England. The river runs through St Ives and Ely in East Anglia, amongst other places. I had an unexpected boat trip along the Oose yesterday for about an hour and a half, with an expert boatman called Chris and two couples in their sixties and seventies. One couple lives in St Ives and the other in Somerset, although the lady is originally from Yorkshire.

It was a fascinating tour-I already knew that we were in Cromwell country but our guide gave us an insight into the history before the Reformation, when there were monasteries on the site and a famous Catholic called The Abbott of Ramsey, whose personal history I intend to look up. More of him in a moment. Staying with Cromwell, we passed the famous 17th century bridge where Cromwell drew up the drawbridge to prevent the Royalists getting in. Cromwell was the Puritan in the English civil war who was fighting against those who were on the side of the King.

Going along with this history was the beauty of the landscape, serene and full of wispy trees, with pointed churches in the distance. As we drew closer, we saw one that was not so pointed, Hemingford Abbotts, which lost its top ages ago and which had never been replaced, so now it was flat. On the other side was Hemingford Grey church, which was the church of one of our travellers.

We learned that in the time of the Abbott a skeleton was found, which was declared by the Abbott to be that of an ancient saint from Persia I believe, called St Ives and the town was renamed after him. In the Middle Ages, many miracles occurred in St Ives and many folk made pilgrimages to the town. Later the skeleton was declared to be that of a Roman soldier and the town thought to be of Roman origin, but our guide preferred the first interpretation!.

St Ives also has about 150 swans, who converge on the little quayside and some keep guard on their nesting mates, whom, if we were lucky, we saw by the river on their nests. I reflected that swans are very faithful and mate for life, anyhow it was wonderful to see these patches of white dotted on the landscape.

A good lunch in a pub and I came home deeply contented and determined to pay a return visit.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

The Royal Wedding

My dear Friends

Yesterday i watched the Royal Wedding on TV with Benigna, her daughter Fadijah and Benigna's carer Effie. I was deeply moved by it from start to finish, but especially by the service in Westminster Abbey. It was the Church of England at its very best. Rowan Williams was in attendance and solemnly explained the meaning of marriage to the young couple.

Kate looked resplendent in her gorgeous wedding gown and seemd relaxed throughout the whole ceremony.There was a moment of tension when it seemed that the ring might not fit!
The couple had chosen a marvellous reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans; the last verse says 'Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.' And they had composed a prayer about helping people in distress.

They are obviously people with a firm belief and a firm sense of committment. We all relished the moment on the balcony when they kissed, not once but twice!

The Queen looked rightly happy and has bestowed on William and Catherine the titles of 'Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.' I look forward to the day when they visit us here.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

The Passover story

My dear Friends

On Tuesday night I had a beautiful experience. I celebrated Seder night (the Passover story) with 2 Jewish women friends of mine, mother and daughter. There is something very special about an all-women Seder and indeed a special grace was working.

Jane, the daughter, had ordered some unusual matsot (unleavened bread) -they were huge and round and had come all the way from Israel. She had also made a beautiful cake for dessert.

We started by Irene (the mother) lighting the candles in a special holder carved by an elderly Jewish friend and she said the Festival blessing. Then we proceeded with the liturgy, centred round the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and the parting of the Red Sea. With the cups of wine we celebrated going from slavery to freedom, darkness to light, bondage to redemption.

Interwoven with the proceedings were the ritual foods, the bitter herbs to commemorate the bitterness the Israelites experienced in Egypt, the charoseth to represent the bricks and mortar that the Israelites were forced to build cities with and the roasted egg and shankbone to represent the lamb which was roasted before their departure from Egypt.

Interspersed in all this was the Jewish music which I sang, drawing from my childhood memory in London and Glasgow when there would be fourteen people round the table, from different Jewish traditions.

The Exodus story and its story of redemption is an essential part of the history of salvation, mirroring Christ's death on the cross and his Resurrection which we celebrate this weekend.As we go through the shadow of the cross, may we come into the joy of new life.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

The silver birch tree

My dear Friends In January 2000 I had just founded The Little Sisters of Joy with my friend Maryvonne. What better thing to do than to plant a tree in honour of the new foundation? I asked permission from the lady I was living with, Benigna Lehmann and she said she would be delighted to have it in her garden. Her son-in law Latif, a composer and a fine man, had just died and his daughter, Benigna's grandaughter, told me that his favourite tree was the silver birch-there was a trio of them in the Botanical garden in Cambridge. So I invited a group of close friends and one afternoon we planted a silver birch in Benigna's garden and made a little ceremony. We recited psalm 96 in which the trees of the wood 'shout for joy' at the presence of the Lord. The tree has grown enormous but luckily the garden was big enough for it to grow freely. When I moved over to the north of the city I decided to plant a sliver birch to show the continuity of The Little Sisters of Joy. In seven years it has grown tall and strong.But alas one of its roots has grown into my neighbours garden and the other roots are growing fast, so I am thinking of having it pruned and the root in the other garden taken away. Please pray that my beautiful tree will continue to grow as it is a wonderful symbol of spirituality, beauty and simplicity. As I write, I am on my way to the Botanical gardens and i will for sure look at the trio of birches which have grown strong and tall. Did you know that the Indians regards the birch as something mystical and use the bark to line their boats? And there are wonderful forests of them in Canada, Finland and Russia. Long may they last! Shalom from Sister Gila

Church crawl

My dear Friends Yesterday I had a lovely day. I took my friend who lives in Impington, and who has just been newly received into the Church on a 'Church crawl.' At 10am, when the refracted light on the building was truly beautiful, we went to Kings College Chapel. We walked slowly round, savouring every moment and raising our eyes to the magnificent ceiling, which has been fashioned in a sort of curve. We processed down the nave, past the choir stalls, to the high altar,above which is the painting by Reubens of 'The Adoration of the Magi.' On the left side of the chapel is a quiet room, with a painting of 'Madonna in a Rosary.' Mary is holding the baby Jesus and offering him some cherries from a bowl. We tried afterwards to find out the significance of the cherries, but in vain. Coming out of this room we read the long history of the chapel and the various kings who were involved. Descriptions of worship in those days was also portrayed, with lovely pictures of mediaeval psalters and other illuminated manuscripts. Coming out into the sunshine in the beautiful courtyard of Kings we made our way to Benet Street, where I wanted to show my friend St Benet's Church, which is the oldest building in Cambridge.I have been going there before my Christian days, to rest a-while in the peace of this church. We admired the icons near the altar of St Anne, one of Christ holding the book and the other of St Francis and St Dominic. Next we went into St Botolph's church. Very few people know he is the real patron Saint of travellers. It was dark and cold inside but still with a very interesting altar and pictures. Finally, and this was my friend's favourite, we went to Little St Mary's. We first went into the garden, small and windy with a few tombstones. The sun was shining beautifully yesterday. Inside all was quiet and my friend admired the ancient statue of Mary above the high altar. I took her into my favourite part, the Lady Chapel, and we prayed and lit candles. Just to finish off, we had lunch in the nearby Fitzwilliam Museum. Shalom from Sister Gila

Does the veil empower women?

My dear Friends

On Thursday night I went to a debate in the Cambridge Graduate Union. the debate was entitled:This house believes the veil empowers women.' It was a heated debate.

The first to propose the motion was Lauren Davidson, a third -year Theology student and outgoing President of the Union. Her arguments were quite intellectual and she made a case for the veil empowering women and allowing them to express their identity.First to oppose was Houriya Ahmed, Member of Sisters against Violent Extremists, a fellow at the Centre for Social Cohesion, and a writer. She asked the first speaker to try on the black veil which covers the whole face apart from the eyes, to see if she was expressing her identity. She then went on to say at length how our identity is formed rather by how we live and think, not by the veil. She is herself a Muslim.

The best speaker of the evening was the second to propose the motion, Krista Bremer. She is a Californian -born essayist and writer, who has written in support of a women's choice to wear the veil. She spoke very movingly about her daughter who said to her mother she wanted to wear the veil. Her father, Krista's husband, is a Libyan Muslim.She talked about the support she gave her daughter and about how her teenage daughter was criticised in the society where they lived.

Dr Taj Hargey was the second to oppose the motion. He is chairman of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford and a writer. He is also an Immam. He strongly said that wearing the veil is an outdated custom of pre-Islamic times, more connected to the Jewish and Christian religions. He is also said it was a sign of oppression and tyranny among Muslim men who beat their wives.

Thirdly, for the motion,there was Nagihan Haliloglu, a Muslim academic, who specialises in gender issues in Islam. She spoke at length about how the veil is part of the identity of a Muslim woman and an important religious symbol connected to consecration. She denied that it was connected to oppression.

Finally against the motion, there was David Aaronovitch, a senior leader writer for The Times and columnist and broadcaster. This was a very undistinguished speech, in which he spent the whole time character assassinating the other speakers, especially Krista Bremer (with the Libyan husband). It provoked a lot of emotion from the young Muslim women behind me and I had to comfort them by saying he was out of line and playing to the gallery. Unfortunately he was a good enough 'actor' to draw a lot of laughter and applause.

I haven't yet got the results of the debate, although I suspect the motion was defeated. I voted in favour, partly because I believe that headcovering can show a respect for God and partly to be in solidarity with my Muslim women friends.It was interesting to see quite a group of young Jewish students there,all with their skullcaps.

I would welcome any views, in the form of comments.

Shalom from

Sister Gila

Lenten days

My dear Friends
I had a bright idea about Shrove Tuesday. By the way 'shrove' comes from the word 'to be shriven'-that is to make a confession before Lent. Anyway about the pancakes-I went to the cinema with a friend where they make lovely crepes at the bar. So I ate my sweet things up before Lent.
Many years ago, when I had just become a Catholic, I told Fr Brendan, my Irish spiritual director, that I was giving up smoking for Lent. 'I absolutely forbid you,' he said. 'It will put you under too much stress.' So ever since then I have never given up anything for Lent, just tried to do more, love more, try to do good deeds, read the Bible more and pray more. It takes a little time to discern.

Yesterday I had a good Ash Wednesday. Went to Mass in the Catholic school and Fr Pat anointed all our foreheads with ash procured from burning the previous Easter's crosses. 'Repent and believe the Gospel' he said as he put it on. I fasted but only for about ten hours and prayed then went into the town to Pizza Express and had a good meal.

More later
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Neve Shalom/Wahaat al-salaam

My dear Friends

One of the Dominicans in Isaiah House was Fr Bruno Hussar, a priest of Egyptian Jewish parents. Fr Bruno wrote an autobiography called 'When the cloud rises.' Well apparently one day the cloud rose and God said: 'Bruno, I want you to found a community of Israelis and Palestinians living together.'

Bruno thought this was a tall order but set about his task. For a shekel he purchased some land from the Latrun monastery, about 30 miles from Jerusalem and in the Ayalon valley, famous for the sun and moon standing still in the battle with Joshua and the scene of bloody fighting in the 1948 War of Independence. For a year he laboured to build, with a few hippies helping him. One day he said to God:'If you don't send me an Israeli and a Palestinian family within a week, I'm quitting!'

But they came. When I visited in 1989 there were 75 people living in the community and there was a School for Peace, where all the children learned Hebrew and Arabic together. Teenagers from the local Israeli and Palestinian schools come to workshops to meet the 'Other' and the encounters are often facilitated through music.

I had the privilege of meeting Fr Bruno there and he took me down to 'Dumiyah' which means deep silence and is a big white Dome where the people can pray. As I faced him in this place, I felt I had 'come home.'

Shalom from

Sister Gila

The summer of '89

My dear Friends

In 1989 I went back to Israel after a break of 21 years. It was a momentous time for me-I had just been received into the Catholic Church and I was in the second year of my Hebrew degree. Now I was on a three-month study course at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I was keen to make new Christian, as well as Jewish friends, and someone told me about the House of Isaiah.

This was where some Dominican priests lived but it was also the Mass centre for a group of Hebrew Catholics-Jews who had become Catholics and who sometimes, rather poignantly, had to hide their conversion from their families. The Mass, which was in Hebrew and which was attended by French and other Catholics, was full of JOY and was held in the crypt under the house. I was to make a lot of friends there, including Rivka, a Hebrew Catholic who lent me her apartment over the summer.

To be contd
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Final part of Paris

My dear Friends

I only had twenty four hours left in Paris. Basically I swanned around but ate in my hotel that evening. I went down to my hotel Cosy cafe, where I had a nice coffee and greeted a nice man I had seen in the bar near the Church that morning. The Mass that morning had been very lively and the Church was full. Now I was nearing the end of the trip. The next morning I had breakfast in the Cosy cafe and said goodbye to a nice couple from Australia, who had survived the floods in Brisbane. Then I packed my stuff and set off for the Gare du Nord. Alexia had told me about the Canal St Martin, so I got off the Metro and went in sight of it.

It was raining so not the best day to wander round the canals, so I had a quick look and found a nice bar. I decided to walk to the Gare du Nord, which took me about half an hour. I sat in the station for a short while and several poor and homeless people came up to me and asked me for money. I gave each one a small amount and listened to their stories, some were living in tents in the city, one had nowhere but the street to sleep in. It reminded me of Cambridge, where we have the most homeless people in Europe.

I had enough money for an omelette so I went across the street and sat beside a nice businessman from Belgium. I still had two hours before the Eurostar and I met a nice lady in the station with whom I shared my trip.

Bye for now
Shalom from
Sister Gila

More Paris

My dear Friends

I ended my day with an Italian meal in a local restaurant and had my first glass of wine for 2 Euros. Then I went up the street to my favourite cafe and had a coffee at the bar. This is cheaper and meant I got talking to a young guy, rather down on his luck, who ad mired my Russian style hat.(It was very cold in Paris.)

The next day was special-my friend was coming. She arrived at ten thirty, looking the same as ever, if a bit tired-she works forty miles outside the city. We hopped on the Metro and went to the Louvre. In the courtyard there is a pyramid and underneath there are shops and restaurants, so we dined in Starbucks and had a good chat, catching up on the last 18 months. Afterwards we walked on the streets and crossed several bridges, it was cold but fine. We ended up at Notre Dame and sat in silence for a while.We looked for another famous church in the vicinity but couldn't find it. So we came back to Picpus where the hotel was and said our goodbyes till the morrow.

The next day Alexia brought Christophe, her boyfriend, along and I was pleased to see him as the last time had been a while. We went to the Place des Voges, with the beautiful buildings, and the lovely galleries (and expensive!). We wandered along and ended up in the Rue des Rosiers, the Jewish quarter and nearly ate felafel but decided on a Parisian restaurant a little further along. They left me in Picpus and a little later on I went to the Place d'Italie to have a wander and a beer-absolutely delicious!

final part next time
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Paris in the winter (contd)

My dear Friends
Both the Rodin and the Henry Moore exhibitions were great-Rodin had the edge on spirituality, with a fine bust of The Kiss and John the Baptist. I felt that Henry Moore's figures were strange and rather lifeless. But it kept me busy for quite a while until I wandered outside to have a coffee and a little walk.

I came across a nice American Jewish lady who was a Quaker and cared a lot about Peace. Her son, who was with her lived in Toulouse, my favourite French city because of the light. They call it 'La ville rose.'After this conversation I headed for Monmartre and Sacre Coeur.

I got out at Pigalle, where Edith Piaf was reputed to have been born in the street. Not a very nice neighbourhood by night, it was very lively and interesting by day and I had a good walk along the shops, stopping now and then to have coffee in one of the nice coffee shops. Then I turned left and could see the dome of Sacre Coeur rising above the landscape and the place milling with tourists and pilgrims. I felt lazy and took the funicular lift to almost the top. Inside a Mass was going on-I had been earlier in the day but shook hands with a bunch of folk and said Shalom at the peace. I prayed a while and walked all around, sitting from time to time in one of the side chapels.

To be continued
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Paris in the winter

My dear Friends

I have a habit of going to Paris in the winter, where it is really cold. But I have a close friend there and so I was particularly looking forward to it. I met Alexia when she was working in a cafe in Cambridge, to earn money for her studies at Anglia Ruskin university- this was back in 2006.

This time I took the Eurostar last Monday, to arrive in Paris at around 5,30pm and I would have the first 36 hours alone. I booked into the Hotel , where I had been two or three times before and climbed up to my little room on the top floor.It was warm and cosy. There was only a bed, a wash hand basin and table in the room but it was opposite the loo and shower.

After resting a little i took a stroll in the cold night air and decided on a meal in the local Chinese restaurant, where they remembered me from previous years. I had a delicious chicken soup and chicken for the main course and then went a little further afield to have a coffee in my favourite bustling bar where they also remembered from previous years.

I had a good night's sleep and in the morning, hearing the bells ring, went to Mass in the Iocal Church. I had planned to go to the Rodin museum and when I arrived, there was a Henry Moore exhibition on as well.

To be continued

Shalom from

Sister Gila

Shoah

My dear Friends

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. Many years ago, I went into a church on this day and said(to God): 'I know you won't tell me why, but just tell me it had meaning.' And the immediate response seemed to say: 'Yes, it had meaning.'

It seems very hard to feel there is meaning when 6 million Jews, 6 million of my people, perished in such horrific circumstances. To say nothing of the gypsies, homosexuals and disabled people who perished too. It is said that some Jews died with the Hear o Israel prayer on their lips,as if they knew they were part of a higher destiny. Some survivors lost their faith in God and some committed suicide.

I believe there is no evil, however great, without redemption. This is what I was brought up to believe as a child and what I believe more fully as a Christian. In the last 60 years we have seen the emergence of the State of Israel, with all its failings and we have seen the survivors of the Holocuast either live in Israel or spread out with all their extended families to all parts of the world.Despite the terrible things that go on, we still see even more acts of heroism and of love, and that, of course, is the key.

Shalom from
Sister Gila

Countdown to Paris

My dear Friends

I am only 24 hours away from my trip to Paris. Tomorrow morning I take the train to London Kings Cross and go a few steps to St Pancras, where I will catch the Eurostar to the Gare du Nord. I have made this journey several times in the past but I am still excited. I will have the first 36 hours alone and have to decide what to do. I will report back to you next week.

The weather is cold in Cambridge again and, from past experience, it can be bitter in Paris at this time of year. So I will take a warm coat. Then I will get my head round the metro and hope for the best. I always say that the good Lord gave me a few gifts but a sense of direction was not one of them. So I tend to ask a lot from passersby in the street. Luckily my French is not too bad, a bit rusty, but hopefully it will improve on the trip.

See you in five days! Be well and warm
Shalom from
Sister Gila

Happy New Year

My dear Friends

I hope it is not too late to wish you many blessings for this New year. I hope it will be full of good things for each of you, health and happiness.

I had a quiet New year's Eve although I could have gone to a party. One of my friends was holding a party with folk and circle dancing. I felt a bit reticent, especially as I had not got my guitar out for quite a while. It was only yesterday, when another friend was visiting me that he asked me to sing and I did and it felt good. The next step is to practise enough to do a gig in Starbucks.

Do you have any plans for this year? I am going to Paris on the 20th of January, to see my friend Alexia. Alexia was studying at Anglia Ruskin University here when I met her in 2006. We met in a cafe in the town, where she was working and became good friends. I have already been to Paris in previous years to see her (she's French and lives there) but its been a while. Wonder if it will be as cold over there? On one previous occasion in December it was absolutely freezing!

I have the luxury of going on the Eurostar. When it goes through the tunnel, I feel its a miracle! I will tell you all about my five days there on my return. In the meantime, keep warm!

Shalom from

Sister Gila