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“Once upon a time....”How to tell your community’s story and why it matters
Rabbi Baruch Levin and Mark Berg, Brondesbury Park Synagogue
July 2016
“Where you have come from is just as important as where you’re going... “History and our Future Imperative
From 1902 Jews settled in the new suburbs of Willesden and Brondesbury
In 1905 the first permanent synagogue in the area opened on Chevening Road, an
orientalist red-brick building with Moorish domes and arches
In the 1920’s and 30’s a second wave of immigration into the local area led to the
establishment of several small communities, often at first held in private houses
Gradually synagogues were constructed - Cricklewood Synagogue in Walm Lane in 1923,
Harlesden in 1928, Willesden Synagogue in 1934 and Dollis Hill in 1937
In its heyday the area boasted 2 Jewish schools, 5 synagogues and numerous shtiebels
It was a strong thriving community with an abundance of charity committees, ladies guilds,
butchers, bakers, and other kosher shops
In the mid 70’s the community began to decline, and was ultimately reduced to a single
shul when Walm Lane (Cricklewood) closed its doors in 2005
Jewish Life in Willesden
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Jewish Life in Willesden – images
Brondesbury Shul Cricklewood Shul
Willesden Shul Dollis Hill Shul
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Our start point
Formerly the shul hall and cheder classrooms of Willesden Shul, this has been the premises of Brondesbury Park Synagogue since 1998
The main synagogue building located on Heathfield Park had been sold off in 1998 leaving the community hall and classrooms above to serve the community. The space, though unattractive, was more than enough. The cheder had long ago closed and many classrooms had been let out to community charities.
There was only a weekly shabbat Saturday morning service, poorly attended by an overwhelmingly elderly congregation. Mark’s young daughter Rachel was the first child to attend a service in a very long time after he moved into the area in 2002. The effusive welcome he received left a lasting impression.
There was no rabbi or chazan however a core leadership group led by the late Harold Fleischer (Financial Officer) and David Sellman (Chairman) ensured the continuity of the congregation and held the belief that in time Willesden would once again find favour with the younger Jewish population
Jewish Life in Willesden – clinging on
Local factfile for the
Mapesbury Estate Tuesday 10 September
2002
Property prices
Studios: £130,000 - £500,000
One-bedroom flats: £190,000 - £200,000
Two-bedroom flats: £250,000 - £280,000
Two-bedroom garden flats: £400,000 upwards
Semi-detached family homes (three to five bedroom): £750,000
Detached family homes (three -to-five-bedroom): £1.2 million - £3 million
Estate Agents
Cameron Stiff & Co, 275 Willesden Lane, NW2 (020 8459 1133) and 2 Willesden
Green Station, Walm Lane, NW2 (020 8450 9377).
Dutch & Dutch, 174 West End Lane, NW6, (020 7794 0075)
Transport
Trains: Silverlink Metro Line (Brondesbury station), Thameslink (Cricklewood
station).
Evening Standard Property feature September 2002
Overspill of young Jewish population from West Hampstead into Queens Park and Mapesbury area. Situated in Zone 2 with good quality housing stock and offering comparatively good value for money, especially for young marrieds seeking to upgrade from a flat to a house. North West London Jewish Day School is a key attraction for those with young children.
The chairman and vice-chairman set about creating a target list of known Jewish people living in the area and sought them out to give the shul a try irrespective of their degree of Orthodoxy
In 2004 Rabbi Baruch Levin was appointed Rabbi of Willesden Synagogue and supported by a strong lay leadership embarked on a mission to rebuild the local Jewish community. Rabbi Levin and Rabbetzin Kezi wanted the challenge of building a community from the ground up and saw the demographic potential of the area. They were emboldened to take the challenge through the warm support of the community balabatim who in turn were willing to finance (with the US) a three year business plan
In 2005 Willesden shul merged with Cricklewood, the only other remaining synagogue in the area, to form the new Brondesbury Park Community led by Rabbi Baruch and Rebbetzin Kezi. It was a textbook merger of two struggling congregations achieved without rancour and with all eager to embrace the new identity.
Jewish Life in Willesden – rebirth and renewal
Jewish Life in Brondesbury Park – rebirth and renewal
Over the last decade great progress has been made. Today we have:
541 adult members
334 children under 19
57% of the membership live within 1 mile of the building, the vast majority of whom moved into the area in the last ten years, and are between the ages of 25-45.
2 bar/bat mitzvahs every month
4 children services and 1 youth service every week
Successful cheder and nursery
Thriving adult welfare programme
Continual adult Jewish learning
ERUV plans approved and progressing
New Building plans largely funded
In the last year we added 40 new members and there were 19 births. Success has resulted in the revived community outgrowing its existing building
There is no doubt whatsoever that leadership is the sine qua non for a successful
community. We were blessed that Rabbi Baruch and Kezi had the appetite, the vision and
the energy to achieve our goal.
Rabbi Levin took semicha in Brussels under the tutelage of the renowned Rabbi Yehuda
Yeroslavski, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Malachi Israel. Baruch is the eldest son of Rabbi Shlomo
and Lynndy Levin and he together with Rebbetzin Kezi have applied what they learnt from
his parents’ revival of the South Hampstead community (in which they played a key role) to
Brondesbury Park. This welcoming non-judgmental approach, winning over less committed
Jews and turning them into regular shul goers, increasing their attachment to Judaism and
the performance of mitzvot, whilst continuing to provide the spiritual leadership desired by
the modern orthodox stalwarts of the community, has succeeded beyond all expectations.
What has been key to the Levins’ success has been the close partnership between them
and the lay leadership who have bought into their ethos from day one. There have been 4
chairman since Rabbi Levin joined the community and each has managed to maintain a
close personal friendship and professional relationship with the Rabbi.
Leadership is the key component...
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Brondesbury Park Core Principles (1)
The goal was to create a hospitable, cohesive, inclusive community following in Halachic
tradition. We want members to have a genuine affinity beyond their formal affiliation
A Warm Welcome: Every visitor receives a warm welcome from the Rabbi, Chairman,
Board Member. An effort is made to remember their name and reach out to them.
Hospitality and Friendship: Visitors are invited back for lunch to a member’s home or to
the Rabbi’s home. He and the Rebbetzin ensure that congregants have a shabbat meal with
them on a rotational basis. There is a shabbat hospitality rota. Most importantly
congregants entertain one another and form strong friendships
A Collective Endeavour: Everyone is made to feel they are capable of playing a role and
they do – from visiting the sick, tending to the flower beds, shouting out page numbers,
delivering shabbat challot, Pesach parcels, cooking meals for new mothers etc. Putting
something back into the Community from which so many have gained so much, comes
naturally. The shul works hard to foster a sense of community-mindedness, something that
many had instilled in them from an early age (especially those from the provinces)
Promoting a sense of community: Encouraging people to get to know one another through
social events, asking members to host new families, ensuring the community is represented at
milestone events in people’s lives (Bris, levaya, shiva etc)
Putting shul at the centre of people’s lives – apart from services, shul is there for all the
milestones in life – happy and sad – and provides a vibrant social life for all members of the
community. There are tailored events for the “not so young”, for newly marrieds, for
teenagers, for new parents as well as kids parties at Purim, Chaukkah and Shavuoth. Many
friendships transcend age.
Preparing for the long term – Soon after the shul’s renaissance began we established a
cheder and not too long after that a nursery. The cheder – uniquely a Monday night event –
attracted parents who may not have sent their children on a Sunday. Now many having been
exposed to the ethos of the shul and engaged with Rabbi Baruch have become members. The
same too has happened with the nursery. Both are key membership pipelines. The youth team
help keep the youth engaged at a challenging period in their lives and help nurture future
leaders of the community who can lead/take services
Brondesbury Park Core Principles (2)
Brondesbury Park: Sharing and Sustaining Core Principles
• The core values of the community are lived by example. The Rabbi and Rabbetzin and the lay leadership (the Board and Executive) lead by example.
• Our core principles are instinctive for some and learned behaviour for others. Congregants are proud to be part of a warm, welcoming, inclusive community – and they quickly learn what is needed to sustain that esprit de corps. This is especially so when they themselves can fondly recall their treatment upon first encountering Brondesbury Park Shul.
• Once people see all around them others volunteering their time and skills to the collective good of the community – they quickly understand that the expectation is that everyone will get involved to do what they can.
• Every sermon made by Rabbi Baruch instils our values whether tangentially or specifically. Guest speakers similarly are selected to reinforce those values. The Chairman communicates our values in his addresses and communications to the community.
• Our youth and children see and learn from the example of their parents.
We adopted modern marketing and PR techniques to raise the profile of the community and the project. Before long people were talking about BP as the “cool shul”. Whatever made us cool in the eyes of others – hopefully it was a reflection of our ethos – it certainly helped to create a buzz which prompted people to come and visit to try us out. Many have stayed and encouraged their friends along.
•Mark every event and take every opportunity to shine the light of publicity on your achievements (10th anniversary of Rabbi, inauguration, Chief Rabbi’s visit, Eruv progress, Fundraising for new build, Book Initiative, Purim/Chanukah Parties)•Build a relationship with the press (both to get them to cover events and put the right spin on your story), •Make yourselves available for comment•Build the narrative and reinforce it.
Brondesbury Park in the Press
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“Park Build”: The Brondesbury Park Synagogue
Redevelopment Project
Existing building
Proposed new build
NOV 2015 KISLEV 5776
The importance of having a community story -what we were/what we are/where we’re going and what we stand for
How to reinforce the story in all communications (written/sermons/Kiddush conversations etc.)
How you achieved this at Brondesbury Park
In the words of Max Bygraves „I want to tell you a story!“