PaL PROFILESFeaturing a selection of Phone and Learn Partnerships

MESSAGE FOR PaL

FROM THE CHIEF RABBI LORD SACKS

One of the greatest challenges facing wider Jewish society today is the

preservation of a strong Jewish identity in a rapidly changing, overwhelmingly

open and secular world. One of the most effective ways, perhaps the only way,

to ensure the survival of Judaism in such a society, is to provide opportunities

for Jews, young and old, to experience, live, know and understand their Jewish

heritage.

The organisation PaL, Phone and Learn, is a hugely important weapon in this

battle for a vibrant, living, growing Judaism in the 21st century. PaL offers

Jews of all ages, in all locations, and all stages and walks of life, the chance to

explore their Jewish roots through an hour a week of learning, discussion and

mutual connection over the telephone.

In this booklet you will find some of the inspiring stories of those who have

been motivated to further their Jewish journey under the Phone and Learn

umbrella.

I hope you will be moved and encouraged, as I have been, by the profound

impact that just an hour a week of Jewish learning over the phone can have on

an individual's life.

I wish Phone and Learn success in all its future endeavours.

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

Ellul 5771/September 2011

Sarit Sharman and Judith Moss

JUDITH MOSS

25

November 2005

Sarit Sharman

Shir Hashirim

Judith is a physiotherapist by

profession and registered with

PaL soon after leaving high

school.

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

The Jewish upbringing that my parents gave me

meant that I was always taught to seek answers to

my questions. Towards the end of my school career

at JFS I began to realise that while I was planning on

going to university for my career development, I

was leaving behind the comfort of a structure for

my Jewish development. After finishing school, I

decided to spend a few weeks learning on the

Neve campus in Jerusalem, and on my return to the

UK a former madricha of mine told me about PaL,

which was a brand new organisation at the time.

I was so fortunate to be matched up with a truly

wonderful tutor, Sarit Sharman. Over the years, I

have been a frequent guest at her home for

Shabbos and I can honestly say that she is like an

older sister to me.

When we first started learning together I was at

university and as a typical student, the fact that I

didn't have to leave my house to learn was brilliant. I

was doing a full time, intensive course and to not

have the additional travel time meant that my

Torah learning was even more protected.

Now that I'm working full time, the flexibility of our

relationship still allows us to always have that

protected time. We progress from one sefer to the

other and fit other topics in as and when we feel it's

the right time.

For me, learning Torah in the totally private

environment of my own home without distraction,

allows me to be completely focused.

I cannot imagine what the past few years would

have been like without Sarit and her family!

...in her own words

Learning

in the totallyprivate environment of

without distraction,allows me to be

Torah

completely focused

my own home

Joel Sichel

JOEL SICHEL

20

November 2008

Joel registered as a partner in 2008 and

learnt Kitzur Shulachan Aruch on Kibud Av

V'Aim until June 2009, when he left to go

to Yeshivas Ohr Someyach in Israel. On

his return to London in February 2011 he

re-registered with PaL, this time as a tutor.

AGE

JOINED PaL

ABOUT ME

I first encountered PaL at the Yeshiva and Sem fair

organised by the UJIA when I was in the 6th form at

Hasmonean. I was brought up in a Modern

Orthodox home and gained most of my religious

outlook from movements such as Bnei Akiva.

I really learnt a lot from my tutor Shloime Aisenthal in

the few months we studied together – it was the first

time in my life that I had voluntarily decided to set

up a time to learn so it was hard and required a lot

of will power.

At the time learning Torah was of no real interest to

me and the only drive I had was one of curiosity.

However, the experience has never left me and

since it was so significant, I have remembered most

of what I learnt then. PaL allowed me to experience

learning at my own pace and at my own will –

Shloime was the catalyst to start me off on a hugely

beneficial journey.

When I returned to the UK I got in touch with PaL

again and they asked me if I would be willing to

tutor for them. Since then, I learnt for a few weeks

with an American guy, Jeff Shwartz, who spent one

semester of his degree in London. Our learning went

really well and was very enjoyable. Before he went

back to the States we met up and did a big sefarim

shop together, and he recently emailed me to say

that based on his experiences in London, he has

decided to leave his Conservative congregation

and find an Orthodox shul to join.

I'm now about to start learning with someone in

South Africa. PaL has given me the opportunity to

try and give over to others what I have learnt to be

so important in my life – Torah – and I am glad to be

acquainted with such a profound organisation

whose goals and dreams I share.

...in his own words

PaL allowed me

to experience learning

at my

and at my

own paceown will

Michelle Belnikoff

MICHELLE BELNIKOFF

EARLY 30s

June 2009

Ruchie Cohen

Hilchos Shabbos

Michelle is married with 2 children and

lives in Hainault, Essex.

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

I grew up in Leicester – we were traditional rather

than religious but developed a strong Jewish identity

through our involvement in the community. When

my husband and I got engaged we started going to

shul regularly and began to take on more after we

got married.

As well as going to shul on Shabbos I used to go to

shiurim regularly and also learnt with one of the local

Rebbetzins in Essex. Once my first child was born, it

became much harder to maintain that

commitment, and Rebbetzin Edna Wilson of Clayhall

Synagogue recommended that I register with PaL.

My tutor, Ruchie Cohen from Stamford Hill, is

amazing – she is really busy with her family

commitments but still finds time to learn with me

every week. Over the last two years we've covered a

variety of topics including Shabbos cooking, the

parsha, davening, the book of Ruth and the festivals.

We have a really good relationship – Ruchie knows

my level and the sort of things I enjoy learning and

always makes our sessions relevant to me.

We've met in person twice – I went to her home for a

Chanukah lunch shortly after we started learning

and really enjoyed it. She made me feel so

welcome and it was great to put a face to the

voice! I also went to her daughter's wedding in

November last year, which was such a powerful

experience.

PaL has had a very positive impact my life and is so

practical. I try and implement what I've learnt

about Shabbos into my own observance of

Shabbos each week.

...in her own words

I try to implement

aboutinto my own

of Shabbos each week

what I’ve learnedShabbos

observance

My family was always quite involved in our local

Reform synagogue – at the time I had my

batmitzvah there at the age of 13, my father was

actually the Chairman. I didn't really feel very much

for Judaism though, and moved steadily away from

it until my mother passed away in 2005 and I started

thinking about the meaning of life. I actually looked

into Christianity but I knew I couldn't throw away all

my Jewish upbringing and felt that as a Jew, it was

not something I could ever believe in. I was directed

to PaL after asking a question to the Rabbi on

Aish.com and was soon matched with my tutor,

Rebbetzin Vicki Belovski.

Vicki is wonderful and has really made both myself

and my husband Rob a part of her family. We've

spent Shabbos there many times and been twice

for Pesach and Rosh Hashanah! Vicki was also the

catalyst in arranging mine and Rob's chuppah,

which took place in her lovely garden with her

husband Rabbi Belovski as the officiating Rabbi!

Vicki has never judged me for my lack of

knowledge or the speed at which I wanted to move

in my Yiddishkeit – though since we started learning

together we have started keeping shabbos and

kosher, bought completely new sets of pots, pans,

plates and cutlery and put mezuzos up in our home.

We've been welcomed into the Barnet synagogue

community where we live and made many new

friends – this is all due to the huge impact that PaL

has had on both of our lives. I have a busy life,

working different hours each week, and on top of

that I'm looking after my father who has Alzheimer's.

PaL has been – and still is – perfect for me, and I'm so

grateful.

...in her own words

Vicki has

me for my lack of knowledge

or the speed at whichI wanted to move in my

never judged

my Yiddishkeit

CAROLE LINDSAY

MID 40s

July 2008

Vicki Belovski

39 Melachos of Shabbos

Carole is a self-employed Nail Technician from

Barnet. She and husband Robert were married

civilly, 10 years ago, and were married by

Rabbi Harvey Belovski in March 2009.

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

Carole and Rob Lindsay

ROB LINDSAY

41

November 2010

Eli Sternlicht

Tefillah

Rob is a paralegal and although he only

'officially' registered with Phone and Learn last

year, he's been a member of the PaL family,

through his wife Carole, for quite some time!

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

I grew up in a household that I would describe as

'traditional' – there was an awareness and a

certain level of observance at home (we kept

kosher), with occasional shul attendance. As I grew

older I did drift away from this though.

Once Carole had started learning with Vicki and

after the wonderful experience of our chuppah

however, I became infected with some of her

enthusiasm and decided to give it a go myself.

My tutor, Eli Sternlicht, is wonderful – we hit it off right

away! I consider him to be an inspiration – he draws

such tremendous strength from whatever it is that

we happen to be studying that it makes me want to

learn and find out more. We go through everything

in real depth, and at just the right pace for me.

Although we have not yet met up in person, I know

it's going to happen one day!

PaL has been fabulous for me as it gives me just the

right amount of information to inspire me to go on

and learn more. Since joining the programme I

have become more involved in Judaism and

Jewish life and definitely have a stronger

appreciation of our faith and religion.

...in his own words

Since

I have become more involved in

joining the programme

Judaism and Jewish life

David Drapkin

DAVID DRAPKIN

32

January 2011

Mark Silkoff

Mesillas Yesharim and Mishna

Rosh Hashanah

David grew up in Birmingham

and is currently living and

studying social work in Leicester.

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

There are not many observant Jews living in

Leicester so from the start, PaL has been a

wonderful option for me. Ever since I spent time in

yeshiva in Israel about three years ago and

became much more interested in Judaism, I've

wanted more contact with Torah Jews, and to do

more learning to ensure that my skills do not

decline.

PaL is particularly special in that the programme is

free, which is perfect for me as a student!

I had a connection to Judaism in my childhood; as

a family we lit candles and made Kiddush on Friday

nights and celebrated all the chagim in a jovial and

s incere way. But there was no deeper

understanding as to what or why we were doing

those things. And from the age of 16, I completely

turned away from Judaism both as a religion and as

a way of life.

Since registering with PaL I learn with my tutor Mark

Silkoff each week over Skype rather than on a

conventional phone; it's fantastic as we can also

see each other over the webcam which definitely

keeps me engaged and attentive! I have also met

Mark and his family in person, when they invited me

for a Shabbat meal last time I was in London. Since

that time, I feel as though we really learn as friends,

and have a very warm, personal connection. It was

great that PaL matched me with someone close to

me in age and with a similarly wacky sense of

humour!

Living in quite a lonely city where I don't venture out

much, PaL is really valuable to me. Having an hour

of Torah a week gives me some fire and reignites my

passion to learn more and to always want to keep

learning.

...in his own words

I feel as though we really

and have a very

learn as friends

personalconnection.

warm,

Yvonne Soraf

YVONNE SORAF

EARLY 50s

February 2011

Baila Royde

”A Lesson a Day”

When it comes to the Sorafs, PaL is something

of a family affair. Since Yvonne signed up

early in 2011, father-in-law Ron and son Adam

have also come on board as PaL partners!

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

My Jewish journey has developed gradually over

many years. I was brought up in a traditional family,

attending cheder three times a week as a child and

going onto JFS for secondary school. But as I got

older my affiliation slipped a little bit – my husband

Gary worked as a bookmaker and was always out

on the tracks on a Friday night and Saturday, so

creating any sort of real Shabbos experience for my

children was difficult. Things started to change

when my daughter became more religious through

Aish – she dragged me along to her Rabbi for a

Friday night, left lots of her reading material lying

around and began keeping kosher. Eventually I

decided to start keeping kosher as well, and after a

while my husband quit his job as a bookmaker and

our household became completely observant.

There is still so much I need to learn but as a busy

childminder who works a very full day looking after

small children, getting to a regular shiur is simply not

an option for me. So I was thrilled when a local

Rebbetzin, Nechama Davis, put me in touch with

PaL. My tutor Baila Royde is just wonderful – if I could

just listen to her voice for an hour a week it would be

enough for me, but we're learning so much

together as well! No matter how stressed I'm feeling,

after our learning sessions I am totally relaxed and

happy. I met her entire family at the chassidish

wedding of her son in Stamford Hill – it was a

wonderful occasion and such an experience for

me!

The support that PaL has offered me is perfect for

my situation in so many ways and I'm so grateful to

them for matching me up with Baila!

...in her own words

No matter how

after our learning sessions

I’m totally

stressed

relaxedand happy

I’m feeling

Charles Wunsh

CHARLES WUNSH

IN HIS 40s

October 2010

Michael Wiseman

Halacha and the meaning of Tefillah

Charles is a buyer for a well-known

restaurant chain and is married with two

teenage children.

AGE

JOINED PaL

PaL TUTOR

CURRENTLY LEARNING

ABOUT ME

I grew up in South Africa, and attended King David

Jewish Day School. I would describe my Jewish

upbringing as ‘traditional South African’, rather

than frum. My parents lit candles every Friday night,

and I went to shul three times a year. My

grandparents were considered very frum; my

grandfather put on tefillin every day and they kept

a strictly kosher home, although my grandmother

drove and went shopping on a Saturday morning.

My own interest was sparked after my son Aaron

became more religious during his time at JFS (he is

now in yeshiva). At that stage we were going to shul

in the morning on Shabbat, and going to Spurs in

the afternoon. I started to become more involved

at Belmont Shul where I served on the Executive

Committee as the Financial Representative for

three years. I was spending so much time in the

building that I became more interested in the

spiritual side of things than the accounts! I stopped

going to football on Shabbat and even spent a

month at the Ohr Someyach yeshiva in Jerusalem.

We have since moved to Edgware where we joined

Kehilas Netzach Yisrael. It was whilst discussing my

learning with Rabbi Malcolm Herman of seed that

he suggested I try PaL, due to my busy work

schedule.

My tutor Michael Wiseman, from Golders Green, is

truly fantastic – he is the most patient person I know,

so encouraging, even when I make basic errors for

the hundredth time. We learn together twice a

week, for half an hour at a time; he's great to talk to

and we often schmooze as well – he has such a

sense of humour! PaL has been great for me – so

convenient; because we've chosen a time to learn

that suits us both, we rarely miss a session. It's

working well and I always look forward to it!

...in his own words

He is the most

I know, so encouragingeven when I make

basic errors for thehundredth time

patient person

1000JEWS

15COUNTRIES

4CONTINENTS

1TORAH

Get connected with PaL, Phone and Learn

Sign up today as a partner or tutor

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JEREMY ROSE BATIA WARHAFTIG ANNA SHIELDS AVRAHAM ZVI GOODMAN RIVKA SMITH RUSSI DEUTSCH HERSHEL ECKSTEIN RUTI COHEN MENASCHE SCHARF BINYOMIN ECKSTEIN DOVID LEITNER BATSHEVA PARIENTE SARA WITTENBERG SHARON HARRIS RIVKY WAJSMAN OSHER BADDIEL DEBBIE ADLER ESTIE BERGIN TAVYA HARRIS GITTY ARTMANN LAWRENCE LITTLESTONE RACHELLE HOMBURGER PINCHOS BRANDEIS SHLOIMO MERLIN MIRIAM BERGER BORUCH KAHAN JUDY SILKOFF SARIT SHARMAN YONATAN FISHER DEBBIE ROSEN RUVY WEINIGER SIMON GRANT DOV PHILLIPS PHILIP LAWRENCE MORD MAMAN SHLOIME AISENTHAL DEBORAH PASCOE ELI AARON BAMBERGER DEBBIE MARKS ALEX CHAPPER TOVA WEISMANDEL YEHUDA WITTENBERG DOV HARRIS DEBBIE COHEN ARI BLUM MALKY HEIMANN VICKI BELOVSKI ROSLYN TELLER SARA BENBASSAT SARAH WEINSTEIN SHLOIME ROYDE RUCHIE COHEN DAVID BOWDEN OSHER-YAAKOV MARKS CHAYA COWAN TOVA COHEN MICHAL EDER ESTHER ULLMANN KAREN BRODER DINI CUTLER SHMUEL HEIMANN HILLEL BRODER DANNY BINSTOCK CHANA DENDEROWITZ DEVORAH ECKSTEIN HANNAH KIRSCH YONNI KLAJN JJ ADLER NAOMI CEZANA BRUCHI FRIEDMAN NIKKI BELLOW ATARA FELD SHEVA HOFF CHAYA DEBLINGER TALI COWAN RICKY KLEIN AKIVA HACKENBROCH LEAH GELLEY ELI STERNLICHT DANIEL NISSEN JONNY LIPCZER DINI HELLER FAIGY SEGAL ALEXIE GEE JOEY JACOBSON SHIFRA HOPSTEIN MENACHEM RUSKIN PNINA KATZ ARI GLUCK CHANI WELTSCHER MARILYN SHARMAN RICKY RUMPLER ELI GITTELSON BAILA ROYDE MICHAEL BINSTOCK BORUCH KEDOURIE RUTHY COHEN NORMA JACOBS BINYOMIN HERSKOWITZ YOSSI ADAM MARK SILKOFF SAMANTHA HERSKINE EZRA ROYDE SHULAMIT BORDON RACHEL KLIEN OREN RECHT REBECCA BLOCH ZIPPY L E I G H S A R A F O R T A C H A N A N I S S I M Y A A K O V F R E I D M A NCHAIM EMANUEL LEAH HEIMANN EMILY COWAN JUDITH MOSS CHANTAL YOUNG JACOB MORRISON-WOOD DAVID DAVIS VALERIE BAUM SARA AMIN RICHARD LEWIS DARREN ABRAHAMS PHILIP EGBUNE ALEXANDER HOPPEN STEPHEN ROBERTSON LINDA ALLEN LAURA DOUEK GABRIEL WEISZ MIRIAM BLOOM ROBERT MITCHELL JEREMY ROBERTS ROSE RAFAELOFF BRACHA MARGOLIS STACEY NELKEN BETHANY CHINERY GINA OSEN STEPHANIE WOODROW CAROLE LINDSAY YSABELLA HAWKINGS ANOUSHKA LESTER SHOSHI HORESH ALAN SHORRICK LISA SAGER ADRIANNE REGAL JONATHAN BARON DALIAH STEMMER ROSE FRIEDLAND MICHELLE BELNIKOFF CARLY SANDFORD CHARLOTTE LEIGH ADAM HACKENBROCH NESSIM HULLI TANIA ARDEN LISA ELLENBOGEN OLIVER TENZER JESS HOD JANE VICTOR ADRIENNE LANGMAN PENINA BOWMAN ROCHELLE CHAKIMI EMMA FIELD NICOLA JACKSON CAROLINA SOCCIO AMELIA LEIGH JOSH NYMAN JACOB BERNSTEIN CHARLES WUNSH HELEN STIRLING DEVORAH BERNSTEIN RENA LIEBERMAN ROB LINDSAY ROBERT GREENSPAN ALEX WELKA DANIELLA MASSIAS SHULAMIS LEVY ELISHA HOPPEN DAPHNE TAYLOR JOSE FEIT DANIEL CHAKIMI DAVID DRAPKIN ELEANOR SPANJAR SOPHIE KING LOUISA MEYER GAVRIELLA GOLDBERG ELINA SHUKER RACHEL BARRY YVONNE SORAF NACHAMA RIFKA ORENSTEIN NICOLE SAYAGH MICHELLE SHIMANSKY JONATHAN ROBINSON STEPHANIE ABRAHAMS YEHOSHUA-CHAIM JOSHI GUNEL JANNATOVA JONATHAN WERTH JONATHAN ELLIS RIVKA SOBEL JEREMY CHOUISSA MIRIAM LANGLEBEN TALI BURNLEY JOHN WOODGER NOA GUENZEL RYAN PARKER CHANTELLE AROVO BENJAMIN BARUCH JEREMY KAUFMAN KAREN APPLEBY PENINA FORD NICOLE PAZ ELVIS SKENSBERG

Had trouble reaching

these people on

the phone recently?

10,000WITH OVER

HOURS OF PaL CALLS BETWEEN THEM,

IT’S HARDLY SURPRISING.

Phone and Learn (PaL) is a division of Partners in Torah*, USA www.partnersintorah.org, a unique Jewish identity-building initiative committed to

fostering unity among Jews of all backgrounds. PaL matches Jews who want to know more about their heritage with a friendly, knowledgeable tutor for an

hour a week of Jewish study and discussion, over the phone. *Partners in Torah is a project of Torah Umesorah. PARTNERS IN TORAH is a trademark of

Partners in Torah, a division of Torah Umesorah, the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools, and is being used under licence.

Registered Charity Number 111041

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