...for a memorial service for His Honour Alan King-Hamilton QC, a dear friend who died this year at the grand age of 105. It was a most beautiful service - to hear the prayers sung in Hebrew was wonderful and moving, and we all joined together to say the 23rd Psalm in English "The Lord is my shepherd...." The first Scripture reading was "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God".
Fine tributes were paid to Alan, who was not only a distinguished judge and a brilliant public speaker but a man who lived by the highest standards, a patriot who truly loved his country, and one who always worked for the common good. There were some delightful memories from members of his family, and fine stories of his life on the Bench.
The synagogue is an impressive building with a great atmosphere of prayer. We went out to "Nimrod" and I have kept the Order of Service with its prayers: "Master of mercy, cover him in the shelter of Your wings forever, and bind his soul into the gathering of life. It is the Lord who is his heritage. May he be at peace in his place of rest."
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5 comments:
That's a bit naughty. If the order of service contains Hebrew text it will contain the name of God, and so you are not meant to take it out of the synagogue.
Not so Malcolm. You can take it wherever you'd like. Most Jews would object to you taking it into the loo, but there is nothing wrong with taking the order of service, in fact you're meant to.
Honestly, I should keep a list of the all the "laws" I have heard from well intentioned non-Jews that bear no relation to our own set of copious instructions!!
And, I might add, the West London Synagogue is a Liberal one, so there's even less to be worried about.
No, the West London Synagogue isn't a Liberal one, it's a Reform Synagogue. But Janjan is right. There's nothing to stop you taking the Order of Service out of the building. Strictly speaking, anything with G-d's name on it ought to be buried in sacred ground rather than thrown away, but there's certainly no prohibition on taking it out of the Synagogue. But the fact the Synagogue is Liberal, Reform or Orthodox is neither here nor there!
Joanna - I'm thrilled to read that you enjoyed the service. I think that my Grandfather would have enjoyed it too.
What words..
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