ב״ח
St. John’s Wood Synagogue
37/41 GROVE END ROAD, LONDON NW8 9NG
Office Hours: Sunday to Friday 10 am – 1 pm
Office Tel: 020 7286 3838 Fax: 020 7266 2123
Registered Charity Number: 242552 - The United Synagogue
Website: www.shulinthewood.com
Email:
Rabbi – Dayan Ivan Binstock BSc – Tel: 020 7289 6229
Chazan – Cantor Moshe Haschel – Tel: 020 7483 1017
Administrator – Mrs Jennifer Weider – Tel: 020 7286 3838
Director Seniors Care – Mrs Yaffa Amit – Tel: 020 7286 9810
Director of Programming – Richard Harounoff – Tel: 020 7266 5755
Youth Director – Rafael Joseph – Tel: 020 7286 8336
Certificates of Religious Practice for School Entry
Following the adverse judgment in the Court of Appeal some of our Jewish schools have been forced to adopt a religious practice test for 2010 admissions.
We understand that in some cases the schools will be asking you to complete a Certificate of Religious Practice (CRP), which includes verification of synagogue attendance.
We are therefore asking that everyone, whether a member or not, who wishes to have their attendance at synagogue verified for school admissions purposes complies with a set procedure (copy attached), which includes:
· Pre-registration of attendance
· Making oneself known to an authorised official when attending
· Receiving a signed CRP only if attendance has been verified
This is a task that I would much rather we were not being asked to undertake. However, we wish to provide assistance to our Jewish schools as they have been placed in an incredibly difficult situation forced upon them, because, and only because, of the Court of Appeal’s decision. It is important therefore to point out that this process does not confirm Jewish status.
If you have any questions in relation to this process please contact Mrs Jennifer Weider on
I look forward to welcoming you to our synagogue and hope that by following this simple procedure we can minimise the disruption and discomfort that this process will create.
With best wishes
Keith Breslauer
Chairman
Jewish School Admissions 2010
PROCEDURE
(Amended 14th September 2009)
Recording Attendance at Synagogue for the purpose of
completing a Certificate of Religious Practice (“CRP”)
1. Any person who wishes to have their attendance recorded for the purposes of a CRP (“the Attendee”) must submit his/her, and his/her child’s, full name, address and date of birth to the synagogue administrator, as soon as possible, but not later than 10 am two days before the first Sabbath or Yom Tov on which he/she wishes his/her attendance to be recorded.
2. The Shul administrator will create a Register of attendance to be used for each Shabbat and Yom Tov service.
3. Andrew Mainz and Susan Kosky have been appointed Registration Officers (RO) who are responsible for the Register and will ensure that attendances are properly recorded.
4. On Shabbat and Yom Tov the Attendee and his/her child must report in person to the RO on each occasion they attend synagogue, and may be asked to confirm their address and date of birth (please ask at the Shul door for further details). The Register will be open in the Bride’s Room between 10.45 am and 11.15 am.
5. For weekday attendance, please report to either the Rabbi or Honorary Officer who will make an appropriate record which will be retained for future reference.
6. All records will be confidential, and will only be used to enable the authorised official to sign the CRP.
7. We appreciate that in a very few cases, pre-registration may not be possible for the Rosh Hashanah service. In these rare circumstances, the Register will be re-opened immediately after Second Day Yom Tov, and as long as the person who wishes to have their attendance recorded for the purposes of a CRP has attended the Second Day Rosh Hashanah Minchah Service which immediately precedes the end of the Yom Tov, and stays until after Ma’ariv, they will be registered and their attendance at that Minchah Service only will be recorded.
8. Sickness - We regret that we are unable to certify attendance if you have not attended synagogue as a result of sickness. In those circumstances, we will certify attendance in accordance with the register and we suggest that you send a covering letter to the school explaining that non-attendance on certain days was as a result of sickness and attaching a letter from your doctor where possible.
9. Attendance at other US synagogues - If you will be attending more than one US synagogue over the next few months we would ask that you pre-register at each synagogue. When submitting your CRP for completion you should indicate which US synagogues you have attended. The RO will then check the attendance register at those synagogues before completing the CRP. Please submit the CRP for completion by the synagogue which you have attended most often during the relevant period.
10. Attendance at non - US member synagogues - We regret that it will not be possible for us to certify your attendance at a synagogue which is not a member of the US. Where you have attended a non-US member synagogue over the relevant period, we suggest that you ask the Rabbi of the other synagogue to complete a CRP and then send both certificates to the school with a note of explanation.
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