The festively decorated hall and delicious coffee aroma greeted a group of approximately 70 ladies representing about 25 Shuls in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The occasion was a morning of appreciation of ladies who care deeply about their communities and in one way or another contribute to the fabric of their vibrant Shul life.

The ladies were welcomed by Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein who pointed out that they should not underestimate the thousands of mitzvot that they accomplish in their community work.

A short experiential exercise followed where Rebbetzin Wendy Hendler facilitated the ladies being asked “What do you bring to this work?” The overwhelming response was one word “LOVE”. Love of community, love of their work for their community. It was a very profound moment which moved some to tears.

Rabbi Dovid Baddiel, recently appointed Dayan of the Beth Din spoke on various aspects of the Shabbos kitchen and common problems that face observance of Shabbos in a modern setting.

The morning proceeded with a display and short talk by Aviva Egdes on table decoration which was well received.

The concluding presentation was by Alan Bender, master chef, who taught fish recipes and cheese fondues and gave fascinating insights into his own career as a chef. Everybody participated in tasting the smoked fish speciality and cheese fondue.

Mrs Lisa Zimmerman coordinated the function and made sure that many prizes were handed out. Every lady also went home with fresh orchids.

The morning was a tremendous success and the Community Development Division of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues hopefully will turn this into an annual event for all ladies who contribute to the well-being of their communities. A date has already been set for next year.

The community development division came into being three years ago with the intention of the UOS reaching out to member communities and networking, educating and helping the members to run the communities more efficiently, dynamically and in a more exciting way. Helping shul management teams to meet and discuss common issues with a view to enhancing their services to Shul members.

To date community development has run a education programme to every Shul in South Africa which was spearheaded by Mr Robin Treger (Chairman, CD). This programme was well received and had tangible results from participants. Big things and small things. This included a number of trips to CT and to DBN where Robin was asked to return a number of times. Since then community Development has hosted a number of successful events including a secretary’s day for Shul Secretaries (twice), a Gabbai’s 5 part workshop and most recently a wonderful morning of appreciation for Shul lady volunteers. This last event was so successful that a date has already been booked for next year. There is a strong sense that many volunteers are not appreciated and valued and yet they often are the backbone of successful community functioning. This morning went a long way towards expressing community appreciation to these unspoken heroines of UOS Shuls. It was humbling to hear of the deep love that these ladies have for their shuls and many were moved to tears by the heartfelt expressions on this morning. They came from JHB, Pretoria and represented about 30 member communities. The event was driven by Lisa Zimmerman.

Rabbi R Hendler