26 November 2015

A service held at Hatherley Village Hall in Gloucestershire on Saturday was very special for two reasons.

Firstly, it included 56-year-old Trish Bluett’s batmitzvah ceremony, which welcomed her into the Jewish faith. Trish mastered the Hebrew language to read a section of the Torah, which she followed by her witty interpretation of one of the stories.

The other very important reason was that the treasured, old and valuable Scrolls owned by the Cheltenham Hebrew Community had just been lent to the Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community (GLJC) and these were being used for the first time. This gesture reflected a growing co-operation between the two very different local communities.

“It was a wonderful service combining so many firsts for our community” said Jill Rosenheim, Chair of GLJC.

“It was the first time we used the Scroll that we now have on permanent loan from the Cheltenham Hebrew Congregation (CHC). It was the first time that we had representatives from the Board of CHC present at our Shabbat morning service. For the first time we were able to use our new rimonim that we have been generously donated by an anonymous donor with the new scroll and it was the first time that adult batmitzvah, Trish Bluett was called to read from the Torah and to deliver her first Dvar Torah.”