Reform road testing its first Haggadah
BLACK LEATHERS, a Harley-davidson, the open road — and now a potential TV showcase.
Some of the 120 members of Yids on Bikes, the UK’S Jewish club for motorbike enthusiasts, are set to be featured in a Sky TV series.
YOB President Loren Shefer is negotiating with Back2back Productions for a six-part documentary about the group heading to Canada to mark Yom Hashoah on the 2,000-mile “Ride to Remember,” organised by the international Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance.
“We are looking for serious riders,” he said. For Mr Shefer, “it’s a ride I’ve always wanted to do, but it’s usually in the US. It takes in Holocaust museums and synagogues.”
Fellow YOB member Doron Aminoff, 39, rejected the notion “that Jews and motorbikes don’t mix. But we’re not like the Hell’s Angels. We ride a variety of bikes — we’re very diverse.”
The group gets together twice monthly for rides into the countryside around London, but members sometimes head off as far as Devon.
YOB is the only UK group of its kind but there are four dozen worldwide, with titles such as Hillel’s Angels, Kosher Hogs and the King David Bikers.
Mr Shefer accepts the group’s name is controversial, but explains: “We did want it to spell out ‘yob’. We wanted to reclaim the word from meaning chav or hoodie.”
There are a dozen female Yobs and another member is Elvis Shmelvis, the Jewish Elvis impersonator.
Originally started in 1996, “we didn’t form into an organised group until around a decade later,” Mr Shefer said. “When the Facebook group began, we had so many more members. We took part in the Salute to Israel parade three years ago, with Magen Davids and flags on our bikes.”
Retired property investor Steven Taylor, 63, has put himself forward for the ride to Canada. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said. Mr Taylor has been riding a motorcycle since he was 16. “It keeps you young and keeps you fit. My Harley weighs 360 kilos — you have to be pretty fit just to lift it.”
THE REFORM Movement is piloting its first Haggadah this Pesach in a number of synagogues and members’ homes with a view to full publication next year.
Manchester, Wimbledon and Thanet Reform synagogues will be among congregations trying out Haggadateinu, “Our Haggadah”.
Produced by a rabbinic team led by Rabbi Paul Freedman of Radlett and Bushey Reform Synagogue, it is illustrated with papercuts by Herts folk art- ist Suzy Taylor. As with the new Reform siddur of 2008, it uses gender-inclusive language and provides transliteration of Hebrew into English letters.
“The publication of our own Haggadah is a significant moment for the movement,” Rabbi Freedman said. “The themes of Pesach — freedom leading to responsibility and social action — are core values of Reform Judaism.
“It’s therefore incredibly exciting that at last we will have our own beautifully illustrated Haggadah reflecting our deeply-held beliefs.”