School’soutforthe Chief’sconcertparty

IT MAY have been Tuesday but the focus was very much on the weekend as more than 1,400 Jewish primary pupils were joined by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis for a pre-Shabbat UK concert at Lee Valley Sports Centre in Edmonton.

After receiving a rapturous welcome from his young audience, Rabbi Mirvis wished each of the 20-plus schools “Shabbat UK shalom”.

“Shabbat UK shalom,” they chorused back in a seat-shaking wall of sound.

Pupils and teachers then sang, danced and clapped along as a band performed a selection of Shabbat songs.

“The best thing about this event is the fun and happiness within Judaism,” Rabbi Mirvis told the

“We’ve got incredible schools, we’ve got wonderful teachers, we’ve got amazing families who are sending their children to these schools and here we are seeing the most wonderful joy in Judaism.”

He went on to praise the efforts of Shabbat UK volunteers nationwide, adding: “Each year it gets better and this year we’ve broken all records, right across the board.

“Take, for example, the challah bake. The first two years we had amazing large central events. This year we’ve purposely decided to concentrate on local communities.

“The result is we have more people than before. The overall impact is simply amazing. So many of our communities have raised the bar and, in terms of programming, are achieving new levels of excellence.

“Shabbat means tranquility, peace, family, community, spirituality,” Rabbi Mirvis added. “Shabbat means everything that’s important in our lives.

“During the week, we have certain perceptions about what’s important — materialism, money, competitiveness among people.

“But ultimately what really matters most is what we celebrate on Shabbat and what we enjoy on Shabbat. And Shabbat UK brings this all out in a terrific manner.”

Yonatan Levy and Alex Hart, nine, and Erin Wax, eight, from Sachs Morasha Primary in Finchley, said it felt “good” to be at the celebration. They would “be doing activities” in classes” related to the event, they added.

Asked if they were looking forward to Shabbat UK, they responded with a resounding “yes!”.