Ohel David Sephardi Synagogue – the only one in Essex! – has re-started its weekly Shabbat and Festival services after a pause due to Coronavirus, including its first Purim party for two years, which attracted over 30 people from across Essex last week (Wednesday 16 March 2022) for a Megilla reading and festive food and drink.
Shimon Tivoni, Chazan of Ohel David, Essex, said: “Our community offers a Jewish experience like no other in Essex. When people visit us for the first time, they say it is like being transported to another part of the world, like being in a synagogue in Jerusalem, Cairo or Baghdad. We are delighted to be able to celebrate Shabbat together once again and offer a warm welcome to both new and familiar faces.”
Ohel David is an independent community of Mizrachi and Sephardi Jews whose members have roots in Israel, North Africa, the Middle East, India – and beyond. Formerly based at Newbury Park Station, in early 2020 Ohel David moved to its new home at Cranbrook United Synagogue on Beehive Lane in Gants Hill. The congregation has longstanding roots in the local area and was originally part of the historic ‘Eastern Jewry Community’ of East London and Essex, which was originally established in 1965.
To find out more, visit www.facebook.com/oheldavidsephardi or www.oheldavidsephardi.org.uk
