Jami marked its ninth Mental Health Shabbat from 31 January–1 February, and the first as part of Jewish Care, to raise awareness of mental illness and distress in the community, to encourage conversations on mental health and to share ideas on how to support ourselves and each other.
Using helpful resources from the Jami Mental Health Shabbat toolkit, hundreds of synagogues, schools, youth groups, university J-Socs, organisations, individuals and families throughout the UK, celebrated this important Shabbat, together with several of Jewish Care’s services.
Jami service user Jonathan, who regularly attends the charity’s hub in Finchley for people with long-term mental illness, said,
“Jami Mental Health Shabbat acts as a focus, once a year, for people to think about mental illness and to learn that there is help out there. Mental illness isn’t just going to go away, so we need an annual event like this to keep it at the forefront of people’s minds and to help them understand that it’s a real problem and that they need to keep donating to the cause.
“If, as a community, we keep talking about mental health issues, we will gain a greater understanding of how it affects people’s lives. It’s also important that people know where to turn for support, should they need it, so that they don’t feel alone in the world. Because if they know that there’s somewhere like Jami where they can turn, it helps them to keep going. Jami has been a real lifeline for me.”
To raise money for Jami’s mental health services, many people signed up to participate in Jami’s Host a Meal initiative, inviting family and friends over for a Shabbat meal and requesting a donation, instead of flowers or wine. On Sunday evening, the whole community was also invited to a special edition of Open Mic Night at Head Room, Jami’s social enterprise café, supported by The Maurice Wohl Foundation, to celebrate creativity, foster community, and have fun.
Daniel, who regularly attends the community programme at Head Room, was among the performers. He said: “The darkness that we talk about in Parashat Bo during Jami Mental Health Shabbat is very appropriate for me. I often get a feeling of darkness when I wake up. People don’t always realise how hard it is to deal with mental health issues. Coming to Head Room helps me to get over the darkness I feel. It is such a positive place to be and somewhere that people can connect with each other, whether they’re coming to a group or popping in for a coffee or something to eat. I like the mix of people here, who come from all walks of life.”
The personal accounts of some of Jami’s Redbridge hub service users on their mental health journey and the way Jami supports them were read out at Ilford Federation Synagogue’s kiddush, to help the community better understand and encourage discussion about these issues.
Stanmore & Canons Park Synagogue held an experiential art therapeutic workshop that highlighted the role of community in providing support to others and focused on the extent to which even someone without formal training or qualification can contribute to help someone else. Participants were invited to take part in a hands-on session of collective image-making, gain insights into mental health and connect with others in a meaningful way.
At Western Marble Arch Synagogue, Jasmine El-Gamal, a staunch mental health advocate who has served three US Secretaries of Defence, advising on Middle East issues in times of crisis, gave a talk and Q&A on her efforts to humanise policy discussions and advocate for mental health and wellbeing in high-stress environments. Rabbi Daniel Epstein, Senior Rabbi at Western Marble Arch Synagogue, also led a special Kabbalat Shabbat Live service, marking the last ever United Synagogue Kabbalat Shabbat Live.
At Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue in Edgware, Rabbi Joel Levy held a learning session on mental health during Friday night dinner. And, following a kiddish lunch, Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Leon Rozewicz led a discussion on anxiety and depression for members of the Mosaic Jewish Community. Meanwhile, Cheltenham Synagogue organised a ‘walk and talk’ for Jami Mental Health Shabbat, visiting interesting places on the walk.
Maccabi GB held a One Minute for Mental Health, where all league games were paused for one minute to allow football players, managers and supporters to think about their own mental wellbeing and that of those around them.
A number of people associated with Jami and Jewish Care also spoke at events across the community. Philippa Carr, Jami’s senior mental health education and suicide prevention manager, spoke at Loughton Synagogue and will be speaking at Finchley Progressive Synagogue. She said, “This year I am focusing on the biggest challenges to our mental health that we face as a community, such as antisemitism, the cost of living crisis, young people, care of older adults and the continuing impact of October 7 and the unrest in the Middle East. We are living in a changing world and uncertainty seems to be one of the key themes for our contemporary lives. Uncertainty has an impact on our mental health. It affects our self-confidence, self-worth and sense of agency. This is a time for us to come together to find support through community and connection, which we know can protect our mental health.”
Meanwhile, at a joint Friday night dinner between Woodford Forest United Synagogue and Jewish Care’s Redbridge Jewish Community Centre, speakers included Richard Shone, Jewish Care’s Director of Community Services, Volunteering, Social Work & Hospitality; Aryeh Miller, Chief Executive of the Union of Jewish Students, who said a few words about the impact of mental illness on students; and Andrew Markovitch, the Jami Ambassador for Woodford Forest United Synagogue. Andrew said, “As a Jami Ambassador, I get to help educate, be open and listen to members of our shul community who need help and signpost Jami’s services for support. Our mental health is important every day, not just on a particular Shabbat. However, marking this weekend is important for those who may be a little nervous about speaking about mental health at other times. Things have improved over the last eight years. However, there is still a stigma associated with mental health. The more we have events like this, hopefully the easier and the more normalised mental health will become – just like physical health.”
As well as Andrew, other Jami Ambassadors also came out in force. Joey Kolirin, the Jami Ambassador for Mill Hill Synagogue, who is also a mental health awareness campaigner, spoke at the Young JW3 Mental Health and Wellbeing Friday Night Dinner and to members of Bushey United Synagogue. He said, “The basis of my story and what I speak about is that things aren’t always what they seem and to look deeper ‘behind the smile’ in a bid to understand and support those suffering. When I was in the depths of my depression, I felt alone, isolated and like no one understood me. Now that I have built a level of recovery, I want to help others to understand, with the view of helping.”
Jay Dor, the Jami Ambassador at South Hertfordshire and Edgware Masorti Synagogue, focused on mental health at the synagogue’s regular learning breakfast. He said, “One of the fascinating sermons provided in the Jami Mental Health Shabbat toolkit springboarded us into a discussion around what the community can do more of to support mental health. We thought about all the reasons why people may not attend services and discovered ways in which we can be more inclusive as a community. Some members shared their experience of receiving support from Jami.” The synagogue also hosted a meal on Friday night after the service. Jay said, “I heard some wonderful discussions at the tables supported by the conversation cards provided in the Jami toolkit.”
Jewish Care’s services also got on board. Challah Makes were organised at The Ronson Family Community Centre at the Sandringham campus in Stanmore and at The Sam Beckman Centre for people living with dementia at The Betty Asher and Loftus Centre in Friern Barnet, where year-8 pupils from JCoSS joined the Centre’s members to make challah, candles and Shabbat cards together. Another intergenerational experience was held at Southend and Westcliff Jewish Community, where members came together with a local school choir, to mark the weekend.