Another wonderful Jewish festival season.

Another wonderful Jewish festival season.

Oh well there it goes. It's the end of another Jewish festival season. Simchat Torah marks the end of our glorious holiday season where rejoicing meets celebration and every Jewish community spends most of the next couple of days singing and dancing. Of course this is not to forget the excessive indulgence of the food and drink type.

We've loved every single moment and in a world of dreadful instability and explosive volatility it's nice to know that somewhere we can still link arms, form a circle and just trip the light fantastic with carefree and cheerful abandon. We can still believe that the families of the world and the children of the world can pass the baton onto the next generation without fearing for their life because the murderous elements that can't be seen are ready and waiting to dwell on our misfortune.

As the last glasses of wine, vodka and brandy were slurped down gleefully and a lavish spread of fish balls, carrots, crisps, cakes and biscuits were consumed with not a pang of guilt, the members of our Finchley Reform synagogue surrendered ourselves blithely to riotous partying and sizzling saturnalia. This was quite truly another one of those joyous days in the Jewish calendar where rabbis and melodious guitarists combined to present  us with another display of unfettered music making.

There were times throughout this memorable service today when you could have been forgiven that you were at some very mellifluous folk gathering where folksy hymns became a full blooded homage to the richly expressive world of the Jewish singing community. Occasionally there were nods to the world of the Christian gospel, as the whole Finchley congregation sung at the tops of their harmonious voices totally oblivious to the outside world.

After considerable reading from the Torah and sweetly tuneful prayer renditions from all the congregation, I suddenly noticed out of the corner of my eye a small file of children with equally as little toy Torahs, dazzling fancy dress and some of the most colourful costumes I've ever seen. Both mothers, fathers and grandparents weaved their way around the hall in and out of tables of well covered food, children with cheeky grins joined in and then delirious dancing broke out before lunchtime arrived. Another Simchat Torah entered its way into the archives of history.

On Yom Kippur day I had experienced perhaps one of the most intensely and musically rewarding of all moments. Nothing had prepared me for the most unlikely or improbable of any locations for a Yom Kippur service. But Saracens rugby union club in North London was the host for this amazingly unconventional religious gathering. But hey who cares? Last year I'd witnessed my first Saracens sing song and I just want to keep going back. It was simply stunning.

I have to tell you it was indeed the loveliest of all occasions. Suddenly I was transported to a world of wonderfully and spiritually uplifting choir led singing one which was a privilege to be associated with. Our voices blended almost angelically in beautiful unison. Throughout the whole of that long and emotionally tiring day, Jewish larynxes sang in heavenly harmony like ethereal angels that had just been prompted by some distant harp. It sent the warmest feeling of belonging into every bone and muscle in my body and for that I felt deeply honoured.

Today then we did it all over again. The whole of the Finchley community had gathered to sing, to celebrate, to rhapsodise, to acknowledge and express vast outpourings of gratitude to those around us, to neighbours, friends, friendly shopkeepers, sympathetic doctors, those who may be well intentioned and those who may think that they've been overlooked and forgotten. Fear not the Jewish community is full of cheerful, amiable fun, full of bubbling bonhomie and good wishes for the season. I know it's only October but Happy and Healthy New Year to you all. I think I'll swig down that final small glass of whiskey. Cheers everybody.