0:00:04 > 0:00:08This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18In Judaism, ten men are needed to conduct a service.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22These ten men are called a minyan.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Look who's here.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28We're only one short now.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Where have you been? Where were you?
0:00:31 > 0:00:35The Belfast community have held services in Northern Ireland
0:00:35 > 0:00:36since the 1860s.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40- Have you got your hearing aid in? - Yeah.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45But the members are getting older and numbers are down.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48You just need a gin and tonic and you're sorted.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53John. John! Follow him.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56So, today, every man is needed.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Because, for the first time in their history,
0:00:58 > 0:01:02the minyan in the Belfast community is under threat.
0:01:08 > 0:01:1220 years ago, the Belfast Jewish community was in much better health.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14It was the year of my Bar Mitzvah.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19That's me at 13 cutting the cake.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24But I was never religious.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28And, like many of my generation, I stopped going to synagogue.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Now, having my first child has made me reflect about myself
0:01:31 > 0:01:35and the Jewish community I left behind.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36Who do we have to reach out to?
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I want to know what happened and find out
0:01:39 > 0:01:43whether it's important to me that the synagogue remains open.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I think it's our last hurrah.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Following Jewish codes of practice takes a lot of effort...
0:02:07 > 0:02:08That's us.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11..especially if you live in Northern Ireland.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18If you do want to keep kosher in Belfast,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21you need to get your food brought in from Manchester.
0:02:25 > 0:02:31My parents brought me up in a strictly kosher environment.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33And I wouldn't be happy changing.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35I wouldn't want to change.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39This is it. It still looks the part.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42So we'll just stop here.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44My Uncle Elliot will soon be out.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- Right, that one's over.- Who's that?
0:02:53 > 0:02:59There's no point in bringing it in there and bringing it out again.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Sure that's stupid! Haven't I got Ross in my car already?
0:03:03 > 0:03:06What's it like working with family?
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Has its moments, basically. Good, yeah.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15Sometimes Elliot reminds me a bit of my father. Or even worse!
0:03:21 > 0:03:26These kids are being welcomed by the chairman of the community.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28He also happens to be my dad.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32How many people come to worship in the synagogue?
0:03:32 > 0:03:37The community has dwindled to such an extent now that
0:03:37 > 0:03:40there's only a number of years left
0:03:40 > 0:03:43where we can carry on supporting a rabbi
0:03:43 > 0:03:45and supporting services.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51Whilst we are an orthodox synagogue, there are members of this community
0:03:51 > 0:03:56who are almost secular, but they belong out of tradition,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59they like the tradition of being Jewish,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02but they wouldn't be very observant.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05At the head of this mainly moderate Jewish community
0:04:05 > 0:04:07sits a strictly orthodox rabbi.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12HE WHISPERS A PRAYER
0:04:13 > 0:04:17For him, life in Belfast has its challenges.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20With a young family and no Jewish schools here,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24his eldest boy, Shmuli, is educated at home
0:04:24 > 0:04:26with the help of his mum.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30She's a very good teacher. So... She's based in New York.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33THEY SPEAK HEBREW
0:04:41 > 0:04:44- It's not working.- Has it gone off?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49It's a way that the kids can have a Jewish education,
0:04:49 > 0:04:54so it's an online school, that's what it is.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58He goes online from about 2.30 to 4 o'clock.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02And he's got about eight kids or so in the class.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05There's actually no other kids physically around him.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08He needs to speak to the other boys.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09So, you want to do it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:10HE SPEAKS HEBREW
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Amazing. Very, very excited.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16OK, we're going to do the last bit again.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25So, where are we going now then?
0:05:25 > 0:05:30We're travelling up to see my father to deliver his goodies.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34So I hope we find him in good form.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Clear?
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I hope he doesn't find fault with me.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Come on in.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50That's Kitzle.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Hello Kitzle! It's Yiddish for "cuddles".
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Cuddles. She is cuddly. She's a lovely pussycat.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03She's getting on now in years. She's nearly 13.
0:06:03 > 0:06:04Hello, pussy.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07She's looking at you and saying, "What's this man doing?"
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Hello, pussy!
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Dad? Father?
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Hello? Dad?
0:06:14 > 0:06:19- You were very slow answering me... - I have a friend.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23You're only answering me now. I'll be down in a minute.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Right, Dad. Take your time.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28What? Just hold a second.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34There's father.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40ALAN LAUGHS
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Oh! A cameraman!
0:06:54 > 0:06:57It's a Jewish cameraman, Dad!
0:06:57 > 0:07:01- Shalom aleikhem. - Aleikhem shalom, eh?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- How are you keeping? - What can I do for you?
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Well, I'm not an able person, you know. I can hardly stand.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12But I'll do my best for you.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Do you want to sit over beside the pussycat, Dad?
0:07:15 > 0:07:17That's his seat over there.
0:07:17 > 0:07:24Alan, please give me room to get over to the chair.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I'm not a terribly religious man,
0:07:27 > 0:07:33but I like to keep up-to-date really with rules and all that,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35and keep up.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39I think a lot of my maker. I do.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Dad, there's chopped herring.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Oh, yes. Well, then, where's the meat?
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- The meat's in the bottom box, Dad. It'll go into the fridge.- That's OK.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Your father came to this country
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- round about the turn of the century, didn't he, Dad?- Uh-huh.
0:08:05 > 0:08:11My father was smuggled out of Riga, Latvia.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16He was actually smuggled across the border in a cock of hay,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18believe it or not.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Young Isaac Mathis was his name,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24but they changed it to Isaac Matthews.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28They would have a better life in the United Kingdom.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33And, as a result, he had a job to go to in Lurgan, of all places.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Which only, at its height, had about 15 Jewish families.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42He took on a business without being able to speak one word of English.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51But what about my family? Where did I come from?
0:08:51 > 0:08:55I wanted to learn more, so my dad and uncle went back with me
0:08:55 > 0:08:57to where it all began nearly 100 years ago.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07The family furniture business, which has since been sold.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Don't take it too far or it might stick.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Looking well.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23The first Jews that came to Northern Ireland were businesspeople,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- merchants, industrialists. - Linen merchants. Linen.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31In the linen business and in the shipbuilding and the rope-works.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33They came from Germany.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36But...
0:09:36 > 0:09:41- The main influx were Jews coming out of Russia.- And Poland.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46And they came with nothing.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51They were economic migrants escaping pogroms.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58And so where did our family come from, then? How did we end up in Northern Ireland?
0:09:58 > 0:10:02My grandfather was born in Krasnystaw in Poland.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04He wanted to go to England.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05And when he got to England,
0:10:05 > 0:10:09he didn't have the £5 entrance, so he went to Hamburg,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and then some charity gave him a suit and the money
0:10:12 > 0:10:13and he came to England.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17And then I actually don't know how he ended up in Belfast.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Well, he came over in 1908.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25In those days, he was known as Yitzchok Schwartz,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28but obviously that wasn't an English name,
0:10:28 > 0:10:32so the literal translation was Isaac Black,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35so he changed his name to Isaac Black.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42The community really peaked in the 1950s and early '60s.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45And then it stopped growing,
0:10:45 > 0:10:51and then it started to shrink round about the time of the Troubles.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53And that accelerated the demise.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02My family have settled in Northern Ireland for generations,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05but we don't follow a strict, observant Jewish life
0:11:05 > 0:11:06like the rabbi.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10OK...
0:11:10 > 0:11:13SHE SPEAKS HEBREW
0:11:17 > 0:11:23It was just surprising - and pleasantly surprising - that...
0:11:24 > 0:11:27That the Jewish people are living everywhere.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30What an active community it really is,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35and still continues to punch much heavier than its weight.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Circumstances change, you know? Life changes.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Even with home schooling, et cetera, et cetera.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45He needs a social life.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Every day I see it more and more, actually, so...
0:11:51 > 0:11:55We came here when I was pregnant - yeah, about five years ago.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I came with a three-month-old baby.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Now I have three kids.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12She's been so tired, she's been dying to go to sleep all day.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Finally she's just crashed.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31Twice a week, the community try to gather a minyan in the synagogue.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Every man counts if they want to hold a service.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Another new day.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- Good morning, John.- Good morning.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57- You look well. - Like a good Jewish boy.- Yes, yes.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- OK, John?- Yes. - Have you got your walking stick?
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Take your walking stick, John.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05- Well, we've all got to go eventually.- Yes.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- But I don't want to go just yet. - No, no.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I've got to let them know when I'm going!
0:13:18 > 0:13:21We need everybody to make the minyan, John.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- Well, I'm making the minyan. That's enough, isn't it?- Yes, yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26You're a real mensch!
0:13:26 > 0:13:27THEY CHUCKLE
0:13:32 > 0:13:34We're late.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Keep going, John. We like to keep the show in the road.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40I'll take your hand, John.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44We've arrived!
0:13:44 > 0:13:47- Shalom aleichem.- Shalom aleichem. - Shalom aleichem.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- We're here?- Yeah.- Already.- Yeah.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53We'll take your hat off and we'll get you a wee yarmulke on, John.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Be more comfortable for you, it's very warm today.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- It's the weather, you know.- OK.
0:13:58 > 0:13:59Come on, we'll go in.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03That's us.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04- Quite a few here.- Just a few.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07RABBI BRACKMAN PRAYS IN HEBREW
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Rabbi Brackman's been in Belfast for five years, now.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25But with a young family that needs Jewish schooling,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28they're feeling the strain.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30It's time to move on.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33It's a bit of a sad thing,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38to have to leave such a wonderful community.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42But...
0:14:42 > 0:14:45we have realised that our children
0:14:45 > 0:14:51are not going to be able to receive
0:14:51 > 0:14:53the education that we have hoped.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Now they will have friends that are Jewish,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and friends, hopefully, that will
0:15:01 > 0:15:04help them out in their Jewish practice and observance
0:15:04 > 0:15:06and their Jewish identity.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18They found it difficult to relate to...
0:15:18 > 0:15:20er...
0:15:20 > 0:15:26the provinces, and the fact that the community here
0:15:26 > 0:15:33is a mixed community of secular Jews, Jews and non-Jews
0:15:33 > 0:15:35all mixing together.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39And he just... I don't think he could cope with that.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41He was too strict.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Yeah, he... He just had never experienced it.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48HE IMITATES AN ENGINE
0:15:52 > 0:15:56I'll tape this...
0:15:56 > 0:15:57That's fine.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59You'll have to clear the...
0:15:59 > 0:16:01It's organised chaos, here.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- Are you excited to go to London? - Yeah!
0:16:08 > 0:16:09Yes?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Daddy?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Are YOU excited, Rabbi?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18A new place - a bit nervous.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29That's us.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35We're not healthy, but we're still here.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38# All day long I'd biddy biddy bum
0:16:38 > 0:16:41# If I were a wealthy man
0:16:41 > 0:16:44# Oh, I wouldn't have to work hard
0:16:44 > 0:16:48# Deedle deedle deedle eedle deedle deedle deedle dum. #
0:16:48 > 0:16:49Next.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52- Do you want to go inside?- No.- OK.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56- Mazel tov!- Oh!
0:16:56 > 0:16:57# Mazel tov siman tov
0:16:57 > 0:16:59# Siman tov umazal tov... #
0:16:59 > 0:17:01THEY SING
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Well, let's see what the recommendation is.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Have you picked?
0:17:13 > 0:17:14I don't have the answer.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I don't know the answer to that.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22- This could extend itself well into January.- Oh, yes.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- But we still have to have services here.- Yes.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26So, who's going to take the services?
0:17:26 > 0:17:27ALL TALK
0:17:27 > 0:17:30I'm not saying that for one minute, I'm just telling you...
0:17:30 > 0:17:31..get the right person...
0:17:31 > 0:17:33There's one of the applicants we don't know the age of -
0:17:33 > 0:17:36are we not entitled to ask him his age before we can see it?
0:17:36 > 0:17:38- And we don't know the marital status of...- No.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Well, you have a discretion of what you're going to do.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Do you either reject him or ask for further...
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Exactly, but they're saying we shouldn't be asking these questions
0:17:45 > 0:17:47of them - they should have had them on their CV.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50No, technically you can't ask them.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Their sexual orientation, how many children they have, you know...
0:17:53 > 0:17:55You bring somebody over from New York
0:17:55 > 0:17:59and we don't know what family he has, and then all of a sudden,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02"I've got five children and they all need schooling."
0:18:02 > 0:18:06- Well, you wouldn't short list him in the first place.- No.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09- So why bring him over from New York?- We could get sued...
0:18:09 > 0:18:13I think you've got to find out before you bring somebody over.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Can we go through the chair? There's too much going on!
0:18:16 > 0:18:19..all the ramifications that that brings about.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22We've had these applicants and they're varied,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and we have a choice, now.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- I remember watching him on television, Mr Chairman.- Ah!
0:18:28 > 0:18:30And I was most unimpressed.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34He struck me as being very close to being a nut.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36That's why he's applying here!
0:18:36 > 0:18:38LAUGHTER Yes!
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Prefect! He sounds perfect!
0:18:41 > 0:18:43THEY ALL SPEAK AT ONCE
0:18:45 > 0:18:47I presume he's a rabbi...
0:18:47 > 0:18:50This is a very good reference from him.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53But would we keep a guy like that busy?
0:18:55 > 0:18:58That may be doubtful, but if we could get him,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01he would be a great asset to us.
0:19:01 > 0:19:07We told them, as far as we could go, the minuses,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10from his point of view.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12But we told them we'd a glorious history.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17OK.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26I want to learn more about Belfast's history and my past.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30My dad told me to speak to my great aunt Lottie in Israel.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35She had arrived Northern Ireland as part of the second wave
0:19:35 > 0:19:39of Jewish immigrants into the UK around World War II.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44Lottie married into my family when she met my great uncle Maurice.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47He has since passed away.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54But Lottie is still going strong at 87.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55Am I on?
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Are you comfortable?
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Will you speak up?
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Can you not hear me?
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Yeah, if you speak up.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06I usually say I'm from Belfast.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10But then, sometimes, you know, people get curious, and they say,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12"Were you born in Belfast?"
0:20:12 > 0:20:14So I said, "No."
0:20:15 > 0:20:21My hometown is in Furth, which is a town in Bavaria.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24It's next to Nuremberg.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29I remember, I was only 12 - 11 or 12 -
0:20:29 > 0:20:32and I remember going over to the window to look,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36and I remember my father pulling us back from the window.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And said, "Stay away and keep quiet."
0:20:41 > 0:20:45And that's all I remember of the night of the glass, you know?
0:20:45 > 0:20:47We kept quiet.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Kristallnacht - every Jewish shop was targeted that night.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00As you can imagine, it was a very tearful parting from my father.
0:21:00 > 0:21:07I remember saying goodbye to him and holding on to his hand...
0:21:07 > 0:21:10This is a bit...
0:21:10 > 0:21:12And I got on the train,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16and there were about 500 other kids on the train.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20We travelled right through the night.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24In the morning we arrived in Holland.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28I came on the Kindertransport.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33People came from all over to adopt little refugees,
0:21:33 > 0:21:39and this family came from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45When I arrived in Belfast, it was a few months before war broke out,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49so I corresponded with my parents, until war broke out,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53and then all the correspondence ceased, stopped.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02When I was about 15 or 16 years old,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05I remember, I heard about the Jewish club.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12That's when I met my husband. The first time.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14That's how I met Maurice.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20I had brought with me
0:22:20 > 0:22:23a recording of my uncle that Lottie had never heard.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30'One of my friends was dancing with a girl.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:34'He was dancing with Lottie,
0:22:34 > 0:22:40'and he comes over to me and said, "Moishe, here's a girl for you."
0:22:40 > 0:22:44'And I got up and I took Lottie for a dance.'
0:22:48 > 0:22:52I think it was love at first sight. I don't know about him, but with me.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00After a while, I didn't consider myself any more as a refugee,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03I was just part of the community, you know?
0:23:07 > 0:23:09I'll show you the wedding picture.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12Oy.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Oh, here we are.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20SHE GIGGLES
0:23:25 > 0:23:26I'll set them down.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32I changed a bit since then, don't I?
0:23:41 > 0:23:44My aunt never made contact again with her parents or three siblings.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47They were lost in the concentration camps.
0:23:49 > 0:23:55Thank God I reached this day in good health, and God spared me
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and gave me all the happiness and joy.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Tonight is a very big night.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Tonight is the wedding of my granddaughter.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17And I'm so happy, I can't tell you.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24MAN SINGS IN HEBREW
0:24:42 > 0:24:45My time spent in Israel with my great aunt Lottie has brought
0:24:45 > 0:24:49home how important survival is in the Jewish psyche.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52MUSIC AND CHATTER
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Like many of her generation,
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Lottie's story is one of escaping the Holocaust
0:24:56 > 0:24:58by the skin of her teeth,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00and Northern Ireland played a central role.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05The joy that she takes in my cousin's wedding is more than
0:25:05 > 0:25:07just a marriage, it's about keeping her line going.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Maybe my father's generation's desire to keep the synagogue
0:25:13 > 0:25:17open in Belfast represents a need to keep these spirits alive.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22We're going to the George Best City Airport
0:25:22 > 0:25:27to collect Rabbi Singer and his wife Judy,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30who have taken up the post
0:25:30 > 0:25:35of minister to the Belfast Jewish community.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40We wanted an older couple, not encumbered with a young family.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43He has to be orthodox.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47But he's a forward thinking man
0:25:47 > 0:25:51and things don't stand still, so...
0:25:53 > 0:25:58..he will be tolerant of most of us
0:25:58 > 0:26:05who wouldn't be as observant as he would be or as one is supposed to be.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11That's the sort of person we really need.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29- Rabbi, welcome.- Thank you.- Welcome, welcome. How was your flight?
0:26:29 > 0:26:32It was really good. Very, very nice.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44That sign must've been up 20 years maybe.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59- Present you with a key, Rabbi. - Thank you very much.
0:26:59 > 0:27:07This is a mezuzah, it's the first two paragraphs of the Shema -
0:27:07 > 0:27:12sections taken from the book of Deuteronomy.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16And this is what I have written, and we now need to put it
0:27:16 > 0:27:20up on the front door, as is in the custom of every Jewish house.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31As we are entering the house,
0:27:31 > 0:27:36we look at the mezuzah and we remember
0:27:36 > 0:27:41the commandments that God gave us and that is the reason why we put it on.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47- Judy?- Judith! Do you call her Judith?
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- Judy.- Judy!- Sometimes, "Hey, you!"
0:27:50 > 0:27:52- No, no, no. Judy!- Hey, Jude.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Do you want come down and watch the mezuzah going up?
0:28:00 > 0:28:03- There we are. Done.- He does his own. - I do my own, yes.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Here's one he made a bit earlier.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Welcome to your new home.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22Hello, pussy. Could I be excused to get my glasses to see it?
0:28:22 > 0:28:27- It says "loading" on it. - That's it, Dad. This is the new one.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33- I'm no mug.- I'm not sure about the video recorder.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- Could I get in there again? - You want to come in here? OK. Right.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39- I just went for these. - Fair enough. Come on in.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42I'll be able to see it better now.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46KEYBOARD PLAYS STAR WARS THEME
0:28:50 > 0:28:52KEYBOARD STOPS
0:28:52 > 0:28:53THEY LAUGH
0:28:53 > 0:28:59- Quite dramatic!- You turn it off. - I was. There it's there. Here we go.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11- Oh, yeah, that's...- Oh, it's you. There's Alan.- That's me.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17The Matthews family archive
0:29:17 > 0:29:20tells the story of the Belfast Jewish community at its peak,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23a time of optimism.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26A new synagogue was constructed in 1964
0:29:26 > 0:29:29for the overflow of all the members.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Families had settled in Northern Ireland for two generations,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34and times where prosperous.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43- I was well nourished... - That's you, Alan.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46- I was well nourished in those days. - Yeah, you had a big attitude!
0:29:46 > 0:29:48- Maybe too well nourished.- Yeah.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50There's Father, there.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Big crowd of Jews there.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12- What was that occasion? - That's my Bar Mitzvah.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14I wasn't at that.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17I don't even remember being asked.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21- I don't remember being asked.- No, no.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25- Definitely not. So I wasn't there. - Cos Elliot married out.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- Sorry, what was that? - Elliot married out of the faith.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Things were a bit sensitive in those years.
0:30:34 > 0:30:40- How did you feel about that, Elliot?- It never bothered me.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44- Water off a duck. - These are very good.- Aye.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48He was a very loving father, actually.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- Cos Mummy wasn't too well. - I know.- But anyway.
0:31:02 > 0:31:08Another thing, Elliot, the tomatoes didn't get a watering.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11- Maybe if Alan went out now and put some water on it.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14- If I was free, I'd be watering them.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16- But you're not, so will Alan do it?
0:31:16 > 0:31:18- But tell him to be very careful.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21- Put a drop of water on his tomatoes.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23- The last one runs over.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25- There's the old... - Will you go and do that?
0:31:25 > 0:31:27OK. I'd better do what I'm told.
0:31:27 > 0:31:33Alan'll have the biggest strawberries...
0:31:34 > 0:31:38The new rabbi has a few important jobs to do.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Today, he is taking his teenage children that are visiting
0:31:41 > 0:31:43along for the ride.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47- Are we going to a river, or...? - No, we're going to the seaside.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58What we're doing is as follows.
0:31:58 > 0:32:05We have brought...bought in a shop some new cups and saucers
0:32:05 > 0:32:08and things like that, which, seeing as they're brand-new,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13and they haven't been made by Jewish people, so we dip them in a mikveh.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19We don't have a mikveh, a ritual bath, here in Belfast,
0:32:19 > 0:32:24so the biggest and most accessible mikveh is the sea.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Kids, this is a...a castle.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Carrickfergus Castle, and that's as much as I can tell you about it,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37as I really haven't a clue.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41If your children came to live in Belfast, it would be quite
0:32:41 > 0:32:46difficult to get them a Jewish husband or wife.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48I would say impossible, impossible.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52The level of... here's a horrible word for you -
0:32:52 > 0:32:59religiosity - of the Jews that are here don't really match
0:32:59 > 0:33:04the level of religiosity that my children have.
0:33:04 > 0:33:05Brr!
0:33:25 > 0:33:28There's an expression in Yiddish, bisl meshugge, which is
0:33:28 > 0:33:31what people might think - a little bit crazy.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34- Rabbi.- Yes.- You really have
0:33:34 > 0:33:37to believe to put yourself through something like this.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39HE LAUGHS
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Right. I believe. With perfect faith.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Brr!
0:33:47 > 0:33:51- Are you frozen?- I can just about feel my hands, it's all right.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56I believe in perfect faith,
0:33:56 > 0:34:01that doing these things is my way of life.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06So there isn't anything that I disagree with.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08There are things I don't understand.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11Please, God, I'll understand them one of these days.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Not many have perfect faith like the rabbi,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18but there are certain traditions
0:34:18 > 0:34:20that are not broken in a Jewish household -
0:34:22 > 0:34:25Friday night dinner.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29We do our best to have a nice Shabbos meal.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33- Anyway, I'm going to start into this.- Thanks very much.
0:34:33 > 0:34:40I'm 91 and a half or more and still on the go.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Oh, my fish will be burning.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49No, they're OK, they're OK.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51I come up to visit my father,
0:34:51 > 0:34:57and at times, it's a bit of a power struggle.
0:34:57 > 0:34:58It's a little bit like,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02if you've ever watched the series Steptoe And Son.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06And sometimes, my father, being my father,
0:35:06 > 0:35:10is always trying to guide me in the right direction, and usually,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14not always, I don't seem to do things the way he wants them done.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19- Don't put the water on. - Sorry, Father. Sorry.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22Normally the lady of the house would do this duty.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26OK, making heavy work out of that.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31If there is a little...grievance or something happens,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34it's very small, and you have to make allowances for elderly people.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36And I love him to bits.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39HE READS PRAYER
0:36:14 > 0:36:18And good Shabbos to everybody. L'Chayim.
0:36:20 > 0:36:26Where are all the women in the Matthews household?
0:36:27 > 0:36:29I didn't hear him there.
0:36:29 > 0:36:30- I didn't get it all.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33He's wondering where all the females are.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Yeah, where are all the ladies?
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Obviously, being Jewish, I would have very much liked to have
0:36:38 > 0:36:43had a Jewish bride, but things didn't happen.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47In fact, in the Jewish community, there never was that many women.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49I think it was very awkward when we were young,
0:36:49 > 0:36:54we sort of felt the pressure that we should marry Jewish women.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58If we'd been in a big community, it wouldn't have been a problem,
0:36:58 > 0:37:03but our community was so small, and I knew everybody
0:37:03 > 0:37:05and I maybe didn't feel too comfortable.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10I have a girlfriend, who is not Jewish,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14but we're not married or anything, but we... We...
0:37:14 > 0:37:18I don't know what the word would be, but everything is OK.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22- You've been very busy.- I have been.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25It's nice to be all together. It's lovely.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27I'm enjoying it very much.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Back in the 1970s, many Jewish people left Belfast.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39Not just because of the Troubles, but to find a Jewish partner.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Most went to the thriving Jewish centres of London and Manchester.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48I left Belfast after I finished university,
0:37:48 > 0:37:51because I knew if I stayed there, my chances of marrying
0:37:51 > 0:37:56within my faith were nil, probably, because I knew everybody.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59And also, most people had left at that point,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02so it was important to me that I wanted to marry somebody who
0:38:02 > 0:38:06was Jewish, because I'd enjoyed the life that I'd had up until then,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10and I suppose I felt comfortable with it and wanted to continue it.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11It does mean a lot to me,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15being Jewish and I wouldn't want to not consider myself to be Jewish.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19That's important within my life.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23It gives my life some structure that I like.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41The big Jewish centres like Manchester have the resources
0:38:41 > 0:38:44to attract people seeking a more comfortable Jewish life.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46It's one of the reasons why smaller Jewish
0:38:46 > 0:38:50communities across the UK are fast disappearing.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52I think this is her.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- Hi, Mum!- Hello!
0:38:59 > 0:39:03- Do you want anything to eat? - No, thank you.- Are you sure?
0:39:03 > 0:39:04- I'm OK.- Are you OK?
0:39:06 > 0:39:11Daddy used to say to friends if he was left, if I went first, he would
0:39:11 > 0:39:15stay in Belfast, but if he went first,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18he knew I'd be better off here.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20And that's the way it was.
0:39:20 > 0:39:26It was a big break, leaving my house in Belfast,
0:39:26 > 0:39:33and there is a bit of me still in Belfast, I have to say that,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37but this is my life now, and I have to stand up to it.
0:39:38 > 0:39:43All I have to do is go downstairs, the shul is there,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46I don't have to worry about the weather.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50I don't have to put a coat on. I go downstairs and I'm in shul.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53And I go most Shabbosim.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57- She's off.- Has she gone?
0:40:03 > 0:40:05- Hello.- Hello!
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- You want your feet on here? - My friend Sadie.- What do you want me to do with it?
0:40:15 > 0:40:20- You know I'm going to London? - Yes.- For the day.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23There's going to be a reunion of all the Belfast people.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28- How many people are going to be there, Linda?- 60.
0:40:28 > 0:40:3060 people from all over.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35- How many?- 60. Ex-Belfast people.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38And you probably know all of them.
0:40:38 > 0:40:39Of course I do.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41Look at her blue eyes.
0:40:41 > 0:40:48Look at her blue eyes. Blue like the sea. Do you want to go first, Sadie?
0:40:48 > 0:40:52- I don't mind, I'm not in a hurry. - You not in... Ah, isn't she great?
0:40:52 > 0:40:55- You should go first. - Well, then will you let me go first?
0:40:55 > 0:40:56Yes!
0:40:59 > 0:41:01It's her heart, her heart is in Belfast.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03There is a part of her that hasn't left.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07If you say "Belfast," I well up.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13I think that wherever you bring your children up, as well, I think
0:41:13 > 0:41:15it's really that does hold your heart,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19because you remember those years as very special years.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Was there pressure put on the young people to find a Jewish partner?
0:41:23 > 0:41:25- Yes, definitely.- Definitely.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29It took me a very long time to find my husband.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33I was 38 before I got married, so that was a very heavy charge,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36and I did end up marrying somebody Jewish,
0:41:36 > 0:41:40but interestingly, my parents were generous enough to give me
0:41:40 > 0:41:43the feeling that if I didn't feel as though I wanted to marry
0:41:43 > 0:41:45somebody Jewish, that would be OK, too.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47They were probably getting desperate
0:41:47 > 0:41:49by then that you would get married at all!
0:41:49 > 0:41:51THEY LAUGH
0:41:51 > 0:41:54The ad in the Jewish Chronicle would say "Fay and Joey Lewis
0:41:54 > 0:41:58"are relieved to announce that Anne is finally getting married."
0:41:58 > 0:42:01As soon as you got married, the heat was on me,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05because I also was older when I got married.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Bye-bye, thank you very much.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17# It's quiet and peaceful on the other side
0:42:17 > 0:42:21# Forget your troubles, get happy
0:42:21 > 0:42:23# Your cares fly away... #
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Coming from Belfast, I think we've all got a feeling that we
0:42:31 > 0:42:34belong to Belfast as well as belonging to being Jewish.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38Why do you think that is?
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Special time and a special place.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44When we were there, it was still a vibrant community.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47We also watched it unravelling.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01CHATTER
0:43:14 > 0:43:18Around the world, the smaller Jewish communities are folding.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20We're all going to turn into museums.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06- That's mine. - Was there not any more for Ross?- No.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12That's Sammy's there, look. And that's Sammy's.
0:44:20 > 0:44:21Right, that's for Father.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29I would like you to put all that stuff in a banana box.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31- In your own time, don't go diving. - OK.
0:44:33 > 0:44:39The best advice I would give Alan is to calm down and relax.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42I'm always telling him that.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48I admit, now, I give him a hard time, and he tries.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51He tries a good bit to work.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55I don't know. Yeah.
0:44:55 > 0:45:01Well, you know the way all fathers are with their sons?
0:45:01 > 0:45:04I'm his big bad son. But we love each other.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08We're all right, we always keep good friends.
0:45:08 > 0:45:14What I try to tell you is you should always sit and listen to words,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17not keep jumping about.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19You're right. You're right what you say.
0:45:21 > 0:45:26And I see, Father, you've got your musical instruments out again.
0:45:26 > 0:45:31- Which ones?- You've your electric keyboard.- Oh...just see now.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Is it plugged in?
0:45:37 > 0:45:41I was telling Aaron the way there used to be about six or seven
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Jewish families lived around here, including one across the road.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Oh, I know, this used to be a street of Jewish people,
0:45:48 > 0:45:53- even next door, the Cahills lived there.- And you had Lantins.
0:45:53 > 0:45:54- Landons?- Lantins.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58Yes, Lantins lived there and Cahills lived across the road.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00- And you had Schenkers. - I know. Uh-huh.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06HE PLAYS "DANNY BOY"
0:46:10 > 0:46:13ALAN HUMS ALONG
0:46:23 > 0:46:26# Oh, Danny boy The pipes, the pipes... #
0:46:28 > 0:46:33Yeah, it's OK. I need my Haggadah as well.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36HE PRAYS IN HEBREW
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Any crumbs on the table? Here, look, there's crumbs on the table.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56So, using a candle, we can get into all the corners.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00Brush them into the pan. That's it.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04Actually, we found quite a lot of chametz on the floor.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07We've brushed it up and put it in the pan.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12Chametz is...leavened bread.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14- Nothing in here.- Check here!
0:47:14 > 0:47:18The Jewish people were told to come out of Egypt.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22They didn't have time to bake the bread. So the bread didn't rise.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24And seeing as the bread didn't rise then,
0:47:24 > 0:47:28so that's why we have now no leavened bread at all.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33Ssh.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38And Baruch's room is next. By the side of the sofa.
0:47:38 > 0:47:39Hurry up!
0:47:40 > 0:47:43- They keep you young, don't they? - Oh, yes.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45# Keep young and beautiful.... #
0:47:53 > 0:47:55No, no, no.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58You can't do it that way.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00You do it this way.
0:48:00 > 0:48:01Sorry.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Cover your eyes.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10THEY PRAY IN HEBREW
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Hold on, you you're going to have to be quiet in there.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15Wait a second, Mum, they're all too noisy.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Everybody needs to be quiet, there's a bit of filming going on.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20THEY CHAT
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Here, there you are.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Everybody OK?
0:48:28 > 0:48:30THEY SING
0:48:35 > 0:48:39- Any other requests? - No, that's OK, John!
0:48:39 > 0:48:42That's very hurtful. I don't mind miming.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44I always enjoyed the traditions in Judaism
0:48:44 > 0:48:47that help bring the family together.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51The sights, sounds, smells,
0:48:51 > 0:48:55the rituals that become so familiar and comforting.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06Today, the community mourns the sad loss of a prominent member.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33As they say, money is not everything, Leslie, your health is your wealth, isn't it?
0:49:33 > 0:49:37- You could say.- Everything is negotiable except your health.- Yes.
0:49:43 > 0:49:49This is the cover that covers the coffin, male and female,
0:49:49 > 0:49:51all the same.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57The burial society is called the chevra kadisha.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00And it is a blessed society,
0:50:00 > 0:50:05because the one time... We have a lot of mitzvahs, a lot of good deeds
0:50:05 > 0:50:08that we can do in our religion - 613 of them, actually,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11but this is the one mitzvah, the one good deed you can do
0:50:11 > 0:50:15where the person receiving it can't say thank you.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17I'd never really thought that I was going to
0:50:17 > 0:50:20be in the position where I'd be coming into the chevra kadisha.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24When I was asked by Leslie would I join,
0:50:24 > 0:50:28well, I had to say yes,
0:50:28 > 0:50:33because our community needed me and needed some young blood.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37Faith, in a very small community like this,
0:50:37 > 0:50:42faith is playing a smaller and smaller part.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45It is more the traditions and the family links.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48You go to the synagogue, because that's where your father was,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51that's where your mother was, that's where your grandparents were.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55And they did that, and you remember that they did that, and so if they did it, you'll do it.
0:50:55 > 0:51:00Perhaps not as well, but you'll try your best.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04- And also during the Tahara, you also say...?- No, the only words we say...
0:51:04 > 0:51:07OK, good.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10- No, no.- No, no.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14Before you do it, you need to twist round like that three times.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16Go ahead.
0:51:16 > 0:51:17Once,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20twice,
0:51:20 > 0:51:21three times.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22There.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28And then tuck the loop going up this way,
0:51:28 > 0:51:33so there's a little bit sticking out. OK?
0:51:46 > 0:51:49One, two, three.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44HE PRAYS
0:52:59 > 0:53:03HE CHANTS
0:53:24 > 0:53:28There's grandpa, the one called Isaac.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33He was the start of our life in Northern Ireland.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40How are you? First day of spring.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42- It's nice to see it.- Yes.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54All the coffins face east...
0:53:57 > 0:53:59..towards Jerusalem,
0:53:59 > 0:54:05even though the headstone is facing the other way in some of the rows.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11And partners are put beside each other?
0:54:13 > 0:54:17It's a custom in this community, to try and, yes, put partners together.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23It...
0:54:23 > 0:54:25It doesn't always happen.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Sometimes they don't want to be put together.
0:54:30 > 0:54:31THEY LAUGH
0:54:31 > 0:54:33Sorry.
0:54:37 > 0:54:38The big problem is,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41will there be enough people here to bury the last few people?
0:54:52 > 0:54:55My dad is trying to get the ten men needed for a service
0:54:55 > 0:54:57in the synagogue later that week.
0:55:02 > 0:55:03It's his yahrzeit,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06which is a memorial day for family that have passed,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09and a minyan is needed in the synagogue
0:55:09 > 0:55:11to say the prayers for them.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15Marshall? Sorry to bother you.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20Marshall, I have a yahrzeit on Thursday morning. Will you be about?
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Mm-hm.
0:55:28 > 0:55:33We're lighting this candle this evening in memory of my father.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40The likelihood is only seven or eight people will turn up, naturally,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44so we'll invite some of the guys who are not regular attenders,
0:55:44 > 0:55:46just to make sure we get ten.
0:55:51 > 0:55:58For me, whilst there's a minyan and there's a service,
0:55:58 > 0:56:00we have a community.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04And the longer we can keep the community going, obviously,
0:56:04 > 0:56:05the better.
0:56:07 > 0:56:13Belfast has a long tradition, and I don't want to be the last one here.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38The Belfast Jewish community is now down to less than 80.
0:56:47 > 0:56:48All right?
0:56:50 > 0:56:55I thought we'd get all the minyan to sit in this area, in here.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59For those left, there's a responsibility to try
0:56:59 > 0:57:01and keep the tradition alive.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05I had never helped make a minyan for my dad's yahrzeit.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07I was never asked.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11But maybe this is something my dad shouldn't have had to do.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22I haven't become more religious, but I want to pass some of
0:57:22 > 0:57:27these traditions down to my family, like my dad has tried with me.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36- Are you well?- Not as good as you.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38I don't know about that.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44Even if the community is getting fewer, there is
0:57:44 > 0:57:46still plenty of life in it yet.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52Dad managed to raise his minyan that day.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02THEY PRAY