Lest It Be Forgotten After I Am Gone: The Retiring Years - 2
...all was well, apart from one or two incidents with local non-Jews who objected to what they considered the 'heathen use of their church'. One such lady came in on several occasions, making herself unpleasant to our receptionist, and eventually it became necessary to try to pacify the lady. I introduced myself and explained our temporary use of the premises in as pleasant and polite a manner as I could muster. She was not at all pleased to learn that the Bishop of London had loaned the church building to us and, in fact, appeared to be further angered by it by calling us Christ killers!...
Raymon Benedyk, continuing his life story, tells of a dramatic day.
And so, in 1988, the old Synagogue building began to disappear from its location at 28 St John's Wood Road, and items and records that were not going to be needed in our temporary premises - or could not find room for
were either put into storage or taken to the homes of those of us who felt we could not manage to operate properly without them to hand. As the demolition teams moved in on that Monday morning and began to remove items that they knew and understood were of commercial value and where to dispose of them, I walked around the entire building once more entirely on my own, drifting from one room to another, facility after facility, able to pick up one or two items I considered important to me but almost certainly valueless to others, i.e. the 'Secretary' sign off my office door, which I still treasure.
And so between 1988 and 1991 we successfully managed to operate in our former church, rededicated as a Synagogue on the first Saturday of our stay there. The communal hall, successfully now incorporating the 'mezzanine' floor idea that I had put forward as a way of doubling our area of usable facility, was furnished as our office accommodation and all was well, apart from one or two incidents with local non-Jews who objected to what they considered the 'heathen use of their church'. One such lady came in on several occasions, making herself unpleasant to our receptionist, and eventually it became necessary to try to pacify the lady. I introduced myself and explained our temporary use of the premises in as pleasant and polite a manner as I could muster. She was not at all pleased to learn that the Bishop of London had loaned the church building to us and, in fact, appeared to be further angered by it by calling us Christ killers! When I tried to sooth her by pointing out that Jesus was a Jew, and that all the Disciples were Jews, her eyes nearly popped out with anger and she lunged at me catching me a glancing blow to the side of my face when she, probably unintentionally, broke a chain around my neck which carried my late mother's wedding ring. Only our caretaker saved me from further punishment when he was able to firmly escort her off the premises. We never saw her again. Exciting days!
We were never able to perform our weddings on the premises however, and these were conducted under our auspices at the West London Synagogue, a truly magnificent structure. Of course, I found myself being officially 'in attendance' at more of them in hotels, restaurants and private houses over this period, which was in many ways always exciting with the built in concerns and problems as to what was needed and what the establishments were able to provide. On one interesting occasion, the Rabbi and I 'did' a wedding in a garden gazebo instead of under the standard portable wedding canopy and, another time, when the best man forgot to bring the normally required male head covering, the rabbi said for us not to worry ourselves over it and, removing his hat, said "In that case we won't have head covering!"
During this period I 'did' weddings in various parts of the country, sometimes being treated like one of the guests and, at others, as soon as the ceremony was over almost totally ignored. On one interesting occasion in a very superior restaurant, I even met a guest with the same surname as me, now living in Monaco, who was very pleased when I introduced myself and, later, able to provide him with the addresses of one or two of his relatives with whom he had lost touch.
As 1990 was drawing to a close, I thought I ought to remind the Synagogue's Officers that I would be 65 at my next birthday, some six months ahead, suggesting that although I did not wish to retire, if they wanted to take advantage of that fact they might want to consider means of seeking my replacement. Elsa, who always could only take holidays when her schools were closed, and I had arranged a brief holiday abroad over the Christmas period. I was more than a little surprised to find a complete stranger seated at my desk upon my return, and somewhat nonplussed to be informed that she was my replacement - just like that. I was from then on very much on the sidelines, with my involvement in the affairs of the Synagogue considerably reduced.
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If you wish to make a donation to the Elsa Benedyk Memorial Fund, set up by her friends and colleagues entirely without Raymon’s knowledge to provide funds to support the children's ward of the Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem to commemorate her life of work with children in her nursery schools, it would be most gratefully received. The amount that you give will not be revealed to Raymon. He is not a trustee of the fund. Your cheque, payable to the Fund, should be sent to the fund's Treasurer Mrs I Dokelman, 14 Charville Court, 30/32 Gayton Road, Harrow, Middx HA1 2HT.
