Social

Social Activities
Hale is a very sociable community with lots going on. In addition to the events organised through the Shule, there is much informal interaction between the people of all ages who belong to the Shule and find many common interests. In a society where doors are more often closed than open, and where people have little time for their neighbours and those in different age groups from themselves, the Hale Jewish community stands out as a close-knit and supportive social group – constituting a great deal more than the sum of its parts.

Hale Shule’s busy social committee organizes successful events for all ages throughout the year, such as the annual Purim parade and party and the Chanukah extravaganza in the shule, quiz nights, car rallies, barbecue parties, and a ‘casino’-type evening for the young at heart.

Details of forthcoming events can be found here.
For information about Youth Activities, click here.

At the Rabbi’s Table
On Shabbat and festivals, members of the community can be seen beating a path to the door of Rabbi Portnoy and his family. Ruthie’s weekly Shabbat hospitality is legendary, and she tries to invite the whole community during the year, helping to make everyone feel like one large extended family.

Stretching the walls of their home, and spilling into the garden when weather permits, the Summer Seudah Season turns Shabbat afternoons into a family social experience for a number of weeks throughout the summer. Cocktails are served before the traditional family supper, accompanied by singing and learned discourse from the Rabbi, while the children are amused with games until nightfall, when Shabbat draws to a close with the musical and mystical Havdala ceremony, which often continues with singing late into the night.

The ‘party of the year’ in Hale is probably the Portnoys’ Succot Simchat Beit HaShoeva bash – think music, food, more music and more food! Purim celebrations involve even more ‘spirited’ entertaining; it is hard to find anyone who can recall exactly what goes on at the Rabbi’s Purim Seuda, but it is certainly spiritual!