Dinner had to wait at Manchester's Prestwich Hebrew Congregation due to the extended dancing to chazan Adam Caplan's Kabbalat Shabbat service. Bury South MP Ivan Lewis was among those dancing in the aisles.
For Shabbat UK, Prestwich also hosted Lord Winston, who addressed an audience of 300 on topics as diverse as the Ebola crisis and the likely political colours of Noah and Abraham if they were involved in current UK politics.
Children including nine-year-old Maya Lurie and Libby Hamburger, six, played significant roles in morning services and more than 500 congregants were at the kiddush lunch, featuring stand-up comedy from TV producer and scriptwriter Ashley Blaker and a Q&A panel including Lord Winston and Karen Phillips, chief executive of welfare charity The Fed.
Chaskel Lamm, a member of the Bobov Chasidic group in Broughton Park, was among those in the 450 crowd at Prestwich on Friday night, 10 times the normal number. "I came to be a part of klal Yisrael [the Jewish people] because we heard about Shabbat UK and wanted to show we are really one and there shouldn't be walls between different parts of our community," he said. "It was an opportunity to celebrate something we had in common, Shabbos. We sometimes behave like were are isolated from each other, but it's not true. People just lead different lifestyles."
Simon Kaye, who joined the Prestwich congregation with his young family last year, said: "This was a real community event, from the youngest member to the oldest. I really feel this set the tone for what it is to celebrate Shabbat together as a community."
It was an opportunity to celebrate something we have in common
Prestwich's programme was organised by a members' committee led by Phil Morrison. "It took three months of preparation but we packed the shul out," he said. "For me and many, Kabbalat Shabbat was the highlight with the non-stop singing and dancing."
