Sara Benveniste – Shine & Grow

A time to hope

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 26th November 2024

I just wanted to share details about this Jewish book I have started to read to my son called “A Time to Hope” by PJ Library. It’s a really lovely book for kids.

PJ Library is a charity that provides free educational books to Jewish children of all ages, starting from 3 until the end of primary school mainly. My family has benefitted over the past 10 years from PJ Library’s free books, and experienced the positive impact of their brilliant, funny, insightful, inspiring books first hand.

I’ve also been nosing around their website resources and it’s not just for kids – it’s a great educational read for everyone, adults included! They are also great resources for non-Jewish people to read too.

I love how they include information about Sigd too which is a festival celebrated by Ethiopian Jews. It’s really interesting to hear about their traditions too. It’s such a miracle so many thousands of Ethiopians were saved and flown to Israel. However many times I read about this, I’m always amazed. 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were saved in November 1984 (“Operation Moses”) and then 15000 Ethiopians were saved over 3 days in May 1991 (“Operation Solomon”). Picture that, so many incredible, beautiful lives saved. Now, this Jewish community called “Beta Israel” are thriving in Israel and their customs and traditions are well respected, nurtured and celebrated. It’s lovely how Jewish people from all over the world share the same traditions but also, it’s so interesting to see how they vary according to each person’s culture depending on where in the world they come from.

I love how on this website, all the resources are neatly organised under each festival, for example, any songs, music, traditions, art or cooking activities for kids, recipes, or stories that relate to that particular festival. There are also lots of opportunities in this book to self-reflect, to see how these stories relate to our everyday lives and make us more conscious of how we are spreading our light in the physical world and perhaps inspire us to spread even more….

It’s easy to follow, it can be read in small chunks and the design is nice and bright which always fills me with hope.

https://pjlibrary.org/hope

Reach for the stars

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 18th November 2024

I went to a Rock choir event yesterday with a few friends and a whole theatre load of other Rockies called “You’re The Voice” for the London/ Greater London region which took place at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

You’re The Voice – named after the song by John Farnham – captures the essence of this show, of the concept of Rock Choir, and also of life and how every day, we start a brand new chapter or page,

“We have the chance to turn the pages over, We can write what we want to write”. Such an empowering song!

Just because we’ve had a bad day or start to the day, it doesn’t mean that tomorrow will be the same. We can change the course of our day as we choose – we don’t have to let the stress around us affect us so much. Of course it’s not always straightforward and our lives can get stressful in situations that are out of our control, but we can only do our best and make sure we dip in and out of self-care as and when we need it. Which is where singing comes in sometimes!

We can’t ever take our life for granted – there’s no guarantee of tomorrow – which is why it’s so important to live in the moment and live each day as it comes with as much joy as possible.

Sunday evening’s event was absolutely incredible – “singing heaven” I call it – absolute bliss. The atmosphere was fabulous with around 1200 other people we call “Rockies” from different choirs coming together in unison to sing all our favourite Rock choir songs. The energy in the room was so high vibe and so liberating – the adrenaline from all the music, singing and laughs we had kept us going and standing up most of the time (even though we all had seats!!!). It was such a shame it had to end! It was great to see all the Rock choir leaders on stage and to cheer on our own leader Simon Reynolds every time he came to the front of the stage.

During the show, we did all the fun bits we enjoy doing at the end of class when we sing along in all our different choir voices along with the live track, but this time, we were all scattered all around the theatre and sang our parts as best as we could, though I’m sure quite a few of us dipped into the tune as well or some of the other sections – whoops! – but we all sang our hearts out and the energy was electric! So much so that the sound on stage stopped working towards the end of the show, but all was well as it was handled well on stage and it only lasted a few minutes and then the power was back on! There were some new songs that were sang as well by the leaders which we hadn’t sung in Rock choir – classics like “You are my sunshine” which was a great song to sing. So much musical talent amongst them all, each one of the leaders with their own personality and style which we all love and respect.

Also, there was a live band playing with a big screen in the background showing videos and lyrics of each the songs we sang – this was even more blissful for me, as anyone who knows me, knows I love karaoke too! It’s always good to have a reminder of the words we are supposed to be singing so we can enjoy the singing even more and don’t have the worry of wondering what the words are that we should be singing next, especially if it’s a song I don’t know or a song I haven’t sung for a long time.

During the show, we also recorded a new song – keeping my lips shut about any more details – which should be released next year, so that’ll be exciting to see how that turns out! It was nice to be part of this experience too and also to be raising money for Comic Relief at the same time.

“You’re the voice, try and understand it, Make a noise and make it clear…. We’re not gonna sit in silence…. We’re not gonna live with fear”.

Oh, whoa – powerful words! Why should we have to live with fear… We can’t control those who want to make our lives fearful, but we can choose to not live in fear! It is however within our control and our decision to choose what’s right for us as an individual, and at the same time, what is right for us as humanity.

We have to fight for what is right, for how we want society as a whole to look from the inside out. This is the only way to a more loving, joyful society. We all have a huge innate capacity for love that we can give to ourselves and also that can be shared with other people around us. We are so much better as human beings when we stand (or sing!) united as this is what enables our lights to shine so brightly over the darkness which I hope and pray will fade in good time. Darkness doesn’t ever lead us anywhere good, but increasing the light around us can make us feel so incredible, and so peaceful that the sky is our limit of never-ending possibilities, which is a wonderful feeling. Never underestimate the amazing feeling peace and joy can bring to us! “A Thousand Years” was a great example of this last night with all our phone torch lights lighting up the theatre so brightly along with all the multi-coloured lights people were waving in the air too.

Caroline Redman Lusher, founder of Rock Choir, was amazing as always last night. This was her 11th – out of 12 – show! I can’t imagine how she must have felt at the end of the show. It must be an indescribable feeling… It’s so amazing how she has created this choir that is now truly well established all over the UK. No doubt Caroline must be feeling on top of the world for what she has achieved in creating such a fabulous choir and giving so many people so much joy in their lives to look forward to every week and during these fun events they put on for us where we all come together in unison.

I’m going to end this blog and share some lyrics from one of the many favourite songs I love to sing, “Reach” by S Club, one of many songs that were played at yesterday’s event and a great message for us all:

“We’ve got to all stick together
Good friends are there for each other
Never ever forget that I’ve got you
And you’ve got me, so

✨✨⭐️ Reach for the stars⭐️✨✨
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars ✨💃✨🕺✨
Follow your heart’s desire ❤️💙💜🩷🧡💛
Reach for the stars ✨💃✨🕺✨
And when that rainbow’s shining over you🌈
That’s when your dreams will all come true”

Singing is such a joy

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 8th November 2024

Singing is such an uplifting and spiritual experience for me which I why I was curious to try out Mill Hill community choir. I already go to Rock Choir locally, and though I love it there, I was interested in singing different types of songs and see where it took me without any expectations.

I love to sing so it was a no-brainer that I wanted to do more of it, feel all the feels and expand my musical capacity and my capacity for joy too. Especially as I have some spare capacity, this has been a great way to meet new like-minded people and has made the “networking” process fun. Isn’t this what life is all about, enjoying our time on this planet whilst we are alive? There is so much in life that can get us down and cause us lots of anxiety – we can’t take our life for granted anymore. Each and every one of our lives are so precious – so it’s so important to grab those opportunities for joy when we can and make the best of life as it is with what we have right now in this present moment and look after our mental well-being.

The warm-up exercises Ryan, our choir leader, normally starts with are lots of fun – we all let our hair loose and have a good laugh. I sometimes wonder in class what others might think when looking at us from the outside – however, in the moment, we are so focused on the joy and fun we are having that it really doesn’t matter!! Ryan isn’t ever fussed if we make a wrong move, sing a wrong note or in the wrong tune or harmony though most of the time, we manage to get the vocals right in the end and it always sounds great by the end. I always get lost in the joy that singing brings to me. The most important thing Ryan says is to get it out of your system! The more we do it, the easier it gets.

It really is very empowering just to let it all out, to let our voice loose. We all have our own voice and the right to express ourselves as we truly are. Singing is a great way of connecting with our authentic selves – it really helps us to access our own heart and sense of compassion, even if it is only for ourselves. Self-care and looking after our own well-being is so important, and singing plays an important part in this.

It’s so lovely to see everyone from all walks of life coming together in unity and joy to sing lots of new, insightful, empowering, uplifting, peaceful songs with various different harmonies – and also in different languages sometimes – which we all experiment with to see which frequency harmony resonates with us the best. We can all explore as we choose when we get to class – we aren’t ever stuck in any particular harmony though I often like to sing the alto parts and sometimes those higher frequencies if I can manage it.

Music is a great tool to communicate our experience of life in a way we wouldn’t normally express ourselves with words. It also makes a big difference to our well-being and the communities around us and really helps to connect us all like no other medium can.

Let it go

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 30th October 2024

I was listening to this inspiring video by David Bayer one of my friends (and coach too) Karen Astill sent to me as she thought this might give me some inspiration on how I can move forward in life with more ease, joy and flow instead of having to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, and simply find a way to give myself a break from thinking about what is happening in the world.

I have my own ways of escaping things like using mindfulness, music and singing which are really great and extremely useful tools for me. But ultimately, as well as all the self-care I’m already investing in, it’s also about changing the focus of what I think about everyday, developing that awareness of my thought processes, and in turn, reducing the burden of those heavyweight thoughts and incoming negative energy that the news or general stress in our everyday lives for example can bring.

Talking through problems can be helpful of course, but sometimes, we can speak our problems into existence if something is always on the forefront of your mind, which can make the problem seem even bigger. That’s not to say we should bottle our problems inside, but instead, learn to speak to your own self. Tell yourself something in a way that works for you, such as “It’s not happening to me right now” or “It’s ok, I’m safe” and consciously choose to let these thoughts go. When we catch them, this is the best time to develop a better awareness around our thoughts and when we might be bringing the problem into our reality unnecessarily in the present moment which takes away our feelings of joy and inner peace. It’s easy still to get caught up in negative or fear-based thoughts, particularly when we’re tired or busy, but we can’t be 100% perfect all the time, so we use these moments for self-compassion and wait for the next arising thought that you might want to let go of.

Words can be so powerful – we can create our own reality through everything we say out loud. If we constantly think fearful thoughts, then it will look really scary on the outside through this lens despite the distractions, even if they are self-care based. However, if we feed ourselves with positive thoughts, surround ourselves with those people who lift us higher, those people who want the best for you, and do more of the things that make you happy, then the lens we look through can feel much more peaceful, fun, uplifting and inspiring even.

Time is so precious

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 7th October 2024

It’s October 7th today. It’s now been a year.

A year of navigating our way through the terrible October Rain. A year where we’ve been plunged into the darkness not knowing when we will see light again. A year of terror, destruction and war that Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, didn’t want. Israel more than anything seeks peace and in doing so, continues to fight their enemies and defend itself from evil in this relentless battle against terrorism. As it should do, and especially after the October 7th massacre where 1200 precious, innocent, beautiful souls were slaughtered in the worst, most brutal attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. Never again is now.

A year of despair not knowing if those hostages living in unimaginable terror are ever going to get out of there. All those people, young and old, babies, parents, grandparents, who lost their lives on that day or who were murdered in captivity. Those who have suffered and continue to suffer so much, those people who survived an unimaginable trauma I hope I would never have to go through in my lifetime, whether they were taken hostage and released. Or those who somehow miraculously escaped the terrorist attack and took refuge somewhere safe, but who lost loved ones, dear friends or family on that day. All those families of the hostages still remaining who are suffering so much still…. I can’t imagine what they are going through – all I know is that as a parent myself, a year is too long to have to worry about the whereabouts of your child, knowing terrorists are harming them and not knowing when they will come home again alive. Not resting until they are home safe in your arms.

Bring them home now.

A year of still being shocked to my core by those people who choose to stand on the side of evil by standing against Israel and the peace it stands for. Not realising the sacrifices Israel is making for the West in eliminating the evil in the Middle East that threatens the security of Israel but also eventually, the security of the West. Even after the deadly missile attacks by Iran, knowing full well they are behind all the attacks on Israel and are determined to wipe Israel off the map – and all the Jews off the planet too if they have their way. Still frustrated after a year that there are still so many ignorant people – even after so much truth has been put out there – who prefer to be sucked into the lies and Jew hate instead.

A year of getting my head around how the Jewish people who have suffered so much trauma can bring so much light to the world. The courage of the Holocaust survivors who are suffering now as they didn’t imagine they would witness another one in their lifetime. The courage of the Nova survivors to tell their story to the world about what they endured. The brave, young soldiers who left their families to fight in the war not knowing if they are going to come out of it alive. The grief of all those families, those children who are learning to live now without their mum or dad, or neither parent. Those people who were torn apart on that awful day and lost their entire families. I still can’t believe that such evil exists on this planet. At a peace festival. How could this be.

A year of discovering how antisemitic the world is and has become, how broken it is, how much repair (aka “Tikkun Olam” as the Jewish people call it), is needed to be able to live our lives in peace and joy free from hate, intolerance and threats and acts of terrorism on our streets.

A year of holding onto hope that Israel can bring more light upon the nations of the world despite all that has happened. Of hoping that Israel and the Jewish people can persuade all those who are against them that they have gotten it all wrong and not to believe all the lies and propaganda in the press and social media.

A year of remembering who I am as a Jewish person and continually having to remind myself that the light shines brightest in the dark. Of looking up to the light when all I see is darkness around me. Always looking to the light for inspiration and hope where possible even when it’s so very dark and grim💛

A year of living my truth boldly, holding my head high, and being proud of who I am ✡️

Enough is enough! Stop the hate. Stop the ugly antisemitism.

A year of holding onto hope and praying that Israel can destroy the evil that has been bestowed upon them once and for all knowing that G-d is behind us.

A year of hoping for good to prevail in the name of humanity, for love, kindness and peace.

A year of discovering and appreciating how incredible Israel is, despite how tiny a country it is, despite how much trauma they have had to endure over the past year. They display such resilience, beauty and authentic love for their people, and have achieved so much in its lifetime since it’s creation in 1948.

A year of enlightenment, of realising that despite the atrocities of this year, in ways I can’t yet comprehend, that G-d is with us doing his best to protect us from the evil that is on our planet right now.

A year of rediscovering my faith in G-d and being grateful for the incredible people and light workers from all faiths around me that I have met along the way who stand in solidarity with the light of who I am, my Jewish light. I’m so humbled that despite the haters and demonic evil, there are many good people of all beliefs and religions who unite and pray for us with compassion for all that our people are going through, and the sacrifices Israel is making for the sake of humanity.

A year of building communities and fostering close connections with people of all faiths. Of finding new creative ways of sharing the truth of what Israel stands for. Although Jews have been mostly affected by the massacre and war in Israel, Israel is the home for Muslims and Christians too, and over the past year, multi-ethnic bonds between communities have strengthened within Israel and all over the world.

As well as this, Jewish communities all over the world have been doing what they can to help, raising awareness of Israel’s plight, spreading the truth and giving comfort to those who are suffering in the way of marches, rallies, vigils, advocacy work and fundraising to support the victims and relieve suffering – collectively doing all we can to support Israel at its time of need and more importantly, doing our best to raise awareness of and sharing the joy and light of who we are as Jewish people, to make sure this never ever happens again and at the same time, strengthening our community even more.

We are the Jewish people, and we aren’t going anywhere!!! We are just as human as everyone else and have every right to live peacefully on this planet. Any Jewish person alive today is a walking miracle, and over the past year, I really do believe this and am so grateful for all the values I hold that make us who we are, the special traditions we have, and moreover the love we have for life and bringing ourselves joy. I cannot be prouder of my Jewish roots, more than ever before.

A year of discovering who I am now that my core beliefs have been exposed, and finding out who my true friends really are – those who care for me are the ones I have to focus on right now. Let them hate. Let them be who they are because I know I’m on the right side of history.

To conclude, I thought I would share some wisdom from late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks which sums up what Judaism, and Zionism too, is all about:

“Judaism was the first religion in history to place love at the heart of the spiritual life: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might. Love your neighbour. Love the stranger. And what we love most — because that is where G-d is to be found — is life itself. That is our greatest strength. It enabled our ancestors to survive every persecution. It helped Holocaust survivors to survive. It gave the Jewish people the courage to rebuild the land and state of Israel.”

He said it plainly, “We just ask for life. That is what Judaism is: a life of love and a love of life. All the rest is commentary.”

It’s been a long year. Light has to prevail.

We will dance again

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 6th October 2024

Dancing to this music this morning in memory of the beautiful souls lost on October 7th in Israel. It very randomly came up on YouTube but it was such a perfect choice of song to listen to.

Flowers by David Bay

Little did I realise when this song came up that there is also a slower Hebrew version of this song that has been sung too, a Mizrahi-tinged cover – you can listen to the song on Kveller’s website which also contains the words if you want to sing along too. It does really hit that spot

Introducing the singing bowl

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 7th September 2024

One of my friends told me about a Lighthouse she visited in London today that contains a Longplayer that basically houses a large collection of singing bowls – normally an instrument used in the sound baths I have experienced until now, which are very relaxing. I love this instrument!

And the coolest fact I found out from their website (as below) is that so far, Longplayer has been playing for:
24 years 250 days 07 hours
44 minutes and 14 seconds

I investigated this a bit more (as you know I like all things musical) and you can click on the link below on this website to listen to the music that it plays virtually non-stop on a live stream:

https://longplayer.org/stream/ (Live Stream)
https://longplayer.org/about/ (a couple of mini-films)

Last Thursday, I went to a floating sound bath at Westminster Lodge in St Albans and it was so amazing. Not sure if you’ve ever experienced a sound bath, but the noise of the water was lovely and complemented the music being played on the crystal and Himalayan bowls, shamanic drums, and chimes (I think I’ve covered them all).

We had a bit of reiki included in the experience aswell and so we were well looked after as our airbeds were constantly being moved/ manoeuvred to flow with the sound of the music and the water too to make us feel relaxed. They also gave us a card to pick at the end.

All in all, it was a lovely atmosphere and the biggest soundbath I’ve ever been too – think there were about 30-35 people there covering the whole swimming pool!

My reflections on a neurodiversity talk

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 6th June 2024

Last night, I went to a talk last night in Edgware, North London about neurodiversity with Ashley Blaker and Gemma Blaker, and guess what song I heard on the radio on my way home 🤔

“Greatest love of all” by Whitney Houston – brilliant song 🎶

Key takeaways from the talk were (and this could apply to you all whatever your make-up/ level of diversity):

❤️Accept and love yourself and your child exactly as you are with all your imperfections and quirkiness. It is what makes you you. Embrace it!

❤️ Focus on the present, focus on the little joys and the positive as much as you can as this is helpful. Then focus on the next right step.

❤️ Do the best you can do to get through the really tough stages and challenges of life – it won’t always be like this. It will get better.

❤️ Celebrate each stage of your growth as a parent and of your child. Even though it may be a long road you have to travel, don’t look too far ahead in the future.

❤️ Focus on what you can achieve one day at time.

❤️ You are not alone. There is a lot of support out there in the form of support groups and resources.

All we can do now is focus on the positive

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 4th June 2024

Thought I would share a podcast I just listened to on the Spectator with Claudia Mendoza, CEO of The Jewish Leadership Council, as guest speaker, who provides an objective and clear-headed view about the Israel-Gaza conflict and who discusses the reality for Jewish people of the rising levels of anti-semitism in all areas of life.

What is the future for Jewish people in this country, who knows…. However, our only choice right now is optimism and hope, and all we can do now is to focus on the positive steps that are already being taken and that can be taken in the future to improve things, and in the meantime, appreciate the good that IS around us and the key support and amazing activists who are watching our back and fighting with us from all religions and backgrounds.

No-one knows yet which new government will get voted in this July – but it is so important that we ALL vote this year more than ever, including the silent majority.

As Claudia said, everything will become clearer once we see how they tackle the issue of extremism with a level of courage we haven’t yet seen with this current government as anti-semitism spirals out of control, and not just in the UK.

Definitely worth having a listen to this podcast.

Does your mind ever wander off

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 22nd March 2024

During a 15 minute meditation, before cooking prep began for Shabbat dinner, my mind wandered off in the middle as it sometimes does and I remember seeing myself singing along with other people to “Follow the yellow brick road” in the Wizard of Oz. I don’t always remember what happens when my mind wanders off but this time was crystal clear.

I then wondered what the significance of it was as when I went to listen to that song, it didn’t resonate with me – it was too jolly (and fast) to listen to – it is fun to play on the flute though!

Anyway, so I googled it, and underneath the question, Google asked: “What is the symbolism behind the yellow brick road?”. In response, it said that “the Yellow Brick Road symbolizes the gold standard”. It goes on to say “The phrase ‘gold standard’ is defined as the use of gold as the standard value for the money of a country.”

So I wondered whether this was referring to the Gold of Jerusalem, and then I searched for a song that might explain this. I knew in my mind of a song called Jerusalem of Gold / Yerushalayim Shel Zahav.

Not long after, randomly, I came across the version sung by André Rieu that he played in concert 3 years ago and it looked like an amazing experience for everyone, especially the Jewish people that were there singing along!!! My Mum used to love him – he has a heart of gold.

Am Yisroel Chai 🙏❤️🇮🇱✡️