Liberal Judaism, 27th July 2011

As the world’s press waited for hours outside synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and Golder’s Green Crematorium, Liberal Rabbis went about their daily task of supporting a bereaved a family who were coming to terms with the loss of a daughter.

Rabbi Dr Frank Hellner, Emeritus Rabbi to Finchley Progressive Synagogue, opened the funeral service of Amy Winehouse at Edgewarebury Lane Cemetery.

In his introductory remarks, Rabbi Hellner sought to comfort Amy’s parents, Mitchell and Janis, her brother, Alex, and the hundreds of mourners by reflecting that ‘the most bereaved…are also the most privileged for having known Amy that much longer and having shared that much more intimately in her life…’

He quoted the Victorian poet, Philip James Bailey, who remarked, ‘We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not figures on a dial…’ and he observed that ‘…Amy will continue to shine upon generations to come’.

In accord with Jewish tradition, and following a private committal at Golders Green, three nights of shiva were observed at the Southgate Progressive Synagogue where Liberal Judaism Chief Executive, Rabbi Danny Rich, reminded a standing room only congregation that this was ‘Amy’s shul’ at which Alex had celebrated his bar Mitzvah and Amy had been brought up.

Rabbi Rich explained that the purposes of the shiva included ‘the sharing of treasured memories of those whom we mourn such that their presence is more vital to us than their absence…the offering of a hand of human solidarity…and the opportunity to share grief and offer support in the days and weeks ahead’.

Mitchell Winehouse who spoke movingly on all three occasions declared that, despite the tragic loss of their daughter, ‘the family’s process of recovery had already begun’. He announced the establishment of an Amy Winehouse Foundation to assist young people in a variety of ways.