Esterthepurpleprincess

Arnie Davidson: Ester Adjuah

2009-01-07T20:54:00.003Z

American singer and song-writer Arnie Davidson never met Ester but he heard about her some two years after her death. And it transpired that they had a mutual friend. Arnie has composed Ester Adjuah, which you can hear or download at http://www.arniedavidson.com/music-67.html

'Project Ester': the dedication

2008-12-07T18:28:00.000Z

Shabbat 20th December sees the fulfilment of a dream to honour the memory of Ester Gluck, who died in 2006.

The Minyan Hadash at New London Synagogue has commissioned a new bimah table cover, Torah mantle, Torah cloth and Ark curtain—and there will be a new bimah table, modelled on the one in the main synagogue. Rabbi Jeremy Gordon will lead the dedication at the end of the Shabbat morning service.

Textile artist Lana Young and carpenter Robert Mullen have generously donated their time, skill and creativity to fashion these very beautiful ritual objects. They will be used by the Minyan Hadash on Shabbat and festivals, and also by the congregation as a whole whenever services take place in the synagogue hall.

Along with other synagogues on that Shabbat—the day before Hanukah—New London Synagogue is focussing on human rights in the Jewish tradition. We are pleased and proud to welcome Eiri Ohtani, coordinator of ASAP (Asylum Support Appeals Project), who will give a short pre-lunch talk on the rights of people seeking asylum in Britain, a cause very dear to Ester’s heart.

Angela Gluck, Ester’s mother, says:
“This is a most fitting tribute to my dear daughter. New London Synagogue is the first and only synagogue that Ester joined in her own right, as a young woman, and the Minyan Hadash meant a lot to her. I am deeply moved that the synagogue is honouring her memory and I wish to respond to this honour: please join me—and those involved in the project—for lunch after the dedication and talk.”

If you would like to stay for lunch, it is necessary to book through the synagogue office on 020 7328 1026 or office@newlondon.org.uk. Please do so by Friday 12th December. There is no charge for lunch but you may wish to make a contribution to the charity that has been set up in Ester’s memory: The Separated Child Foundation www.separatedchild.org. You can donate online at http://www.justgiving.com/seperatedchildfoundation or send a cheque payable to ‘The Separated Child Foundation’ to the synagogue office.

Baruch Ben-David: awesome

2008-07-11T00:11:00.007+01:00

Baruch is a volunteer at the London Detainee Support Group (LDSG). This was part of his talk at the Yom Limmud Written All Over Our History, in memory of Ester, 17 December 2007.

When Ester came along, it was an extension of mishpochah*. Ester was a very special light. She was one of those lights that I don't think is ever going to go out in this world. It's been such a touching privilege, as someone who worked right by Ester for so long, to hear that physically, emotionally and mentally her light has gone out to so many parts of the world. This I find awesome. Some people live in this world much longer and they don't have such an effect on so many lives for the good. There is an old song, "If I can help someone along life's way, my living has not been in vain". Ester helped more... and more... and more.

* family

Sarah Hodgson: conceived and realised

2008-07-08T09:32:00.003+01:00

On Friday 4 July, Sarah and friends ran a live music evening in Finsbury Park, north London. Sarah writes:

We raised an incredible £900! It's going towards the weekly social evening at the Refugee Council for unaccompanied children and teenagers recently arrived to the UK. The Social was set up six years ago by the wonderful Caroline Watson. It started with a handful of young people and has grown to 100s coming each week. There’s a whole host of fun– table football, ping pong, music, dancing, photography, drawing, summer trips. It’s a place to make friends and start a new life in the UK. Currently, the majority of children are from Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea. For many the Social, Caroline and the team are a lifeline without which integration into UK life would be very tough.

The idea for Social4Social was conceived and realised two years ago by Ester Gluck, a volunteer at the Social. Friday was dedicated to Ester by way of continuing her hard work and determination to alleviate young people’s suffering. I think she would have been proud of the turnout.

The Separated Child Foundation, set up in memory of Ester, is receiving £100 from the money raised. For more information on this organisation and its important work, see http://www.separatedchild.org/

Gillian Nissim: "Esterness"

2008-07-06T12:14:00.001+01:00

We think of beautiful, warm, vivacious Ester so much. In fact, Ester is in my mind a lot. Ester has had such a positive impact on our lives – which we will always be thankful for. How could anyone forget all the nights we spent, the discussion and debates – and the laughter? I think of Ester’s warmth, wisdom, sense of fun and intelligence. She was so wonderful to be with. We knew Ester for only a relatively short time, but her face, her colourful being, her presence, her beautiful “Esterness” has left a wonderfully indelible mark.

Ester, Muju UpSTARTS and The Separated Child Foundation

2008-06-29T18:25:00.003+01:00

The Muju UpSTARTS event (see the posting on 2 March, below) resulted in an 11-minute film, produced by Jamie Cohen and Max Diamond of J-doc. It's been posted - in two parts - at www.myspace.com/jdocfilm. (Scroll down a fair bit and, on the way, pause the music that plays automatically if you want to hear the sound on the film! The second part is directly under the first.)

Muju has also posted on its website the podcast of the short interview given on the day by Angela Gluck - when the interviewer couldn't find the Chair of The Separated Child Foundation and had to make do with her! Angela was asked about Ester, the Muju Crew and The Separated Child Foundation. The interview lasts just over five minutes and is unedited so you hear her authentically umming and aahing a bit! You can go directly to it at http://www.muju.org.uk/popdcast/2.mp3 or visit http://www.muju.org.uk/ enter the site, click 'rewind' and then the podcast.

'Jewish Way of Life' resource

2008-05-13T05:05:00.014+01:00

"The Jewish Way of Life resource is dedicated to the memory of Ruth Winston Fox (1912 – 2007) and Ester Gluck (1982—2006) who in their lives and actions embodied the values of the Jewish Way of Life."
Through a partnership of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, ORT and The Pears Foundation, the 'Jewish Way of Life' CD-Rom has been created for pupils in British schools. It introduces Judaism to children and young people through films, music and a large number of varied activities. It was launched - in the presence of government ministers, Jewish communal leaders and representatives of other faiths - on 12 May 2008.

Linked to it is a website of information, advice and additional activities for teachers to use. Copies of the CD-Rom, which are free of charge, can be ordered through the website http://www.jwol.org.uk/

Stained glass window

2008-03-16T12:00:00.000Z

Click on image to enlarge.

Friends have contributed to the creation of a beautiful stained glass window in memory of Ester. The windows at North Western (Alyth) Synagogue have been designed, constructed and installed by London-born Israeli artist Ardyn Halter to capture the spirit of the months of the Jewish year. The one dedicated to Ester is for the month of Tishri - the month in which she died - and is the first of the windows (that is, on the right).

There will be a simple dedication ceremony during the Shabbat morning service (which begins at 10.30) on Saturday 3 May 2008. If you would like more details, write to estermemories@hotmail.co.uk

'Project Ester' and a jewel in the crown

2008-03-03T00:02:00.001Z

“Many of you knew Ester Gluck... Those of you who did not know her would have noticed her in shul—her long curly hair, her humungous platform shoes, her wicked smile and, of course, her beautiful voice which entranced us all when she leyned, davened, or simply joined in. Ester was an integral part of Minyan Hadash”—wrote Debbie Usiskin, coordinator of the Minyan Hadash at New London Synagogue and of 'Project Ester'.

‘Project Ester’ is a Minyan initiative—in Ester’s memory—to commission a Torah mantle and cover, an Ark curtain and a cloth for the ‘bimah’ table. Debbie Usiskin adds: “The design and development of these pieces will help to identify and consolidate our community.” Lana Young, an experienced textile artist—who knew Ester—accepted the commission and has already given generously of her time and ideas. Her early designs are very exciting. No prizes for guessing the colours!

Our task now is to raise the necessary funds… And Gina Sanders is first off the mark in organising a sale of hand-made jewellery (varying in style and price) and her original greetings cards made from her own beautiful photographic images. This sale will very appropriately take place on the Sunday evening before Purim - 16th March - 6.30-7.30 and 9.00-10.00. In between - at 7.30 - there will be a lecture by Rabbi Reuven Hammer entitled, "Was Esther written by a Jewish Jane Austen?"

So can you be a gem...

by coming along and buying jewellery or cards on 16th March?
by raising funds in your own way, perhaps with friends—such as through a sale or by a sponsored something-or-other?

The Magical Muju Crew: The MUJU UpstARTS Festival

2008-03-02T20:00:00.000Z

A group of young Jewish and Muslim artists are working together to create a day of art and culture to promote tolerance and understanding between faiths and to raise money for The Separated Foundation, established in memory of Ester Gluck.

Visit the website http://www.muju.org.uk/

“It’s really intended to demonstrate that, contrary to what the media would have us believe, when you throw Muslims and Jews together, they can be creative and not destructive.”
Warren Minde, co-organiser of The MUJU UpstARTS Festival

This event is inspired by the memory of Ester Gluck who was a member of the Muju Crew at the Tricycle Theatre and worked with people seeking asylum. All proceeds will go to a charity called THE SEPARATED CHILD FOUNDATION that has been set up in her name.

The charity supports refugee children who experience the double trauma of separation not only from their homeland, culture and natural environment but also from the adults in their family who gave them care.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
A cacophany of collaboration between exciting young Jewish and Muslim artists, including a new play by the Muju Crew. There'll be music, films, comedy, performance poetry, mural-painting and more!

WHERE?
At The Tricycle Theatre, 269 High Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7JR
http://www.tricycle.co.uk/ 020 7328 1000

WHEN?
On Sunday 2nd March 2008, 1.00-8.00 pm

Tunnel Vision

2007-12-24T19:27:00.000Z

A documentary film has been made by Yoav Segal about the Tricycle Theatre Jewish-Muslim Youth Theatre Group, which calls itself 'The Muju Crew'. The film, which lasts just over 11 minutes, partly focuses on Muju's first production Tunnel Vision. It has been dedicated to Ester's memory and was shown at "Ester's Walks of Life", 9 September 2007. You can watch the film at
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=15888805022&oid=6619278667

You need to login to, or sign up for, Facebook. You also have the chance to download the right flash player. There is no charge. Full credits for the film appear at the end.

Batsheva Schilis: under her wing

2007-12-16T08:33:00.001Z

I want to let you know how deeply Ester touched my life in the brief time I knew her. I've never met anyone as caring and as genuinely kind as her. She took me under her wing and took the time to look after me when I was so far away from home.

Salusbury WORLD: extraordinariness

2007-12-09T15:20:00.000Z

Sarah Reynolds (Manager: Salusbury WORLD) writes:

Ester made an enormous contribution to this charity: she was so committed and had a relentless energy and enthusiasm as well as a fantastic relationship with the children. We were all so shocked and upset to hear of her death last year; even now it is hard to take it in.

Reading the blog and attending her funeral, her extraordinariness became even more apparent. She was a remarkable, generous and principled human being who achieved more in her short life than most of us do in decades.

We just wanted to add our voices to the many offering their sympathy but also our gratitude for the tremendous amount that Ester gave to us and the children we work with.

From the Salusbury WORLD annual report, 2007:
This year’s Annual Report is dedicated to the memory of Ester Gluck, an incredibly enthusiastic and vibrant volunteer who not only had a genuine love for children but also real interest in refugee issues. Aside from the varied support she gave us at the After School & Holiday Club and other Salusbury WORLD events, Ester also gave much of her time to the Refugee Council, as well as pioneering a theatre project bringing together Jewish and Muslim artists in Kilburn. She was a truly unique and selfless individual who will be sorely missed and never forgotten.

Lindsay: a wonderful vibe

2007-11-22T14:16:00.001Z

I’ve missed Ester like crazy. She was someone you could connect with instantly, a deeply warm and beautiful person. We used to do yoga together and go to Bute Park in Cardiff, drinking fruit shakes, talking and planning about Ghana. When I finally went to Ghana, she was kind enough to meet me at the airport. A huge hearted soul, with a wonderful vibe, always patient. I am truly so sorry. I can’t believe she's gone.

Shirley Wilson: teacher/learner; learner/teacher

2007-11-02T01:39:00.000Z

I was stressed having not taken an ‘away from it all holiday’, so found solace in countless visits to Homebase searching for feel-good plants. I overheard a voice in the crowd – Ester came to mind. It was Angela.

I waited in the car park. I didn’t want to alarm her, as she quickly got into her car, windows up. I had to knock on the window. She looked through the glass, a little alarmed, so I gestured ‘wind the window down.’

“It’s me, Shirley Wilson, Ester’s teacher” (as if I had been the only teacher she had ever had). “How is Ester?” I had last asked Robin that at a conference on Race and Equality at City Hall last year. Angela did not speak – for a long while. We were frozen in a moment in time. When Angela said, “You don’t know...?” I began to shudder.

My world stood still, as I began to remember Ester. Angela climbed out of the car and we hugged, as we remembered Ester.

I was traumatised – I chose not to cry, but went immediately to the website to discover what had become of Ester. I bawled all afternoon as I remembered Ester. Tears of joy I wept as I read the messages on the website, which showed that she had been true to herself.

Ester championed the cause.
Equality, Rights and Justice.
I remember Ester.
Pure Spirit.
Wise beyond her years.
Challenging me – questioning me, always wanting to know more.
“Miss Wilson ……….?”
“Miss Wilson, you know what you said about ………., well ……….”
And on and on and on.

I remember Ester
Because she made me the learner
As we reasoned, on life.

Who was this child?
And who was her mother?
(In fact, Ester challenged me all year.)
Class teacher and Humanities Co-ordinator for the school – History, Geography and RE.
Ester loved RE lessons – challenge, questions, discussions, views……….
As a 9/10 year old
Ester and I shared – teacher/learner; learner/teacher - the inhumanity
And inJustice
And inEquality
We shared the Respect
And Love
That is needed in the world.
I loved Ester Gluck – Pure Spirit.
I think on Ester and smile.
When I think of Ester, I remember Angela, her mother—the womb of that Pure Spirit, wise beyond her years.
I was privileged to know Ester.
Love you Ester.
(present tense)
You are ever present in my remembrance
... and you chose to wear the colour purple—the colour purple.
I had shared The Colour Purple with you.

God, Jah Rastafari, Conquering Lion Of Judah , Jehovah, Father, Yahweh, Brahman, Allah knows best.

Bronya Gorney: swirl of softness and strength

2007-10-29T09:44:00.000Z

Bronya's address during "Ester's Walks of Life" on 9 September 2007

I first met Ester when she applied to volunteer abroad in Africa and, from the start, Ester stood out from the crowd.

Ester had this wonderfully open sincerity and genuine concern for the world around her that, even from afar, one could see underpinned her choices in life. Ester was authentic.

During the preparation for her first trip to Ghana, Ester really got to grips with the complex issues involved. She had an acute sensitivity within her. Like an old fashioned radio that can pick up cries from far distant lands so too could Ester perceive need in places she’d never been. Ester was finely tuned into the world around her.

As a fellow volunteer, I always appreciated how utterly reliable Ester was and how keen she was to help out. She was always able to hone in on what needed to be done and then quietly just get on and do it brilliantly!

Her warm heart and sense of fun made working with her a good laugh, too. It was wonderful to have a friend who you could have a blast with one minute and a serious discussion with the next. I think that the groups that went to Ghana with her were very lucky indeed.

There are two things that really struck me about Ester more than anything else and I’d like to share them with you.

The first was her unique mix of gentle kindness with a strength of character and self-assurance, that somehow never detracted from her sympathetic touch. An amazing swirl of softness and strength.

The second thing that really struck me about Ester I first noticed on her return from her trip to Ghana, where Ester had acted as the group coordinator. Ester sat in a meeting, hair braided, eyes shining, with this fresh beauty, determinedly arguing her cause. And I saw her as a real leader, fighting for those causes she believed in. I saw her as that rare precious being, a strong female leader, a tribal princess, a princess of Judah.

How lucky were we to have such a beautiful, compassionate young woman representing us as Jews to the rest of the world. For me, Ester will always be a radiant soldier, a Purple Princess.

Kwasi Joseph: tribute in Twi

2007-10-09T14:39:00.000+01:00

Kwasi Joseph taught Twi to Adoaw Ester in person, on the phone and by letter. He has translated into English his own tribute to her in Twi.

TRIBUTE FROM JOSEPH,

FRIENDS AND FAMILIES AT GHANA

TRIBUTE IN LOCAL LANGUAGE (TWI)

Owuo, den nti na wo ye see? Wafa me dofo efr me nkyen. se nka etumi eka akyere owuuo se ofa medofo mere me. Nanso aka akyeri dodo. Onankopon na ema onoa na egye enti yen fa nnase mma no.

Oh! Adoaw, mante wo nne da kosi se wafi mu. Eye mme yaw pii se yen nkommobo no anka akyire. Nanso menim se senea ete biara ye behyiam bio na yea hye yen adamfofa no den. Eye woa adamfo Joseph a mefi Ghana ne ma abuafonyinaa.

DA YIE!!!!!!!

TRIBUTE IN ENGLISH

Death why do you have to do suuch a thing? By taken a loved one from me. I wish i could tell death to bring back the one i loved but it is too late. The lord gives and he has taken as Job said, May his name be praised.

Oh! Adoaw, I couldn't hear you till death has taken you away from us. Am very Sad and it painful that our conversation couldn't last. But i koow that we shall meet once again and continure our friendship. It your friend Joseph from Ghana and families wishing you.

FARWELL!!!!!!!

The Separated Child Foundation

2007-10-09T07:00:00.000+01:00

Charity Commission for England and Wales registration number: 1120669
[The registration of the Foundation was announced during the “Ester’s Walks of Life” programme on 9 September 2007.]

The Separated Child Foundation has been established “in memory of Ester Gluck, a compassionate and creative young woman who was strongly committed to working for the benefit of refugees and people seeking asylum, and had a particularly deep concern for separated children and young people.” The Foundation seeks to extend and intensify her work.

By 'separated', The Separated Child Foundation refers to children and young people under the age of 21 who are refugees or seeking asylum and whose parents or guardians are not with them. Separated children experience the double trauma of separation not only from their homeland, culture and natural environment but also from the adults in their family who gave them care.

The Foundation has two objectives:

to offer emotional, social, financial and physical support to separated children and young people—either directly or indirectly through their carers
to engage in educational activities that raise awareness of the needs of separated children in particular, and of refugees and people seeking asylum in general—activities that encourage positive responses to those needs.

The Foundation will meet these objectives not only by generating its own projects but also by making grants to other bodies that are engaged in this field. The Trustees are considering a range of projects and ways of securing funds to initiate and implement them.

The Trustees are Mark Friend, Angela Gluck, Jonty Hurwitz, Michael Marx (Treasurer, 2007—) and Robin Richardson (Chair, 2007—). The Trust Secretary is Sarah Kleiman.

A sample of projects that the Trustees are considering:

ANNUAL GRANTS TO ‘THE ESTER CINEMA CLUB’
Ester Gluck raised funds for film and music equipment for use in the youth club run by the Refugee Council (at their national headquarters in south London); it has been named in her memory. It needs to renew its annual licence to show films and also needs blackout curtains so that films can be shown on light evenings.

A YOUTH CLUB IN NORTH LONDON
The youth club run by the Refugee Council in South London is the only one in the country for separated children. There is a need for a parallel club or other provision north of the Thames.

DAY TRIPS AND SHORT RESIDENTIAL HOLIDAYS

MATERIAL SUPPORT FOR NEW ARRIVALS AND THOSE AGED 16 LEAVING FOSTER CARE
This provision might include shoes or winter clothing, household items or educational materials.

SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION FOR THOSE AGED 16-18
They are currently inappropriately housed in hostels or B&B where they may be physically and emotionally vulnerable.

‘MORE THAN A FRIEND’
This involves adults ‘adopting’ (in the style of an aunt, uncle or godparent) separated young people over the age of 16. A ‘more than a friend’ would offer friendship and invitations for meals and outings.

GIVING SEPARATED CHILDREN A VOICE
This entails recording the experiences of separated children based on their lives in their country of origin and in the UK. We hope that this will give separated children a stronger voice and that it will, over time, become a valuable record and educational tool. We will create a newsletter to enable separated children to communicate with each other.

*******

The website of The Separated Child Foundation is under construction and news of its completion will be posted here. Until then, please write to estermemories@hotmail.co.uk if you wish to:

be kept informed of the Foundation’s activities
make a donation to its work (this can be gift-aided for tax benefit)
initiate a fund-raising event
be involved in any of the Foundation’s activities

John Robinson: the force of her love

2007-10-09T06:51:00.000+01:00

During the "Ester's Walks of Life" programme on 9 September 2007, John spoke about Ester before reading Patrick Kavanagh's poem In memory of my mother.

One of the last times I met Ester was on a beautiful hot summer's evening. We went to Golder's Green and spent several happy hours smoking Nirgila, drinking mint tea, talking, eyeing people up and generally putting the world to rights. I remember it as a gloriously happy evening, one in which we tasted the goodness of life together. I still return within myself to this memory periodically when I want to refresh my spirit and it seems to me that I am still warming myself at the fire that burned so brightly and beautifully within Ester, even from beyond the grave. I also knew Ester in the context of the painstaking and often difficult context of interfaith dialogue and reflecting on this several things stand out. Firstly, that amazing smile of hers which would light up her own features and had a way of spreading to the faces of others so that it seemed as if the whole room would light up. Secondly, her ability to dance all night, and I mean all night, to the greatest hits of Nina Simone, another occasion which will remain forever etched on my memory. Yet perhaps most of all there was the incredible warmth with which she could envelope people and issues so that it seemed that not even that which was most implacably frozen could stay in that state, but ultimately had to yield to the force of her love. The poem I am about to read was written by Patrick Kavanagh for his mother; I read it now for Ester:

Patrick Kavanagh: In memory of my mother

I do not think of you lying in the wet clay
Of a Monaghan graveyard; I see
You walking down a lane among the poplars
On your way to the station, or happily

Going to second Mass on a summer Sunday—
You meet me and you say:
'Don't forget to see about the cattle—'
Among your earthiest words the angels stray.

And I think of you walking along a headland
Of green oats in June,
So full of repose, so rich with life—
And I see us meeting at the end of a town

On a fair day by accident, after
The bargains are all made and we can walk
Together through the shops and stalls and markets
Free in the oriental streets of thought.

O you are not lying in the wet clay,
For it is harvest evening now and we
Are piling up the ricks against the moonlight
And you smile up at us—eternally.

LDSG annual report: a true and compassionate fighter

2007-09-24T21:10:00.000+01:00

Caroline White, Chair of the London Detainee Support Group, ends the 2006/07 report by referring to:

"... the sudden and tragic death of a great favourite of staff, volunteers and detainees, Ester Gluck. Her family attended a memorial gathering we organized to celebrate her life and to remember Ester as we all knew her — a true and compassionate fighter for those whose lives are much less comfortable than our own."

Ester Gluck, 1982-2006
The sudden and untimely death in September 2006 of our colleague Ester Gluck was a great shock to all who knew her. Ester was heavily involved with LDSG for over two years as a volunteer and staff member.

She began to volunteer with LDSG in Autumn 2004, working one day per week in the office and visiting a detainee another day. As office volunteer, she covered the detainee freephone, and invariably dominated one end of our cramped and somewhat chaotic former offices on Holloway Road. From the start, she regularly had to be cajoled into finishing a telephone conversation with a detainee as we tried to close the office at the end of the day. She had an uncanny ear to be able to communicate with every client in exactly their own register, and visited many of our most lost and disorientated clients.

In her ten months as a staff member, Ester extended her formidable skills to supporting volunteers. She was as endlessly patient and supportive of all the volunteers she supervised, as she was furiously intolerant of hypocrisy wherever she encountered it.

Ester was an extraordinary human being. Her irresistible passion and commitment, and truly exceptional ability to communicate with even the most distressed and damaged clients, influenced all she worked with. The depth of feeling throughout the organisation was clear at the memorial event we organised, which was attended by members of Ester’s family, and from the many tributes from volunteers and clients. She is greatly missed.

Aisha Phoenix: The Purple Princess at Parly

2007-09-24T08:32:00.000+01:00

During "Ester's Walks of Life", 9 September 2007, a film of Ester singing Ebony and Ivory was shown. Then Aisha introduced and read her poem Irresistible Smile, which refers to Ester singing Ebony and Ivory (see Aisha's post below, dated 20 April 2007).

The Purple Princess at Parly

I started at Parliament Hill Girls in Year 8 just before Ester joined. We were both placed in Ms Youlton's form group. Ester with her strong convictions, great sense of humour and passion for acting and singing, fitted in easily and was welcomed into the creative "in" crowd. Her talents meant the Purple Princess often performed at school events ranging from plays, musicals and choir evenings to orchestra concerts. I remember acting in the Jean Anouilh version of the play Antigone in summer 1995 alongside Ester *. I can hear her laughter during orchestra practice, oboe on her lap, as I sat with my squeaky violin and I also hear her voice standing out in choir practice. But most of all I see the twinkle in her eyes and her smile all around.

* Aisha has found a ticket, saying it was at 7 pm on Thursday 29 June 1995 in the New Hall. £1 adults, £0.50 children.

Natalie Marx: my hair-braided purple sister

2007-09-23T10:47:00.000+01:00

During the 'Ester's Walks of Life' programme on 9 September 2007, Natalie spoke about Ester before introducing and reading the poem by Ama Ata Aidoo (see post below).

Estie, you made me smile ALL the time.
You laughed with me and made me laugh.
You cried with me and cried for me.
You gave me little gifts to tell me you were thinking of me.
You listened first and then you shared.
You gave advice and helped me make decisions.
You understood me, even when I didn’t understand myself.
You encouraged me and gave me strength.
You loved me and always made sure I knew.
You helped me figure out who I am and who I want to be.
You held my hand so I knew you were there.
You taught me what it means to be a friend and you taught me what it feels like to have a best friend.

As Ester and I had officially proclaimed our ‘sisterhood’ status in Ghana, we deemed it only natural that we should inherit our own surrogate Ghanaian mother. Now being sisters with remarkably good taste – particularly when it comes to selecting members of our family – we prided ourselves (and Angela, of course) on tracking down Ghana’s award winning author, playwright and women’s activist…Ama Ata Aidoo.

Through an extraordinary sequence of events, Angela had graced us with the contact details for Ama Ata Aidoo and prior to our arrival in Ghana Ester had in fact already begun reading a selection of Ama Ata’s short stories…and in no time had become a fan. She had caught the Ama Ata bug.

Ama Ata was born in 1942 in the Fante region of Ghana and grew up in a Fante royal household. Ama Ata’s works of fiction particularly deal with the tension between Western and African world views. Many of her protagonists are women who defy the stereotypical women’s role of their time. She is also an accomplished poet and has written several children’s books.

Aside from her literary career, Ama Ata was appointed the Minister of Education in Ghana around the time that Ester was born. She resigned after 18 months and has since spent a great deal of time teaching abroad as a visiting professor in the African Studies Department at Brown University in the United States.

So I think that Estie and I had selected one of, if not THE, most inspiring beautiful Ghanaian mothers…

Ester’s relationship with Ama Ata blossomed as they would sit for hours upon hours discussing and debating, amongst other things, the wonders of which of their nation’s roots had the prior claim to the original sounds of Hebrew.

The poem I am about to read to you was written just weeks ago by Ama Ata , especially for Ester. It is a poem that encapsulates my hair braided purple sister…

Ama Ata Aidoo: A Note from Ghana

2007-09-23T04:21:00.000+01:00

Ama Ata Aidoo wrote this poem for "Ester's Walks of Life": it was introduced and read by Natalie Marx (see post above).

A NOTE FROM GHANA

Dear Ester,

You
Hair-braiding
Doek-wearing girl-Brit:
You burst upon us
With dancing eyes, and
The most wondrous spirit…
…Ever.

Clambering up and down
Ancient kombis, 207s, and
Sundry other rickety, rusty, and risible
Moving machines of
Doubtful even-these-roads’-worthiness,
beating market mothers at their game.

You stride through our
Mini jungles and maxi environmental challenges
With the ease of
Not just another native, but a never-left.

Or at the very least, like any returnee, with
Affections to restore,
Rights to claim,
Structures to repair.

Very Dear Ester,

We are greatly amazed by just how much
You remind us of the
Working conquering queens
We have known:

Ask London about Yaa Asantewa, and
Lisbon, of Nzingha.

But talking of markets,
What was it with you and me and
Makola:
Our vast, long-suffering
City centre choked full of chaos, commerce?
And… and…
Makolet?

Then there were those
Good-natured but endless
Questions,
Philosophically exciting,
Intellectually intriguing, on
Which of our nation’s ethnicities are
The true bearers of Hebraic matrilineal retentions?

Akan overlords who, in reality,
Can only rule if sanctioned by the female line, or
The Gas with their latter-day patriarchies and
Ancient subsumed theocracy?

Your royal highness,
The great debates you initiated on our shores
Are not about to end just yet.
And we are not even sorry.

Oh, see how you trail your queenly umbilicus from the womb
—needing not a second of
Princess-hood…

You Ester,
Are nobody’s candle in the wind.

A bird? Perhaps.
Some wildly joyous morning thriller
With the lightest wings of the longest span,
gloriously hued:
Ochre, silver, and glowing indigo,

Who swept through our universe, and
Brushed lightly past us as she flew…

Adjoa Ester,
It is true
You are not here.

But Child, you are hardly gone.

Ama Ata Aidoo
Accra, Ghana
August 21, 2007

Robin Richardson: Words for Ester

2007-09-12T11:31:00.000+01:00

Spoken at "Ester's Walks of Life", 9 September 2007

Tributes, memories, messages and pledges from her friends

All the words here are direct quotations from reflections written over the last year, and published on The Purple Princess website. Most of the authors are present here this afternoon. Those who are not physically present are no doubt with us in spirit.

Hey, cheeky, cheerful, chirpy, quirky, quick, flirty, worky, shirty, shapely, shining, dining, divining one. I am missing looking forward to seeing you.

Deeply passionate, deeply spiritual, open and accepting … a ball of vibrant electric inspiring energy …shining and twinkling, smiling and happy, face glowing, wisdom flowing, words knowing … a flash of purple brilliance… wisdom, wit and a wonderful view of the world … a perfect role model of what humankind should be like … inspired by everyone and thus she was an inspiration… my greatest critical friend, the greatest I could ever hope for… I learnt so much about myself from the person you were and the things you showed me… You dazzled me, warmed me, pumped purple fire through me … You helped transform so many of our experiences… You have scattered your purple and golden glitter dust over all of us.

‘Est is best’ … ‘impressed by Est’… ‘my North, my South, my East, my West’… ‘Est, well dressed’.

You named us, you knew us, you helped us know ourselves.

And we will remember where you chose to shine your light.

Dislocation and wandering are great blessings; they are also heavy loads. Those who can walk lightly carrying such weight deserve the highest praise.

She connected to people who had been cast-off by society, the powerless, the ignored, and she would meet them heart-to-heart.

I’m not sure that anyone could ever really say no to her once she got going.

Can’t just wasn’t a word in her vocabulary.

Small, even in big boots, but she carried many people.

An extraordinary talent for listening. Her rants were legendary, but when speaking to someone who was weak or suffering, her patience was without limits. She had a way of listening that made people feel understood and forgiven and accepted entirely.

Any time she spoke to me I feel like I have seen all my scattered family back home and feel so happy.

In dialogue, she always knew how to hear the other, and how to make herself heard, in a language the other could absorb.

She knew how to stand in difficult places. She had the empathy, the gentleness, the intelligence, the kindness, and the bravery.

‘There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world even though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for mankind.’

Let us endorse her life by being more kind, more compassionate, more patient, more loving, more gentle, more playful, more proactive.

And we will remember: ‘When a stranger lives with you in your land, do not ill treat that stranger. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love that stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt.’

‘My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song.’

When ‘Perfect Harmony’ cut through the quiet room at your Batmitzvah your smile shone above rapturous applause. Without even closing my eyes I see that same smile.

And we will remember: ‘You are not free to complete the task but neither are you free to refrain from it.’

There is a voice that is missing now and we must struggle to hear it. For our own sakes, it is important that we continue to listen to Ester, to remember never to become complacent. In this way, the beauty of Ester’s singing and the strength and power of her voice can continue to act as an inspiration and a guide to us.

Bye Esty, I am less without you, and the world is so much poorer without you, so we will all have to love the world, and each other, that little bit more, to make up for it.

As the budding spring flowers crown Nature with Life, you remind us to “Choose Life”.
And so we will.

Rabbi Jeremy Gordon: selective memory

2007-09-11T11:44:00.000+01:00

Rabbi Jeremy's eulogy at Ester's stone-setting ceremony on 9 September 2007

My memories of Ester don’t behave themselves.

In preparation for this address I went to Ester’s blog.
It’s an incredible collection of memories, poems, drawings, letters, sermons even. I know many of us gathered here today have posted on it.

I went to the blog with the intention of printing the whole thing up and dramatically unfurling it today, before us all.
I went to the blog, selected all and pressed print.
And 63 pages in, my printer gave up and became capable only of producing a stream of numbers,
6838723723
line after line and page after page of incomprehensible babble until I managed to get it to stop.

My memories of Ester don’t behave themselves and, for me, they have this strange tendency to collapse into a stream of babble, devoid of meaning, or at the very least meaningful only in a way beyond any human comprehension.

Perhaps the problem is the sheer impossibility of a life so short, being so full.
‘Ester, you changed my life,’ opens one blog posting.
There are tributes from many involved in the important work of the London Detainee Support Group applauding Ester’s incredible gifts and commitment as a visitor to asylum detainees and as a supporter of other visitors.
There are postings from detainees from Harmondsworth. Who’s visiting them now?
There is a posting about the Ester Film Club, set up to show films to unaccompanied refugee children. The equipment and funds for the Club were raised at an evening Ester organised and led.
There is a posting about Ester’s work in Ghana, for Tzedek.
There is announcement of a day of learning on refugees, in Ester’s memory.
There’s a mention that a seat at the Tricycle Theatre, where Ester performed with the Jewish & Muslim Youth Theatre Group, has been named in her memory.
An announcement that a Torah mantle and ark cover are to be commissioned in her honour for her prayer community, the Minyan Hadash at New London Synagogue.
Rabbis riff off various Biblical verses: You Shall Be Holy, for I God and Holy. You Shall Not Wrong The Stranger, For You Were Strangers in the land of Egypt. Act Justly And Love Mercy.
There are postings from Imams, from Christians, from people of all religions, and none.
There are postings from old friends, ‘I first met Ester when she was Angela’s bump.’
And postings from those who met Ester only once, and still she made an impact most would struggle to match in a lifelong friendship.
There are postings about her empathy, her generosity, her dancing, her powers of debate, her encouragement of so many.
There are postings about purple, about Barbie dolls and Picasso, Ivor the Engine, and immigration minister Tony McNulty, and Kylie Minogue and learning Twi, and leyning and …

And the printer gives up and spews out only a stream of numbers
6838723
Maybe that’s the problem, for my printer and I.
Maybe the problem is that Ester just crammed too much life into her 24 years to be held even on a blog.
But in honesty, I think there is a different problem.

Another problem that blows out my printer and my heart when I think of Ester.
The problem of the sheer horridness of it all.
There have been many ways, many days, this past year, when Ester’s memory has come to mind, motivated me and my work, but sometimes it all just brings me to a juddering halt.
And I am visitor to this grief.
There are so many more of you here who knew Ester far better than I, so many of you here for whom the terrible loss of Ester, that horrid night last year, is far, far more constant.
And these memories have the power to render everything meaningless
6838723723
Or if not meaningless then meaningful only in ways beyond human ken.

Angela, your extraordinary strength, today and every day this past year is beyond my ability to know.
Your commitment not to give up.
Your commitment to a day of learning on refugees, in memory of Ester.
Your commitment to your surrogate family of conversion candidates and wanderers at New London Synagogue and so many other places.
This commitment is almost unfathomable and a huge testament to everything that Ester stood for.
It’s very special to see so many of those who you, Angela, have touched this year, here to commemorate and mark this day with you.
I don’t know how you do it.
For to dwell too long on the memories of Ester threatens to overwhelm us all.
6838723723

My memories of Ester don’t behave themselves.
But then, I am not sure they should.
I don’t really believe in accurate memory.

In just a few days the Jews among us will mark a festival known best as Rosh Hashanah.
But the festival has other names. The Rabbis call this Festival – Yom Hazikaron, the day of memory.
And at the heart of our prayers on this day we sing of God’s memory
Ki zocher kol hanishkachot atah – For You Remember All that is Forgotten.
That’s God for you.
Atah zocher masei olam ufoked kol ytzurey kedem – You Remember Every Action of the World, Every Inclination from the most ancient of days.
What mortal could remember everything?

The great writer Jorge Louis Borges has a tale about a human who remembered everything, who forgot nothing.
Funes the Memorious who gained his most prodigious memory as a result of riding accident.
‘While, at one glance,’ Borges says, ‘we can perceive three glasses on a table, Funes, all the leaves and tendrils and fruit that make up a grape vine. He knew by heart the forms of the southern clouds at dawn on 30 April 1882 and could compare them in his memory with the mottled streaks on a book in Spanish binding he had seen only once, and with the outlines of the foam raised by an oar in the Rio Negro the night before [some long forgotten] uprising… It was very difficult for [Funes] to sleep’ Borges tells us ‘lying on his back on his cot in the shadows he could imagine every crevice and every moulding… In the teeming world of Funes there were only details, all most immediate in their presence.’
Funes is paralysed, paralysed by his accident, but also, surely, paralysed by his memory.
Borges has his most memorable invention die of congestion.
Too much memory, too much accuracy can drown
6838723723

Maybe this is the biggest danger of what we do here today.
Maybe we are in danger of drowning in too much accurate memory.
Too much accurate memory can paralyse us and stop us from living out the lessons of personal engagement, empathy and kindness, the lessons that are the true charges of Ester’s life.

I don’t really believe in accurate memory.
I’m not sure Jews are supposed to.
In that part of the section of the Rosh Hashanah service when we sing of God’s memory we recite a verse from Jeremiah.
And God said, ‘I [God] remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your days of courtship, how you [the children of Israel] followed me into the wilderness, to a land unsown.

It’s nonsense, of course.
Or at the very least it’s a desperately selective way of telling the story of the wandering of the Children of Israel in the wilderness.
The accurate version of events would recall a lot of complaining, whinging, idol building and rebellions.
But somehow in the five hundred years, or so, between the Exodus with its whinging and grumbling, and the time of Jeremiah, all the failings, all the moments of darkness have faded.
And we are left with beautiful memories, hesed neuriach – the kindness of your youth ahavat kalulotaiyich the love of your days of courtship.

This is my kind of memory.
Selective.
Losing particularly some of the pain and the darkness.
Losing the memories that are too much to hold.
Losing the memories that paralyse.
Remembering the moments of triumph, delight, love.
The memories that can motivate me today and into the future.
Ester’s joy, her tremendous successes, all the lives she touched, changed for the better.
The way Ester would look at me and make me want to do better, be better, a better citizen of the world, a better Jew, a better person.
I can live forward with these selective memories.

These are the memories to carve in stone.
These are the memories we should pledge ourselves to hold dear.
For today and for our future commemorations and celebrations of one extraordinary life.

And the other memories.
The memories that crash my printer and result in a stream of meaninglessness.
I hereby let them go.
God – zocher kol hanishcachot – you can have them.
I, instead, commit myself, for the year ahead, and whatever gift of life I am to be blessed with,
I commit myself to selective memory.
Provocative, inspiring, life-bettering memories indeed, but selective memories nonetheless.

And may these memories,
Ester Bracha bat Moreinu Harav Tzvi Hirsh v’Elkah,
Ester Adjuah Elizabeth Gluck,
May these memories always be a blessing!

Debbie Bogard: transcending

2007-09-10T11:15:00.000+01:00

I knew Ester what now feels like many years ago, when we were both involved with the Synagogue youth group. I was a few years older than Ester and when you’re younger, age always seems to be more important, more relevant somehow. It was obvious that Ester was never going to be tied down to such a pointless convention. Not that she even had to do anything, she just happened to be transcending age simply through being herself, radiating wisdom and intelligence and beauty.

Many years later, I was delighted to bump into Ester when she was working in the Salusbury deli. I went there a lot that year and would sometimes see Ester and Angela. Despite those years in between, those meetings felt genuinely meaningful, connecting in the present with a strong sense of a shared past.

I was devastated to learn of Ester’s death and, in Rabbi Gordon’s words, feel impoverished at the loss. I was honoured to attend Ester’s stone setting yesterday and gratified to be able to learn more about Ester’s life and her exceptional achievements. I know that she will serve as an inspiration to me in how to live a good and righteous life.

Joe Landson: Daydream in Color

2007-09-07T11:30:00.000+01:00

Every time I wonder if I'm really helping anyone, I daydream about the Nina Simone Brigades.

Like all shadowy social justice groups, they have a fearless and beautiful leader: a young English Jewess in combat boots.

In the gray dawn, they ambush the venal and pompous with rainbow paint guns, darning them to eternal coloration.

At yellow midday, they guide refugees to shelter, shedding noontime on their plight.

On orange afternoons, they comfort friends with timeless wisdom, fresh fruit from an ancient tree.

Come reddening dusk, they sing and dance in sad ecstasy.

By inky midnight, they have parachuted elsewhere, and only our pale purple prose recalls them.

Matthew Thompson: outrun and extend

2007-09-06T11:24:00.001+01:00

Ester obviously had the gift for uniting diverse people, building real trust and friendship in situations where others dare not tread. This takes vision and courage and a willingness to sacrifice egos, yet never at the expense of integrity. Above all, such vital work requires a warmth and openness of heart, which, in turn, makes a person so loveable and at the same time so vulnerable. Ester’s reach and vision extended from and to the very depths of the human heart, where great blessing is sure to be found and where (contrary to appearances) it will always be beyond whatever depth troubles and doubts may reach.

Clare Carter: changed my life

2007-08-23T01:24:00.000+01:00

Ester... you changed my life...

To be honest, compared to so many people I hardly knew you - but in the short time I knew you - you showed me so much...

I learnt so much about myself from the person you were and the things you showed me.

I wish I could be at your stone-setting to show you how much you did for me.

I think about you so very much...

Thank you for everything!

Your light will never fade away!!!

Love always
Clare
xxx

(Ester was my mentor at LDSG)

Matthew Thompson: light

2007-08-21T21:14:00.000+01:00

Ester was a light to lighten the Gentiles. No earthly darkness or doubt can ever truly extinguish such light.

Stone Setting

2007-08-01T21:30:00.000+01:00

The stone for Ester's grave will be set at 2:30 pm on Sunday 9th September 2007. Afterwards refreshments will be served nearby and then there will be a gathering of “Ester's Walks of Life" organised by her friends: memories and reflections, as well as pieces of music and film in which Ester features.

If you would like to attend, please write to
ESTERMEMORIES@HOTMAIL.CO.UK

As part of "Ester's Walks of Life", we would like to draw together the Ester sayings and phrases that you remember her by, that to you symbolise her or that just sum up her essence for you: perhaps a joke, a sign off or a witty cynicism. We will do our best to weave these through our celebration of Ester's life, bringing more parts of the special woman we loved to be with us, in all her various purple ways.

You can send them to
ESTERMEMORIES@HOTMAIL.CO.UK

Philip Cheung: Daughter of Zion

2007-07-09T15:24:00.000+01:00

~~ Daughter of Zion ~~

Hark, Ester, white lily of the desert,
this is the voice of my heart—

As the cold wind and red dust whips across
the long path of your mystical journey,
You still walked on
without a pause!

As the damp fog and lonely mist danced together
to blur the vision of the world,
You still saw clearly
via the window of your soul!

As modern men and women swim aimlessly in
the lakes of pleasure and champagne,
You kept the mitzvah
with devotional faith!

As sages and scholars search diligently for
the Eternal Light of the Tanakh,
You delight in the Truth
of every Holy Word!

Hark, Ester, fragrant rose of Israel,
this is the voice of my heart—

As the Hokmah of Shekhina guides your thoughts,
I feel Her full force!

As the Holiness of Hakadosh adorns your words,
I hear them in awe!

As the Faithfulness of El-Berit keeps your deeds,
I see a true Daughter of Zion!

As the Harp of David instils your songs,
I hear you singing the Psalms!

Hark, Ester, magenta zinnia to your friends,
this is the voice of my heart—

As the zenith summer sun
brightens up the days,
Your smiles brighten up our lives!

As beautiful autumn leaves
paint the woods red and orange,
Your colourful character burnishes the Earth!

As the virgin winter snow
brings with it the Hannukah,
Your light bids goodbye to darkness, my old friend!

As the budding spring flowers
crown Nature with Life,
You remind us to “Choose Life!”
(And so we will!)

(A poem by “Purple Iron” in fond memory of the “Purple Princess”, Summer, 2007).

Finchley Reform Synagogue Teenagers: clearly

2007-06-20T18:33:00.000+01:00

Ester was a wonderful teacher on our Amsterdam trip and we all really enjoyed getting to know her. She clearly was a very special person and we really regret that we won’t be going on any more trips with her.

How special she was and how much we will miss her!

A Tricycle seat

2007-06-07T01:44:00.000+01:00

The Tricycle Theatre was an important part of Ester’s life. She loved drama in every form and having probably the best little theatre in London only a short walk from home was a great gift. From her very earliest years, she enjoyed shows and workshops for children and, later, performances for adult audiences. Much of her thinking about the world was shaped and coloured by watching and reflecting on plays related to Black, Irish and Jewish experiences.

As a Sixth Former, Ester joined the Tricycle Theatre youth drama workshop that performed its own production at the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts) in London.

She was a founding and stalwart member of the Tricycle Theatre Jewish and Muslim Youth Theatre—affectionately known as the ‘Muju’ group—established in September 2004. She played her part in its first creation, Tunnel Vision, which was performed twice at the Tricycle and also at other venues. In 2006, a decision was taken to create a DVD about the group and Tunnel Vision for educational distribution: Ester was filmed in workshops, rehearsal and a social event, and was interviewed about the process of play-making and her experience of the ‘Muju’ group. She died a few days later.

A seat at The Tricycle Theatre has been named:
In memory of Ester Gluck, 1982—2006

Rabbi Jeremy Gordon: carrying heavy loads lightly

2007-06-06T12:02:00.000+01:00

Our identity is formed in wandering and in dislocation. Even before Egypt and the oft repeated Biblical instruction to do right by the stranger because ‘you were strangers in the land of Egypt,’ even before the centuries of exile and displacement, we were a dislocated people.

Dislocation imbues a creativity, a sharpness of vision that comes from living a life less-normal. In particular dislocation changes the way a person relates to values. A wanderer doesn’t set great store by bricks and mortar. Rather splendour can be gauged by measure of hospitality offered; any simple act of kindness will do.

Moreover the stranger, by their very nature, needles the societies they appear in. The wanderer is a walking provocation to the status quo. Our very existence presents a novel experience for the societies around is, something new needs to be countenanced. We, us wanderers, push our face—pink, or black, or shrouded in a veil, or wreathed in a turban—up against the window and ask questions about toleration, pluralism and possibility. These are deeply valuable questions; they offer a measure of societal decency. And they are questions that can only be asked in the presence of one who is different.

Dislocation and wandering are great blessings, they are also heavy loads. Those who can walk lightly carrying such weight deserve the highest praise. And Ester was such a person.

Eiri: truly special

2007-06-05T17:09:00.000+01:00

Only the very tough and the determined can continue to visit those in the detention centres dumped near Heathrow Airport. And Ester was one of them. Everyone starts visiting with a good intention—some half-baked, others carved in their hearts. However many get defeated after a while, after one too many visit to the forbidding looking detention centre. Or another unannounced transfer. Or another removal. Or another assault. It is a soul-destroying journey to get there, a long ride on the tube, then a tiny local bus, then a miserable 10-minute walk by the motorway. The centre stands there, unmarked, despite what might be going on inside. There is no sign. The only sign that something is amiss is the strange gateway next to the building which is always closed and the security cameras everywhere. But you were strong, Ester, and kept going inside that building. Ester was a true exception to all the rules (including her boots and hair) and had the strongest of conviction that those in detention needed to be heard. And she did indeed hear the screams and prayers of detainees that even those of us who have been “professionally” trained to be a good listener couldn’t pick up. Her listening skill was special but I wonder if people understand what I mean by “special”. It was supernaturally good—does this make sense now? And, Ester, you could smell the dishonesty, pretensions and shallowness miles away, at a first glance, on the phone, on paper, face-to-face. I know you could just tell. And that’s why you were one of us, a bunch of opinionated agitators. Is everyone working in this asylum charity sector genuinely selfless? Does everyone have that depth of heart and humbleness Ester had? Not really. And that’s why we all loved you dearly. You were, after all, as Sabri the writer so aptly put it over our cheap curry, the conscience of LDSG. We felt that we could go on because you were there. I still find it difficult to believe that I won’t see you again. Or that I won’t hear you say like an innocent child, “Purple is my favourite colour” again. Sometimes I feel angry that the rest of the world seems to be unaware that this tremendous loss to humanity has occurred. People hear about it and say “oh how sad” but that’s not enough for me. But given that you were never troubled with things like what I normally call a false sense of self-grandeur, you would probably vehemently argue that you were not all that special. It didn’t go well with your sense of equality, did it? But you were truly special. And your absence seems particularly unfair. Jerome has always said that he had a perfect team, you, Sabri, Aoife and all the committed volunteers, and I had to agree that there was a perfect team. And it is very rare for Jerome or I to say that something is perfect, and you know that. Now we are trying to find a way to be perfect again and we miss you.

Rabbi Willy Wolff: heart, soul and might

2007-06-04T00:18:00.000+01:00

One commandment in the Torah seems uncannily to have been almost written with Ester in mind. For she observed it bechol levavah, with all her great heart, oovechol nufshah, with all her rich soul, oovechol me’odah, and with all her considerable might. It is to be found in the 33rd and 34th verses of the 19th chapter of the Book of Vayikra, Leviticus. And it commands: “When a stranger lives with you in your land, do not ill treat that stranger. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love that stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt. I am the Eternal Your God.” On which Rashi comments in three words: “Elloheycha Ve’Ellohav Anni—I am Your God and his God.”

Ester in her adult life gave the most concrete, human-contact form to the commandment to love the stranger. With that she blessed our needy society so abundantly. And so can we bless this society for every moment that we follow her example.

Syed: ‘My Guru’

2007-06-03T13:04:00.000+01:00

'My Guru'

Ester was my teacher. My first visit to the detention centre was in her company. She treated me like a mother would train a toddler to walk. She told me where to get off the bus. But later I found out that if she got off one stop after, she would have to walk less and not have to cross roads. I wanted to tell her but alas now I cannot.

She was also teaching me the use of database. If I was good at something, she would say “Brilliant!" I was pushed to my primary school days. She was equally good at chiding on your mistakes.

She was very soft-spoken and sympathetic. She appealed to the core of your psyche. She was loved and adored by all the detainees.

One of the detainees called the office. He was a Muslim from one of the African countries and said, “She died in the month of Ramadhan. She will go to heaven straight. No questions about that.” No comments!

Rabbi Helen Freeman: a particular gift

2007-06-02T22:46:00.001+01:00

“And a stranger shall you not wrong, neither shall you oppress them, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

This commandment is particularly close to my heart because my father came here as a stranger at the age of 12, frightened and vulnerable as a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany. Not only that, but this portion was my Bat Mitzvah and so I spent a great deal of time studying it.

Imagine my surprise then to team teach with a young woman called Ester Gluck, then still in her teens, who seemed to have taken in the importance of including the vulnerable, being aware of those on the periphery, since her earliest childhood.

For that, much praise must go to her mother Angela, who lives out this commandment in her everyday life, but also to Ester who had a particular gift and became a blessing in the lives of the refugees amongst whom she worked.

Zecher Tzadeket livrachah—May the memory of the righteous be for a blessing.

Social4Social and the Ester Film Club

2007-06-01T20:15:00.000+01:00

Ester was a volunteer at the weekly social evening organised by the Refugee Council for unaccompanied children and young people.

She and Sarah Hodgson, another volunteer, decided to raise funds for equipment to play music and show films as an extension to the social evening.

During Refugee Week 2006, they organised a successful musical evening that they called ‘Social4Social’: it raised both awareness and funds.

The money was enough for the Refugee Council to buy equipment and a year’s licence to show films. The Ester Film Club, launched on 29 November 2006, is a valuable extension to the social and educational activities that the Refugee Council offers. Varied films have been shown on a regular basis since then.

But the light evenings mean that the Ester Film Club is now ‘dark’ because there are no blackout curtains. It will resume when the nights draw in...

Gary: 1000%

2007-05-31T15:18:00.000+01:00

I am just writing a letter for my friend Ester. Just to say Ester will be deeply missed and allways in my heart and in my prayers. I just want Ester’s family and friends to know how great she was and how much she helped me when I was at the lowest point in my life. I didn’t want to live any more I wanted to die and I was very suicidal I had nothing to live for. But Ester helped me True the darkest times. Being so proffecional and having a Big heart she helped me see light at the end of the Tunnal. She gave me the will to live and told me about all the things in life I had worth living for like my family girlfriend and son. She stayed on the phone with me for over 1 and ½ hours untill she new I had the will to live and that it was safe to put the Phone down. From that day on my life and my atatude towards life is 1000%. I Just want to thank Ester I don’t Believe I would be still alive today if it wasn’t for my friend Ester. She is the Best. She has a heart of Gold and we need more people in this world like Ester with the love an dedication Ester had for her work clients and colleagues. Ester you will be deeply miss specially by me. Thanks for everything your great. RIP Ester. The world will never be the same again without you. Neather will I. We love you Girl.

Eileen: precious loan

2007-05-30T17:36:00.001+01:00

Ester was a lovely, gentle, caring lady who will always be remembered by me, and I know that she will always be a presence for me as I continue in the word she so loved.

“Lord, Ester was Thine
And not our own.
You have done us no wrong.
We thank you for the precious loan
Afforded us so long.”

What do we tell the children? confusion, conflict and complexity

2007-05-29T00:23:00.000+01:00

What do we tell the children? confusion, conflict and complexity
is dedicated:
In memory of Ester Gluck
who would know just what to say

In the acknowledgements, Angela writes:

"I pay tribute to my daughter, Ester Gluck. From an early age, she took a keen interest whenever I was “doing a writing” and increasingly offered perceptive comments and suggestions, based on a close attention to the text that was way beyond any daughterly duty. Characteristically, she brought her wisdom and wit, sensitivity and sharpness to her reading of the first draft of What do we tell the children? some two months before her tragic and untimely death in September 2006. Ester was my greatest ‘critical friend’—the greatest I could ever hope for."

Paul Anthony: an angel

2007-05-27T11:40:00.000+01:00

I didn’t really know Ester as a person but we did speak a lot on the phone and she was just a really nice person to talk with, and to know that she’s not here with us anymore is very hard for me and a lot of other people.

Ester always have something nice to say and, in my heart, I know that she is in the arms of the good Lord and that’s how I want to remember her.

When I heard about what had happen, I didn’t know what to say or what to do but at the same time I really didn’t want to question God, really because he knows everything best.

To know that she was only 24 years old and have everything to live for. Her life has just started. She was just such a nice person in every way. Really I do appreciate every thing that this lovely person has done for me and a lot of other people.

I am sitting here writing this and I can’t even tell you how sad I am feeling but have to go on because this is for a very special person.

There has been a time in my life when I felt that I couldn’t go on but Ester was always there to talk to me and make me feel strong in myself again.

I really believe that she was my guidance because at times when I was at my lowest I would share things that I couldn’t share with anybody else. Talking to Ester made me feel so light.

She was like an angel that you can call on and she would always be there. I am so sorry that she is no longer here with us but she has been missed by a lot of people.

She has made a great impression on my life although we have only spoke over the phone and I do know she was very important to me.

Ester has really touch my life in many ways and I will never forget what she has done for me.

Max: rubbish dancer

2007-05-25T15:38:00.001+01:00

Ester was a rubbish dancer when I saw her but an excellent support through her work. She understood that to best support the detainees meant supporting volunteers. And detainees and volunteers worked much better because of it. The time it took to do this meant that you knew it was more than a job for her and that motivated you in turn. She was genuine and this shone through everything else. Even her dancing.

Rabbi Elaina Rothman and Gerald Rothman: Jewish soul

2007-05-25T01:50:00.000+01:00

Ester had a Jewish soul. It was impossible to know her and not to realise that. She was suffused with compassion, rachmannes, and a highly developed sense of the ethical—of what her Judaism and her God demanded of her. High on the list of those demands was understanding and assisting "the other" in our society, the underprivileged, the marginalised, those of a different faith and (in particular and very often the embodiment of many or all of those qualities) the refugee.

Micah told us, "Act justly and love mercy" (6: 8) and Ester took him at his word. In Devarim (the Book of Deuteronomy) we are told (10: 18 and 19) that God "shows no favour and takes no bribe, doing justice for the orphan and the widow and loving the stranger, to give him food and clothing. And you shall love the stranger (ger)…"

On that basis we are surely entitled to see in Ester's life a genuine reflection of imitatio dei. Zichrona livracha—may her memory be for a blessing.

Dimple: free-spirited, vibrant and with a mind of her own

2007-05-20T01:34:00.000+01:00

I am so sorry that we have lost both professionally and personally the fantastic person that was Ester… As an LDSG volunteer, I found that Ester was there to support me through the tough times and share the happiness through times of success.

Somehow all those sad, stereotypical cards of sympathy don’t seem to do Ester justice and these balloons are how I remember her: free-spirited, vibrant and with a mind of her own!

Rabbi Dame Julia Neuberger, DBE: in abundance

2007-05-18T16:39:00.000+01:00

“… for you know the heart of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” How often that verse, or some parallel to it, is repeated in the biblical and rabbinic literature. That has an immediate read across to how we should treat asylum seekers and refugees in the UK in our time. We have the instruction—all we need to do is get on with it.

Our role as Jews is to mitigate desperation, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give encouragement, mentoring, help, advice, and—where we can—employment or at least daytime activity. It is not only about money. It is about time, energy, love and compassion—and, of course, fellow feeling.

And that is what Ester had in abundance. She understood. We can learn from her understanding, and from her work. Our responsibility is to take it forward.

Dr Jonathan Mirvis: a beacon

2007-05-16T13:34:00.000+01:00

To be Jewish is to show sensitivity to the “ger”, to the foreigner. “And you shall love the foreigner”, we are taught. Identifying with the refugee, with the downtrodden, is a fundamental Jewish value.

Ester z”l* in choosing to identify with the plight of the refugee excelled in her appreciation of this important Jewish value. In the same way as the deeds of our forefathers are beacons for us, may her deeds be a beacon for others.

Yehi zichrah baruch. May her memory be a blessing.

[* Hebrew shorthand for ‘of blessed memory’]

Jeremy Gerber: inspiring example

2007-05-14T22:52:00.000+01:00

I had the pleasure of getting to know Ester on several occasions over the past three years, first during my visits to Cardiff University’s J-soc (Jewish Society) in 2003—04, and later as a visiting rabbinical student at Minyan Chadash at New London Synagogue. I have spent many of the Jewish holidays with Minyan Chadash, and I have very, very fond memories of meals at the Glucks and singing together in services with Ester. Many of the leaders of the minyan are such wonderful people who have left deep and lasting impressions on me, and Ester is certainly one of the most memorable. I will always miss her energy, her passion for Judaism and for singing, and her willingness to help out and contribute whenever possible.

May we all take the opportunity to learn from Ester’s inspiring example, and seek to live our lives according to our stated values. I know that I will always remember Ester’s life and her work, especially when I celebrate the holidays and when I need to be motivated into action for one cause or another.

I will always be thankful to her for giving me the opportunity to learn these lessons and find such inspiration in our tradition. Her presence, her enthusiasm, and the way she lived her life with ideology and action will truly be missed.

Jessica: a normal day

2007-05-07T19:57:00.000+01:00

It was a normal day in LSDG’s office, with the regular sound of the telephone only disturbed from time to time by the bipping of the fax machine. Ester received a call from one of our clients. He was so revolted against his situation that his anger was about to turn into violence. Most of us would have been overwhelmed by the magnitude of his rage, but not Ester. She started to talk to him about George Orwell’s 1984 and how to turn one’s revolt against an oppressive system into a powerful and ever-lasting testimony. Both of them engaged in a long and intense conversation about art as a means of expression, which sounded surrealistic given the circumstances and yet absolutely fascinating. She had this exceptional and inspiring capacity to understand people, just because she deeply cared.

Clare Carter: impact

2007-05-04T03:30:00.000+01:00

I know you would have been so proud to see the impact your life has had on so many. I did not know you for long—but you changed my life and the way I thought about things! You are a very special person. May your light continue to shine… I miss you.

Megan Horvath: life force

2007-05-04T03:20:00.000+01:00

Dear Darling Ester

I don’t think I ever make it clear enough how much of a comfort and support you were to me as a volunteer. For this I am so grateful. You were a life force and have touched all of us who had the pleasure to know you, however briefly.

Ryan Dolan: Happy Birthday, Barbie Girl

2007-04-26T11:25:00.000+01:00

Ester told me once that she had always wanted a Barbie doll for her birthday. I did not understand as she did not seem like a Barbie girl. But, Angela being an enlightened and progressive mother did not think that these were suitable toys for daughter. You have to remember, that at the time they were not making Advocate Barbie - with Home Office battling functions and advanced recycling abilities. Of course that made Barbie more precious. It’s like that with kids, isn’t it? The more you tell them they can’t have something, the more precious it becomes. I have the same thing with my son and power rangers.

Friday night dinner came and we carried the conversation on with Angela and Alice-ter. I think Angela had forgotten this, she was adamant that this was not right. We gave her a ribbing about it over dinner, and if you will pardon the pun, we made quite a meal of the joke (Ha ha).

Anyway Ester’s birthday rolls around, and you know she did not like to do anything on her birthday. I guess she would never have told me when it was, if she thought she could get away with it. So I bought her lots of little presents. That way it looks like I have not gone over board and bought her anything too big. One of them was a Barbie doll. I know that we had given Angela a hard time over it recently, so I am thinking that maybe I should not give it to Ester while Angela is around. I was worried she would not see the funny side.

This time last year, we were sitting at dinner again and without any one having discussed it Angela produces her present for Ester, a Barbie doll. I produce my present for Ester, a Barbie doll. And Alice-ter? No, he did not get Barbie. Bless our Alice-ter got Esterbeth the Ken doll.

They were very happy days and they seem so long ago now.
Happy Birthday, Barbie Girl.

Ry**

Purple flowers

2007-04-24T01:13:00.000+01:00

The ground has settled on Ester’s grave and the stone will be laid in the autumn. In the week of Ester’s birthday—and on her birthday in the Hebrew calendar—Rima and Angela planted a bed of flowers.

Natalie says, “Flowers within us sometimes grow. Sometimes they wither and die. We all have the seeds: it depends on how we look after them.”

If you're visiting Ester’s grave in the coming months—and the flowers seem to need watering—please give them a drink to help them stay fresh until Ester's stone is laid. There are taps, buckets and jugs in the grounds of the Hoop Lane cemetery. Ester’s grave is in Row 34 on the north-western side.

Debi Penhey: the princess and the shirt

2007-04-24T01:07:00.000+01:00

For 24 years I have shared my birthday with Ester. What should I do this year on Thursday? We still share a birthday, but I can’t send her happy birthday wishes, nor can she send them to me.

I first met Ester when she was Angela’s bump – a few weeks before she was born, when Angela was my teacher in the conversion class at West London Synagogue. I was delighted when she was born on my 22nd birthday. Over the years we have exchanged greetings, jokes, messages, news and love.

I shall miss all of this. I shall also miss our long-standing joke of how she coveted a favourite shirt of mine. We shared a love of purple, and every time Ester saw me wearing my beautiful long purple and blue shirt, she asked if she could have it. I have always thought of her whenever I’ve worn it, and always will.

I’ll wear the shirt on our birthday, Ester, and think of you. Have a good day wherever you are.

Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid: passion to serve

2007-04-22T10:13:00.000+01:00

I met Ester at a Jewish Muslim Young theatre performance and at her speeches on Refugees. She was a lovely and gifted young lady, full of vigour and insight. Her passion to serve others was extraordinary.

Aisha Phoenix: Irresistible Smile

2007-04-20T19:12:00.000+01:00

Irresistible Smile

I first heard "Ebony & Ivory" at your Bat Mitzvah.
You must have been 13 or 14 then.
I was so taken by your rendition
That I longed to hear the song again
Only to be disappointed, years later,
By an original that didn't sound like you.

At the moment you're walking slowly through my mind
With big shoes and baggy trousers trailing on the ground.
But what's pulling at me is your smile -
An irresistibly cheeky grin that takes over your face
And dares the world not to smile back.

I doubt it was a coincidence that you picked
"Ebony & Ivory" to sing back then,
Resonating, as it does, with your desire for peace and unity.
I can't imagine you seeking refuge in silence
If an injustice needed to be named.

Remember when you sat
Challenging Home Office movers and shakers
About UK race and equality policies?
Unperturbed, you spoke with that trademark confidence and eloquence
As your audience squirmed in their seats.

It was a very different audience in the nineties.
When "perfect harmony" cut through the quiet room
Your smile shone above rapturous applause.
Without even closing my eyes
I see that same smile.

Nancy Cranham: a rarity and a blessing

2007-04-20T18:16:00.000+01:00

I have very vivid memories of Ester, the time we spent together on the heath, conversations (often rants against the injustice of the world) that we engaged in, and lots and lots of laughing.

She had a lot of guts. Every time someone at school was picked out by others to be taunted or humiliated for being different, Ester stood up for them. She always defended them, even whilst alone, even at the risk of facing abuse herself, and I admired her immensely and wished I had that much courage myself.

I remember that, like for many people, Ester's teenage years had their ups and downs, their dark periods. But what distinguished her from the rest was that at those points when others would have given in to what was bringing them down, Ester would suddenly appear incredibly strong, and it was these times that I have such clear memories of. She stood alone and sang to us all in assembly, with her powerful, wonderful voice.

She gave a moving and remarkable performance as Arthur Miller's Maggie that I will always remember.

When she was away for a longer period, we wrote letter after letter to each other, and she entertained me, encouraged me, and kept me healthily enraged at those injustices we'd sat raving about when together.

Ester was one of the strongest characters and strongest people I've ever known, she influenced me greatly at a time when knowing people like her was a rarity and a blessing, and could help shape the person you would become. She was an absolute star and I will always remember her with great love.

Bini Hirsh: wish

2007-04-19T19:35:00.000+01:00

Dear Ester,

I wish I could tell you about the week away I just had with FOCUS.I wish you were there and then I wouldn't have to tell you. It would have been a two way thing – your heart would have been filled with joy by the achievements of the teenagers involved, and they would have thrived on your attentions and your wisdom. I wish it could have happened that way.

We took a group of teenagers who have been involved with us before and have found it helpful, and offered them the opportunity to use their new-found skills to help others. A couple of days talking about leadership skills and team work, then halfway through the week we presented each team of five young people and three volunteers with a video camera and a minibus and told them their challenge was to 'change the world' and keep a video diary while doing it!

Ester, you know the sort of situations many of these kids live in; at the beginning of the week they all just felt powerless. They knew they wanted things to change, but they didn't believe that anything they did would have an effect; they didn't think they had the power to implement those changes.

If only you could have seen the journey these kids went on this week. The teenagers on my team chose Gandhi's words as their inspiration and we drove around Gloucestershire with a banner taped to the side of our bus saying 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' They handed out fair trade chocolates and talked to local people about movements like fair trade, and about little things that individuals can do to change the world. They handed out colourful leaflets they had made with different ideas, and were so excited when one village stuck the leaflet up in the window of their tourist information office! The smallest guy on our team, a bullied little kid with a speech difficulty, said that if he had one wish that would change the world it would be to make the police more friendly, so they arranged to go to a police station and interview an officer to talk about how they could change the bad reputation young people have with police, and how to improve relationships between young people and the police. And it was only at the end of their two day challenge that they began to realise the greatest effect all their actions had had – these tough guys who a year ago you wouldn't have wanted to meet on a street corner at night had turned into ambassadors of change, showing everyone that young people really do care and do want to help to improve their worlds. They showed that young people can be approachable and can have intelligent conversations and can respect different opinions. I guess you had to be there, but you'll just have to take my word for it – it was inspiring.

But aside from all the world changing adventures, what really struck home was that these tough guys we had started working with a year or two ago are really just children who have had a horrible time. As their confidence grows enough to let them show holes in their armour, what we see underneath are scared children who desperately want love and security. They need you Ester.

You're not here. We're doing the best we can for them anyway. One of the volunteers, a guy called R, is fantastic with the boys – at bedtime he just acts like a Dad. He goes round reminding them all to brush their teeth and wash their faces, and if their faces are grubby he rummages around in his pockets for a tissue while they just wipe their faces on their sleeves then give him a cheeky grin like happy little kids. Then they get into their beds and he sits and reads Harry Potter to them until they fall asleep. You wouldn't believe the youngest is fourteen and the oldest nearly seventeen. When they were leaving yesterday they all swarmed round him with their little kid faces on again, wanting a hug or a hair-ruffling or just a last bit of that secure child feeling before they had to go back to the real world. And with love like that the teenagers turn themselves into brothers and sisters, looking after each other and feeding love back into their 'family'. I loved that when there were arguments or tears they could mostly resolve it amongst themselves – that they are growing independent of us now.

Your friend S, who you were so inspired by that time – he's having a really hard time at home. He's a strong and talented person, you saw that before all the rest of us, and he has the love of all his 'brothers and sisters', but his life at home is so tough these days that none of us know if he will get through it and we're all worried for him. He could have done with your support this week Ester.

I know you're not here, and I know it's pointless me writing all this but I just WISH you could see it and I wish you could be involved, and I wish you could also enjoy the hope and the optimism and the human kindness that these kids gave to me this last week. I hate wishing for the impossible Ester, I hate this.

All at BID (Bail for Immigration Detainees): spirit in our fight

2007-04-19T19:31:00.001+01:00

We write to express our sadness at Ester’s death. It seems unbelievable that we won’t be getting any more emails, with details of detainees, from her. We have tragically lost a member of the cause and her spirit will be with us in our fight.

Helena Cullen (LDSG volunteer): dedication and commitment

2007-04-19T19:27:00.000+01:00

I only met Ester once, during my training, but I remember very clearly her dedication and commitment to the work. She was also very kind and supportive when I spoke to her on the phone, in connection with my detainee.

Aisha Phoenix: touch

2007-04-15T05:56:00.000+01:00

“Who are you crying for?”
She asked the salty eyes.
“Not for me, those tears, I hope,
For I cannot bathe in them.”
“It’s…” the eyes tried to explain.
“It’s not for you,
But for those you’ve left behind.
The ones you've yet to touch
And those you already have.
It’s for us.
The moments we shared,
The exchanges we’d like to have.
It’s an attempt to understand
Why you've touched so many and are gone
Why we’re still here...”

Sarah Weston: glue

2007-04-13T03:16:00.000+01:00

Tzedek is a Jewish overseas development and educational charity, based in the UK, with the motto 'Jewish action for a just world'.

Ester was my co-ordinator on the Tzedek trip to Ghana in the summer of 2003. She was the glue that held our small group together and she fulfilled her role as co-ordinator with passion, talent and true leadership. Her love and knowledge of Ghana, and some of the close relationships she had with many of the Ghanaians working for the NGO's with which Tzedek was associated, enriched the time we spent in Ghana enormously.

It was Ester's fantastic leadership and her introduction to beautiful Ghana that inspired me to return there this summer and lead the Tzedek programme in Tamale. I thought about her often during the summer, particularly during difficult situations, often asking myself what would Ester have done in the same situation.

One particular memory I have of Ester is when she accompanied myself and another volunteer on some outreach work we were doing in several villages, giving HIV/AIDS education. Her feedback was very valuable to us and it was a real pleasure to experience occasions such as this, with someone who thought so deeply and so intelligently about development issues and about life in general.

I will always remember Ester as one of life’s truly exceptional people. She had such a warm and wonderful manner and it made all of our group feel immediately comfortable in her presence.

Carita (LDSG volunteer): warm and passionate

2007-03-28T10:53:00.000+01:00

What an impact Ester made!

Ester and I spoke mainly over the phone. If I had a worry, she would listen. If I wanted to let off steam about some injustice faced by a client, she would often join in! And when I needed support, she would just know to offer it—giving me encouragement to get back to tackling bureaucracy and unscrupulous lawyers before my spirits sank too far… In person, she was just as warm and passionate.

This is why I am so glad we met and it is how I will always remember her.

DEDICATED TO ESTER

2007-03-21T15:34:00.000Z

To enlarge flier, click and then click again to zoom.

The Tricycle Theatre Jewish and Muslim Youth Theatre Group (affectionately known as 'The Muju Group') - of which Ester was a founder member in September 2004 - abandoned the performance they were working on with her, as what they call "an act of mourning".

They have created a new production - called 'Evicted' - that they are dedicating to Ester's memory.

'Evicted' will be performed at The Tricycle Theatre (Kilburn) at 5.30 pm on Sunday 25 March. The performance lasts about an hour. Tickets are at £5.00 (£2.00 concessions) and can be obtained from the box office at 020 7328 1000.

Tessa (LDSG volunteer visitor): a candle for Ester

2007-03-20T00:21:00.000Z

I happened to mention, when I was visiting with Liz, that Ester had sent me a very helpful and very kind e-mail in response to a query. And then Liz told me what happened. It is so sad that words fail me.

Although I had only visited a couple of times since Ester became my contact point at LDSG, I was very glad of her help and support. Her response to my query about bail applications was a long, thoughtful and caring e-mail. I had not seen her for a few months but I did bump into her at Colnbrook at the beginning of the summer. I was so impressed that she immediately remembered me and who I was visiting. She was truly dedicated to her work and she will be remembered by LDSG staff, visitors and detainees without exception.

I will light a candle for Ester.

Alice Bell: smiling

2007-03-11T02:40:00.001Z

I first met Ester in babyhood, way before either of us could remember. We went to school together for about 10 years and grew up on the same street. In nearly every memory I have of Ester, she has the same huge, warm smile. I'll never forget her smile.

I've just published a knitting pattern (purple) in memory of Ester, and thought I should share it with others who loved her.

Photos of the ‘Ester’ knitting pattern that Alice created and the garment she knitted appear at
http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring%2007/PATTester.html or http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/index.html and click 'patterns' and then 'ester'. There Alice writes: “This design is named after a dear friend who died suddenly last summer.”

John Robinson: touched by her life

2007-03-02T05:51:00.000Z

I was present at the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Irish CCJ* just before Christmas and was asked to speak without any prior notice. I found myself speaking about Ester in the context of the work we are trying to do. It is hard to put into words the effect one human life has on others, or the impact made when two lives touch, but I find myself thinking about Ester very frequently, still mourning her and still somehow being touched by her life. May she rest in peace.

* Council of Christians and Jews

David (LDSG volunteer): a little memory of Ester

2007-02-23T06:52:00.000Z

Ester was totally committed to her work and to her clients. She was incredibly supportive to her volunteers, too, as I can attest. For one of my clients, a Ghanaian, she did tons of research and made innumerable phone calls. She was always very patient in explaining things over and over to new volunteers like me! I will miss her very much.

Gerald Rothman: a lamed-vavnik

2007-02-10T19:30:00.000Z

The following appeared in the February edition of the New London Synagogue newsletter:

Written all over our history - A Yom Limmud for Ester Gluck z”l

The untimely death of New London member Ester Gluck last September understandably left all who knew her and her mother, Angela, in a state of shock. Very quickly, however, the desire arose amongst Angela’s and Ester’s many friends to “do something” to recognise and commemorate such a precious life. Ester’s life expressed itself largely through her love of Judaism, her support of those disadvantaged in society, especially refugees and asylum seekers, and her involvement with interfaith dialogue. It seemed, therefore, an obvious decision to hold a Yom Limmud (a study day) in Ester’s memory on Jewish responsibilities towards refugees. Angela and her many friends, particularly colleagues and students at the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, threw themselves into the preparations for the day, which took place during Chanukah at the London Jewish Cultural Centre in Hampstead.

Over a hundred people, Jews and non-Jews, of several nationalities turned up to spend time both studying and listening to those whose experiences were so important to Ester. The day started with an introduction from representatives of the Refugee Council, who explained the nature of their work and introduced five young asylum seekers (from places such as Cameroon, Uganda and Kenya), who spoke in simple terms about their personal stories and the significance of their new lives in Britain.

The participants then broke into groups to study texts both modern and ancient, seeking to learn what Jewish history could teach us about our responsibilities to refugees.The combination of Torah texts dealing with our obligations to the “ger” (stranger or resident alien) and modern texts dealing with the Jewish experience of both being refugees during the Shoah and also witnessing refugees from places such as Vietnam and Sudan made a powerful impression on those present.

After a lunch break, the groups reconvened to study texts from Torah, Talmud and commentaries dealing with our responsibilities towards strangers, hospitality to travellers, the worth of human beings and open and closed societies, which formed a fitting backdrop to the final session of the day.

Following an introduction from a representative of the London Detainees’ Support Group (LDSG), who outlined the work undertaken by the organization – work in which Ester herself had been closely involved – the participants listened to two former detainees (now granted refuge in the Britain) talking of their experiences. One spoke so eloquently and movingly of his hardships and of how he had been helped by Ester, her compassion and her sympathy, that there were few completely dry eyes in the hall when he finished.

One of the few Jewish volunteers involved with the LDSG told the gathering of his experiences and related them to his Jewish identity in a way that could not fail to make an impact on his listeners, at which point the proceeding were closed with a prayer and the lighting of the Chanukiah. The hope had been expressed that the day’s study would leave the participants a little more knowledgeable and caring and, in some way, better Jews than when they had arrived. I believe that that hope was realised, and that the day was a fitting tribute to the love and respect felt for Ester and Angela. Anyone who is interested to learn more about Ester and why those who knew her considered her to be such a very special young lady is referred to the website set up by her friends: http://www.esterthepurpleprincess.blogspot.com/

For me, she will remain one of the lamed-vavniks. May her memory be for a blessing.

Gerald Rothman

**********

The Minyan Chadash has decided to honour the memory
of Ester by presenting a Torah Mantle, Ark Curtain and
Bimah cover for the new Ark and Bimah in the Hall.

It will be made in purple, Ester’s favourite colour, and
an appeal is being launched to cover the costs.

If you would like to contribute please use the reply
form enclosed with this Newsletter or simply send a
cheque (payable to NLS) to the office clearly marked
that the donation is for the Ester Gluck appeal.

Any surplus will be given to the foundation for child
refugees (likely to be called 'The Separated Child') that
friends of Ester's are establishing in her memory.

Miriam Marks: life and laughter

2007-02-07T09:13:00.000Z

For some time I have been thinking of how I want to write this message. How it is that I could describe Ester and my memories of her. How it is that Ester should be remembered. Again and again my mind has sifted through memories: memories that seem all too short and too few. Eventually one moment with Ester came to me more times than any other. I believe it describes her the way she should be remembered. Here it is.

Ester is aged about six years and she is dancing around my parents’ garden. She is singing her favourite song: Kylie Minogue’s ‘Locomotion’. She knows ever word, can recall every line and has perfected an entire routine to complete her act. Her voice is full of life and laughter. She wants me to sing too and is teaching me every line so that I might join her. I am not a good student and I keep expecting Ester to tire of me and give up. Ester will not finish until we are both singing along to the following words.

Everybody's doin' a brand new dance now

(C'mon baby do the loco-motion)

I know you'll get to like it

If you give it a chance now

(C'mon baby do the loco-motion)

My little baby sister can do it with ease

It's easier than learning your a b c's

So come on, come on,

Do the loco-motion with me

You gotta swing your hips now

Come on baby, jump up, hmmm jump back

Oh well I think you got the knack

Now that you can do it

Let's make a chain now

(C'mon baby do the loco-motion)

Chug-a chug-a motion like a railway train now

(C'mon baby do the loco-motion)

Do it nice and easy now don't lose control

A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul

So come on, come on,

Do the loco-motion with me

You gotta swing your hips now

Come on, come on,

Do the loco-motion with me

Yeah

Move around the floor in a loco-motion

(C'mon baby do the loco-motion)

Do it holding hands if you got the notion

(C'mon baby do the loco-motion)

There's never been a dance that's so easy to do

It even makes you happy

When you're feeling blue

So come on come on do the loco-motion with me

You gotta swing your hips now

Come on, come on,

Do the loco-motion with me

Yeah

Come on, come on,

Do the loco-motion with me

I sing along to the song; after not having heard it for all these years. It now has a slightly different meaning in my heart.

Ester you are missed terribly.

Your old friend,
Miriam

Sue Mancey: ‘Mensa Member’

2007-01-28T14:12:00.000Z

Ester gave me so much joy, love and support and those days were some of the most truly uplifting of my spiritual life. I will neither forget them nor cease to cherish them. The joy and energy created were a jewel beyond price—like the good woman. I have always considered her beautiful in every way and filled with an infinite capacity to care for others and hold them close. She embodied for me the hope for Jewish life.

I was always drawn to Ester’s face with its animation and the wise eyes of my little ‘Mensa Member’. Her presence was always evident if she was in the same room, but never overpowering. She was always comfortable with others, age mattered not. I loved her sitting on my lap, facing me, at Loma and Steve’s wedding, holding my hair as she painted my face with my lipstick. She was telling me how I always looked better with make-up, it was hard to keep a straight face, looking into those happy eyes, sweet little hands at each side of my face, she was so huggable. Eating the burned Angel food was magic when I came to lunch, even if we had to force it from the dish.

When Mensa Member was a little older, I was taken to see the elderly hamster, who wet his bed as a matter of routine, Ester seemed to like him more for it. Her sweet goldfish swam harmoniously at her bedside, flashing gilded fins. I loved her company, her delightful stories, her eyes shining in the soft light of her bedside lamp, her firm warm hands.

She loved blue loo flushes on planes, my cats with their long names, holding hands, the world, her Jewishness and more than anything you, Angela, and all that you gave to her. After the excitement of building the succah, she would squeeze in beside us all and list the fruit that hung overhead. When she got up to go, she left a warm place on the seat and in your heart.

If she stayed with us or came away with me for the day, I always returned her stained or untidy. Sitting straight in her buggy on Brighton beach, she was so sweet. Later resting against me on the train she fell deeply asleep, but woke completely refilled with energy so very quickly and seemed so pleased with the day that she revived me too.

Standing beside Sylvia at Janice and Adam’s wedding, she felt moved to remark, “You’re wearing pearls. I never feel dressed without my pearls!” In truth, she was the pearl and she drew us all to her beauty. Thank you for sharing her with us. I will think of her forever with love.

Sivan: great resonance

2007-01-26T15:45:00.000Z

I was so sorry and shocked to hear about Ester. Although Ester and I took our separate paths, I have truly fond memories of our friendship. Our shared experiences of growing up continue to have great resonance for me: going to Camden together, listening to The Beatles, sharing reading lists and, of course, discovering values such as animal rights. I remember Ester as fun, gutsy, talented, highly intelligent and determined. Despite not being in contact, I was always updated on Ester’s activities and very much admired her actions, from afar.

Janet Cokeliss: sorrow beyond words

2007-01-26T15:38:00.000Z

I first met Ester when she was 9 years old and was impressed by her composure, her serenity. Our paths crossed only about 6 times between then and the last time I saw her, when she was 18, but each time I was struck by her sensitivity and compassion. She talked of feeling she didn’t help others enough — but this was because her heart was so large, she had so much to give. Her untimely passing is a loss to all who knew her and to the world.

Denise: sympathetic and committed

2007-01-20T20:36:00.000Z

I am very saddened by the sudden death of Ester. She was such a sympathetic listener, so committed to helping detainees. This is a tragedy that will deeply affect all those who knew her and worked with her. I send my condolences to her family and will hold her in my prayers.

Andrew: True Friendship Never Dies

2007-01-14T10:58:00.000Z

First of all I want to say how deeply sorry I am for your loss of your daughter Ester. I have known her for a couple of months but have always been there for me when I wanted to have a chat or felt down and out. We are all going to miss her very much; I am just sending you the following poem about friendship because that is what Ester was to me a very good friend.

I wrote this poem for my friend Ester, who always took the time to listen to me and help me through my problems when nobody else would.

True Friendship Never Dies
I feel I’ve lost a thousand years, just living day by day.
I’m hidden behind the pain and tears, my sorrow guides the way.
I cannot see where I have gone, or where my life shall go.
But leaving you, my friend, is the only way I know.
It will be painful, I will be weak but true friendship never dies.
So call upon the Greatest Power, when you feel you can’t survive.
He will heal your saddest hours, and keep our memories alive.
For in the eternal love of God, true friendship never dies.

In Loving Memory of a Good Friend,
Who will be sadly missed.

Naomi Soetendorp: Ester’s voice

2007-01-05T00:14:00.000Z

During the period of Shiva for Ester, members of the Minyan Hadash gathered to talk about her, to remember. We kept returning to the subject of her voice. Ester had an exceptional voice and with her singing she had heightened the experience of davening at the Minyan immeasurably. We tried to find words to describe Ester’s voice. Some people felt it had a ‘viscous’ quality, others felt it was ‘illuminating’ or ‘enervating’. Ester’s singing was, we felt, all of these things and more.

Ester brought some of the beauty and anarchy of Jazz to leyning and davening. When you learn to leyn, you have to learn the rules. Ester knew the rules so well that she could rise above them; subvert them, reinvent them. Picasso said that,in order to break the rules, you had to know them first and Ester was, it could be argued, the Picasso of leyning. In breaking the rules this way and finding something yet more powerful and beautiful in the prayers and writings, Ester encouraged all of us who were privileged to hear her, to rethink our own prayers. Not to be complacent, to revisit the texts, and find within them something new. To seek deeper meanings in words and music with which we may have become comfortably familiar.

There is a fear that in time we will forget Ester’s voice. I believe, however, that in the continuing effort to describe Ester’s music and singing, she will be remembered. We listen for Ester in the Minyan, remembering how her voice would have encouraged us to raise our own. There is a voice that is missing now and we must struggle to hear it. For our own sakes, it is important that we continue to listen to Ester, to remember never to become complacent. In this way, the beauty of Ester’s singing and the strength and power of her voice can continue to act as an inspiration and a guide to us.

Louise Kachinski: Ivor the Engine and a passion so strong

2007-01-02T19:56:00.000Z

Dear Estie

I have started this (what? email, message, thought process, I don’t know) to you so many times in my head these past few months. And still I can’t quite work out what it is I want to say.

When I first met you it was on the fourth floor of the Students Union building where we were building our annual succah - for some unknown reason I had volunteered to chair the Jsoc and you were the first fresher I met. My first impression? Well you were wearing an ankle length skirt and singing Jewish music – so my first thought – “seems really lovely but perhaps a bit too ‘Orthodox’ for me – I bet she wouldn’t be that much fun on a big night out.”

How wrong I was!

For the next three years I took refuge in your purple bedsit in the Jewish headquarters of Cardiff, shesh besh, Simon and Garfunkel and various forms of stir fry as we collaborated all our hyper value food into one giant wok. We used to listen to Ivor the Engine – and do (in my case very bad) Welsh accents in impersonation. One of the things I will never forget is just how well you could take on all other accents – whereas my Welsh got taken for Scottish, Irish and even Indian at times your impersonations of so many different countries brought joy and laughter to everyone who listened.

I have never had such spiritual Friday nights as those I shared with you during our Hillel House years – I always felt so proud when I invited my non-Jewish friends along to see such a spiritual side of Judaism. And it was because of you that I first started thinking about the importance of interfaith work. You were always so supportive of everything I did.

Ester, Estie, the purple princess – you were so passionate about all the things you believed in, a passion so strong you frightened many but engaged more. You used to have a signature saying on the bottom of your email “anyone who thinks they’re too small to make a difference should try getting in bed with a mosquito” – it was obvious how much you took your strength from that – it sums you up so well.

Though we didn’t see each as other as often since moving back to London I always checked up on your latest adventures and knew that you kept up with mine. I always thought we would continue to drift in and out of each other lives far far into the future.

I miss you.

Lou

Matthew Rosen Marsh: Wild Weed

2006-12-27T15:55:00.000Z

I only met Ester once at the Minyan Hadash service at New London Synagogue in early September 06. I was struck by the power of her prayers and her beautiful singing voice. We talked at the lunch afterwards and I invited her down to Exeter to help lead an alternative service there. I remember how genuinely flattered she was by the invitation. She was also interested in that she had visited the synagogue as a student but had thought it was just a historic building and hadn't realised that there was an active congregation there. She suggested bringing some of her fellow ex Western Region Jsoc students who had visited the synagogue with her and we were both enthusiastic about the prospects for her visit on 20th October. I emailed her afterwards to confirm our plans and she replied. There was a lull for High Holy Days and then I rang her to firm up arrangements. There was no reply. I rang her repeatedly and was puzzled and disappointed by her lack of response. We held the alternative service with an attendance of over 40 people - many people remarked on how much they enjoyed it and the sense of "ruach" (spirit) that they felt.
It was only a couple of days later that I found out about her death and just could not believe that someone who had seemed to alive and vibrant could be dead.

Clive Lawton came to lead a service at Exeter a month later and I read the following poem out in memory of her. Clive, afterwards, told us of holding Ester as a baby. I did not know Ester well but I remember the conversation we had very clearly and will always associate this poem with her:

Wild Weed
I want to open my eyes
Slowly.
I used to dream a lot,
But dreamland swallowed me.
I wanted to console,
But desire betrayed me.
Childhood enchantment there,
A storm in my arms.
I know an alien fire
Kindled my nights.
Tomorrow,
I shall be so far away
Do not search for me.
Those who will learn
To forgive
Will pardon my love for you.
Time will calm everything.
The one who loved me
Shall return from the desert
To your fields.
And will understand
I lived amongst you
Like a wild weed.
There were evenings
With aching yearning,
There were troubled havoc days.
There was hidden pain
And magic moments.
I remember a glance,
The touch of hands upon my shoulders.
I shall remain a passing shadow
In your fields,
A hidden secret.
Farewell,
I lived amongst you
Like a wild weed.

© Rachel Shapiro, translated from Hebrew by Tamar Berliner

Dan Rabin: you are missed more and more

2006-12-19T00:06:00.000Z

Ester

I have so many fond memories of you, Ester. We knew each other for two years. Firstly when Martin and I began to work at The Tricycle Theatre. We had no idea what we were going to do with the group. In a way that is how the Muju group has developed. We all meet every week, looking to each other for inspiration. That is part of the fun, the 'so what do we do now' element is always there. Firstly this was a bit scary for me and Martin. We'd never worked like this, with a group of mostly adults just wanting to get together and do some acting, and see where it went. Because of this we are reliant on each other for ideas. You came up with so many, everyone did, we tried to push everything to the limit and be as brave as we could with the material we were generating.

But who knows what is good taste and what is bad? Who knows what you can say and can’t? Who has the wisdom to say 'just try it any way and don’t be scared to fail'? Who makes the environment safe where everyone feels that they can create anything and not be embarrassed? Who makes sure no one is left out, and that ultimately we keep our feet on the ground and have a sense of humour? Who can spread love around the room and light it up with her smile? You did all these things, Ester, and so much more, and really as time goes on you are missed more and more. What an honour it was to know you and work in an intimate way with you.

The piece that we made as a group has so much of you in it, and your influence on it is clear to see. I'm finding more and more out about you now and it seems whatever you turned your hand to you excelled. This is true of the work we did together. You were a very good actor, great improviser and incredibly generous with ideas and truly supportive of everyone around you.

I am glad you walked into the Tricycle that September evening.

You are missed. x

Johanna Freudenberg: hurtling and enfolding

2006-12-18T23:48:00.000Z

We were all devastated to hear the news of Ester’s death. Ester blossomed into a beautiful, intelligent young woman and it is particularly painful to lose her. As well as having walked through her purple room for all those years on the way to the garden, we met up at Salusbury World when she helped in The After School Club. Her humour, sensitivity and just plain energy were savoured by the children and illuminated the place. She would hurtle around the playground with the best of them but I will always hold the memories of her consoling someone sad. She would sit with the affected child on her knee, listening, murmuring and enfolding them within the cloud of her beautiful curling hair.

Yom Limmud for Ester Gluck

2006-12-17T16:04:00.000Z

a study day on Jewish responsibilities towards refugees

Sunday 17th December 2006
11.30 am to 5.00 pm

London Jewish Cultural Centre
Ivy House, 94-96 North End Road
London NW11 7HU

The Florence Melton Adult Mini School has created this study day in memory of Ester Gluck, Angela’s daughter. Ester had many passions—and support for refugees and displaced people was one such passion. In supporting them, Ester worked particularly hard in several projects throughout her life. Ester would often say that the Jewish experience of exile and refuge was “written all over our history”—and that calls for a response from us. Ester made a difference to very many people’s lives and so we chose to study our responsibility as Jews to refugees.

This Yom Limmud is groundbreaking in drawing together the stories of people seeking asylum in Britain and the work of organisations that represent them, within the framework of a study of Jewish history and values.

first-hand experiences of people seeking asylum in Britain
presentations from the Refugee Council and the London Detainees’ Support Group
Melton-style study of Jewish texts on the subject of refugees, with Melton faculty
lighting the hanukiyah to close the day

Cost: £25, including lunch, refreshments and materials, in advance (concessions available).
Monies raised will go to the charity being established to continue Ester Gluck’s work.
Places are limited and must be reserved. To book please contact:

Judy Trotter
Melton Ivy House
94-96 North End Road
London
NW11 7HU
Tel 020 8457 5028
Email Melton@ljcc.org.uk

Peter Jenkins: Haiku at Hanukah

2006-12-15T15:00:00.000Z

Now Ester’s Shamash
Lights our sad Hanukiah
With unfailing joy.

Martin Brody: strength and humility

2006-12-10T14:13:00.000Z

To me Ester will always be remembered as bringing energy, spirit and comedy, in and out of the rehearsal room. Her strength and humility always drove our rehearsals when we were in need of new ideas - and the fact that she was such a naturally gifted actress. She always saw the comedic side in serious and dire situations but equally could play those serious moments with sensitivity and subtlety. She was a force and a vital member of our family in Kilburn. She will always be in our hearts.

The Refugee Council

2006-11-28T20:20:00.000Z

Marietta Bielsky: ‘Mem’ for ‘Mother’

2006-11-28T19:11:00.000Z

Ester was a very special woman whose radiant light and goodness shone on many. The world is a dimmer place with her gone. She was beautiful, bright, kind, caring and funny. She gave generously of herself and made a real difference in this world in her short but meaningful life. We miss her.

Seven years back when Ester was helping me learn Hebrew, we were talking about the special and complex relationships between mothers and daughters. I told her the letter ‘mem’ in Hebrew reminded me of a mother, bent over protecting her child. She liked that and brought me a beautiful wooden sculpture from Africa that evoked this sentiment beautifully. I think of her every time I look at it.

Liz Gerschel: life to the full

2006-11-28T19:07:00.000Z

Ester's picture smiles at me as I write. She sits above my desk and, just a year to the day older than Adam, she is the daughter I don't have, a borrowed daughter whom I loved. To know that she is not here in body fills me every day with sadness for the loss of such a bubbling and vibrant life. When I think of Ester I think of a stunningly beautiful girl, intelligent and committed and principled, someone who lived life to the full, both the passions and pains, who experienced the extremes of joy and despair and who understood this in others, their grief and loss. It seemed to me that, having been through such troubled times physically and emotionally herself, she was able to give to others by using that knowledge of life, reaching deep into herself for the empathy, compassion and deep knowledge of suffering that made her so unusual a young woman.

Ester was courageous and generous and always demanded so much of herself. When I have talked of Ester with others who knew her, I think she was known in most of the synagogues of North London. I am not surprised that she made such an impact on so many lives, so many young people, so many who loved her singing, her leadership and her dynamism. But I think that just as Ester was unique, she was also very much her mother's daughter: I believe they shared many characteristics and that Angela had a huge and positive influence on her.

When I think of Ester, I think of the passions for purple and for poetry that we shared and I smile. When she worked on her A-level English, we got into Sylvia Plath - another spirit with a gift that was greater than her strength to bear it. And when Ester was successful, she found it hard to realise that this was because she was clever and thoughtful and perceptive and she wrote extremely well, whether it was academic essays, poems or accounts of her experiences. We talked about theatre and Black literature and clothes and politics and she was fun to be with and we laughed a lot. Although I didn't see her frequently enough, we remembered each other often. I miss her enormously.

Aoife O'Higgins: terribly missed

2006-11-17T15:49:00.000Z

This piece by Aoife was originally read at the LDSG rememberance evening on Wednesday the 11 October two weeks after Ester died.

Dear Ester,

I remember you as if our lunch Tuesday two weeks ago was today. I can visualise you walking through the unit 3R door, and walking towards your desk, sinking into that big chair. I have so many memories of you at LDSG, few are worth telling, but all are worth keeping. I hope you will forgive me for sharing part of you with so many people.

I remember our first day at work together, on November 25th.

I remember when we went to the IAS immigration training in February, and we shocked people (including the trainer) by declaring that everyone should be let in the country because it would boost the economy. And I remember you telling me about meeting Ryan that day.

I remember every lunch we had together. How you would pile on salad, chick peas, butter beans, salsa, soya sauce, the Sri Lankan fruity thing topped off with Japanese seeds. You made the most fantastic mixes. I remember the last lunch you made us. You told us that you had been up since 6am cooking for us and we doubly appreciated it for that. And I remember how we would endlessly debate what the point was of washing Sainsbury’s fruits…

I remember how every time I came into the office with my multi-colour stripy dress, I would walk up to your desk; You would turn around and break into a huge smile and tell me how much you loved it. I used to tell you I had bought in Rome and worried that I looked like a cleaning lady in it. And all you could say was “but….it’s so beautiful”. It was a little ritual of ours…

I remember when you stood up in front of 200 or more people at the Refugee Council conference and confronted Tony McNulty (the immigration minister at the time) to tell him that his immigration policies made no sense from the start because he kept referring to immigrants and asylum seekers as “illegals”.

I remember when I arrived at work on my birthday back in March, it was just you and me in the office that Friday. You had bought me a beautiful plant with beautiful flowers, but hadn’t signed your name, only “happy birthday with lots love”. You let me believe for a whole morning that it was from a secret admirer.

I remember when one of our volunteers was crying on the phone to you because the client she had been visiting was suddenly removed, and you spent a whole afternoon on the phone consoling her.

I remember how excited you were when you told us about seeing the giant elephant and the girl in central London with Ryan and Louie. It was all you talked about for days.

I remember everything you taught me. I remember how you listened to clients, and how you said “darling” to everyone, even the most prolific offenders and other difficult and challenging clients in detention. And how you used to try and stop and correct yourself, but how much I loved it. I remember the way you called me “darling” and “love” and how gentle and affectionate it sounded.

I remember how fondly you spoke of your friends, Alistair, Natalie and your friend in A&E in Cornwall. I knew you cared so much about them because you talked about their lives with such passion. I learnt all about how much A&E was going to change in the future (and remember how people used refer to us as A&E: Aoife and Ester – was I accident, you emergency?). I remember how you talked of Alistair’s wedding and what a fantastic time you had had in Canada. We grew to be so fond of your friends even though we didn’t know them.

I remember when we went to the volunteer management training in April. You invited the trainer (who was in London only for the 2 training days) to come up to Kilburn for some live music and a few drinks. He turned up on the second day, late and haggard looking, clearly he had had a good time…is it true that he got up and sang in front of everyone, drunk at the end of the night…?

I remember your efforts to speak and write French, and how you could only speak it with a big grin. And you made so much effort to pronounce things well.

K in detention referred to you as the girl with the big shoes. You’re the only LDSG staff he remembers. J referred to you as Queen Ester. And you connected with all of them, regardless of age, background, nationality. And you made such fantastic impressions of all of them, without ever a hint of mockery in your voice.

You touched everyone you spoke to: clients, volunteers and other professionals. I am positive that every trainer and trainee you worked with remembers you.

You are terribly missed in the office. We miss you at lunch time. And I miss how you answered the phone. I miss you in your corner. I miss you, Ester.

Marc Silverman: especially special, uniquely unique

2006-11-15T00:03:00.000Z

like so many of the people who have written so poignant, heart-touching and simply beautiful "devarim" (words, things, items...) about ester and shared them on the blog that has been set-up to mourn her loss and our loss of her and to commemorate, perpetuate her memory, and most importantly to learn from this memory and try to become better persons, human beings in the light of the 'portrait' ester painted of what t'is to be a loving and caring human being, i too loved her dearly and deeply, strongly experienced, felt and believed (and still experience, feel and believe) she was an especially special, a uniquely unique person who was already giving so-much to the world, so much towards humanizing it, making it a kinder, user-friendly, better place, and who would engage so ever-more in this always ever-to-be-completed task and project;

and upon learning of her death, i simply and truly refused to believe it; in a mantra-like way i kept saying to myself this news must, has to be mis-information; it can not be accurate, truthful and reliable;

this can't be, can't be, can't be - i just saw u ester in toronto, and heard you sing a song from Psalms in a melody/tune you yourself composed in such a mellifluous, sweet-so-unassuming, yet-so-penetrating out-of-the-depths-i-call-out-to-you-o'God manner; this can't be, can't be - you just read out loud your mother angela's so-very clever and erudite, innovative, smile and laughter generating mishnaic-talmudic-like marriage greetings of 'mazal tov' to the people congregated at the wedding ; this can't be, can't be - was it not close-to-just-yesterday that we held a really meaningful d and m conversation together, from which i derived so-much pleasure and contentment from the hopeful positive professional and personal perspectives on your future you shared w/me during and in it; and more....

but eventually, despite my determination to "construct" a real-world reality in which ester in her concrete, physical particularity is present, i realized that in the latter shape and form she was not and could no longer be w/us in this/our world;

in the e mail letters exchanged between ester and me from mid-may thru the end of the third week of june 2006, it seems to me that a very considerable number of the qualities/features that made and make ester such an especially special and uniquely unique person can be seen, read and actually 'heard' in many of the passages in these missives she wrote and sent me; these missives from her are the last visible self-testimony of her flesh and blood concrete physical real presence in the world that i have;

Hubert Hall (Harmondsworth Detention Centre): Woman of Honour

2006-11-14T23:56:00.000Z

Oh woman of honour
Dry your tears
Have no fear
The grave has taken you away,
But your spirit will live on to eternity.

Your body has passed away leaving us in tears,
With the thought of your supremacy,
Our condolences reach out for your friends, and
Your family
What an ideology!
Our tears is like a running river,
We are at a cross road,
But you are on the other side of the river,
Heading to a place of happiness,
One day we will meet on that side of the water,
Keep smiling,
Woman of honour.

By: Hubert Hall
Harmondsworth

Manjit (Colnbrook Detention Centre): She did great for us

2006-11-07T15:06:00.000Z

We all detainees had lost a good friend.
We all sad from received this news today.
I have no words to say more. Only "I can say she did great for us".
We never forgetting her, she lives with us always, ever and ever!
Once again I’m so sorry this happened!

Thanks,

Manjit,
Colnbrook

L. (Colnbrook Detention Centre): She loved to help

2006-11-07T15:05:00.000Z

Dear friend,

I am very sorry to had some very bad news like this, Ester I had spoken to once, but I know that she is a great person, and she is a friend that have given her life in service to many people. Moreover, she was a friend of poor people, and she loved to help the people, and she believed that in life everybody gets better when everybody is doing well. And the love she had to help the poor, we were going to miss an important person. We will really miss her. Let God bless her, and may the God of peace be with her now and forever.

Best wishes to the family and the friends,

L,
Colnbrook

P. (Harmondsworth Detention Centre): when I was at my lowest.

2006-11-07T15:01:00.000Z

To Ester

There has been a time in my life when I felt that I couldn’t go on but Ester was always here to talk to me and make me feel strong in myself again.

I really believe that she was my guidance because at times when I was at my lowest I would share things that I couldn’t share with anybody else, talking to Ester has made me feel so light.

She was like an angel who you can call on and she would always be there. I am so sorry that she is no longer here with us, but she has been missed by a lot of people and that’s what I really want her family to know.

I also want the family to know that she has made a great impression on my life although we have only spoke over the phone, and I do know that she was very important to me. Ester has really touch my heart in many ways and I will never forget what she has done for me.

P.
Harmondsworth

Ebou (now released from Harmondsworth Detention Centre): no easy way to freedom

2006-11-07T14:57:00.000Z

I write with profound shock and sadness when I heard the news that Ms Ester Gluck has inevitably passed away in an accident. At first it’s like a dream and I thought it’s not true at all. She has been so helpful to all the detainees at various detention centres particularly myself. She has been so dedicated and professional in the execution and deliberation of her expected duties. I have never met her personally but from her way of conversation with me I knew that her appointment to that office suits her perfectly.

She is strong, caring, untiring and energetic woman in all her endeavors with the detainees. I have also share this feeling with the rest of the detainees in here and on behalf of all the detainees here I am sending my deepest condolence once more again to your office and most importantly to her family. She is not only a lost to your office and her family but also to all the detainees in various detention centres in the UK; particularly the desperate ones like me. She deserves everything possible to be remembered; single, and hailed as a hero of all merciful human race. She is the only one who use to make me feel like I am at home the way she talk to me, the way she took over my problem and continue with the paper work sending faxes to different portfolios within concerned offices of the locality. In our dialogue most of the time she will advice me calm down despite the burden of stress and confusion you are undergoing She said and I quote "there is no easy way to freedom just remain strong Ebou! Am doing everything possible to make sure that you get your liberty" Any time she spoke to me I feel like I have seen all my scattered family back home and feel so happy.

Her untimely tragic death has therefore left a stain on my happiness as a detainee and a human. I know if you have the means of bringing her back to life you will definitely do so but I will also give a helping hand to that task.

I know no matter how much I will try to express my deep sympathy to your office in how much I feel cannot bring her to life its natures decision and every living thing must one day answer to natures call without questions. Its very difficult for all of us to accept this but let us not forget to continue praying for her soul to perfectly rest in eternal peace. May the almighty shower her with all the merciful blessings to her loving soul? Even though she is gone, she is partly with us I personally will never forget about her, Isha and all the office staff in general.

May the almighty god blesses her and cancelled all her sins and turn all her sins into rewards for her success in heaven. May the almighty god also shower his blessings to her family and all of you long life, happiness and prosperity in your endeavors Amen!!

Faithfully yours,

Ebou, Harmondsworth

Joel Stern: diamond in the rough

2006-11-07T14:32:00.000Z

I was saddened and shocked when I heard the news about Ester's untimely death. I am 7 out of 9 months into yet another GAP year and am currently in New Zealand. I managed to find the website you have set up in memory of our lovely Ester and what a great tribute it is.

I first met Ester on Shemesh summer camp in 1993 and our mutually loud and extrovert personalities immediately found each other. Ester came up to Newcastle for my Bar Mitzvah in 1995 and I remember her as being the only girl there, bossing around a large gaggle of testosterone-fuelled 13 year olds. What a great job she did! Unfortunately, my being in Newcastle led to an eventual loss of contact with Ester, simply by practicalities and distance. As I said, I am currently away and a few months ago I remembered Ester and thought to myself how great it would be to catch up with her when I got back to the UK, as I will be moving to London. I am distraught I will not have this chance.

Last night I had a dream about Ester. I dreamt I was standing in a field and out of nowhere, Ester came running up to me. I found I was unable to speak but also that I did not have the desire to. Ester ran straight up to me and wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight as only Ester could. Although we did not speak, we cried into each other’s shoulders - nothing else needed to be said.

Ester was a wonderful, beautiful person. A diamond in the rough and someone we all looked up to as a perfect role model of what humankind should be like. The world is a worse place without her.

Susannah Marks: unique

2006-11-07T14:28:00.000Z

My most vivid memories of you Ester are from childhood. They are of yourself, Miriam and I in Portugal in the Summer. Even then I can remember you trying to keep the peace between myself and Miri, you took the role of mother and at that early age showing your greater maturity. Ester if there was one word I could use to describe you it’s UNIQUE. You always stood out whenever I saw you. Although I did not see nearly as much of you after childhood I have a very distinct memory of more recently when you and Angela came down to the country to stay with us. I remember I was going through a terrible teenage phase and was screaming at everyone. I looked up to see your face and I suddenly got this horrific feeling about what I was doing, which I will never forget. You always made an impression on me that is so real you can touch it, it’s an indescribable feeling just UNIQUE and something I will never ever forget.

Mark Friend: Laughing and Crying

2006-11-04T13:19:00.000Z

I still can’t believe that you’ve left us Ester. It seems like only yesterday that we were having lunch in Will and Gloria’s garden, soaking in the last of the Autumn sun and talking about life. Annie and I hadn’t seen you for a little while and there was a lot to catch up on. For a couple of hours the conversation careered from the most personal things in our lives through to the latest funny episode. A lot had happened to all of us and as usual we talked very openly and frankly, after all what other way is there to talk. I’ve thought about you every day over the last few weeks and I usually come back to the three of us laughing and crying and failing to wind up your mum (despite trying hard).

I also think a lot about the great times we had at your place over the years since we got to know you in the late ‘90s. Hanging out with us during Angela’s classes, you and Angela singing together, welcoming me in at festivals, opening my eyes to the joys of a good philosophical arm wrestle. Last year, in your succah, when Annie was heavily pregnant, you spent the whole time entertaining Max and Abigail –which largely entailed them chasing you around the garden like a mad thing, hiding in the undergrowth and telling lots of stories. They loved you immediately, which doesn’t often happen with them, and couldn’t get enough. I like to think that you’re entertaining Sam now, running around with him, telling him stories, giving him a hug when he needs it.

Crystal Oldman: Three Special Memories

2006-11-04T13:14:00.000Z

Dear Ester

This is so hard to write. I have three special memories to share, Ester.

We first met when you were 3 years old and Angela was my tutor. I had no children of my own at the time, but my profession included daily contact with children of your age and assessment of their development; so I knew that you were a very special child the moment I met you. So knowing, so intellectually advanced for your young years, so capable of being a part of the conversation amongst a roomful of adults even at that young age! A very special bond was evident in the loving and affectionate relationship with your mum too – a kind of mutual respect that does not normally emerge for a number of decades (and sometimes never) between a parent and child.

A couple of weeks ago I looked at photos of you at our wedding at age four. What a gorgeous picture you made, and really you should have been my bridesmaid – in every photo you were there standing firmly in front of the one adult bridesmaid (an adult) that I had, wrapped in her long skirts and holding her bouquet. After the wedding, the comments about the charming, enchanting and oh-so-obedient little bridesmaid I received were a delight!

Skip forward 14 years for my second memory. This is of the evenings spent in your flat when you were working in the Day Nursery and Alex & Ollie were being tutored for their B’Nei Mitzvah by your mum in the living room. Every Wednesday night you would come home to find that you had Janice & myself in your kitchen, but you never once complained that your teenage space had been invaded. After a long and exhausting day at work, you sat with us on the floor of the kitchen every week for months and sipped tea and chatted about your day and your plans for Africa. You always had time for us and it was like talking to a third friend who had just joined the party. Never mind that there was a 23 year age gap, your mature conversation, exchanging views on humanity and your accounts of your day at work were engaging and amusing and I always looked forward to those evening interludes with you.

I was delighted to have time with you again on Sunday mornings when you were 21 and the boys were again being tutored by Angela for their GSCE. We spent many a happy Sunday morning discussing the dubious potential value to any future career of taking statistics exams, the state of the world and the meaning of life and you never once complained when you woke up to find I was in your kitchen again when you emerged for a quiet Sunday morning. You said that you could never be a teacher and yet Alex & Ollie said that when you joined Angela for any of their sessions over the years they loved your teaching; you were a gifted teacher with an instant rapport with children of all ages and an innate ability to convey knowledge and enable understanding.

My third memory is of the wonderful Pesach and Rosh Hashanah celebrations spent in your home with you and Angela. Our family were welcomed into your home with open arms and I cannot imagine another High Holiday without your beautiful face, your lovely smile, your gorgeous voice, your amazingly accurate mimicking of Adam - and the heated discussions between you & Gary about the latest world news, which you loved to tease him as being singularly responsible for.

Ester, we love you. Gary, Alex, Ollie and I will never experience another Pesach or Rosh Hashanah celebration without remembering what we are missing. You have made each one of us a better person for knowing you and you will always be in our hearts.

Crystal X

P.S. Ester, this was not so hard after all. I only had to think of you and the words (and tears) flowed. CX

Natalie Marx: Ester and Ghana

2006-11-04T12:55:00.000Z

When frequently asked 'Of all the places in Africa why did you chose to go to Ghana?' Ester and I always proclaimed that it was Ghana which chose us. Fate had somehow landed us together in a wonderland of smiles, warmth, fufu and heavenly music.

I observed that summer how my best friend - sister - formed a love affair with Ghana and all its beauty.

Ester, with all her own beauty, instantly found a deeply rooted connection to a people who at first glance appear so different to our/her own. She connected spiritually to a people whose faith in G-d was magnificent, despite challenges which faced them. Determined to connect physically, she would endeavour to pound fufu. We were taught by some girls at a Vocational Training Center to use a huge machete to chop down shrubs…Ester put me to shame as she hacked away, unwavering in the challenge. Enjoying every single moment. Effortlessly she was able to eradicate the barrier caused by the colour of her skin, empowering those she was in contact with and she would open her arms and heart to everyone she met.

I was humbled when I saw Ester and her capacity to love ...because to her it was entirely instinctive. The children in the orphanage were not afraid of Ester as they were of so many other strangers. Ester had endless amounts of ways to adore the children and they truly adored her. As did all those who met her … and when she returned to Ghana a year later, their love remained true as they did not hesitate to remember her name and welcomed her with open arms and love. As with everything in esters life – it was so important for her that this summer in Ghana was not simply an experience from which she would benefit. No – for Ester it was her aspiration to follow through the programme she had so modestly set up in Ghana. If not for the fact that she wanted to see good being done … but also to make sure no damage was going to be done! As well as mastering the language of Ghana – Twi – learning to speak, read and write in an attempt to truly ‘understand’ the people we were working with, she also mastered the art of volunteering. She was and will always remain for me my angel and role model. I am blessed that Ester was my best friend and may her memory continue to be a shining example for Tzedek of what a true volunteer should aspire to be.