lj today september/october 2007

September/October 2007

VOL. XXXIV No. 5 ljtodayAs LJ Today went to press, Rabbi Danny Rich was on his way to Armenia, where he will become the only British Jewish community leader publicly to acknowledge the 1915 genocide.

Liberal Judaism has sponsored a tree in the Genocide Memorial Forest in Yerevan, commemorating three and a half million murdered Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians. The tree that the chief executive was dedicating is believed to be the first sponsored by a Jewish community – other than by the Jews in Armenia itself.

Rabbi Rich had hoped that the visit would be either under the auspices of the Board of Deputies or with his equivalents at Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue. He said: ‘It is sad that the Jewish community in this country has done so little to honour the memory of these victims, for whom, on account of our own tragic history, we ought to have such deep feeling.’Jews and genocide, page 10

Scenes from Machaneh Kadimah, Liberal Judaism’s two-week children’s summer camp in Nottinghamshire

Kadimah keeps them smiling

Mazel tov on your ayshet mitzvah

A Jewish tree for Armenia

From football to crazy chemistry to Israeli dancing, Kadimah 2007 was an amazing experience.

Alongside the fun and laughs at LJY-Netzer’s flagship summer programme for 8- to 15-year-olds, each age group focused on the theme Israel: Taking a Stand. The chanichim (participants) looked at issues that affect Israel as a

state, a people and a land. A highlight was when all the groups came together to celebrate Am Yisrael U’maniot (The Jewish People and Arts). The day of workshops with specialist musicians and artists culminated in a huge outdoor Festival Am Yisrael, where the musical talent of the chanichim was on display.LJY-Netzer, page 11

Loretta Cohn of Birmingham did not intend to become an ayshet mitzvah. Indeed, it was not a ceremony she – or many other Jews – had heard of. But she is delighted that she did, as it gave her a feeling of joy and ‘completeness’.

The retired social worker, one of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue’s most active and devoted members, who did not have a batmitzvah in her teens, had decided that for her 63rd birthday she wanted to do a Torah reading. She approached Rabbi Margaret Jacobi, who

suggested that she expand the reading into an ayshet (‘woman of’) mitzvah ceremony, a term she learnt from Rabbi Henry Goldstein.

Loretta joined the synagogue 27 years ago, when she and her husband, Henry, were married, and has always enjoyed taking part in services. But, recalling her big day, with family having come up from London, she said: ‘I don’t think I’ve been as nervous in my life as I was before this.’

Loretta hopes that the ceremony, a first for her community, will set a precedent.

In this issue

CHESHVAN: JEWISH SOCIAL ACTION MONTH Julia Neuberger and Richard Jacobi on volunteering p6

Roger Lyons on what Trade Union Friends of Israel are doing to stop the boycotts p7

Education news p4High Holy Day message p5

LJ Today September/October 2007

A group of men at Northwood & Pinner have taken over the synagogue’s catering operation.

The Bagel Boys have prepared the food for five functions since their debut a year ago. Comprising seven stalwarts of the shul, the team is the brainchild of ‘chief bagel’ Neville Price.

Before the Bagel Boys came along, most of the catering was organised by Veronica Sass, wife of synagogue chairman Brian. ‘Everything fell on her shoulders,’ says Neville. ‘It was felt she should have a well-deserved rest.’

While the men do not do a lot of baking, they are expert preparers of

salads, cheeses, falafels and, of course, bagels. They also excel in looking the part. Neville, NLPS press officer and a mainstay of the drama society, wanted his boys to stand out: ‘People attending events say it’s really great to see who’s doing the catering.’

As well as letting the women put their feet up, the boys now put on their chefs’ hats for the fun of it

Big rise in mixed-faith ceremonies

Warning: this synagogue kitchen is run by men

Neville Price (left), Nick Mortimer, Alan Mansell, Howard Vanner and Alan Woolf

The number of services for mixed-faith couples carried out in Liberal synagogues has increased significantly.

Requests for the ceremony, introduced into synagogues in 2003, has almost doubled in the past 12 months, says Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, outreach director of Liberal Judaism and assistant rabbi at Northwood and Pinner.

Rabbi Goldstein has carried out 10 services for mixed-faith couples since January, and has dates for seven more during the coming months.

Most of these services are for couples at Northwood; Rabbi Goldstein has also travelled to other congregations to

conduct ceremonies for couples where no rabbi is available to officiate.

For a mixed-faith ceremony to take place in a Liberal synagogue, the couple must already have had a civil wedding, and one half of the couple must be Jewish. Usually the civil marriage ceremony takes place a few days – or minutes – before the mixed-faith service.

Couples considering a mixed-faith ceremony tend to approach a rabbi when they are planning their wedding, says Rabbi Goldstein. He emphasises that the service is not a Jewish wedding, rather an act of prayer or blessing. While there is no set format, the officiating rabbi will

John Rich event Members and friends of Liberal Judaism are invited to South London Liberal Synagogue’s annual event on Sunday 25 November to honour our much loved late president, John Rich, writes Philip Walker, chairman of SLLS.

Rabbi Pete Tobias will talk about his exciting new book Liberal Judaism: A Judaism for the 21st Century and will be introduced by John’s son, Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism.

After the talk there will be an early evening service and refreshments. The afternoon begins at 3pm and admission is free. l To order Rabbi Tobias’s book, send a cheque for £9.99, payable to Liberal Judaism, to the Montagu Centre, 21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE.

Liberal Judaism has arranged for 17 rabbis, student rabbis and lay leaders to officiate during the High Holy Days at its congregations – from Eastbourne to Edinburgh.

Ten rabbinic students at Leo Baeck College will lead services at the following Liberal communities: Nathan Alfred at Edinburgh, Charley Baginsky at Kingston, Janet Darley at Suffolk, Anna Gerrard at East Anglia, Richard Jacobi at Woodford, Sandra Kviat at Lincoln, Monique Mayer at Southgate, Judith Levitt at Peterborough, David Mitchell at Beit Klal Yisrael and Judith Rosen Berry at Manchester.

Liberal Judaism has also arranged for Rabbi Dr Michael Shire to officiate at the Oxford Jewish Community and for the

help the couple to create an appropriate and meaningful liturgy.

The process of talking to a rabbi before the marriage can be of great benefit to the couple, who might otherwise not have a supportive, non-judgmental person with whom to discuss the religious and spiritual side of their future life together. Rabbi Goldstein says: ‘The most important thing that I do is to spend time with the couple – understanding them and who they are. By doing that I am filled with hope that they will continue in the future to be part of a Liberal Jewish congregation.’ Northwood’s next rabbi, page 12

Rabbis and students step in

as much as anything. As Neville says: ‘It’s a great opportunity for male bonding – discussing our feelings in the kitchen.’

following rabbis to officiate at Liberal synagogues: Rabbi Michael Stanfield at Leicester, Rabbi Kathleen de Magtige-Middleton at Nottingham, Rabbi Miri Lawrence at Ealing, Rabbi Harry Jacobi and Dr David Jacobi at Herefordshire and Rabbi Charles Wallach at Eastbourne.

Rabbi Danny Rich is preaching at Woodford on Yom Kippur morning and at Finchley on Yom Kippur afternoon.l Jordan Helfman, LJY-Netzer’s former oved chinuch (education officer) is to work with the outreach team until February, when he leaves to begin his rabbinic training at Hebrew Union College. Jordan will work with Josh Lassman-Watts on the development of synagogue youth clubs.

A Liberal Judaism siddur forms part of the British Library’s major summer exhibition, Sacred: Discover What We Share, which ends on 23 September.

At the exhibition visitors can see some of the rarest and most exquisite holy books. Jewish, Christian and Muslim texts are presented and explored, side by side.

The British Library has an unsurpassed collection of sacred texts, which range from beautiful handwritten copies to an extensive collection of printed editions, both early and modern.

The 1967 Liberal prayerbook Service of

Birmingham The new synagogue building, due for completion next summer, is ahead of schedule with the roof having recently been installed.

Manchester The growing synagogue is now being served by student rabbi Judith Rosen Berry.

South London Following what Rabbi James Baaden calls the ‘wild success’ of its five-day intensive Hebrew course, the synagogue held a week-long Hebrew summer school in August.

Harrow and Wembley Nine members of the synagogue, which has its 60th anniversary this year, enjoyed a visit to the Dublin Progressive community, which celebrated its 60th last year. The erev Shabbat and Shabbat morning service were conducted by Dublin’s Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh, a former rabbi of Harrow and Wembley.

The LJS Bob Kirk has been elected president of the LJS. Bob and his wife Ann, who both came to England on a Kindertransport, have been involved in most aspects of synagogue life, since formally joining in 1950. Bob is a former chairman of Leo Baeck College.

An LJS Awayday on Remembrance Sunday, 11 November, will include text study and debate around the theme ‘Israel – Right and Rites: a biblical, historical and political exploration’. Contact Abigail Bloom: [email protected] or 020 7232 1284.

Southgate Members enjoyed a talk by Alex Kagan, the World Union for Progresive Judaism’s director for the FSU (former Soviet Union), about the new Jewish communities emerging since the demise of communism. Southgate Progressive is twinning with one of these communities, Feodosiya in the Crimea, and the two synagogues are currently enjoying getting to know each other by email.

Herefordshire The Progressive community is celebrating the arrival of its first baby. Baby Seth was born to Rebecca and Stuart Moore.

Kingston A well-attended exhibition, All Our Own Work, was the synagogue’s latest 40th anniversary event.

September/October 2007 LJ Today

Around the Communities

Montefiore discs become part of British history

Liberal siddur plays Sacred role

The British Library has accepted into its sound archive a recording of Claude G Montefiore, one of the founders of Liberal Judaism, reading from the Book of Jonah.

Alison Behr, Liberal Judaism’s archivist, found four sets of the vinyl records at the Montagu Centre in a box marked Columbia Records. She offered one of the two-disc sets to the British Library where Dr Alex King, cataloguer in oral history, said they would be ‘a most welcome addition to our collections’. In July, Alison handed over the records to him at the British Library in King’s Cross, central London.

In the recording, on 78rpm vinyl, Dr Montefiore reads all four chapters of Jonah. The circumstances surrounding the recording are something of a mystery. It is thought that it was made in the 1920s or 1930s; Dr Montefiore died in 1938 at the age of 80. However, it is not known when or where the recording was made, or who organised it.

The day after receiving the records, Dr King was able to tell LJ Today that the discs were recorded privately, for limited distribution. ‘The pressings which were at Liberal Judaism were probably made by EMI under some arrangement with Columbia (there are two different sorts of numbers on the discs which suggests this), but Columbia did not record them.’

Dr Montefiore was the first president of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) in St John’s Wood – founded in 1911 – almost until his death in 1938. Rabbi Lawrence Rigal, who co-wrote The First Hundred Years, a history of Liberal Judaism in Britain, says Dr Montefiore read Jonah on

Yom Kippur at the LJS for many years. ‘It was one of the highlights of the services. In the 1930s (I think) someone had the idea of making a recording of him.’

Alison describes Montefiore’s voice on the discs as ‘well-modulated and distinctive’. She adds: ‘It is loud and carrying, as though he had been trained to project his voice as actors are.’

Rabbi Rigal adds: ‘Sound archives are much underrated yet they convey a fuller impression of the person than words and perhaps even than photos. I have a record of Lily Montagu giving an address at a dinner dance of the West Central Girls Club in 1958, which I once rescued from the scrap heap.’

Dr King said that although various government departments and agencies offered material to the sound archive from time to time, private donations were unusual. A recent donation was a recording of a commemoration, in 1976, of the 50th anniversary of the General Strike.

Alison Behr hands a set of the 78rpm records to Dr Alex King, of the British Library’s sound archive

the Heart (Avodat Ha-Lev) forms part of the section Diversity and Difference, in which the shades of opinion and emphasis within the three religions are explored. The siddur is open at the United Nations Sabbath, on page 280. Visitors can read the prayer asking God to bless the UN and help it to achieve world peace.

Service of the Heart is on display next to the first Reform prayerbook, published in Hamburg in 1819, and a 15th century Italian illuminated machzor.

For more information, or to book free tickets, visit: www.bl.uk/sacred.


Education news ..... from Judy Thwaites [email protected]

Boost your child’s Hebrew in just one weekend Liberal Judaism’s innovative Hebrew Retreat, for pre-bar/batmitzvah religion school pupils aged 10-13 and accompanying Hebrew teacher, takes place in St Albans, Herts, from 5 to 7 October. The closing date for applications is 7 September.

At the retreat, pupils at all levels, from beginner to more advanced, will get the best opportunity to take their Hebrew to the next level.

The retreat runs from 6.30pm on the Friday to 2.45pm on the Sunday. Cost: £85 per person, student or teacher, to include food, accommodation and tuition. Please phone or email me ([email protected]) for an application form.

Parenting Day –4 November at the LJS We hope to build on the success of last year’s successful Parenting Day at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue. Parallel child and adult sessions will run throughout this day of sharing, exploring and enjoying parenthood and all that it brings, with LJY-Netzer promising exciting activities for 7- to 15-year-olds. This should be a wonderful day for all the family. Email me for an application form.

Torah L’Am is back, by popular demand Torah L’Am (Torah for Everyone), the unique learning experience for adults which aims both to teach Torah, and teach how to teach Torah, returns to the Montagu Centre by popular demand. It will run on Monday evenings, from 7 January to 11 February 2008. For more information please email me.

Liberal Judaism’s new religion school curriculumThe Liberal Judaism religion school curriculum, Journeys Through Jewish Life, is now available on CD and online. Contact me if you would like to have access to it.

Teachers’ seminar Whether or not they are using the new curriculum, all religion school teachers are invited on a Liberal Judaism teachers’ seminar in Israel, run by the Lokey Education Centre – Haifa, from 27 March to 2 April 2008. Email or phone me if you would like an application form.

Curriculum launch There will be a teachers’ briefing evening on the new curriculum from 7 to 9pm on Wednesday 19 September at the Montagu Centre.

A Community of Learners from Leo Baeck College The Community of Learners programme was launched in 2000 across Liberal and Reform communities and has been growing in popularity. Each course in the programme meets for a session a week for eight weeks. The courses are written from a Progressive standpoint, taking into account the history of the Liberal and Reform movements.

If you want more information about this programme, created by Leo Baeck College; or want to receive lesson plans; or want to run these courses in your community, please contact Gaby Ruppin, adult learning consultant at the college: [email protected].

Fly the Flag for Israel as birthday celebrations beginComing soon... our Flying the Flag for Israel campaign, in which Liberal Judaism’s communities start off the celebrations for Israel’s 60th birthday, in 2008.

Religion schools and other synagogue groups – perhaps a bridge or lunch club – are invited to make a flag, using a pillowcase, based on the theme of 60 years of Israel’s achievements. If you take up the challenge you will research the achievements for yourselves and design a flag that symbolises your ideas. Email me for full details of how to enter.l Anwen Grant is compiling a calendar of Yom Ha’Atzmaut events next year in Liberal Judaism’s communities. Please email her to let her know your plans: [email protected].

It doesn’t look Jewish...

...but we’re sure this Dalek has some Jewish blood in it somewhere. It was one of the attractions at a Dr Who-themed family fun day at The Liberal Synagogue Elstree, where eight-year-old Danielle Blake (pictured) enjoyed a close encounter. The monthly fun days are proving popular with both members and visitors

Merron appointed to Cabinet OfficeGillian Merron, Labour MP for Lincoln and a member of Liberal Judaism’s Lincolnshire community, has been appointed by Gordon Brown to serve as a parliamentary secretary based at the Cabinet Office, and minister for the East Midlands.

Gillian Merron, who has a strong voting record in favour of gay rights, also

displays an interest in local issues, health, defence and the environment. At Liberal Judaism’s 2007 Patrons’ Dinner, she spoke of her personal commitment to Judaism and, in particular, of the warm welcome she received from the Lincolnshire Jewish Community.

Vienna in MarchThe next European Region conference of the World Union for Progressive Judaism will be held from 13 to 16 March 2008 at

the Renaissance Penta Vienna Hotel, in Vienna. The keynote speaker will be Rabbi Michael Marmur, dean of the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Jerusalem. An early bird delegate’s fee (£230) is available up to 31 December 2007.

There will be a post-conference tour around Vienna, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 16-19 March.

For a registration form and further details, email [email protected].


According to one tradition there are 613 mitzvot in the Torah. Cue much debate amongst sages through the centuries about whether this is the case and, if so, how exactly they are defined. My interest though is not so much about the list, but about one of them in particular.

The mitzvah which is particularly intriguing at this time is the mitzvah to repent, teshuvah. It would seem obvious that one should repent for wrongs that have been done, and I am sure that many of us have spent time listening to sermons and shiurim discussing the different nature of sins which have been committed: between person and person and between a person and God. But have you ever considered the paradox in the mitzvah to repent? The paradox is this: if repentance is desirable, a mitzvah, then we must sin in order to do it.

Thinking about this reminded me of a passage from the teachings of the Maggid of Mezeritch (a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov; died 1772). He writes:

‘A sin causes forgetfulness because a sin leads to another sin and the forgetting of the ‘Blessed Name’, and one commits another sin. Repentance causes remembrance and there is a hint towards this in olive oil. For the olive makes forgetfulness difficult and the oil is good for remembrance. That is to say, the oil is stored up in the olive just as teshuvah is stored up in a sin. Teshuvah is one of the 613 mitzvot and yet one is unable to do it without sinning first. It turns out that teshuvah is hidden within the sin.’There are a number of theological

questions that this text raises, which relate to how one understands good and evil in the world and, of course, as Liberal Jews, how we understand the

After all’s been said and done, we’re only human

Liberal Jew’s £1m donationA charity chaired by Dr Richard Stone, a longstanding member of the Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation, has given £1 million towards Cambridge University’s new Centre for the Study of Muslim–Jewish Relations (CMJR). The Stone Ashdown Trust’s donation, to the Woolf Institute, will be used as an endowment to fund the centre’s work.

Dr Stone, a former GP and the son of Lord Stone of Hendon, is the founder of Alif-Aleph UK, which promotes engagement between Jews and Muslims. He also chairs the Runnymede Trust’s Islamophobia Commission.

Students on the CMJR courses will research the areas the faiths have in common, such as monotheism, close family ties and diaspora communities. Students will later look at issues around Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The Woolf Institute was set up last year to house the Centre for the Study of Jewish–Christian relations as well as the Muslim–Jewish centre. Its director, Dr Edward Kessler, was a speaker at Liberal Judaism’s 2006 Biennial Weekend in Cheltenham.

The CMJR’s first intake of students, this autumn, includes Rabbi Danny Rich and Imam Shahid Hussein, of the London Central Mosque, who will study as a pair.

West Central Zena Bullmore writes with reference to ‘Spotlight on West Central’, published in July’s LJ Today: ‘When I joined [The West Central Club] as a schoolgirl in about 1936, it was situated not in Whitfield Street but in Alfred Place. This was destroyed by a high explosive bomb during the Blitz.’

The Whitfield Street site was, indeed, acquired after the war. Rabbi Janet Burden hopes soon to put back on display the plaque commemorating those who died in the bombing of Alfred Place.

Memorial services Liberal Judaism’s annual memorial services will be held on Sunday 9 September. The service at Cheshunt is at 10.30am, conducted by Rabbi Harry Jacobi; the service at Edgwarebury is at 2pm (Rabbi Thomas Salamon); and the service at Pound Lane, Willesden, is at 3.30pm (Rabbi Alexandra Wright). An independent service will be held at Golders Green Crematorium at 3pm, conducted by Rabbi Dr Frank Hellner.

Rabbi Neil Janes unravels the Yom Kippur paradox – we need to have sinned in order to carry out the mitzvah of repentance

meaning of commandment. However, I would like to think just for a moment about the implications for us as we approach the Days of Awe. When I read this brief paragraph I am reminded of the important way in which aspects of Judaism understand our potential as human beings. In the Torah reading for Yom Kippur we hear that God has set before us good and evil, blessing and curse, and that we have a choice to make. Yet, though we may strive constantly for good we cannot really avoid making mistakes: making errors in judgment and committing ‘sins’. Teshuvah – repentance, literally turning back – enables us to keep an anchor secured in our lives. It sustains a vision of the world that holds promise for the healing of our relationship with God. For teshuvah lies within all those sins; it is for us to activate its potential and help us to remember the ‘Blessed Name’.

I suppose that gets to the heart of our covenantal relationship as a people with God. Judaism offers a framework to hold together a relationship with God that may often feel strained or even non-existent. In particular, at the High Holy Days we are given a chance to refocus our energies with a period of deep introspection coupled with a dramatic and awe-inspiring reminder that though we may put ourselves at the centre of the world for the rest of the year, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur we recognise that that self-centred existence is actually an illusion.

Finally, just as we look back to the year that is gone, we look with anticipation to the year that is coming – with hopes, dreams and wishes. May it be one of health and happiness, peace and friendship, goodness and blessing. Shanah Tovah.

Nigel Cole, chairman of Liberal Judaism, Rabbi Danny Rich, its chief executive,

together with the honorary officers, vice-presidents and staff send their warmest greetings to all members of Liberal Judaism’s congregations and their families for the coming year of 5768


Let’s make Cheshvan a sweet monthI remember at some point in my childhood thinking that Marcheshvan and Cheshvan were two separate months. Now I know that the month of Cheshvan gained the addition of Mar (‘bitter’, as in Maror at Pesach). It did so because, after the surfeit of special days in Tishrei – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah – the Hebrew calendar gives us a month without any special days in it at all.

Tishrei provides us with the wake-up call of the shofar blasts. Maimonides interprets its calls as saying: ‘Awake, you sleepers, from your sleep…’. We waken to repent during the 10 days leading up to Yom Kippur. But it means more than that: while we are awake, we are bidden to improve our ways and our deeds – and this means every day of the year.

One way in which we can do this is to translate words into action. Liberal Judaism has always prided itself on the ethical basis through which it interprets Judaism. Our late president, Rabbi John

Rayner z’l, presented 110 ethical principles. Underpinning them, he defined eight governing principles:1. All human beings are created in the divine image2. Freedom for individuals from oppres-sion and for nations from domination3. ‘Justice, justice shall you follow’ (Deut. 16:20)4. Compassion for the weak, the down-

I hope to help people feel connected

The mitzvah to give tzedakah – 10 per cent of one’s income – is well known and well dinned into us as Liberal Jews. Whether we actually do it is another matter, but the idea that this is an equalising operation, and not done out of generosity, is a powerful one. You do it because you have to. It is part of your obligation to your community, however you define that community. It sits along such mitzvot as clothing the poor.

But the other, more interesting, concept is that of g’millut chassadim, deed of lovingkindness, where you go beyond the 10 per cent and do it out of the goodness of your heart. You visit people who are lonely, clean the houses of the old, or whatever. It is that concept- of g’millut chassadim – into which volunteering falls most naturally. But in fact it is a combination of the two, since everyone has – and should have – an obligation to their own community, whatever that might be, and across communities, so that volunteering to do something to

make the world a better place is a natural activity that is a combination of tzedakah and g’millut chassadim.

My new role is to champion such volunteering roles across government and more widely on behalf of the prime minister. To say I was thrilled to be asked is an understatement, but it fits beautifully with my core values. One should not think that people volunteer purely out of altruism, however. They do it to feel engaged with their communities, to learn new skills, to get satisfaction, sometimes to get a qualification or to look good on a CV, and sometimes to give them a sense of meaning in their lives.

Jews have a strong tradition of volunteering; our communities are run by a huge group of volunteers, some of whom get their chief sense of their role in life from what they do for our congregations.

The Jewish Community Centre for London, with which I am involved, has run two Mitzvah Days so far, and is running another on 18 November, with our own Northwood congregation playing a key part. Volunteers paint old people’s flats,

Social action co-ordinator Richard Jacobi asks for 10 minutes of your time as Julia Neuberger describes her role as the government’s adviser on volunteering

trodden, the refugee and the stranger.5. A certain globalism – considering a worldwide humanity6. A passionate longing for peace7. Protecting the environment for future generations.8. Jewish messianism – the hope that ultimately good will triumph over evil.

An ethic has worth only if translated into action. Every Jew, and every Liberal Jew in particular, has to take action, no matter

how small, to tip the world towards the realisation of those principles. This Cheshvan, we want to get the new year of 5768 off to a good start by taking action as individuals – in our synagogues, youth groups, student societies – and as a movement. Your action may take as little as 10 minutes, if that is all the time you have, but it will still help.

During the month, if you sign up, we will suggest social actions you can take to help ‘repair the world’ (tikkun olam). All you have to do is let us know you want to be part of this by phoning the Montagu Centre (020 7631 9821) or by e-mailing [email protected].

Let’s remove the bitterness from Cheshvan. Be part of making the new year a sweeter one. L’shanah tovah umetukah.

Richard adds: I am delighted to be Liberal Judaism’s social action co-ordinator and aim to help your community to translate Liberal Jewish principles into action. We work on the idea that what you do will influence others towards doing good too.

decorate psychiatric wards, play with disabled children, and so on. Of course it is not an activity just for once a year, but the idea of a whole community volunteering together on a particular day tends to inspire people, and it is huge fun as well.

I hope to take the Mitzvah Day concept into the wider community. I hope to see people recognise that they don’t need to volunteer for long periods, nor does everyone need to volunteer every week.

Beyond that, I hope to look at how volunteers are given opportunities in different sectors, and to explore ways for them to do more, and be less restricted by professional staff. This is not an agenda about using volunteers to do jobs that used to be paid. It is about seeing what people who volunteer above and beyond what our public purse can pay for can do to change the culture, and make us feel connected to each other. That is why I am so excited about the role.

Baroness Neuberger, president of Liberal Judaism, was appointed in June as Gordon Brown’s adviser on volunteering

By Julia Neuberger

By Richard Jacobi


Union cricitism of Israel is being used as a cover for antisemitism

Information on how to support the anti-boycott campaign is available from www.stoptheboycott.org

Many around the world believe that the Universities and Colleges staff union (UCU) has decided to boycott Israel. Angry criticism has cascaded on the UCU from all over. Actually, at its conference, the union decided to consult its membership on whether a boycott should be supported, with a view to a final decision next year.

However, its executive has refused to agree to a referendum, proposed by general secretary Sally Hunt, to ensure that the decision of the union reflects the wishes of the 120,000 members, and not just the 200 conference delegates. The principle of academic freedom is at risk, with threats to continued co-operation with Israeli academics and institutions on joint research in areas such as drug research, IT, desert irrigation and many more. It could well affect academics, but not the Israeli government. If British academics really wanted a boycott, they would have to give up mobile phones, laptops computers and many life-saving drugs, all of which involve Israeli participation. It’s not only oranges and avocados, and Britain sells twice as much to Israel as we import.

But why Israel? And why only Israel? There are many countries where universities are directly controlled by the regime, without any academic freedom, such as Syria, China, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. They don’t face a boycott.

There are many more countries where the regime denies human rights and democracy to its own people, as in Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. They don’t face a boycott.

In Israel there is a strong commitment to academic freedom, with academics

and students of all ethnic origins free to criticise, including advocating opposition to the very existence of the state. Israel is a democracy, with all parties represented in the Knesset in accordance with proportional representation. It is the only country in the Middle East with the rule of law and free trade unions; and more than 20 per cent of Israeli citizens are not of Jewish origin, with well organised Muslim, Christian, Druze and Bahai groups.

So why Israel? Some want to show sympathy for refugees facing poverty, well publicised in the media, but fail to relate this to the oil riches of the Arab world, or the fact that a similar number of Jews were forced to leave Arab lands as became Palestinian refugees. Economic development will most aid the refugees, not a ‘boycott’ – and that is the view of the Palestinian trade unions.

The unfortunate reality is that Israel is attacked as a cover for anti-semitism. This obnoxious development is aided by some ‘self-hating’ Jews, who refuse to accept, in spite of the Holocaust, the right of Jews to have their own state, and by some who are jealous of Israel’s successes in defending itself from attacks. So Israel is the target. And the weapon is a threatened boycott.

Trade Union Friends of Israel is fighting back. We are determined to convince our trade union colleagues that

any boycott would be bad for Palestinians as well as Israeli trade unionists. I’m pleased to report that the executive of the journalists’ union, the NUJ, has decided to take no action on its conference vote for a boycott, after an intensive campaign. Also that Unison’s general secretary has confirmed that its conference decision on a boycott ‘does not commit Unison to boycott Israel or Israeli organisations’. The Transport & General Workers’ Union has voted for a boycott in general terms, and we believe this decision must be overturned as it did not have any real debate.

Most other unions are against a boycott, and the TUC Congress in September will not have any reference to a boycott on its agenda.

In line with TUC policy, we are working with the PGFTU (Palestine General Fed-eration of Trade Unions) and the Israeli TUC (Histadrut) to support joint action for peace, economic development and solidarity. This will continue to be our contribution to the peace process. Cam-paigning against any boycott, we will work for peace, based on a two-state solution, with full security for Israel and its people.

... as Liberal Jews back co-existence project For one day in July, Rabbi Danny Rich joined the staff of the Sir Charles Clore Jewish–Arab Community Centre’s summer camp in Acco, in the western Galilee. After the day playing football with the participants and leading sessions with the flying carpet game – which teaches basic English, Hebrew and Arabic – Rabbi Rich said: ‘The atmosphere was wonderful, with children just being children regardless of their ethnic background.’

A hundred disadvantaged children

attended the three-week camp – which was judged a resounding success in bringing communities together – for a token charge of 100 NIS (£10) per child. .

Liberal Judaism is hoping its communities can raise £50,000 through High Holy Day appeals to help fund it. The movement is also appealing for 100 Liberal Jews to give £100 each to sponsor a child on the camp. Please phone 020 7631 9823 if you want to become ‘one in a hundred’.

Roger Lyons, chair of Trade Union Friends of Israel and a former TUC president, on the boycotts

Danny Rich at the Arab–Jewish summer camp


Mabel WilsonWith the passing of Mabel Wilson, who died in June aged 101, the movement has lost one of the last of its founder members.

Mabel was a pupil at the Jewish Free School, in Hanway Place, where she and Ada Thomson – a lifelong friend who died this year aged 99 – were in the same class.

When Mabel left school, she joined Miss Lily and Miss Marian Montagu’s West Central Jewish Club for Working Girls in Alfred Place. The club was formed in 1893 and began holding religious services in 1897. In 1913, the West Central Section of the Jewish Religious Union was founded and in 1928 the congregation appointed its first rabbi.

In 1941, the building received a direct hit and was demolished. After the war, Mabel, with several others, helped Miss

Lily and Miss Marian raised funds to build a new synagogue. They held dances, concerts, whist drives and garden parties. Mabel was the social secretary. Without her, it is possible that the building would never have been built.

For many years, Mabel was a very efficient secretary of the synagogue. When she stepped down, she was made an honorary life member.

She was a woman unafraid to speak her mind, or to speak out during synagogue services. One Sukkot, when Rabbi Mark Solomon was rabbi of West Central Synagogue, he expressed dismay that the lulav he was shaking was not producing any sound. Mabel called out: ‘Well put some jingle bells on it then.’

Mabel spent her final years in Arundel, to be near her devoted niece. She was cremated in a service at Golders Green.Maurice Cohen and Janet Burden

Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah has written a booklet, to be published by Liberal Judaism in December, which presents the background to, and details of, three personal commitments she identifies for today’s Liberal Jews. The publication also sets out a range of opportunities for putting these ‘compelling commitments’ into practice.

The commitments centre on three ideas: embracing Jewish teaching and engaging with knowledge in the wider world; sustaining the Jewish community and repairing the world; the Eternal is our God and the Eternal is One.

Compelling Commitments offers a framework for the reader to embrace the challenges that the future of the movement and, for each person, the pathway to an enriched Jewish life, depends on each and every Liberal Jew.

Compelling Commitments will be launched on Sunday 2 December, at 3pm at the Montagu Centre. Rabbi Sarah will be in conversation with Rabbi Danny Rich about Liberal Judaism in the 21st century. All are welcome to attend.

Doroteinu revisitedLiberal Judaism’s Doroteinu project has been successful in bringing different generations together. Over the years it has inspired many communities to run their own successful Doroteinu groups tailored to their own communities.

Doroteinu is now being reviewed by a working party consisting of Lina Fajerman (Bet Tikvah synagogue), Louise Freedman (South London) and Corinne Oppenheimer (Birmingham) to take a fresh look at what else can be achieved.

One idea is to develop a range of possible day-time activities such as lively talks and visits to place of interest, using London and Birmingham as centres. Doroteinu should include people of all ages who want to take part.

The working party values comments from members of established Doroteinu groups as well as ideas from individuals. To complete a questionnaire about what you would like from Doroteinu, please download it from the Liberal Judaism website or contact Lina by email or telephone: [email protected] or 020 8504 3125.

Obituaries ‘One Liberal Jew, three compelling commitments’

This month is the 50th anniversary of the induction of the Rev John Rayner into the ministry of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue. This is an excerpt from his induction sermon at the service, held on 14 September 1957 in St John’s Wood, north London, and conducted by Rabbi Leslie Edgar

‘Liberal Judaism is Judaism. It is the historic faith of the Jewish People, so developed that it may flourish in the modern world. Judaism cannot flourish if it commands observances which have lost their meaning. Judaism cannot flourish if it denies to women an equality which they have rightly attained in every other sphere. Judaism cannot flourish if it expresses itself exclusively in a language which most Jews do not understand.

‘We would set Judaism free from these impediments that, like the cedar and the palm-tree on Mount Lebanon, it may flourish and bear fruit in its old age. All that we have done in the way of reform has been directed to this end, that Judaism, liberated and enlarged, purified and rejuvenated, may again command the intellectual respect and satisfy the

spiritual need, and so regain the joyful allegiance, of the 20th-century Jew.

‘It is sometimes said by our critics that we should not adapt Judaism to life, but life to Judaism. One obvious answer is that Judaism has always adapted itself to life, as every religion must. What, if not that, was the great achievement of the Pharisees? But the more important answer is that in so adapting Judaism we seek not to lessen but to increase its impact upon life, to enable Judasim to exert the most powerful possible influence on the life of the Jew, directing and shaping all its aspects by the light of its eternal ideals....

‘Vast numbers of our fellow-Jews in this country have long abandoned the foundations on which the whole of the traditional structure of Judaism rests. Yet only a few of them find their way into our movement. One basic reason is the quality of our own example.

‘Only he who is whole-heartedly liberal and whole-heartedly Jewish, whose liberalism is a measure of his love for Judaism, only he is an asset to our movement and understands what our founders sought to achieve.’

A glance at our history...


extends a genuinely warm welcome to all Jews, Liberal and otherwise.

Really? Just how liberal it it?The synagogue asks worshippers to follow traditional rules of Shabbat observance, and any food served at the shul must be kosher. But in terms of inclusivity the synagogue is wholeheartedly liberal, with gay and mixed-faith couples welcome as well as single members and families with a more traditional outlook.

What is there for children?The synagogue has a Sunday morning cheder, which has six pupils at present.Children are instructed in Jewish practices, history, festivals, ethics and Hebrew as well as being taught songs and prayers to enable them to take part actively in services. There is also an annual trip to a place of interest. Children at the synagogue regularly attend Kadimah summer camp.

What social and other activities are there?The synagogue holds an annual barbecue and an annual quiz as well as taking part in the Liberal Judaism intersynagogue quiz. It has also organised cultural trips, such as to see the Maimonides manuscripts at Cambridge, as well as speaker events.

Does it have a synagogue bulletin?Outlook, published quarterly, carries feature articles, news items and details of activities and religious services, and is often a forum for lively debate. There is also a website: www.bedfordshire-ps.org.uk.

What scrolls does it have?It has two Sifrei Torah: a Czech scroll from Brno, and one from Iraq.

A few years ago the children of the synagogue raised around £1,000 to have the Czech scroll restored by a sofer (Jewish ritual scribe).

What does the future hold?The community is steadily growing. It has established a building fund in the hope that it will be able to buy its own premises in central Bedfordshire at some point in the future.

For the moment it is busy planning for its 40th anniversary next year.

Photographs by Andy Combe

Spotlight on BedfordshireWhat’s the synagogue’s full name?Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue. A few years ago it adopted an additional, Hebrew name, Rodef Shalom (‘pursuer of peace’).

Where and when does it meet?The community usually meets in Luton, where the majority of services are held. Shabbat evening services take place weekly at the Friends’ Meeting House, where a Shabbat morning service is also held on the first Saturday of each month.

A Shabbat morning service is held in Bedford on the third Saturday of each month.

Full services are held for the High Holy Days and other festivals. Some celebrations, such as for Chanukkah and Sukkot, take place in members’ homes.

Who leads the services?David Young, the synagogue’s chairman, is also its ba’al tefillah (prayer leader). He has been leading the services for about 20 years and does all the bar/bat-mitzvah teaching. Longstanding member Jeff Kleinman leads some services.

What else should I know about the chairman?He has been a shop steward for 24 years at the Vauxhall factory in Luton, where he works. He breeds Rex rabbits (known for their plush velvet fur) and keeps and shows Araucana chickens (which lay blue eggs).

Who are the other movers and shakers?The president is Geoffrey Ben-Nathan, a former lay minister of the synagogue, who has conducted a second-night seder for Pesach for the past 36 years. The vice-chairman is Hans Seelig, a composer and retired university lecturer in German studies. He chairs Club 1943, a cultural association for refugees from Nazi Germany.

David Corfan is the long-standing treasurer. Hilary Fox is secretary; she also does a lot of work with Riding for the Disabled. Other council members are Sarah Horn and Rosie Comb.

When was the community set up?It was founded in 1967 as the Beds–Herts congregation and was later known as the Chiltern Progressive Synagogue before the change to its current name. Over the years it has been served by a number of rabbinic students and part-time rabbis. It has around 60 members.

What is the synagogue’s ethos?The chairman’s personal view is that ‘To be truly liberal we must accept the most observant along with the least observant.’ David Young himself keeps strictly kosher and is traditionally Shabbat-observant but the synagogue

David Young, chairman (back right), Frank Gesoff, who helps at cheder, Ben Combe (wearing tallit) and the Gessof boys Ben (back) and Liam

Chairman David Young with barmitzvah pupil Ben Combe. David says:‘To be truly liberal we must accept the most observant along with the least observant’


Why should Jews be interested in the Armenian genocide let alone plant a tree to commemorate this event, now so far in the past? I hope in this article to convince you that it is at least worth finding out more about what actually happened 92 years ago, on 24 April 1915.

Until six years ago I knew nothing about Armenia. I probably could not even have found it on a map. By chance I saw an advert for a conference on genocide at the Wiener Library as part of the first National Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2001, and I decided to attend.

I was little prepared for the shock of hearing an Armenian giving an account, not only of the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks against the Armenians, but the rigid denial that is still being made by the current Turkish government. I learnt that many other governments collude with this denial to curry favour with Turkey.

What perhaps impressed me most was the realisation that this was the same fate the Nazis had planned for us Jews. Europe was to be ‘cleansed once and for all’ of Jews by the Final Solution in the way Anatolia was ‘cleansed’ of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. There had been endless pogroms against the Armenians in Asia Minor, paralleling the pogroms against Jews in Europe. In fact the word ‘holocaust’ was first used to describe the Armenians herded into a church and burnt alive around the turn of the 20th century.

After the ‘cleansing’ had been accomplished in Anatolia, the new republic of Turkey, under Mustafa Kemal, set about killing or driving out the non-Muslim remnants, destroying the evidence and pretending it never happened. That was to have been the fate of European Jewry: no corpses – just a museum showing the artefacts of an extinct people.

After that conference I knew I had to find out more. Already for many years I had been going into schools as part of the National Curriculum Holocaust Education to tell my personal story, as a kindertransportee. But I began to realise how much available knowledge I had been keeping out. For example, it is common knowledge that Hitler said to his generals in 1939, on the eve of

invading Poland, ‘Who now remembers the Armenians?’ Actually, it isn’t possible to keep knowledge out. If you see or hear something, you can’t then un-hear or un-see it. But you can keep yourself ‘not knowing that you know’ by storing and sealing off knowledge that is feared to be too disturbing.

Fired by a thirst for information stronger than my resistance to ‘knowing that I know’, I looked up genocide on the internet. ‘Genocide-watch’ gives eight stages of genocide: six clearly perceivable stages, at which action could be taken to halt it, before the killing in the seventh stages. Every genocide has its survivors. There are always the few who see it coming and emigrate and the few who escape to tell the story. These survivors escape the ‘killing fields’ but continue to suffer the genocide through the eighth and last stage – of denial.

While the Armenian genocide is denied by the successors of the perpetrating government, the Armenians in Armenia and its diaspora cannot come to a resolution. Without graves and memorials at the sites of the killings and in the main cities, the survivors experience the denial as a second onslaught.

It is hard to imagine Europe with a German government that denies the Holocaust; Germany with no graves or memorials to establish the one-time existence of the Jewish and other victims; Berlin with streets names after Hitler, Himmler, Goebels and Speer. Perhaps an Adolf Hitler Avenue in London or a

Why should British Jews be interested in the Armenian genocide?

Borman Boulevard in Paris. Today, streets in modern Turkey are named after the three Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire, particularly the most villainous, Talaat Pasha, in all major cities.

As I found out more about the Armenian story, I made contact with Armenians in London and Wales and a human rights worker/speaker in Berlin, Tessa Hofmann. Through Tessa, I was invited to an international conference in Yerevan to mark the 90th anniversary of the peak of the genocide. The conference participants walked to the Genocide Memorial, on a hill overlooking Yerevan, to lay the customary single flower each at the everlasting light in the centre of the memorial, which commemorates the deaths of 3.5 million Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians. The many placards on the surrounding walls expressing outrage at the genocide and support for the Armenians moved me immensely.

One area of the hilltop was devoted to rows of little conifers, sponsored by governments and associations, each bearing a plaque with a message of solidarity with the Armenian community. I noticed trees planted by the Canadian government, the Pope, Lech Walesa and many American associations. But I could find no tree sponsored by a Jewish community (other than the Jews living in Armenia itself); a tree planted by Baroness Cox was the only one representing Britain.

Thanks to Liberal Judaism, there will now be a British Jewish tree within the Genocide Memorial Forest.

Ruth Barnett on what moved her to organise the planting of a memorial tree

Biennial Weekend4-6 April 2008‘Creation and Creativity – exploring Arts and Sciences as Liberal Jews’ is the topic for the Liberal Judaism Biennial Weekend taking place next April at the four-star Tortworth Court Hotel, near Bristol.

God has given human beings enormous power to create. The way we channel our creative impulses (our ‘arts’) and how we strive to impose order and structure on our world (our ‘sciences’) means that they are intimately connected with our Judaism

– giving us our theme. A programme of workshops and informal sessions, practical sessions, panel debates and after-dinner speakers will allow us to explore both arts and sciences as Liberal Jews.

The relaxed atmosphere and opportunity to socialise, study and pray with 200 Liberal Jews from around the country is invigorating and unique. There are childcare facilities as well as a full children’s programme running in parallel. Look out for a booking form with your synagogue magazine next month, or find more details at www.liberaljudaism.org/biennial.

September/October 2007

LJY-NetzerThe youth movement of Liberal Judaism

Contact Vic Kaufman or Lauren Dubell at The Montagu Centre, 21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE. www.ljynetzer.org

T: 020 7631 0584 F: 020 7631 9838E: [email protected] [email protected]

LJ Today

Israel Tour

How come Kadimah just gets better and better?

What’s next?28 September (Fri) Reunite: Netzer–niks from all the summer programmes (Kadimah, Kayitz and Israel Tour)

October half-term Yamim B’Chutz: a trip for 14-15-year-olds

October half-term Hadrachah (leadership) seminar

30 November-2 December Mini-Veidah

30 November-1 December Plagim Shabbat

27 December (Thurs) Bog Day: social event for LJY-Netzer members 18+

28-30 December (Fri-Sun) Veidah: annual decision-making conference

LJY-Netzer is the youth movement of Liberal Judaism. It provides an opportunity for young people to develop a strong Progressive Jewish identity

whilst enjoying friendships and having fun

The Kadimah chanichim (participants) enjoyed great speakers and workshops for the theme ‘Israel: Taking a Stand’.

For Nechalim (the Rivers age group, of 12- to 13-year-olds) this meant spending a day in an IDF (Israeli Defence Force) simulation, exploring army ethics and appreciating the life of Israelis doing national service. Plagim (Streams, the youngest age group) created their own mini-Israelis in a plant pot by bringing together images and plants to represent land, state and people.

For Yamim (Seas, 14-year-olds) their annual tiyul (hiking trip) was a great success. They spent three days

away from main Kadimah site exploring the natural beauty in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

This year’s camp of course retained activities that makes Kadimah the best place to be in the summer holidays: wide games, evening activities as well as the famed Last Night Show!

In fact, Kadimah 07 was so great that we’ve already opened applications for next year. The dates are 27 July-10 August 2008. Book before 1 December and you get a free LJY-Netzer bag! Get those forms in now as places are limited!! Vic Kaufman

Am Yisrael U’maniot: beatboxes Ruben Alfred-Lecky (left) and Robbie Dove; guitarist Samuel Gavin

More Shnatties! As we were going to press, another big group of gap-year Liberal Jews were preparing to leave for the Shnat Netzer tour of Israel.

Sam Andrews, Emily Borchardt, Sam Cohen, Anna Posner, Joe Rich and Josh Stone will spend 10 months experiencing many different aspects of Israel, deepening their knowledge and understanding of the country.

This year LJY-Netzer sent its largest and most ideological Israel Tour ever! The group of 39, led by LJY-Netzer’s own Ben Baginsky (Northwood and Pinner) and Claire Samuel (Oxford) had a fantastic time.

One of the most interesting discussions the tour group had was when they were asked by the Jewish Agency to run a programme about the reunification of Jerusalem. The programme that they were given to run emphasised how glorious and wonderful the reunification is.

However, it is part of LJY-Netzer’s approach towards Israel which leads us to question this. It is the view of many LJY-Netzer members, including those leading the tour, that Jerusalem is still not really reunified: East Jersualem has a large Palestinian/Israeli Arab population that is not unified with the city’s Jewish population.

The British madrichim (leaders: Ben and Claire) with the help of their Israeli madrichim (Yahav and Maiah) instead ran a programme with the help of their group’s bus driver.

The driver is an Israeli Arab from East Jerusalem whose house was bulldozed by the Israeli Defence Force. He, along with the Israeli madrichim spoke about Jerusalem: about what makes it an important city for them and what issues still exist for them regarding the city.

At the end, the Jewish Agency requested that the group paint a banner to display at the Israel Experience Mega Event with the other tours in Israel at the time. LJY-Netzer’s banner represented these different views, with a ‘puzzle’theme: The Palestinian view/the Jewish Israeli view/ and the piece that is missing in the current puzzle: peace.

They hope to display the banner proudly among hasbarah (advocacy) banners made by other youth movements.Jordan Helfman


Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue (Rodef Shalom), 01234 218387, [email protected], www.bedfordshire-ps.org.ukBeit Klal Yisrael, PO Box 1828, London W10 5RT020 8960 5750, [email protected] www.beit-klal-yisrael.org.ukBet Tikvah Synagogue, 129 Perrymans Farm Road, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG2 7LX, 020 8554 9682, [email protected], www.bettikvah.org.ukBirmingham Progressive SynagogueJericho House, 196-198 Edward Road, B12 9LX, 0121 446 5273, [email protected]; branch: Leamington Spa, 01926 421300Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue 6 Lansdowne Road, Hove BN3 1FF01273 737223, bhps@liberaljudaism.orgwww.brightonandhoveprosynagogue.org.ukBristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation 43-45 Bannerman Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0RR [email protected], www.bwpjc.orgCrawley Jewish Community, 01293 534294Dublin Jewish Progressive Synagogue, PO Box 3059, Dublin 6, 00 3531 2856241, [email protected] Liberal Synagogue, Lynton Avenue, Drayton Green, W13 0EB, 020 8997 0528, [email protected], www.ealingliberalsynagogue.org.ukEastbourne Progressive Jewish Congregation01323 725650, fax: 01323 [email protected], www.epjcong.org.ukEdinburgh Liberal Jewish Community0131 777 8024, [email protected], www.eljc.orgFinchley Progressive Synagogue Hutton Grove, N12 8DR, 020 8446 4063, [email protected], www.fps.orgHarrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue 326 Preston Road, Harrow, Middx HA3 0QH, 020 8904 8581, [email protected] Jewish CommunityEnquiries: 07789 218823 Kent Liberal Jewish Community07952 242432, [email protected],www.jewishkent.org.uk/communities/KLJC/kljc.htmlKingston Liberal SynagogueRushett Road, Long Ditton, Surbiton, Surrey KT7 0UX, 020 8398 7400, [email protected] Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation, The Synagogue, 24 Avenue Road, LE2 3EA, 07875 [email protected] Liberal Jewish Synagogue, 28 St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 7HA, 020 7286 5181, [email protected], www.ljs.org

Liberal Judaism congregations

DIARY DATES ...........Liberal JudaismThe Montagu Centre, 21 Maple Street, LondonW1T 4BE, 020 7580 1663 Fax: 020 7631 [email protected], www.liberaljudaism.orgYouth Department 020 7631 0584 www.ljynetzer.org

President The Baroness Neuberger DBEChairman Nigel Cole Vice Chairman Joan Shopper Treasurer David Pelham Hon. Officers Penny Beral (communications); Roz Bott (disability); William Glassman; Amanda Grant (youth); Paul Infield (interfaith); Elsbeth Mendes da Costa (social action); Paula Scott (marketing); Stephanie ThwaitesSenior Vice-President Rabbi Dr Sidney BrichtoVice-Presidents Jeromé Freedman, Louise Freedman, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg, Jeremy Jessel, David Lipman, Rosita Rosenberg, Tony Sacker, Beverley TaylorHon. Vice-Presidents David Amstell, Geoffrey Davis, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Willie Kessler, Corinne Oppenheimer, David Pick, Harold Sanderson, Clive WinstonChairs of the Rabbinic Conference Rabbi Rachel Benjamin and Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi Chief Executive Rabbi Danny Rich Outreach Director Rabbi Aaron Goldstein Chaplain Rabbi Melinda Michelson-Carr Communications and PR Alexandra Mankowitz Shlicha Noa Marom Youth Clubs Jordan Helfman and Josh Lassman-Watts Student Fieldworker Jake Welford LJY-Netzer Victor Kaufman and Lauren Dubell

Liberal Judaism promotes the religious and cultural traditions of our faith within the framework of progressive thinking and ethics. Liberal Judaism is a registered charity, number 256390.

LJ Today is edited by Beatrice Sayers The deadline for the Nov/Dec issue is 4 October. Articles or letters for publication are welcome. Please send to: [email protected]

Printed by Freedman Bros.

Aaron Goldstein is next senior rabbi at NorthwoodRabbi Aaron Goldstein, outreach director of Liberal Judaism, has been appointed senior rabbi at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue. He will succeed his father, Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein, when he takes up the role next summer.

Rabbi Aaron, who has been assistant rabbi at the synagogue for the past year, said it was a huge honour for him to succeed his father: ‘He has always been an inspiration to me, and the encouragement of both my parents gives me the confidence to know that I am up to the challenge, and will be able to continue the good work they have been doing for all of their lives.’

Until he takes up the role, Rabbi Aaron will divide his time equally between the roles of assistant rabbi and outreach director. Rabbi Andrew said: ‘For a rabbi to have his son succeed him as senior rabbi in his congregation is a dream come true.’

Volunteers neededFPJ (Formerly Friends of Progressive Judaism) needs volunteers to get involved in important work helping our growing communities in Europe, the FSU and Israel. We need all our synagogues to be represented.

If you have enthusiasm, energy and ideas then we want to hear from you. Please contact: Jane Greenfield: [email protected]; or Carol Roberts on 020 7328 8303.

Student action Have you started at or returned to university this autumn, or do you know someone who has? Text or email Jake Welford to find out what LJ Students events you can take part in: [email protected] or 07877 287514 and visit the website: www.liberaljudaism.org/lj_students.

Accounts manager

Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue is seeking a part-time accounts manager. To request details or to apply for the post, write to: 326 Preston Road, Harrow HA3 0QH.

9 September (Sunday)Annual memorial services Held at Willesden, Cheshunt and Edgwarebury. Tel: 020 7580 1663

5-7 October (Saturday-Sunday)Hebrew Retreat for pre-bar/batmitzvah children. Contact [email protected]

18 October (Thursday) Islamic Influence on Judaism Lecture I by Rabbi Mark Solomon; at Liberal Jewish Synagogue, 8pm, all welcome

4 November (Sunday)Parenting Day Second annual event for parents and children aged 0-15, 9.30am at the LJS

15 November (Thursday) Islamic Influence on Judaism Lecture II by Rabbi Solomon. LJS, 8pm

25 November (Sunday)John Rich Memorial Event South London, 3pm

2 December (Sunday)Launch of Compelling Commitments With Rabbis Sarah and Rich. 3pm at the Montagu Centre

7 January 2008 (Monday) Torah L’Am course starts, Montagu Centre: [email protected]

4 to 6 April Biennial Weekend in Bristol

8 May (Thursday) Yom Ha’atzmaut 5768 Sixty years since Israel’s independence

15 June (Sunday) Liberal Judaism Religion Schools’ Israel Event, at the LJS

The Liberal Synagogue Elstree, Elstree High Street, Elstree, Herts WD6 3BY, 020 8953 [email protected], www.tlse.org.ukLincolnshire Jewish Community01427 628958, [email protected] Liberal Jewish Community, 08709 917327, [email protected], www.mljc.org.uk North London Progressive Jewish Community020 7403 3779, [email protected] and Pinner Liberal SynagogueOaklands Gate, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 3AA01923 822592, [email protected] Progressive Jewish Congregation Lloyd Street, Sherwood, Nottingham NG5 4BP0115 9624761, [email protected] Chadash Liberal Jewish Community of Luxembourg, 00 352 31 65 94 [email protected] Liberal Jewish CommunityEnquiries: 020 7631 9826The Progressive Jewish Community of East Anglia (based in Norwich), 01508 [email protected], www.pjcea.org.ukReading Liberal Jewish Community www.rljc.org0118-375 3422, [email protected] Bucks Jewish Community 0845 644 2370 [email protected], www.sbjc.org.ukSouth London Liberal SynagoguePO Box 14475, London SW16 1ZW, 020 8769 [email protected], www.southlondon.orgSouthgate Progressive Synagogue75 Chase Road, London N14 4QY, 020 8886 [email protected], www.sps.uk.comWest Central Liberal Synagogue21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE, 020 7636 [email protected], www.wcls.org.ukWoodford Liberal SynagogueMarlborough Road, George Lane, London E18 1AR 020 8989 7619, [email protected]

Associated congregationsOxford, for details of Liberal Jewish Services:01865 515584 or 01865 765197www.oxford-synagogue.org.uk

New communitiesThe Suffolk Jewish Community020 7631 9821, [email protected]

lj today september/october 2007

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