DOCSLIB.ORG

February 2017 Newsletter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
February 2017 Newsletter European Union for Progressive Judaism February 2017 Newsletter © European Union for Progressive Judaism Chairman’s Message History made in Italy The civil year 2017 has begun Italian Federation of Progressive Jewish Communities and already EUPJ is involved in is launched. a number of initiatives. Earlier this month I had the pleasure to spend Shabbat with our communities in Budapest at the launch of the West London Synagogue / EUPJ twinning project. With Rabbi Ariel Pollak co-ordinating the various services in conjunction with Rabbi David Mitchell it was a vibrant and moving beginning Miriam Kramer to the project. The plan is that Rabbi Pollak will visit Budapest approximately every six weeks. There are, as we all know, many important dates in the Jewish calendar. In the past four weeks we have marked two of them: Holocaust Memorial Day and Tu b’Shvat. One reminds us of the horror of acts L-R rear: Lenny Robbins, Carlo Riva, Rabbi Joel Oseran, that people can do against other people on an David Pollak, Rabbi Leigh Lerner. Front: Joyce Bigio; unimaginable scale. The other is the new year of Carey Bernitz; Franca Coen; Giorgio Coen trees when we are made aware of the importance of nature and our responsibility for safeguarding it. It is It was as if the Florentine sunshine was giving us a my view that these two particular observances can sign. With Tu B’Shvat only two days away and with be seen as counter-balances to each other. spring in the air, the four presidents of our Italian I find it imperative to mention the recent death of communities gathered together on what will go down Rabbi Lionel Blue. When Leo Baeck College was in history as The Glorious Twelfth. Franca Coen of founded in London in 1956 there were two students: Beth Hillel, Rome; Carey Bernitz of Beth Shalom, Michael Leigh z’l and Lionel Blue. In their different Milan; Carlo Riva of Lev Chadash, Milan and Lenny ways they were pioneers in establishing a British Robbins of Shir Hadash, Florence were joined by rabbinate which has developed and evolved in the Rabbis Leigh Lerner, Sylvia Rothschild and Joel intervening decades. Rabbi Leigh served a large Oseran. They, together with Giorgio Coen from London congregation with distinction and Rabbi Rome, Joyce Bigio from Milan and your reporter, Blue’s path led to him serving a number of David Pollak of the EUPJ, were led by Joel in an congregations in various countries as well as appropriate and fitting Shehecheyanu before becoming a well-known teacher, author and concentrating on the task of reviewing and finally broadcaster in the UK. agreeing on a draft constitution which will lead to the Looking forward there is Connections 2017 in formation of the Federazione Italiana per l’Ebraismo Jerusalem in May. If you have been before you know Progressivivo or FIEP for short, our first Italian what an exciting and stimulating event it is. If you Federation of Progressive Jewish Communities. have never been then you really must see what all continued on page 8 the fuss is about. The three days offer an unrivalled opportunity to meet Progressive Jews February 2017 Contents from the seven WUPJ regions and to make connections with them. 1 EUPJ, Italy 9 Austria, Hungary Finally many people have been asking about the 2 EUPJ 10 Poland, Portugal, next EUPJ conference: where and when will it be? 3 Belgium Netherlands, Sweden We are very close to a decision so please be 4 Spain 11 France patient. If the past two or three conferences are any 5 Switzerland 12 France indication you can be certain that 2018 biennial will 6 Germany 13 UK be fantastic. Miriam Kramer 7 Germany, Scotland 14 UK 8 Italy 15 WUPJ, IMPJ EUPJ Newsletter February 2017 1 EUPJ EUPJ Honorary Officers Kol Ha-kavod, Italy! and Staff 2016 Congratulations on this most important initiative. I have been Honorary Life Presidents involved with EUPJ for over 20 years Leslie Bergman and it has long been a dream to see Ruth Cohen the various Progressive communities Jeffery Rose in Italy unite in order to give each President other support and to encourage the Gordon Smith growth of Progressive Judaism in the Vice-Presidents country. I do so hope that after your hard work in creating the Italian Rabbi Dr Andrew Alex Dembitz Goldstein Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein Federation for Progressive Judaism, Rabbi Dr Walter Homolka each of your communities and the Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris federation will go from strength to strength. Kol Ha-kavod. Jonathan Lewis Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein Chairman Miriam Kramer Sarah Sussman is EUPJ Assistant Editor Vice-Chairmen Sarah is the newest addition to our Stéphane Beder team. She holds degrees in Political Sonja Guentner Science and Law from Salzburg Michael Reik University in Austria. Together with Honorary Secretary her husband she currently resides in John Cohen Dublin. Honorary Treasurer She works in marketing and David Pollak has substantial experience, both Rabbinic Adviser professionally and on a volunteer Rabbi Ruven Bar-Ephraim basis, in editing, proofreading, and European Rabbinic Association translating. Besides English, she is Rabbi Ruven Bar-Ephraim, Chairman fluent in German, French, and European Beit Din Serbian. Sarah Sussman Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein, Chairman In her free time, Sarah enjoys Administrator conducting genealogical research, Deborah Grabiner [email protected] reading, drawing, and photography. Newsletter Editor Arthur Buchman [email protected] Assistant Newsletter Editor Free online Sarah Sussman Talmud A new online library has set the Talmud ‘free’ Synagogues everywhere with full, no-charge Progressive congregations and Shabbat translations. This internet services can be found nearly version of Oral Law everywhere during your travels. Click on a could revolutionise Torah blue link to find a synagogue near your study, with pop -up destination: Europe — Worldwide commentary to reverse- engineered biblical references — in Aramaic, Hebrew and English. Read more here. Download the Talmud here. Jüdische Gemeinde Kiel, see page 6 EUPJ website update Please support We are working hard to build and launch a brand new Friends of EUPJ site for the spring of 2017. Our website remains Progressive Judaism withdrawn after being hacked into in September. We in Israel and Europe. apologise for the inconvenience and assure our members They support us. and readers that you will be the first to know when we are on line once more. www.fpjie.org.uk EUPJ Newsletter February 2017 2 Belgium Large turnout for “Side by Side” for Kiddush on Saturday morning. Said IJC member Brian Doyle: “As we came together on Friday evening Shabbat services in Brussels for Kabbalat Shabbat, we were warmly welcomed Warm and welcoming says IJC and settled into the space that had been set up for us - into our sanctuary. Beth Hillel welcomed everyone upon arrival, and graciously directed them to the service they chose to attend. The parallel services did not disturb one another - on the contrary, the sound heard in the background from the 'other' sanctuary was somehow reassuring. It felt good to share this Jewish space, this synagogue. The large turnout enjoyed an animated potluck dinner in a warm atmosphere. The Beth Hillel shul was accommodating from beginning to end.” Saturday morning saw record IJC attendance, with members of all ages simultaneously committed to making this experimental service as meaningful as possible and curious to mingle with Beth Hillel congregants. To replicate a full Shabbat experience, Hebrew School classes also took place on the Brussels harmony: L-R: Steve Brummel, IJC President; premises in comfortable classrooms that Beth Hillel Miriam Kramer, EUPJ Chairman and Gilbert only uses on weekdays. All IJC Hebrew School Lederman, Beth Hillel President teachers, and parents contributed to the success of On January 27-28 Belgium’s two progressive the day’s session. communities orchestrated “Side by Side” Shabbat The co-ordination effort and thought invested by both services at the Beth Hillel location. For the IJC communities’ rabbis, boards and administrators community it was a very positive experience. “We yielded a positive and fulfilling outcome, which was wanted to maximise synergies and get to know each further confirmed when the IJC surveyed its other better,” said IJC president Steven Brummel. members online regarding their feelings and thoughts The physical space was divided into two areas, both about the Side-by-Side Shabbat. Diana Kanter on Friday night and Saturday morning, so that each congregation, led by its own rabbi, could hold Kabbalat Shabbat and Shacharit services as per A moving experience usual. The IJC is an English-speaking congregation, For Gilbert Lederman, chairman of the board at Beth led by Rabbi Ira Goldberg, and Beth Hillel is a Hillel, "this Shabbat test was a moving experience. French-speaking one, led by Rabbi Marc Neiger Not only because expats were the founders of Beth and its president, Gilbert Lederman. The weekend’s Hillel 52 years ago, before the birth of their own Side-by-Side services, requiring no small measure community IJC, but because sharing the same of logistical planning and concerted efforts, proved building with two communities enriches the prayer enjoyable and fulfilling for all. EUPJ Chairman and strengthens the vivid life of Progressive Judaism Miriam Kramer attended both sets of services. in Belgium. IJC’s Rabbi Goldberg felt the difference immediately. “Now we are working to transform this single success “We were clearly in a shul, a Jewish building, with a into a permanent condition. This would be a major mezuzah on the door. Although our services were breakthrough for families and congregants of both separate, having both communities in the same communities. Each community will keep their own location made me feel that we were larger than the identity, minhagim and activities.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Administrative Papers
    MS 316 1 A1077 Papers of Leo Baeck College Section A: Administrative papers General 84/4 Committee lists: lists of members of Leo Baeck College 1981-8 committees 78/2 Ten year plan: including a strategy document, a little 1992 correspondence and memos Administration Group 108/2 Administrative meetings: correspondence, papers for the 1980-95 Association of Jewish Communal Professionals (AJPC) conference 1993, and minutes of the administration group 108/4 Administration and personnel: includes job applications, 1987-95 correspondence and minutes Leo Baeck College Company: 1—Constitution, Articles of Association and lists of members 32/1 Constitution: includes Articles of Association for the College, and 1958-73 correspondence and other items about incorporation of the Leo Baeck College Ltd. 32/2 Constitution: [Litman] Constitutional Committee of the Council of 1969-73 Leo Baeck College. 32/3 Constitution: revisions 1976-80 46/4 Leo Baeck College corporate plan 1984-5 41/9 Leo Baeck College: draft of `Towards a Corporate Plan' 1984-5 231/13 Leo Baeck College Company: includes a copy of the Articles of 1985-7 Association, a list of the members of the company, and correspondence 70/2 Leo Baeck College Company: papers relating to the company, 1991-2 including lists of members, biographical details of those standing for council, and correspondence 109/1 Company membership and covenants forms 1991 106/3 Company members: includes lists of members and correspondence 1992-5 Leo Baeck College Company: 2—Company Registration 8/2 Register for Leo Baeck
    [Show full text]
  • Reform Judaism Through the Lens of Its Music
    Durham E-Theses MOUTHS FILLED WITH SONG: BRITISH REFORM JUDAISM THROUGH THE LENS OF ITS MUSIC BORTS, BARBARA How to cite: BORTS, BARBARA (2014) MOUTHS FILLED WITH SONG: BRITISH REFORM JUDAISM THROUGH THE LENS OF ITS MUSIC , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10797/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 MOUTHS FILLED WITH SONG: BRITISH REFORM JUDAISM THROUGH THE LENS OF ITS MUSIC Barbara Borts A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University 2014 1 | P a g e ABSTRACT The Movement for Reform Judaism [MRJ] - has been undergoing substantial changes in its style and patterns of worship. The introduction of a new prayer book has been accompanied by a pronounced focus on the music of the various synagogues, as a key element in the re- envisioning of prayer and spirituality in 21st century congregations.
    [Show full text]
  • RSGB Letterhead
    Company Limited by Guarantee 14th July 2015 Company Number: 07431950 27th Tammuz 5775 Registered Charity Dear synagogue Chair, No: 1139806 We hope this finds you well. The Sternberg Centre 80 East End Road Finchley, London We are writing to update you about a recent proposal made by N3 2SY the Assembly of Rabbis in response to requests from many Telephone communities (as well as our Youth Movement, RSY-Netzer) to 020 8349 5640 consider our current approach to Jewish status. The Assembly Facsimile were keen that we stay true to our core values, treasuring both 020 8349 5699 Jewish tradition and Judaism’s ability to evolve in response to E-mail the contemporary world, as well as being inclusive and [email protected] egalitarian. After a suitably thorough process of study and Website www.reformjudaism.org.uk discussion, they are proposing a new way of welcoming people into our communities, specifically where one parent is Jewish. It Chair Robert Weiner is a flexible framework to respond to a variety of needs. Vice-Chair Geoffrey Marx Naturally, all the existing options for conversion remain Treasurer available. The Assembly recognises, for example, that if a Paul Winter person has a Jewish father and a Jewish upbringing and wishes Honorary Secretary Sue Pearlman to embrace their Judaism through a Reform Synagogue, formal Chair - Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK conversion may not be the most appropriate response. Instead, Rabbi Paul Freedman for someone with one Jewish parent who leads (will lead) a Life President ‘Jewish life’ it will be possible to confirm Jewish status in a local Sir Sigmund Sternberg KC*SG process led by the person’s rabbi and ratified by the Beit Din.
    [Show full text]
  • Rabbi Lionel Blue Rabbi Lionel Blue Has Travelled on Trains, in Planes and on Hospital Trolleys
    Montague Library Books Synopsis ––– Rabbi Lionel Blue Best of Blue – Lionel Blue Lionel Blue’s Thought for the Day broadcasts continue to enchant and invigorate millions of listeners. Now in his mid-seventies, Lionel Blue has decided to present some of the very best of his writing for a wider public. Much of this – including articles from The Tablet and various lectures – has never been published in book form before. Best of Blue sparkles with Lionel Blue’s characteristic and idiosyncratic humour. It is through this that his profound wisdom has touched the hearts and minds of millions of appreciative listeners. In 1972, Lionel Blue was a little known Rabbi in London when he published his first book, To Heaven with Scribes and Pharisees . Many still consider this his best. The variety of books that followed was incredible – cookery books, compilations of Jewish Jokes. The Blue Guide to Eternity and Jewish Prayer Books for High Days and Holy Days (the last two written with Rabbi Jonathan Magoner). The whole range of his writing is represented in this charming new collection. Bolts from the Blue by Rabbi Lionel Blue A SUNDAY ROAST that looks like grey polystyrene, a bearded bride, a dog with an existential problem, a whisky-drinking nun. A Tom Sharpe novel? No, the world of Lionel Blue, a world grounded very firmly in reality. No respecter of false piety. Rabbi Blue shows how we can piece together the scriptures of our lives not just in synagogues and churches, but in bus queues, waiting rooms and airports. Using his own experiences, Rabbi Blue has produced in Bolts From The Blue a selection of stories, incidents and conversations whose dotty inconsequential flavour he believes has the hallmark of ordinary life.
    [Show full text]
  • Trustees' Annual Report & Financial Statements 2016 5776-5777
    Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statements 2016 5776-5777 The Movement for Reform Judaism (A Company Limited by Guarantee) Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2016 5776-5777 Contents Trustees’ Report ........................................................................................................... 3 Objectives ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Mission ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Aims ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Governance .................................................................................................................. 4 Key Highlights 2016 ...................................................................................................... 7 Grants .......................................................................................................................... 9 Strategic Priorities and Future Plans ............................................................................... 10 Review of Financial Position .......................................................................................... 13 Our Funding ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Mapping: Rainbow Jews
    Mapping: Rainbow Jews Jewish LGBT memorabilia and documents; selected bibliography Books and articles (1990s and earlier) Balka, Christie, and Andy Rose, eds. Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish. Boston: Beacon Press, 1989. Beck, Evelyn Torton. Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology. Watertown, Mass: Persephone Press, 1982. Blue, Lionel. A back door to heaven: an autobiography. 3rd ed. London: Fount Paperbacks, 1994. ———. Godly and gay. London: Gay Christian Movement, 1981. ———. Hitchhiking to heaven: an autobiography. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2004. Cooper, Aaron. “No Longer Invisible.” Journal of Homosexuality 18, no. 3–4 (1989): 83– 94. Greengross, Wendy. Jewish and homosexual. London: The Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, 1980.kin Jewish Women’s History Group. You’d Prefer Me Not to Mention It: The Lives of Four Jewish Daughters of Refugees. Great Britain: Jewish Women’s History Group, c1983?, 1983. Kinsey, Alfred Charles, Wardell Baxter Pomeroy, and Clyde Eugene Martin. Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1948. Lamm, Norman. “Judaism and the Modern Attitude to Homosexuality.” In Encyclopaedia Judaica Year Book 1974: Events of 1973, 194–205. Israel: Keter Publishing House, 1974. Magonet, Jonathan, ed. Jewish explorations of sexuality. Providence: Berghahn Books, 1995. Sarah, Elizabeth Tikvah. “Re-Thinking Feminism: Some Thoughts on the Limitations of ‘Basics’-Training.” Women’s Studies International Forum 8, no. 1 (1985): 9–13. Shulman, Sheila. “Hard Words or, Why Lesbians Have to be Philosophers.” In Hard words: and why lesbians have to say them, n.p. London: Onlywomen Press, 1979. Wolff, Charlotte. Love between women. London: Duckworth, 1971. Zeff, Linda. Jewish London.
    [Show full text]
  • Western Europe
    Western Europe Great Britain National Affairs w3 UPERFICIALLY, THE OVERALL PICTURE of a country dominated by the Conservatives remained unchanged throughout 1988. This was reflected, for exam- ple, in the relative tranquility of the labor front, where there were fewer strikes than in any year since the end of World War II. Yet there were also signs of a shift in attitudes among Conservatives themselves, away from uncritical endorsement of the government's general policy and toward a measure of sympathy with the Labor opposition. The government's plans for the privatization of the water and electricity industries came under criticism from within its own ranks. There was also a massive revolt of Tory members of Parlia- ment against the government's new regressive tax, the "community charge," also known as the "poll tax," on which issue the normal Conservative majority dropped from 101 to a mere 25. But perhaps the most severe blow to Tory self-confidence came on the economic front. The chancellor's budget, issued in March, cut income tax by twopence on the pound. This, together with interest-rate cuts following the crash of October 1987, encouraged consumer demand; in the first nine months of the year economic growth was running at an annual 5 percent. This proved unsustainable, however; the budget and Tory economic policy in general lost their shine when interest rates had to be increased nine times in the last seven months of the year as a means to cope with a renewal of inflation and growing trade and balance-of-payments deficits.
    [Show full text]
  • Faith Leaders' Letter
    Address to the Prime Minister. Copied to: · SoS Alok Sharma, BEIS and COP26 President ​ ​ · SoS Dominic Raab, FCDO ​ ​ 29th October 2020 Dear Prime Minister, As COP26 President, the UK’s single most important job is to rally all countries to raise ambition and put forward enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that close the gap to 1.5°C. As representatives of UK faith communities, we know that faith groups have a powerful ​ ​ responsibility to take action on climate, including supporting the moral and ethical necessity of an ambitious UK NDC. We therefore add our voices to support this call together with Faith for the Climate and the Climate Coalition. A world-leading high ambition UK NDC would send an important political signal and catalyse historic action across the world’s capitals to make the right investments for all our futures. The UK NDC is the most powerful diplomatic tool the UK has to inspire and mobilise global action on delivering the Paris Agreement, especially if the UK puts forward the NDC early, thereby leading from the front. Climate change affects humanity at the deepest level, raising profound questions about our relationship with the living world. As faith leaders in the UK, we know this especially because of our engagement with the poorest communities here and around the world who are already suffering most. We must all try to find the moral courage to confront these questions, and to transform ourselves and our society. Faith groups in the UK are already taking urgent climate action, with thousands of places of worship switching to renewable energy and religious groups divesting from fossil fuels and reinvesting in measures to protect the environment.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jewish Community in Modern-Day Bradford Grace Idle1,*
    Jewish Historical Studies Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England The Jewish community in modern-day Bradford Grace Idle1,* How to cite: Idle, G. ‘The Jewish community in modern-day Bradford.’ Jewish Historical Studies, 2018, 50 (1), 7, pp.122-158.DOI: https://doi.org/ 10.14324/111.444.jhs.2018v50.006 Published: 16 April 2019 Peer Review: This article has been peer reviewed through the journal’s standard double blind peer-review, where both the reviewers and authors are anonymised during review. Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY) 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.jhs.2018v50.006 Open Access: Jewish Historical Studies is a peer-reviewed open access journal. *Correspondence:[email protected] 1 University of York, UK DOI: 10.14324/111.444.jhs.2018v50.006 public history forum The Jewish community in modern-day Bradford grace idle As was discussed in my previous article in Transactions, volume 49 (“Bradford’s Jewish History: A Reconsideration, Part One”), the Jewish community in Bradford contributed a great deal to the development of the city and one could argue that they were largely responsible for the city’s prosperity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, in the years following the Second World War to the present day there has been a noticeable change not only in the fortunes of Bradford as a whole, but also in the Jewish community.
    [Show full text]
  • 02-Annual-Report-Final.Pdf
    EUROPEAN UNION FOR PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM Annual Report 2015 for the European Assembly at Holiday Inn – Kensington Forum London United Kingdom 17th April 2016 Honorary Officers, Office Holders and Staff 2015 Honorary Life Presidents Ruth Cohen Jeffery Rose President Leslie Bergman Vice-Presidents Alex Dembitz Rabbi Andrew Goldstein Sonja Guentner Rabbi Walter Homolka Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris Jonathan Lewis Félix Mosbacher Gordon Smith Chairman Miriam Kramer Joint Vice-Chairmen Stéphane Beder Michael Reik Honorary Secretary John Cohen Honorary Treasurer David Pollak Board Members Rabbi Danny Rich Rabbi Ruven Bar-Ephraim (Rabbinic Adviser) Rabbi Mark Goldsmith Andrew Hart (Legal Adviser) Leo Hepner z”l Deborah Hofer Rabbi Lea Muehlstein WUPJ Representative Rabbi Joel Oseran Administrator Deborah Grabiner Newsletter Editor Arthur Buchman 2 Contents Page 2 Honorary Officers, Office Holders and Staff 2015 Page 3 Contents Page 5 EUPJ Report Page 7 WUPJ Report Page 8 European Beit Din Page 9 Austria – Or Chadasch Page 10 Belgium – Beth Hillel, Brussels Page 11 Belgium – IJC, Brussels Page 12 Czech Republic – Bejt Simcha, Prague Page 13 Czech Republic – ZLU Hatikvah, Prague Page 14 Denmark – Shir Hatzafon, Copenhagen Page 15 France – AJLT, Toulouse Page 16 France – AJTM, Paris Page 16 France – Communauté Juive Libérale, Dauphiné Grenoble (Beit haOr) Page 16 France – Communauté Juive Libérale, Montpellier Page 16 France – Communauté Juive Libérale, Paris Page 17 France - Kehilat Gesher, Paris Page 18 France- Kehilat Kedem, Montpellier Page 19 France
    [Show full text]
  • Leo Baeck College Annual Review 2014-15
    LEO BAECK COLLEGE ANNUAL REVIEW 2014-15 LEO BAECK COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS 2014-15 APRIL Rabbi Jonathan Keren Black was presented with his Fellowship of the College by Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh. The Governors of Leo Baeck College were pleased to appoint Noeleen Cohen as the new Chair. MAY Omid Djalili was the special guest at our Annual Fundraising Dinner. JUNE The Van der Zyl lecture hosted by Alyth Synagogue was delivered by guest lecturer Rabbi Professor Rachel Adler. Leo Baeck College marked the 25th anniversary of the ordination of the first openly LGBT rabbis, namely Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah and Rabbi Sheila Shulman z”l. The keynote speaker at this event was Rabbi Professor Rachel Adler who delivered an inspiring talk on the subject of ‘Gays, Lesbians, Transsexuals Talking Their Way Into Judaism’. JULY Three new rabbis were ordained at Edgware & District Reform Synagogue Rabbi Dr René Pfertzel, Rabbi Dr Kate Briggs and Rabbi Julia Grishchenko. Leo Baeck College held an International Conference on ‘Rabbis and the Great War’ at West London Synagogue. Rabbi Dr Larry Hoffman was the guest lecturer at the Summer Institute for Jewish Leadership at Finchley Progressive Synagogue. At West London Synagogue, the class of ’87, Rabbis Sylvia Rothschild, Jonathan Wittenberg, Michael Hilton and Stephen Howard were presented with fellowships by Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, Principal. SEPTEMBER Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh was appointed Dean of Leo Baeck College. OCTOBER The launch of the Leo Baeck College Lehrhaus marked an exciting time in the development and growth of adult Jewish education for 21st century Jews. Nine rabbinic students from Leo Baeck College donned their finery and headed to Lambeth Palace for the launch of the CCJ Buddy Scheme.
    [Show full text]
  • EUPJ-Newsletter-2017
    European Union for Progressive Judaism September 2017 Newsletter © European Union for Progressive Judaism Chairman ’s message “Is It Time?” We are now in Elul, the month preceding the holiest Last year I attended the season of the Jewish year. It is a time for reflection, closing session of a major a time for reaching out and a time for new annual event in the European beginnings. On behalf of EUPJ’s Management Jewish calendar, the Committee I wish all our readers a happy, healthy, London Jewish Book successful, Progressive and safe 5778. As is Week. The closing session apparent this is a more dangerous world than we that year featured three could imagine (see my colleague Leslie Bergman’s well known figures of the column on this page) but we remain resolute that European literary intellectual there is a future for us in Europe. Despite all the scene in debate – Is it time uncertainty and anger it is our firm belief that we will for Jews in Europe to once not again be hounded out of Europe. again pack their bags? Leslie Bergman In the paragraph above I men- They concluded not. tioned new beginnings. This Earlier this week I was in Berlin and went to an edition of the newsletter, very excellent but chilling exhibition, “Berlin 1937 – In the sadly, is the last one edited by Shadow of Tomorrow”. That it was “time” for German Arthur Buchman. For more Jews in 1937 was abundantly obvious – perhaps than a decade he has without with the benefit of hindsight. The institutions of state fail produced an outstanding had turned against the Jews.
    [Show full text]