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Jewish Philosophy and Western Culture Jewish Prelims I-Xvi NEW.Qxp 25/10/07 14:06 Page Ii
Jewish_Prelims_i-xvi NEW.qxp 25/10/07 14:06 Page i Jewish Philosophy and Western Culture Jewish_Prelims_i-xvi NEW.qxp 25/10/07 14:06 Page ii ‘More than just an introduction to contemporary Jewish philosophy, this important book offers a critique of the embedded assumptions of contemporary post-Christian Western culture. By focusing on the suppressed or denied heritage of Jewish and Islamic philosophy that helped shape Western society, it offers possibilities for recovering broader dimensions beyond a narrow rationalism and materialism. For those impatient with recent one-dimensional dismissals of religion, and surprised by their popularity, it offers a timely reminder of the sources of these views in the Enlightenment, but also the wider humane dimensions of the religious quest that still need to be considered. By recognising the contribution of gender and post-colonial studies it reminds us that philosophy, “the love of wisdom”, is still concerned with the whole human being and the complexity of personal and social relationships.’ Jonathan Magonet, formerly Principal of Leo Baeck College, London, and Vice-President of the Movement for Reform Judaism ‘Jewish Philosophy and Western Culture makes a spirited and highly readable plea for “Jerusalem” over “Athens” – that is, for recovering the moral and spiritual virtues of ancient Judaism within a European and Western intellectual culture that still has a preference for Enlightenment rationalism. Victor Seidler revisits the major Jewish philosophers of the last century as invaluable sources of wisdom for Western philosophers and social theorists in the new century. He calls upon the latter to reclaim body and heart as being inseparable from “mind.”’ Peter Ochs, Edgar Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies, University of Virginia Jewish_Prelims_i-xvi NEW.qxp 25/10/07 14:06 Page iii JEWISH PHILOSOPHY AND WESTERN CULTURE A Modern Introduction VICTOR J. -
A Reflection and Celebration of the Life and Work of Rabbi John D
AN INTRODUCTION TO ‘A REFLECTION AND CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF RABBI JOHN D. RAYNER’ Alexandra Wright* Rabbi John Rayner was born in Berlin on 30 May 1924. He died in London on 19 September 2005, having made a significant contribution to the cause of Liberal Judaism in Great Britain. As Senior Rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) for nearly thirty years, and Emeritus for nearly sixteen years until his death, his influence on the congregation which he served was immeasurable. He was the leading exponent of Liberal Judaism in Great Britain, seeking throughout his life to strengthen and reconstruct the Liberal Jewish movement in Britain that had been founded by Claude Montefiore and Lily Montagu and led by Rabbi Israel Mattuck, the LJS’s first rabbi. He was born Hans Sigismund Rahmer, the younger child of Ferdinand and Charlotte Rahmer, and was fifteen when he said goodbye to his parents and boarded what was to be one of the last of the Kindertransport trains to England. He lived, at first, with Will and Muriel Stannard and their sons, and then with Hugh and Elizabeth Wilkinson, both men ordained Christian clergy. In his memoir Before I Forget, published for his family and friends in 1999, he wrote: ‘From them I learnt much about religion at its best, but was never persuaded by Christian doctrine, and remained loyal to Judaism inwardly and, when opportunity occurred, outwardly’ (Rayner 1999: 36). In witnessing a liberal kind of Christianity, particularly at Durham School where he was a pupil, he ‘wished that there was a liberal version of Judaism that had all the virtues of liberal Christianity without the Christianity’ (Ibid.: 37). -
Happy Birthday Harry
January/February 2016 VOL. XLIII No. 1 Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism www.liberaljudaism.org ljtoday Happy birthday Harry Mitzvah Day NE OF Liberal Judaism’s most The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) Award for NPLS beloved, and senior, rabbis service was taken by two of Harry’s Ocelebrated his 90th birthday with children, Rabbis Dr Margaret and Richard special services and kiddushim held at Jacobi, along with LJS senior rabbi, communities all over the UK. Rabbi Alexandra Wright. Harry gave the Rabbi Harry Jacobi was joined by sermon. Others in attendance included friends, family and Liberal Judaism Simon Benscher and Rabbi Danny Rich, members at events at The Liberal Jewish the chair and senior rabbi of Liberal Synagogue, Woodford Liberal Synagogue, Judaism, Rabbi Rachel Benjamin and Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg. Southgate Progressive Synagogue, At the end of the service, Harry was Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue visibly moved as his young granddaughter and South Bucks Jewish Community. Tali presented him with a Festschrift Harry, who was born as Heinz Martin written in his honour. The book, reviewed Hirschberg in October 1925, and grew on page 10 of this issue of lj today, was up in Auerbach, Germany, twice fled the edited by Rabbi Danny Rich and features Nazis to become one of Britain’s most contributions from leading Progressive NORTHWOOD & PINNER LIBERAL respected and inspiring religious leaders. Jewish rabbis and thinkers. Another SYNAGOGUE (NPLS) won this year’s granddaughter, Abigail, Mitzvah Day Award for Interfaith wrote the biography Partnership of the Year. -
Liberal Judaism Congregations
March/April 2015 VOL. XLII No. 2 Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism www.liberaljudaism.org ljtoday The only response to closed minds is open doors HE LEADERSHIP of Liberal Judaism Rabbi Danny Rich made the same Progressive or Orthodox, than they has taken to the airwaves and strong case in his appearances on ITV’s usually would be. As a chaplain, that Tnewspapers to reassure members, Good Morning Britain, BBC2’s Daily makes me angry. We are dealing with and all Jews, in the wake of reports of Politics Show and Channel 4 News, while real evil. These terrorists are making the rising antisemitism in the UK, fear among Liberal Judaism’s student and young world darker and more frightening. You our community and people planning on adult chaplain Rabbi Leah Jordan was can’t turn a blind eye to that, but also leaving Britain for Israel. featured on ITV News and NBC News you must continue to live your life. This is In a letter to The Guardian, Liberal in America. Liberal leaders were also something we have to fight, both as the Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny quoted extensively in the Jewish press, Jewish community and society. We have Rich, chairman Lucian J Hudson and with Leah, Lucian and Bedfordshire to show that we are not afraid.” Rabbinic Conference chair Rabbi Charley Progressive Community president She concluded: “The simple truth is Baginsky responded to an article in the Geoffrey Ben-Nathan all penning that we live in one of the best places to same paper by reporter Robert Booth commentary pieces for The Jewish News. -
Miss Chidi Akiti
Special Collections: The Montefiore Pamphlets An appraisal by Dr. Annette M. Boeckler, Leo Baeck College Library, 2007 The London Library holds a remarkable collection of Judaica spread over several sections of the library. Within this collection the biggest and most up to date collections are History and Biblical Archaeology. The Jewish History collection (History.Jews) places a good deal of emphasis on books on the History of Ancient Israel (History of biblical Israel), local histories of Jews in various countries or regions and books about the Shoah besides popular general overviews and introductions. The collection contains also books on the history of Jewish Literature (as L. Ginsberg's, Legends of the Jews.) The Topography section (Topography Palestine & Syria) contains excavation reports of major sites in Israel and Jordan but also classical volumes of the Discoveries in the Judean Desert and other items concerning the beginnings of Dead Sea Scrolls research in 1950's and 1960's. Much of the Judaica in other areas of the London library is of highly scholarly value. In its philology section (Philology, Hebrew) the London Library hosts some rare copies of 18th and 19th century Christian philological research on Hebrew, as for example J.D. Michaelis, Supplementa as Lexica Hebraica, Goettingen 1792 or Philippo Ouseel, Introduction in Accentuationem Hebraeorum Prosaicum, Lugdunum 1715. The Religion section contains mostly standard Christian scientific commentaries but it is worth mentioning that it contains the classics of German biblical scholarship of the 19th century in each of its separate sections for the different biblical books. Some areas in this section contain books of special Jewish interest such as the collection about Psalms, which is the biggest collection for any biblical book and contains for example translation of David Kimchi's Commentary. -
Emergent Liberal Judaism and Lily Montagu's
EMERGENT LIBERAL JUDAISM AND LILY MONTAGU’S PROTO-FEMINIST PROJECT: EXPLORING THE PRECURSIVE AND CONCEPTUAL LINKS WITH SECOND AND THIRD-WAVE JEWISH FEMINIST THEOLOGIES Luke Devine* Abstract: Lily Montagu was the founder of Liberal Judaism in England. Because of Montagu’s groundbreaking proto-feminist efforts women in Liberal Judaism can become rabbis, be called up to read the Torah, they are equal in divorce law, they can study the sacred texts, they can form a minyan, and can assume communal and religious positions of authority over men. Montagu was an author, theologian, and social worker; she was the driving force behind the development of Liberal Judaism. However, this biographical overview does not match up with the extant historiography that has instead preferred to focus on the male leaders of the Liberal movement to the extent that Montagu’s intellectual and theological contribution has been marginalized and even completely ignored. In this paper we will siècle Anglo-Jewry that would otherwise be forgotten; even more, we will see in Montagu’s essays, monographs, and novels some of the English foundations of contemporary Jewish feminist theology. In the process, the biography and memory of Lily Montagu will be restored to its rightful place. Lily Montagu was the founder of Anglo-Liberal Judaism, but the extant scholarship has not been forthcoming in acknowledging the extent of her role in the expansion of the movement. In fact, Montagu’s part in the formation and development of Liberal Judaism into an established denomination, and her contribution to the intellectual, spiritual, and theological underpinnings of the movement, have been marginalized, downplayed, and even ignored, with analyses of her involvement even bordering on the derogatory. -
Leo Baeck College ~»\ Library 2
g IDIZ THE SPIRIT OF ISRAEL MATTUCK This year of 1992, still so young and so cold, and especially this first quarter of it, is a season of anhiversaries. 0n the world stage, it recalls, most notably, what happened 500 years ago in Spain. For it was on 2nd January, 1492, that Ferdinand and Isabella entered Granada and so ended nearly 800 years of Muslim rule in the peninSula. In the same month they received Christopher Columbus’s demands for the voyage which was to take him to the New World. And on 3Lst March they issued the infamous decree of expulsion which sent about 200,000 Jews scurrying across the seas in search of a friendly home: the decree which will be finally and formally rescinded by the Spanish Government on the day of its 500th anniversay this year. Of the refugees, about 10,000 made it to Italy. They included a family called Montefiore who landed at Ancona and later settled in Leghorn, otherwise known as Livorno. In the course of the 18th century they came to England, and some of them were among_ the founders of the West London Synagogue, which dedicated its first house of worship, in Burton Street, 150 years ago, on 27th January, 1842. Claude Montefiore, who grew up in that Congregation, had a brilliant career at Oxford, and there, in 1892, delivered the Hibbert Lectures on "The Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews". It was an event the centenary of which deserves a mention. For by these nine lectures, which, as subsequently published, run to 552 pages, Montefiore established himself as a major Bible scholar and the first Jew in this country to think through the implications of modern Bible scholarship for Judaism. -
Sybil Sheridan History of Women in the Rabbinate
Sybil Sheridan History of Women in the Rabbinate: a Case of Communal Amnesia* It seems strange to be offering as history something that has in the main occurred in my own lifetime. Part of this makes me feel very old, as when my son asked me: “Mummy, was it the first world war or the second world war when you were a little girl?” But the history actually goes back quite some way: not just to 1976, when Rabbi Jacqueline Tabick was first ordained in England, nor to the ordination of Rabbi Sally Priesand in the USA in 1972, but at least a century. Why have we not heard of it? Because up to this moment, the history of women in the Rabbinate can be summed up quite neatly as a history of forgetting – a case of communal amnesia. To explain, I must apologise for beginning with a very personal moment in my own life, the day in October 1993 when Dr Hermann Simon, director of the Zentrum Judaicum Foundation in Berlin, came to the Leo Baeck College in London and presented a gift: a photograph and the ordination certificate of Rabbi Regina Jonas, ordained in Germany in 1935. The story of Rabbi Jonas may be well known to some; to others it will be new. Regina Jonas was born on 3 August 1902 in Berlin1 and at the age of 21 began working as a teacher of religion in the Orthodox Jewish School where her brother, Abraham also taught. Not content just to be a teacher, she * This article is based on a lecture given at Bet Deborah, Berlin to the European Conference of Women Rabbis, Cantors and Scholars, 13-16 May 1999 / 27 Iyar – 1 Sivan 5759; a shorter version has been published in German in the report of the conference: Sybil Sheridan, “Der Geschichte nicht trauen,” in: Bet Debora Berlin, Journal Nr. -
European Judaism - Rabbi Sheila Shulman/90Th Anniversary of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
H-Judaic TOC: European Judaism - Rabbi Sheila Shulman/90th Anniversary of the World Union for Progressive Judaism Discussion published by Young Lee on Saturday, November 19, 2016 Dear Colleague, Below are the contents from the last two issues of European Judaism. The current issue of Volume 49, Issue 2 is dedicated to Rabbi Sheila Shulman Z'L. This memorial issue marks her passing as well as twenty-five years since her ordination. Volume 49, Issue 1 coincides with the ninetieth anniversary of the founding of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) in London in 1926. It addresses aspects, in particular, of the history of the European Union (formerly European Region) (EUPJ) and Youth Section of the World Union (WUPJYS). Current Issue: Volume 49, Issue 2 Editorial, Jonathan Magonet In Memoriam Sheila Shulman z'l, Elli Tikvah Sarah 25th Anniversary Reflections Queer Jews Talking Their Way In, Rachel Adler Talking My Way In: Reflections on the Journey of a Lesbian Feminist Queer Rabbi, Elli Tikvah Sarah Reminiscences Starting the Conversation: Transforming the World One Word at a Time, Deborah Kahn-Harris Still Talking with Sheila, Judith Rosen-Berry Perspectives Anan D'Sageinan B'Shleimutah: A Theology of LGBTQ Integrity, Integration and Rabbinic Leadership, Shulamit Ambalu Gifts from the LGBTQ Community: A Reflection, Janet Burden L'Aimé qui est l'aimée: Can Levinas' Beloved Be Queer?, Robin Podolsky Dancing in Solidarity and Dissent, Mark L. Solomon Dedications A Woman would Marry a Woman: Reading Sifra on Lesbianism, Laliv Clenman Citation: Young Lee. TOC: European Judaism - Rabbi Sheila Shulman/90th Anniversary of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. -
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 -
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. -
Claude Montefiore in the Context of Jewish Approaches to Jesus and the Apostle Paul
Claude Montefiore in the Context of Jewish Approaches to Jesus and the Apostle Paul DANIEL R.LANGTON University of Manchester, United Kingdom German and American Jews tend to be the focus of many of the standard treatments of Reform thought in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Anglo-Jewry is usually regarded as something of an intellectual backwater and any ripples of innovation have tended to be explained in terms of foreign influence. There are exceptions to this rule, however, and Claude Montefiore is one striking example of a radical English Jew. A co-founder of Anglo-Liberal Judaism, Montefiore was a scholar who specialized in New Testament studies to an extent unparalleled by his German or American contemporaries, and who arguably set the agenda for Jewish New Testament scholar ship. This essay considers the ways in which Montefiore viewed the two central figures of Christian thought and the ways in which he utilized their teachings as a means to justify his own brand of Judaism. In particular, it considers in what sense he regarded Jesus' teachings as original and new and how he believed various aspects of Paul's thought could be used to inspire religious Jews. By placing Montefiore's views in the context of other Jewish writers, it is hoped that his innovative contributions to Jewish- Christian understanding and his unique place among Jewish religious leaders will be made clear. Claude Joseph Goldsmid-Montefiore (1858-1938) was an Anglo-Jewish biblical scholar and philanthropist. Together with Lily Montagu, he is usually regarded as the founder of Liberal Judaism in Britain.