15 January 2017 A painting of Liberal Judaism’s Rabbi Anna Gerrard will hang in Gloucester Cathedral throughout January and February, as part of an exhibition entitled ‘Faith’. Artist Russell Haines (pictured with Anna and her portrait) has spent the last 18 months producing 37 large portraits for the exhibition, which … Read More
First services held by new East London community
11 January 2017 East London & Essex Liberal Synagogue (EL&ELS) enjoyed a “wonderful” turnout for its inaugural Shabbat services this weekend. The new community formed on January 1, after members of Bet Tikvah and Woodford Liberal Synagogues voted to unite. It will operate over the two sites, while a search for a … Read More
Jewish boys get their names at their bris. But how and when do we name our daughters?
Jessica Weinstein 5 January 2017 The Jewish Chronicle When Jewish parents have a baby daughter they have a dilemma. Do they hold a ceremony to name her? Picking a baby’s name is a tricky business. There are the grandparents that need to be honoured, family traditions and the double whammy … Read More
Standing in solidarity with Hebrew Union College
4 January 2017 Liberal Judaism and Leo Baeck College (LBC) stand in solidarity with America’s Hebrew Union College (HUC) and denounce the defacement of HUC’s Cincinnati campus with a swastika on Tuesday. Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, principal of Leo Baeck College, said: “Current political trends appear, over recent months, to … Read More
Interfaith guests help celebrate 25 years of Peterborough
13 December 2016 Guests from all of the region’s faith groups helped Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community (PLJC) celebrate its 25th anniversary on Saturday. Liberal Judaism’s senior rabbi, Rabbi Danny Rich, led a specially tailored service – explaining the origin and significance of the various aspects of Shabbat. It was followed … Read More
Shadow business secretary attends Norwich Sukkot
26 October 2016 Clive Lewis MP joined Norwich Liberal Jewish Community for Sukkot. The shadow business secretary visited the Norwich Sukkah over Shabbat, taking part in an open interfaith service led by Rabbi Leah Jordan (pictured). Community chair Annie Henriques said: “We were delighted to welcome about a hundred people … Read More
Ten-year-old shofar blower answers Elstree shul’s SOS
21 October 2016 The Jewish Chronicle When The Liberal Synagogue Elstree’s regular shofar blower was unavailable, Rabbi Pete Tobias asked: “Is there a blower in the house? Everyone shook their heads and I thought we were in trouble.” But 10-year-old Tia Boulton stepped into the breach, having been volunteered by … Read More
[Podcast] The Jewish Views – Rabbi Aaron Goldstein
21 October 2016 The Jewish Views This week’s podcast features a rabbinic thought for the week is from Rabbi Aaron Goldstein about Sukkot and Simchat Torah (from 55:00). Note: All links to external media are correct at the time of publication, but occasionally may be changed or removed by … Read More
Liberal Jews and Muslims stand together in Durham
18 October 2016 Members of Durham’s Jewish and Muslim communities came together to support police as part of National Hate Crime Awareness Week. Hundreds of pledges were signed by members of the public, of all ages, promising to tackle and prevent hate crimes. Have Fleming, spokesperson for the Durham and … Read More
[Blog] There’s a very thin line between exercising power for the sake of the public, and exercising power for its sake
Rabbi René Pfertzel 14 October 2016 Le Blog Français, The Jewish Chronicle In my previous life in Normandy, I used to be a History teacher. Once, I brought my students to the local archives in Evreux, a middle-sized city located south from Rouen. We wanted to study the archives related … Read More