January/February 2013 VOL. IV No. 1
Liberal Judaism is a constituent of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
www.liberaljudaism.org
ljtoday
in equal Making a difference Victory marriage fight
Liberal Judaism staff members helped pack more than 100 bags of old coats for Mitzvah Day
L
IBERAL JEWISH communities from all over the UK and Ireland took part in a very successful Mitzvah Day this year, collectively helping more than 50 charities and other good causes. Projects undertaken by congregations included planting trees, collecting goods for the homeless, visiting care homes and putting on concerts. Liberal Judaism staff members were also heavily involved in the annual day of social action. The team at the Montagu Centre, Liberal Judaism’s head office, helped sort and pack more than 100 bags of coats for Hands On London – destined to keep some of the most vulnerable people in society warm this winter. Members of the LJY-Netzer youth movement visited Ravenswood Village, a home for Jewish adults with severe learning disabilities run by the charity Norwood. The young people helped the residents to make poppies and cards in recognition of Remembrance Sunday and the AJEX march, and led them in song. Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich – who also joined a large cross-communal group planting trees at Heartwood Forest, pictured right – said: “Mitzvah Day is an inspirational idea and, although every day ought be a Mitzvah day, it concentrates the mind.”
Thousands of people from all faiths, and none, joined Mitzvah Day 2012, taking part in hands-on projects, without fundraising, to help charities and build stronger communities. Mitzvah Day founder Laura Marks praised the efforts of all those Liberal congregations who got involved. Laura said: “It was wonderful to see so many Progressive Jewish communities taking part in Mitzvah Day this year, from the largest in London to small communities in Eastbourne and Wessex. Clearly wherever we are, we can get together and make a difference.” See all the fantastic photos from Mitzvah Day 2012 on pages 6 and 7.
LIBERAL JUDAISM is celebrating a huge victory in the struggle for equal marriage, after the Prime Minister gave his backing to holding same-sex weddings in Liberal synagogues. David Cameron announced plans to allow religious institutions to ‘opt in’ to conducting same-sex marriage ceremonies, after a long fight by Liberal Judaism and like-minded religions including The Quakers, Unitarians and Movement for Reform Judaism. There will be a free vote in the House of Commons next year to confirm the plans, which also have the support of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition. Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich said: “I am delighted that the Prime Minister has assisted in righting a historic wrong and that the measure now has cross-party support.”
Looking forward to the LAFTAs THE FIRST annual LAFTAs (Liberal Academy of Film and Torah Awards) will be held in conjunction with Liberal Judaism’s Day of Celebration in June. The LAFTAs are an opportunity for the young people of every community to compete in a short film competition. Every congregation will be tasked with creating a mini movie on the theme of ‘2113: A Liberal Jewish Odyssey: What will Liberal Judaism look like in 100 years’ time?’ The best entries will be shown at the Day of Celebration and there will be a prize for the winning community. The Day of Celebration will take place at Birmingham Progressive Synagogue on Saturday June 9. There will be more information in the next issue of lj today.
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Chairman’s Actions
January/February 2013
Moment of Truth for Liberal Judaism Lucian J Hudson reflects on the big issues ahead and why taking a timely stance is so important THE YEARS come and go, but as a 21st Century Liberal Jew, I reflect on two sets of timelines. The first is one that all members of Liberal Judaism have in common: the Jewish year. It serves as a compass in our busy lives. Then there is the modern world, the year that has been, 2012, and the one that is beginning, 2013. It is the end of the first term if one is in education, or towards the end of the tax year if one is in business. Some of us have ‘portfolio’ careers; many of us have ‘portfolio’ lives. The Ancient Greeks distinguished between time as ‘chronos’ (chronological time) and ‘kairos’ (logical time). The latter is intimately connected with doing the right thing at the right time – opportunity blending with purposeful action. It is also about embracing our destiny and accepting the consequences of taking action.
Vehicles have MoTs, but we each have our own MoTs: Moments of Truth. Think of romantic comedies such as Sliding Doors and Groundhog Day. The theme of “getting the girl”, or in the case of Casablanca “letting go of the girl”, is one of the golden threads of life. What would count as a Moment of Truth for Liberal Judaism and Progressive Judaism more generally? Further conflict in the Middle East has as much potential to divide as unite the Diaspora. Recent events allowed Liberal Judaism to be at one with the other major Jewish community organisations, but not without some strains already showing. We have no option but to voice a view, certainly at a leadership level, and primarily through our chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich. My role as chairman is not only to help steer a course which commands the broad support of the members of our movement, but act in the best interest of our movement long-term. It is to adopt the role of curator for our movement’s golden threads. Being curator does not mean having more or less of a say than any other member – but it does mean ensuring that all voices can be heard. Not taking a stance is probably the easiest thing to do, but taking a timely stance is more difficult.
A big thank you from Mumbai
In taking a stance we give strong signals about our strategic direction and our values. But we invariably risk further choices and confrontations. Another Moment of Truth centres on how we respond to Rabbi David Goldberg’s analysis of Judaism as a religion and as a culture - one of the major themes I take from his recent book. Liberal Judaism is a religious movement, but is it not a lot more? This should not put us in opposition to sceptics or critics of religion, nor distance ourselves from other religions. But we should not confuse faith and knowledge, or undermine what we can learn from science. Love of science and its pursuit, based on ethics, is something all religious organisations should pursue without compromise. The value that our founding members put on ethics, reason and universal values is one of the golden threads of our movement. Learning is one gift that Judaism has bestowed on its people and shares with all peoples. Let us all learn together, and live together, for a better world… and for that Moment of Truth.
Lucian J Hudson is chairman of Liberal Judaism
Save the date for the next Shabbaton LIBERAL JUDAISM’S regular Regional Shabbatons are a great way to showcase the vibrant Liberal Jewish life that is to be found in different parts of the country. The next will be hosted by Eastbourne Progressive Jewish Congregation on Saturday March 2. Full details will be published soon, but for now please save the date, especially if you are based in the South East or are involved in a smaller community and would like to share ideas and learning.
Care seminar at LJS
The JRU Congregation in Mumbai proudly hold up their copies of the Machzor Ruach Chadashah, sent thanks to donations from members of Liberal Judaism. There is still a need for funds to complete this project, so if you would like to help then please contact Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein on agoldstein@f2s.com
ARE you or a member of your family concerned about needing help at home or moving into residential care? Then join the ‘Residential and Home Care Without Tears’ seminar at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) on the evening of Thursday January 31. If you would like to attend this event, or if you need transport, please register by emailing reception@ljs.org
News
January/February 2013
Bristol welcomes a new rabbi Peter Brill on Rabbi Monique Mayer’s induction
Rabbi Francis ‘Ron’ Berry passes the Torah to his BWPJC successor Rabbi Monique Mayer
A PACKED synagogue in East Bristol was the venue for an emotional Torah-passing ceremony from the now emeritus rabbi of Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation (BWPJC), Rabbi Francis ‘Ron’ Berry, to his successor, Rabbi Monique Mayer. Synagogue chair Gary Webber welcomed many of the city’s distinguished representatives to the induction ceremony, along with members of Rabbi Monique’s family from the US, Ireland and Poland, as well as several of her British rabbinic colleagues. Rabbi Monique described the event as: “Really emotional. There was a powerful sense of unity and goodwill in the room. It was a joy, a celebration and the official beginning of our lay and rabbinic partnership.” On her new position, she added: “I feel honoured and blessed. I have a tremendous sense of responsibility, but also excitement of where we are now and growing together. There is a world of possibilities and I’m looking forward to nurturing people’s connections to Judaism and also strengthening connections with each other in the community. It’s about building a healthy community on all the hard work, dreams and hopes of the past 51 years.” Reflecting the crucial, and often difficult, nature of recruiting a new rabbi, the process was carefully planned and totally inclusive. An online survey and focus groups were conducted, producing a detailed analysis and report which provided the council, the community and the incoming rabbi with a greater understanding of needs and wishes.
Rabbi Danny Rich, the chief executive of Liberal Judaism, gave a warm sermon during the ceremony, telling how he views the induction of Rabbi Monique as having a wider impact. He said: “Our success as a national organisation, having good creative Liberal rabbis working with an engaged community, brings success locally which enables us to speak with a national voice.” Danny also acknowledged the distinguished 51 year history of the synagogue and the strong contribution of its lay leadership. He added: “There’s great value in having continuity and also value in having new things. Having a new rabbi is about combining the best of what you already have with the new skills your rabbi can bring.” Guests were visibly moved by the induction service and there were some clear messages about its wider impact on Bristol. The Lord Mayor praised the significant roles played by Jewish Bristolians both past and present. Reverend Angela Hoare, from the nearby Bethesda Methodist Church, echoed the words of Rabbi Monique’s sermon, welcoming the opportunity to have a “sacred relationship” with her. Reverend Richard McKay, parish priest of St Nicholas of Tolentino, a local Catholic church, described the importance of “working together, healing the history of animosity and prejudice and playing our part in building a cohesive society in Bristol”. As with all good Jewish celebrations, the service was followed by a delicious tea. A satisfying start for any new rabbi!
LJ Today Page 3
The Spring Collection now in shul LIBERAL JUDAISM’S Outreach Team has launched a new initiative – a catalogue of Jewish programmes that our communities can simply book and bring to their members. Responding to ideas raised at the Biennial, and a desire among rabbis and communities to share resources, a catalogue will come out twice a year showcaing eight programmes, offered by Liberal rabbis and members of the Outreach Team. The programmes on offer are wideranging and include text study, creative workshops and outdoor activities. Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah is spearheading a Trouble-Making session based on her new book, while Rabbi Sandra Kviat offers a text-based workshop on Jewish Parenting. For Tu Bishvat there is a nature walk; for Purim a challenging session of Beauty and Sexuality in the Book of Esther and for Shavuot, Student Rabbi Benji Stanley has put together a subversive new look at the Book of Ruth. For something more creative, Cantor Gershon Silins is offering an Introduction to Jewish Music and Rabbi Anna Gerrard will bring a tailor-made musical play to your Synagogue – exploring the issues of mixed marriage, conversion and living in a multicultural society. There is also the opportunity to screen a new and controversial documentary about the complexity of the Middle East conflict by filmmaker Nicky Larkin called Forty Shades of Grey. Liberal Judaism’s outreach director, Rabbi Anna Gerard told lj today: “By working together and sharing more resources, both the central movement and the constituent communities can benefit greatly. “The Outreach Catalogue is just one of several new initiatives we will be launching in 2013 to make this kind of cooperation easier to achieve.” The Spring Collection of the Liberal Judaism Outreach Catalogue, which covers January to June 2013, has just been delivered to all 38 community councils and the feedback so far has been very positive. Everyone is keen to enrich and diversify what we offer our members and the Montagu Centre staff are looking forward to receiving bookings. If you like the sound of this project and would like your synagogue to benefit then make sure you let your council know.
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News
January/February 2013
Help us create a legacy DURING the autumn, Liberal Judaism launched its landmark project Rainbow Jews – celebrating Jewish Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) history and heritage in the UK. The initiative has had a very successful start with project manager Su Rathgeber Knan reporting: “The response has been incredible! We have attracted high profile partners such as London Metropolitan Archives, LSE Hall Carpenter Archives, LGBT History Month, JGLG and Keshet UK. Rainbow Jews also played a role in the LGBT History Month pre-launch event at Bletchley Park, the historic site of Alan Turing’s code-breaking activities.” Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich added: “With the active support of Liberal Judaism, Rainbow Jews will provide an important source of Jewish history. I urge all our members to get involved and support this excellent project in whichever way they can. Participants will make an important contribution to our community and help create a legacy for generations to come.”
Rainbow Jews has just finished recruiting a core team of volunteers that is going to help run all aspects of the project until spring 2014. However there are many other ways in which people can get involved, including: • Signing up for the Rainbow Jews mailing list and social media hubs, such as Facebook and Twitter, and spreading the word among friends and at events. • Sharing skills such as graphic design, writing or IT, or publishing a blog or article in a local newspaper. • Donating LGBT memorabilia such as photos, flyers, stickers and T-shirts to the archive that is being created. • Tell your story. If you are an LGBTidentified Jewish person, then Rainbow Jews would like to hear from you. If you are interested in finding out more about this project, or helping with any of the above, then please contact Su on s.knan@liberaljudaism.org or search for ‘Rainbow Jews’ on Facebook and Twitter.
Breaking news • NORTH HERTS LIBERAL JEWISH COMMUNITY (NHLJC) has become a full constituent member of Liberal Judaism. The congregation, which is based in the Stevenage area, was given ‘developing community’ status by Liberal Judaism in 2010, including rabbinic and financial support. After a very successful two and a half years, Liberal Judaism’s Council passed a unanimous vote, on Sunday December 9, to make NHLJC a fullyfledged Liberal Judaism congregation. Liberal Judaism chief executive Rabbi Danny Rich said: “North Herts is another example of where Liberal Judaism has invested effort and money and as a result now has a vibrant new community. NHLJC is now in a position to make contributions to help us establish the next new community.” • LIBERAL RABBIS Anna Gerrard and Pete Tobias were privileged to lead Chanukkah celebrations in Weymouth this year, sharing prayers, stories, memories, latkes and doughnuts with a group of more than 20 people. Liberal Judaism is looking forward to many more events there in the year ahead.
Beverley’s birthday celebrated in Kent
• MORE THAN 250 Chanukkah packs were sent to Liberal Jewish students this winter, reaching 36 different campuses across the UK. Gifts included a menorah, a dreidel, candles and Chanukkah gelt, along with the warm wishes of Liberal Judaism’s student chaplain Rabbi Ariel Friedlander and student and young adult coordinator Student Rabbi Benji Stanley. • LIBERAL JUDAISM and LJY-Netzer are proud to announce the new Bneimitzvah Israel Tour Voucher Project (BMITVP), launching in January 2013. The scheme will offer a gift, of a £50 discount voucher for LJY-Netzer’s Israel Tour, to every young Liberal Jew on the occasion of their barmitzvah or batmitzvah. Get involved by emailing Sam Grant on samg@liberaljudaism. org or calling 020 7631 9825. • CONGRATULATIONS to the 13 new community lay leaders who graduated from Liberal Judaism’s Ba’alei Tefillah programme on Sunday December 9. Pick up the next issue of lj today for more on all these breaking stories.
FOUR leading Progressive Jewish rabbis, and more than 80 guests, helped Beverley Taylor celebrate her 80th birthday at Kent Liberal Jewish Community. Rabbis Harry Jacobi, Andrew Goldstein, Danny Rich and Miri Lawrence joined the celebrations in Maidstone, which included a Shabbat morning service, special Kiddush and lunch. The rabbis paid tribute to Beverley’s long commitment to Liberal Judaism at both local and national level, which began when she moved to England from South Africa in 1959 and joined South London Liberal Synagogue. As well as leading services and teaching cheder children, bar/batmitzvah students and adults in many different communities, Beverly was also PA to the late Rabbi Sidney Brichto, Liberal Judaism’s first executive director. Beverley, who has three children and three grandchildren, said: “Liberal Judaism has been my life for more than 50 years. My life has been enhanced by Liberal Judaism and I hope I have given it something back.”
A musical soiree
BET TIKVAH SYNAGOGUE raised £300 after choir members Rachel Silver and Harvey Manning presented a two-hour performance of songs from the shows. Congregant Irene Manning said: “It was a night of nostalgia and songs from an era when you can still remember the words. Rachel possesses a magical quality that enticed people to get up and dance and her choice of songs was ideal.”
Israel
January/February 2013
LJ Today Page 5
Two states for two peoples Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah on Israel, Palestine and the need for compromise THE STATE OF ISRAEL was established in May 1948 as a place of refuge from antisemitism. With the persistence of Jew hatred in modern Europe, political Zionism developed in the late 19th Century with the goal of securing a Jewish state in our ancient homeland, where the Jewish people could flourish, free of persecution. Of course, that’s not how the Palestinians see it. The Palestinians are a people who, in many ways, are rather like us – living in the diaspora as well as in their homeland, Palestine. But there is a difference. The Palestinians are a people connected together, not by religion – there are both Christian and Muslim Palestinians – nor by allegiance to their Arab brothers and sisters in other lands, but by their roots in particular places in the landscape of Palestine: the olive grove their family tended for generations outside Haifa; the orange trees that graced the courtyard of their grandparents’ house in Jaffa; the house that was home to their great-grandparents in West Jerusalem. Wherever they live – in Israel, in refugee camps or in other lands across the world – hundreds of thousands of Palestinians hold, quite literally, cherished keys to thousands of front doors in Palestine.
There is another narrative – a ‘third way’ – as old as the modern nationalist aspirations of both peoples Israel and Palestine: one land; two peoples; two very different narratives. Both Israeli Jews and Palestinians claim the role of victim. As Israeli Rabbi Arik Asherman wrote on November 15: “Most of us have biases burned into our hard drives. If our sympathies lie with the Palestinians, we see Zionist aggression and charred Palestinian babies. If our sympathies lie with Israel, we see terrified Israeli children with 15 seconds to run to a bomb shelter every time the siren sounds.” The majority of both Israelis and Palestinians alike see one land and just one people – one people with an exclusive right to the land. But despite myopia on both sides, there is another narrative – a ‘third way’ – as old as the modern nationalist aspirations of both peoples.
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, and the establishment of the British Mandate in Palestine, plans to divide the land between the two peoples were part of the political discourse for 30 years. The final partition plan of the Mandate era was adopted by the United Nations on November 29, 1947. Accepted reluctantly by the Jewish delegation and rejected by the Palestinians, the plan divided the land into two states, according to the demographic concentrations of the two peoples. Since that time, plans for dividing the one land between the two peoples have been influenced by what is known as the ‘Green Line’ – the ceasefire line agreed by the Israelis and Jordanians at the end of the 1948 war, which was breached during the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank. The important point to remember is that in whatever way the land is divided up, for both Israelis and Palestinians, dividing the land involves territorial compromise. Compromise: a necessary evil or a mature response to what Israeli writer, Amos Oz, has described as “a tragic clash between right and right”? Those who run the Museum of the Seam in Jerusalem, which is dedicated to coexistence, think that compromise is the only way. Occupying a house that used to belong to an Arab family called Tourgeman and became a military outpost in the 1948 war, the building literally stands on the ‘seam’ – the 1948 ceasefire line between Israel and Jordan. In its publicity material, the museum uses a powerful statement about compromise: “Nonviolence means dialogue, and dialogue means compromise: it means using language to communicate; listening to others’ views, and respecting others’ rights, in a spirit of reconciliation. Nobody will be 100% winner, and nobody will be 100% loser. That is the practical way. In fact, that is the only way.” The Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai has written: “From the place where we are right, flowers will never grow in the spring.” Both peoples are right – and both peoples are wrong when they insist on their particular truth, and deny that the ‘other’ is right, too. So what to do? The only option is for people of good will to support a two state solution to the conflict. Dr Tony Klug, who first advocated two states in the early 1970s, is pessimistic about the prospects
for its implementation, as long as the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem continues to deepen and expand. Nevertheless he argues: “All the evidence, past and present, and all the reasoning, point, I believe, to the inescapable conclusion that it is not possible to resolve this conflict without satisfying the common, minimum, irreducible aspirations of both peoples for self-determination in at least part of the land that each has regarded as its own. This, as I see it, is axiomatic.”
Whatever way the land is divided up, for both Israelis and Palestinians, dividing the land involves compromise In his book Embracing Israel / Palestine, Rabbi Michael Lerner, the editor of the American Progressive Jewish journal Tikkun, argues that no moves towards a solution to the conflict are likely to succeed without “a new approach of compassion for each side by the other, the adoption of a zero tolerance of war and the replacing of a strategy of domination with a new strategy of generosity”. Rabbi Lerner argues that this strategy of generosity begins with us. Speaking for myself, I know that I take strength from the Torah teaching which urges us not to oppress the stranger because we know the nefesh – the innermost being – of the stranger, having been strangers in the land of Egypt (Exodus 23:9). I draw on my own feelings of anguish as a Jew, who bears the burden of the Sho’ah and centuries of anti-Jewish persecution to empathise with the anguish of the Palestinians. And I take courage from the spirit of hope – tikvah – that has helped us to survive as a people even in bleak times. Instead of retreating in fear behind the flag of Israel, consumed with the threat of antisemitism, let us find the courage to step forward in empathy towards the Palestinians and help to build a bridge between the two peoples.
Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah is rabbi at Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue • We’d like to hear your feedback on this article. Send us your views by emailing ljtoday@liberaljudaism.org
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January/February 2013
Around the communiti
The Liberal Jewish Synagogue collected goods for a local homelessness charity by asking for donations outside Sainsbury’s, made shoebox gift boxes for Barnardo’s and visited a care home
North Herts Liberal Jewish Community redecorated two rooms in the home of two local mentally-challenged non-Jewish people, whose carer is a member of the North Herts congregation
The children at Woodford Liberal Synagogue performed a musical show for the community’s Friendship Club, while the adults donated food items to the residents of a local homeless support hostel
Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation packed a selection of toys, plus a handwritten letter, into gift boxes to send to two Haifa day care centres, which are part of the Leo Baeck outreach programme
South Bucks Jewish Community made colourful number books to help children in Uganda learn to count, before heading over to Heartwood Forest to take part in a mass tree planting
Thirty members of Nottingham Progressive Jewish Congregation, working with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, cleared scrub in order to encourage wildflowers into a disused railway embankment
Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community’s Tony Sussmann handed over many bags of goods to the Children’s Society shop in Cheltenham, which were collected and donated by the congregation
The religion school of The Liberal Synagogue Elstree made Chanukkah cards for children at Norwood, while the older generation painted a new training room at Norwood’s HQ
January/February 2013
LJ Today Page 7
ies - Mitzvah Day 2012
Yszi Hawkings (LJS), James Dobias (Woodford) and Danny Kessler (LJS) went to St Mungo’s, which provides accommodation for homeless people, to make lunch for residential and drop-in clients
West Central Liberal Synagogue’s Dion Lebowitz organised a team of volunteers to collect toiletries and art supplies for the Separated Child Foundation, helping those who have fled their homeland
Children and adults from Kingston Liberal Synagogue went to Southborough Nursing Home in Surbiton to help serve the residents cream tea and keep them company throughout Mitzvah Day
Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue’s Naomi Fellerman joined a multi-faith group of people from BTJD (Better than Just Dating) to paint a room at Kisharon Adult Day Centre in Hendon
The Oxford Jewish Centre was positively bursting with activities on Mitzvah Day, with members making soup, planting bulbs and trees and sifting through mountains of clothes, spectacles and toiletries
Finchley Progressive Synagogue had a busy and varied Mitzvah Day, clearing leaves and ivy at Highgate Cemetery and providing an impressive array of musical talent for a concert at Rosetrees
Crouch End Chavurah visited the Kurdish Centre in Hornsey to perform a concert, with 15 children and adults from the community and one Kurdish boy playing their instruments and singing
Wessex Liberal Jewish Community collected food for the Trussell Trust Bournemouth Food Bank, with Stan Alfert volunteering to take the food and arrange for its collection by the charity
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Comment
January/February 2013
‘Domestic violence is closer to home than you think’ Naomi Dickson on a new training programme helping children and young people
ELYA* is a four-year-old child who has recently started at a Jewish primary school. Her mother asks to speak to the class teacher and tells her that since Elya was a young baby she had witnessed her father being physically, verbally and emotionally abusive toward her. He had also been abusive toward Elya. She lives alone with Elya and her younger daughter Ruth. It has been agreed that Elya’s father can call to speak to the children twice a week at set times. However, he is not consistent with this and Elya’s mother says that Elya often refuses to speak to him. Elya’s mother says that Elya is very volatile at home and has anger outbursts. She is also unable to sleep alone and is very fearful. What kind of behaviour would you imagine Elya would exhibit at school? What support would you consider useful to put in place for Elya? What other services could you refer the family to? At Jewish Women’s Aid (JWA), we use the true case study of Elya as part of our specialist training programme, which provides education and guidance to professionals across the Jewish community. Since its inception last year, the programme has trained almost 200 professionals, reaching out to teachers, social workers, counsellors, rabbis and others who support women and children affected by domestic violence.
The sessions are thought-provoking and leave the participants eager to return for more, and to use their newly acquired knowledge in the community. Parts of the training programme are delivered by Jewish Women’s Aid’s children and young people’s worker, who draws from her own case work experience. This specialist worker supported 48 children in 2011-12 and worked with them in schools, at our refuge and, where appropriate, in their homes. She helps her young clients explore the impact on them of the abuse that they’ve witnessed, allowing them to examine their relationships with their parents and to heal so that they understand how to form healthy relationships later in life. The children’s worker brings a tool kit with her, which includes art materials, puppets, emotional literacy games, books and activities designed to focus on getting to know each child’s emotional world and feelings. Each session lasts up to an hour and is child-led.
For the first four sessions, Elya was unable to focus. She flitted from using one resource to another. She was unable to engage in any dialogue about her feelings or home life. She simply said repeatedly that daddy was naughty and that she didn’t want to speak to him. She was unable to make eye contact with the children’s worker and barely spoke. Elya’s mother reports that after she had seen the children’s worker over a period of several weeks, she was more relaxed, calm and happy. Her teachers reported that Elya was able to focus better, has improved self-confidence and social skills. Elya’s mother wrote: “I am grateful for every single moment Elya received support and, of course, I am truly thankful to JWA for the time, patience, love, care, support, trust and positive energy given both to me and my daughter. I can honestly say that I don’t think I would have been able to cope without JWA’s help during this difficult time.” Although it would give Jewish Women’s Aid great pleasure to announce that domestic violence is no longer a problem in the Jewish community and beyond, the reality is that our client numbers are growing year on year. We are busier than ever before and, in financially tough times, are trying to fund several expanding services, many of which are a lifeline to our clients. Domestic violence is closer to home than you think. It affects people you know, in your community, your workplace and your synagogue. * Names and some details have been changed to protect anonymity.
Naomi Dickson is community awareness coordinator for Jewish Women’s Aid Jewish Women’s Aid (JWA) offers a number of services to women, children and young people affected by domestic abuse. The organisation has expanded its reach in recent years and now boasts a helpline, refuge, outreach, counselling, education, awareness-raising and volunteering services. In 2011-12, JWA worked with 222 Jewish women affected by domestic abuse, while 48 children and young people benefited from the support of the children’s worker. For more information please contact info@jwa.org.uk or 020 8445 8060. For advice, contact advice@jwa.org.uk or 0808 801 0500.
Torah
January/February 2013
LJ Today Page 9
Fascinating history
A new three year Torah cycle
By Bryan Diamond
By Rabbi Pete Tobias
IN RECENT issues of lj today, Pam Fox and Rabbi Danny Rich have been looking back at the life of Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck. Their research has also uncovered valuable information on another important figure in the formative years of our movement – Rabbi Dr Maurice Perlzweig (1895-1985). Perlzweig was a minister at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS) and North London Progressive Synagogue (NLPS) between 1921 and 1938. He also took time off to study at Cambridge University. During her research into Mattuck at Columbia University, Pam obtained transcripts of 14 interviews with Perlzweig conducted in 1981-2. They cover his long career and add some details relating to his time in London. For example, during his study in Cambridge he had to get the 6am train to London every Saturday to help take the service at the LJS before spending the afternoon preaching at NLPS. On the Sunday, he would help in the LJS religion school in the morning, often followed by afternoon meetings at NLPS, before then returning to Cambridge in the evening. While the three main leaders of the LJS - Mattuck, Claude Montefiore and Lily Montagu - were anti-Zionist, Perlzweig was an ardent Zionist. LJS president Sir Louis Gluckstein claimed to be neutral. When a government White Paper, issued in October 1930, limited official Jewish immigration into Palestine, Perlzweig made a statement, which was published in The Evening Standard and “caused considerable commotion”. Gluckstein was annoyed and Perlzweig was summoned to Montefiore. He defended giving the statement and said he had told the reporter that his connection with the LJS was not to be mentioned. The incident left him “careful not to be party political in the pulpit”. Another interesting recollection is how on March 31, 1933 – the day before the Nazi Boycott was proclaimed – Perlzweig was at the home of Mrs Franklin, with her sister Lily Montagu and their orthodox cousin Sir Herbert Samuel. Samuel consulted Perlzweig about a statement that the Nazis wanted signed by Anglo-Jewish leaders to say that the Jews in Germany were not in fact being persecuted. Perlzweig advised him not to sign it, then they all joined in a home Shabbat service. You can read more details of these fascinating reminiscences in the transcript in the LJS Archive.
THREE years have passed since I drew up my own variation of a triennial cycle of Torah readings. It has been used in two synagogues – Woodford Liberal Synagogue and my own, The Liberal Synagogue Elstree – since October 2010. We have just commenced the third year of the cycle, and have reached the point where we must decide whether to repeat it, or to return to the ‘traditional’ Liberal Judaism lectionary. The Torah is divided into 54 sections called parashiyyot. Each parashah is made up of between two and six chapters. In orthodox synagogues, every verse of the week’s parashah is read so that, theoretically, if one attended such a synagogue every Shabbat, one would hear the entire Torah read… all in Hebrew, and chanted, naturally. Similar attendance at a Liberal synagogue would provide the worshipper with perhaps 10-15 per cent of the whole Torah, though the chosen section would doubtless be translated and explained by whomever was leading the service. The Liberal Judaism lectionary offers a choice of three rather short extracts from the weekly portion. So following it from the end of September 2013 to, say, the end of October would give one the following biblical episodes: The first four days of Creation (Genesis 1:1-19), Noah being commanded to build the ark (6:922), Abraham being told to leave his home (12:1-9), Abraham and Sarah receiving visitors (18:1-19) and the death and burial of Sarah (23:1-22). If you wanted to hear the stories of Adam, Eve and the serpent, Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel or the Binding of Isaac, you might hear those in the autumn of 2014 or 2015, depending on the choice of readings for subsequent years. And if you want to hear days five and six of creation, and the Sabbath and the story of Adam’s rib, not to mention the argument between the shepherds of Abraham and Lot or the mysterious ‘covenant of the pieces’, you’d have to read them yourself. Based on our lectionary, Liberal Jews are presented with a heavily abridged version of the Torah. The scheme that has been in use at Woodford and Elstree since Simchat Torah 5771 has worked as follows. In year one, we read virtually the whole of Genesis, missing out only the genealogical lists and a couple of particularly brutal episodes, though the reason for their omission was explained.
In year two, we continued the history of the Israelites, starting at the beginning of Exodus and going to up to the revelation at Sinai. We extracted the historical episodes from the second half of that book, which contains lengthy details of the construction of the sanctuary, before jumping to the book of Numbers, which actually is the (chrono)logical sequel to the end of Exodus. We then concluded with Moses’ review of that history at the beginning and end of Deuteronomy. Year three, which is currently underway, picks out and compares the different priestly rituals and responsibilities before separating out various rules and regulations in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy that bear the mark of the prophets with their wisdom and insight. Many regulars at Woodford and Elstree have commented that they like the continuity in the Torah readings. Should we repeat the scheme for a further three years, the first five weeks from the end of September 2013 will offer them the six days of creation (Genesis 1:1-2:4), the alternative creation story and Adam’s rib (2:4-24), the serpent, the apple and banishment from Eden (2:25-3:24), Cain and Abel and other descendants (4:1-25) and Enoch, Methusaleh and Lamech, father of Noah, and the wickedness of humans (5:21-6:8). So by the end of October, we will just have finished the opening parashah of B’reishit, but we’ll have heard it all. While the rest of the Jewish world is labouring through the construction of the sanctuary in the wilderness, or the laws of leprosy and other afflictions, we will be contemplating the little-known stories of Abram and Abimelech, Sarai’s harsh treatment of Hagar or the tale of Isaac and the wells at Gerar. We will eventually get to the sanctuary and the Levitical regulations, in year three, but in a context that hopefully enables their purpose and impact to be more easily assessed. And we have also introduced haftarot from a variety of sources – biblical, rabbinic and modern – to complement the Torah readings. I’m pleased to say that Woodford Liberal Synagogue and The Liberal Synagogue Elstree look set to repeat this triennial cycle from 5774-5776. If you’re interested in joining what has proven to be an intriguing and challenging scheme of readings, then please email rabbi@rabbipete.co.uk and I would be delighted to come to your community and make a presentation about our experiences of it.
Page 10 LJ Today
Outreach
January/February 2013
Outreach Team Bulletin Board My favourite event of the last two months was blessing Benjamin Kai Fennemore, son of Ruth and Andrew, before the North Herts Liberal Jewish Community in Stevenage (pictured below). The congregation included great-grandparents, and so many friends and family attended that we had to put out extra chairs. Benjamin warmed to the crowd, and smiled at the congregation just as I took him in my arms. The whole community then said “ahhhh” in complete unison!
A visit to Oxford University gave me the chance to meet Progressive Jewish students, support a new egalitarian prayer group and raise the profile of LJ Students. For the first time in more than a year, students at Oxford organised an egalitarian Friday night service. More than 30 people enjoyed prayers and tuneful singing, followed by a 20 minute discussion, using Rabbinic midrash, on Abraham. I later gave a talk on the Torah portion to a group of 100 young people.
Rabbi Ariel
Benji
I’m really settling into my role as community youth coordinator. As well as running regular youth activities at NPLS, FPS, KLS, BHPS and the LJS, we are also making some very exciting plans for 2013 in Woodford, Birmingham, Nottingham, Kent, Gloucestershire, Ealing, Harrow & Wembley, NLPJC, South Bucks and South London. Plus Liberal Judaism’s team of LJY-Netzer movement workers are helping out at Bristol, Southgate and Crouch End.
It is unexpected enough that there is an established and committed Liberal Jewish community in Herefordshire. So you can imagine my surprise at discovering that both Hereford Museum and Hereford Cathedral have collections of Jewish books, scrolls and artefacts. I was invited by the Cathedral library to help them identify Bibles, commentaries and other Hebrew books from the 16th and 17th Centuries, including a rather unusual dictionary of ‘new’ words from 1586!
Sam
Rabbi Anna
It was a special moment for the Crouch End Chavurah when the community’s first batmitzvah student, Sadie Goswell, came of age in October, surrounded by 150 people from her family and the community. Sadie and I led the service together (pictured below) with vocal support from our small but intrepid singing group. A member remarked that although the community is less than three-years-old, it felt like the Chavurah also came of age that day. Rabbi Sandra
On November 25, I joined Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg in a lecture and musical performance exploring the life, poetry and legacy of Heinrich Heine, focussing especially on his complex relationship to his Jewish identity. Entitled Heinrich Heine: Between Two Worlds, the performance was part of an annual series in memory of Eric Ackstine. The concert and lecture were a great reminder of the range of Jewish culture enjoyed around the world. Cantor Gershon
Youth
January/February 2013
LJ Today Page 11
LJY-Netzer is Liberal Judaism’s Zionist youth movement. It gives young people the opportunity to develop a strong Progressive Jewish identity, make lasting friendships and have loads of fun
Exciting times ahead
LJY-Netzer has a packed schedule of events, including a chance for 16-year-olds to visit Israel
WHATEVER your age, hobbies or interests, there will be an LJY-Netzer event coming up in 2013 that we know you’ll love. The most exciting news is that we have confirmed the dates for Machaneh Aviv spring camp and Machaneh Kadimah summer camp, for school years 3-10. Aviv will take place on April 2-7 at Cottesmore School, with Kadimah being held between August 11-25 at Sandroyd School. These are our largest events of the year with activities including sports, arts and crafts, music, team games and discos. There will also be a chance to learn and debate with informal education sessions based around Liberal Judaism and Progressive Zionism. This is a great chance to meet young Liberal Jews from around the country and a brilliant introduction to LJY-Netzer. You can find out more about Aviv and Kadimah by contacting Anna Posner (anna@liberaljudaism.org) or Sam Cohen (samc@liberaljudaism.org). For those 16-year-olds who are too old for camp but still need their LJY-Netzer fix, Israel Tour 2013 will be taking place from July 9 – August 2. LJY-Netzer’s Israel Tour is the only one of its kind, exploring Israel through a specifically Liberal framework.
As well as the fun camel rides, kayaking down the river Jordan and exploring Tel Aviv, this tour also offers the chance to meet with Bedouin in the South and Arab Israelis in East Jerusalem. Our critical approach to Israel, based on a love and belief in its potential, means that our tour helps to create a more genuine relationship with the State. This year we are offering a £100 discount to anyone bringing a friend who has not been on an LJY-Netzer event before. For more information about Israel Tour please drop Anna a line. Lastly we are proud to announce that LJY-Netzer will be running an interfaith trip to Morocco from June 25 – July 3 for Liberal Jews aged 18-24. The trip will be run in conjunction with Salaam Shalom Media, an interfaith youth council, and there will be a group of British Muslims of the same age joining us. The tour will explore the Jewish and Islamic history in the cities of Marrakesh and Fez, as well as featuring an excursion through the Atlas Mountain range and into the Sahara Desert. While participants will have to buy their own flights, and bring spending money for some of the meals, the tour itself including all accommodation, travel, breakfasts and guides will be offered for just £50. Contact Sam C to find out more.
Netzer news • LJY-NETZER teamed up with the Reform Jewish youth movement, RSY-Netzer, in November to give potential students a taste of what Progressive Jewish life at university is like. As part of the ‘On Campus’ event, sixth-formers were able to take part in a student Shabbat service and put questions about applying and going to university to those who have recently experienced the transition. Taking place at Cambridge University, which has a thriving egalitarian Jewish scene and a very active Jewish Society, the weekend included activities such as a programme exploring different ways of expressing Judaism on campus, a Kabbalat Shabbat service and a scavenger hunt through the city. LJY-Netzer movement worker Robin Cooke, one of the ‘On Campus’ organisers, said: “The weekend was a great success, with 28 participants joining together to pray, learn and experience university life first-hand. We look forward to running more similar events in the near future – watch this space!” • MORE THAN 50 young Liberal Jews attended two LJY-Netzer hadracha (leadership) weekends, held at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue and The Liberal Synagogue Elstree. The seminars provided training for youth club, event and camp leaders, as well as future LJY-Netzer movement workers. Many different topics were covered including using Torah in leadership, what it means to be a personal example and ideological issues surrounding Judaism in Britain and Israel. Speakers included UJIA’s Naomi Russell, Liberal Judaism’s student and young adult coordinator Benji Stanley and Ali Bodin from Yachad UK.
Contact the LJY-Netzer team: Robin Cooke (r.cooke@liberaljudaism.org), Sam Cohen (s.cohen@liberaljudaism.org) and Anna Posner (a.posner@liberaljudaism.org); telephone 020 7631 0584 or email office@ljynetzer.org
Page 12 LJ Today
January/February 2013
Rabbi Pete’s quick quiz
Liberal Judaism congregations
Chairman Lucian J Hudson Vice Chairs Simon Benscher and Jackie Richards Finance David Pelham Israel and the Diaspora Tamara Schmidt Communications Ed Herman Social Justice Amelia Viney National Officers Dr Howard Cohen, Rosie Comb, David Hockman, Gillian Merron and Ruth Seager Vice Presidents Monique Blake, Henry Cohn, Nigel Cole, Geoffrey Davis, Lord Stanley Fink, Jeromé Freedman, Louise Freedman, Rabbi Dr David Goldberg, Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein, Sharon Goldstein, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, Jeremy Jessel, Willie Kessler, David Lipman, Corinne Oppenheimer, David Pick, Rosita Rosenberg, Tony Sacker, Harold Sanderson, Joan Shopper, Beverley Taylor and Clive Winston Chairs of Rabbinic Conference Rabbi Aaron Goldstein and Rabbi Shulamit Ambalu Chief Executive Rabbi Danny Rich Outreach Director Rabbi Anna Gerrard University Chaplain Rabbi Ariel Friedlander Education Rabbi Sandra Kviat Music Cantor Gershon Silins Interfaith Rabbi Mark Solomon Operations Director Shelley Shocolinsky-Dwyer PR Alexandra Ben-Yehuda Student Coordinator Benji Stanley Community Youth Coordinator Sam Grant LJY-Netzer Sam Cohen, Robin Cooke and Anna Posner
lj today is edited by Simon Rothstein The deadline for the next edition is February 1. Please email your news to ljtoday@liberaljudaism.org Printed by Precision Printing. www.precisionprinting.co.uk
Associated congregations
Beit Ha’Chidush Postbus 14613, 1001 LC Amsterdam, Netherlands, 00 31 23 524 7204; bhc.informatie@gmail.com; www.beithachidush.nl Oxford Liberal Jewish Services: 01865 515584 or 01865 765197; www.ojc-online.org
Developing communities
January is the start of a new year in the civil calendar. But for the Jews it’s business as usual, as we move from Tevet into Sh’vat. This month’s quiz is about the Hebrew calendar. Good luck! 1) What is the first month of the year? 2) There are three fast days that are called by the name of the Hebrew dates on which they fall. Can you name them? 3) The Omer is a period of seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot. In which three months does it fall? 4) Which Jewish festival starts on the 25th day of the ninth Hebrew month? 5) A leap year in the civil calendar sees an extra day added to February. What happens in a Hebrew leap year? When in the year does the adjustment take place? How often does it happen? 6) What Hebrew name is given to the first day of each month?
Pete Tobias is rabbi at The Liberal Synagogue Elstree
Sidney’s bridge magic The contract is 4 Spades by South. West leads the Jack of Clubs. You sigh with relief as you no longer need to worry about a Club finesse. So why not bash away by drawing trumps?
The Suffolk Liberal Jewish Community (based in Ipswich) 01473 250797; sjc@liberaljudaism.org
Make a date ........... January 31 (Thursday) Residential and Home Care Without Tears seminar at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London, 7.15pm. February 9 (Saturday) WJR Sleepout at Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue. April 2 (Tuesday) - April 7 (Sunday) LJY-Netzer Machaneh Aviv (Spring Camp) at Cottesmore School. See page 11 for more information. April 21 (Tuesday) - April 28 (Tuesday) Kingston Liberal Synagogue trip to Prague & Budapest. May 1 (Wednesday) - May 5 (Sunday) World Union for Progressive Judaism Connections 2013 Convention, Jerusalem, Israel. June 9 (Sunday) Liberal Judaism’s Day of Celebration 2013, Birmingham Progressive Synagogue. See page 1 for more information. For more information on any of these events please email montagu@liberaljudaism.org Liberal Judaism is the dynamic, cutting edge of modern Judaism. It reverences Jewish tradition, seeking to preserve the values of the Judaism of the past while giving them contemporary force. Registered charity number 236590.
Sidney Barrat is bridge teacher at Woodford Liberal Synagogue
Quiz answers: 1) Nisan 2) Shiv’ah Asar b’Tammuz (17th Tammuz), Tish’a b’Av (9th Av), Asarah b’Tevet (10th Tevet) 3) Nisan, Iyyar, Sivan 4) Chanukkah 5) An extra month (Adar Sheni) is added at the end of the year. This occurs seven times every 19 years 6) Rosh Chodes
The Montagu Centre 21 Maple Street London, W1T 4BE Tel: 020 7580 1663 Fax: 020 7631 9838
The Liberal Synagogue Elstree Elstree High Street, Elstree, Herts WD6 3BY; 020 8953 8889; tlse@liberaljudaism.org; www.tlse.org.uk Lincolnshire Jewish Community 01427 628958; ljc@liberaljudaism.org Manchester Liberal Jewish Community 08432 084441; mljc@liberaljudaism.org; www.mljc.org.uk North Herts Liberal Jewish Community (based in Stevenage) 01438 300 222; northhertsljc@gmail.com; www.northhertsljc.org North London Progressive Jewish Community 020 7403 3779; nlpjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.nlpjc.org.uk Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue Oaklands Gate, Northwood, Middx HA6 3AA; 01923 822592, npls@liberaljudaism.org; www.npls.org.uk Nottingham Progressive Jewish Congregation Lloyd Street, Sherwood NG5 4BP; 0115 9624761; npjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.npjc.org.uk Peterborough Liberal Jewish Community Enquiries: 020 7631 9822 The Progressive Jewish Community of East Anglia www.pjcea.org.uk; enquiries@pjcea.org.uk Reading Liberal Jewish Community 0118 942 8022; rljc@liberaljudaism.org; www.rljc.org Shenfield, Brentwood & Districts Synagogue (Tikvah Chadasha) 01277 888610; tikvahchadasha@gmail.com South Bucks Jewish Community PO Box 826, Amersham, HP6 9GA; 0845 644 2370; sbjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.sbjc.org.uk South London Liberal Synagogue PO Box 14475, London SW16 1ZW; 020 8769 4787; slls@liberaljudaism.org; www.southlondon.org Southgate Progressive Synagogue 75 Chase Road, London N14 4QY; 020 8886 0977; sps@liberaljudaism.org; www.sps.uk.com Wessex Liberal Jewish Group (Bournemouth) info@wessexliberaljudaism.org.uk; 01202 757084 West Central Liberal Synagogue 21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE; 020 7636 7627; wcls@liberaljudaism.org; www.wcls.org.uk Woodford Liberal Synagogue Marlborough Road, London, E18 1AR; 020 8989 7619; info@ woodfordliberal.org.uk; www.woodfordliberal.org.uk
Bridge answer: Think ahead – and count your losers – in that order! Once trumps are drawn you will have two inescapable losing Diamond tricks and, with no more trumps in dummy, two equally inescapable losing Heart tricks. You will need to ruff one of those Hearts in dummy. So you can’t draw all three trumps to begin with and drawing two is also dangerous. So you draw just one round of trumps and play the Hearts as stated – this allows you to ruff the fourth Heart with the Ace of trumps.
Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue (Rodef Shalom) 01234 218387; bedsps@liberaljudaism. org; www.bedfordshire-ps.org.uk Beit Klal Yisrael c/o The Montagu Centre, 21 Maple Street, London W1T 4BE; 07505 477459, bkymailing@gmail.com; www.bky.org.uk Bet Tikvah Synagogue 129 Perrymans Farm Road, Ilford, Essex IG2 7LX; 020 8554 9682; bttkv@liberaljudaism.org; bettikvah.blogspot.com Birmingham Progressive Synagogue 1 Roseland Way, Birmingham B15 1HD; 0121 634 3888; bps@liberaljudaism.org; www.bpsjudaism.com Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue 6 Lansdowne Road, Hove BN3 1FF; 01273 737223; bhps@liberaljudaism.org; www.brightonandhoveprosynagogue.org.uk Bristol and West Progressive Jewish Congregation 43-45 Bannerman Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 0RR bwpjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.bwpjc.org Crouch End Liberal Jewish Chavurah info@crouchendchavurah.co.uk; www.crouchendchavurah.co.uk Crawley Jewish Community 01293 534294 Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation PO Box 3059, Dublin 6, www.djpcireland.com; djpc@liberaljudaism.org Ealing Liberal Synagogue Lynton Avenue, Drayton Green, W13 0EB; 020 8997 0528; els@liberaljudaism. org; www.ealingliberalsynagogue.org.uk Eastbourne Progressive Jewish Congregation 01323 725650; fax: 01323 417645 epjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.epjcong.org.uk Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community 0131 777 8024; info@eljc.org; www.eljc.org Finchley Progressive Synagogue Hutton Grove, N12 8DR; 020 8446 4063; fps@liberaljudaism.org; www.fps.org Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community Enquiries: 01242 609311 or 01242 231877; shalom@gljc.org.uk; www. gljc.org.uk Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue 39 Bessborough Road, Harrow HA1 3BS; 020 8864 5323; hwps@liberaljudaism.org; www.hwps.org Herefordshire Jewish Community 01594 530721; hjc@liberaljudaism.org; www.herefordshirejc.org Kent Liberal Jewish Community 07952 242432; kljc@liberaljudaism.org; http://tinyurl.com/kentljc Kingston Liberal Synagogue Rushett Road, Long Ditton, Surbiton, Surrey; KT7 0UX; 020 8398 7400; kls@liberaljudaism.org; www.klsonline.org Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation The Synagogue, 24 Avenue Road, LE2 3EA; lpjc@liberaljudaism.org The Liberal Jewish Synagogue 28 St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 7HA; 020 7286 5181; ljs@liberaljudaism.org; www.ljs.org