Join us for the Progressive Judaism Education Hub 2025 – a unique online series that will delve into the rich history and core values of Liberal, Reform and Progressive Judaism in the UK.
It starts on Thursday 2 January at 7pm, as Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein looks at the life, times and incredible achievements of Claude Montefiore in a one-hour Zoom session (a recording will also be made available afterwards).
SIGN UP HERE – tinyurl.com/EducationHub2025
Claude Goldsmid Montefiore (1858-1938) was a member of West London Synagogue – the UK’s first Reform community – and also one of the founders of The Liberal Jewish Synagogue and Liberal Judaism itself. He was at home and active in both congregations and so an archetype as the our Progressive movements draw closer together today.
A member of one of the influential wealthy families that led Anglo-Jewry in the late 19th century, Claude Montefiore was a Hebrew scholar having studied at the Hochschule – the Reform rabbinic college in Berlin – as well as being a graduate of Oxford University. He wrote about the Jewish roots of Christianity and published an anthology of classical rabbinic teachings together with an Orthodox rabbi. He was also devoted to social work in the East End of London.
Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein will tell of his life and connections to others who influenced the establishment and culture and beliefs of Liberal Judaism in the early decades of the 20th century; that still define its character to this day.
SIGN UP HERE – tinyurl.com/EducationHub2025
Over 10 weekly hour-long Zoom sessions, we’ll explore the lives and legacies of 10 significant individuals who have shaped the development of the Judaism we know and love today. Sessions take place on Thursday nights from 7-8pm via Zoom. They are free and open to all – and you can take part in as few or as many as you wish. The full list of dates, topics and educators is below:
| Date | Topic | Educator |
| 02/01/2025 | Claude Montefiore | Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein |
| 09/01/2025 | Lily Montagu | Rabbi Dr Jackie Tabick |
| 16/01/2025 | Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck | Rabbi Danny Rich |
| 23/01/2025 | Rabbi Ignaz Maybaum | Rabbi Mark Goldsmith |
| 30/01/2025 | Rabbi Dr Albert H Friedlander | Rabbi Dr Thomas Salamon |
| 06/02/2025 | Rabbi John Rayner | Rabbi Lea Mühlstein |
| 13/02/2025 | (Break) | |
| 20/02/2025 | Rabbi Dr Jackie Tabick | Rabbi Sybil Sheridan |
| 27/02/2025 | Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck | Rabbi Dr Elliott Karstadt |
| 06/03/2025 | Rabbi Abraham Geiger | Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh |
| 13/03/2025 | (Break) | |
| 20/03/2025 | David Woolf Marks | Rabbi Dr Helen Freeman |
- Picture taken from the front cover of the book Claude Montefiore Jewish Scholar, Communal Leader, Philanthropist by Bryan Diamond
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