Rabbi Danny Rich 2 May 2011 Note: This speech was originally given by Rabbi Danny Rich, the senior rabbi of Liberal Judaism, at Citizen UK’s Day for Civil Society which took place at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster Friends, members of many faith communities, followers of no religious tradition: What … Read More
Give terminally-ill right to die, says rabbi
Simon Rocker 27 January 2011 The Jewish Chronicle People with terminal illnesses should be helped to die if they do not want to go on living, according to the chief executive of Liberal Judaism. Rabbi Danny Rich made the case when he gave evidence last week to the independent Commission … Read More
Debate over Jewish guidelines for organ donation crosses the Atlantic
Michael Goldfarb 26 January 2011 The Jewish Forward The controversy over what is dead according to Jewish law is no longer an intramural question among Orthodox rabbis on either side of the Atlantic. In Britain it is now being played out in public. As in the United States, the emotional … Read More
Don’t let dogma divide us
Lucian J Hudson 13 October 2010 The Guardian The faultline is deepening between those who see themselves as having a faith and those who do not. And it is deepening in part because of a mistaken perception one side has of the other: that only one world view can prevail. … Read More
[Response] For Pete’s sake…
Rabbi Pete Tobias 30 September 2010 Response to JC article of 29/9/2010 (see below) Judaism has always placed great significance on names – and, in many cases, changes to names. Many biblical characters have had their names changed, either by divine instruction, as in the case of Abraham and Sarah, … Read More
Waiting nervously for waves from Gaza
Rabbi Pete Tobias 2 June 2010 The Guardian The Israeli assault on the Gaza flotilla will make waves that extend far beyond the Mediterranean coastline where the bloody events took place. And those waves will reach me, my community and then all of us. The first wave will touch me … Read More
Death need not disorient us
Lucian J Hudson 6 March 2010 Around 70% of people say they want to die at home, yet around 60% currently die in hospital. Why is there such a discrepancy between hope and reality? The speed of life in the 21st century creates a momentum that makes us oblivious to … Read More
Shabbat – the Heart of Jewish Life
Rabbi Janet Burden 14 December 2006 The New Statesman The rabbi explains the sabbath – a day of rest and worship Ethical monotheism is indisputably the foundation of Judaism, its intellectual core. No matter how pure and grand that concept is, however, I do not believe that it alone would … Read More
Jewish Beliefs and Practice
Rabbi Janet Burden 13 December 2006 The New Statesman What Jews believe and how the rules of Judaism get applied in practice. Having been invited to write these pieces as a religious Jew, you may be wondering why I have said so little about Jewish beliefs in my … Read More
Reflections on Jewish Identity
Rabbi Janet Burden 12 December 2006 The New Statesman How Jews are not simply a race or a religion – they are an extended family with all that implies. The word used for people who change their religions is ‘convert.’ I prefer the term ‘Jew-by-choice’ to describe my own identity. … Read More