Rabbi Aaron Goldstein 17 March 2020 Berachot 62a “The Gemara relates: There was a particular eulogiser who went to eulogise an important person in the presence of Rav Nachman. Of the deceased, he said: This man was modest in his ways. Rav Nachman said to him (the eulogiser): did you … Read More
Message from Rabbi Charley Baginsky on coronavirus (COVID-19)
12 March 2020 I know that this is a very uncertain time for many people and the level of fear in our community and in the world at large is rising. I am sure that many of you are considering how to change your behaviours to keep you and your … Read More
[Blog] Inside the Leo Baeck Education Centre
Suzy Gold 27 February 2020 Recently I was fortunate enough to visit Leo Baeck Education Centre (LBEC) in Haifa. Having spent time acquainting myself with the website, I felt prepared and knew what to expect. Reading about an unparalleled, forward-thinking establishment in northern Israel sounded little less than a utopian … Read More
[Blog] Daf Yomi with Rabbi Aaron Goldstein – Part 1
Rabbi Aaron Goldstein 13 February 2020 Moses was up Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights, Noah was cooped up in an Ark while it rained for 40 days; and the ancient rabbis (Pirkei Avot 5) understood 40 to denote an age of wisdom. So it seemed appropriate to count … Read More
[Opinion] Rabbi Lea comments on Trump’s peace plan
Rabbi Lea Mühlstein 29 January 2020 In Hebrew the word for peace, shalom, is closely related to the word for whole, shalem. From this we learn that in order for us to achieve peace, each side involved in the conflict needs to be able to regain a sense of wholeness. … Read More
Comment: We must be allies in fight against Islamophobia
By Rabbi Charley Baginsky The Board of Deputies and many other communal organisations have already condemned the truly appalling article that appeared in the Jewish Chronicle this week by Melanie Phillips. Liberal Judaism adds its voice clearly and strongly to the disgust felt in the Jewish community at this attack … Read More
Film Review: Jojo Rabbit (5/5)
Ben Combe 16 December 2019 The Nazi aesthetic is, inherently, stupid. Plenty of ink has been spilled over the Nazi’s appropriations of fantastical, mythical and hyper-masculine imagery. In new movie Jojo Rabbit, director Taika Waititi and his team defame history’s greatest monsters by inviting them out into the cold light … Read More
Reflections on the London Bridge Stabbings
Rabbi Alexandra Wright 29 November 2019 There is a tragic and painful irony in the deaths of Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones, both stabbed last Friday by Usman Khan who had been released from jail on licence in 2018, half-way through a 16-year sentence for terrorism offences. The two victims, … Read More
Statement on persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China
26 November 2019 Jane Drapkin – LJ Social Justice National Officer Rabbi Aaron Goldstein – Chair, Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors As Jewish Communities around the country begin planning and training for education around Holocaust Memorial Day, we cannot ignore a potential genocide unfolding in plain sight right now … Read More
[Opinion] Should our Jewish values influence our vote?
Rabbi Alexandra Wright 22 November 2019 Parashat Va-yera includes several significant stories – including the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael and the Akedah, the binding of Isaac. But between these two accounts of Abraham as a husband and father, we come across twelve verses that turn our attention to Abraham … Read More