July/August 2006
VOL. XXXIII No. 4
ljtoday
Biennial brings display of bold ambition Rabbi Danny Rich told the Biennial Weekend in Cheltenham that Liberal Judaism had a responsibility to be at the centre of Anglo Jewry. While it would continue to lead in matters of principle and innovative practice, it would play its part in the councils and affairs of Anglo Jewry. Rabbi Rich was speaking at the closing session of the weekend in May, at which more than 200 delegates and guests – including an imam – took part. The two days of prayer, study and discussion were spent responding to the organisers’ title, ‘Judaism Without Borders?’ Workshops looked at everything from midrash to Zionism, from God to Madonna, and from conversion to asylum seekers. Presenters and speakers included Rabbi Dr Michael Shire, acting principal of Leo Baeck College, Dr Edward Kessler, founding director of the Centre for the Study of Jewish–Christian Relations at Cambridge, Roger Lyons, former president of the TUC, and rabbis and lay leaders from across the movement. The weekend began with an Erev Shabbat service and meal. The afterdinner speaker, Dr Kessler, looked at the conference theme, which he interpreted as a reflection on how Liberal Jews might best be progressive in thinking, innovative in intellect,
More on the Biennial Weekend pages 4-7
Judaism Without Borders?
Book reviews – page 8; Letters to the editor – page 9; Liberally Speaking – page10
Rabbi Danny Rich (third from right) with presenters (from left) Nigel Varndell and Imam Shahid Hussein, and Nigel Cole, Mayor Brian Chaplin and Mayoress Janine Hockenhull in Cheltenham in May
welcoming to outsiders and taking a lead in social action. He suggested that while Liberal Jews needed to be aware of what was happening in wider society in their search for ‘Judaism without borders’, they also needed to respond to the tensions within Judaism, among them secular vs religious, Orthodox vs Progressive, and Israel vs Diaspora tensions. The Shabbat morning service was followed by a fascinating panel discussion at which Nigel Varndell, interfaith manager of Christian Aid, and Rabbi Janet Burden tackled the question of whether Liberal Judaism could work together with the aid charity. As well as squashing myths about Christian Aid, Mr Varndell took part in a frank and honest exploration of the outcry expressed by many Jews following Christian Aid’s 2004 Christmas appeal. A report of this discussion appears on pages 6 and 7. At the end of what was his first Biennial as chief executive of Liberal
Judaism, Rabbi Rich said it had been an overt objective of his and the movement’s officers to insist upon – and ensure – a Liberal Jewish presence wherever it was appropriate. Nigel Cole, Liberal Judaism’s chairman, had taken his seat at the Jewish Leadership Council, and the movement had been allocated a ‘spot’ at the annual Yom HaShoah commemoration at the Hyde Park memorial in London. Rabbi Rich said Liberal Judaism was committed to confronting issues that others might find too dangerous to tackle, and to exploring – in novel ways – what Jewish life could mean and how it could be practised. He added: ‘We shall do our best to offer the Liberal Jewish way in all its diverse manifestations to those who seek to bring into their lives and into the lives of others, whether here in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, the best of Judaism and the best of modernity.’