The Movement for Reform Judaism

For the first time in its thousand year history, Windsor Castle was host to 25 Reform rabbis, who spent three days there last week at a special Consultation to discuss the role of Jewish ethics in national issues.

The unique venue highlighted the remarkable journey from Eastern Europe to the heart of British establishment that much of the Jewish community has made in the last century and seemed an appropriate site to use during this year which marks the 350th anniversary of the readmission of the Jews to England.

The rabbinic Kallah (retreat) was chaired by Rabbi Maurice Michaels, head of the Reform Movement’s Assembly of Rabbis, who said that Reform Judaism was in regular contact with other faith groups, working together to tackle a wide range of issues, from business ethics to environmental concerns to social changes.

Among the speakers was the Rt Hon John Battle, the Prime Minister's envoy to faith communities, who stressed the importance of religious leaders seeing themselves as partners with government in order to better society.

The head of the Reform Movement, Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield delivered a paper on the need to engage more in social action beyond Jewish horizons, while Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain led a workshop on making the Jewish voice heard in public.

Another key theme was the Earth Charter Initiative and the need to act immediately to prevent an ecological disaster, while the current crisis in Darfur was also discussed.

This was the first rabbinic Kallah attended by Rabbi Professor Marc Saperstein as Principal of the Leo Baeck College and he led a session exploring unresolved tensions between different Zionist visions of Israel.

There was also a strong interfaith element to the kallah, with a panel discussion on environmental ethics which included Maqsood Ahmed, Muslim head of Interfaith Unit at Home Office as well as Christian and Sikh representatives.

Rabbi Maurice Michaels commented:

The need for strong religious leadership in a whole range of social issues is imperative and, together with leaders from other faiths, we believe that the Assembly of Rabbis of the Reform Movement is well qualified and equipped to play a crucial role. The kallah will lead to a number of initiatives for the Rabbis and the leaders of Reform Judaism to make a difference.

For further details, please contact:
Andrea Newman, Movement for Reform Judaism Public Relations Officer

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