The Movement for Reform Judaism

Three hundred people of all ages took part in a wide range of sessions on the theme of ‘Counting All of Us In’ – a theme which expresses the Reform Movement’s 2020 Vision of reaching out and engaging with people ‘where they are’.

Many of the Movement’s rabbis shared their deliberations on issues of inclusivism and boundaries – Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE ran a session on Jewish status and the issue of mixed-faith relationships; Rabbi Roderick Young on how to make the Movement a comfortable home for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews; and Rabbi Jackie Tabick on her research into conversion through the Reform Movement. There was also a session led by the non-Jewish partner of a Reform member, discussing the experience of non-Jews in our communities.

The theme of how to make those at the margins of our community feel more welcome and included was modelled by the organisation of the Conference itself. More than fifty of the participants were attending for the first time, and the Conference opened with a reception for first-timers and closed with the voices of some of the people who find themselves on the margins, giving their opinion on how the Movement can bring in more people from the periphery. There was also an ‘explanatory service’ on Shabbat morning for those who often feel lost in services.

One participant commented: “The weekend felt very including and not just a gathering of ‘the great and the good’!” and another that the message of inclusivism “came over loud and clear”. One ‘first-timer’ described herself as “a 'conference virgin' on Friday, (who) didn't feel like one on Sunday.”

The Reform Movement’s new Siddur was officially launched at Conference and was used by participants in four different Shabbat services, demonstrating its great versatility and ability to create a range of meaningful experiences.

In his address, Rabbi Tony Bayfield, Head of The Movement for Reform Judaism, evoked the context for the Conference. Referring to the 350th anniversary of the resettlement of the Jews in Britain, he asked the question, “has Jewish life in Britain over the last 350 years been good for Britain and has it been good for us Jews?” Reminding the audience that “we’ve never exceeded 1% of the population” he went on to suggest that “by seeking integration, living as part of, we have exposed ourselves to the allure of an increasingly secular society with a long track record, up until the last 50 years, of assimilating, of absorbing minorities without trace (…) Those on the margins of our tiny community are even more vulnerable than those who are physically, culturally, socially or emotionally at the centre.” However, he concluded that “aloneness meaning separation, living parallel lives would never be an option even if it were the only sure route to Jewish survival.” 

In an effort to pro-actively ‘count people in’, Rabbi Bayfield has posted his sermon on the Reform Movement website, inviting people to engage in a debate about the issues raised in the sermon.

a tangible sense of the dynamism and devotion of this movement

The new Principal of Leo Baeck College, Rabbi Prof Marc Saperstein, who took up his post at the beginning of this month, also participated in Conference, taking the opportunity to meet many Reform members and find out more about the Reform community in this country. He commented: “I am deeply honoured to be given the opportunity of helping to lead this distinguished educational institution. I look forward to working closely with the Board of Governors and many other committed British Jews in the affiliated movements.  My experience at the Reform Movement Conference this past weekend provided a tangible sense of the dynamism and devotion of this movement to the highest Jewish values that the College aspires to teach.”

Nigel Cole, Chair of Liberal Judaism, and his wife participated in the Conference, just as Mike Grabiner, Chair of the Reform Movement, and his wife had been at the Liberal Judaism Conference earlier in the year, signalling a new era of co-operation between the two movements.

I just wish I’d been before

Summing up the Conference experience, one participant said she had belonged to a Reform synagogue for over 25 years, but that this was her first time on Conference: “I just wish I’d been before.”

To find out more about the Israel Trip in 2007, please contact Annie Simmons

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

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