Rabbi Dr Lionel Blue OBE z”l

Reform Judaism mourns our friend, colleague, rabbi and mentor, the inspirational Rabbi Dr Lionel Blue OBE z”l, who has died at the age of 86.

Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism said: “Rabbi Lionel, as a teacher, writer and much-loved national broadcaster transformed how Britain viewed Jews, Judaism and most importantly, ourselves. May his memory be a blessing”.

Geoffrey Marx, Chair of Reform Judaism said: “On behalf of the Board of Reform Judaism I would like to pay tribute to Rabbi Lionel and the very special impact he had on the life of this country, which made him Britain’s ‘most loved rabbi’. He will be sorely missed”.

Rabbi Lionel Blue was a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. Here is a (sadly still relevant) broadcast from 2012 shared by the BBC today.

Rabbi Lionel also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs with Sue Lawley in May 1988

Click here to listen to the programme on the BBC website. You can also download an MP3 of the broadcast.

Rabbi Lionel recorded his own obituary and you can listen to it here.