Federation of Synagogues

Last updated
Federation of Synagogues
Formation1887
HeadquartersHendon
Location
  • London, United Kingdom

The Federation of Synagogues is a British Jewish organisation with headquarters in Hendon, London. It comprises a network of 19 constituent and seven affiliated communities. [1]

Contents

As well as looking after its member synagogues, the Federation has a beis din, [2] [3] a Burial Society [4] [5] and runs a Kosher Food Licensing organisation [6] that issues local kosher catering licences as well as undertaking product certification at home and abroad.

The Federation Beis Din’s dayonim are internationally recognised authorities and are available to discuss halachic matters. As a formal beis din they hear civil cases and deal with matrimonial matters.

The current av beis din (chief rabbi) of the Federation is Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman.

History

The Federation was first established in 1887, [7] [8] primarily due to the vision and efforts of Samuel Montagu MP (later to become the first Lord Swaythling). Montagu, a prosperous banker who was pious and generous as well as practical, saw a need to unify the numerous small and mostly ill-housed congregations and chevras that had mushroomed in London’s East End following the mass influx of refugees from anti-Semitic terror in Imperial Russia.

The relationship between the newcomers and the existing Anglicised community was an uncomfortable one; the immigrants suspected the Orthodoxy of the English Jews, while the latter, who lived and worshipped in greater affluence, tended to look down on their less fortunate brethren – who were by now a majority, but with no effective say in community affairs.

Within half a century the pre-eminent Anglo-Jewish Historian Cecil Roth [9] was able to write: [10]

“..The Federation of Synagogues is…amongst the greatest and most generous Jewish religious organisations in the world. By its insistence on traditional values and by its deep sympathy with every Jewish cause, it has swung itself into the mainstream of Jewish history.”

More recently, another Anglo-Jewish historian, Geoffrey Alderman made this evaluation: "The Federation has experienced a remarkable renaissance in recent years. It’s in a far better state now than it was in 1987, with renewed growth in greater London and in Manchester and with what is arguably the most intellectually prestigious Beis Din in Europe. Lord Samuel Montagu’s model for the Federation was to provide central services for small kehillos who wished to retain their independence while enjoying the support of a communal structure. This is exactly what is happening today—the younger generations do not want great cathedral synagogues, they want small, cosy shtiebels in which they can play a leading role." [11]

Presidents

1887: Nathan Rothschild
1888: Samuel Montagu
1911: Louis Montagu
1928: Morry Davis
1945: Aaron Wright
1948: Jack Goldberg
1951: Morris Lederman
1989: Arnold Cohen
2001: Alan Finlay
2014: Andrew Cohen

Interaction with government

In 1946 Rabbi Dr Yaacov Kopul Rosen, representing the Federation, testified before the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry on Palestine, asking them not to "play politics with the remnants of the Jewish people." [12]

In 2019, there was a need to interact with UK government regarding gender separation of religious schools, [13] writing to Education Secretary Damian Hinds that "Under no circumstances will Charedi schools dilute their passionately held beliefs." [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

Liberal Judaism is one of the two WUPJ-affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom founded by Claude Montefiore. It is smaller and more radical in comparison with the other one, the Movement for Reform Judaism. It is considered ideologically closer to American Reform Judaism than it is to the British Reform movement. As of 2010 it was the fourth largest Jewish religious group in Britain, with 8.7% of synagogue-member households.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Synagogue</span> Union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues

The United Synagogue (US) is a charity which serves the British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the British Jewish community, it provides much of the infrastructure for the British Jewish community and supports 56 centrist Orthodox Jewish member synagogues. With more than 36,000 members, it is also the largest synagogue body in Europe. The work of the charity includes KLBD, its kashrut department, nurseries, marriages, the United Synagogue Burial Society, Tribe programmes and summer camps for young people, its Chesed team supporting vulnerable people and the highly-respected London Beth Din. The charity also supports the work of the Office of the Chief Rabbi. The spiritual head of the United Synagogue is Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis KBE, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth—a title that bears some formal recognition by the Crown.

Cecil Roth was an English historian. He was editor-in-chief of the Encyclopaedia Judaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bevis Marks Synagogue</span> Synagogue in London, United Kingdom

Bevis Marks Synagogue, officially Qahal Kadosh Sha'ar ha-Shamayim, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located off Bevis Marks, Aldgate, in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation is affiliated to London's historic Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community and worships in the Sephardic rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling</span> British banker (1832–1911)

Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling, was a British banker who founded the bank of Samuel Montagu & Co. He was a philanthropist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1900, and was later raised to the peerage. Montagu identified himself with Orthodox Judaism, and devoted himself to social services and advancing Jewish institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isidore Epstein</span>

Ezekiel Isidore Epstein was an English Orthodox rabbi, Jewish studies scholar, and Jewish educator. Epstein edited the first complete English translation of the Babylonian Talmud, served as the headmaster of Jews' College, London, and was the author of The Faith of Judaism, a work of 20th-century Jewish philosophy. He was also the author of numerous scholarly and popular books on Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Synagogue of London</span> Former Orthodox synagogue in London, England

The Great Synagogue of London was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the City of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi life in London. Built north of Aldgate in the 17th century, it was destroyed during World War II, in the Blitz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Hart (rabbi)</span> (First chief) rabbi of Great Britain

Rabbi Aaron Uri Phoebus Hart was a British rabbi, who served as spiritual leader of the Ashkenazi Great Synagogue of London from 1704 until his death. He is widely regarded as the first chief rabbi of Great Britain.

Geoffrey Alderman is a British historian who specialises in 19th and 20th centuries Jewish community in England. He is also a political adviser and journalist.

Gateshead Talmudical College, popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be one of the most prestigious advanced yeshivas in the Orthodox world. The student body currently numbers approx. 350. Although students are mainly British, there are European, American, Canadians as well as some from South America, Australia and South Africa. Most students are Litvish, but up to a third are Hasidic.

The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations is an umbrella organisation of Haredi Jewish communities in London, and has an estimated membership of over 6,000. It was founded in 1926, with the stated mission "to protect traditional Judaism", and has an affiliation of over a hundred synagogues and educational institutions. It caters for all aspects of Haredi Jewish life in London, and operates mainly in the suburbs of Stamford Hill, Golders Green, Hendon, and Edgware.

The London Beth Din (LBD) is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as Court of the Chief Rabbi, it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Ashkenazim in several Commonwealth countries and additionally is consulted by Batei Din throughout Europe. The current head of the London Beth Din is Dayan Menachem Gelley, who joined the court in 1993 and was appointed to his current position in 2014, succeeding Chanoch Ehrentreu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karol Sidon</span> Czech rabbi, writer, and playwright

Karol Efraim Sidon is a Czech rabbi, writer and playwright. He is the Chief Rabbi of the Czech Republic, and former Chief Rabbi of the city of Prague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Montagu, 2nd Baron Swaythling</span> British financier

Louis Samuel Montagu, 2nd Baron Swaythling was a prominent member of the British Jewish community, a financier, and a political activist. He was the son and heir of Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling, and of his wife Ellen (Cohen).

Shraga Feivel Halevy Zimmerman is the rov and av beis din of the Federation of Synagogues in London. He accepted the position on the 30th of June 2019, but took office in January 2020. Rabbi Zimmerman succeeded Dayan Lichtenstein as head of the organisation's Shechita. He took up this appointment following 11+1⁄2 years serving as rabbi and av beis din of the Jewish community in Gateshead, United Kingdom, where he succeeded Bezalel Rakow, who died in 2003. Rav Zimmerman has previously served as a dayan for the Kehal Adass Yeshurun kehilloh in Washington Heights, and later as Rov of Khal Bnei Ashkenaz of Monsey, the Haredi German Ashkenazic community in Monsey, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mordechai Gutnick</span>

Rabbi Mordechai Zev Gutnick is a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Australia. Gutnick has served as a member of rabbinical courts in Melbourne and Sydney and various Australian rabbinical associations. He is associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement; he is the eldest son of the late Rabbi Chaim Gutnick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosef Yeshaya Braun</span> Orthodox Chabad Hasidic Rabbi

Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun is an Orthodox rabbi and a member of the Chabad Hasidic movement. Rabbi Braun serves as a member of the Beth Din of Crown Heights, the Bais Din Tzedek of the Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; he is an authority on Halacha and Hasidic philosophy. Rabbi Braun previously served as the rabbi of the Tzemach Tzedek Synagogue in Sydney, Australia.

Moshe D. Gutnick is an Australian Orthodox rabbi, and a member of the ultra Orthodox Chabad Hasidic movement. Rabbi Gutnick is a senior member of the Beth Din in Sydney, Australia. Gutnick is currently President of the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand. Gutnick is the head of the NSW Kashrut Authority. He formerly served as the rabbi of the Bondi Mizrachi Synagogue in Sydney.

Yisroel Yaakov Lichtenstein is the former Av Beit Din of Federation of Synagogues in London, having given notice mid-2019 that after 30 years at that post he'd being moving to Israel.

References

  1. ↑ "Communities – The Federation of Synagogues". Federation.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  2. ↑ "Progress for women at Federation synagogues". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  3. ↑ "Beis Din – The Federation of Synagogues". www.federation.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Burial – The Federation of Synagogues". www.federation.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "JCR-UK: Federation of Synagogues Edmonton Cemetery (Main Index), London, UK". www.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  6. ↑ "KF Kosher – The Federation of Synagogues". www.federation.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Geoffrey., Alderman (1987). The Federation of Synagogues, 1887-1987. London: The Federation. ISBN   0900145714. OCLC   24761683.
  8. ↑ "MS 248 Papers of the Federation of Synagogues | Special Collections | University of Southampton". www.southampton.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  9. ↑ "ROTH, Cecil". Who Was Who. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007. December 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "History – The Federation of Synagogues". www.federation.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  11. ↑ History Updated: The Federation From 1887–2015
  12. ↑ "6 WITNESSES PLEAD TO FREE PALESTINE: Rabbi Calls on Anglo-U.S. Body to Shun Politics--Jews Are Invited by Dominicans". The New York Times . January 29, 1946.
  13. ↑ Doreen Wachmann (19 June 2019). "Gateshead Rav in Talks to Head Federation of Synagogues". The Jewish Press .
  14. ↑ "Federation's Beth Din head, Dayan Lichtenstein, to stand down after 30 years". JewishNews. March 19, 2019.
  15. ↑ Yonoson Rosenblum (10 July 2019). "Next Stop, London". Mishpacha .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.