Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue

Given the current weather it is perhaps not surprising that my thoughts have turned to snow.

As I write this the seasons are changing. Summer (of a sorts) is turning to autumn. Autumn will in turn give way to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer etc. This seems so natural to us that there seems no reason to think about it or reason to question this seemingly universal and unending truth,

LEO BAECK COLLEGE ORDAINS EIGHT RABBIS FOR THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT

Leo Baeck College is proud to announce the Ordination on Sunday 5 July 2009, of eight Rabbis for the Progressive Movement in the UK. Leo Baeck College is the only institution in the UK to ordain eight rabbis in one ceremony, all of whom are due to serve in very different UK communities after ordination and have come from different backgrounds.

Purim is today a time of great celebration and fun but lying below the surface is a story that reflects a deeper reality. This is the reality of bigotry, fanaticism and hatred that infects every people and every land and whose consequences are inevitably death and destruction. Within living memory we have seen the Shoah as well as horrendous massacres in Cambodia and Rwanda.

Yesterday I had the honour of serving on a Beit Din for the first time. As is always the case when I work with Gerim (the Hebrew term for those undergoing conversion) I was moved and humbled by the sincerity of the candidates and was honoured to be able to hear their stories and share in their journeys. As it happened, there was a brief impromptu discussion the same day with a number of my rabbinic colleagues on the same topic.

It may seem strange for a fifty something year old Rabbi to begin his first article to his new congregation with the traditional opening of a Bar Mitzvah speech but in many ways the thoughts and emotions of a Bar Mitzvah are appropriate.

As I write this the sky is overcast, a cold windy rain is falling, and the sky is darkening towards dusk.

Perhaps this is why my thoughts turn to the financial situation facing the world as a whole and many of us as individuals. As a Rabbi I make no pretence to having a deep and intricate knowledge of economics and will refrain from suggesting specific measures that are needed to correct the finances of the world but I would suggest that our tradition provides moral guidance that we would be wise to consider.

The Induction of our new rabbi - Larry Becker

Proceedings commenced around 2.00 pm on Sunday 2nd November. The synagogue was full with many members attending along with many distinguished guests. Together with the children from the synagogue cheder there were around 100 in the synagogue.

Amongst the guests were a considerable number of rabbis including Rabbi David Hulbert the Inducting rabbi.

Rabbi Larry Becker was born in the United States of America and moved to the UK in 1987. He is married to Anne Elizabeth Becker and has 3 children.

His education initially took place in Cleveland Ohio and he graduated from John Carroll University University Heights Ohio.

He has spent many years working in the commercial world before successfully completing an MA in Jewish Studies at the Leo Baeck College.

Leo Baeck College celebrated the Ordination of six new progressive Rabbis on Sunday 29th June at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John’s Wood. It was the culmination of their five-year rabbinic training programme, and the Ordinands (four men and two women) represent a new cadre of rabbis and teachers for the 21st century. They come from very different backgrounds.