He tells us about his foray into evangelical Christianity as a teenager, how he left this behind, and what his beliefs are now - as well as the odd supernatural experience.   

Recorded in mid-December we open the show by celebrating Rabbi Charley having been the first Progressive Rabbi to light the Chanukah candles in Trafalgar Square.

Use the following links to find out more on social media

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat 

Cole Moreton - https://twitter.com/ColeMoreton 

Can We Talk podcast - https://play.acast.com/s/cole-moretons-can-we-talk/welcome-to-cole-moretons-can-we-talk  

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego 

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley 

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul 

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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Use the following links to find out more on social media

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

*Rebecca who normally writes the show notes would like to apologise for the fact Leo wrote these notes and all points said may not be as factual as he thinks when he takes off his Rose Tint glasses.

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We also hear about the inauguration of Rabbi Leah Jordan at Kehillah North London and the extent to which our communities are truly inclusive.  

We touch about coming out of lockdown and have our usual cultural chat - which bandwagon has Rebecca jumped upon?

To read more about Rebecca’s Bat Mitzvah, including a link to her Dvar Torah, see here: https://klsonline.org/everyone-suddenly-burst-out-singing/

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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We also talk about whether it is possible to heal the world via Twitter……

And, as always, we share some great Netflix recommendations!

Find us on social media:

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Tal - https://twitter.com/TalOfer

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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Jo tells us about the Unitarian universalist faith and we discuss some similarities with Liberal Judaism.  As a former Choir Director we also compare notes about the role of music and music leaders in religious services.  

Jo tells us about the annual Summer camps that take place in the US and we muse about holding something similar for LJ.

We also touch upon anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, compare lockdowns in the US and UK - and hold our usual cultural conversation about what we’ve been watching / reading / listening to.

Find us on social media:

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Jo - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlovellctsproavsales/

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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We discuss the choices made at the end of life and the role of the medical profession - and Leo speaks very movingly about the loss of his mother and his sister. We also talk about the role of religious leaders and institutions in the campaign and the issue more broadly.

You can read more about Dignity in Dying here: 

https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/ 

And the Religious Alliance:

https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/religiousalliance/

You can find us on Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Rabbi Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley 

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman

Sarah - https://twitter.com/Sarah_Wootton

Dignity in Dying - https://twitter.com/DignityinDying

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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As well as discussing his recent report into racial inclusivity within the Jewish community we also hear about Stephen’s upbringing and the role of his Jewish heritage.  Stephen also tells us about life as a left-leaning journalist during a time when antisemitism is a political football, and how he decides if and when to engage in discussions on this thorny issue. 

And we try to persuade him to train as a Rabbi, and to watch Schitt’s Creek….. 

Find us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Stephen - https://twitter.com/StephenKB

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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We look ahead to this week’s conference - its main themes, objectives and highlights - and talk about the role that Liberal Judaism can play in the wider worldwide movement for progressive Jewry.

A fascinating conversation and insight into the life of Sergio Bergman - have a listen!

Find out more about the conference, and register, here: https://wupj.org/connections/program/

On Twitter:

WUPJ - https://twitter.com/WUPJudaism

Sergio Bergman - https://twitter.com/sergiobergman

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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We discuss many topics including the role of converts in Islam and Judaism, Julie’s advocacy for women’s spaces within Islam and her recent project ‘Together We Thrive’ - a networking organisation linking Muslim women together through training and education.  We discuss the abuse that Julie has received from within the Muslim community online as a result of her advocay, and how this is primarily misogynistic. 

We also talk about the interfaith work Julie has pioneered, particular with the Jewish community through the women’s network, Nisa-Nashim and how female leadership models can be a way forward - although are such models specifically ‘female?’

Julie is a real inspiration - have a listen! 

Find us on social media

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

Julie - https://www.facebook.com/julie.siddiqi.1

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca -  https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

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Our guest this week is BBC Radio 2’s OJ Borg, OJ talks about his fear of offending his guests and the pitfalls of social media and then things get a bit chaotic as we get distracted by Charley’s hair, her dog, and a trip down memory lane with cartoons and breakfast cereals….

The serious topic in this episode is the aftermath of the events on Clapham Common in light of the murder of Sarah Everard - and leads to a discussion of how we in society are bringing up our sons.  Rabbi Charley explains to OJ how progressive faith leaders re-interpret the sacred texts to make them relevant for a young generation by reading between the lines and wrestling with the content. 

Find us on Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/JewKnowWhat

OJ - https://twitter.com/OJBorg

Leo - https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - https://twitter.com/RSingerman or https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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Abe joins us from New York and Ben from Tel Aviv.  Sadly, there is a paucity of dirt-dishing on Charley although we do hear about how they viewed her decision to enter the Rabbinate and how having a ‘badass Rabbi’ as a sister is a great first-date opener. 

The siblings also reflect on how growing up in the Liberal Judaism youth movement has made them each empowered to hold conversations in their very different spheres - the Rabbinate, Advertising, and Organisational consulting. 

The serious subjects revolve around US and Israeli politics and populism - how optimistic are we that progressivism will win through?  

We spend some time on our cultural recommendations (yes, Leo talks about the West Wing again)

You can find Abe at AbeBaginsky.com and Ben at BenBaginsky.com, and us on Twitter at: 

@JewKnowWhat

Leo - @WFCKeego

Charley - @RabCharley

Rebecca - @RSingerman or @KingstonLibShul

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We talk about virtual encounters and virtual travel, and whether this is creating different inequalities than before.  Ed gives us a fascinating insight into the design of his workplace - the Woolf Institute - and how he envisages the workplace of the future.

Are we - as faith groups and a wider society - afraid of the ‘other’ and only looking out for ourselves?  

Ed also provides an insight into how the pandemic and lockdown has impacted on other faiths and we discuss how intra-faith relations in the Jewish community have evolved too. 

Ed gives us an insight into what an academic does to relax - and how many pages of a book does he read a day?  

You can find out more about the Woolf Institute here: https://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/

Find us on Twitter: 

@JewKnowWhat

Ed - @kessler_ed

Leo - @WFCKeego

Charley - @RabCharley

Rebecca - @RSingerman or @KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the changes that have arisen as a result of Covid, particularly in terms of travel, stick -  or will we go back to our old ways?

We also discuss the shift to online - is it a new leveller? Or does it just change the nature of access and equality? 

And we share tips about getting away from social media - or should we even be trying? 

Find us on Twitter:

@JewKnowWhat

Sian - @SianBerry

Leo - @WFCKeego

Charley - @RabCharley

Rebecca - @RSingerman or @KingstonLibShul

Sian’s website: https://www.sianberry.london/

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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We hear about Josh’s current project - British Ritual Innovation under Covid-19 (Bric19) - which is examining how Britain’s religious communities have adapted to life under Covid 19 given the restrictions imposed.

And we discuss the latest social media platform, Clubhouse - will it go the same way as Twitter?  Is it just a fad?

Read about Josh’s Bric19 study here: 

https://bric19.mmu.ac.uk/

Find us on Twitter:

@JewKnowWhat

Leo - @WFCKeego

Charley - @RabCharley

Rebecca - @RSingerman or @KingstonLibShul

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah tells us about life in Israel in the current climate with the pandemic, vaccine roll-out and the Abraham Accords - she and Rabbi Charley share stories about driving in Israel and Sarah tells us about her upcoming book Taxi Driver Stories. We also plan to move to Scotland and open The Tattooed Mermaid, using bar-tending and rabbinic skills in equal measure. 

Read Sarah’s great article about catching Covid in the Times of Israel here: 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/i-let-my-guard-down-and-got-covid-19-this-is-what-its-like/

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahtuttlesinger

Check out her Instagram account, Taxi Driver Stories: https://www.instagram.com/taxidriverstories/?igshid=1qns3t59iisnc

Find us on Social:

@JewKnowWhat https://twitter.com/jewknowwhat

Sarah - @TuttleSinger https://twitter.com/TuttleSinger https://www.facebook.com/sarahtuttlesinger

Leo - @WFCKeego https://twitter.com/WFCKeego

Charley - @RabCharley https://twitter.com/RabCharley

Rebecca - @RSingerman https://twitter.com/RSingerman or @KingstonLibShul https://twitter.com/KingstonLibShul

Find out more about Liberal Judaism, the home for your Jewish story here: https://www.liberaljudaism.org/

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Lior tells us about her Catholic upbringing in a small town in Germany, and her journey to Judaism. She talks about her conversion as a non-binary member of the LGBT community and how this was reflected and celebrated by Liberal Judaism. 

We get quite deep about the nature of conversion in terms of religion, God, identity - in particular the crossover of different identities we regularly find within Liberal Judaism. We reflect on language around gender in the context of Hebrew, the liturgy and touch very briefly on the subject of pronouns before moving quickly on. We look ahead to Limmud and look back on the Ritual Reconstructed conference where Lior sat on a panel. We also hear about how Leo had to teach a group of Israelis how to light a menorah.  

We have a less deep conversation about our favourite musicals and discuss the appropriateness of cabaret artists in Shabbat morning services (yes, KLS again!)

Link to Lior Locher’s blog about her conversion process: https://klsonline.org/the-mensch-on-zoom-becoming-jewish-in-2020

Lior has also written this about overcoming binary thinking: https://christinelocher.medium.com/how-to-unblock-either-or-thinking-2f7c3d13b3eb

"Rainbow Stripes Background" by incurable_hippie is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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A really fascinating and wide-ranging conversation this week.  Father John tells us about his journey to the priesthood and we discuss the difference between training to be a priest and a rabbi.  We delve into the thorny subject of gendered titles in different faiths, as well as touching upon gendered liturgy. 

In 3 sentences Father John attempts to explain to 3 Jews about the Holy Trinity - does he succeed? 

We also hear about the moves towards inclusion in the Church of England and how Father John experiences this as a gay man and an ordained Minister - does he see himself as breaking ground in this role?  

Of course, Charley gets the Talmud into the conversation in the context of leadership and how it preserves dissenting views.  

We hear about Charley and John’s conversations in pubs - and their gatecrashing of some “interesting” parties.

And it’s December - so we play the game of Whamageddon (listen if you don’t know how to play).  Father John tells us about the meaning of Advent - and we learn that it is surprisingly heavy and similar to the month of Elul.  We also hear Father John’s views on the commercialisation of the season and all admit to loving the Christmas lights! 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.