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		                                    LJS Founding People		                                </span>
		                                		                                
		                                		                            	                            	
		                            <span class="slider_description">LJS Founding People - Montefiore, Mattuck, Moos</span>

The LJS

We are the LJS, The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, founded in 1911. On this page, read all about our history, our building, and our Vision and Values.

We're delighted to share our new welcome video which showcases some of the many great aspects of our vibrant community!
Watch the video here on our Youtube channel.  

To get a full picture, read the Annual Review 2023 by clicking here

The LJS Story, Our Vision, Our Values, Our Building, The Shoah Memorial, The Israel Abrahams Library,  The Czech ScrollsThe Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden, our on-site Accessibility and our Safeguarding.
 

The LJS Story

The Liberal Jewish Synagogue is the oldest and largest of forty Liberal Jewish communities in the UK, Republic of Ireland, The Netherland and Denmark. Its early years were distinguished by the leadership of the ‘Three Ms' (pictured above): the Anglo-Jewish scholar Claude G. Montefiore (1858-1938); Lily Montagu (1873-1963), whose spiritual influence on the early Liberal Jewish movement - originally known as the Jewish Religious Union - was considerable; and Rabbi Dr Israel Mattuck (1883-1954), the first Rabbi of the LJS, a fiery and eloquent preacher.

Spiritual integrity, musical excellence, education and community care have been at the core of the LJS since its inception. Our services are conducted in Hebrew and English, music is drawn from a wide variety of sources both ancient and contemporary.

Learning takes place throughout the community, beginning with Tiny Tots & the LJS Nursery School, running through Rimon Religion School and on into a varied and stimulating adult education programme via The Learning Circle. 

The synagogue’s active community care programme supports the more senior members of our congregation, those with mental health issues, families, the bereaved and those who are lonely. It also reaches out beyond the Jewish community to work with people of all faiths or no faith through the Out & About Club and the LJS Drop-in for Asylum Seeker Families.

Our Vision

For my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples’ – (Isaiah 56:7)

The Liberal Jewish Synagogue is an inclusive, diverse and egalitarian community of all ages. We work together to explore Jewish traditions, texts and values, applying them to the challenge of living ethical lives in the context of the social, intellectual, technological, scientific and environmental realities of the 21st century. 

We seek to sustain and develop the Jewish people’s sacred task: to build a just and compassionate world, based on our commitment and responsibility to each other as Jews, and to our friends and neighbours of other faiths, cultures and ethnicities. We strive to enrich and celebrate our Jewish identity in the context of shared spirituality and creativity, intellectual challenge and meaningful relationships.

Our Values

Kehillah The LJS seeks to be a warm, welcoming and compassionate community for all those who wish to engage with Judaism.

Avodah  The LJS cherishes meaningful, shared worship and spiritual engagement within the context of Liberal Judaism.

Torah  The LJS prioritises life-long learning and the intellectual stimulation and challenge of Jewish texts, ideas and practice.  

Gemilut Chasadim The LJS nurtures meaningful relationships through pastoral care and spiritual encounter, and encourages social networking across generations and between faiths and cultures.

Tikkun Olam  The LJS values and engages in purposeful activity that is designed to repair and heal the world.

Bal Tashchit  The LJS strives to increase awareness of the climate emergency and to reduce our human impact on the environment

Chayyim The LJS celebrates and commemorates all life cycle events that help give meaning to people’s lives.

Din v’Cheshbon  The LJS is committed to transparent and responsible governance and financial accountability by its trustees.

Yahadut Mitkademet  The LJS encourages its members’ contribution to the dynamic growth and development of Liberal Judaism in the UK, Europe, Israel and beyond.

Bakkesh Shalom  The LJS endorses the State of Israel’s Declaration of Independence as a country based on the principles of ‘liberty, justice and peace’ and ‘the full social and political equality of all its citizens’.

 

Our Building

The original synagogue was in a former chapel in Hill Street, London NW1, which no longer exists. Just a few years after its founding, it became apparent that a larger building would be needed for the growing community and a site was purchased at our present location in St John’s Wood Road.

The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John's Wood with its grand ionic columns of Portland Stone seated 1,350 people when it was dedicated on 13 September 1925, just in time for that year's High Holy Days. However, the building was seriously damaged by an enemy bomb in 1940 and, although it was repaired, the ongoing serious structural defects prompted the community to undertake a major redesign and re-build in the late 1980s.

In the new design, the original portico is the only feature retained; the right to build flats around and above the synagogue was purchased by a developer, and the present building was opened in 1991.

The interior was designed by Israeli architects Kantor Schwartz; the beautiful sanctuary is lined with Jerusalem stone and the Ark doors are a mesh of metals set in bronze frames. A brochure with the full fascinating detail of the building’s design and its furnishings can be found here. You can read about the story behind the tapestry design of the Bimah chairs in our Sanctuary here


The Shoah Memorial

The wall between the two entrance doors holds the memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Sho’ah (Holocaust). The stone, a three-ton Kilkenny limestone, is the work of noted sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor CBE, and was dedicated in 1996, on the 58th anniversary of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass).

Pictured by the memorial are Ann and Bob Kirk, two of the kindertransport children who escaped to the UK from Germany before the outbreak of war in 1939. They married at The LJS after the war.

Click here to view Sir Anish Kapoor's talk: 'How do you portray the unimaginable'

 

Our Library

The Israel Abrahams Library contains more than 6,000 books old and new and listed on an electronic database, and covers liturgy, history, literature, and biography. The books are a wonderful part of our heritage and we want you all to appreciate them.

The library is open before Shabbat morning services or by arrangement. Books, videos, and CDs may be borrowed by members of the congregation and, by arrangement, by students.

The LJS library catalogue can be accessed at www.librarything.com/catalog/LJSynagogue
To search the catalogue, go to 'books' and make sure you are in 'all collections' (looking at the list at the extreme left).
Then, at the right, in the box 'search this library' enter what you are looking for. For example, if you would like to view all the books by a particular author, type in the name of the author. Then press 'enter' on your computer and the details of the relevant books will appear.

 

 

The Czech Scrolls

On February 1964, 1564 Torah scrolls arrived in London from what was then Czechoslovakia, under the auspices of the Westminster Synagogue. They had been stored under very poor conditions in the Michle Synagogue in Prague for about 20 years and were in urgent need of care and attention. Over the years the majority have been restored and sent out to congregations all over the world to encourage development and to serve as a memorial to the members of the lost Czech communities who had once used them.

You can read more about all the LJS scrolls here.

Click here to watch our Czech Scroll Commemoration service held on Shabbat 21 May with Bob Kirk.

For further information, please visit www.memorialscrollstrust.org to read about the Czech scrolls project.


 

The Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden

If you are looking for information on what to do in the event of a bereavement, please click HERE 

The Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden opening times are:
Mon-Thurs 9am-4pm
Friday 9am-2pm
Sunday 11am-5pm

Please note: The LJS cemetery is closed on Thursday 24 May in the afternoon and all day Friday 25 May for Shavuot.

The LJS has its own cemetery at Pound Lane, Willesden. It was opened in 1914 and should remain active for at least another 50 years. Space is available for burials and interment of ashes for members and non-members of The LJS, though only LJS members have automatic burial rights there. The synagogue is happy to organise and arrange burials for non-members at Pound Lane, whether they are Jewish or not. It is the general policy of the synagogue not to separate in death those who were together in life. This becomes increasingly important as mixed-faith partners grow old. Jewish non-members and/or their partners from all relationships are therefore welcome to apply for burial at our cemetery.

The cemetery offers a number of alternatives including rose gardens, small ashes graves, a columbarium, family plots, and burial in depth. It is possible to reserve graves. The cemetery also has a war memorial and a Holocaust memorial.

Burial Plots for non-LJS Members Available in our Cemetery

If you have not made plans for yourself, or for family members or Jewish friends, for burial in a Jewish cemetery, and if you are not an LJS member, we have made spaces available in our cemetery. 
 
The LJS has its own, historic cemetery in Willesden, West London. A green space with its own prayer hall, it is a lovely, calm place to be, to visit and to remember. 
 
The pandemic has reminded many of us that burial plans have not been made. If this is something you are looking for, and you would like the comfort of knowing that a plot has been reserved for you or others close to you, then please contact Jo-Anne Winston at synagogue@ljs.org or telephone 020 7432 1298 for an initial conversation.

Record-Keeping

A record of all graves and ashes is held by the cemetery superintendent and Jo-Anne Winston at the LJS office. Please contact Jo-Anne Winston at synagogue@ljs.org for more information. Genealogical information can be obtained on request.

For information about the LJS committee that oversees our cemetery, please click here

Getting to the Cemetery: The cemetery is situated off Pound Lane, Willesden, London NW10 2HG. Next to the fire station and block of flats is a small unnamed road (marked 'Private') that leads to the cemetery. See map.

Bus: Routes 6 and 226 stop outside the fire station. Bus numbers 52 and 98 stop in Willesden High Road, at the corner of Hawthorn Road; walk down Hawthorn Road to the cemetery (about five minutes).

Underground: The nearest stations are Dollis Hill or Willesden Green, both of which are 10-15 minutes walk from the cemetery.

Grave Maintenance: We can arrange for the upkeep of graves, including some renovations where necessary, and regular cleaning of headstones and yearly planting if required. For more details, please contact the Funerals Co-ordinator via email at synagogue@ljs.org.
 

Accessibility

Ease of access is of paramount importance, and many procedures have been put in place to ensure those using wheelchairs or pushing baby buggies can enter the building from street level without hindrance.

The LJS was awarded most accessible synagogue having been designed with ramps and step-free access into the building. In addition to this, the Sanctuary is equipped with a hearing loop and dedicated space for two wheelchairs, large print prayer books available on request, and High Holy Day sermons beamed onto the walls.

The ground floor also features a large disabled toilet with electric door, and a rear lift allows access to our first floor and staff offices.
 

Safeguarding

The health and wellbeing of our congregation, our visitors and our staff is one of our highest priorities and we are encouraged towards acts of lovingkindness - Gemilut Hasadim - or simply, caring for one another.

The LJS has committed to Safeguarding policies to ensure transparency in our working environment. Please view HERE

The Rimon school's Safeguarding policy can be viewed HERE

Wed, 11 December 2024 10 Kislev 5785