Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue is a synagogue in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

, Sussex,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has 500 adult members.

History and affiliation

The community was founded in 1955 with temporary accommodation and the synagogue was dedicated in 1967 to serve a rapidly growing community. The 400-capacity building was designed by Derek Sharp. A plaque indicates that the foundation stone was laid on 17 July 1966, or in the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. ...

, 29 Tammuz 5726. It became the largest congregation in Brighton and Hove and one of the larger ones in the Reform Movement. The first rabbi to serve the community was Rabbi Rosenblum who developed a style of prayer which combined a sense of tradition with mixed seating and inclusion of English beside a mainly Hebrew rendering of the service. In 2011 members of the synagogue voted in favour of equal rights for women congregants. The synagogue is a member of the

Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...

Rabbi

The synagogue's current rabbi is Dr Andrea Zanardo, who was appointed in September 2012. Rabbi Zanardo was born in

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

and was among the founders of the first Italian Progressive Congregation whilst studying for his PhD. He was ordained in July 2012 after rabbinical studies at

Leo Baeck College Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner van ...

Services

Weekly Shabbat services are held on Friday night and Saturday morning. All the Jewish festivals are celebrated. Special children's services are also held for most of the festivals.

Community

The synagogue runs an active social and welfare department with exercise classes for older members, a book club and members teas. There is a lunch and discussion group, regular adult education classes including Hebrew classes and a cheder (religion school) for children. Each year over a thousand pupils come from local schools to learn some basic knowledge about Judaism. The children are shown Jewish artifacts and are taught about the traditions and rituals.

References

External links