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We’re joined in this episode by the brilliant Cole Moreton who joins us on the virtual couch.  Cole is a Radio 4 presenter, journalist, writer and podcast host - he has recently launched his new podcast Can We Talk? - a story-telling podcast about encounters with remarkable people such as Nelson Mandela, Scarlett Johnasson and Tiger Woods - and what they have taught him about being a better human.    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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The spotlight is thrown on one of our hosts when Leo’s three sisters join us on the virtual couch.  Hear how brilliant he was growing up and why his three sisters think he is the best sibling ever*  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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the opening episode of our second season, it’s just the three of us.  We hear about co-host Rebecca’s adult Bat Mitzvah at Kingston Liberal Synagogue and how her background led to her becoming Bat Mitzvah at the age of 50 - and the benefit of having Bar/Bat Mitzvahs - at any age! 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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re joined in this episode by Tal Ofer who moved to the UK from Israel over 14 years’ ago and in our conversation he reflects on his experiences as an Israeli in the UK in the time of Brexit, Corbyn and Covid.  He tells us about how he became actively involved in the UK’s Jewish community through Synagogue membership, his time being the elected representative of his Synagogue on the Board of Deputies of British Jews  - and we hear about recent changes in this aspect of his life.   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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our guest this week is Joanna Lovell - a member of the Unitarian Universalist Faith, who lives in Pennsylvania, US.  Jo met Leo through the Hybrid Ministries Tech Forum - an international body bringing people of all faiths together to share best practice around delivering religious services online. 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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are joined in this episode by Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying for a fascinating and really important conversation. Dignity in Dying is national campaign and membership organisation, arguing in favour of the option of assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults. Sarah explains about the work of the organisation, including its Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying, chaired by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Remain MBE.   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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re really excited this week to be joined by Stephen Bush from the New Statesman.   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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the eve of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) conference, Connections 2021, we are delighted to welcome WUPJ President, Sergio Bergman, to our virtual couch. Sergio tells us about his life and journey to the Rabbinate and the WUPJ - from being born “at the bottom of the world” in Argentina to being ordained as a Rabbi - despite his father-in-law thinking that this was not a suitable profession for a nice Jewish boy! 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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our guest this week is the indefatigable Julie Siddiqi.  Named as one of the 100 most influential Muslim women in the UK, Julie is the co-founder of The Big Iftar during Ramadan, Sadaqa Day - a one-day focus on social action, and Nisa-Nashim, the Jewish-Muslim women’s grassroots organisation.  She is also a regular contributor to Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Recorded the day after Mother’s Day, the team try to guess what Rabbi Charley’s children managed to buy her with £10 - Rebecca is disturbed at the revelation.  We also hear about Charley’s 8-year old daughter’s burgeoning perfume business.  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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we have the pleasure of being joined by 2 guests - both of whom have the surname Baginsky.  Not a coincidence as they happen to be Charley’s brothers Abe and Ben. 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 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our guest this week is Ed Kessler, founder of the Woolf Institute.  Based in Cambridge, it combines teaching, scholarship and outreach, focusing on Jews, Christians and Muslims, to encourage tolerance and foster understanding between people of all beliefs. He tells us about their important recent study “How We Get Along” - the largest known study of diversity in the UK, and how this was received on publication.  This leads to a conversation about the importance of the workplace as a place of encounter - ie. often the only place where we meet those who are different - and how this may be impacted by the changes to working patterns arising as a result of the pandemic.   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/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.