Welcome to the Spring 2024 edition of our LBC newsletter. I say spring, but as I write the rain is pouring down outside my office window.
Still that is the way of the English springtime – rain and wind go hand in hand with blossoming daffodils and crocus. At least in this Jewish leap year, by the time Pesach arrives, here in London at least, we might just feel that the spring harvest season is nearly upon us.
Looking back over these past few months at LBC, we’ve had the end of one semester and the beginning of a new one.
In between, our students went on retreat with students on the Tisch Fellowship programme from Hebrew Union College’s New York campus. I was privileged to teach the group alongside other faculty from both LBC and HUC. Students from both institutions enjoyed getting to know each other in the relaxed atmosphere of the English countryside.
Later on in the term, our students had another opportunity to meet with students from yet another seminary, the École Rabbinique de Paris, this time in the hustle and bustle of Paris. LBC students spent a weekend participating at and learning the synagogue of LBC alumni, Rabbi Pauline Bebe (class of 1990) and Rabbi Etienne Kerber (class of 2021). Both this experience and that Tisch retreat have made our students hungry for more such experiences!
Plenty else has been going on, too. In this newsletter, you will find links to a wealth of short articles for various occasions, which you may have missed or just want a chance to read again. There’s information on Chani Smith’s Learn to Leyn Ebook that is now available for purchase on the LBC website. And you can find the link to the recent article in the Jewish Chronicle, where I was interviewed about my new book, Polyamory and Reading the Book of Ruth.
If you missed my session at Jewish Book Week, never fear. Come along to the College on 19 May from 1-4pm, where we will be celebrating Progressive Jewish scholarship. Rabbi Charley Baginsky, CEO of Liberal Judaism, will be interviewing me about my book, and there will also be opportunities to view some of our library special collections and much more! I hope to see you all there!
Finally, if you want to further your own learning, don’t forget to check out what’s on at the LBC Lehrhaus this term. You never know what path it might set you on.
Chag Purim Sameach
Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris
Principal, Leo Baeck College
