Invitation to the induction of Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh at Cardiff Reform Synagogue, 2005

Description

An invitation to a Reverend Philip Drake to attend a celebratory service held at Cardiff Reform Synagogue, held on 19 June 2005. The service is to induct the Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh. The invitation is printed onto an A5 piece of card. Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh then went on to serve the synagogue on a part-time basis for the next nine-ten years.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to the immigrants who had fled the war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The congregation worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace they acquired in 1952.

Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm);
'Cardiff Rabbi's Surprise Departure' by Sandy Rashty (https://www.thejc.com/community/community-news/cardiff-rabbi-s-surprise-departure-1.52664).

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.

• http://www.cardiffreformsyn.org.uk/ (link opens in new window)