Audio clip from an oral history interview with Margaret Kyiet: Learning for the Beth Din, Cardiff 14 November 2018

Description

This is an audio clip from an interview with Margaret Kyiet, where she recounts what she had to learn for the Beth Din.

In her interview, Margaret discusses being brought up a Methodist, but when she met Derek, she choose to convert to Judaism. Under the tutelage of Rabbi Gerhardt Graf, Margaret went through an intense process of training. She learnt to read Hebrew and studied the festivals and history of the Jews. In this conversation, Margaret describes the anxiety she felt on the day of her interview at the Beth Din in London. Margaret and Derek married in a London synagogue with more than 200 guests. Following her conversion, Margaret became an active member of Cardiff Reform Synagogue (CRS). In the interview, Margaret outlines the work she does at the synagogue: she hosts school-groups, cleans the religious silverware, types up weekly readings, sends birthday cards to older members of the community, makes burial shrouds, and is part of the catering group. Margaret explains that the synagogue's congregation has dwindled over the years as members age or move away.

Depository: The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales.