The European Region of the World Union for Progressive Judaism works to promote the development of Progressive Judaism in Central, Western Europe and Israel, to encourage and facilitate the formation of Progressive Jewish communities; and to stimulate and encourage the study of Judaism and a recognition of its place in modern life.
The European Region faces challenges: the need for personnel to liaise between communities to ensure that we share information about the support available, by way of educational materials and resources, and the passing on of experience and general know-how.
There are progressive communities in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
I arrived in Bad Pyrmont on 14th February and had a meeting with the members of the congregation and we discussed our plans for the evening.
Then I led the Friday evening service and the lay leader of the community helped me to read the Torah and discuss the weekly Torah portion (they usually read it in Russian on Kabbalat Shabbat). There were many more people this time than previously, because people knew that a Russian-speaking Rabbi was coming for the lecture. As previously, the congregants listened to my sermon with interest – it is usually half a sermon, and half a lesson for them). They were very grateful for it.