Blog on All Saints/Souls

On Sunday 31st October, many people will be celebrating Halloween - carving pumpkins, filling up on sweets and perhaps watching a horror film from behind the sofa. Read more

'Race in Religion' Tour at the Jewish Museum

The relationships between Black and Jewish people have long been a topic of academic research, political interest and disputed public discourse. This year the Jewish Museum’s ‘Race in Religion’ tour was an enlightening glimpse into these multiplicities and complex histories for CCJ staff. Read more

Remembering Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

This week we marked the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of former CCJ President Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks - a pillar of the Jewish community, a cornerstone of interfaith and a paragon of cross-communal and interpersonal responsibility. Jonathan Sacks was respected among and beyond the society he served as a prolific writer, spokesperson, and faith leader. Read more

Sukkot

Sukkot is the festival of rejoicing, in its days Jews commemorate G-d’s guardianship of the Jewish people when they sojourned in the desert (Leviticus 23:43). Read more

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement: Blog by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain

It is strange but true that Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, receives only a brief mention in the Bible (Leviticus 16.29) - yet today it is considered one of the most important Jewish festivals, certainly if measured by attendance, when many synagogues have to hold overflow services to cater for all who come.

Rosh Hashanah: In the Presence of the King. Blog by Rabba Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts in the evening of 6 September this year, and lasts till the evening of 8 September. It ushers in the Ten ‘Days of Awe’, which continue until the end of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and constitute the high point of the Jewish year. Read more

Understanding Tisha B'Av

Tisha B’Av translates literally to the ninth of the Hebrew calendar month of Av, the date upon which the calamities it marks are said to have fallen, sometimes centuries apart. Read more

Reflecting on the language of scripture through Robyn Donnelly's poetry

In my role as poet in residence for CCJ, I have been privileged to meet Robyn Donnelly, a student of English and Creative Writing at Leeds Trinity University, whose final year dissertation is a selection of poems exploring the intersection of her Roman Catholic upbringing and her lesbian identity. Read more

Final blog entry as Poet-In-Residence for Council of Christians and Jews

Shanti

I am fearfully and wonderfully made

To open CCJ's Transforming Intolerance Conference Poet-In-Residence Hannah Stone presented a new poem on the theme 'fearfully and wonderfully made' from Psalm 139

‘Tell us a story,’ you begged.

‘I’ll paint you a picture,’ I said.