Originally published in The Jerusalem Post Magazine, 29 April 1983, p. 13. Teyku: A Study in the Literary Analysis and Form of the Talmudic Argument by Louis Jacobs. A Leo Baeck College Publication. London, New York, Cornwall Books, 312 pp. ... Continue Reading ➨
Jacobs’ Teyku – Review by Baruch M. Bokser
Originally published in The Jewish Quarterly Review, 75:1 (July 1984), pp. 93-5. Louis Jacobs, Teyku: The Unresolved Problem in the Babylonian Talmud: A Study in the Literary Analysis and Form of the Talmudic Argument (Leo Baeck College ... Continue Reading ➨
In thought and deed
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 16 July 1965. And speaketh truth in his heart. (Psalm 15, 2) A great text like this one is capable of bearing more than one meaning. The Psalmist’s appeal to a life of integrity can be understood in ... Continue Reading ➨
By different routes
Originally published in Zionist Record and S.A. Jewish Chronicle, 24 September 1965. “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3, 17) The ‘ways’ spoken of in the verse are the wide, clearly marked roads running ... Continue Reading ➨
Baruch Litvin & Sidney B. Hoenig (eds.), ‘Jewish Identity’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 31 December 1965. Jewish Identity. Compiled by Baruch Litvin and edited by Sidney B. Hoenig. New York: Philipp Feldheim. $6.75. The famous “Who is a Jew?” debate reached its culmination in the ... Continue Reading ➨
Marriage in Jewish law
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle. It is elementary in Jewish law that a valid marriage results from the delivery, in the presence of two witnesses, of an object of value by the groom to the bride with a declaration to that purpose ... Continue Reading ➨
Arnold Jacob Wolf (ed.), ‘Recovering Judaism: Reflections on a New Theology’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 1 April 1966. Recovering Judaism: Reflections on a New Theology. Edited by Arnold Jacob Wolf. Chicago: Quadrangle Books. $6.50. Theology is viewed nowadays with suspicion. It is frequently suggested ... Continue Reading ➨
Martin Noth, ‘The Old Testament World’
Originally published in The Jewish Chronicle, 11 February 1966. The Old Testament World. By Martin Noth. Translated by Victor I. Gruhn. Black. 48s. When reading the Bible one comes across verses like: Turn you, and take your journey, and go to ... Continue Reading ➨
A Liberating Faith
Originally published (without last paragraph) in The Jewish Chronicle, 11 February 1966. Republished in Zionist Record and S.A. Jewish Chronicle, 18 February 1966, with the last paragraph added. Nineteen hundred years ago the great Jewish leader, ... Continue Reading ➨
Minutes of Israel Diaspora Trust Working Party on Jewish Status Meeting
Meeting originally held on 27 July 1989 at The Montagu Centre. THE ISRAEL DIASPORA TRUST WORKING PARTY ON JEWISH STATUS 27 July 1989 Present: Judge Israel Finestein QC, Rabbi Hugo Gryn, Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs, Dr Lionel Kopelowitz, Rabbi Dr Abraham ... Continue Reading ➨
The Conversion Problem and the New London Synagogue
Paper written in 1976. This communication does not deal with the wider question of intermarriage or of Judaism as a missionary religion. Its concern is with the severely practical and immediate problem facing a would-be convert to Judaism or a ... Continue Reading ➨
Minutes of a joint Beth Din working party meeting
DRAFT Minutes of the first meeting of the Beth Din Working Party held at the New London Synagogue on Monday, 14th July 1975. Present: Rabbis Henry Goldstein, Louis Jacobs, Michael Leigh, Marcel Marcus, Dow Marmur and Michael Standfield. ... Continue Reading ➨
‘Determination’ from a Neturei Karta magazine
Originally published in Comment, by Tomchei Neturei Karta, 2:12 (Sivan 5724/May 1964). It is not our particular aim to attend the general diversary trends that afflict the body of Jewry, especially when the distress meets that section of the ... Continue Reading ➨
Saga Over Jacobs’s Granddaughter’s Admission at JFS
In 1986, Paula Jacobs applied to study at the Jewish Free School. The school leadership and United Synagogue handled her application very poorly, leading to the following correspondences with the family. Click on the picture to read the ... Continue Reading ➨
Meeting of the Council of Assembly of Masorti Synagogues
Notes of discussion recorded in November 1988. Click on the picture to read the minutes of the Council Meeting. ... Continue Reading ➨
Three Views on the Jacobs Controversy
Originally published in Mosaic, 11 (Autumn 1964). Click on the picture to read this piece in Mosaic. ... Continue Reading ➨
Sefton Solomon, ‘Jacobs’ Third Way’
A dissertation submitted by Sefton Solomon in partial fulfilment of the degree of MA in Jewish History and Culture at the University of Southampton, 2015. Click on the picture to start reading the dissertation. ... Continue Reading ➨
A Curious Broadside – A Castigation by Jerusalem Haredi rabbis?
In the winter of 1995, Rabbi Jacobs received this puzzling letter, signed by a number of prominent haredi religious authorities from Jerusalem, as well as European colleagues of theirs. Undeterred by its tone, and in fact, rather confused by some of ... Continue Reading ➨
The Garnethill Controversy
In June 1966, the Garnethill Hebrew Congregation in Glasgow gathered its members to vote on the synagogue's affiliation to the United Synagogue, in a hope to severe its connection and join instead Louis Jacobs's New London Synagogue as an ... Continue Reading ➨
New London Synagogue – The First Twenty Years
This skilfully edited scrapbook, produced by Anne Cowen, is a record of the events of which led to the establishment of the New London Synagogue and its early days. Click on the picture to open the scrapbook. ... Continue Reading ➨