Share to: share facebook share twitter share wa share telegram print page

Jonathan Romain

Rabbi
Jonathan Romain
Personal life
Born
Jonathan Anidjar Romain

(1954-08-24) 24 August 1954 (age 70)[1]
NationalityBritish
SpouseRabbi Sybil Sheridan
ChildrenFour sons
Religious life
ReligionJudaism
DenominationReform Judaism

Jonathan Anidjar Romain MBE (born 24 August 1954)[1][2] is a writer and broadcaster and director of Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, England. He has a PhD in the history of British Jewry. He writes for The Times, The Independent,[3] The Guardian,[4] The Huffington Post,[5] and The Jewish Chronicle[6] and appears on radio and television.[7][8]

Professional career

Romain has been a full-time Tutor at Maidenhead Community Centre since 1980.

From 2007 to 2009, he chaired the Movement for Reform Judaism's Assembly of Rabbis. Since January 2015 he has chaired the Movement's Beth Din.[9]

For several years he was one of the judges for both The Times Preacher of the Year competition and the BBC's Frank Gillard Awards for religious programmes.

He is chaplain to the Jewish Police Association,[10] and until 2018[11] chaired the Accord Coalition,[12] which he helped found[11] as an alliance of religious and non-religious groups committed to campaigning against religious discrimination in state-funded faith schools.

In 2014 he established Inter-faith leaders for Dignity in Dying (IFDiD),[13] an inter-faith group of clergy, now numbering 50 leaders of many religious affiliations who support the aims of Dignity in Dying. The group calls for a change in the law that would allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults the choice of an having themselves die.[14]

Actions and views

In July 2014, Romain welcomed Lord Carey's support for the Assisted Dying Bill, describing the former archbishop of Canterbury's intervention in the debate as "a breath of fresh air" and saying that Carey's change of view on the issue showed "it is possible to be both religious and in favour of assisted dying".[15]

In 2013, he launched a campaign for recognition of Judaism in China.[16]

His perspective on same-sex marriage is that marriage should be open to all.[17] He argues that "anyone who takes sacred religious texts literally needs to move on with the times... The Bible is not the literal word of God, but the inspiration of God, as perceived by people of that era and subject to the limitations of the period. It, therefore, has to constantly adapt according to new knowledge and new insights."[18]

He supports the legalisation of brothels, referring to Genesis and pointing out that "it is not for nothing that it [prostitution] is known as the oldest profession", adding: "It may be more messianic to want to end the sex trade altogether, but perhaps it is more religious to seek to channel it safely."[19]

In 2014, on the issue of women becoming bishops in the Church of England he was quoted as saying: "Women have long been accepted as rabbis and have gone on to occupy positions of religious authority in both major synagogues and Jewish institutions. Those who thought Judaism would collapse when this happened have been proved resoundingly wrong and I am sure the same will be found in the Church."[20]

Honours

In 2003, he was appointed MBE for his pioneering work in helping mixed-faith couples nationally,[21] a theme covered in his book Till Faith Us Do Part (HarperCollins).[12]

Personal life

He is married to Rabbi Sybil Sheridan. They have four adult sons together.[22]

One of his sons, Benedict, died from drowning while on his honeymoon in the Philippines in January 2023.[23]

Publications

Books

  • Signs and Wonders: a new method of teaching Hebrew, Michael Goulston Educational Foundation (1985; New edition 1992) ISBN 0907372023 ISBN 978-0907372028
  • The Jews of England, Jewish Chronicle Publications (1988) ISBN 978-0-907372-04-2
  • Faith and Practice: A Guide to Reform Judaism Today, Reform Synagogues of Great Britain (1991) ISBN 9780947884086
  • (with Anne Kershen) Tradition and Change: A History of Reform Judaism in Britain 1840–1995, Reform Synagogues of Great Britain (1995) ISBN 0853033161 (hardback) ISBN 085303298X (paperback)
  • Till Faith Us Do Part: Couples Who Fall in Love Across the Religious Divide, HarperCollins (1996) ISBN 0006279252
  • Renewing the Vision, SCM Press (1996) ISBN 0334026571
  • Your God Shall Be My God: religious conversion in Britain today, SCM Press (2000) ISBN 0334028094 ISBN 978-0334028093
  • Reform Judaism and Modernity: A Reader, a survey of Reform theology, SCM Press (2004) ISBN 0334029481 ISBN 978-0334029489
  • God, Doubt and Dawkins, Movement for Reform Judaism (2008) ISBN 978-0947884-17-8
  • Really Useful Prayers, Movement for Reform Judaism (2009) ISBN 978-0-947884-20-8
  • Great Reform Lives, Movement for Reform Judaism (2010) ISBN 978-0947884215
  • A Passion for Judaism, Movement for Reform Judaism (2011) ISBN 978-0947884222
  • Royal Jews: A Thousand Years of Jewish Life in and Around the Royal County of Berkshire, Grenfell Publishing (2013) ISBN 978-0957698604
  • (as editor) Assisted Dying – Rabbinic Responses, Movement for Reform Judaism (2014)[24] ISBN 978-0947884246
  • Confessions of a Rabbi, Biteback Publishing (2017)[25] ISBN 978-1785901898

Newspaper articles

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b William D. Rubinstein; Michael Jolles; Hilary L. Rubinstein, eds. (2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 808. ISBN 978-1-4039-3910-4.
  2. ^ Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales
  3. ^ Jonathan Romain (9 October 2012). "A Jewish perspective on same-sex marriage". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  4. ^ Jonathan Romain (25 July 2011). "Forgiveness must be earned". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  5. ^ Romain's contributions to the Huffington Post
  6. ^ Naftali Brawer; Jonathan Romain (27 April 2012). "Can I accompany my friend to a suidice clinic?". The Jewish Chronicle. London. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain on The Big Questions: 18 February 2018". Movement for Reform Judaism. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain on Victoria Derbyshire". Movement for Reform Judaism. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  9. ^ Josh Jackman (23 January 2015). "Jonathan Romain made head of Reform Beit Din". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  10. ^ Jewish Police Association website
  11. ^ a b Jonathan Romain (12 February 2018). "Why I have campaigned to limit faith schools". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Accord Coalition welcomes Church of England anti-LGTB bullying guidance". Accord Coalition. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Jonathan Romain". London: Dignity in Dying. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  14. ^ "IFDiD: Religious support for assisted dying". Religious support. Campaign for Dignity in Dying. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Assisted dying: Ex-Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey backs bill". BBC News. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  16. ^ Ruth Gledhill and Omar Shahid (23 May 2013). "Rabbi campaigns for recognition of Judaism in China". The Times. London. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  17. ^ Edmund Broch (31 May 2012). "Rabbi Jonathan Romain chastises religious opponents of equal marriage". Pink News. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  18. ^ Jonathan Romain (9 October 2012). "A Jewish perspective on same-sex mariage". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  19. ^ Jonathan Romain (28 November 2013). "Ignore the French and Legalise Brothels". The Huffington Post. London. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  20. ^ John Bingham (17 November 2014). "Welby hails new beginning for Church as women bishops becomes law". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  21. ^ "Supplement no 1". The London Gazette (57155): 21. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2009. To be Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:— Dr. Jonathan Anidjar Romain. For services to Community Relations.
  22. ^ "Maidenhead Synagogue in The Times". Movement for Reform Judaism. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  23. ^ Reporter, Jewish News (25 January 2023). "Rabbi Jonathan Romain's son Benedict dies after drowning on honeymoon". www.jewishnews.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  24. ^ "A Debate on Assisted Dying". Events. Liberal Jewish Synagogue. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  25. ^ Grace Witherden (13 March 2017). "Confessions of a Rabbi book offers behind-the-scenes look at life of Maidenhead's Dr Jonathan Romain". Maidenhead Advertiser. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

Read other articles:

Beata PoźniakBeata Poźniak pada 2013LahirBeata Poźniak30 April 1960 (umur 63)Gdańsk, PolandiaPekerjaanPemeran, sutradara, produser, penulis, seniman, aktivisAnak1PenghargaanEarphones Award Beata Poźniak (pengucapan bahasa Polandia: [bɛˈat̪a pɔʑˈɲak]; lahir 30 April 1960) adalah seorang aktris, sutradara, penyair, pelukis dan narator pemenang Earphones Award asal Polandia. Ia juga merupakan aktivis HAM yang mendorong pengakuan resmi Hari Wanita Internasional di Amerika Serik…

1985 film For the 1979 film, see Agniparvatham. Agni ParvatamPosterTeluguఅగ్ని పర్వతం Directed byK. Raghavendra RaoWritten byParuchuri BrothersProduced byC. Ashwini DuttStarringKrishnaVijayashantiRadha SatyanarayanaJaggayyaRao Gopal RaoPrabhakar ReddySharadaPoornimaCinematographyK. S. PrakashEdited byKotagiri Venkateswara RaoMusic byK. ChakravarthyRelease date 11 January 1985 (1985-01-11) Running time143 min.CountryIndiaLanguageTelugu Agni Parvatam (transl.&#…

Президентский штандарт на катере во время парада, Санкт-Петербург, 2020 год.Копия штандарта президента на Aurus Senat Limousine (41231SB). Символы президентской власти — предметы, которые являются официальными символами власти президента Российской Федерации. Символы президентской …

Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s.[citation needed][1][2] It was based in the west of England and was originally known as George Parnall & Co. Ltd.[3] History Memorial to the 52 killed in German air raids on 27 February 1941 at Parnall Aircraft in Yate In 1916, the Bristol based Parnall & Sons shopfitters sta…

American academic, homeopathic physician, and politician Royal Copeland redirects here. For another person, see Royal Copeland (Canadian football). Senator Copeland redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Copeland (disambiguation). Royal S. CopelandCopeland in 1923United States Senatorfrom New YorkIn officeMarch 4, 1923 – June 17, 1938Preceded byWilliam M. CalderSucceeded byJames M. MeadMayor of Ann Arbor, MichiganIn office1901–1903Preceded byGottlob LuickSucceeded byArthur Brow…

For other uses, see Grand Street. New York City Subway station in Brooklyn New York City Subway station in Brooklyn, New York Grand Street  New York City Subway station (rapid transit)Southbound platformStation statisticsAddressGrand Street & Bushwick AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11211BoroughBrooklynLocaleWilliamsburgCoordinates40°42′43″N 73°56′27″W / 40.711906°N 73.940735°W / 40.711906; -73.940735DivisionB (BMT)[1]Line   BMT Canarsi…

Si ce bandeau n'est plus pertinent, retirez-le. Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus. Cet article ne s'appuie pas, ou pas assez, sur des sources secondaires ou tertiaires (mai 2023). Pour améliorer la vérifiabilité de l'article ainsi que son intérêt encyclopédique, il est nécessaire, quand des sources primaires sont citées, de les associer à des analyses faites par des sources secondaires. Si ce bandeau n'est plus pertinent, retirez-le. Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus. Cet article doit être…

Gaurotes Gaurotes virginea Klasifikasi ilmiah Kerajaan: Animalia Filum: Arthropoda Kelas: Insecta Ordo: Coleoptera Famili: Cerambycidae Genus: Gaurotes Gaurotes adalah genus kumbang tanduk panjang yang tergolong famili Cerambycidae. Genus ini juga merupakan bagian dari ordo Coleoptera, kelas Insecta, filum Arthropoda, dan kingdom Animalia. Larva kumbang dalam genus ini biasanya mengebor ke dalam kayu dan dapat menyebabkan kerusakan pada batang kayu hidup atau kayu yang telah ditebang. Referensi …

RS Citra Medika DepokPemerintah Kota DepokGeografiLokasiJalan Raya Kalimulya №68, Kalimulya, Kec. Cilodong, Kota Depok, Jawa Barat 16413OrganisasiJenisCAfiliasi dengan universitasDinas Kesehatan Kota DepokSejarahDibuka21 Agustus 2009Pranala luarSitus webWebsite resmi RS Citra Medika Depok adalah sebuah rumah sakit swasta yang berada di Kota Depok, Jawa Barat. Didirikan pada tanggal 21 Agustus 2009 atas prakarsa PT Citra Medika Lestari Jaya.[1] Sejarah Rumah sakit ini dibangun dikarenak…

Archaeological culture practiced by Native Americans living on the central Gulf coast Florida Map of the approximate area of the Safety Harbor archaeological culture. The Safety Harbor culture was an archaeological culture practiced by Native Americans living on the central Gulf coast of the Florida peninsula, from about 900 CE until after 1700. The Safety Harbor culture is defined by the presence of Safety Harbor ceramics in burial mounds. The culture is named after the Safety Harbor site, whic…

U.S. National Championships 1921 Sport Tennis Data 9 settembre - 19 settembre (uomini)15 agosto - 20 agosto (donne) Edizione 41ª Categoria Grande Slam (ITF) Località Filadelfia, New York e Chestnut Hill, USA Campioni Singolare maschile Bill Tilden Singolare femminile Molla Bjurstedt Mallory Doppio maschile Bill Tilden / Vincent Richards Doppio femminile Mary Browne / Louise Riddell Williams Doppio misto Mary Browne / Bill Johnston 1920 1922 Gli U.S. National Championships 1921 (conosciuti oggi…

XDA DevelopersURLxda-developers.comTipesitus web Bersifat komersial?YaPendaftaranDibutuhkanBahasaInggrisBahasa pemrogramanPHP Mesin perangkat lunakXenForo PemilikPeter Poelman, Kemudian JB Online Media LLCBerdiri sejak2003 Peringkat Alexa▲ 533 (May 2017[update])[1] XDA Developers (juga dikenal hanya sebagai XDA; sering disebut juga sebagai xda-developer) adalah komunitas pengembangan aplikasi perangkat lunak dengan jumlah anggota lebih dari 6,6 juta[2] di seluruh dunia,…

Cet article est une ébauche concernant une unité ou formation militaire française. Vous pouvez partager vos connaissances en l’améliorant (comment ?) selon les recommandations des projets correspondants. 5e régiment de chasseurs à cheval Création 1675 Dissolution 1994 Pays France Branche Armée de Terre Type Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval Rôle Cavalerie légère Garnison Périgueux Ancienne dénomination d'Audigeau-DragonsChasseurs du HainautChasseurs d'AngoulêmeChasseurs du Ca…

2020 California ballot proposition Proposition 18 November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03) Allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primaries and special electionsResults Choice Votes % Yes 7,514,317 43.96% No 9,577,807 56.04% Valid votes 17,092,124 96.10% Invalid or blank votes 693,027 3.90% Total votes 17,785,151 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 22,047,448 80.67% For   60%–70%   50%–60% Against   80%–90% …

习近平 习近平自2012年出任中共中央总书记成为最高领导人期间,因其废除国家主席任期限制、开启总书记第三任期、集权统治、公共政策与理念、知识水平和自述经历等争议,被中国大陸及其他地区的民众以其争议事件、个人特征及姓名谐音创作负面称呼,用以恶搞、讽刺或批评习近平。对习近平的相关负面称呼在互联网上已经形成了一种活跃、独特的辱包亚文化。 权力類 …

Володимир Володимирович Бородянський Володимир Володимирович БородянськийМіністр культури України Володимир Бородянський на Форумі Єдності у Маріуполі, 30 жовтня 2019.16-й Міністр культури, молоді та спорту України 29 серпня 2019 — 4 березня 2020Прем'єр-міністр Олексій Гон…

Detail of a statue of Thomas Huet by Richard Lockwood Boulton on the Translators' Memorial (1888–1892), St Asaph Cathedral[1] Thomas Huet (died 19 August 1591) was a Welsh clergyman and translator of the Bible. Life Huet, who was probably from Brecknockshire, Wales originally, is recorded as being a member of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1544.[2] He was Master of the College of the Holy Trinity, Pontefract when it was dissolved. Between 1559 and 1565, he was appointed t…

此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2019年11月11日)请协助補充多方面可靠来源以改善这篇条目,无法查证的内容可能會因為异议提出而被移除。致使用者:请搜索一下条目的标题(来源搜索:格物致知 — 网页、新闻、书籍、学术、图像),以检查网络上是否存在该主题的更多可靠来源(判定指引)。 “格物致知”思想不是新鲜事,早在孔子时期就已产生 儒家 儒家思想仁 · 義…

العلاقات البولندية الكمبودية بولندا كمبوديا   بولندا   كمبوديا تعديل مصدري - تعديل   العلاقات البولندية الكمبودية هي العلاقات الثنائية التي تجمع بين بولندا وكمبوديا.[1][2][3][4][5] مقارنة بين البلدين هذه مقارنة عامة ومرجعية للدولتين: وجه المقارن…

La biblioteca Central de San Francisco (EE. UU.). La Biblioteca Pública de San Francisco es un sistema de bibliotecas públicas que presta sus servicios a la ciudad de San Francisco. La biblioteca Central está en la zona administrativa de San Francisco, en la calle Larkin, esquina con la calle Grove. La primera biblioteca pública de San Francisco se inauguró oficialmente en 1879, justo 30 años después de la Fiebre del Oro de California. Desde entonces ha cambiado de ubicación varias veces…

Kembali kehalaman sebelumnya