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Bradford Synagogue is a synagogue at 7 Bowland Street in Bradford,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...
, affiliated with the
Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...
. It adopted its present name in 2018. The synagogue is still used for Shabbat and major festivals although the community is small and has been in decline for some years. Friday night dinners are held as well as a communal seder for Passover.


Architecture

The synagogue building is
Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
. Architecturally, Bradford is a very rare and well-preserved, small-scale, provincial synagogue built in "Oriental" style. It is perhaps the most notable example in British synagogue architecture of the 19th-century fashion for "Orientalism" – both inside and out.


History

Bradford, the third Reform synagogue to be established in the United Kingdom, is the second oldest surviving Reform synagogue in the UK and its establishment predated the building of an Orthodox synagogue in the town. The foundation stone was laid in 1880 and the community was founded by one of the first Reform
rabbis A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
in Britain, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Strauss. Construction was completed in 1881. Aged 28 and with a Rabbinic diploma, he was appointed as the first Rabbi in Bradford in 1873, being welcomed by the community at a general meeting on 31 October of that year. Rabbi Strauss led the community from 1873 to 1922. The decline of the local Jewish community meant that the synagogue faced financial difficulties and a meeting was held in June 2009 where the community agreed to the sale of its building as “a very last resort”. Subsequent to this meeting funding was secured that enabled the community to continue using the current building. This was supported by the local Muslim community.


Notable people

German-born Jews played an important role in the development of the local woollen trade and Jewish merchants from central Europe took advantage of the climate of economic and political freedom in Bradford. Jacob Moser (1839–1922), born in Denmark, was a founder of the Reform congregation and ardent early Zionist, and became mayor of Bradford. He was a member of the Zionist Central Council, the Anglo-Palestinian Corporation and supported the Jewish National Fund, giving 50,000 francs to help found the first Hebrew High School in Jaffa in 1907. He also supported the large and poor Jewish community in
Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
. Moser was one of the founders of the Bradford Charity Organisation Society and the City Guild of Help. He served on the board of the British Royal Infirmary from 1883 and contributed £5,000 to the local fund for the building of a new institution. He provided £10,000 in 1898 as a benevolent fund for the aged and infirm of the city; he also supported the local children’s hospital, donated 12,000 books to Bradford Central Library and was involved in
Bradford Technical College The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...
, the
Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...
and the Bradford Scientific Association.


See also

*
List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom This is a list of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom, including synagogues, yeshivotA yeshiva (Hebrew: ישיבה) is a centre for the study of Torah and the Talmud in Orthodox Judaism. and Hebrew schools. For a list of buildings which ...
*
Movement for Reform Judaism Reform Judaism (formally the Movement for Reform Judaism and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005) is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively ...


References


External links


Bradford Reform Synagogue website

The Movement for Reform Judaism

British Listed Buildings
{{Bradford 1880 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Bradford German-Jewish culture in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in West Yorkshire Grade II* listed religious buildings and structures Manningham, Bradford Moorish Revival architecture in the United Kingdom Moorish Revival synagogues Reform synagogues in the United Kingdom Religious buildings and structures in West Yorkshire Synagogues completed in 1881 Synagogues in England