Anthony Michael "Tony" Bayfield
is a
Reform
Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
rabbi
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 of t ...
and former President of the
Movement for Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) 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 relat ...
,
the second largest organisation of synagogues in Britain.
Early life and education
Bayfield was born in 1946
in
Ilford, Essex
Ilford is a large town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a population of 168,168 in 2011, compared to 303,858 for the ...
(now in
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
), the elder son of Sheila (née Mann) and Ron Bayfield, a head teacher.
He was educated at the
Royal Liberty Grammar School in
Romford
Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...
and
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
. He studied law and had a doctoral place at the
Cambridge Institute of Criminology
The Institute of Criminology is the criminological research institute within the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The Institute is one of the oldest criminological research institutes in Europe, and has exerted a strong influence ...
and then moved to the
Leo Baeck College
Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner va ...
to train as a rabbi. He received rabbinic ordination (''
semicha
''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism.
The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...
h'') in 1972
from rabbis
John Rayner
Rabbi John Desmond Rayner (30 May 1924 – 19 September 2005) was a Berlin-born British Liberal Jewish rabbi.
Early life
He was born in Berlin as Hans Sigismund Rahmer in 1924. He left Berlin in 1939 on one of the last Kindertransports. The K ...
,
Hugo Gryn and
Louis Jacobs
Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer, Jewish theologian, and rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as the "Jacobs Affair" in the Bri ...
.
Career
After ten years as a congregational rabbi at
North West Surrey Synagogue
The North West Surrey Synagogue is a Reform Judaism, Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Oatlands Drive in Weybridge, Surrey, England, in the United Kingdom. The community was founded in 1968 and is a member of the Movement for ...
, Bayfield became director of the
Sternberg Centre
The Sternberg Centre for Judaism, in East End Road, Finchley, London, is a campus hosting a number of Jewish institutions, built around the 18th-century Finchley manor house.
It was founded to facilitate a number of Reform and Liberal Jewish ...
for Judaism in
Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon.
It is ...
in 1985.
He was head of the
Movement for Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) 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 relat ...
from 1994 (when the organisation was known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain) until 2011.
From 2011 to 2016 he was President of the organisation.
Honours and awards
Bayfield was awarded a
CBE in the 2011 New Year Honours List for services to
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
.
London's National Portrait Gallery holds a photographic portrait of him by
Don McCullin
Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the Social documentary photograph ...
.
Personal life
Tony Bayfield married Linda Rose, a teacher and Jewish educator in 1969; she died in 2003. In 2011, he met Jacqueline Fisher, whom he married in a small ceremony in June 2021.
Bayfield has three children
and six grandchildren. His younger daughter,
Miriam Berger, received ''semichah'' in July 2006 and is a respected rabbi in her own right.
Bayfield is a member of
Finchley Reform Synagogue
Finchley Reform Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 101 Fallow Court Avenue, North Finchley, in the Borough of Barnet in London, England, in the United Kingdom.
The congregation is a member of the Movement for Re ...
(FRS).
Publications
Bayfield is a specialist in modern Jewish thought and contemporary
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
. He also specialises in Jewish-Christian and
Jewish-Muslim dialogue and has published quite widely in this area. Bayfield has also written about
Christian–Jewish reconciliation
Christian−Jewish reconciliation refers to the efforts that are being made to improve understanding and acceptance between Christians and Jews. There has been significant progress in reconciliation in recent years, in particular by the Catholic C ...
.
Works
*''Prejudice (Jewish responses)'' (1973). London: Michael Goulston Educational Foundation
*''Churban: The murder of the Jews of Europe (Jewish responses)'' (1981). London: Michael Goulston Educational Foundation
*''Sinai, Law and Responsible Autonomy: Reform Judaism and the Halakhic Tradition'' (1993). London:
Reform Synagogues of Great Britain
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) 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 relat ...
* (with Sidney Brichto and Eugene Fisher) ''He Kissed Him and They Wept: Towards a Theology of Jewish-Catholic Partnership'' (2001). London:
SCM Press
SCM Press is a British publisher of theology, originally linked to the Student Christian Movement. The company was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1997.
In 2018, ''Church Times'' reported that 100 titles from SCM Press and Canterbury ...
* (with Tony Brayfield and Marcus Braybrooke) ''Dialogue With a Difference: Manor House Group Experience'' (1992). London:
SCM Press
SCM Press is a British publisher of theology, originally linked to the Student Christian Movement. The company was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1997.
In 2018, ''Church Times'' reported that 100 titles from SCM Press and Canterbury ...
*"September 11: The Case Against Us All" in Roger Boase (ed.) ''Islam and Global Dialogue – Religious Pluralism and the Pursuit of Peace'' (2005),
Farnham, Surrey
Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the administrative counties of England, county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the ...
:
Ashgate Publishing
Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...
* (with Alan Race and Abdullah Siddiqui, eds.) ''Beyond the Dysfunctional Family: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Dialogue With Each Other and With Britain'' (2012) London:
CreateSpace
On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, was a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, So ...
*''Being Jewish Today – Confronting the Real Issues'' (2019). London:
Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...
References
Sources
* The
Movement for Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) 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 relat ...
* ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayfield, Tony
1946 births
Living people
20th-century British rabbis
21st-century British rabbis
Alumni of Leo Baeck College
Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
British Reform rabbis
Christian and Jewish interfaith dialogue
Christian–Islamic–Jewish interfaith dialogue
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Jewish English writers
People educated at the Royal Liberty Grammar School
People from Ilford
20th-century English writers
20th-century English male writers
21st-century English writers