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Drawing mainly on the Anglo-Jewish periodical press, it appears that Jewish writers were generally supportive of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Having been chastised on many occassions as anti-intellectual, Jews could portray themselves as traditionally siding with science and rationality at a time when many Christians strenuously opposed evolution. Yet Alfred Henriques was alone in perceiving that Darwin’s theory was as damaging to traditional Judaism as it was to mainstream Christianity. Following Henriques, Claude Goldsmid Montefiore and others pressed for the development of a modern form of Judaism — what became Liberal Judaism — that could encompass an evolutionary account of the physical world. Among the scientific community, Raphael Meldola — who looked to Darwin as his mentor — was the leading Jewish evolutionist.

Jewish same-sex wedding ceremonies in Canada assert both the legal entitlements that have recently been affirmed as permanent for all Canadians and the long contested for space within liberal Judaism that has made room for homosexual Jews. Drawing from fieldwork with rabbis and Jewish lesbians in the Toronto area and the work of authors in the U.S., the chapter delves into the significance of the wedding as a cultural performance and its transformative potential once the battle for equal marriage rights is won. By examining liturgy, ritual symbols and elements of Jewish marriage, it is discussed how ceremonies for same-sex couples can adhere to, depart from and innovate the traditional ritual formula. Arguing that same-sex weddings are structurally identical to an egalitarian opposite-sex ceremony, and that religious sanctioning is no longer an alternative to civil recognition, it is suggested that the absence of self-conscious ritual elements enables greater social receptivity for extending religious understandings of marriage. The emphasis for Jewish couples is on maintaining religious continuity rather than being revolutionary. Necessarily altered Jewish ceremonies are not understood as performances of resistance but rather gestures of conformity that link couples to their families, communities, and the ongoing story of the Jewish people.

This chapter looks at the role of Judaism in late nineteenth-century culture, focussing on the life of Lily Montagu, whose importance lies in her activism and the unique way that she brought her faith (liberal Jewish) and her politics (socialist) into productive relationship. Montagu’s unorthodox career-path is traced and her social work and theology mapped in relation to larger debates about the Sabbath and sweated industries, at a time of heightened anxiety that Jewry was riven by a socialism in its midst. The chapter shows how models for female independence were in practice more varied than those represented in the press.

This chapter assesses how the Jews of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands dealt with the unprecedented religious, educational, and cultural needs of their diverse constituents. The sharp increase in the number of alienated and unaffiliated Jews was a source of deep concern to rabbis and religious educators. In response, Orthodox institutions initiated liturgical changes that they hoped would make religious services more attractive. Liberal Judaism also made new inroads. Many young Jews had lived through the war years without any access to Jewish learning or Jewish communal life. In addressing the needs of this ‘lost’ generation, local Jewish educators not only had to develop innovative pedagogical techniques, such as informal classes, public lectures and discussion groups, and the use of radio, television, and film but also had to find ways of reintegrating young people into Jewish and general society. Thanks to funds received from the Claims Conference in the early 1950s and with the assistance of teachers and curricula supplied by American and Israeli agencies, Jewish pedagogues, rabbis, and administrators in western Europe not only formulated creative strategies to educate children, but also set about training new administrators, spiritual leaders, and schoolteachers.

This chapter examines the historical and sociological context of Orthodox Jewish women in London, and applies concepts of community to analyse the religious geography of Orthodox Jews in Britain. The term 'community' is used by British Jews, generally in one of two distinct senses: the first, refers to all Jews who identify as Jews and participate in Jewish activities, the second, indicates a particular subgroup, the members of a particular synagogue. Most Jews who identify as belonging to the Jewish community also belong to several of these 'subcommunities,' all of which overlap with family and social circles within the Jewish and wider communities, and most of which are not mutually exclusive. Community affiliation thus exists at several levels and in several modes, with an individual's particular combination of networks and community memberships providing basic parameters of his or her individual Jewish identity. This complex, layered character of modern Jewish identity complicates the definition of the term 'Orthodox'. Current denominations include Liberal Judaism and Reform Judaism; Masorti Judaism; and Orthodox Judaism. Earlier tensions between traditional expectations for women and new ideas about their role in the wider society were reflected in developments within the British Jewish community: the foundation of Liberal Judaism. Orthodoxy has been slow to respond. The very word 'feminist' carries negative connotations in most Orthodox communities, even among women who profess strongly feminist views in economic and political matters.