British Jews consist of citizens that identify as Judaism consisting of a small percentage of the overall religious population. The first record of the religion was recorded in 1970 by William, the conqueror who aimed at using commercial skills to make British prosperous. As such, Jews became an instrumental element in the British economy as they were permitted to loan money, which Christians were not allowed to do at the time. Jews settled in valuable towns of London, Norwich, and Lincoln, who prospered due to the areas' central location. Because most England Jews were equipped with skills and knowledge, they became successful doctors. Goldsmith's and poets. However, in 1290 they were expelled due to Christians' change of attitude and the demise of protection by the crown, bringing an end to special treatment. They later returned following the invitation by Oliver Cromwell in the late 1650s. According to Fuhr (2016), there are an estimated 300,000 Jews in United Kingdom representing 0.4% of Britain's entire population. The slow population growth is attributed to the rise of other Christian religions and mortality. Despite their numbers, they have a constitutive group identity, which gives a sense of belonging.
The Jewish community in the UK is organized into either cultural or secular affiliates of the religion. Indeed, Critchell (2020) outlines that 24% of British Jews are cultural, 18% progressive, 12% Orthodox, and 4% ultra-orthodox or Haedi. For the traditional or orthodox, they adhere to traditional beliefs and adherence to festivals. For example, some choose to cover their heads while women dress modestly by avoiding wearing trousers and tight clothing. Half of the believers affiliate themselves with the synagogue. These include the United Synagogue, the movement for Reform Judaism, and Synagogues' federation as the main synagogue movements. The Jewish cultural holds on to Jewish practice's traditional identity, with the Haredi Jews adhering the most to the rule. For orthodox Jews, they believe in the Torah's laws, and it’s the application in worship. Nonetheless, the United Synagogue in the UK is dominant and less centralized to suit the British environs. Also, the Board of Jews in British organizations is consistent with persons that independent of unity.
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The religion is also has different territorial mixtures and non-territorial based institutions. The territorial Jews have clear boundaries with division into oases and deserts where the world has a core shifting periphery as it fades into the deserted areas. The desert belongs to no one but can change through the internal supply of water through the Oasis. They also strictly observe the majority, if not all, of the religious practices. On the other hand, the non-territorial have the popular idea of creating Israel state of the 1960’s and envision of Jewish autonomy in Europe. In essence they pursue autonomy of homogeneity in leadership and religion with the belief that Judaism is the true religion.
In keeping the practices in accordance with the Torah, the British Jews adhere to Brit Milah, which is the covenant of circumcision. According to Gechtman (2016), When Jews follow this practice, they follow every generation of the Jewish men to the religion dating back to Abraham. It is the pathway into which they enter into an agreement with God and an expression of identity as a Jew and strong faith. With modernity in place, the institution requires that the process be exclusively surgical per instructions. The practitioner or the trained person who carries out the procedure is known as Mohel, who is also recognized under the United Kingdom Medical Council concerning religious and social-cultural practices.
In building and maintaining their connection with God, both traditional and progressive British Jews observe prayers' essentiality in their practices. They pray thrice a day, which includes morning, afternoon, and in the evening before nightfall. During those times, they segregate themselves in a quiet place to offer their prayers to God. However, they still adhere to a quorum of ten men under the orthodox tradition for the traditional believers. With some prayers requiring recital, believers decide how to conduct their service to account for this fact. Even in grief cases, they respect the dead and pray throughout the process while adhering to Shiva, especially for the cultural believers.
As a monotheistic faith, they believe in one God who is eternal and all-knowing where congregational prayers occur in the Synagogues. On Mondays, Thursdays, and Holydays, they meet in the synagogue where the readings are carried out from Torah's book. Temples also provide a more personal aspect of the religion where individuals can gather and share specific organization units and themselves more in-depth. The head of the Synagogues is the congregational Rabbis, who are appointed and approved under Ashkenazic's authority as the Chief Rabii. For instance, the current Rabii is Ephraim Mirvis, who has held the post since 2012. Within the communities, the board deputies of British Jews are democratically elected, with over 300 Synagogues represented in the process (Lavinia, 2013). The board president is highly valued and occupied the top leadership spot who presides over the Jewish community organized work and airs the community grievances to the government and the media. The office is considered the voice of the Jewish people in England.
Also, they adhere to celebration of festivals, eat specific foods, and keep the Sabbath day holy. Lavinia (2013) argues that UK Jews respect the Jewish day of rest, which begins on Friday and lasts 25 hours till after dark. As such, they refrain from work as required by the Jewish law in correlation with God's cessation of work. The Sabbath in the U.k begins at 3.30.p.m, which varies according to dates and locations of believers. Similarly, the festivals start before dusk the previous day. The celebrations include the Passover, Pentecost, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Shavuot. The traditional British Jews celebrate all the thirteen festivals while the secular Jews practice seven of those. Additionally, to keep themselves sustained, conventional British Jews eat Kosher food, which has restrictions on the kinds of meat to take and combinations that go together. Some also opt to be vegetarians to observe the religious aspect. Despite having a small number of Jewish people, Kosher food is available in major cities and stores in the UK, which gives them a sense of belonging.
With a close-knit community held together by faith and practices, Judaism offers a sense of identity for the immigrants. Although they believe in one God, they also believe every individual can have a personal relationship with him, influencing people, and the world. In essence, they have a covenant with God through his laws and holiness, an equal binding aspect for all Jews across the United Kingdom. Various activities also spread out, which every individual must do, which builds a close bond to all. For instance, practices such as circumcision bonds families together while the Sabbath gives a sense of oneness. As Lavinia (2013) outlines, the Jewish prayer book uses we and ours, which creates a pooled connection compared to the use of I or mine. In their faith in God, they are reminded that they are family interconnected in holiness based on judgment based on how well they live the life in honor of God.
In the United Kingdom, Nationals convert to the faith because of individual motivation to join a different religion. Staetsky and Jonathan (2014) outline that the London Beth Din administers various applications for people looking to convert in the UK. The application process involves a formal application by waiting to Beth Din with a family background who makes the assessment and sets a meeting that expects the applicant to be part of an orthodox Jewish infrastructure. For some, they have researched the faith and figured it serves their religious interest and dedication which informs the decision to shift to a different faith.
Still for some believers, they convert for family reasons as inspired by spouses or family members. Romantic relationships motivate non-believers to convert because Judaism would not allow intermarriage as they require similar spiritual practice with among spouses. Also, for those who could be having one parent who is Jewish and one nonjewish, which informs the decision to seek the Jewish faith. Still, the London Beth Din has a positive attitude towards conversion who sincerely accepts those willing to convert genuinely and respectfully. However, upon acceptance into the faith, the person is considered fully Jewish in every form, which means they have to instantly observe the Jewish ways and become part of the Jewish people. For instance, since the faith does not allow intermarriages to non-Jewish persons, upon conversion, the new member must observe Mitzvot, which includes beliefs and practices of the Jewish faith. The beliefs and practices are based on mutual tolerance and respect for others which correlates with British values. They also believe that God is the ultimate judge of actions, and therefore every person can behave as they dim fit. Similarly, the British values acknowledge diverse beliefs and values, as reflected in their various cultural society.
Additionally, individuals are at liberty to make their own decisions as long as they are within the law's constraints. For instance, rights and freedoms have to be respected as people make independent choices that appeal to their lives. Although British Jews disagree with same-sex marriages, they tolerate existence with people who identify as such with the belief that God will be the judge. Still, hate is not the ideal way of life since every member of society is equal in God's eyes. According to Staetsky and Jonathan (2014), 20% of British Jews believe racism has increased in the last five years, not a reflection of what is ideal for the British.
Democracy in selecting religious leaders' election correlates with the British values where elections adhere to the rule of law and respect for people's decisions. Jews elect their leaders, such as the chief rabbi, who outlines the Jewish people's standing to bring a positive outcome to the country. For instance, speaking against anti-Semitism that brings hate towards Jews. Although a monarch's existence disempowers most of the United Kingdom voters, they have a voice to vote for parliament members as long as they are 18 years old and above. The same applies to schools where students have to vote for their won leaders to represent their affairs. On the other hand, Jewish schools play a significant role in installing values that bring out the most law-abiding citizens in society (Khattab, 2015). They also respect the democracy of other nations. They believe they will have their share in God's kingdom. Hence, violence against other people or countries is unacceptable because God's love and Grace do not guide it.
References
Fuhr, C. (2016). Vicarious Group Trauma among British Jews. Qualitative Sociology , 39 (3), 309-330.
Gechtman, R. (2016). Jews and Non-Territorial Autonomy: Political Programmes and Historical Perspectives. Ethnopolitics , 15 (1), 66-88.
Critchell, K. (2020). ‘Proud to be British; and proud to be Jewish’: the holocaust and British values in the twenty-first century. Holocaust Studies , 26 (1), 85-107.
Khattab, N. (2015). Have British Jews fully assimilated in the UK Labour Market?. International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences , 4 (2), 121-148.
Lavinia C.S. (2013). Guide to Judaism. Center for philosophical and religious studies.UK: Oxford.
Staetsky .D. & Jonathan B. (2014). The Exceptional Case?Perceptions and experiences of anti-semitism among Jews in the United Kingdom. https://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/Perceptions_and_experiences_of_antisemitism_among_Jews_in_UK.pdf
