Minutes of a meeting of the Cardiff New Synagogue Ladies' Guild 20 September 1976, Cardiff

Description

Minutes of a meeting of the Cardiff New Synagogue Ladies' Guild held on 20 September 1976 in Cardiff. The minutes refer to a number of recent and forthcoming charity events and initiatives, such as the WIZO Minimarket and a coffee evening (in aid of the new Interfaith Association , "of which Rabbi Graf is the Founder Member"). The minutes also refer to hospitality for the singers engaged for the Synagogue's High Holiday services and the arrangements for decorating the Succah (the temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot). The minutes are included in a Cardiff New Synagogue Ladies' Guild Minute Book, 1972-1979.

The Women's International Zionist Organization ("WIZO") is a non-party/apolitical international movement dedicated to the advancement of the status of women, welfare for all sectors of Israeli society, and encouragement of Jewish education.

The Cardiff New Synagogue Ladies' Guild, a women-only volunteer group, was established in 1950. The ladies of the Guild organised religious, fund raising and social activities for the Synagogue - from the annual garden parties, to the food of festivals and to talks held in members' homes, as well as acts of tzedakah (justice or charity) and community welfare. The Ladies' Guild ceased to exist in 1986. In its place, a new guild formed that was open to both men and women, which focussed more on fundraising for the Synagogue.

The Cardiff Reform Synagogue was founded in 1948 as the Cardiff New Synagogue. The following year, it became a constituent member of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Born in reaction against the more restrictive traditions of the Orthodox Judaism of Cardiff Hebrew Congregation, such as the prohibition of driving on the Sabbath and the ban on interfaith marriages, the new Synagogue appealed to immigrants who had fled war-torn Europe, where the Reform movement was already well-established. The congregation worships in a converted Methodist Chapel on Moira Terrace, acquired in 1952. Rabbi Graf served as a rabbi of the Cardiff Reform Synagogue from 1949 to 1980.

Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/card1/index.htm);
http://www.wizo.org/who-we-are/our-vision.html.

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.