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https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...ewish-22498201
Numbers might be falling but Wales' welcoming and enduring Jewish history is far from over
First Minister Mark Drakeford was among the guests at the menorah-lighting ceremony at Cardiff Castle on the final night of Hannukah in December 2021
When members of Cardiff’s two synagogues gathered at Cardiff Castle to light the menorah on the last night of Hanukkah it felt like a historic occasion.
After nearly two years without meeting in person the Jewish community stood together in the heart of the city. The final candle was lit and Cardiff’s Jewish heritage was proudly displayed before the public.
But under the surface the city’s synagogues are facing issues that could threaten their continued existence.
“I came here in 1985,” says Professor David Cohen, leader of the executive committee of Cardiff Reform Synagogue’s Council.
“When I joined on the High Holy Days you couldn’t get a seat up in the balcony – the place was packed.
“Those days are gone. You don’t get that anymore. The Jewish population of south Wales has declined dramatically.”
However his is quick to point out: “We’re not a dead community. We’re a shrinking community, and that brings its own issues, but we do still have life in us.”
Cardiff Reform is part of the Movement for Reform Judaism, a modern denomination which envisions a Jewish community that “evolves to face the future”.
As well as attending the public ceremony Cardiff Reform also gathered on Zoom for a virtual Hanukkah party.
But Professor Cohen remembers the parties looking very different when his children were growing up. “Every family would bring their menorah and we would have a mass lighting. The synagogue would bring a big brass one and someone would say the blessings.
“Kids would be running around and there would be doughnuts and games and quizzes – it literally was a party. We still called it one but this year’s wasn’t a party.”
Cardiff Reform has returned to in-person services for Shabbat but numbers are a problem. When the synagogue started doing services over Zoom in lockdown attendance actually increased, with members finding it easier to join online as they no longer had to travel into Cardiff.
However Lionel Bernstein, Cardiff Reform’s senior warden in charge of services, says: “We’ve been victims of our own success.”
He says that people prefer to join via Zoom and that on Shabbat morning they struggle to get a minyan – the 10 people required for a formal prayer service – in person.
Professor Cohen says: “Zoom is not a substitute for the old days. It’s not easy to socialise on Zoom. You can’t go off in the corner and have a chat with someone.”
The bigger picture here is a crisis of numbers. Cardiff Reform’s community is getting older and Jewish people are no longer moving to Cardiff in the numbers they once were.
Mr Bernstein also feels that London-based Jewish families see Wales as being too distant to move to. As he puts it: “It’s always been further from London to Cardiff than Cardiff to London.”
This lack of attendance means Cardiff Reform is struggling to run its children’s cheder classes, and is also, as Professor Cohen puts it, “between rabbis”.
New rabbinic graduates are often snapped up quickly by synagogues with young, thriving communities and there are worries that Cardiff Reform could struggle to attract a rabbi and to afford a full-time salary.
To find out where this downturn began you have to look to the history books.
Dr Cai Parry-Jones notes that the Jewish population of Wales was 5,000 in 1918 and was boosted by post-Holocaust immigration and Jewish families moving to Wales to share in the prosperity of the Welsh steel and coal industries.
But as the Valleys’ Jewish communities grew with these industries they shrank with them too and also struggled with ageing populations, intermarriage, and young people and families moving away.
As the 20th century continued many of Wales’ thriving synagogues closed their doors and their communities faded away. At best estimate Wales’ Jewish population is now around 1,400 people. Roughly one in 2,000 Welsh people are Jewish compared to one in 160 in England.
Historically Cardiff has fared well – with the members of declining Valleys Jewish communities flocking to the Welsh capital. Now, though, leaders worry that the factors behind Wales’ general Jewish decline are showing in Cardiff too.
Eddie Cawston, former chairman of Cardiff Reform, explains: “My son is living in Porth and he did his degree in Llanelli.
“But my daughter went to Liverpool for university and is now married and living in Borehamwood. Many young people have gone to university around the country, stayed there, and gotten married.”
As a result infrastructure also fades away. The last Jewish deli in Wales closed in 1992 and synagogues now have to rely on often-inconsistent delivery services for kosher food.
“The way things are going the community could end up like Swansea and Newport – very small, or nonexistent,” says Mr Cawston. “But the history won’t be lost.
“We have the Jewish History Assocation of South Wales – the documented data for the community will still be about in years to come.”
Across the city in Cyncoed a different Jewish community is facing another set of issues.
Cardiff United Synagogue is part of the United Kingdom’s main Orthodox Jewish movement. An important facet of Orthodox Judaism is halacha – the scriptural law that governs day-to-day life. Unlike Reform Judaism, Orthodox Judaism sees this as binding.
Among the many halachic rules are a list of prohibited activities on Shabbat including most uses of electronic devices. Zoom, therefore, was not an option, and Cardiff United went mostly quiet over lockdown.
Aidele Rose is the rebbetzin of Cardiff United – the rabbi’s wife. Her responsibilities include planning events, youth work, writing the synagogue newsletter, running the cheder, and hosting Friday night dinners in her home.
She says of the decision not to use Zoom: “Everything that we do we follow halacha whether it’s with regard to Covid, to Zoom, to anything. We answer to Torah and we answer to G-d. That comes first, above all else.
“The moment you start slipping those standards, it’s a landslide towards everything going.”
So Zoom is not an option – but rebbetzin Rose is still open to modernising the community within the rules of halacha.
This is especially clear when she speaks about this year’s public menorah-lighting, the most high-profile that the community has hosted.
“It was amazing, absolutely phenomenal,” she says. “We had well over 200 people attending and so many faith and civic leaders.”
She explains: “It’s one thing to be proud of being Jewish if you live in London but it’s another thing entirely to be living in Wales and to feel like the minority by far.
“What we wanted to accomplish, and did accomplish, was showing that we are proud to be Welsh and proud to be Jewish.”
She says: “We’ve received emails from people of all faiths saying how beautiful it was to be part of the ceremony and witness the way we celebrate.
“It was a beautiful display of what Hanukkah is about, adding more light to the world, and what we call Kiddush HaShem – glorifying and sanctifying G-d‘s name.”
Despite all the difficulties the Reform side of Cardiff is equally proud of its community.
“We had a bat miztvah recently,” says Professor Cohen. “It had been a year before that, when we last had one, but we filled the synagogue and it was such a pleasure.”
The Jewish community has faced its share of challenges over the years but Mr Cawston describes a spirit that will endure.
“Having moved down to Cardiff from Essex the one thing I will say is this community is the most welcoming one I’ve ever met,” he says.
“We found it very social and if you need help we’re a proper community and you get the help you need.”
Cardiff’s Jewish communities might be facing an uphill battle – but the city’s storied Jewish history is far from over.
Glossary of terms used in this article
Shabbat: The Jewish day of rest, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
Torah: The main holy text of Judaism.
Menorah: The candelabra used to celebrate Hanukkah. One candle is lit for each of the eight nights.
G-d: The traditional Jewish way of writing the Lord’s name in English, to treat it with the same respect it is given in Hebrew.
Kosher: The set of dietary rules governing the Jewish people who follow them.
Halacha: Scriptural rules governing Orthodox Judaism – including keeping Kosher and behaving in certain ways.
Minyan: The quorum of 10 adults required for Jewish prayer services.
High Holy Days: Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) and Yom Kippur (a day of atonement). Arguably the most important, and usually the best-attended, days in the Jewish calendar.
Cheder: Religious classes for Jewish children, usually held on Sundays.
Thank-you for posting, Yossi. It was a really good article though it was so sad to read of the Jewish community, or any community for that matter, to be in decline. Not too long ago Merthyr, also had a really thriving Jewish community. Below are some pages readers might like to read:
http://www.merthyr-history.com/?tag=jewish-community
https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Com.../personal1.htm
http://www.jtrails.org.uk/trails/mer...history?page=1
StT.
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Sad to read, but to be honest, you could say the same the same about every religious community in and around Cardiff. Most churches have dwindling congregations, and if it's a small group to start with, well, it's only going to get smaller.
Mr Schwartz the furniture shop was the last Jewish business to leave Merthyr in the late 70sOriginally Posted by Steve the Tea
I remember my old mum saying this town is over, it’s had its day….it had a great run though and I still love the place.
The synagogue in Merthyr is being renovated into a Jewish heritage centre. Lovely looking building and it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
This thread reminded me of growing up in Mountain Ash and Mr. Shumanski's shop in Oxford Street. I bought my first ever record there when I must have been about 11 or 12.
Found this link: https://cynonvalleymuseum.wales/wp-c...orgvuxmt5e.jpg
Also Victor Freed's shop in Aberdare - anyone else remember that?
There used to be a Jewish owned bra and knickers making factory up the valleys
God bless em
Lovely building that, glad to hear of that project.
There was once a fair concentration of Jewish communities/synagogues in South Wales, particularly the valleys a hundred years ago.
https://images.app.goo.gl/uzfRQgwuvvaB9FCz7
Polikoffs in Ynyswen?
300k an absolute bargain - I considered turning it into a recovery centre for Addiction but the wife didn’t fancy Wales.
Great read .
Religion does appear in decline in Cardiff outside of Islam and Catholicism in Cardiff .
Needed/needs loads of work. I'll be interested in seeing it restored as a heritage centre for Judaism. Some of its internal characteristics seemed very distinctive and would love to see it the character of the building renovated.
Addiction Centre in Merthyr? You'd have your hands full.
It’s a shame really the last thing Merthyr needs is another heritage site - got to start looking to the future.
Get what you're saying but I don't think that particular building lends itself to being anything else.
I know there's been a number of proposed uses for it but the numbers never stacked up.
The council were paying at one point to safeguard the building so were more than happy that the Jewish Heritage Foundation stumped money up to buy it. If they hadn't it still be empty with no proposed use.
Make a great club or live band venue.
Like the old Miners Hall (Charbonniers)?
By Jove, you never miss an opportunity to lower the tone of every discussion you poke your long hooter into. You really are an incorrigible rogue.
A reminder that I will be visiting you tomorrow morning. Be assured that I will be quick to remind you of Leicester City's latest game along with the result of yesterday evening's Brentford versus Man City encounter.
Let religion die ASAP - and all other man made fables of false hope.
On the other hand while around 95% of the population don't know the difference between religion and actual Christianity, the latter is thriving in Cardiff and many other parts of Wales and the UK.
As for the Jewish people, yes they are mainly returning back to their Land as has always been the plan......
‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ - Ezekiel 11:17
That's that one sorted then.
"my personal beliefs are not some silly religion, they are the truth"
Well obviously. All the hundreds of other world religions are a bunch of hokey pokey nonsense but MY religion is a sure fire thing. They wrote a book on it you know
As for the Jewish people, yes they are mainly returning back to their Land as has always been the plan.. ( and can you blame them there is so much hatred of them , even in 2022 )
This is cracking read Jews Don’t Count https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untitled-Da.../dp/0008399476
What 'plan' is that?
Are we back to the literal 'truth' of the Old Testament again?
And are you now tying your cart to the Truthpaste world view - all in for the 'title deeds given by GOD', ethnic cleansing and apartheid?
G-D, don't forget the tetragrammaton Jon.
As soon as you use the word LITERAL you betray your misreading of the entire subject.
Also re personal opinions including mine, they will have no impact on what has been written for millenia.
It is written, it is happening, and as ever most will not appreciate what is taking place or wish to heed the warning.
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