Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom

Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom
Theology Liberal Judaism
Rabbinic college chair Rabbi Meno ten Brink
Chair Ron van der Wieken
Associations World Union for Progressive Judaism
Region Netherlands
Headquarters Zuidelijke Wandelweg 41, Amsterdam
Origin 18 October 1931
Congregations 10
Members ~3,700
Official website www.liberale-juden.de

The Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom (Dutch Union for Progressive Judaism; until 2006: Verbond voor Liberaal-Religieuze Joden in Nederland, Union for Liberal-Religious Jews in the Netherlands) is the umbrella organisation for Progressive Jews in the Netherlands, and is affiliated to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It was founded in 1931.

The "Verbond" claims a membership of some 3,700, spread in ten different congregations throughout the country. The biggest one is the congregation in Amsterdam, with some 1,700 members. Other congregations exist in The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Arnhem (LJG Gelderland), Tilburg (LJG Brabant), Enschede (LJG Twente), Heerenveen, Zuidlaren (LJG Noord-Nederland) and Almere (LJG Flevoland). The NVPJ's rabbis are: Menno ten Brink, David Lilienthal, Awraham Soetendorp, Edward van Voolen, Marianne van Praag, Tamara Benima and Albert Ringer. It publishes its own magazine six times a year, Levend Joods Geloof (lit. Living Jewish Faith).

The Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom has separate organisations for women (FLJVN) and youngsters (Netzer Holland); there is also a separate Zionist organisation based on Progressive Jewish grounds, ARZA. It is also connected to four Jewish cemeteries: one in Hoofddorp (1937) and one in Amstelveen (2002).[1] The Liberal communities in The Hague and Rotterdam also have their own cemetery in the town of Rijswijk, Beth Hachaim.[2] The cemetery was founded in 1990 after several requests from members from both communities. The Congregation in Twente has its cemetery Gan ha-Olam in Enschede.

History

Progressive Judaism was brought to the Netherlands in the 1930s by German immigrants, many of them fleeing Nazi persecution. The first Progressive rabbi in the Netherlands was Meir L. Lasker, followed by German-born Rabbi Norden. The first congregation was founded in 1931 in The Hague, in the same year followed by one in Amsterdam. The congregations grew rapidly throughout the years, mostly because of the arrival of thousands of German Jews (of whom most were part of the Reform tradition). On 18 October 1931,[3] the Verbond van Liberaal-Godsdienstige Joden (lit. Union for Liberal-Religious Jews) was founded. Services were held regularly, and the Union published its own paper, Nieuw Joods Leven (lit. New Jewish Life).

At the eve of World War II, the Amsterdam community alone had some 900 members; ten years earlier, Progressive Judaism had virtually been non-existent in the Netherlands – the religious landscape was limited to Ashkenazi Orthodox Judaism and a smaller community of Sephardi Jews.

The Holocaust

World War II saw the destruction of most of Jewish life in the Netherlands during the Holocaust; more than 75% of Dutch Jews were killed by the Nazis. But the community was vibrant, and small initiatives were started in the years after the Second World War to revitalize Jewish life again, although this was hard in a country where the Jewish community had diminished from more than 140,000 in 1940 to a mere 25,000 in the 1950s. A new Liberal community was started in Amsterdam in 1946; the community had some 50 members, only a fraction of the 900 six years earlier.

1945–2006

It was not until the 1960s that Progressive Judaism started to grow once again in the Netherlands. Much of its success was related to the hard work of Rabbi Jacob Soetendorp, rabbi for the Liberal community in Amsterdam since 1954. Because of his hard work, new communities started to spring up again within the Jewish Netherlands – sometimes much to the disagreement of the Orthodox Jewish community in the Netherlands, combined in the Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap, which, until this day, does not fully recognize the Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom.

The 1990s and the first years of the 21st century saw a new impulse to Progressive Judaism in the Netherlands with the establishment of three new communities: one in Utrecht in 1993; one in Heerenveen (Beth Hatsafon) in 2000; and one in Almere (Beth B'nei Jonah) in 2003.

Levisson Instituut

The Levisson Instituut was founded in 2002 with the aim to provide rabbinical training for Dutch Jewish students affiliated with the NVPJ. The institute is based on the premises of the University of Amsterdam and receives educational assistance from the Leo Baeck College in London, amongst others. Currently, seven students are training at the Institute and are providing liturgical and pastoral support within the Liberal communities. Dean of Studies is Swedish-born Rabbi David Lilienthal.

Overview

References

  1. Cemeteries Hoofddorp and Amstelveen LJG Amsterdam. Accessed 28 July 2007 (in Dutch)
  2. Cemetery Beth Hachaim LJG Rotterdam. Accessed 2 December 2006 (in Dutch)
  3. Dan Mikhman, Het liberale Jodendom in Nederland 1929-1943, Van Gennep, 1988. p. 164.
  4. New Synagogue LJG Amsterdam Friends of the New Liberal Synagogue. Accessed 18 November 2007 (in Dutch)
  5. 75 years "Verbond" Joods.nl. Accessed 1 December 2006 (in Dutch)
  6. Queen Beatrix celebrating 75 year jubilee LJG Amsterdams Stadsblad. Accessed 1 December 2006 (in Dutch)
  7. The Dieren sjoel dedierensesjoel.nl. Accessed 2 December 2006 (in Dutch)
  8. LJG Noord-Nederland moving its base to Zuidlaren Friesch Dagblad. Accessed 1 December 2006 (in Dutch)
  9. Preserving the synagogue of Zuidlaren Association for the Preservation of the Zuidlaren Synagogue. Accessed 29 September 2007 (in Dutch)
  10. "We can't learn from each other if we are the same" Geheugen van Almere. Accessed 1 December 2006 (in Dutch)
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