Frequently Asked Questions

Our plans are for our in-person events to be based in London. We are exploring hiring spaces in East, South and Central London on a rotating basis.

We plan to livestream our services, and to also host online-only events.

We will offer regular prayer opportunities on Shabbat, celebration of the chagim [festivals], Bnei Mitzvah ceremonies, baby blessings, wedding blessings, blessings to celebrate name changes, and other ceremonies to mark important events in the lives of Queer Jewish people.

We know how important burial and conversion are, and we are working on making provision for these.

We aim to be responsive to the needs and capacity of the community and update what we offer depending on what people want and what they can give to it.

We are an independent congregation. Our members come from a variety of Jewish backgrounds and we hope our prayer services will reflect the diversity of traditions within European Judaism. We are aiming to create new liturgy and siddurim [prayer books] that meet our community’s needs.

We aim to equip our community with the skills to engage with halakha on a personal level. We believe that every word of halakha is open for questioning and critique. No generation of Jews is bound to the halakha of the previous; we continue our tradition only by disputing it at every opportunity.

If you are concerned about whether our events will work for your personal understanding of halakha, we encourage you to get in contact.

We believe Judaism is not a religion of blood but a religion of choice.

It requires knowledge, however, of what being a Jew means to make the choice to be one. You might, for example, gain this knowledge from growing up in a Jewish home, or through a conversion course, or an adult bnei mitzvah class.

If you are not sure what your Jewish status is or you would like to discuss how to learn more about Judaism, please get in contact.

The short answer: no!

The slightly longer answer: we are led by lesbian, gay, bi, trans, and queer people. But Queerness is so much more than that. It means refusing to assimilate, celebrating diversity, and overthrowing oppressive structures. Everyone who wants to rebel against oppressive gender structures or explore new ways of loving is queer. For us, this extends to overthrowing the established order, so that everyone, everywhere, can be truly free. If you want to pray for liberation among people on the margins, you're queer enough for us.

We are a diasporist community, meaning we are committed to ensuring the continuity of Jewish life in the diaspora and celebrating the traditions that have emerged from our diasporic communities.

We are a community that welcomes anti-Zionists as members. We feel this is important to state, as this is unfortunately not the norm in British synagogues.

We will not say the prayer for the State of Israel or for the Royal Family as part of our services.

Radical comes from a Latin word, that means dealing with things at the root. The root cause of problems today is racist, patriarchal capitalism. We are radical in that we believe in dealing with the deep-seated oppression in society.

Different members have their own ideas about how to achieve that, and focus their energies in different ways. If you understand that this world needs real healing, then come and heal with us.

Of course!

The best way to find out is to come. If you worry that you are not Jewish enough, not queer enough, or not radical enough, this is probably exactly the place for you.

If you are nervous about coming for the first time without knowing anyone, get in touch with us, and we'll connect you to a buddy who can join you on your first visit.