Invitation to members (and friends) of the Cardiff New Synagogue Ladies' Guild to their Annual Supper Dance at the Cardiff New Synagogue, dated 22 November 1968

Disgrifiad

Invitation to members (and friends) of the Cardiff New Synagogue Ladies' Guild to their Annual Supper Dance, dated 22 November 1968. The dance was to be held on 8 December 1968 at Cardiff New Synagogue Hall and tickets were 17 shillings, 6 pence each. The invitation states that this is the first function since the synagogue hall "has been enlarged and redecorated" and the dance aims to raise money for the "final improvements".

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.

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).

Depository: Glamorgan Archives.