British Reform rabbi
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bayfield[3][4] CBE is a Reform rabbi and former President of the Movement for Reform Judaism,[5] the second largest organisation of synagogues in Britain.
Early life and education
Bayfield was born in 1946[4] in Ilford, Essex (now in Greater London), the elder son of Sheila (née Mann) and Ron Bayfield, a head teacher.
He was educated at the Royal Liberty Grammar School in Romford and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He studied law and had a doctoral place at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology and then moved to the Leo Baeck College to train as a rabbi. He received rabbinic ordination (semichah) in 1972[2] from rabbis John Rayner, Hugo Gryn and Louis Jacobs.
Career
After ten years as a congregational rabbi at North West Surrey Synagogue, Bayfield became director of the Sternberg Centre for Judaism in Finchley in 1985.[2] He was head of the Movement for Reform Judaism from 1994 (when the organisation was known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain) until 2011.[5] From 2011 to 2016 he was President of the organisation.[5][6]
Honours and awards
Bayfield was awarded a CBE in the 2011 New Year Honours List for services to Reform Judaism.
London's National Portrait Gallery holds a photographic portrait of him by Don McCullin.[4]
Personal life
Tony Bayfield married Linda Rose, a teacher and Jewish educator in 1969; she died in 2003. In 2011, he met Jacqueline Fisher, whom he married in a small ceremony in June 2021.
Bayfield has three children[1] and six grandchildren. His younger daughter, Miriam Berger, received semichah in July 2006 and is a respected rabbi in her own right.[7]
Bayfield is a member of Finchley Reform Synagogue (FRS).
Publications
Bayfield is a specialist in modern Jewish thought and contemporary Reform Judaism. He also specialises in Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim dialogue and has published quite widely in this area. Bayfield has also written about Christian–Jewish reconciliation.[8]
Works
- Prejudice (Jewish responses) (1973). London: Michael Goulston Educational Foundation
- Churban: The murder of the Jews of Europe (Jewish responses) (1981). London: Michael Goulston Educational Foundation ISBN 978-0-907372-00-4
- Sinai, Law and Responsible Autonomy: Reform Judaism and the Halakhic Tradition (1993). London: Reform Synagogues of Great Britain ISBN 978-0-947884-09-3
- (with Sidney Brichto and Eugene Fisher) He Kissed Him and They Wept: Towards a Theology of Jewish-Catholic Partnership (2001). London: SCM Press ISBN 978-0-334-02826-0
- (with Tony Brayfield and Marcus Braybrooke) Dialogue With a Difference: Manor House Group Experience (1992). London: SCM Press ISBN 978-0-334-01980-0
- "September 11: The Case Against Us All" in Roger Boase (ed.) Islam and Global Dialogue – Religious Pluralism and the Pursuit of Peace (2005), Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing ISBN 978-075465307-3
- (with Alan Race and Abdullah Siddiqui, eds.) Beyond the Dysfunctional Family: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Dialogue With Each Other and With Britain (2012) London: CreateSpace ISBN 978-1-468-16747-4
- Being Jewish Today – Confronting the Real Issues (2019). London: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 978-1-472962-08-9
References
- ^ a b c "Linda Bayfield loses long battle with cancer". Hendon & Finchley Times. 22 July 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Rocker, Simon (11 September 2019). "God won't leave us alone — let's see where we are". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Rabbi Professor Tony Bayfield". Leo Baeck College. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ a b c "Tony Bayfield (1946–), Rabbi and Head of Movement for Reform Judaism". Collections. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ a b c Rocker, Simon (1 November 2010). "Reform leader Bayfield to retire early". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Sir Trevor Chinn succeeds Rabbi Professor Tony Bayfield as Reform Judaism President" (Press release). Movement for Reform Judaism. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ Gordon, Olivia (1 July 2012). "How I make it work: Miriam Berger". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ Bayfield, Tony (11 May 2009). "The Vatican and Jewry". The Times. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
Sources
