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Leo Baeck College

Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner van der Zyl in 1956 and is sponsored by The Movement for Reform Judaism, Liberal Judaism and the United Jewish Israel Appeal.[1] It is named after the inspirational 20th-century German Liberal rabbi Leo Baeck.

Not to be confused with Leo Baeck Institute.

Leo Baeck College

At the Heart of Progressive Judaism

1956

Mimi Konigsberg

Deborah Kahn-Harris

Rabbinic ordinations from Leo Baeck College are recognised worldwide by the Liberal, Reform and Masorti movements. To date, Leo Baeck College has trained over 170 rabbis, its alumni serving Jewish communities in the United Kingdom and across the world. Leo Baeck College also pioneered the training of rabbis to serve the Jewish communities of the former Soviet Union[2] and has been at the forefront of Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue for decades. In addition to the training of rabbis, Leo Baeck College trains teachers, provides an educational consultancy for religion schools and Jewish day schools, supports the development of community leaders, and provides access to Jewish learning for all through interfaith work.

Library[edit]

The college's library has 60,000 books, including donations of books from the former Hochschule library and many rare editions.[2]

Courses[edit]

Throughout its history, Leo Baeck College has had a number of collaborations with different academic bodies.


Its awards have been validated amongst others by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), the Open University Validation Services (OUVS), the Institute of Education (IOE) and the University of Winchester (UoW).


From 2015 to 2016 Leo Baeck College formed a new partnership arrangement with Middlesex University which validates all the Jewish Studies and Jewish Education awards, with the exception of the research awards. The degrees carry the imprimatur of Middlesex University.

European Judaism (journal)

German progressive educator and lecturer on Jewish history

Fridolin Friedmann

Ellen Littmann: "The First Ten Years of the Leo Baeck College" in Dow Marmur (ed.): Reform Judaism, , London, 1973

Reform Synagogues of Great Britain

Michael Leigh: "1956 and All That" in (ed.): Renewing the Vision, SCM Press, Norwich, 1996.

Jonathan Romain

Official website

50 years of Leo Baeck College: An overview 1956–2006

Scriptures in Dialogue – Leo Baeck College