Lionel Blue

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Lionel Blue, 1988

Lionel Blue (born February 6, 1930 in London , † December 19, 2016 ) was a British rabbi , author , journalist and television presenter. He was the first openly homosexual rabbi in the United Kingdom.

Life

Blue was born in 1930 in the East End of London, the son of a tailor.

After graduating from high school, Blue studied History at the University of Oxford and Semitic Languages at the University of London . He then began training as a rabbi at Leo Baeck College . In 1960 he was ordained a rabbi.

Blue was best known in the UK for his long and respectful work with the media. For over 25 years he made regular contributions to the morning program of BBC 4 (radio) for the weekday, short religious program Thought for the Day . Blue was also widely recognized as a journalist, cook and author.

rabbi

Between 1960 and 1963 he was rabbi of the Settlement Synagogue and the New Synagogue in Middlesex . Blue belonged to Reform Judaism . He became European Director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), which has more than 1.5 million members worldwide. In 1957 he began a long career as a lecturer at Leo Baeck College in London.

Private life

Blue was the first British rabbi to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality in the 1981 publication Godly and Gay . He had been openly gay in his private life since the 1960s. Blue was a guest speaker for the Jewish Gay Lesbian Group . He also supported the Kairos organization . In 1981 he met his significant other, Jim, through a partnership ad in the Gay Times newspaper .

Radio career

Blue was a regular spokesperson for Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 for over 25 years . On the occasion of the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in Great Britain, the BBC published a picture series with audio commentary on its website in September 2006, in which Blue undertakes a journey back to his childhood in the East End of London .

Works

  • A Backdoor to Heaven (Fount, 1985)
  • Kitchen Blues (ISIS Large Print, 1986)
  • Bolt from the Blue (Hodder & Stoughton, 1986)
  • Tales of Body and Soul (Coronet, 1995)
  • My Affair with Christianity (Hodder & Stoughton General, 1999)
  • Sun, Sand and Soul (Hodder & Stoughton General, 1999)
  • Kindred Spirits (Fount, 1999). Autobiography
  • Hitchhiking to Heaven (Hodder & Stoughton General, 2004). Autobiography

Quote

“I don't believe death is the end. This world is like a corridor, like a departure lounge in an airport. You make yourself comfortable and get to know people - then your number comes up and you're called. "

Individual evidence

  1. Rabbi Lionel Blue dies aged 86 . BBC News , December 19, 2016 (English).
  2. Audio slideshow: Rabbi Lionel Blue. (Photo series with audio commentary) BBC News , September 12, 2006, accessed December 19, 2016 .