Burton Street Synagogue

The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS, is a Reform synagogue and congregation near Marble Arch in London. It was established on 15 April 1840. The current synagogue building in Upper Berkeley Street, dedicated in 1870, is Grade II listed. It is the oldest house of prayer affiliated with the Movement for Reform Judaism and is one of the oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom.HistoryOn 15 April 1840, 24 members of the Mocatta, Goldsmid and other families announced their secession from their respective congregations, the Sephardi Bevis Marks Synagogue and the Ashkenazi Great Synagogue of London, and their intention to form a prayer group for neither "German nor Portuguese" but for "British Jews", which would allow them to worship together. The Mocattas and Goldsmids were quarrelling with the wardens and complaining over lack of decorum for years. The new prayer group, convening in Burton Street, hired Reverend David Woolf Marks in March 1841. Marks and the congregation adopted a unique, bibliocentric approach often termed "neo-Karaism" by their critics, largely rejecting the authority of the Oral Torah. They abolished the second day of festivals and excised various prayers grounded in rabbinic tradition. It was only after almost a century that the congregation adopted mainstream Reform Judaism.

Tags: Synagogue,Religious Organization