}
Bristol's Hebrew community
A love of lively discussion is part of Jewish life, as demonstrated by this Jewish proverb.
The Bristol Jewish Literary and Debating Society formed in 1880 to provide an opportunity for Jewish men and women to socialise. They held fortnightly debates, lectures, concerts, dances, readings and 'conversaziones'. Debates and lectures listed in the Jewish Chronicle, 1894, included a mix of topics, not always specifically Jewish: 'Jews and Politics'; 'Cremation'; 'Women's Franchise' and 'The History of Metals'.
The society also organised events like magic lantern shows and religious festival treats for children, and worked hard to fundraise for poor Jews and the wider Bristol community.
A prominent member was Henry Simmons who came to Bristol in the 1850s. He sat on the Jewish Board of Guardians but also worked in partnership with the Christian community, particularly the vicar of St James's, to raise money for local charities and hospitals. He also founded and led the Jewish boys choir. Simmons 'gloried in representing Judaism under its brightest colours to the townsfolk', and he even donated a Jewish Bible to the local court so that Jewish prisoners could swear upon it. The Jewish Chronicle from 1864 reports that at a tea for the local Jewish poor, there was a magic lantern show, after which, Henry Simmons presented each man, woman and child with a gift of money. His wife Selina also helped the Jewish poor. She was a member of the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society, and took poor Jewish children to a pantomime in 1913.
The Bristol Jewish Literary and Debating Society formed in 1880 to provide an opportunity for Jewish men and women to socialise. They held fortnightly debates, lectures, concerts, dances, readings and 'conversaziones'. Debates and lectures listed in the Jewish Chronicle, 1894, included a mix of topics, not always specifically Jewish: 'Jews and Politics'; 'Cremation'; 'Women's Franchise' and 'The History of Metals'.
The society also organised events like magic lantern shows and religious festival treats for children, and worked hard to fundraise for poor Jews and the wider Bristol community.
A prominent member was Henry Simmons who came to Bristol in the 1850s. He sat on the Jewish Board of Guardians but also worked in partnership with the Christian community, particularly the vicar of St James's, to raise money for local charities and hospitals. He also founded and led the Jewish boys choir. Simmons 'gloried in representing Judaism under its brightest colours to the townsfolk', and he even donated a Jewish Bible to the local court so that Jewish prisoners could swear upon it. The Jewish Chronicle from 1864 reports that at a tea for the local Jewish poor, there was a magic lantern show, after which, Henry Simmons presented each man, woman and child with a gift of money. His wife Selina also helped the Jewish poor. She was a member of the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society, and took poor Jewish children to a pantomime in 1913.