Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield

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Synopsis

Joan Bakewell talks to the head of Britain's Reform Jewish community, Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield, who has devoted his life to challenging those who claim to have a monopoly on truth. He talks openly about the Holocaust survivors who taught him at theological college, the place of converts within Judaism and how his training and work as a Rabbi left him utterly unprepared for the untimely death of his wife.

Rabbi Bayfield has focused strongly on promoting Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue as well as criticising all forms of fundamentalism. In 2008, he spearheaded a commitment to collaborate with other branches of Judaism in an attempt to embrace diversity and pluralism and reduce in-fighting. His stance has seen him publicly oppose his friend of 40 years, Britain's Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks. Yet that friendship remains, despite the passionate theological divide.

Broadcast

1. Fri 26 Dec 2008
   20:45
   BBC Radio 3