Leap of faith: Remembrance Sunday

Each year, as the nation pauses for Remembrance, the Jewish community gathers too, at the Cenotaph, in our synagogues, in schools, and in the quiet of our own homes, to remember. For us, remembrance is not only an act of national belonging, but a profoundly Jewish act. The Hebrew word zachor (remember), is one of the most repeated commands in our tradition. We are commanded by Torah to remember both the moments of deliverance and the times of darkness, so that memory becomes a bridge between past and future.

Both of us have stood at the Cenotaph in recent years, representing the Progressive Jewish community alongside veterans and communal leaders. We have also joined the annual AJEX parade, where Jewish servicemen and women march with pride, honouring those who served before them. At Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies, in synagogues and civic spaces, we have read names and lit candles for those who had no graves. Each of these moments of remembrance connects us, not just to Jewish history, but to the moral purpose at the heart of Judaism itself: that memory must lead to responsibility.

For both our families, that connection is deeply personal. Josh’s grandfather, Rabbi Isaac Levy, served as a chaplain to the British Armed Forces during the Second World War, tending to Jewish soldiers across Europe. He later helped rebuild Jewish education in Britain after the war’s devastation. Charley’s grandfather, Kurt Baginsky came to this country from Germany to escape the camps, joining the British Army even as two of his brothers remained behind and were murdered in the Holocaust. For us, remembrance is never abstract, it is the story of family, of survival, of loyalty and of hope.

As British Jews, our remembrance carries a double resonance. We remember as part of a nation whose freedom was defended by people of every faith and background. And we remember as Jews whose history has been shaped by exile, loss, and renewal, a people who understand what happens when humanity forgets. That dual identity, British and Jewish, calls us to gratitude and vigilance at once: grateful for the safety and belonging this country has given us, and vigilant in protecting those same freedoms for others.

Progressive Judaism teaches that remembrance must always be active. It is not about nostalgia or even sorrow alone. It is about shaping a world that honours the sacrifices of the past by preventing the recurrence of hatred, war and dehumanisation. We remember those who fought for freedom and those who died because others denied them theirs. We remember to build bridges, not walls; to stand against antisemitism and all forms of prejudice; to seek peace even when peace feels far away.

This Remembrance Day, as we stand once again in silence, we do so as Jews and as British citizens, shaped by our past, inspired by our faith, and committed to the Jewish belief that to remember is not only to look back, but to choose life, dignity and peace in the world we are still creating together.

Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy are Co-Leads of Progressive Judaism