Hybrid Identities

Scattered as we are, and often out of reach of Synagogues, it seems peculiarly desirable for us to cultivate the habit of Domestic Services.

Mrs Nathaniel L.Cohen, The Children's Psalm-Book (London, 1907) 

Over time many established Jewish families became less orthodox. They attended synagogue less frequently and often favoured Reform or Liberal Judaism, which had fewer ritual requirements.

Some of the Jewish gentry explored alternative or hybrid forms of spirituality. Others did not practice Judaism at all, even if they expressed a firmly secular Jewish identity through their charitable commitments, friendships and family relationships.

 

bletchley park
Repeated images of the sun at Bletchley Park reflect the unconventional religious beliefs of its owner. Sir Herbert Leon MP was President of the Rationalist Association, a group of freethinkers who advocated the application of reason and science to spirituality. He nevertheless opted for an orthodox Jewish burial.
Photo © Marcus Roberts

 

Jewish men and women who married into the aristocracy were stigmatised for their Jewish origins.

Sibyl Sassoon, who married the Marquess of Cholmondeley, never told her children that she had been born a Jew and converted. Others retained a proud attachment to their Jewish identity.

Hannah Rothschild refused to convert when she married the Christian Lord Rosebery, but her male relatives would not attend the wedding. She chose to be buried in Willesden Jewish Cemetery. Her tomb (pictured below) is set apart from that of her parents, suggesting that her religious status was uncertain. 

 

hannah rothschild tomb