Who are we?
Progressiv Judendom i Stockholm (PJS) / Sukkat Shalom is the progressive branch (liberal / reform / reconstructionist) of Judaism within Stockholm’s Jewish community (Judiska församlingen i Stockholm). Progressiv Judendom i Stockholm (PJS) was formed in the spring of 2005 as a non-profit and politically independent association, to respond to the need for a progressive alternative in the Jewish Stockholm. At the same time, it was a way of reconnecting to the orientation that the Great Synagogue had from its inauguration in 1870 until the post-war period. A couple of years ago, PJS decided to use the title Sukkat Shalom for our religious community, our kehila, while the formal name is still Progressiv Judendom i Stockholm. This year, 2023, for the first time we will have our own, permanent half-time rabbi. Her name is Rebecca Lillian and she is looking forward to meeting all members, new and old.
With religious services, studies, joint celebration of Shabbat and other holidays, we aim to develop Jewish life and Jewish traditions, strengthen Jewish identity and promote a Jewish community. For most of the year, we hold services twice a month, with lots of music and singing and subsequent mingling or even a potluck dinner after. In addition, we offer adult education and Torah studies, under the guidance of our rabbi and other leaders/educators, several times a month.
Our education program for young people is called Mitsva Power. Its mission is to offer students, and their families, an access point to their Jewish heritage. Since many of the students’ families have family members or close family friends that are not Jewish, the program addresses students’ Jewish identity in a multi-cultural and multi-religious context. Our b’mitzvah students must attend at least two full terms before their b’mitsva ceremony.
We use our own progressive siddur, Kol Haneshama, Voice of the Soul, a prayer book with the texts in parallel in Hebrew, transliteration, and Swedish and with many explanatory texts. It can therefore serve as an introduction to Judaism. Sukkat Shalom is consistently egalitarian, we do not differentiate between women and men, both participate on equal terms. Both women and men are included in the minyan and can be called to the Torah. Jewish births count equally on the mother’s and father’s side, and we welcome families in so-called mixed marriages.
A part of Jewish Stockholm
Sukkat Shalom is an important piece of the puzzle in a Jewish Stockholm that consists of many parts, both religious and non-religious. Fundamental to this pluralistic Jewish Stockholm is the Judiska församlingen, which provides important support to Sukkat Shalom and its progressive activities. We encourage members of Sukkat Shalom to also be members of the Judiska församlingen i Stockholm, but it is not a requirement.
