"Dodging the washing up and school runs..."  Rabbi Yuval Keren

On a cool Sunday morning in February I packed up my suitcase and left home. I drove into the depths of the Oxfordshire countryside and landed in a magical retreat centre on the outskirts of a small village named Charney Bassett, surrounded by fields and woods, and where the only apparent noise for miles was that of chirping birds.

On arrival I discovered that there was no mobile phone reception (honestly dear) and no other means of communication were offered to the unsuspecting visitor.  This was the magical start of my first Rabbinic Kallah - a conference for Reform Rabbis that takes place once a year. It was a great opportunity for us to spend some good quality time together and enjoy some (simple but) good food, sing together, play silly games, and get to know each other better. On the first evening of our conference one of the senior Rabbis in our party showed a great deal of emotion as he told us that he had been attending Kallah for over fifteen years, yet he felt that never before had the Rabbinic Assembly been such a strong and united body.

But before you, and my family, cry Gevalt! That sounds too much like a paid holiday and a fancy way of dodging the washing up and school runs, I would like to point out that there was a serious aspect to this countryside jolly..................