Oxford Jewish Congregation

Information for Visitors to Oxford and the OJC

With its amazing historic buildings, fantastic ambience and situation near to the beautiful Cotswold countryside, Oxford is a great place for everyone to visit. On top of all this, Jewish visitors can experience the unique flavour of Oxford's Jewish life.

On the one hand Oxford has a mid-sized thriving Jewish community similar to that found in any city that has a large University and range of hi-tech industry, on the other hand Oxford attracts leading Jewish scholars who come to visit the Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at nearby Yarnton and the Bodleian Library (which houses one of the world's leading collections of historic Jewish books and manuscripts).

So on a visit to the synagogue on a Saturday morning, the visitor may find himself standing between a local shopkeeper and a visiting scholar from Jerusalem, while in another room in the Centre a Progressive or Masorti service will be running in parallel with the Orthodox service.

If you have a choice then it is better to make your visit away from the peak tourist time of July, August or September. Accommodation is expensive and many of the residents will be away on their own travels. The nicest time is May and early June, but even in winter Oxford still offers a unique experience.

If you are visiting Oxford an excellent place to meet residents and other visitors is the kiddush after Saturday morning services.