‘Mutual’ end to divisive tenure
SOUTHEND AND Westcliff Hebrew Congregation is looking for a new minister following the departure of Rabbi Binyamin Bar through what the shul chairman described as a “mutual decision”.
In an advertisement in the JC last week, SWHC said it was “looking for a rabbi who will lead our community forward but also bring their own ideas and enthusiasm and will demonstrate qualities of religious leadership”.
Speaking to the JC, the chair, Michael Nelkin, echoed the sentiment. SWHC was, he said, “a vibrant community by the sea, looking for a rabbi and a rebbetzin who will take us forward”.
Rabbi Bar left the shul at the end of 2018 — the SWHC website says only that he and his wife are “moving on to pastures new” — concluding a longrunning saga within the Essex congregation.
In January 2015, Rabbi Bar was informed by the synagogue executive that he had been sacked due to “an irretrievable breakdown in working relationships”. Rabbi Bar challenged the decision, claiming he had been unfairly dismissed, and continued to officiate at services.
Mr Nelkin, then vice-president, told the JC at the time that the board “didn’t want to cause any upset in front of the community”.
The disagreement between one faction, led by the shul’s executive, which wanted the rabbi out, and another group, which supported the minister, led to a new executive board being elected at the AGM in May 2015. Members also voted overwhelmingly for the rabbi’s reinstatement.
However, amid disagreements about how to behave towards an influx of Chasidim to the Southend area, the synagogue’s 2018 AGM saw the May 2015 board removed from office. Mr Nelkin was one of a number of preMay 2015 officers restored to power.
Mr Nelkin said he had already heard from rabbis interested in the Southend pulpit. “But obviously we want to interview as many people as we can to make a decision.”
Rabbi Bar did not respond to a request for comment. Grayson and Philippa Perry and Isaac Julien at the Bfami dinner and auction Stones Against Diamonds,
We are looking for a rabbi to take us forward’