Rabbi staying at Mill Hill after rejecting New York
MILL HILL United Synagogue’s long-serving rabbi, Yitzchak Schochet, is looking forward to taking his community to the “next level” after turning down the opportunity of a prestigious pulpit in New York.
After being approached by the Park East Synagogue last year, he finally decided to stay put in London last week.
Having previously spent a Shabbat with Park East, Rabbi Schochet was invited back to deliver a lecture to the community on the Sunday before last.
“It was a successful 24-hour visit, which gave me an opportunity to reflect,” he told the JC.
“I went there to interview them as much as they interviewed me.” But he insisted that a sharp exchange after the lecture with a member of the congregation who had objected to his vocal opposition to same-sex marriage had not forced him to back out. “Definitely not,” he said.
The incident was reported online by the New York Jewish Week.
Rabbi Schochet told the JC that after his talk on the pursuit of happiness, he had faced audience questions on a variety of topics. “Then, one member of the audience got up and proceeded to read a laundry list of statements of mine that made their way into the media over the years, with particular emphasis on samesex marriage,” he said.
“To be sure, I have never been one to shy away from controversy and had no issue dealing with his question per se.
“I did, however, become aware of his pending onslaught because of his incessant tweeting over the previous two weeks, attacking me online.”
After raising some contentious remarks his challenger had made in the past, Rabbi Schochet recalled he had eventually said: “We could go on cancelling each other out all night. But cancel culture has become the scourge of the 21st century.
“I finally added: ‘I will always stand by my principles but ultimately remain committed to the ideal of two Jews, three opinions, one heart. I invite you to join me in that.’ That resulted in a standing ovation from across the room.”
But Rabbi Schochet did acknowledge that the the experience had led him to wonder: “Do I want to start putting out fires before I get there?”
He added: “I love Mill Hill. It continues to grow.”
I thought, do I want to start putting out fires before I get there?