Why I’m leaving the pulpit to work with teenagers
WHAT ARE the chances that your grandchildren will be Jewish? What about your great-grandchildren? Where will our community be in ten years’ time? What about in 50 years?
These are the questions I have been asking myself during my 12 years as a community rabbi. The UK’s Jewish population is in serious danger and the cause is clear: assimilation. The number of British Jews has declined by 40 per cent from 450,000 in 1950 to only circa 275,000 today. One in four Jewish people marry out of the faith. As the product of intermarriage myself, I know first-hand the results of the erosion of Jewish identity. The question I kept asking myself is: what am I going to do about it?
My mother is Jewish, and my father is not. I grew up in Reading, Berkshire, where I attended my local comprehensive school, played for Swindon Town and Reading football clubs and enjoyed nightclubbing and Nietzsche. Not exactly the classical training for an Orthodox rabbi.
When I read law at UCL, I began my spiritual journey into Judaism. I threw myself into the deep end and soon discovered that I had not completed that rite of passage most Jewish boys have done at eight days old. Having a brit milah aged 20 was difficult for my parents to accept, but they came to respect my way of life and we enjoy a warm, loving relationship.
After graduating, I travelled to Israel for the first time, studied at a yeshivah for over eight years and became a rabbi. Since then, together with my wife, Chana, I have provided spiritual leadership across diverse Jewish communities at Hendon, Richmond and Radlett United Synagogues.
Our years working for the United Synagogue have been happy and fulfilling. Yet, the questions about assimilation in the wider community continued calling to me.
So, alongside my role as a community rabbi, I created a small outreach project with the aim of inspiring Jewish secondary school pupils at predominantly non-Jewish schools to discover and develop their Jewish identity and knowledge.
More than 10,000 Jewish pupils attend non-Jewish secondary schools in the UK and a large number of them are distant from their heritage. I visited many schools and, along the way, was appointed as the first-ever Jewish chaplain at Harrow School and volunteered as a faith tutor at Eton College.
At Eton I brought a Holocaust survivor to speak, who received a rousing ovation by hundreds of people in the college’s debating auditorium.
I hope that the event inspired future leaders to learn some vital lessons from the past.
At Harrow School, I was privileged to be the first rabbi in its 450-year-old history to address the entire school in its famous Speech Room, where its alumnus Winston Churchill once spoke.
I have discovered that by educating, connecting and engaging with these teenagers, their Jewish identity can be strengthened. I have also seen the tremendous opportunity of providing an influence on our leaders of tomorrow. The youngsters’ response has been overwhelming — they were searching for meaning, values and roots. They are just like I was. And there are so many more.
In fact, when I have spoken to the pupils about Jewish traditions and values, many of the classmates sitting alongside their Jewish friends became interested.
Seeing that I could make a real difference to the next generation, I have resigned from the rabbinate in order to launch and run The Abraham Effect, a UK-registered charity dedicated to inspiring thousands of assimilated young Jewish people across the UK with increased Jewish identity, consciousness and pride.
We will let the next generation know they have a place at the table within the Jewish community and make Judaism attractive to the mainstream — not a stigma. We will be drawing on the skills of a select group of motivational Jewish educators, as well as other Jewish role models and leaders from a diverse range of professional backgrounds.
We will follow up with the pupils through repeat visits and via social media to nurture their inspiration and reinforce their Jewish growth. We will take them on immersive heritage trips to fortify their identity.
The Abraham Effect can make Jewish identity relevant to the UK’s most assimilated Jews. After all, there is so much positivity and joy to be found in being Jewish.
That is why we are willing and able to go the extra mile and proactively reach the “unreachable” across the country, no matter where they are or how they choose to live. They deserve a chance to be enriched by learning more about who they are — and our community will benefit from their contribution.
Another benefit pertains to students who have heard of antisemitism, but may not have been educated about the profundity of Jewish faith, history, and societal contribution. What an opportunity to pierce the veil of misinformation and prejudice.
I have been greatly encouraged by a group of supporters whose generosity has made this project possible. They also believe that there is much work to do in order to turn the tide.
When I leave the rabbinate in May 2023, I will miss the pulpit and the people. But I am excited to take on this new challenge at a time of urgent need for the Jewish community.
The UK’s Jewish population is in serious danger