New UK chief rabbi to be installed

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 01 September 2013 | 19.21

1 September 2013 Last updated at 06:20 ET
Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Chief Rabbi designate Ephraim Mirvis says he knows there will be challenges

Ephraim Mirvis is due to be installed as the new chief rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth at a ceremony in London.

The former chief rabbi of Ireland will succeed Lord Jonathan Sacks, who has held the post since 1991.

The Prince of Wales is due to join Jewish and other faith leaders for the event at St John's Wood Synagogue.

The chief rabbi is traditionally seen as the figurehead of British Jews, and Rabbi Mirvis has said reversing falling membership was a key challenge.

However, his new role is only officially representative of the United Synagogue, the biggest wing of orthodox Judaism in the UK.

Some Liberal and Reform Jews have questioned his role, while the ultra-orthodox community looks elsewhere for religious authority.

'Hand of warmth'
Continue reading the main story
  • Ephraim Mirvis replaces Lord Jonathan Sacks to become the 11th Chief Rabbi of Britain and the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
  • The son and grandson of rabbis, he was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1956
  • He became the Chief Rabbi of Ireland at the age of 28
  • He was the first rabbi from the United Synagogue to welcome an imam in his synagogue

In an interview with the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott, ahead of taking up the role, Rabbi Mirvis said the country faced "enormous" challenges because of the squeeze on living standards.

He said: "What is also very important is to teach our community about social responsibility. We're living in very difficult times of austerity, the challenges are enormous.

"We have to empathize with everybody in society who is vulnerable."

Rabbi Mirvis also spoke of his hopes to unite the Jewish community.

He said: "As the incoming chief rabbi I extend a hand of warmth, of friendship, to my colleagues who are in movements outside of the orthodox movement and with all of their members.

"I would like them to know that I would like to work closely with them. Unity of the Jewish people is of enormous importance.

"Within our own ranks we need to build on that which unites us and not to concentrate so much on that which separates us. And I will do my utmost to ensure that we will indeed achieve that unity."

He has also said that he would like to "transform communities" so that synagogues "are not merely places where people come along to pray, but rather that they should be powerhouses of Jewish cultural social educational and religious activity".

Rabbi Mirvis, who was born in South Africa in 1956, is currently rabbi at Finchley Synagogue in north London.

He is married to Valerie, a local authority senior social worker, and they have four sons. Their daughter, Liora Graham, died in 2011 after a long battle with cancer.

Rabbi Mirvis was a rabbi in Dublin before becoming Ireland's chief rabbi in 1985, a post he held until 1992. He was chosen as the new chief rabbi after a two-year search.

Lord Sacks announced in 2010 that he would step down this year after turning 65.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme last month, he warned that society was "losing the plot" as it becomes more secular and less trusting.


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

New UK chief rabbi to be installed

Dengan url

http://beritaberbagiceria.blogspot.com/2013/09/new-uk-chief-rabbi-to-be-installed.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

New UK chief rabbi to be installed

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

New UK chief rabbi to be installed

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger