Outreach

An essential part of the training of future rabbis is teaching the ability to reach out from the committed core membership of a congregation into the larger community. The Lauderdale Road Synagogue, having members with differing levels of religious observance, is a good environment in which to develop this skill.

In accordance with the terms of their scholarships, Major Scholars are obliged to devote part of their time to outreach activities within the community - focussing on its younger members. Together with those Minor Scholars who live locally, the Montefiore Major Scholars form an informal Kollel, centred on the synagogue at Lauderdale Road.

The Kollel's duties are many and varied. These include:

  • conducting synagogue services
  • assisting with kashrut, both individually and communally
  • teaching Torah to members of the community both individually and in groups
  • helping to organise and run children's services
  • helping with the Sunday morning Talmud Torah
  • activities in connection with the Naima Jewish Preparatory School
  • producing a flow of news sheets and other information designed to stimulate Torah learning and communal activity
  • organising semi-social gatherings for young professionals

All this activity is supplemented, as appropriate, with individual hospitality offered by Kollel members.

The Spanish and Portuguese Congregation is not a community that relishes having religion thrust upon it; and the style of its rabbis in dealing with the relatively less-committed is to focus first on cultivating a sense of inclusion - in the hope that this will, in time, encourage them to develop their religious observance.

The creation first of Young Sephardim and then of its successor, Bendigamos, which attract large attendances at main events, is an outstanding achievement. This group is designed to foster a sense of community cohesion - which younger members had previously identified as a specific lack in what the Congregation had to offer them. Practical instruction is also imparted in this way through, for example, Friday night meals. It is believed that synagogue attendance has grown and will continue to do so as a result of this kind of activity, which may be critical for the long-term future of the community.

Watch a video of the Spanish Evening