As part of this year’s New Years Honours, King Charles bestowed a knighthood on Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, for his work on behalf of the Jewish community especially in interfaith relations. Rabbi Sir Mirvis is the fourth consecutive Chief Rabbi to have been knighted; his predecessors- Rabbi Sir Israel Brodie, Lord Immanuel Jakobovits and Lord Jonathan Sacks all were as well (the latter two being elevated to a life peerage several years after their knighthood). While he hasn’t been formally knighted yet, Rabbi Mirvis has already been called in public by his new title- when he received the final bracha under the chuppah of a close friend of mine this past week!
Kudos to the many members who answered last week’s MSOTW, and correctly identified the shul(s) with which Rabbi Mirvis was affiliated - Elli Brodbaker was first in identifying the Finchley United Synagogue, known as “Kinloss,” the shul Rabbi Mirvis served before being named Chief Rabbi.
Special recognition to Perrin White who identified all the shuls Rabbi Mirvis served, the Adelaide Road Synagogue (below right) in Dublin (now defunct), and the Western Marble Arch Synagogue In London.
But my favorite answer (no offense to the others) came from Shelley Weiss, who attached the picture of the Beit Midrash in Yeshivat Kerem BeYavneh, where Rabbi Mirvis studied from 1973-1976, and where I studied 24 years later.
This Week’s MSOTW: You can find a minyan any time of day or night at this landmark Jerusalem shul. On Friday nights after dinner, a legendary Rabbi used to deliver speeches on the Parsha that drew capacity crowds. Name the shul, and the Rabbi.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
