United Synagogue
Encyclopedia
United Synagogue is an organisation of London Jews that was founded with the sanction of an Act of Parliament
, in 1870. , it remains the largest religious grouping within the British
Jewish community and indeed in Europe, covering 62 Orthodox Jewish communities. It takes its religious authority from the Chief Rabbi
of Britain and has its own Beth Din
and Dayanim.
The United Synagogue's values stem from the principles of both Torah
and Halacha.
was instrumental in bringing together the United Synagogue, a union of the three City of London
synagogues — the Great Synagogue, the New Synagogue, and the Hambro Synagogue — and their branch synagogues at Great Portland Street
and Bayswater
.
Its direct work has always been confined to the metropolis, but it has exercised, indirectly, considerable influence over the Jews of the British Empire
and British Commonwealth
. It is governed by an elected council representing the constituent congregations. In religious and ritual matters it is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Rabbi. The president of the United Synagogue in 1910 was Lord Rothschild.
The United Synagogue directs and supports educational and charitable work. The title chief rabbi is not found in the pre-expulsion records, though, before the Jews were banished in 1290, there was an official named presbyter omnium Judaeorum Angliae. The functions of this official cannot be proved to have been ecclesiastical. The title Chief Rabbi became well known through the eminence of occupants of the position such as Adler's immediate predecessor Solomon Hirschell
(1762–1842).
1707 - Hambro' Synagogue established
1761 - New Synagogue established
1837 - New Synagogue moves to Great St. Helens
1845 - Nathan Marcus Adler becomes Chief Rabbi
1855 - Central Synagogue established
1863 - Bayswater Synagogue established
1870 - The five Ashkenazi Synagogues join to form the United Synagogue
1891 - Hermann Marcus Adler succeeds his father as Chief Rabbi
1913 - Joseph Herman Hertz becomes Chief Rabbi
1914 - United Synagogue comprises 21 communities
1931–38 - Nineteen more communities join
1939 - United Synagogue comprises 52 communities
1945–55 - Thirty more communities join
1948 - Israel Brodie becomes Chief Rabbi
1967 - Immanuel Jakobovits becomes Chief Rabbi
1991 - Jonathan Sacks becomes Chief Rabbi
1995 - 125th Anniversary Celebrations
2003 - Tribe (Young United Synagogue) launched
2008 - United Synagogue comprises over 60 communities
. The lay leadership comprises the president and trustees (shiva tuvei ha'ir).
The United Synagogue was established for charitable purposes by the Jewish United Synagogues Act of 1870. It was formally registered as a charity on the 2nd June 1965.
The Schedule to the Act was previously the major constitutional document of the Charity. This has subsequently been augmented by the Statutes of the United Synagogue, passed by the United Synagogue Council in April 1999, which set out the Charity's objects, its role and powers and those of its Honorary Officers (Trustees) and its Council; by the Byelaws, which set out the system of governance of local synagogues; and by the Election Regulations, which set out the procedure for electing the Board of Trustees every three years.
The relationship of the United Synagogue and its Affiliates is governed by the Affiliate Scheme.
The Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees (also known as the United Synagogue Honorary Officers, or USHOs) have overall responsibility for the activities of the United Synagogue. They are elected by the Council of the United Synagogue (see below) every 3 years. The last elections took place in July 2005.
The Board of Trustees consists of a President, three Vice-Presidents and three Treasurers. Trustees serve for a three-year period and may be re-elected for a further three-year period in the same position. They may go on to serve similarly in other Trustee positions. The powers of the Trustees are set out in the Statutes.
Responsibility for the religious direction and guidance of the United Synagogue is vested in the Chief Rabbi.
While no formal policy for the recruitment of Trustees exists as such, the constitution provides that a Trustee must have prior experience of serving on the Board of Management at one of the network of local Synagogue Communities for which the United Synagogue is the umbrella body and where the majority of the Charity's activities take place. Trustees who stand for election have had wide experience of lay leadership in the general Jewish Community for which they are taking responsibility.
The Board of Trustees meets, on average, once a month to take strategic and policy decisions. These meetings are attended by the Chief Executive, Director of Finance and the Company Secretary to provide operational advice as required. In addition other Divisional Directors are invited as appropriate.
The Board of Trustees has various sub-committees convened for the better working of the Charity, and the membership of those committees comprises Trustees as well as other individuals, lay and professional. These sub- committees have such delegated decision making powers as are set out in their own terms of reference.
The Council of the United Synagogue
The Council represents the voice of the membership of the United Synagogue, and has retained four powers from the days when it was the Trustee body of the charity:
● To elect and remove Trustees;
● To consent to proposed amendments to the constitution of the United Synagogue;
● To admit/discontinue the membership of any synagogue to the United Synagogue;
● To consider the Budget and accounts of the United Synagogue.
The Council is elected annually by members of local synagogues at the same time as the annual synagogue elections for local Honorary Officers. Each synagogue elects a number of Council Representatives based on the number of members it has. All current Trustees are members of Council ex officio, as are the immediate previous set of Trustees. There are in addition a limited number of life members including all past Presidents. Council meets four times a year, with two of those meetings to receive the annual budget and the presentation of the annual accounts.
The Synagogues
The United Synagogue has 44 Member, 17 Affiliate and 1 Associate synagogues.
Member Synagogues
The member synagogues are part of the United Synagogue. The day to day responsibility for running the individual member synagogues is delegated by the Trustees to local Honorary Officers and Boards of Management elected annually by the members of the local Synagogues.
The Byelaws regulate the powers of the local Honorary Officers and the conduct of local synagogue activities. The Trustees from time to time issue guidelines or instructions to supplement the Byelaws.
The religious affairs of the synagogues are run by the local Rabbi (together with a Cantor if appropriate) and the wardens (who are part of the team of Honorary Officers) under the overall guidance of the Chief Rabbi. Professional administrators are employed at most synagogues to provide the local lay leadership with administrative support in the effective management of the community.
Local synagogues collect an annual membership subscription—the communal payover—from their members. A proportion of this membership is paid over to the Centre for the services provided generally and to support the further development of the Charity. The remainder of the membership subscriptions are retained and administered locally according to United Synagogue rules, and are used to run the local community.
Affiliate Synagogues
These are synagogues which are constitutionally one step removed from the United Synagogue, and whose relationship to the Charity is governed by the Affiliate scheme. They are independent legal entities (sometimes independent charities) which 'affiliate' to the United Synagogue for a variety of purposes but which do not form part of the Charity. The Affiliates govern their synagogue under the Byelaws, as varied by the Affiliate scheme. The United Synagogue provides them with certain limited services for which they also pay an annual contribution
The Professional Staff
The Board of Trustees delegates powers for the day-to-day running of the Charity as a whole to the Chief Executive and, through him, to the senior professionals team.
David Kaplan, Community Services Director responsible for the Community Division and Tribe
Rabbi Jeremy Conway, External Services Director responsible for Kashrut and Eruvin
David Frei, External and Legal Services Director responsible for in house legal advice, London Beth Din, Burial and Visitation
Ian Myers, Marketing and Communication Director responsible for the marketing and communication strategy of the United Synagogue
The Chief Executive in addition has responsibility for in Finance and Human Resources Departments.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, in 1870. , it remains the largest religious grouping within the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Jewish community and indeed in Europe, covering 62 Orthodox Jewish communities. It takes its religious authority from the Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Britain and has its own Beth Din
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
and Dayanim.
The United Synagogue's values stem from the principles of both Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and Halacha.
History
From 1866, Nathan Marcus AdlerNathan Marcus Adler
Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler was the Orthodox Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1845 until his death, probably the most prominent 19th century rabbi in the English-speaking world.-Life:...
was instrumental in bringing together the United Synagogue, a union of the three City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
synagogues — the Great Synagogue, the New Synagogue, and the Hambro Synagogue — and their branch synagogues at Great Portland Street
Great Portland Street
Great Portland Street is a street in the West End of London. Linking Oxford Street with Albany Street and the busy A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road, the road forms the boundary between Fitzrovia to the east and Marylebone to the west...
and Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
.
Its direct work has always been confined to the metropolis, but it has exercised, indirectly, considerable influence over the Jews of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
. It is governed by an elected council representing the constituent congregations. In religious and ritual matters it is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Rabbi. The president of the United Synagogue in 1910 was Lord Rothschild.
The United Synagogue directs and supports educational and charitable work. The title chief rabbi is not found in the pre-expulsion records, though, before the Jews were banished in 1290, there was an official named presbyter omnium Judaeorum Angliae. The functions of this official cannot be proved to have been ecclesiastical. The title Chief Rabbi became well known through the eminence of occupants of the position such as Adler's immediate predecessor Solomon Hirschell
Solomon Hirschell
Rabbi Solomon Hirschell was the Chief rabbi of Great Britain, 1802-42. He is best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to stop the spread of Reform Judaism in Britain by excommunicating its leaders....
(1762–1842).
Timeline
1690 - Foundation of the Great Synagogue1707 - Hambro' Synagogue established
1761 - New Synagogue established
1837 - New Synagogue moves to Great St. Helens
1845 - Nathan Marcus Adler becomes Chief Rabbi
1855 - Central Synagogue established
1863 - Bayswater Synagogue established
1870 - The five Ashkenazi Synagogues join to form the United Synagogue
1891 - Hermann Marcus Adler succeeds his father as Chief Rabbi
1913 - Joseph Herman Hertz becomes Chief Rabbi
1914 - United Synagogue comprises 21 communities
1931–38 - Nineteen more communities join
1939 - United Synagogue comprises 52 communities
1945–55 - Thirty more communities join
1948 - Israel Brodie becomes Chief Rabbi
1967 - Immanuel Jakobovits becomes Chief Rabbi
1991 - Jonathan Sacks becomes Chief Rabbi
1995 - 125th Anniversary Celebrations
2003 - Tribe (Young United Synagogue) launched
2008 - United Synagogue comprises over 60 communities
Organisation
The rabbinic leadership of the United Synagogue is vested in the chief rabbi and the London Beth DinLondon Beth Din
The London Beth Din is the Ashkenazi Beth Din of the United Synagogue, the largest Ashkenazi synagogal body in London, England. In its capacity as Court of the Chief Rabbi, it is historically the supreme halakhic Authority for Mitnagdim Ashkenazim several Commonwealth countries and additionally is...
. The lay leadership comprises the president and trustees (shiva tuvei ha'ir).
The United Synagogue was established for charitable purposes by the Jewish United Synagogues Act of 1870. It was formally registered as a charity on the 2nd June 1965.
The Schedule to the Act was previously the major constitutional document of the Charity. This has subsequently been augmented by the Statutes of the United Synagogue, passed by the United Synagogue Council in April 1999, which set out the Charity's objects, its role and powers and those of its Honorary Officers (Trustees) and its Council; by the Byelaws, which set out the system of governance of local synagogues; and by the Election Regulations, which set out the procedure for electing the Board of Trustees every three years.
The relationship of the United Synagogue and its Affiliates is governed by the Affiliate Scheme.
The Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees (also known as the United Synagogue Honorary Officers, or USHOs) have overall responsibility for the activities of the United Synagogue. They are elected by the Council of the United Synagogue (see below) every 3 years. The last elections took place in July 2005.
The Board of Trustees consists of a President, three Vice-Presidents and three Treasurers. Trustees serve for a three-year period and may be re-elected for a further three-year period in the same position. They may go on to serve similarly in other Trustee positions. The powers of the Trustees are set out in the Statutes.
Responsibility for the religious direction and guidance of the United Synagogue is vested in the Chief Rabbi.
While no formal policy for the recruitment of Trustees exists as such, the constitution provides that a Trustee must have prior experience of serving on the Board of Management at one of the network of local Synagogue Communities for which the United Synagogue is the umbrella body and where the majority of the Charity's activities take place. Trustees who stand for election have had wide experience of lay leadership in the general Jewish Community for which they are taking responsibility.
The Board of Trustees meets, on average, once a month to take strategic and policy decisions. These meetings are attended by the Chief Executive, Director of Finance and the Company Secretary to provide operational advice as required. In addition other Divisional Directors are invited as appropriate.
The Board of Trustees has various sub-committees convened for the better working of the Charity, and the membership of those committees comprises Trustees as well as other individuals, lay and professional. These sub- committees have such delegated decision making powers as are set out in their own terms of reference.
The Council of the United Synagogue
The Council represents the voice of the membership of the United Synagogue, and has retained four powers from the days when it was the Trustee body of the charity:
● To elect and remove Trustees;
● To consent to proposed amendments to the constitution of the United Synagogue;
● To admit/discontinue the membership of any synagogue to the United Synagogue;
● To consider the Budget and accounts of the United Synagogue.
The Council is elected annually by members of local synagogues at the same time as the annual synagogue elections for local Honorary Officers. Each synagogue elects a number of Council Representatives based on the number of members it has. All current Trustees are members of Council ex officio, as are the immediate previous set of Trustees. There are in addition a limited number of life members including all past Presidents. Council meets four times a year, with two of those meetings to receive the annual budget and the presentation of the annual accounts.
The Synagogues
The United Synagogue has 44 Member, 17 Affiliate and 1 Associate synagogues.
Member Synagogues
The member synagogues are part of the United Synagogue. The day to day responsibility for running the individual member synagogues is delegated by the Trustees to local Honorary Officers and Boards of Management elected annually by the members of the local Synagogues.
The Byelaws regulate the powers of the local Honorary Officers and the conduct of local synagogue activities. The Trustees from time to time issue guidelines or instructions to supplement the Byelaws.
The religious affairs of the synagogues are run by the local Rabbi (together with a Cantor if appropriate) and the wardens (who are part of the team of Honorary Officers) under the overall guidance of the Chief Rabbi. Professional administrators are employed at most synagogues to provide the local lay leadership with administrative support in the effective management of the community.
Local synagogues collect an annual membership subscription—the communal payover—from their members. A proportion of this membership is paid over to the Centre for the services provided generally and to support the further development of the Charity. The remainder of the membership subscriptions are retained and administered locally according to United Synagogue rules, and are used to run the local community.
Affiliate Synagogues
These are synagogues which are constitutionally one step removed from the United Synagogue, and whose relationship to the Charity is governed by the Affiliate scheme. They are independent legal entities (sometimes independent charities) which 'affiliate' to the United Synagogue for a variety of purposes but which do not form part of the Charity. The Affiliates govern their synagogue under the Byelaws, as varied by the Affiliate scheme. The United Synagogue provides them with certain limited services for which they also pay an annual contribution
The Professional Staff
The Board of Trustees delegates powers for the day-to-day running of the Charity as a whole to the Chief Executive and, through him, to the senior professionals team.
David Kaplan, Community Services Director responsible for the Community Division and Tribe
Rabbi Jeremy Conway, External Services Director responsible for Kashrut and Eruvin
David Frei, External and Legal Services Director responsible for in house legal advice, London Beth Din, Burial and Visitation
Ian Myers, Marketing and Communication Director responsible for the marketing and communication strategy of the United Synagogue
The Chief Executive in addition has responsibility for in Finance and Human Resources Departments.
List of member synagogues
(List only contains synagogues with Wikipedia pages)- Stanmore and Canons Park SynagogueStanmore and Canons Park SynagogueStanmore and Canons Park Synagogue has the largest community of any single orthodox synagogue in the whole of Europe. It is a constituent of the United Synagogue...
- Wembley United SynagogueWembley United SynagogueWembley Synagogue is a synagogue in Wembley, London in England. It is part of the United Synagogue family of synagogues and offers an extensive range of religious, spiritual and social activities.-Synagogue:...
External links
- United Synagogue web site
- List of Congregations of the United Synagogue on Jewish Communities and Records - UK (hosted by jewishgen.org).