The Chief Rabbinate Trust confirmed Wednesday it had officially appointed the next British Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, to replace incumbent Lord Sacks when he steps down from office in September 2013.
Rabbi Mirvis, the current senior community Rabbi at Finchley United Synagogue (commonly known as Kinloss) was approved as Sacks’ successor at a ballot held Monday night, after an eight-month extended selection process was carried out to find a worthy successor to the distinguished Chief Rabbi.
According to a statement by the Chief Rabbinate Trust, his selection as the 11th Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the UK and the Commonwealth was “unanimously endorsed” Monday, in line with advance reports.
Welcoming the “terrific” choice of his South African-born successor, Rabbi Sacks paid tribute to Mirvis as “a good friend and valued colleague”, having served in the Chief Rabbi’s Cabinet since 1996. Sending him his “best wishes in the great task ahead”, he endorsed his selection by hailing him as a widely-respected “man of warmth and wisdom who will excel in his new role”.
Stephen Pack, President of the Chief Rabbinate Trust added: “Rabbi Mirvis is an extraordinary man, a dedicated teacher, a trusted academic and a deeply inspirational Rabbi. His unwavering commitment to promoting Jewish values and his natural ability to lead made him the stand out candidate for this position.”
Commending his “spiritual leadership”, he looked forward to the incoming Chief Rabbi delivering on his “truly uplifting and achievable vision for British Jewry” during the course of his mandate.
A statement by the Board of Deputies of British Jews paid tribute to the outgoing Lord Sacks, with whom it “has enjoyed a close and warm relationship” and insisted it was “confident that this will continue with his successor”.
Responding to his appointment, Rabi Mirvis said he anticipated assuming the role “with enormous excitement and a profound sense of privilege”, as he expressed his gratitude for “the warmth of the community’s support” of his candidacy. Heralding the “unique gifts” of his predecessor, who he commended for having “served British Jewry with distinction” both within the community and in his well-documented interfaith work, he added he would “seek to take our community to even greater heights through a deeper commitment to Jewish identity, values and learning”.
He would further look to “empower” community rabbis “and inspire them further to transform their synagogues into powerhouses of religious, educational, cultural and social activity”, he added.
His vision of religiosity is likely to carry weight with critics of Lord Sacks, who have maintained that the academic and author, who has long been regarded as the figurehead of British Jewry in the secular world, placed undue emphasis on interfaith work and academia, as opposed to Jewish learning.
With a career mainly focused in the local community, first succeeding Lord Sacks as rabbi of Western Marble Arch Synagogue before assuming his current position at Kinloss, his only previous high profile non-community role was as Chief Rabbi of Ireland, a post he occupied from 1984-1992.
In that sense, his CV emulates that of the 9th Chief Rabbi, the late Lord Jackovits, a widely-regarded figurehead. He is well-respected by his current community, in which he counts over 1,800 members, having successfully established a popular community education programme, the Kinloss Learning Centre (KLC). He has also served as Guest Speaker and Scholar-in-Residence at numerous communities and campuses around the globe, as well as writing articles for newspapers and journals and often appearing on television and radio broadcasts.
Born in 1956, his wife Valerie is a local authority senior social worker who has carried out Frontline Child Protection for many years.