Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg

Shul Crawl: Lubavitch World Headquarters, New York

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, January 19, 2012

The USA may be a bit beyond our remit of "every synagogue in the UK" but we thought we'd go and see what all the fuss was about.

We visited the Lubavitch (Chabad) Headquarters, situated at 770 Eastern Parkway, in a borough of New York City.

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Shul Crawl: Reading Hebrew Congregation

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, January 19, 2012

Reading Hebrew Congregation is a small but dedicated community of friends. They might not like Friday night services (when we went, nobody else but the rabbi and his family turned up), but on Shabbat morning there were around 40 Jewish men and women – a rather impressive proportion, given the membership of under 150.

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Shul Crawl: The Oxford Jewish Congregation

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, December 19, 2011

The Oxford Jewish Congregation is a unique synagogue, and one which other English synagogues can learn from. For a start, it hosts a mix of religious denominations – we were there for an Orthodox Shabbat service, but Masorti and Liberal groups also meet under the same roof.

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Shul Crawl: Sandys Row Synagogue, City of London

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, October 25, 2011

The oldest remaining Ashkenazi synagogue in the country is Sandys Row in the City of London.

We were told by a veteran member of the community with a gleeful smile that it was the second oldest, until the Germans destroyed Central Synagogue in Duke's Place during the war.

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Shul Crawl: Bevis Marks Synagogue

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, September 28, 2011

Hidden far below the towering buildings of the City of London is Bevis Marks, founded in 1701.

It sits as a monument to British Jewry as it once was, retaining the grandeur of generations past.

The interior has ornately carved wooden pews for the congregation, but with reserved boxes for the wardens, presidents, choir and Sir Moses Montifiore (who died in 1885).

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Shul Crawl: North Western Reform Synagogue (Alyth)

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, September 28, 2011

The North Western Reform Synagogue, commonly known as "Alyth" is old by North London standards, having been founded in 1933.

Since then it has undergone a refurbishment and as a consequence the sanctuary was modern, but the stained glass windows and the 1930s brickwork helped retain the grandeur of an older synagogue.

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Shul Crawl: Alei Tzion, Hendon

By Danny Kessler and Joshua Felberg, September 28, 2011

We started our synagogue reviews almost alphabetically, which meant first stop was Alei Tzion (sorry Aberdeen), a small but growing satellite of the United Synagogue.

We walked in an hour late to find everyone else listening very seriously to the Torah being read.

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