How to build a Jewish community

MHEJC member Steven Berold helping his son Sam lay tefillin for the first time ahead of his barmitzvah. Sam took part in the MHEJC bnei mitzvah programme[Missing Credit]

In 2018, they hired Rabbi Bentzi Mann as their first rabbi, and in 2019 they doubled their Shabbat provision, hosting weekly services, plus a full calendar for the chagim. Their snowballing membership was especially encouraging, Avi says, because “most of the people who joined the shul at the beginning were not transferring from any other shul – we were the first time they ever had shul membership [in their adult life]. That was one of the major shots in the arm which said to me that this is a goer, because when you see people parting with cash to become a member of your community, that’s a real sign of commitment.”

Then the pandemic hit. In conditions which should have threatened the project, they found novel ways to thrive online. “We did arts and crafts events on Zoom, where we delivered crafting packs to people’s doorsteps”, Avi recalls “We did an event where people made cocktails in their house. We made sure that there was something put on for everyone – which was our philosophy of mind from the beginning, that everyone should be able to say: ‘There is an event which I really feel is designed for me.’”

There were other small details which Avi explained attracted people to MHEJC, one of them being its desire to embrace modernity and promote honesty in their transactions. “Everything is done on a monthly tariff,”, he explains, to align with the way that most subscriptions are priced nowadays, and to mitigate the psychological burden that people feel when receiving a bigger lump sum bill. “We also have complete transparency on our pricing, and everything is paid by direct debit – no paper.”

“If you say we started it off as a start-up, over the years, it became a scaleup,” Avi tells us – and in 2021, he and Josh stepped down to hand over the reins to “the next generation”. Chloe Prager and James Neidle took over as co-chairs and have since been succeeded by Andy Simon and Joseph Leigh.

Matzah-making at Mill Hill East Jewish Community (Photo: MHEJC)[Missing Credit]

The community inaugurated its first Sefer Torah the same year, and continued to attract young families, while also caring for those outside of that remit. “We have a very good relationship with the Jewish Blind & Disabled home round the corner,” Avi says. “Many of their residents can’t come physically, so we have a service once a month at JBD, and some of them have now become our members.”

In 2022, they hired a new rabbinic couple, Rabbi Jack and Rebbetzin Rivka Cohen, and further grew the community. All services were still held in a rented space, and to this end, MHEJC was included in 2023 within the US’ £55 million capital strategy. After two years of fundraising efforts spearheaded by building project leads Jonny Bunt and James Neidle, the US completed the purchase of the same site, giving MHEJC a permanent home for the first time.

“There’s something psychological about having that physical space that everyone knows is where community happens, where they know that if, at the drop of a hat, they decide they want to go to shul on a Friday night, that everything happens there,” Avi says. There was also the practical element – the “ability to have a home we can access whenever we need it. For example, we’ve got a barmitzvah happening this Shabbat, and the dad said it would be really nice to have a Thursday morning service for it, which we don’t usually have, but this has enabled us to do so.”

A decade on from Avi’s first brainwave, MHEJC boasts over 500 adult members, has fully integrated into the US network, and owns a dedicated shul. If you want to follow in these footsteps, then, what should you do? “A lot of good things were true at the same time that enabled us to do what we’ve done,” Avi admits. “And the main driver has always been the people and the volunteers – even now, our only real employee is a part-time rabbi.”

Mill Hill East Jewish Community co-chairs Andy Simon (left) and Joseph Leigh with the keys for the congregation's first permanent home[Missing Credit]

MHEJC found the location which came to be their new home entirely by chance, as Avi, Josh, and a couple of others stumbled upon the property in 2016 while scouting out potential sites to rent. “We saw the gate was unlocked, knocked on the door, and spoke to the staff there,” Avi says. “What I would say to anyone doing this is that often the solutions come from the most unexpected places and you sometimes just have to take a leap and hope it works”.

Click here to find out more about MHEJC and here to follow them on Instagram