The popular senior rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation in Leeds, Rabbi Albert Chait, has announced he will leave later this year after 20 years’ service.
Rabbi Alby, as he is widely known, told congregants that he had felt the time had come “for a new chapter and a new challenge in a new place – for myself, professionally, for my family, and, in time, for the shul and our community”.
He said: “I know this news may come as a shock to you all, but this decision has been an incredibly difficult one to make. And so, whilst it pains me to share this with you, it does, however, feel… the right moment.”
The shul had not just been a place where he worked but “it is where I have grown up, where I have built my family and where I have found purpose, meaning and direction.
“Together, we have built something very very special. In 20 golden years in which we have shared each other’s happiest moments and stood side by side through life’s challenges; the bond between us – the trust, the warmth, the sense of family – believe me, is something I will forever treasure.”
He had “not yet decided what or where that next chapter in my own life will take me,” he said. “But over the coming months, I will be taking time to reflect on how best I can continue to serve the entire Jewish community both here in the UK and further afield in the years ahead.”
He joined the synagogue at the age of 19 as number three in the ministerial team, following in the footsteps of his father Henry, who had been chazan at Greenbank Drive Synagogue in Liverpool.
Ten years later, when he was inducted as UHC’s senior minister, he enjoyed the distinction of being the spiritual leader of an Orthodox congregation while its chazan. He gained his rabbinic title a few years ago under London Beth Din head Rabbi Menachem Gelley.
Five years ago, he was made MBE for his morale-boosting online services during Covid. One virtual service for Chanukah streamed from Elland Road, the home of Leeds football club, reached 20,000 people – later earning him a place in an advertising campaign for Meta, the company that runs Facebook and other social media platforms.
He also founded a charity, A Time to Say Thank You, which organises volunteers to deliver gifts on Christmas Day to homeless shelters, emergency services and care centres. It has spread not only from Leeds to elsewhere in the country but also to Australia.
UHC president Philip Myers told the community that “Rabbi Alby and his beloved family will be with us for several months yet” and expressed “immense gratitude for an extraordinary tenure”.
“I’d like to add our thanks for the inspirational leadership Rabbi Alby has provided and continues to provide, and for supporting us through all the challenges and successes the community and many of us as individuals and families have experienced,” he said.
He also acknowledged the rabbi’s “support, encouragement and input to the recently announced plans for amalgamation between the Orthodox shuls, and for his help in considering the right direction in the key first steps in recruitment”.
UHC members are due to vote next week on a proposal to amalgamate with the other main two Orthodox synagogues in the city, Etz Chaim and Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Leeds.
Rabbi Chait, who has just turned 40, told the JC that for a minister to spend 20 years with a single congregation was “becoming rarer in the modern era”.
He had “loved every single minute at the shul,” he said. “It has given me immense joy and satisfaction.”
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