Snowed-in Chief Rabbi finds a way to address lunch guests

Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation welcomed the Chief Rabbi on Sunday, albeit in an unanticipated way.

Although heavy snow prevented Ephraim Mirvis from travelling to the Essex coast for lunch with 120 congregants, he was able to address guests through a Skype link-up.

In an apposite anecdote, he recalled praying alone at the Kotel in 1980 on a snowy and bitterly cold day.

“I prayed from the depths of my heart. Suddenly I saw somebody coming towards me and I knew I could pass the baton onto someone else.” It was the same with Southend and Westcliff, which had successfully stayed on track from generation to generation.