The founding rabbi of the Rambam Sephardi Synagogue in Borehamwood is to leave after more than seven years.

Leaders of the community said Rabbi Jeff Berger, originally from New York, would be pursuing “his many other areas of interest”.

Rabbi Berger was among the first graduates of the Montefiore Kollel, the only ordination programme in the UK for the central Orthodox rabbinate. Rambam leaders are searching for a replacement for the independent congregation, which has grown to 50 families and meets on the Yavneh College premises.

Its aims are “to facilitate the preservation of Sephardi heritage and the colourful aesthetic of Sephardi Jewry and culture” — and “to focus on a Jewish way of life inspired by the teachings of Maimonides [Rambam], the classical Sephardic world-view”.