Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue minister Rabbi Baruch Davis will leave next summer to make aliyah.

In what he described as “a very difficult email to write”, he informed his Essex congregants that after “nearly 25 wonderful years”, he and wife Nechama intended to retire in July.

Their intention was “to join my mother, our children and grandchildren in Israel”.

Rabbi Davis and Nechama had met and married in Israel, having originally made aliyah from South Africa and the UK respectively.

“Now, 33 years after leaving Israel for our first position in Australia, we are keen to return.”

The rabbi added that he would depart at a time of “exciting developments afoot in the community, most notably the shul redevelopment project”. He hoped the next rabbinic couple would “be dynamic, capable and committed to seeing our community continue to flourish”.

Giving the better part of a year’s notice would enable the rabbi and his wife “to say goodbye slowly and properly. We will miss you all more than words can tell.”