Rabbi Meir Shindler will be moving from Richmond to Cockfosters and North Southgate United Synagogue to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Rabbi Daniel Epstein to the Western Marble Arch congregation earlier this year.

The appointment of the rabbi and his wife Rina was approved overwhelmingly by Cockfosters members last week and the couple are expected to start their new roles in November.

Rabbi Meir Shindler was raised in London and has a first-class honours degree in mechatronics engineering from King’s College, London, where he received several awards.

After graduating, he worked in operational research for the government’s export credit guarantee department. Having spent three years in yeshivah in Israel before university, he attended Jerusalem Kollel after his spell in industry, gaining his semichah.

He was associate rabbi at Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue, focusing on developing the profile of young families, and joined Richmond five years ago.

Achievements there include founding and directing the Richmond Jewish Community Hub, an inclusive cultural and educational centre for the Jewish community in South-West London.

Having enjoyed his time in Richmond, he looked forward to leading CNSS, “a busy, thriving community who have already given us such a warm welcome. We keenly anticipate working together with the enthusiastic lay leadership on forward-thinking plans for growth post-pandemic.”