Rabbi Schochet Looks Forward

By COLlive reporter

The name of Chabad Rabbi Yitzchok Schochet continues to appear in public discussion as a possible candidate for the post of Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth.

The most recent mention was by Ruth Gledhill, the highly regarded Religion Correspondent of the London Times.

“I think there are only two obvious contenders,” she said during an interview on BBC Radio after being asked who will likely be the next Chief Rabbi.

“The more conservative one is Rabbi Schochet of Mill Hill and the other one is Rabbi Harvey Belovsky of Golders Green. Both are fantastic characters. Both are hugely loved revered in their communities. Whichever one we get, they’re going to be hugely interesting and both wonderful spokespeople.”

Schochet has other things on his mind these days as the Mill Hill Synagogue he leads in the suburb of the London Borough of Barnet is busy preparing for the future.

The 1,000-strong family community, that boasts over 50% of its adult members under 50 years of age and over 500 children under 10 years of age, has commenced construction of a new Jewish Community Center.

The £4 million ($6.5 million) project, which is expected to be completed in January 2013, will provide a flexible facility over two floors, COLlive.com was told.

The hall, which will be able to seat up to 600 people for services and 240 for dinner, will be available to hire. The lower floor will have classrooms which will be used for the Shul’s growing cheder and diverse educational and social activities as well as housing children’s services that are now cramped into the community’s existing facilities.

Michael Goldstein, Chair of Mill Hill Synagogue, said in a statement: “The community has been planning this project for a long time. It is timely that we are now in construction as our existing facilities are struggling to cope with the large number of children we have on site every week.”

At the same time, The Mill Hill Eruv Charitable Trust is about to submit its second planning application to Barnet Council for an Eruv in Mill Hill.

Conditional Planning Permission for the Mill Hill Eruv was first granted in 2010; following which a number of refinements have been made to the route – largely in response to consultation with local stakeholders. The current submission seeks approval for these refinements.

“These are exciting times for Mill Hill,” says Rabbi Schochet. “With the new Etz Chaim school, a new community centre and a pending new eruv we are well placed to cater for our ever thriving flagship community well into the 21st century.”

As for his potential candidacy, Rabbi Schochet noted in a recent article that “in several discussions with my father, he told me in no uncertain terms that it is not a position he would want to see me in.”

His father is Rabbi Dr. Immanuel J Schochet, a renowned rabbi in Toronto, an academic and scholar who has written and lectured on the history and philosophy of chassidism and on themes of Jewish thought and ethics.