Danny Rich (rabbi)
| Rabbi Danny Rich | |
|---|---|
| Born | South London |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation |
rabbi Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism |
| Children | 4 |
Rabbi Danny Rich is the Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom.
Danny Rich was born in South London, and attended Hearnville Primary School and Sir Walter St. John's Grammar School, where he was head boy. Following his A-levels in German, History, and Government and Politics, he worked for the London Fire Brigade before entering Manchester University to study Politics and Modern History, doing his undergraduate thesis on The Palestinian Experience in Jordan: 1948–1970 and maintaining an active role in student politics, being twice elected chairperson of Manchester University Students Union. During this time, he also served as a visiting lay minister for Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation, and as a teacher/service leader at Manchester Reform Synagogue. In 1984, Rich began rabbinical training at Leo Baeck College, a privately funded rabbinical seminary in the UK for Liberal and Reform rabbis. While there, he continued to serve at Leicester Progressive Jewish Congregation, and began teaching at North Western Reform Synagogue (Alyth Gardens). He served as an assistant to Rabbi Julia Neuberger at South London Liberal Synagogue, as part-time minister to Kingston Liberal Synagogue, and as student rabbi to Hull and South Hampshire Reform communities, before returning to serve as the full-time Rabbi at Kingston in 1988, where he was ordained in 1989.
As Kingston Liberal Synagogue's first full-time rabbi, Rich served until 2004, when he was appointed emeritus rabbi. During his period of service at Kingston, he co-founded and chaired the Kingston Interfaith Forum, a group to promote communication and understanding between the faith groups in the borough. He also served as the director of Kadimah Summer Camp from 1990-2005. In 1996, he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace (magistrate) in the Kingston Court, presiding over cases until the court's closure in 2011, when he presided over the court's last trial. Rabbi Rich also serves as a prison, hospital and hospice chaplain. He is currently Jewish chaplain to Her Majesty’s Prison Coldingley, and formerly to the open prison Latchmere House until the prison’s closure in 2011, as well as for Kingston Hospital, and Oaklands National Health Service (NHS) Trust. He also served as Jewish mental health chaplain to Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. As a part of his involvement as a prison chaplain, he received a diploma in criminology from the Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order (Leicester University) in 2001. He is a former Trustee of Mental Aid Projects a former Governor at Hinchley Wood Junior School.
...
Wikipedia