All change as Rabbi Pinchas and Gila Hackenbroch join Western Marble Arch
Woodside Park synagogue calls the rabbinical couple's departure after 18 years 'a bittersweet moment for our community'
Senior Rabbi Pinchas and Rebbetzin Gila Hackenbroch are leaving Woodside Park synagogue after eighteen years, to take up new posts at Western Marble Arch shul later this year.
They will take the place of Rabbi Daniel and Rebbetzin Ilana Epstein, who left for roles in Australia in May 2025.
In a statement to members shared with Jewish News, WPS called the news of the couple’s departure, having been at the “heart” of their community for nearly two decades, “a bittersweet moment.”
“They have shaped our spiritual direction, strengthened our communal bonds and provided pastoral care and guidance to so many members at pivotal moments in their lives. We will miss them and their wonderful family enormously. At the same time, we are proud that they have been chosen for this exciting and significant new opportunity and we wish them every success and continued blessing in this next challenge.”
Described by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis as “one of the most creative and innovative Rabbis” in the United Synagogue, Rabbi Hackenbroch grew up in Stanmore and attended Hasmonean High School before reading Law at London Guildhall University.
He spent four years as chair of the Rabbinic Council of the United Synagogue before stepping down in 2025. Before being appointed at Woodside Park Synagogue in November 2008, Rabbi Hackenbroch was Rabbi of Newton Mearns Synagogue in Glasgow for five years.
A replacement for the Hackenbrochs has not been announced.
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