Borehamwood & Elstree synagogue consults members on making second site at Yavneh College

Borehamwood and Elstree synagogue (BES) is consulting with its 2,500+ adult membership- as to whether its second site at Yavneh College should become an independent entity.

With BES the largest congregation in the United Synagogue, April 2023 marks the 16th anniversary of the first BES@Yavneh service and the beginnings of what is now a thriving community for those living ‘southside’ of the main synagogue at Croxdale Avenue.

The Southside minyan services initially took place in people’s homes. Over time, Shabbat and yom tov services started to take place at Yavneh College. As the BES membership on the Southside community continued to grow, in 2016 its service became formally represented with Honorary Officers and a new governance structure for BES.

Since then,  BES@Yavneh has continued to evolve and develop its own identity and programming, catering to the significant number of BES members with strong affiliation to the Southside minyan.

In a letter to members, officers at BES said: “As a community we are continually striving to create wonderful religious services, programming and initiatives across both sites. But we also recognise that as our community has grown significantly, the complexity of managing the community for two sites has grown significantly with it.”

Members were informed in July 2022 that the Honorary Officers would be exploring options and models for the future of the community. They now “believe in principle” that now is the right time to consider “whether BES@Yavneh should  evolve as an independent community with its own rabbinic and lay-leadership structures. At the same time it is an opportunity to envisage what a new ‘focused” BES could deliver and offer.”

Describing the timing as “an incredibly exciting next step in the evolution of Borehamwood and Elstree’s Jewish Community”, members are invited to be part of the consultation with questions and ideas, with the emphasis on BES@Yavneh retaining strong links to BES through programming and events.

The HOs continue to work closely with the Rabbinic team to “source their input and insight as these discussions continue. There will be many questions to answer over the next few months as these ideas are explored and developed.”

Meanwhile, the management of BES continue with their plans to redevelop the Croxdale Road site into a synagogue and multi-purpose community centre, to ensure the community has a “perfect venue” for everyone. They view it as “natural progression and a sign of the success of everyone in our community that leads, volunteers and participates in everything we do as the BES community. We will be approaching the next stage of this development in this same spirit, and we look forward to a productive meeting with those that wish to attend on 21st March.”

Sam Franklin, chair of Borehamwood and Elstree synagogue, said: “This is an incredibly exciting next step in the evolution of Borehamwood and Elstree’s Jewish community. As these conversations continue, we’re inviting our members to be part of the consultation, to ask questions and to share their ideas with us, both on the redevelopment of Croxdale and the development of the community.”

Ben Vos, the United Synagogue’s Head of Community Development, said: “The United Synagogue is excited to support the leadership and members of Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue as they begin this consultation. Strong rabbinic and lay leadership over many years and the demographic growth in the area have brought this opportunity to discuss how the community might next develop. We will support them every step of the way with both the redevelopment of Croxdale Road and the upcoming conversations.”

The community meeting for BES members takes place on Tuesday 21st March 8.15pm at Croxdale Road, and will also be hosted online for those unable to attend in person.

Ahead of the meeting, questions can be emailed to FutureWD6@Borehamwoodshul.org