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our

cheder & 
families services

JEWISH EDUCATION

At Exeter Synagogue, we firmly believe that our children are not just the future of our community but the heart of it today. The Cheder serves as a nurturing environment where they can learn about their heritage, traditions, and values, fostering a strong sense of identity and belonging.

Read on to find out more, including how to get in touch to register your interest.

About

the format

Our cheder and families service takes part on the third Shabbat of almost every month of the year (check below for full dates).  

The Saturday starts with a cheder at 9.30am, with coffee for parents, and a shortened, accessible service from 11.00-12.00am, followed by a bring and share lunch. We follow this with a walk (weather permitting) and some adult learning with the rabbi.

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All of our in-person services and events have professional security provided by award winning All Elite Security LTD.

upcoming dates

Please find below the upcoming dates for our education weekends

OCTOBER

2024

18th/19th October

Rabbi Anna Gerrard

NOVEMBER

2024

15th/16th November

Rabbi Anna Gerrard

DECEMBER

2024

13th/14th

Rabbi Andrew Goldstein

JANUARY

2025

17th/18h January

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein

FEBRUARY

2025

14th/15th February

Rabbi Anna Gerrard

MARCH

2025

14th/15th March

Rabbi Anna Gerrard

APRIL

2025

No education weekend due to school holidays. All families encouraged to attend our communal Seder!

MAY

2025

16th/17th May

Rabbi Anna Gerrard (tbc)

JUNE

2025

20th/21st June

Rabbi Anna Gerrard (tbc)

our visiting rabbis

We are very lucky to enjoy the services of two of Liberal Judaism's Rabbis:

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein has been the senior rabbi of The ark Synagogue (previously Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue) since 2008. His motto is to ‘Count Jews In, Not Out’ and passionately supports Liberal Judaism’s inclusion policies and championed the Equal Marriage campaign for LJ. Aaron is also an active participant in refugee and asylum issues and supports Jewish detainees at Harmondsworth.


Rabbi Anna Gerrard works as a rabbi with Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community
Rabbi Anna grew up in the Masorti movement and became involved with Birmingham Progressive Synagogue while reading Theology as an undergraduate at Birmingham University. She worked for Liberal Judaism from 2005, running their Young Adults programme, and served as a Student Rabbi for Gloucestershire Liberal Jewish Community.
In July 2011, Anna was ordained by Leo Baeck College, having spent half of her studies in Jerusalem at the Conservative Yeshiva, Hebrew Union College and Machon Schechter.

 
Picture of Rabbi Aaron

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein

Picture of Rabbi Anna

Rabbi Anna Gerrard

Financial assistance provided by the North London Progressive Synagogue Trust allows us to cover the costs of visiting Rabbis for our education weekends, for which we are extremely grateful.  

To find out what is on next month, head back to the schedule on our What's On page.

WEEKLY HEBREW LESSONS

In addition to our monthly educational weekends, our young people also attend a weekly hebrew lesson on Zoom. 

JOINING OUR CHEDER

If you would like more information, get in touch with our cheder organiser by clicking below:
Exeter Synagogue does not provide bar and bat mitzvah teaching, but we are happy to work with families to arrange this on an individual basis.
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