10 July 2019

Rabbi David Hulbert, the longest serving rabbi in Redbridge, has retired after three decades in the pulpit.

A special service was held at East London & Essex Liberal Synagogue (ELELS) to mark the occasion, where it was standing room only as rabbis and faith leaders from around the region, as well as the wider Liberal movement, joined with David’s family, friends and congregants to say goodbye.

David is beloved by the ELELS community having spent his entire 30 year career there. He joined Barkingside Progressive Synagogue as a student rabbi and remained there after ordination, guiding it as it became Bet Tikvah before then merging with Woodford Liberal Synagogue to form ELELS. He will now become the synagogue’s first ever emeritus rabbi.

David led most of the service along with his family and Rabbi Danny Rich, Liberal Judaism’s senior rabbi, who was in the same graduating class as David at Leo Baeck College and praised him as “a kind and caring man”.

Elliott Porte, the joint vice chair of ELELS, gave a run down of David’s career, including his time as a civil servant, and his work outside of the community including being a founder member of the Redbridge Three Faiths Forum. The service was followed by a buffet lunch and the presentation of a cake.

David said: “I was very pleased to see so many lovely people and hear so many lovely things said about my last 30 years as a rabbi in this community. Among the gifts I was presented with was a certificate saying they had named a star after me. So now, at long last we can say ‘Rabbi David Hulbert is a star’.”