The Montefiore Diploma Course

On Sunday 26 February, the Montefiore Endowment held a Graduation Ceremony for the first cohort of its two-year pilot Diploma Course for lay men and women at the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue in Maida Vale in the presence of Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi of the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue, Dayan Daniel Kada; Rabbi Assaf Mittelman; Rabbi Israel Elia, Rabbi Amrom Nemeth and Rabbi Sam Millunchik. The Ceremony, preceded by Mincha, was enhanced by the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue’s choir.

Rick Sopher, who had delivered a module to the Course on the Qu’ran and the relationship between Islam and Judaism, recited Minha.

Lucien Gubbay, Chair of Trustees of the Montefiore Endowment and the main architect of the programme, congratulated the graduates. He together with Rabbi Nemeth had devised the curriculum;  and he expressed the hope that it, unique in its format and content, will be the precursor of many others.

The formal presentation then took place when the fifteen graduates received their diplomas from the hands of Rabbi Joseph Dweck.. The graduates were Kevin Ardebili, Julia Cushnir, Erez Goldberg, Sharon Isaac, Aviva Goldschmidt Kaufmann, David Kaye, Denise Levinson, Nicole Lipkin, Maurice Menir, Marc Meyer, Mirele Mordecai, David Stone, Renee Wasserman, Simon Wasserman, and Chava Wulwick.

Alan Mendoza, Parnas Presidente of the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue then opened the Ark; and Haskabot were recited for Sir Moses and Judith Lady Montefiore of blessed memory.

The Montefiore Diploma course was a two-year part-time course. Its curriculum was based on three pillars: Halacha, Jewish Sephardi history and a deep dive into some fundamental Jewish philosophical issues. It offered students, with varying levels of prior Jewish knowledge and education, a dynamic look at Halacha both on a practical basis and how it keeps “Judaism as a living religion”. It also enabled the students to tackle difficult issues, such as the existence of evil, both with the benefit of insight from classical commentators such as the Rambam and modern rabbanim such as Rabbi Dweck and Rabbi Samuel Lebens.

Marc Meyer.

Source: montefioreendowment.org.uk