page_title: Ephraim Mirvis
section_title: Views and achievements
hierarchical_section_title: Ephraim Mirvis / Views and achievements
caption_attribution_description: English: Ephraim Mirvis in London feb 2015
context_page_description: Ephraim Mirvis is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Traditionally the Chief Rabbi serves as the head of all British Jews as the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992.
context_section_description: Mirvis was an advocate for the freedom of Soviet Jewry as Chairman of the Irish National Council for Soviet Jewry between 1984 and 1992. In 1986 he lobbied successfully against the request of a Dutch Nazi war criminal, Pieter Menten, to reside in Ireland. Mirvis has led campaigns to improve the quality of life, safety and security in and around shuls in the United Kingdom and London in particular.
  As Chief Rabbi of Ireland and before the opening of an Israeli Embassy in Ireland, he represented Israel’s interests at government level and in the media. In 1999, he led a group of British rabbis on a solidarity trip to Israel. Since 1997, he hosted the annual Bnei Akiva Yom Ha'atzmaut service at Finchley shul where it is still held. Regarding the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, while deploring the loss of life in Gaza, Mirvis defended Israel's right to protect itself from Hamas rocket attacks, adding that the conflict was used as a cover to voice antisemitic sentiment.
  Following his appointment, he created the ‘Centre for Community excellence’. This new department of the Office of the Chief Rabbi provides guidance and seed funding to Jewish communities, in order to promote the most creative and dynamic programming ideas. 
  One of his most successful campaigns is ‘Shabbat UK’ which was based upon the Shabbat Project, which originated in South Africa. The campaign encourages all Jews, regardless of religious affiliation or level of observance to engage better with Shabbat and reaches tens of thousands of people across the country. 
  Shortly after beginning his tenure, Mirvis announced that he would become the first Chief Rabbi to attend the annual Limmud Conference, a move which was considered extremely controversial at the time and a departure from the approach of his predecessor Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.
  Mirvis has also supported the expanding of women's roles in Orthodox Judaism. In 2012, he appointed Lauren Levin as Britain’s first Orthodox female halakhic adviser, at Finchley Shul in London. He also supports Shabbat prayer groups for Orthodox women, saying, "Some of our congregations have women prayer groups for Friday night, some Saturday mornings. This is without women reading from the Torah. But for women to come together as a group to pray, this is a good thing."  He also supports women becoming United Synagogue trustees, and Orthodox women reciting Kaddish. In 2016, Mirvis launched a new qualification for female educators to be advisers on Jewish law in the area of family purity and as adult educators in Orthodox shuls. The part-time training course, known as the Ma’ayan Programme, is 18 months long and is  the first such course in the United Kingdom.
  Mirvis has also made strides to encourage women to take their Jewish learning seriously, creating a series of events to encourage them to do so under the brand ‘Neshama’. 
  However, Mirvis also upholds the normative Orthodox Jewish positions that female rabbis and same-sex marriages are not permitted.
  In September 2018, Mirvis issued a guide on the well-being of LGBT+ pupils in Orthodox Jewish schools. The guide was the first of its kind anywhere in the world. It upheld the traditional prohibitions against the act of homosexuality, but made clear that the Torah still demands "sensitivity to the feelings of everyone, including LGBT+ people" and that there should be a zero-tolerance approach to either homophobic or transphobic bullying or disregard for their wellbeing. He also stated "Young LGBT+ people in the Jewish community often express feelings of deep isolation, loneliness and a sense that they can never be themselves. Many are living with the fear that if they share their struggles with anyone they will be expelled, ridiculed and even rejected by family and friends. They may even be struggling with a loss of emunah (faith, trust in God) and the fear of losing their place of acceptance and belonging in the Jewish community."
  In 2017, when Rabbi Joseph Dweck, the Senior Rabbi of the Sephardi Jewish community in the UK, made controversial comments about aspects of Jewish law,
caption: Ephraim Mirvis in London, Feb 2015
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