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A Service of Appreciation for Rabbi Benji
As we prepare for a significant moment in the life of our community, we warmly invite you to join us on Saturday 28th June, for a special Shabbat service to say thank you and farewell to our inspirational Rabbi Benji Stanley.
Over the years, so many of us have been moved by Benji’s wisdom, compassion, and leadership - his words have brought comfort in difficult times and joy in our celebrations. While we feel the sadness of his upcoming departure, this Shabbat will be a chance to come together in deep gratitude for all he has given to our community: a vibrant and engaged congregation, grounded in tradition and full of promise.
Rabbi Benji’s time with us continues the legacy of those who came before him - Rabbi Harold Reinhart, Rabbi Albert Friedlander, and Rabbi Thomas Salamon - and we hope you will join us to honour Rabbi Benji and mark this meaningful moment together.
Do join us at 10:30am on Saturday 28th June to celebrate together as a community. You can RSVP for the service here, and read on below to find more information about ways you can contribute and connect with this special occasion both on the 28th and in days ahead.
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A Gift for Rabbi Benji and Our Community’s Future
Rabbi Benji has touched so many lives in our community - through his dedication to Judaism, Torah, kindness and us. His leadership has guided us through both joyous and challenging times, enriching our spiritual lives and strengthening our synagogue. As he leaves us to deepen his knowledge further, we wish to express our deep gratitude to him.
At the same time, as we search for a new spiritual leader to join Rabbi Kamila and Emeritus Rabbi Thomas in taking the synagogue forward, we wish to embed Rabbi Benji’s legacy and ensure our community remains strong, secure, and ready for the future.
We are therefore inviting all members to contribute to a shared fund that will be split between a special gift for Rabbi Benji and the synagogue’s continuing needs. Every donation, no matter its size, is a way to both show appreciation and support the new chapters in the lives of both of Rabbi Benji and Westminster Synagogue. To donate, please visit this link.
We also hope you will join us on Saturday, 28th June, for a special service to celebrate Rabbi Benji and wish him a fond farewell from our community. To find out more, click here.
Thank you for your generosity, for being part of this special moment in our community’s story, and for showing our appreciation to Rabbi Benji for all he has given us.
Lord Howard Leigh & Dudi Appleton
On behalf of Westminster Synagogue Executive
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Message Book for Rabbi Benji
As part of our farewell to Rabbi Benji, we’re creating a surprise community message book - a collection of memories, reflections, messages and photos from members, to celebrate his time with us and all he has given.
If Rabbi Benji has touched your life - whether through a sermon, a conversation, a moment of support, or simply his presence - we’d love you to share a message or photo to include. Please send your contributions to events@westminstersynagogue.org by Monday 2nd June.
In the lead-up to his final Shabbat, we’ll also be sharing a few of these messages online. If you’re happy for yours to be shared on our website or social media, please do let us know. If you’d prefer it to remain private within the book, that’s absolutely fine too - just mention that when you send it in!
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Community Tallit
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As we mark this moment of change in our community, we’re excited to share our Community Tallit Project. This project began during the Covid lockdowns, when Rabbi Benji’s leadership helped keep us connected through even the most uncertain times. Members of all ages were invited to design a tallit square - each one a reflection of connection, memory or hope - and 42 individual squares are currently sewn together into a single tallit for our community to use on special occasions.
We’ll be using the tallit during the celebratory Shabbat service. The joy of the community tallit is, just like our community, it grows! We are taking this occasion to expand our tallit and invite you to add a square to it. This tallit tells a story of our community, and we would love you to add your section to the story. Even if you added a square last time, you're welcome to add another square again.
If you’d like to contribute a square, you can collect one from the synagogue next time you’re in, or click here to request one by post and click here to read the instructions! Please ensure completed squares are returned to us by Tuesday 10th June.
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Learning and L'chaims
Learning and connecting with Jewish texts has been a core value that Rabbi Benji has shared with our community. Before he goes to do his own studies, we only thought it fitting to offer a final chance to learn with Benji on the 28th June itself. After the kiddush, you're invited to join us at 2:30pm for a drink and nosh as we gather together to learn from some of Rabbi Benji's favourite texts, or sharing some of your most powerful learning moments in the community over the past eight years.
To let us know you plan to join, simply tick the box when RSVPing for the service. There's no charge, but it will greatly help us ensure we've got enough seating and glasses for everyone!
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Upcoming Events
Outside of this celebratory Shabbat, as well as other upcoming Shabbatot, there are still plenty of chances to connect with Rabbi Benji - including a Members' Shabbat Dinner on Friday 16th May - click here to learn more.
Below you'll find three other events where you'll get to learn from and with Rabbi Benji over the next few weeks.
Saturday 31st May
Participatory Service Lunch
One of the many legacies that Rabbi Benji will leave us with is the participatory service on certain Shabbat mornings. This is a more inclusive way of praying together, with more singing, Torah and quiet prayer, that has been trialled over the last year and has become part of the evolution of the way we pray as a community. The positive feedback to these participatory services has led us to begin creating a bespoke service booklet to make the experience more accessible, and a proposal to continue with the services on a regular basis (generally, the last two shabbatot of each month).
Rabbi Benji, Rabbi Kamila and Nick Stalbow would love as many members as possible to experience and enjoy this initiative before he leaves. The service on Saturday 31st May we hope will be one of the first times that the booklets are used, so we are keen to fill the room and embrace this legacy together with him. Please come, and if you would like to stay for a Shabbat lunch in which we will reflect on the service and any tweaks you would like, then please book your place here.
Sunday 1st June
Shavuot
Tikkun Leil
It's tradition to stay up all night for the Tikkun Leil, or night of study, which parallels what the Jewish people should have been doing as they waited for Moses to finally come down the mountain with the tablets in hand. In staying up all night, it guarantees that we’ll be ready to receive Torah when the moment comes.
We will have sessions running between 9:30pm and 1am on the theme of Midnight Magic, run by the adult education team.
Rabbi Benji will be leading our Shavuot evening service as well as a study session at 9:30pm on Sunday 1st June.
This festival is a real highlight in the community calendar, and whether you join us for one or all of them, we look forward to learning with you!
Thursday 19th June
"What's God got to do with it?"
Searching for Hope after October 7th
Where can we look for hope? Dr Melissa Raphael, who is what might be considered a rare thing, a Jewish theologian will be sharing how she finds hope in God and theology. Raymond Simonson, who, as CEO of JW3, has had the task of galvanising our diverse community through cultural programming, will share where he has found hope and challenge in Jewish peoplehood. R Benji will share about how this community’s diversity of spiritual and cultural approaches to Judaism could give us all hope. You can all ask questions and member Amanda Rubin Lewis will chair, helping us focus on where we look for hope.
We'll be starting at 7:00pm with a break in the middle to enjoy some food and gather any questions you’d like to add to the discussion.
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