The Leo Baeck College reaches out to support the growth of today’s Jewish communities across Europe and beyond. It is the first college in Europe to train Rabbis from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe – who are then able to return to lead their home communities.

All the Rabbis who have served as Ministers at MNS have trained at, and graduated from, the Leo Baeck College, and students of the college are often invited to lead services.

Rabbi Kathleen de Magtige-Middleton was born in Utrecht, in The Netherlands. She was awarded an MA in Semitic Languages and Cultures at the University of Amsterdam in 1994, and an MA in Jewish Studies at the Leo Baeck College in 1999.  

In 2000 Rabbi de Magtige-Middleton was ordained as a Rabbi at the Leo Baeck College; her thesis was 'An Introduction to the Commentary on Leviticus by Don Abravanel; Translated with Introduction and Notes'.  In the same year she was appointed fulltime minister at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St. John's Wood, London.

Ein kol- chadash tachat ha shamesh (There is nothing new beneath the sun) says Kohelet (Ecclesiastes 1:9). As we approach the New Year 5771 and reflect on the past one, we realise the many changes that have happened to our lives and our community. Change generally unsettles us. Humans are habitual animals. We like to create order in our chaotic and unpredictable world. Change, even if it is to create order, initially brings more unpredictability and that makes us all feel a little insecure. In communities we often see people come and go and different people take the place of others, doing the same things differently.

(The following sermon was delivered by Rabbi de Magtige-Middleton on Shabbat 29th May - the Council Shabbat)

‘Why have you laid the burden of the people upon me?’, asks Moses in desperation of God. Our portion (b’ha’alotecha) describes the first of many rebellions recorded in the book of Numbers against the leadership of Moses and Aaron during their sojourn in the wilderness: they complain about the food, they complain about his style of leadership; they accuse him of nepotism, and they accuse him about the lack of it. The rebellions and complaints come from the widest strata of the people, even from his own closest ranks, such as his extended family, led by Korach and his cabal, and the malicious gossip spread by his very own sister Miriam.