The Machzike Hadath (transliterated from Hebrew as 'Upholders of Faith'[1]), also known as the Spitalfields Great Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Highfield Road, Golders Green, in the Borough of Barnet, in the East End of London, England, in the United Kingdom. The congregation was formed predominately by Lithuanian Jews in 1891 and was initially located on Brick Lane. The congregation worships in the Ashkenazi rite.
The congregation was established in 1891 as Chevra Machzike Hadath (or Chevrath Machzikei Hadath), transliterated from Hebrew as 'The Society of Strengthened of the Faith'. It was founded by members of the North London Beth Hamedrash in Newington Green Road and members of the Machzike Shomrei Shabbat Synagogue of Booth Street, with whom it merged in 1983. The primary aim of the congregation was to persuade the Chief Rabbi and the community that serious infringements of the laws of kashrut.[2]
In 1898 the congregation acquired premises in Spitalfields, at the corner of Fournier Street and Brick Lane, where they remained for 70 years.[3][4] In 1905 the congregation affiliated with the Federation of Synagogues.[5][1]
The Brick Lane, Spitalfields building, first established in 1743 as a Protestant chapel ("La Neuve Eglise") by London's French Huguenot community[6] and later a Methodist chapel,[7] was used by the congregation as a synagogue from 1898 unto; 1970; where it moved to Golders Green, and the new synagogue was consecrated in 1983.[4] The former Brick Lane synagogue building is now the Brick Lane Mosque.
In the late 1920s the Machzike Hadath sponsored the publication of an edition of the Mishna Berura.
The following individuals have served as rabbi of the congregation:
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term started | Term ended | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avraham Aba Werner | 1891 | 1912 | 20–21 years | [8] |
| 2 | Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook | 1912 | 1919 | 6–7 years | |
| 3 | Yechezkel Abramsky | 1932 | 1935 | 2–3 years | |
| 4 | Simcha Lopian | 1956 | 1983 | 26–27 years | |
| 5 | Dr. Ephraim Yehuda Wiesenberg | 1983 | 1986 | 2–3 years | |
| 6 | Chaim Zundel Pearlman | 1986 | 2018 | 31–32 years | Great grandson of Kamenitzer Maggid |
| 7 | Ilan Halberstadt | May 2018 | incumbent | 7 years, 161 days | [9] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 .svg){kind=small} | This article about a synagogue or other Jewish place of worship in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
