The Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue, commonly known as Giffnock Shul (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

: גיפנוק שול), is an Orthodox

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congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located at 222 Fenwick Road in

Giffnock Giffnock (; ; , ) is a town and the administrative centre of East Renfrewshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies east of Barrhead, east-southeast of Paisley and northwest of East Kilbride, at the southwest of the Greater G ...

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...

, on the south side of

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, in the United Kingdom. The synagogue is the largest in Scotland and also features a religious

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for both children and teenagers. The congregation was formed through a 2021 merger of the Giffnock Synagogue and the Newton Mearns Synagogue, to form a congregation with 850 members. The final service held in the former Newtown Mearns Synagogue, at 14 Larchfield Court, was conducted in January 2023. The new congregation worships in the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

rite Rite may refer to: Religion * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite (Christianity), sacred rituals in the Christian religion * Ritual family, Christian liturgical traditions; often also called ''liturgical rites'' * Catholic particular ch ...

History

The Giffnock Newlands Hebrew Congregation was founded in the early 1930s, meeting initially in the Girl Guides Hall and later in the Giffnock Police Court House, until the first synagogue, in May Terrace, was established in 1938. This building was expanded in the 1950s and used until a new expanded synagogue, on Maryville Avenue, was completed in 1968. The Newton Mearns & District Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1954 and worshipped initially at Berkeley, Edgehill and then Beech Avenue, Newton Mearns, before completing the Newton Mearns Synagogue at 14 Larchfield Court in 1977. Giffnock Shul is a provincial synagogue and, as an affiliate member of the

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...

organization of United Kingdom, the congregation is under the aegis of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations.

Spiritual leadership

The congregation is led by

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Moshe Rubin who hails from the

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and joined the community in 1990, first serving as their

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

. He was asked to take over the pulpit in 1999, after the retirement of the Rabbi Philip Greenberg, who retired in 1998. Giffnock's cantor from 1964 to 1990 (then emeritus cantor) was Rev Ernest Levy OBE (d. August 2009). The cantor for the high holy days since 2008 has been Mr. Russell Grossman, of London.

Membership

*1938 – 350 seatholders ('' Jewish Year Book'' 1939) *1950 – 400 seatholders (''Jewish Year Book'' 1951) *1953 – 550 seatholders (''Jewish Year Book'' 1954) *1957 – 750 seatholders (''Jewish Year Book'' 1958) *2007 – 700 seatholders (approximation)

References

External links

*
The Virtual Jewish History Tour – Scotland

Jewish Encyclopedia on Scotland
{{Synagogues in the United Kingdom 1930s establishments in Scotland 1954 establishments in Scotland 2021 establishments in Scotland 20th-century synagogues in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in East Renfrewshire Giffnock Jewish organizations established in the 1930s Jewish organizations established in 1954 Jewish organizations established in 2021 Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United Kingdom Religion in East Renfrewshire Synagogues completed in 1968 Synagogues in Glasgow

History

Spiritual leadership

Membership

See also

References

External links