Our Rabbis and Cantor

“We work as a respectful, collaborative partnership of professionals and lay leaders, working together for the good of our community and the individuals within it.”

“We are committed to innovation in the sacred task of creating an engaging Judaism. Sometimes we get things wrong and when we do, we learn from this too.”

Alyth’s clergy team includes a breadth of age, interests, skills and personalities, working alongside our dedicated wider professional staff. In this way, we ensure that each of our members can be in real relationship with those who accompany them on their Jewish journey. We encourage our rabbis to be innovators in the work that they do, creating a synagogue recognised as an example of vitality and engaging Judaism for all.

Our current team consists of three rabbis and one Cantor: Rabbi Josh Levy, who leads our professional team, Rabbi Hannah Kingston, Cantor Tamara Wolfson and Rabbi Elliott Karstadt. We also enjoy the part-time support of one of Reform Judaism’s most experienced rabbis, Rabbi Colin Eimer. The team takes responsibility for many areas of life at Alyth, and is proud to contribute in the world beyond our synagogue’s doors. Core to the work that they do is their relationships with members across the community.

Rabbi Josh Levy

Rabbi Josh Levy has been rabbi at Alyth since 2008.

He is a Lecturer in Rabbinic Literature at Leo Baeck College, teaching courses in Progressive Rabbinic Decision Making and Service Leading. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Akiva School. Over the past few years he has served as Chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis and Cantors, as Chair of the Standing Committee of the Reform Bet Din, and led the working group looking at issues of Inherited Status, which changed the way that the Reform movement welcomes people with Jewish and non-Jewish lineage.

Josh is passionate about developing innovative and engaging tefillah, and about sharing the joys of high-level text study. His areas of special interest are the Reform relationship with Halakhah (Jewish Law), and issues of conversion and status, having written his rabbinic thesis on Tractate Gerim of the Babylonian Talmud which deals with laws of converts and conversion.

Rabbi Josh leads the Alyth professional team on behalf of the synagogue’s leadership. He lives in Finchley with his wife Jude, son Jonah and daughter Noa.

Click here to access Rabbi Josh Levy’s writings and resources.

Contact Rabbi Josh Levy
Rabbi Hannah Kingston

Rabbi Hannah joined the Rabbinic Team at Alyth in 2017.

Hannah grew up at Southgate Progressive Synagogue and spent many summers at Kutz Camp, a Reform Jewish summer camp in America. It was here, inspired by the rabbis and passionate leaders she met, that Hannah felt that she wanted to share her love for Judaism. Becoming a rabbi seemed the natural way to do this. She was ordained in summer 2017 when she also joined the Alyth team.

As well as sharing in general rabbinic responsibilities, Hannah has a specific role of building relationships and programming to respond to the needs of the many young families who make Alyth their home.

Click here to access Rabbi Hannah Kingston’s writings and resources.

Contact Rabbi Hannah Kingston
Cantor Tamara Wolfson

Cantor Tamara joined the Clergy Team at Alyth in 2020.

Tamara was born and raised in New York and grew up surrounded by music at home, at school, and at her synagogue. She was a frequent cantorial soloist at her home synagogue, Temple Israel Center of White Plains. Tamara received a Bachelor’s Degree in Jewish Studies from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and then went on to cantorial studies at HUC-JIR’s Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York.

Click here to access Cantor Tamara Wolfson’s writings and resources.

Contact Cantor Tamara Wolfson
Rabbi Elliott Karstadt

Rabbi Elliott joined the Clergy Team at Alyth in 2020.

A regular presenter and teacher at Limmud, Elliott has taught extensively in the Progressive world, including at Finchley Progressive Synagogue where he grew up. Elliott graduated from Cambridge University in 2008 and went on to complete his PhD in 2013 in Intellectual History at Queen Mary, University of London. He then worked in publishing before joining the Rabbinic Programme at Leo Baeck College. As chair of Together in Barnet, in whose Winter Shelter project Alyth is a partner, Elliott has driven the response of religious communities to the needs of those who are homeless in our area.

Click here to access Rabbi Elliott Karstadt’s writings and resources.

Contact Rabbi Elliott Karstadt
Rabbi Colin Eimer

Rabbi Colin Eimer has been a part-time member of the Alyth team since 2015.

Colin is one of the most respected Reform rabbis in the country. Ordained in 1971, he was rabbi at SDRS (now Sha’arei Tzedek) from 1977 until his ‘retirement’.

Click here to access Rabbi Colin Eimer’s writings and resources.

Contact Rabbi Colin Eimer

Rabbi Josh Levy

Click here to access Rabbi Josh Levy’s writings and resources.

Rabbi Hannah Kingston

Cantor Tamara Wolfson

Rabbi Elliott Karstadt

Rabbi Colin Eimer

Click here to access Rabbi Colin Eimer’s writings and resources.