Nefesh Leeds in this new month of Kislev

Today marks the beginning of the new month of Kislev, rumbling into the winter season, and the end of 2026... 

After the busy-ness of the first month of the Jewish year (Tishrei) brimming with all the High HolyDay festivals, we have just rolled through the quiet of Cheshvan to recalibrate and hunker down (and catch up on the things we held off during all the chaggim!), and now Kislev is upon us which hosts Chanukah and the wintry spirit of these next few weeks...

It was so fabulous to host and welcome Dr Alan Morinis to Leeds earlier in the month, and wonderful that there was such a great crowd to learn from and with him. I hope those of you reading this and were there found it inspiring and uplifting.

Mussar has been hugely influential on my spiritual journey and I have tried to infuse all my rabbinical work with this spirit of inner strength infused by Jewish wisdom. 

Bringing Mussar to the UK has been a project I have worked on with Rabbi Marcia Plumb and our very own Gillian Kempner for the last few years, as SoulBalance Mussar. There us a lot more to say about this, but for now, if you want to join an online group, the details are below, and if you aren't ready for that yet but are curious to know more, please reach out to me!

It has also been a time for me to reflect over the last year since I launched SoulFull Shabbat, and consequently, Nefesh Leeds as part of my rabbinical training.

I am so proud of so much of what we have created and experienced together; and learned so much along the way.

I remember distinctly wanting to 'do one thing and do it well' which is why so much of the focus has been on SoulFull Shabbat - our weekly Saturday morning gatherings. And over 50 people have come along, we've met over 30 times, and the feedback has been very positive.

What started off as a project within my internship placement (with the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, supporting their work and identifying opportunities to develop specifically as a student rabbi) became really important and valued to the degree that we named ourselves a 'thing' and it became Nefesh Leeds.

And it's time to recognise that the internship is completed, and we, collectively, need to decide what to do with Nefesh Leeds.

Whilst we figure this out. SoulFull Shabbat will run every Saturday morning up to and including Saturday 19 December, and we will also be celebrating a Friday Night Together on the last night of Chanukah, December 11th.