Alan Abraham Kimche is a British-Israeli Orthodox rabbi and community leader.
22 Facts About Alan Kimche
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Alan Kimche was the rabbi of the Ner Yisrael Synagogue in Hendon, London, until his retirement in 2019.
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Alan Kimche grew up attending Avigdor Primary School and Hasmonean High School, and was a congregant in the synagogue of Rabbi Josef Hirsch Dunner.
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Alan Kimche left school at the age of sixteen to study at Orthodox Yeshivot in Israel.
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Alan Kimche first studied at the Kol Torah Yeshivah in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, under the tutelage of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.
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Alan Kimche grew close to him, and served as his personal driver for a short period.
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Three years later, Alan Kimche moved to the Mir Yeshiva in Meah She'arim, where he attended the class of Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz and eventually gained rabbinic ordination from two prominent rabbinic authorities: Rabbi Yaakov Fink and Rabbi Yehoshua Neuwirth.
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In 1975 Alan Kimche enrolled in University College London to study philosophy.
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Alan Kimche submitted his thesis in February 2006, which was titled 'The concept of human dignity in Jewish law'.
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Alan Kimche has since published on this topic in essay form.
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Alan Kimche contributed articles to the Orthodox Journal Le'ela, including two essays on the thought of the Maharal of Prague.
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Alan Kimche contributed some letters to the editor in the Jewish Chronicle.
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Alan Kimche began his fledgling rabbinic career by directing a series of adult educational initiatives called Da'at, which involved giving classes to Jewish employees of corporations located in London's financial district.
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Alan Kimche gave a wide array of classes in his own synagogue and beyond on topics in Jewish philosophy, Halacha, Jewish history, Talmud, and the Bible.
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In 1987, responding to the requests of his congregants, Alan Kimche formed a committee to construct an Eruv for the North-West London Jewish community.
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Alan Kimche served as the principal of the Independent Jewish Day School in Hendon throughout his tenure in London.
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Alan Kimche served on the board of directors of the UK branch of the Jewish National Fund from 2014 to 2020, and on the board of directors of Bayis Sheli, a residential home for disabled children, from 2013 to 2018.
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Alan Kimche argued that religious Jews should not attend a conference in which orthodox and non-orthodox views were given an equal platform.
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Three years later, Alan Kimche wrote another letter strongly discouraging his congregants from participating in a partnership minyan.
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In 2016, Alan Kimche publicly denounced the controversial preacher Yosef Mizrachi, whose views on topics such as the Holocaust and Down Syndrome had sparked anger during his visit to London.
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In 2016, Alan Kimche was named in the press as a possible candidate to succeed Jonathan Sacks as the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom.
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Alan Kimche was honoured with a Festschrift, which included essays from prominent colleagues such as Rabbis Raphael Evers, Chanoch Ehrentreu, Mosheh Lichtenstein, and Shlomo Riskin.