Martin H. van den Bergh

I have held a number of key positions in Diaspora Jewry as a communal rabbi for over 36 years, including serving as the rabbi for both Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities in the UK and Hong Kong. Since making Israel our home in 2010, I established Yiftach Consultants, focusing on community development and pastoral care. I take a keen interest in relations between Israel and the Diaspora, especially in Israel advocacy. I have dedicated my life to helping individuals build and strengthen their Jewish spiritual identity while developing expertise in community crisis management.

My last position was as the rabbi of Childwall Hebrew Congregation in Liverpool. My wife Anna and I arrived in March 2016 for two years (which was extended to three years) to lead the community through the transition resulting from plans to build a new synagogue.

I was also the Senior Hospital Chaplain of the Visitation Committee, rabbi of the Wembley United Synagogue in London, rabbi of the former Withington Congregation of Spanish & Portuguese Jews in Manchester, rabbi of Ohel Leah Synagogue in Hong Kong, consultant rabbi of Bevis Marks, a member of the Chief Rabbi’s Cabinet with responsibility for welfare issues, and Honorary Secretary of the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue.

My academic achievements include Semicha from the Shehebar Sephardic Center in Jerusalem, a B.Ed from Manchester Metropolitan University, an MA (with merit) in Healthcare Chaplaincy from the University of Leeds, and a PhD from Leeds Beckett University on “A Critical Examination of Patient-Centred Spiritual Care from a Jewish Perspective: Implications for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care.” In 1996, I was the last recipient of the Sir Whaley Cohen Scholarship, with which I examined Jewish hospital chaplaincy in the United States.

I was born in Holland in 1952, raised in Zimbabwe, and came to London in 1969 to study at the Judith, Lady Montefiore College.

I was the editor of Hakshiva, a Rabbinic Journal of the Rabbinical Council of the Provinces, and contributed to “Spirituality in Health Care Contexts,” edited by Helen Orchard (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), and “Prayers for Healing” (US Visitation Committee).

I am married to Anna Leon, who was a civil servant at the Board of Trade International and a JP for the Middlesex area and the City of Manchester. We have two children, Abigail and Joshua, and eleven grandchildren.

I continue to contribute to the field of chaplaincy and sit on review boards for various academic chaplaincy journals. I also participate in various international Zoom forums.