Mirvis knighted in the UK, rooted in SA

When Errol Mirvis was born in Johannesburg in September 1956, no one expected that he would one day become the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis KBE, knighted by the British monarch in recognition of his interfaith initiatives, work within the Jewish community, educational programmes, and other activities.

Mirvis was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, one of the UK’s highest honours, in early January.

“I feel exceptionally honoured and humbled to receive this honour,” Mirvis told the SA Jewish Report. “I’m privileged to be given numerous opportunities to strive to achieve much, and I pray that the Almighty will bless my efforts. I would like to thank the South African Jewish community for giving me the upbringing that has been an ongoing inspiration for me to get to where I am today.”

He says he “was fortunate to receive an outstanding upbringing in South Africa including an excellent education at Herzlia in Cape Town”. He also attended Bnei Akiva. “Most significant of all, my late parents, Rabbi Dr Lionel and Freida Mirvis, were outstanding role models.

“My wife, Valerie, who is originally from Bulawayo, and I have strong connections with family and numerous people within the South African Jewish community,” said Mirvis. “We take a keen interest in the life of the South African community and wish it well.

“Our strong Lithuanian background has given us a natural commitment to Jewish values, coupled with warmth and generosity,” he says. “Around the Jewish world, people are amazed at the quality of Jewish education and the high percentage of Jewish children who attend Jewish schools in South Africa. In addition, I have always been proud of the passionate support that the South African Jewish community shows for Israel.”

King Charles III’s list noted Mirvis’ work in the field of interfaith dialogue and his advocacy for Uyghur Muslims suffering under oppressive policies in China. The list also noted Mirvis’ efforts to make the Orthodox world more inclusive of women and LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) Jews.

“He has been an advocate for greater inclusivity in Orthodox Jewish life, appointing Britain’s first female halachic adviser and establishing greater opportunities for female leadership and scholarship,” the list noted. “In the field of education, the chief rabbi has championed the cause of faith schools and Jewish education, and issued a guide on the well-being of LGBTQ+ pupils in Orthodox Jewish schools — the first of its kind anywhere in the world.”

Regarding the challenges of his role as chief rabbi, Mirvis says, “Jewish communities around the world today are confronted by ‘the three As’: antisemitism, assimilation, and apathy. In addition, I believe it’s our responsibility to show the relevance and beauty of authentic Torah Judaism within an increasingly secular world, to achieve and maintain Jewish unity, to excel in our social responsibility, and recognise the value of and give respect to every human being.”

Mirvis received the honour as part of the king’s annual New Year Honours List. The 2023 honours list was the first King Charles signed off on, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.

This isn’t the first time that British royalty has recognised Mirvis’ excellence. A decade ago, when he was ordained as UK chief rabbi, the ceremony was attended by King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, the first time that a member of the royal family has attended a service for the installation of a chief rabbi.

“Outside of Israel, Britain is one of the only countries in which the Jewish population is growing year on year,” says Mirvis. “I’m blessed to have a most wonderful community. Of course, like all other communities, we have our issues, but overall, ours is a very vibrant, committed, and warm Jewish community.”

Mirvis serves as the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth and served as the chief rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. But his roots are firmly planted in South African soil. His father was the rabbi of the Claremont and Wynberg Hebrew Congregations in Cape Town and also served as rabbi in Benoni for a time, during which Mirvis attended local schools. His mother was the principal of the Athlone teacher training college in the Cape, which was then the country’s sole college for training black pre-school teachers. His grandfather was a Jewish reverend in Pretoria.

Mirvis has written that his father preached against the apartheid system and visited political prisoners on Robben Island. Mirvis also found himself taking a political stand of a different kind when he made an unprecedented intervention in British partisan politics in 2019, penning an op-ed that alleged that the opposition Labour Party, led at the time by Jeremy Corbyn, was poisoned with “anti-Jewish racism sanctioned from the very top”, and indicating that the British electorate shouldn’t support Labour in elections the following month.

After making aliya in 1973, Mirvis studied at two yeshivot and then at Machon Ariel in Jerusalem, receiving his rabbinic ordination there. He also obtained a Bachelor of Arts in education and classical Hebrew from the University of South Africa, and received certification from Yaakov Herzog Teachers’ College as a high school teacher in Israel.

Mirvis has studied Jewish cantorial music, and is certified as a shochet and mohel. He is a great supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

He and Valerie have faced tragedy. Their eldest child, Liora Graham, passed away in 2011 after a long battle with cancer. They have four sons, a son-in-law, daughters-in-law, and 16 grandchildren.

“Our children are our future, and no effort should be spared in investing in their connection to Judaism,” says Mirvis. “Within inclusive, welcoming, compassionate, and united communities, we can show how privileged we are to have, through the Torah, a G-d-given recipe for a happy and meaningful existence.”

The president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie van der Zyl; her predecessor Jonathan Arkush; six Holocaust survivors; and TV presenter Rachel Riley were also on the list. Riley was awarded for raising Holocaust awareness and opposing antisemitism.

“It’s really heartwarming for the British Jewish community to be honoured in this way,” says South African Jewish Board of Deputies Chairperson Professor Karen Milner. “We’re so proud that Mirvis is a product of our remarkable Jewish community, and congratulate him on this wonderful acknowledgement of his work. We also congratulate our friends and counterparts at the British Board of Deputies, for being awarded OBEs for their incredible work.”