Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue
Our Rabbi
Born in Israel, Rabbi Tali Artman-Partock grew up in a “very secular” family and went to the Hebrew University to study psychology and Hebrew literature, including Midrash which is still her “greatest love” - “the beauty of Midrash is sometimes you can take five lines and in those five lines of narrative, you get a whole universe. It should be read like poetry.”
When she came with her family to Cambridge in 2014, it was to enjoy a post-doctoral fellowship for a year or two. A conference she jointly organised on ‘humour in rabbinic literature’ led to an invitation to teach at Leo Baeck College, of which she is now the Dean.
She felt she could offer more as a rabbi here than in Israel, “basically congregating a congregation — bringing a community of people together and giving them a sense of pride in their cultural identity and opportunity to study and relate to it.”
She loves the fact that shalom is prominent in the community’s title: “Not many shuls have the word Shalom in them and are really peaceful” with one of her ambitions is to encourage families to become involved in community life here and re-establish the tradition of Jewish Youth clubs in collaboration with our neighbouring Reform and Liberal communities.