Our Rabbis

Rabbi Debbie grew up down the road in Radlett, and attending RSY’s Shemesh every summer. She went to university as far away from a Jewish community as she could find, in Lancaster, where she majored in Religious Studies, focussing on Hinduism and Judaism. She ended up running the JSoc, setting up a 5 way dialogue society and half way through her studies realised what many others had suggested years before, that she wanted to be a Rabbi. After working as Student Fieldworker for RSGB, studying at The European Centre for Jewish Studies in Stockholm and working for the Council of Christians & Jews, she began her studies at Leo Baeck College, where today she is a lecturer on Religion and Dialogue. She is a regular broadcaster on Radio 2’s Pause For Thought, and frequent guest on BBC Radio London and BBC 3 Counties Radio (where she previously hosted the Sunday morning breakfast show). At the end of 2021 she became a trustee of Faith for the Climate   working to empower faith communities in their work on climate change. She joined the EHRS clergy team in April of 2020.

Rabbi Roberta Harris-Eckstein joined the EHRS Rabbinic Team as an Interim Rabbi in 2020. Rabbi Roberta gained Semichah from Leo Baeck College in 2018 after her distinguished career as teacher of Bible, Hebrew and history. She is a specialist in pastoral care of the elderly.
Although she may not get too much time for hobbies these days, Roberta still teaches Biblical Hebrew, including for the Leo Baeck College Lehrhaus online. Her husband, Jeremy, is immensely supportive and has encouraged her right through the five years of rabbinic study.
Her main rabbinic work with EHRS was to ensure that our pastoral care is of excellent quality and responsiveness as well as accompanying our families in their life cycle events, especially bereavements. She brings her teaching to the community in adult education and in our services and shiurim.