The Golders Green partnership minyan Kol Rina will hold High Holy Day services for the first time in five years thanks to popular demand from the community.

The lay-led grassroots prayer group, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, meets every few weeks for Shabbat to lead both men and women in Orthodox prayer to the extent permitted by Jewish law, and has added Rosh Hashana, Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services to its offerings this year.

The High Holy Days services will feature a line-up of regular ba’alei tefillah (prayer leaders) and guest ba’al tefillah Shimmy Lopian from Israel, and there will be corresponding programmes for children, toddlers and teens.

Kol Rina’s offering is inclusive while keeping in line with Orthodox tradition, meaning that congregants of all ages and experience are encouraged to participate in areas of the services within the parameters of Jewish law. It is run under the guidance of Rabbi Daniel Sperber, Professor of Talmud at Bar-Ian University in Israel and an international halachic authority.

“It has been immensely rewarding to be a part of building this special community, which creates a space for those wanting an Orthodox minyan, where women can participate in services too,” said Rachelle Waxman Sacks, one of the lead organiser at Kol Rina. “We are excited for the Yamim Noraim (High Holy Day) minyanim this year to be an opportunity to cement our community while also grow it. So, we are looking forward seeing faces familiar and new.”

The first partnership minyan was founded in 2013 in Borehamwood and is led by Miriam Lorie, the UK’s first female Orthodox congregational rabbi.

The Borehamwood partnership minyan is one of five which meet regularly. The others are in Golders Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Borehamwood, Finchley and South Hampstead.