TWO synagogues will be celebrating a special Jewish New Year this weekend, after they voted to merge into one.

After a secret ballot on Sunday (September 25), Woodford Liberal Synagogue in South Woodford and Bet Tikvah Synagogue in Newbury Park will come together as one community on January 1 2017.

With an overwhelming mandate from both memberships, Rabbi Richard Jacobi and David Hulbert say they are “delighted” with the result.

Rabbi Jacobi, of Woodford Liberal, said: “Nothing has been certain in recent years, so no one was counting their chickens, but it is fantastic to have such a strong mandate from both communities.

“The announcement certainly got a round of applause in South Woodford.”

His colleague Rabbi Hulbert, who has lived in Woodford Green for over 25 years, said he hopes the new joint community will act as a “beacon for Liberal Judaism across east London”.

He said: “While the Bet Tikvah membership isn’t declining, it is getting older.

“So it may not be getting smaller now, but it certainly will be in 20 years’ time.

“This is about looking to the future to avoid any worry or panic in years to come.”

Although the two synagogues will formally dissolve to form a new one on January 1 next year, the rabbis say it will take longer to secure a venue for their 700 members.

Rabbi Jacobi said: “We will be one community spread across two sites to begin with.

“In an ideal world we would sell both synagogues and find one pretty much in the middle, but unfortunately it’s not that simple.

“So many buildings in London are desperately needed for housing, so it’ll probably take between six and nine months for us to come to a decision on a venue.”

Rabbi Jacobi added that the two synagogues want to look at opening a multi-faith campus somewhere in Redbridge to nurture their relationships with other faith and non-faith groups.

Woodford Liberal member Simon Rothstein, who voted for the merge, says he thinks it will promote both communities’ message that its doors are open.

The father-of-two said: “We want to send an inclusive message out to everyone.

“Both communities welcome mixed faith couples and same sex couples, which isn’t always something people expect when they think of religion.

“Some of the people in those groups might think that Judaism has abandoned them, but that’s not the case at all, and hopefully the merge will reinforce that message.”

Rabbi Jacobi added that he hopes the new community, whose name is yet to be decided, will show people in Redbridge and beyond “what Liberal Judaism in the 21st century looks like”.

He said: “Together we can offer more resources to support our elderly population, who risk becoming lonely and vulnerable, while finding new ways to reach out to young Jewish families too.”