A new Rabbi has been officially inducted into his first job.

Rabbi Zvi Portnoy was welcomed to his role as head of Loughton Synagogue in Borders Lane on Sunday.

The service was attended by 270 people and led by the head of The Federation of Synagogues, Dayan Y Y Lichtenstein.

The 27-year-old, from Hale in Manchester, has been in the role since September 1 when he took over from Rabbi Yehuda Aronovitz who left for a position in North West London.

Rabbi Portnoy said: “I’m delighted to be here and the community has been very friendly and warm and made it a smooth transition.

“It’s not a nine to five job, you’re always on call as is your wife and you are both there to educate and support the community.

“I was obviously inspired more than I was put off by seeing by parents’ experiences and became a Rabbi largely because of their example.”

Rabbi Portnoy hopes to get the community more proactively involved with the synagogue and provide more for young children and older generations.