About Shomrei
Shomrei Hadath Synagogue, a member of Kehillas Federation, is a welcoming and vibrant orthodox shul in the heart of West Hampstead. Founded in 1946, Shomrei has mainained a family feel, serving members of all ages and across a broad spectrum of observance.
About Us
Many call the kiddush at Shomrei the best in town, and we are flattered by the compliment. The food is part of that, but we are just as proud by the sense of community that is readily apparent during kiddush. We are also very proud to strive for the ideal of Torah Umuddah (Torah and Secular Knowledge) as a truly modern orthodox synagogue. Located in the heart of West Hampstead and ideally located to serve Hampstead, Child's Hill, Cricklewood, Killburn, Brondesbury and Belsize Park, and with Golders Green and Hendon in near proximity, Shomrei offers regular shabbat, yom tov, selichot and rosh chodesh minyanim and works with other synagogues and organisations in the area to make Northwest London an exciting and dynamic place to be Jewish. Shomrei offers a full calendar of learning and social action opportunities throughout the year and welcomes guests of all levels of observance.
Shomrei's History
The Shomrei Hadath Congregation was founded in 1946 as the first constituent synagogue of Kehillas Federation. Regular minyanim began on the first day of Selichos 5706, on 22 September 1946.
In the early years, services were held in a hall on the site of our current facility but soon transferred to the larger adjacent building on Finchley Road, where the congregation consolidated its establishment. In 1989, Shomrei returned to a purpose-built shul on the original site.
The current synagogue has been designed so that it faces due east. In the easternmost corner are a pair of stained glass windows depicting the seven species of fruits of the land of Israel--wheat, pomegranates, olives (oil), dates (honey), barley, grapes (wine), and figs. The other stained glass windows are the two large candelabras were preserved from the original shul.
The style of the building--with different levels, wooden roof and balcony and the men's gallery lower than street level--is based on a medieval Jewish tradition.
In keeping with an old custom, earth from the land of Israel has been set in the floor belove the place where the chazan stands and also below the bimah from which the shofar is sounded on Rosh Hashanah.
Our Rabbi
Rabbi Shmuli Sagal joined Shomrei in 2018 after serving for three years as the Rabbi of Sutton & District Synagogue. In addition to his work at Shomrei, he is also the Director of Operations at the Evening Beis programme in Hendon and Registrar for Marriages and Divorce at the Beis Din of Kehillas Federation.
After two years of learning at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavne in Israel, he studied at Yeshiva University (YU) in New York, earning a BA in History and an MA in Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School. He obtained Semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). He also spent a year at YU Gruss Kollel in Jerusalem, during which he took graduate courses at Hebrew University. Whilst in YU, Rabbi Sagal was a fellow of the Masmidim Honours Program and a member of Rabbi Hershel Schachter’s Katz Kollel. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP University in London.
Rabbi Sagal is married to Dr Tali, who studied medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, and is now training to become a GP through Barnet Hospital. R' Shmuli and Tali have three young children.
