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IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, Rabbi Yehuda Pelles left Israel for only the second time in his life. His destination: Manchester, England. His mission: To become the new head of Yavneh, the all-girls stream of King David High School.

"My primary goal," says Yehuda, 29, "is to revitalize the teaching of Jewish studies. I'm doing this by creating a dynamic Jewish learning environment both inside the classroom and out." His priorities are to organize school-wide Shabbatons, to develop meaningful Chesed programs, and - most importantly - to strengthen the school's links to Israel. He explains: "The three pillars on which I'm trying to build the school are: commitment to Torah observance, responsibility to the community, and love of Israel. It's a very exciting challenge."

Yehuda, who served as a paratrooper in the army, has brought a new informality to Yavneh. "I am always available to my students, both during and after the school day," he declares. He even gives a shiur in his home every Shabbat afternoon.

Yehuda's impact on the Manchester Jewish community is felt beyond the classrooms of Yavneh. He plays a key role in the Stene Court Synagogue in Broughton Park, where he regularly leads the service and gives shiurim. He is joined in Manchester by his wife, Chagit, and their four young sons. "It's hard for us to be so far from home," he says, "but it's also very enriching."

Yehuda brings to Yavneh significant experience of teaching girls, having spent four years at OTS's Neveh Chanah High School for Girls, where he taught both Bible and Talmud. His students there regularly sought his advice on matters both academic and personal; many of his former students, he reports, are still in touch with him, phoning him in Manchester and even planning to visit.

Before heading for Manchester, Yehuda studied at Amiel: The Rabbi Emanuel Rackman Program for Practical Rabbinics, under the auspices of OTS's Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary. He explains: "Although I was already a rabbi and an experienced teacher, I did not feel that my background had sufficiently prepared me to face the challenges of serving in a diverse and heterogeneous Diaspora community."

The intensive one-year course at Amiel prepares young rabbis like Yehuda for some of the actual scenarios they might face. "We were taught ways in which to engage the community and show them how dynamic and relevant their Jewish heritage is," reveals Yehuda. "At the same time, we learned that sometimes being a rabbi or educator is as much about performing acts of chessed as about being a scholar. Being accessible to people, understanding them and reaching out to help them whenever possible is as important as knowing halacha and Jewish texts. Amiel opened my eyes to these issues, greatly enhancing my sensitivity and effectiveness as an educator." he class of 26 fanned out across the globe to assume positions as pulpit rabbis, teachers, school principals and youth rabbis. The list of communities at which they are stationed includes Kansas City, Phoenix, Lima, Guatemala City, Barcelona, Pisa, Hamburg, Oslo, Riga, Kharkov and Kiev. "Although we were all headed in different directions," Yehuda recalls, "we shared the same drive. It was very inspiring to have spent a year with other young rabbis who, like me, were tremendously fired to 'go out there and make things happen.'"

Yehuda's only other trip abroad was when he led his Israeli students on a tour of Jewish sites in Poland. "That journey," he remembers, "was all about the Jewish past. My present journey, by contrast, is about the Jewish future."

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