A Rabbi who had his bar mitzvah and wedding at closure-threatened Bradford Reform Synagogue has returned to drum up support for the place he said is “in the blood”.

Rabbi Walter Rothschild, who now lives in Berlin working with Jewish communities in Germany and Austria, grew up in Bradford and also led his first service at the synagogue at the age of 13.

The Rabbi, who described the synagogue as having “a typical small, independent congregation which relies on its own resources”, led the service this morning.

He said: “Because the synagogue has got elderly and smaller there are only services once a month, so this is extra special.

“I had my wedding here, it is part of the blood.

“My father was on the committee for many years.”

The synagogue, a grade II listed building, was consecrated on March 29, 1881, and is Yorkshire’s oldest purpose-built synagogue.

It costs an estimated £7,000 a year to run and because congregation numbers have dwindled in recent years, members have reluctantly agreed to let the synagogue council sell the building as “a very last resort” if the situation does not improve.

Rabbi Rothschild said: “The first Jews who came here in 1860 were from Germany and were liberal Jews of their time.

“Nearly all synagogues like this in Germany were destroyed – it is a time capsule.”

He said the main problems the synagogue faced were that the membership was small and it is in need of sponsorship.

“The next big repair will be a hassle,” he said. “Next time there is a big bill there is a chance we might have to move but there is also a chance we will get some sponsorship. It’s all ‘ifs’.

“I have been a Rabbi for 25 years and it is all because of this place. I get a little frisson being back here. It is time for the next generation to pick up the burden and carry it.”