Shmuley Boteach, the Oxford rabbi who struck literary gold with his book Kosher Sex, is moving back to the United States to continue his teachings.

Rabbi Boteach, who has made at least 20 trips to the States for lecture appearances in the past year, is emigrating with his family back to his country of origin to establish new branches of the Oxford University Jewish Society L'Chaim.

Since it was founded 11 years ago in Britain, the society has become an influential organisation whose speakers have included former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Prof Stephen Hawking and Shimon Peres. Rabbi Boteach, 31, an American Hasidic Jew and father-of-six, has been living in Hinksey Hill and working in London. He has been described by the Jewish Chronicle as "the United Kingdom's most high-profile rabbi".

He said: "I will be very proud to see the L'Chaim Society expand to the United States and the move there will be much easier on my family, who have had to endure my prolonged absences during my lecture tours over the past 12 months." Rabbi Boteach will continue to oversee L'Chaim Society activities in Britain and will make regular trips back to the UK.

Kosher Sex caused a storm in the Orthodox community and became a best seller. The rabbi and the book featured on many American talk shows.

He added: "This is a very exciting time for L'Chaim and full of endless opportunity."

Story date: Saturday 15 May

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.