He was the prime mover and first director of studies of the Jewish Theological College of London.

[8] While serving as minister at North Western Reform Synagogue, and at the West London Synagogue, where he was Senior Rabbi from 1958 to 1968,[11] he oversaw the creation of the Jewish Theological College of London (later Leo Baeck College), sponsored by the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, and the College's subsequent additional sponsorship by the Liberal Judaism Movement.

[12] He retired in 1968 to Majorca where he held the post of honorary rabbi to the Jewish community in Palma.

[14] Van der Zyl died in Palma de Mallorca, Spain in 1984[4][5] and is buried at Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery in Golders Green.

[9][15] In April 2013 Leo Baeck College announced the appointment of Rabbi Maurice Michaels as its first Van der Zyl Head of Vocational Studies, a post named in honour of the College's founder.