Torah Portion:	Miketz
Synagogue:	Kehilat Nitzan, Conservative
Walking time from home:	25 minutes
Reason for going:	Chanukah and speaker
Kiddush:	Small but hearty, and with 2 cakes

In Melbourne at this time of year, it usually feels like the whole city is on holiday. Some businesses have already closed or are operating with fewer staff, and many people are already away or are at least waiting until they go away. The same is true for synagogues. There is probably not a single shule in town that is operating at full capacity. However, it is still Chanukah, so as minor as the festival may actually be in reality, it is one that is widely celebrated and thus the festival alone ensured that most synagogues still operated, even with some people away. Next week though, on the eve of the new year, might be a different story. 

Either way, this week not only did I go to shule on Shabbat morning as always, but I also went to a Friday night dinner at Shnei Ohr, a Chabad shule not too far away. It was one of the only ones I found that had a communal gathering and meal to celebrate Chanukah, which is what I was looking for. The rabbi also runs a service and a program for Jews in old age homes so he is good at connecting with people, and thus the meal was lively and engaging. There were about 20 people and we sat outdoors enjoying the balmy night, the great food and each other’s company. Like at any Chabad institution, some people were Chabad, others were religious but not Chabad and some were not religious at all. 

On Shabbat morning, as a contrast, I went to Kehilat Nitzan, the only Conservative shule in Melbourne. It is also the most organised shule I know of, with every participant of the service aware of their duties well in advance. For instance, my role this week was to lift the first Torah after it was read, and I knew I had to do this before the Shema. Moreover, as soon as I sat down with the Torah, the Gabbai – the coordinator of the duties – immediately handed me a book so I could follow along. And someone else announced the page numbers not every few pages, but every time we needed to turn a page.

I went to this shule for two reasons: Firstly because of Chanukah. This week – unlike almost any other week – there were readings from three Torahs (or technically from three sections of the Torah), because of Shabbat, Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh (which always falls during Chanukah but not always on a Shabbat). I wanted to go to a shule that would not drag out the readings for too long and where it would feel almost natural. I chose the right shule for that. The service was certainly longer than a normal Shabbat, but because it was organised, it didn’t feel like there were any extraneous parts. On top of that, it was also the rabbi’s Bar Mitzvah anniversary, so whereas some weeks they have different readers for different sections, this week the very dynamic and young-at-heart rabbi did most of the readings, which made the whole process feel less haphazard than it might have otherwise felt.

But the second and maybe main reason I went to this shule was for the speaker. Sam Lipski is one of Australia’s most respected journalists and a treasure of the Jewish community. He and his wife are also regular’s at this shule so he was hardly a ‘guest’ speaker, but he was nonetheless a very welcome one. The rabbi briefly spoke about the portion of the week and the episode of Joseph not being recognised by his brother’s after their re-encounter following 20 years of separation. He then introduced Sam.

Sam brought his forensic mind and journalistic integrity to his sermon and examined various elements of the Chanukah story that have also been hidden from many of us for a long time. For instance, is the story of Chanukah about oil lasting for eight days (as we are told in primary school) or is it about a military victory, or both? And furthermore, why are the lights of Chanukah so important? Whilst he didn’t answer all these questions, he made us think and question our presumptions, which is exactly what a good sermon and journalist should do.