Torah Portion:	Vayeitzei
Synagogue:	Caulfield Shule, traditional orthodox
Walking time from home:	10 mins
Reason for going:	Baby naming
Kiddush:	Sponsored, plentiful

Caulfield shule is one of the most traditional and prominent shules in all of Melbourne. It is in fact the largest orthodox congregation too, and largely because of its standing, almost every week on Shabbat morning there is a celebration of some kind, or a speaker of international repute. 

This week was no different, with two celebrations in the morning and further celebratory call up later in the day during Mincha. One of the morning celebrations was for a baby naming of girl born during the week to friends of mine, thus I came to celebrate with the family. It was a somewhat muted affair with just a few family members and even fewer friends in the audience, partly because this is their third child and partly because the mother and the baby were not in shule, having just come home from the hospital on Friday. Nonetheless, the father was called to the Torah, he whispered the name of the new baby to the rabbi, and the rabbi announced it to the congregation as per tradition. The rabbi and the male members of the family then danced in a circle formation whilst the congregation sang Mazel Tov, and then the service continued. 

A few call ups later, a groom who is soon to be married was called to the Torah, and that was a much bigger affair with many friends and family in shule, and lollies thrown down from the women’s gallery after the call up. The families of the bride and groom also sponsored the kiddush, making the baby naming a slightly bigger affair than it might otherwise have been.

Though the shule is traditional modern orthodox, the current rabbi – who just celebrated the completion of his first year at the shule after the retirement of the previous modern orthodox rabbi – is Chabad, and this is very common in Melbourne: that non-Chabad shules have Chabad rabbis. He is however young, very engaging, dynamic and very cognisant that he is in a non-Chabad shule, thus rarely if ever pushes Chabad ideology on the mostly modern orthodox and / or non-religious crowd.

On this occasion, with two celebrations on one morning, he made a conscious efforts to address both simchas, and using an example of Rachel and Leah from this week’s portion, told a lovely story about the importance of small actions. In a world where super heroes are idolised and popularised in blockbuster movies, he reminded the audience that not all super heroes wear capes. Sometimes they simply act righteously, ensure that their compatriots aren’t shamed or embarrassed, especially in public, and look after the small things. These are traits that are necessary for new parents educating their children, and equally for newly married couples to remember as they face a life together.

Using the example of Rachel and Leah not only linked it to the portion of the week, but also made it – maybe unintentionally – a very feminist story, which I loved. More than that though, it also made the Torah and the lesson feel real and very relevant. These are the kinds of sermons that I love the most, as they make the Torah feel contemporary and dynamic, which is exactly what is expected from a young dynamic rabbi. I know the father of the new baby certainly appreciated it too, and no doubt so did the rest of the audience.

Unlike some of the other shules that I go to, no doubt I will be back at Caulfield shule again shortly, and I look forward to another engaging sermon then. In the meantime, off to a different shule next week.