Torah Portion:	Vayeshev
Synagogue:	Or Chadash, Orthodox, moderate (& others)
Walking time from home:	15 minutes (from my accommodation)
Reason for going:	Sydney favourite
Kiddush:	N/A

SYDNEY: This week for Shabbat I was back in Sydney, and therefore back at Or Chadash, since that is where I usually go with my friends that I stay with. However, I did not spend the whole time at Or Chadash, partly because the rabbi was away so there was no sermon, and partly because I had lunch plans elsewhere.

Though I stayed with one set of friends, I ate lunch with others who go to a different shule, so as soon as the service was over at Or Chadash, I left and walked 15 or so minutes in a different direction to meet my friends at the temporary location of JLC – a shule that hasn’t had a permanent location for a while. I arrived just as the service was finishing, and though they were setting up for kiddush, I ate almost nothing since I knew lunch was fast approaching.

Either way, I discovered that both Or Chadash and JLC had diminished crowds this week because the summer holidays have ostensibly begun and some people are already away. On top of that, next week being in the midst of Chanukah will be an extended service, so some people are bracing for that and maybe didn’t come this week. Plus, it was drizzling most of the day, and in general, some people who walk to shule tend not to come in the rain. So both services were quick and basic, but nonetheless both kiddushes looked hearty, at least from the perspective of an observer.

I stayed at JLC long enough to meet the people I was having lunch with and to have a chat with a few others who I knew from previous visits, but before the end of kiddush I left with my friends and headed to a glorious lunch overlooking Bondi beach. It was a lovely, relaxing afternoon, which is exactly what I needed after a long day in Sydney on Friday.

Then after visiting some other Sydney friends, I went to yet another shule in the rain for the afternoon service. Whilst I don’t always go to Mincha, this occasion was somewhat special. The Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Warren Goldstein, was in Sydney to attend a family celebration, but in the meantime spoke at Bina – a Chabad synagogue in Bondi. Having not heard him before or a sermon earlier in the day, I was keen to hear him, and so together with many others who came in the rain, we squeezed into the hall and listened very intently.

Rather than speak about the weekly portion, Rabbi Goldstein said that the greatest threat to Judaism is not anti-Semitism but assimilation and people not wanting to be actively Jewish. He said the antidote to that is Jewish learning and text study, though despite his elaborations, I am not sure why someone who is not particularly interested in Judaism would be interested in learning. It was however a well presented lecture directed at a receptive audience. And it was nice to hear an international guest, since I always enjoying listening to the perspectives of others, especially those from abroad.

Moreover, it was nice to be at all three of the shules I went to with good friends who made the day pleasant, fun and relaxing despite the weather. This week I will likely be at many other shules back in Melbourne, or events organised by shules for Chanukah, and then at an extended service on Shabbat. I just need to decide where I will go for that service..