Torah Portion: Vayikra Synagogue: South Caulfield Shule (traditional orthodox) Walking time from home: 1 hour Reason for going: A guest speaker Kiddush: Large and lively There are some shules that are a bit further afield from where I live, but they are still very vibrant and happening places. One such shule is South Caulfield, which has been around for many decades, but has had somewhat of a revival in the last decade with its latest two rabbis. The previous one was so popular that he has moved on to bigger things, whilst the current one is just as dynamic. I knew of the current rabbi before, but really got to know him when both of us participated in the Launchpad Leadership program last year. Since then he has been encouraging me to come to his shule, and though I have been there for numerous communal dinners of late, this week was the first Shabbat morning t...
Posts
Torah Portion: Vayekhel-Pekudei – HaChodesh Synagogue: Mizrachi (Modern Orthodox) Walking time from home: 20 minutes Reason for going: A new rabbi Kiddush: N/a The Mizrachi synagogue in Melbourne is part of a worldwide network and as such, for the last 30 years at least, the senior rabbi has been an overseas recruit. The newly arrived rabbi – whose first Shabbat in Melbourne was this week – has a long connection to Australia, despite having visited for the first time only about six months ago. In the 1950s his parents came here from the UK and during that time he and his sister were born. But before they started school, the family went back to England before soon moving to Israel. The younger brother – who was born in England but grew up in Israel – was my high school teacher and someone I became very close with during my time at school. He has since returned to ...
Torah Portion: Ki Tisa – Parah Synagogue: Shira Chadasha (Partnership Orthodox) Walking time from home: 25 minutes Reason for going: My sister and I sponsoring the kiddush Kiddush: Lots of variety For the last eleven years, my sister and I have sponsored a kiddush in memory of our mother at the Shira synagogue, and I have given the sermon, partly connected to the portion of the week, and partly to our mother. This year my sister joined me in speaking, and rather than write a blog this week, what follows is our (slightly edited) speech. ------------------------------------ ALEX: Hello on behalf of myself and my sister Rachel, and thank you again for allowing us to honour our mother’s Yahrzeit, this year being the 31st year since her passing. This is the tenth time in eleven years that I have honoured my mother in this way, for the annual Miriam Kats memorial...
Torah Portion: Tetzaveh Synagogue: Glen Eira Chabad Walking time from home: Almost 40 minutes Reason for going: An invitation to lunch nearby Kiddush: Large and diverse Although I believe I have been to every synagogue in Melbourne at least once, there are some that I go back to more often than others. Then there are others, like Glen Eira Chabad, that I rarely go to on Shabbat. I have been there recently for an event, but my last Shabbat service at Glen Eira Chabad was almost a decade ago for a Bar Mitzvah. So this week, with a lunch invitation nearby, it was a good opportunity to revisit this community. And I know the shule well. My nieces go to Hebrew classes there, and because of that relationship, during Covid lockdowns and since, the shule has been delivering packages to their house before every festival for the last three or four years despite the fact t...