The Syna-blogue

  Torah Portion: Korach Synagogue: Katanga Caulfield Beit Hamedrash, modern orthodox Chasidish Walking time from home: 25 mins Reason for going: Something different Kiddush: Small but traditional As previously mentioned on this blog, one of the reasons why Melbourne has so many shules is because there have been many breakaways and de-amalgamations over the years which have formed new communities. Sometimes these occur because of a dispute with the rabbi and a community coalesces around the rabbi resulting in a new shule, and sometimes because some of the congregants disagree with the direction of a particular shule and part ways to form a new one. By far the most successful of these – if longevity is one of the measures – is the Caulfield Beit Hamedrash, which got its colloquial name of Katanga from a small African nation which broke away from the Congo in 1960 and...

Torah Portion: Shelach Synagogue: Ohr Yisrael, modern Orthodox Walking time from home: 35 mins Reason for going: Something new and different Kiddush: Sponsored and lovely, but outside in the cold Of the 60 or so shules in Melbourne, some are old, established ones that have been around for decades, whilst others are much newer. In fact, one of the reasons why Melbourne has so many synagogues for the size of our community, is because it often happens that when a rabbi is replaced, if that person was good, energetic and well liked, then a core membership coalesces around them and starts a new shule. This has happened numerous times, and though it doesn’t always become sustainable, sometimes the community that forms as a result of this kind of origination outlasts the rabbi and becomes a fully-fledged community of its own. This was certainly the case with Ohr Yisael. The...

  Torah Portion: Behalotcha Synagogue: Chabad of Caulfield (770) Walking time from home: 5 mins Reason for going: Why not try something close? Kiddush: N/A There is an old Jewish joke about a person who gets shipwrecked on a deserted island, and then years later when he is discovered, his rescuers find that he has built a sophisticated makeshift city, including two synagogues. When they ask him why he has built two shules since he is there on his own, he answers that one is the one he goes to, and the other is the one he would never step into. It is a silly story and it is a theory I clearly don’t subscribe to given the nature of this blog and my regular attendance at a vast array of shules, but many people quote it when asked why they go to a shule far from their home and not one that is closer.  This week, to combat that notion, I went to the shule that is c...

Torah Portion: Naso Synagogue: Elsternwick Jewish Community, modern Orthodox Walking time from home: 35 mins Reason for going: Something new and different Kiddush: Very small but friendly Though I often plan which shule I will go to – at least on the Friday before – I don’t usually do much research about what special events they may have on that week, unless I’ve been invited or specifically know about a guest speaker or some kind of Simcha. Therefore, when I got to Esternwick shule this week (on the campus of Yavneh College), I was a little disappointed by the turnout. In fact, it wasn’t till more than half an hour into the service that there was even a minyan.  As it turns out, a family that regularly comes to this shule was having a Bar Mitzvah, but because there was a pre-arranged event in the hall, they couldn’t accommodate both events and thus the Bar Mitzv...