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 Mitzvah was moved to another synagogue, along with most of the regular congregants. This meant that the shule wasn’t as lively as it normally is, but at the same time, I got to see the essence of the congregation.

Eslternwick has always been a relatively small shule and somewhat under the radar. Though it was started several decades ago and at one point had more than 400 members, these days on a regular Shabbat morning the crowd has decreased to about a tenth of that number – not that all 400 ever came to shule at once (except maybe on the High Holy days), but nonetheless the decrease has been significant. In part it is because the elders and founders of the shule still love it but their kids and grandkids don’t come in the numbers that they used to.

Despite that, it is a very friendly place. Whilst this week there were barely 15 people in the room (with no women), the atmosphere was still very welcoming and engaging. The service ran quickly, the tunes were familiar but not unnecessarily lengthy, and the sermon was on point and relatively short.

The speed of the service was particularly noticeable because the portion of this week was the longest (in terms of number sentences) in the entire Torah. It includes many fascinating episodes, one of which is the process of identifying adulterers, and another of which are the laws of the Nazirite – someone who voluntarily chooses to accelerate their service of Judaism by abstaining from participating in numerous mundane activities. One of the reasons for having both of these sections in the same portion is to show that no one is above the law or above rebuke. Whilst adultery is clearly frowned upon (it is mentioned in the Ten Commandments after all), so is going too far the other way. Very few people ever became Nazirites, and in the case of most of them things didn’t always end well – think Samson and Delilah as a classic example.

For me, the lesson coming out of this is moderation, and the Elsternwick shule is a perfect example of that. They might be under the radar sometimes but that is because they are neither too brash nor too muffled, and just go about their regular weekly business in an understated but engaging way. The kiddush was an extension of that. It was very small with just a few items on the menu, but for the dozen or so of us who stayed, it felt very friendly and pleasant, with great conversation and nice vibes. Nothing too over the top, but even on a week when they knew there would be a small crowd, they still put on an appropriately-sized kiddush and made everyone feel welcome.

Although I wasn’t at Elsternwick on a ‘usual’ week, it was actually nice to be there with a skeleton crew because I got to see the true heart of this inviting community. I hope wherever I go next will be just as welcoming.