Torah Portion:	Nitzavim-Vayelech
Synagogue:	Ohel Devorah (Chabad)
Walking time from home:	Almost 15 mins
Reason for going:	Something different and close
Kiddush:	Large sit-down kiddush lunch

There are so many synagogues in Melbourne that sometimes even I forget how many there are and where they all are. Ohel Devorah is one such example. It is right in the heart of where so many Jews live in Caulfield, but because it is on a side street away from the many synagogues all around it on all sides, sometimes it gets forgotten. And because of its location, although it is unashamedly a Chabad shule, it attracts a potentially much broader and more diverse audience. Some come, whether they are Chabad or not, simply because they live nearby; some come because it is a Chabad shule in the area and therefore not necessarily as structured or as rigid as some of the other shules in close proximity; and some come just because they like it.

The shule is in a converted house with residential homes on either side. If not for the sign on the front gate and on the building, and people milling about, there would be no clue that it is even a shule. The inside of the house has of course been re-modelled to suit a congregation, with essentially one large room which can open up for lectures or functions, but for shule is split into a women’s section, a men’s section, a dinning section and just outside the back door, a large Sukkah area. It also has kitchens and bathrooms jutting off the side. The men’s section holds about 50 or so, but because it is connected to the dinning section, many like to spread out and sit further away. On this occasion there were about 30 in the men’s section (with about half as many in the women’s), but there was some commotion throughout the service in the dinning section, with a number of women setting up the communal lunch and sometimes walking between the men.

Like many Chabad shules, the service began at 10am and didn’t drag on for too long. Also like most Chabad shules, it was neither silent throughout the service, nor too loud. There was some chatter and one or two people prayed at their own pace and volume, but the vast majority followed along and participated. The door remained open the whole time, and though some were already there before I even arrived, people continued to flow in the whole time and were welcomed accordingly.

The double portion of the week is one that is always read on the last Shabbat of the year. Nitzavim means standing, whilst Vayelech means going. To have a successful year and a good life, one actually needs to do both – you can’t sit still and wait for things to happen, but you equally can’t be running all the time without stopping to take it all in. Being the last part of the Torah that is read before Rosh Hashana, the portion also talks about the unity of Israel, the practicality of the Torah, the future redemption and the Hakhel – the gathering – which is a specific commandment that occurs every seventh year, and was this year. In fact, the very lovely sit-down kiddush lunch that followed the service – with three courses – was actually called the Hakhel lunch to honour the end of that cycle and was thus sponsored by the shule for that purpose. The lunch of course was open to everyone, like the shule, and unsurprisingly, quite a number of people turned up after the end of the service just for the lunch.

Overall, I can see the appeal of a smallish shule like Ohel Devorah, which sits in a sea of other shules but still has a following. However, despite being named after a woman, the shule is still very much a men’s domain. The curtain separating the women from the men was thicker than it potentially needed to be, but more than that, there were partitions in the dinning hall separating the men from the women. I asked one of the regulars about this and he said that the women actually initiated this and like it because it means that they can have their own conversations and time together, whilst the men listen to the rabbi or others, and talk about men’s issues. I am not entirely convinced, but I did nonetheless enjoy the last Shabbat of the year.