Torah Portion:	Vayeira
Synagogue:	Kew Hebrew Congregation (traditional orthodox)
Walking time from home:	One hour and 45 minutes
Reason for going:	Something new and different
Kiddush:	A three course sit-down lunch

This week, with no other Shabbat afternoon plans, for the first time in a long time I decided to go to Kew shule – probably the furthest shule that I could reasonably walk to. Kew Hebrew Congregation is one of a handful of traditional old shules around Melbourne. Some of these were started before the war, but all of them were expanded and brought to life immediately post-war. The original Kew shule was in the hall next door (which no longer exists), whereas the current iteration was built in the 1960s. It has around 800 seats and a very beautiful, large ark as well as stained-glass windows throughout. Walking in, I had forgotten how beautiful it actually was.

But unlike most of the other old traditional shules, which are still very much in use on a regular basis today, Kew is in a different category. For the last few decades, because of demography and gentrification, many Jews have moved out of the suburbs surrounding Kew, or for whatever reason have started to attend other shules. In fact, for a few years Kew shule was almost shuttered completely, and simply to survive, they sold off the school and hall next door. Yet, during this whole time, there were still some stalwarts of the local community who didn’t want to see their local shule close down, and others who were certain that they could revitalise it. So a few years ago they employed a dynamic rabbi on a part-time basis, and started hosting events and services once again.

These days, apart from when there is a festival, they host a Shabbat program once a month, where the rabbi and his family stay over in a nearby hotel, often with another religious family as well, and where they put on free meals for the community. I didn’t come on a Friday night, but apparently they had over 40 people for dinner this week. On Shabbat morning, when I walked in just before 10am, I was the ninth adult male. Of course there were some women and kids, but they don’t count for a Minyan, so the rabbi invited the Jewish security guard to come inside the shule to be the Minyan man. But he only stayed inside for a couple of minutes because soon after, a handful of other people arrived, and by the time of the Torah reading, there were about 18 or so on the men’s side, and at lunch there was a total crowd of close to 30. It’s not a huge crowd, but a start, with some even regularly coming from other shules for the monthly Shabbat at Kew – such is the revitalised vibe.

The portion of the week, amongst other things, is about Abraham’s aborted sacrifice of Issac, and the rabbi spoke about the sacrifices that so many of our fellow Jews have made and are still making in Israel these days. He told some miraculous stories of survival, and also of a soldier who didn’t survive but rescued a number of people before he was shot. These are the heroes of our time, and during the service, there were extended prayers for the kidnapped, for the soldiers and overall, for peace in Israel and in the rest of the world. The rabbi spoke in an impassioned way, but at the lunch he wasn’t the only speaker. In fact, I think almost every guest said at least a few words publicly, some about the service and the shule, but mostly about Israel.

It will be a good few years, if at all, before the shule is back to its glory days, but there are big plans afoot. The school next door is now Melbourne’s only school specifically for autistic kids. It has a great reputation and is doing great things. With the hall between the school and the shule now demolished, there are plans to build a shared hall and an apartment for the rabbi. There are also plans for concerts and shows, and to try to get people back to the shule, starting with these monthly services. Who knows if it will be successful, but it was nice to be back in one of Melbourne’s least used but still beautiful shules.