Torah Portion:	Vayetzei
Synagogue:	Emmy Monash Aged Care (Orthodox)
Walking time from home:	25 minutes
Reason for going:	Close to my afternoon plans
Kiddush:	Lovely, small kiddush

There are some shules that are in prominent locations but still keep a low profile. The shule at the Emmy Monash Aged Care home – on a main road – is one of them. The Home itself is more than 60 years old and it has always had a shule, since many of the residents were shule-goers in their younger years and wanted to continue to go to shule even in their advanced years. In 2016 when an addition was added to be building, a more permanent and modern-looing shule was also added, which is where the congregation meets these days.

This week was a regular Shabbat service with no guests or celebrations. Often however there are special visitors. For instance, last week a choir from another shule came to serenade the congregants during the service, and that is something that happens fairly often. But this week, with nothing extraneous, there were almost 20 people on the men’s side and almost as many on the women’s. Of the congregants, two thirds were residents, many in wheelchairs or with walkers, but the others were a surprising mix. One of the longest serving congregants – who has been coming to this shule for 23 years – first came when his parents were residents, but they died long ago and he is still a regular because he likes the no frills nature of this shule. With a largely older crowd, there is no time wasting, and the entire service was finished in under two hours. Some of the other congregants were children or grandchildren of residents, though some just come regularly or sporadically to this shule because they live nearby or simply like it.

The service began with one of the visitors leading the first part of the prayers and then the rabbi reading from the Torah. But then things got interesting, or at least unusual for me. Of the residents on the men’s side, all but two were in wheelchairs, and even the ones who weren’t had walkers. When it came time to call people up to the Torah, after the first few, one of the residents in a wheelchair was called. But rather than push himself to the Torah, or have someone push him, he simply stayed in his place, recited the blessings and then with no-one beside him, the rabbi proceeded to read from the Torah. This is not something I have ever seen before, and even in other shules with congregants in wheelchairs, there are special provisions like ramps and helpers to ensure that everyone is by the Torah when they recite the blessings. Later, when the Musaf prayer began, another immobile resident, who was a former Chazan in his younger days, also stayed seated in his place and led the service from his seat on the sidelines. It was definitely convenient and allowed everyone to participate irrespective of their mobility, but it is certainly not something I have ever seen or even heard of before.

The portion of this week is about Jacob’s dream and prophecy, amongst other things. The rabbi – who has been there for close to 20 years – spoke about dreams of the Jewish people and linked it to the unity of the community that many of us are feeling today. He emphasised the connection to the land of Israel and highlighted the need for engagement. The sermon was the only interruption of sorts to the service, and some residents – like congregants in other shules – had their eyes closed during his words, though some of them slept through other parts of the service too. Yet for many, the service is a weekly event that they look forward to, partly because it is an opportunity to see their relatives who visit, but also because it is an opportunity to come together. At the end of the service, when in other shules announcements would be made about upcoming activities, the rabbi announced the upcoming birthdays of various grandchildren and great grandchildren. Sharing the ‘nachess’ with the community is something they all cherish, and this continued during the small but lovely kiddush in a room just up the corridor that is the café during the week. Overall, it was wonderful to witness.