Torah Portion:	Vayigash
Synagogue:	Kehilat Nitzan, Conservative
Walking time from home:	25 minutes
Reason for going:	Visiting guests
Kiddush:	Small but hearty

There are some shules that I don’t go to very often, but each time I do, I feel welcome and comfortable. Kehilat Nitan – Melbourne’s only Conservative shule – is one of them. I hadn’t been to a Shabbat morning service there since this time last year, though I had been a few times recently for Friday night services and dinners, and other various guest speakers.

I first went to the shule nearly two decades ago when it was in temporary accommodation and when even it wasn’t quite sure of itself. Today by contrast, it is in a very elegantly converted warehouse on a main road in a prominent location, and is one of the most structured and well organised shules in town. As an example, there is only one type of siddur on the shelf (with a red cover), and one type of Chumash (with a blue cover). Like many shules, there is a stand at the front with large numbers on it corresponding to the page numbers. In most shules, the numbers get turned occasionally to coincide with the main prayers, and the numbers only apply to the siddur, not the Chumash. At Nitzan, there is a person assigned to the page turning who turns the numbers literally every time a page is turned. And even more unusually, they have two sets of numbers; one in red for the siddur and one in blue for the Chumash. It is a small touch in the scheme of things, and many of the regulars know what page they are up to without the number turning system, but it makes outsiders feel like they are part of the community, and it is thoughtful, simple and imaginative.

I was at this shule for a very specific reason: the former rabbi and his family were visiting, and I first met them the week they initially arrived in Australia and have been friends with them ever since. This shule has had three rabbis in its history. The founding rabbi, who set the shule up and provided some initial direction; the second rabbi, who presided over the move to the present location; and the current rabbi, who steered the community through Covid. The second rabbi is American like the current one, and also like the current one, his kids were born here. He and his family now live in Vancouver, so with winter setting in, they decided it was time to show their kids the city of their birth. After all, they left Australia when the oldest was just three. Now at 10 and 8, their kids would be able to appreciate Melbourne.

Normally in late December, it is a very quiet. In fact, last time I came to this shule, I wrote, ‘in Melbourne at this time of year, it usually feels like the whole city is on holiday.’ Yet, looking around the shule, you wouldn’t have known it. Many came like I did, to see the former rabbi and his family, so much so that after Kiddush, there was an informal gathering so that we could all chat and catch up. But there were also others there too, including families memorialising loved ones or celebrating birthdays, and even an Australian family who have just returned after many years away – in other words, a vibrant and growing community, some of whom had never met the previous rabbi. It was lovely to see.

The former rabbi is on holiday with his family, but once a rabbi always a rabbi, so he couldn’t get away without participating in the service. Not only did he read a portion of the Torah, but twice during the reading, he and the current rabbi had a conversation aloud about the portion, which sounded very much like a live podcast. They wondered why the brothers didn’t recognise Joseph when he clearly recognised them, and why even Jabob believed that his favourite son was dead. They concluded that much like people in our times are told what to believe despite evidence to the contrary, so too was the case in the time of the bible. The brothers and Jacob were convinced in their own minds that Joseph was dead and thus until he was able to prove in no uncertain terms that it really was him, they couldn’t or wouldn’t entertain the idea he was alive. But we as a congregation were greatly entertained by the performance of the two rabbis and friends, and it was great to be back in this shule again.