Torah Portion:	Veyechi
Synagogue:	Etz Chayim, aka Bentleigh Progressive
Walking time from home my sister’s:	About 20 minutes
Reason for going:	Something different
Kiddush:	Small kiddush but with a birthday cake

   

Of all the shules in Melbourne, only three are progressive (reform), and of these, one happens to be quite close to my sister’s new house. So after a lovely Shabbat dinner with my sister and her family, I stayed over and in the morning went to Etz Chayim. I had been to Etz Chayim previously on many occasions for events and lectures, but had never attended a service. Moreover, when I told people later in the day where I had gone, all of them had some vague recollection that there is a progressive shule on a main road somewhere in Bentleigh, but none had ever been inside or knew exactly where it was. In a sense, this is how the shule operates. It is a little shule that sits a bit under the radar despite being on a main road, but can get away with that because it is not in the heart of the Jewish area of Melbourne. Nonetheless, it has been around since at least the 1950s and continues to thrive.

I went to this shule because I stayed over in the area, but expected that there would be just a minimal core group of congregants this week since it is the height of the holidays, just a day before New Year’s Eve. But I was pleasantly surprised to see a shule at near capacity. I was told that on a regular week, there are 20-30 congregants, but this week there was close to double that amount, largely because one of the long-standing members was celebrating his 90^th birthday. Since there are only about 80 seats, it was pretty full. I walked in a little after starting time and felt the glare of the audience on me as I took my seat. In such a small sanctuary, every person is seen. But more than that, every movement that is not in accordance with the congregation is exacerbated.

For many years, there was a rabbi at this shule. Unlike in most orthodox shules on Shabbat – where the rabbi sits at the front but doesn’t really lead any part of the service apart from the sermon – in this shule the rabbi is in charge of everything that happens during the service. However, with the recent departure of the rabbi to greener pastures, there is now a roster of lay members of the community who are tasked with stepping into the role of the rabbi on Shabbat morning. The duties of this person are to explain many of the prayers before they are said, to lead some of the readings in English, to announce page numbers, to give the sermon, and to add any prayers or readings that may befit the circumstances. For instance, on this occasion the prayer leader introduced a Psalm for the release of Israeli hostages that many congregants were unfamiliar with. Aside from the prayer leader, there is also a singer and a keyboard player, both of whom lead the congregation in song at various times, after the prayer leader introduces those songs first. The point is that during the entirety of the service, there is no time for individual prayer and the atmosphere is extremely communal. Any movement by an individual is also noticed. On top of that, there is absolutely no chatter amongst the crowd, and at one point when the prayer leader called for a silent moment of reflection, the only sounds that could be heard emanated from the two or three people in the kitchen preparing the kiddush.

The shule also places great significance on milestones. Every person that was called to the Torah had something to celebrate or commemorate, from a sibling who had recently passed away, to the Yahrzeits of parents, to wedding anniversaries and of course birthdays, including the 90^th. In each case, after the reading, either the honouree, the prayer leader or both, spoke about the milestone, which was lovely to hear, and created or enhanced the sense of community that was already in the air. Furthermore, with the portion of the week also about milestones, there was an obvious connection, all the more so because this was the last section of Genesis, and the literal closing of one book before we open the next book, just like the end of 2023 and the start of a new year. It was great to be part of this community this week, and felt like an appropriate place to be on this special Shabbat at the end of the secular year. Here’s to a better 2024 for all!