Torah Portion:	Tetzaveh
Synagogue:	Rambam Shule (Sephardi, Chabad)
Walking time from home:	15 minutes
Reason for going:	Something completely different
Kiddush:	Small, sit-down kiddush

Since I started this blog, I have been to all kinds of shules, including ultra-orthodox ones, Sephardi ones and reform ones. But I hadn’t yet been to a shule that combined some of these traits. The Rambam shule in Melbourne is a unique combination. For one thing, it is a Sephardi shule, but different to the other Sephardi one in town because a large number of the congregants are of Moroccan / French heritage. But more than that, it is shule that is technically under the auspices of the Yeshivah Centre because it is also a Chabad shule. The only other time I have seen such a combination was in Shanghai, where apart from the regular service at the Chabad centre, there was also a secondary, smaller service for Sephardi Israeli residents and travellers.

In Melbourne, the Rambam shule has been around for a couple of decades at least, but the only time I had ever even heard of it was when I was invited by a friend to hear a guest speaker at their old venue about 15 years ago. Since then, for close to a decade, they have been in a large space just off a main road, but from the street, you can barely tell there is anything even there. The space looks sort of like a converted warehouse, but there are lots of rooms that jut off the main room. It sits above two shops and at street level, there is just a door, a Mezuzah to indicate there is something Jewish beyond the door, and a small poster just to the side of the door that mentions the name of the shule. But once you enter the door and climb the stairs, it immediately looks like a welcoming but makeshift kind of place. The sanctuary is in the centre and around it are rooms, including separate meat and milk kitchens, a play room for kids, a library, an office, bathrooms and a few storerooms. The walls have been painted white, making it look even bigger, and on many of the walls there are posters of Sephardi rabbis, prayers or other Hebrew texts on colourful backgrounds.

In fact, Hebrew is by far the most dominant language in the place. Although there were smatterings of English, French and Spanish heard throughout the room, the majority of people were speaking Hebrew and all the communal prayers that would otherwise be said in the vernacular, were said entirely in Hebrew. Even more interestingly, although there was a variety of books on the shelves, including some Ashkenazi texts, the vast majority of prayer books were just in Hebrew. Almost every other shule has books with Hebrew on one side and a translation on the other, but the primary text here is entirely in Hebrew. I would go so far as to say that a lack of Hebrew knowledge would make someone feel quite lost in this place. The sermon however was in English, but with lots of Hebrew words (and words from other languages) thrown in, whilst the rabbi’s speech during kiddush was in Hebrew, though usually he alternates between the two languages. The other thing that was conducted entirely in Hebrew and was unique to this shule, was that before the Torah was even taken out of the ark, there was an auction of the call-ups in advance, and once the Torah was taken out, only those who had won the auction were called up for each reading. It was quite unique but also provided some action and excitement during the service.

I was told that I had come on a relatively quiet week. There were only about 15 or so men and 2 women, but quite a few kids too. On most weeks there are apparently at least 8-10 more regulars. The portion of the week is largely about the vestments of the Kohen and the rabbi spoke about the unique role of Aharon the Kohen – that he was given that role because his younger brother Moses was the leader of the nation. In a shule where Hebrew was so prominent, where Sephardi and Chabad tunes and phraseology dominated, and where there was a priestly blessing on Shabbat, it felt almost more appropriate than in other shule to hear about the laws of the Kohen. For a brief moment I almost even forgot that I was in Melbourne because I felt metaphorically transported somewhere else.