The Syna-blogue

  Torah Portion: Tzav – Parah Synagogue: Shira Chadasha (Partnership Orthodox) Walking time from home: 25 minutes Reason for going: My sister and I sponsoring the kiddush Kiddush: Lots of variety For the last twelve years, my sister and I have sponsored a kiddush in memory of our mother at the Shira synagogue, and I have given the sermon, partly connected to the portion of the week, and partly to our mother. What follows is the highlights of the edited speech.  ------------ I want to start by thanking this shule because this continues to be the place our family comes to for special occasions. Last year my niece celebrated her Bat Mitzvah here, and today we are all back again for this milestone – the 32nd Yahrzeit and the 11th drasha for our mum’s Yarzheit in 12 years. This week is the first Shabbat after Purim. For me this is significant because I always a...

  Torah Portion: Vayikra Synagogue: Jewish Care Windsor Walking time from home: 30 mins Reason for going: To be with my grandparents Kiddush: Small kiddush with Hamantaschen In September of last year, my grandparents moved into residential aged care at Jewish Care Windsor. And not a moment too soon. At around that time my grandfather also turned 100 whilst my grandmother turned 98 a few months earlier. They had been planning to move into care for quite some time, but what finally precipitated the move was that in the weeks leading up to it, they both had quite severe falls and finally realised that they couldn’t stay home any longer. They moved into the new building at Jewish Care Windsor, which only opened during the pandemic. It was cheaper for Jewish Care to construct a new building than to refurbish an old one to modern standards, so my grandparents and all the...

  Torah Portion: Pekudei Synagogue: Kollel Menachem at Yeshiva (Chabad) Walking time from home: 10 mins Reason for going: I woke up late Kiddush: N/a This week, though I had thought about which shule I might want to go to, I hadn’t yet decided by Friday. I set an early alarm for Saturday morning to maximise my options, but slept through it. By the time I woke up after 9:30am, there was only really one type of shule I could go to: a Chabad one. With not a lot of time till the start of shule, I wanted to find one that was close, but also one I hadn’t been to before. I ended up at the Kollel at Yeshiva. As I had discovered on a previous visit, the Yeshiva campus has up to half a dozen services on a Shabbat morning, but some of them are very niche, like for high school students and the like. The Kollel Menachem Lubavitch, as it is officially known, is theoretically for...

  Torah Portion: Vayakhel Synagogue: Beit Haroeh@Mizrachi (Modern Orthodox) Walking time from home: Nearly 20 minutes Reason for going: Close and with air conditioning Kiddush: N/a On a day pushing 40 degrees C, my goal for Shabbat morning was to find a shule that was relatively close and had good air conditioning. Beit Haroeh certainly fit that bill. It is on the campus of Mizrachi and thus one of five Shabbat morning services on that campus, but it is also very much its own congregation. In fact, aside from the main shule, it is “one of the longest standing minyanim within Mizrachi”, according to the website. It has been going as a standalone service since the 1980s but has moved around different rooms and buildings since that time. Currently it is housed in the library / learning centre and thus almost as soon as you walk in, you feel sense of comfort, like the bo...

  Torah Portion: Ki Tisa Synagogue: Shtiebel (communal, non-prescriptive) Walking time from home: 45 minutes Reason for going: Something completely different Kiddush: Large stand up, celebratory kiddush It is fair to say that a number of shules that exist today in Melbourne, started out as breakaways from other shules, or at least as a result of chaos or dysfunction. That is certainly true for Shtiebel. For a couple of years there were various issues going on between Temple Beth Israel and the then rabbi until eventually the rabbi and the shule parted ways. Sometime later, Shtiebel was borne, and though it is technically not a breakaway, it certainly would not exist if not for the crisis the led to it. Shtiebel is yet to celebrate its first birthday, which means it is Melbourne’s newest shule, but also its most unique, and in truth, it is quite difficult to descr...