The Syna-blogue

  Pesach (first days and Chol Hamoed Shabbat) Day 1: Caulfield Shule; Day 2: Hamerkaz; Shabbat: South Caulfield Shule Generally for all festivals, but particularly for Passover, I usually arrange meals out or get invited out to families. As such, I tend to go to the shules where my hosts go even if I have been to those shules before or recently. This year for the first days of Pesach that was definitely the case, and will be the case for the last days too. Despite the first days of Pesach falling on weekdays this year, the two shules I went to for the first days were relatively full and with a lot of positive vibes. Most people probably had late nights at their Seders but came to shule in the morning energised and invigorated. If this festival is about freedom, then this year more than most, that sense of praying for our freedom was on greater display than I have ever seen before. Not only were there extra prayers added to the service, but there was...

  Torah Portion: Metzora Synagogue: Elsternwick Jewish Community, modern Orthodox Walking time from home: 35 mins Reason for going: A speaker and a lunch Kiddush: Catered lunch This week, with Pesach just around the corner, many shules had pre-Presach Friday night dinners. Although I only went to one, since I subscribe to many synagogue newsletters, I knew of at least 11 communal dinners across the Melbourne Jewish community. But whereas many shules had dinners, almost none had communal lunches. So as soon as I found out that one shule was advertising not just a lunch but a speaker at the lunch, I booked immediately. When I last came to Elsternwick shule (on the campus of Yavneh College) over a year ago, it was a little disappointing. Not the shule itself, but I happened to have come on a week when almost all the regulars were at a celebration elsewhere. The minyan...

  Torah Portion: Tazria Synagogue: Mifgash Centre (independent Chabad) Walking time from home my sister’s: Almost 15 minutes Reason for going: Close and different Kiddush: Sit down kiddush with two Cholents There are some shules that make themselves known; there are others that stay away from the limelight and are therefore hidden in plain sight. Mifgash (lit. meeting) Centre in Bentleigh is one of those. I first encountered Mifgash a few years ago when I was invited to a Bar Mitzvah at a place with a Hebrew sounding name in an industrial park in Bentleigh. I had no idea it was even a shule. Initially I had just assumed it was a Jewish-owned meeting hall that had been set up as a shule for the celebration. But since then I have discovered that Mifgash was actually founded in 2017 as the ‘Bentleigh Synagogue & Jewish Hebrew Centre’, according to its web...

  Torah Portion: Shemini – HaChodesh Synagogue: Kedem (lay led, reform) Walking time from home: Almost 20 mins Reason for going: To join their monthly service Kiddush: Plentiful kiddush with Challah There are some shules that I have known about for a while but had never had the chance to visit. Since starting this blog, as well as the larger, better known shules, I have tried to seek out the ones that are niche, small or away from the mainstream. Kedem is all those things, and it was great to finally see it in action. Kedem actually started about 30 years ago, but without the fanfare of many other shules. Since the beginning it has been intentionally lay led, small and diverse. Although officially under the auspices of the Progressive movement, and with the official siddur of the Progressive movement in use, lay leadership means that it doesn’t always follow ...