Torah Portion:	Emor
Synagogue:	Port Melbourne Chabad
Walking time from home:	One hour and 30 minutes
Reason for going:	Something new and different
Kiddush:	A sit-down lunch with cholent

As I keep discovering, there are many shules around Melbourne, including in suburbs where you might not expect to find a shule. The industrial and beachside suburb of Port Melbourne is one of them, and the shule that is there today has a fascinating story of persistence, belief and innovation.

Several years ago, an enterprising young Chabad couple were looking to move somewhere where they could make an impact – into a suburb that wasn’t traditionally associated with a thriving Jewish presence. They chose Port Melbourne and over a number of years began to build a community. But more than that, they also discovered the underbelly of Melbourne and found people who are doing it tough, Jews and non-Jews alike. Most are not homeless, but many struggle to afford their groceries or to pay their bills, so the rabbi set up what has now become C-Care (C standing for community), which provides meals to all those in need, and has a motto of ‘connecting through food and friendship’. It is a wonderful organisation, but this blog is about shules.

In the garage of their home they started a congregation, which struggled to find a community for a while, but eventually became known to Jews in the area and to Jews further afield. The rabbi too became known as someone with passion and sincerity, and when Melbourne Hebrew Congregation (aka Toorak Shule) was looking for a part-time rabbi, he was the obvious choice. Once appointed to that role, the rabbi and his young family moved into a rental near Toorak for over a year and spent the time renovating their house.

These days he conducts a service at Toorak shule every Friday night, but on Saturday mornings alternates between Toorak and Port Melbourne. Every time there is a celebration, a special occasion or a festival, they are at Toorak, but on a Shabbat where there is none of that, they meet at Port Melbourne. Essentially, the Port Melbourne shule in the rabbi’s house has become an outpost of Toorak shule, and most congregants don’t mind where they go. Nonetheless, when they meet in Port Melbourne, there is a slightly different crowd because there are a surprising number of Jews who live in surrounding suburbs and occasionally like to come to their closest shule.

The shule itself is a marvel of architecture. Whilst the house is old and couldn’t be touched from the outside, on the inside because of the renovations, it looks like a brand new house. To create a dedicated shule that is no longer in the garage, the family had to give up half their backyard, but what they got in return is a beautiful extension to the house. There’s a separate door next to the garage for the shule, and there are pocket doors between the main living area and the shule space, so that the family doesn’t have to be disturbed, but the space can also be opened up when required.

This particular week there were about eight males when the service began at 10am, and then as if by some divine miracle, just as a minyan was required, three more appeared. The space can hold about 25 on the men’s side and about ten on the women’s, and by Torah reading it was about three quarters full, creating a vibrant energy. In a small congregation like this, the rabbi has triple duty, as the prayer leader, Torah chanter and sermon giver, not to mention host, but it clearly comes from a place of passion. Throughout the service, one of his young sons acted as tea and coffee waiter, taking orders and bringing drinks to people from the adjacent kitchenette. Then at the end of the service, the tables were moved around and a lovely lunch was served with cholent, which was great for me before my long walk back home.