Torah Portion:	Bamidbar
Synagogue:	Yeshivah Gedolah (Chabad)
Walking time from home:	Less than 10 minutes
Reason for going:	Something different
Kiddush:	N/a

This week, with a Bar Mitzvah scheduled at a shule quite a distance away in the afternoon, I wanted to go to a shule in the morning that was close to home but not one that I had been to before. The Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand, also known as Yeshiva Gedolah or simply YG, is an institution that many in the Melbourne Jewish community have heard of but I suspect few have ever visited. It is an internationally renowned learning seminary for Chabad boys (aged 17 to early 20s), most of whom later go on to further rabbinic studies abroad. The reputation of the place is so good that about half the boys come from abroad each year, mostly from America but also from other English speaking countries. The institution is housed in an old mansion in the heart of East St Kilda on large grounds, and the whole thing was built, as their website says, ‘in the days when no expense was spared.’ The mansion itself is large, though recently was further expanded, and the grounds too now have even more accommodation facilities. I don’t know what the mansion was used for initially, but the ceramic work on the walls is intricate and very detailed, and all the original rooms have very high ceilings. In fact, from the outside the building looks quite imposing.

Essentially it is an institution of learning and not really a shule. Being a religious Jewish institution, they have regular services there of course, but it is all run by and for the students themselves. The doors are open to outsiders on Shabbat, and the one or two guests each week sit at designated spots at the back, but in a way I felt a little like an intruder. I was however welcomed by at least half a dozen of the boys, and also by the other regular outside guest who is there almost every week.

The main room, which was probably a ballroom at one point, is a large study hall with overflowing bookshelves all around. There are small tables throughout the room for paired learning, and each boy has a set spot opposite his pair (that’s why guests sit at the back). This is where they sit for learning but also where they sit for all the services. It was clear from the outset that this is the domain of the boys and that they are comfortable there. Whilst every single one of the 60 or so boys wore a white shirt, dark jacket and black hat, some wore track pants and slippers, and others wore a jumper under their jacket. Some also came into the room with hot drinks or large water bottles. Throughout the service, though most of the boys stayed in their places and participated in the service, there was constant movement in the room. Some came in late, others left to get drinks or books, and others chatted at the back of the room or simply left the room altogether. It was a little chaotic, but in an organised manner.

The service proceeded as normal, though at times it felt a little slow to me. There were one or two boys who seemed to be in charge, especially during the Torah reading, but it also felt somewhat organic. There was a rabbi, who is the head rabbi of the institution, but he sat in his usual spot in the corner at the front and played no part in the service. There was also no sermon, but just before the Torah reading one of the boys got up to speak about a very niche topic. It was so technical and esoteric that it went entirely over my head, but clearly it was meant for his fellow classmates and not for me. This is also the first shule that I have been to since October that didn’t in any way reference Israel. To be fair, they didn’t have any communal prayers at all, but it still felt strange. They also had no kiddush. Whilst there was a lunch being set up in the other room for the boys, I definitely would have been an intruder there, and the other outside guest also didn’t stay, so I left when the service ended but was glad that I finally saw the inside of this unique institution.