Torah Portion:	Pinchas
Synagogue:	Hashkama @ Mizrachi
Walking time from home:	Almost 20 minutes
Reason for going:	I woke up early
Kiddush:	Small but hearty

This week I had lunch plans quite some distance from home and was intending on going to a shule in that vicinity. But on Friday night, sleep was hard to come by and I finally woke up before 6am and was still wide awake at 7am. So rather than wallow in bed, I decided to go to shule.

In Melbourne there are a few early services on a Shabbat morning. I’ve never quite understood their appeal, though the best explanation I’ve heard is that they are for people who wake up early anyway and want to get their praying out of the way. On top of that, there is usually a well-prepared class that follows with some good food, so it has come to be a bit of a tradition, especially at Mizrachi. Many of the people who attend, then go home and have a rest before lunch. Personally, I would rather just wake up later which is why I had never been to the Hashkama (ie: early) service at Mizrachi, but on this occasion it seemed appropriate.

I arrived a few minutes after the starting time of 7:30am and was surprised to see that the shule was already more than a third full, and most of the men, even at that hour, were wearing full suits and ties. Very few people turned up later because if you miss this service, you can just catch a later one. There were even half a dozen women at this service. To me it all felt strange simply because of how early it was, but none of the service was in any way weird. It proceeded entirely as normal but with no sermon or any other interruptions. Even the parts of the service that take some time usually, like the blessings after the Torah reading, were said more quickly or without breaks. It was clear that this was a service that eschewed anything extraneous. As a result, it is also known as the quietest service at Mizrachi, and for good reason. There was almost complete silence throughout, even during the Torah reading, when there is often some chatter. People come here to pray in an efficient manner; socialising is for later.

This is also a service that rarely attracts anyone external so there is no reason for announcing page numbers or anything else. The service simply moves from one part to the next almost seamlessly. Though it runs so effortlessly because there is actually someone in charge. Not a rabbi but a Gabbai – someone tasked with assigning all the duties. He is the busiest man in the shule and the only one who runs around at various times during the service, chats to people briefly and quietly, and asks them to do things like open the ark, dress the Torah, lead parts of the service, etc. Without him I’m not sure how it would run, but with him it feels very well run and it needs to be because the main service at Mizrachi in the same room begins promptly at 9:30am. No matter what, the early one has to be done by then and as a result, if there is a longer Torah reading or some other special occasion, then the early service begins even earlier. The somewhat odd sight for me was that starting at about 9:15ish, people who were coming to the later service began trickling into the room and started to prepare themselves as if no one was around, despite the end of a full service happening around them. Then practically on the dot of 9:30, there is a transition, as if on repeat, with a whole new service beginning at the exact spot where it had started two hours earlier.

The kiddush for the early service is a little smaller than the later one, but is still very hearty and fulsome, with fish, whiskey, salads, desserts and other things. Maybe not quite breakfast food, but clearly appreciated by the regulars, and it was nice to finally hear some chatter as people filled their plates in anticipation of some socialising and then a class given by one of the rabbis. I didn’t stay. I went home instead for a rest before my lunch, but it was nice to finally make it to this service.