Torah Portion:	Va’etchanan
Synagogue:	Temple Beth Israel
Walking time from home:	Just over 15 minutes
Reason for going:	Special occasion
Kiddush:	Large, festive kiddush

This week I revisited another previously visited synagogue, but again for a very good reason: the 90^th birthday of Rabbi Dr John Levi AC, an icon of the progressive Jewish movement. Apart from simply celebrating Rabbi Levi’s birthday, I was there in an official capacity, as Co-chair of the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) – an organisation Rabbi Levi founded, but more about that later. 

Temple Beth Israel (TBI) is the largest progressive shule in Melbourne and one of the largest in the country, but by no means the only one. There are several other progressive institutions across Melbourne, and similar institutions across much of Australasia. I mention this because according to the speakers at the service, Rabbi Levi had a hand in founding or at least growing all of them. On this day there were several hundred people at TBI, and all of them arrived not only on time, but a little early. Rabbi Levi and his family were of course seated in the front row, but before the service even started, he was on his feet shaking hands with many of the congregants.

Like on previous occasions in other places, I sat with some of my Christian colleagues explaining to them parts of the service, but the rabbi and the cantor did a good job of doing that too for the whole congregation. They called out page numbers every time we turned a page, they explained some of the prayers, and on a few occasions, they read or sang prayers in English. On top of that, there was almost complete silence amongst the congregations during the service (except during some of the songs) and unlike in many other shules, everyone used the same Siddur. Within that prayer book, we noticed that almost all of the prayers were transliterated making it easier for non-Jews in particular to follow along. I wonder if the progressive community has a lower grasp of Hebrew or if this Siddur was intentionally designed for outsiders who don’t read Hebrew. Either way, it made the guests around me feel like more comfortable, and even more so given the sounds of the mellifluous choir.

Rabbi Levi had no say of course as to the date of his birth, but it happened that the Torah portion this week included the Ten Commandments – a point which was mentioned multiple times, and that was the section that was read when Rabbi Levi and his family were called to the Torah. After the end of the Torah reading, the mood of the service changed, from almost serious and prayerful to joyous and anticipatory. It was time for speeches and everyone was ready.

The rabbi began with some words of wisdom from the portion and then connected them to Rabbi Levi, but then said that instead of a formal sermon this week, several members of the community had been invited to prepare some words about Rabbi Levi and his contributions over the years. The people chosen were former shule presidents, presidents of other communities that Rabbi Levi had helped found, the principal of the King David School and a representative from the global progressive movement. Each said that Rabbi Levi had been fundamental in founding, seeding and then guiding the development of each institution, and that his work included writing books, teaching and working with community leaders, including those in the broader community, thus his involvement in interfaith and the creation of the CCJ, amongst other things. As one speaker said, if not for Rabbi Levi, their institution would not exist, and that was true for so many. But it was not just about tributes. It actually felt like mixture between a roast and the eulogy speeches at a funeral, except that the person being honoured was in the room. Many of the speakers extolled his achievements and contributions but also told stories of his humour, moments of levity and their personal encounters with him over the years. Rabbi Levi didn’t speak, but a large kiddush followed the service where Rabbi Levi stood and then sat centre stage with an opportunity for almost every congregant to come up to him, to hear some of that trademark wit and to engage with him. It was a beautiful celebration and great to be part of.