Torah Portion:	Shoftim
Synagogue:	Hamayan (Carlebach style, Orthodox)
Walking time from home:	20 minutes
Reason for going:	Nostalgia
Kiddush:	Small but plentiful

This week I genuinely had no idea what shule I would go to. The next few weeks are sorted for various reasons, but this week I had a choice to go almost anywhere and since I have been to practically every shule in Melbourne, I chose one for nostalgia reasons.

Hamayan has had numerous guises over the years and I first went there during one of the early ones. It began mostly as a shule that distinguishes itself by its singing, and that musicality is still evident. The truth is though that these days it is a small shule like almost any other, in a nondescript house that doesn’t feel too different to most others, but it has found its groove. Some of the people have seen all the iterations of Hamayan and are still there because it has become part of who they are, whilst others are newbies who have found their place. In one sense it is a bit of an odd shule. Although most people who attend are modern orthodox, including the rabbi, the aspiration of the shule is Chasidic and thus the siddur, the style and the singing reflect that.  

I arrived just after starting time and already there was a minyan. Soon after there were probably close to 20 men and half a dozen women, though more arrived towards the end of the service. No part of the service felt particularly slow, but it equally didn’t feel rushed, and the overall sense is that it is service that takes its time. So much so that some people bring reading materials every week and fill in some of the down time – especially during cantorial repetitions or blessings around the Torah reading – reading, passing their material around or quietly chatting. I’m not quite sure why, but it also feels like a shule where there is constant noise, constant movement and it thus feels like there is always something going on. Midway through the service some people start to gather in the kitchen to prepare the kiddush, whilst others gather in the corridor to chat or to plot. All the while, the service continues at a relaxed pace.

The one part that felt relatively quick was the actual Torah reading, and it was also relatively quiet during that time, but even then there was some level of noise and the blessings in between readings took some time. Soon after the rabbi gave this sermon and began with the words of a modern Israeli song about hostages and the murder of innocent people, and then linked that to the portion of the week, which mentions both. The rabbi is young and dynamic and clearly knows his audience. He also knows that this is a shule that doesn’t feel like it wants or needs anyone external. Apart from myself, the only other guests were visiting relatives of the rabbi, and all of us were specifically mentioned by name by the rabbi since we were not regulars. This reiterated for me that this is a shule that is very comfortable with itself, and that is clear from the moment you walk in. At the same time, it also feels like a shule that is a family for the people who go there regularly. There have been some people at this shule over the years – including some who still go there now – who did not and would not feel comfortable anywhere else but have been embraced by Hamayan and the congregants. The shule prides itself on that, and that is also very clear.

I didn’t stay for the kiddush because I wanted to go to a kiddush and hear a speaker elsewhere and was already running late, but I had a peak into the kiddush room before I left. It looked beautifully set up with a great variety of foods and I’m sure it would have been lovely. What was definitely lovely for me was to see how much of a community Hamayan has become, from very humble beginnings all those years ago. It is clearly a different shule to what it was then, but it has been great to see its evolution and I’m sure I’ll be back again sometime soon.