Post-Script

I started this blog after an innocuous conversation at Rosh Hashanah dinner two years ago when I mentioned that I had been to most shules in Melbourne. Some family members told me that I should visit all the shules intentionally, and immediately after the festival season, starting with Parashat Bereishit, I began do so and started documenting my experiences through this blog. I initially wrote about my plans behind the so-called experiment here: https://thejewishindependent.com.au/my-life-as-an-intentional-synagogue-cruiser.

Since then I have written 103 blog posts – having never missed a Shabbat morning in that period – which included around 70 different services in Melbourne, plus a number of different ones overseas and interstate. I only wrote about my Shabbat morning experiences even though I also went to quite a number of different Friday night services too, including a few shules that only meet on a Friday night, like Kehilat Kolenu and Neshama.

Each service and each shule has been different, intriguing, fascinating and eye-opening, but most of all, each is in its own way, a unique and passionate expression of Judaism. Given the number of shules and services we have in Melbourne, it is possible to convincingly argue that we have too many. And whilst that may be true, it is equally true that each serves a purpose and has its own following. Some of the followings may be very small, but it is up to each community to decide whether a particular service is sustainable or not. My goal has simply been to document my experiences and to write about each one as objectively as possible, keeping in mind that each was set up for a specific reason or purpose. Now that the project is over, I have learned a number of things, which you can read about here: https://thejewishindependent.com.au/what-i-learned-from-visiting-almost-every-synagogue-in-melbourne.

Before signing off, I want to thank the readers and the people who commented on my posts or stopped me in the street or at shule to tell me their thoughts on this blog. I was always particularly pleased to receive comments from people who had never heard of or been to some of the shules that I went to. I want to thank The Jewish Independent for publishing my two articles about the blog. And importantly, I want to thank each of the services and shules for embracing me and this project. In almost all cases I arrived unannounced and though I didn’t tell every shule why I was visiting, almost all were very welcoming, accommodating and pleasant. Some looked at me strangely and wondered why I had turned up, but in a sense, that was the point. I wanted to visit and write about the elements that unite us. Many people go to different shules, but their ultimate goal is the same: to connect to Judaism and to not lose their connection to their traditions. How they express that may be different, but the ultimate purpose of each shule – no matter the stream or type – is essentially the same.

So what now? At the initial conversation I had with family about the idea of this blog, I mentioned that I visit many shules because I haven’t really found one that covers all my needs or desires, because there are so many shules that have speakers, good rabbis and events that I like, and because there are options and I don’t like to be boxed in. With the end of the blog, I may turn this into a book or journal, but in the meantime, I will continue to visit many shules, will continue to draw personal inspiration from them and will continue to talk to people about my experiences, but won’t have the added pressure of trying to find a new service each week to visit and write about.

I hope that this experience has been interesting and educational for the audience, and I hope I have been able to show the breadth and depth of Jewish services through this blog.

Hope to see you at shule one day. Thanks for reading!