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 Ne...
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Torah Portion: Nitzavim-Vayelech Synagogue: Blake St shule Walking time from home: 40 minutes Reason for going: Full circle Kiddush: Kiddush with multiple cholents After two years, this is the 103 rd and final entry of this blog (though stay tuned next week for a post-script). In that time I have been to close to 70 different services, though of course I have come back to some for various reasons. This week I came back to Blake Street, because two years ago when I was thinking of starting this blog, there was a speaker at Blake Street I wanted to hear – and often I have gone to various shules because there have been speakers – so this week, even with no guest speaker, it felt like a full circle moment to come to the place where I first started. In my mind coming back to the place where it all began was momentous, but when I got there and the service began, i...
Torah Portion: Ki Tavo Synagogue: Moorabbin Hebrew Congregation Walking time from home my sister’s: Almost 50 minutes Reason for going: Something different Kiddush: Sit down kiddush with Cholent After a lovely family Shabbat dinner at my sister’s house, I stayed over partly so that I could go to a shule I hadn’t yet been to, for this penultimate blog. I’ve been meaning to go to Moorabbin shule for quite some time and had intended to walk from home, but this opportunity seemed like a good one. The shule in Moorabbin has been there since the mid-60s, and once inside, that is fairly evident because much of the décor probably hasn’t change a lot since then. Wood was clearly an architectural material of choice for interiors, because everything from the pews, to the ark, to the walls, to the Bimah and even the window panes is made from it. The inside looks d...
Torah Portion: Ki Teitzei Synagogue: Hamerkaz (Chabad, Israeli) Walking time from home: A little over 30 minutes (in the rain) Reason for going: Bar Mitzvah Kiddush: Sponsored large kiddush This week, unlike some weeks, I knew well in advance which shule I was going to go to because I had been invited to the Bar Mitzvah of the son of family friends. And since they are partially Israeli, it was at Hamerkaz where many established but not particularly religious Israelis go. Just like them. I arrived soaked from the rain a little after the starting time of 10am, along with most of the family, and the service had only just begun. The shule however was already three quarters full, and it was only going to fill up more as the morning progressed, so much so that at some point more chairs were brought in and almost every available seat was taken. There was surprisingly som...
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 ...
Torah Portion: Re’eh Synagogue: Gerrer Shtiebel (ultra-orthodox) Walking time from home: Around 15 minutes Reason for going: Something different Kiddush: N/a This week was another special one for me and this blog. There is a shule I’ve been meaning to go to for a long time but other priorities always got in the way, and it also always felt a little intimidating. Finally – with just a few weeks left till the end of this shule adventure and blog – I made it to the Gerrer Shtiebel, a shule that is close to home but equally in another world. The Gerrer (or Gur) Hasidic dynasty emanates from 19 th century Poland and before the Holocaust, was the largest and most influential of all the Hasidic groups. Today they are the biggest Hasidic cohort in Israel, with smaller communities around the world. Because of their size, the community maintains its own shules and pract...
Torah Portion: Eikev Synagogue: Blake St Early Minyan Walking time from home: 40 minutes Reason for going: Speaker (sort of) Kiddush: Two kiddushes with cholent For the second time in as many months I was at an early Shabbat service, but this time intentionally. This week at Blake St shule, after the main service, there was a speaker from overseas who I wanted to hear, but having been to the main service previously, I decided to go to the early service. During the height of the pandemic, when only small groups were allowed to gather for services, to maximise the number of people who could come to shule on a Shabbat morning, Blake St decided to stagger their services, with the first one starting at 7:45am, and then two more later. Once things settled down, some people had gotten used to the idea of coming to shule early on a Shabbat morning, and it stuck. Officially...
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 spe...
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Torah Portion: Devarim Synagogue: St Kilda Shule, traditional orthodox Walking time from home: A little over 20 mins Reason for going: Multicultural Shabbat Kiddush: Very large, catered For the next two weeks I will be revisiting shules that I have already been to, but for good reason. This week one of the previously visited ones was St Kilda shule for their annual Multicultural Shabbat, which has now become a tradition. Even in tough times like the ones we are currently living through, it attracted a large crowd of non-Jews, along with many Jews who don’t usually come. The guest speaker this year was the Anglican Archbishop, and like most of the non-Jews, he arrived on time or even a little early. Learning from last year, I also arrived on time, about the same time as him, and as the service was beginning, the president of the shule and I showed him and his de...
Torah Portion: Matot-Massei Synagogue: Jewish Care Carnegie Walking time from home: One hour and 25 minutes Reason for going: A lunch not too far away Kiddush: N/a As I have discovered previously, there are some shules inside other buildings that are small, functional and out of the limelight. The beautifully designed synagogue room at Jewish Care in Carnegie is one such service. The Carnegie site of Jewish Care only opened in early 2020 in the midst of the pandemic and as such, although it looks gorgeous and is well appointed with ultra-modern facilities, it has struggled a little to find an audience. There are residents to be sure, but it is not full. Nonetheless, the building was designed with a multi-purpose room that also doubles as a synagogue, and later in 2020, they appointed a part-time rabbi to look after the Jewish needs of the residents. I had bee...
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, t...
Torah Portion: Balak Synagogue: Adass Israel (ultra-orthodox) Walking time from home: Just over 25 minutes Reason for going: Something very different Kiddush: Large sit down kiddush For the purposes of the blog, this week was special. I started this blog in part because I had been to most shules in Melbourne but wanted the opportunity to visit some others. Adass was always at the top of that list. It was one shule I had never been to for a service and in fact knew almost nothing about Melbourne’s most insular Jewish community. Some months ago, when I talked to people about this blog, one of my friends said that he sometimes goes to Adass and next time he goes, I can come with him. This felt like a small mercy because by reputation alone, I had always been intimidated to enter Adass on my own. This week, when our schedules finally aligned, we managed to make i...