The Syna-blogue

  Torah Portion: Korach Synagogue: Katanga Caulfield Beit Hamedrash, modern orthodox Chasidish Walking time from home: 25 mins Reason for going: Something different Kiddush: Small but traditional As previously mentioned on this blog, one of the reasons why Melbourne has so many shules is because there have been many breakaways and de-amalgamations over the years which have formed new communities. Sometimes these occur because of a dispute with the rabbi and a community coalesces around the rabbi resulting in a new shule, and sometimes because some of the congregants disagree with the direction of a particular shule and part ways to form a new one. By far the most successful of these – if longevity is one of the measures – is the Caulfield Beit Hamedrash, which got its colloquial name of Katanga from a small African nation which broke away from the Congo in 1960 and...

Torah Portion: Shelach Synagogue: Ohr Yisrael, modern Orthodox Walking time from home: 35 mins Reason for going: Something new and different Kiddush: Sponsored and lovely, but outside in the cold Of the 60 or so shules in Melbourne, some are old, established ones that have been around for decades, whilst others are much newer. In fact, one of the reasons why Melbourne has so many synagogues for the size of our community, is because it often happens that when a rabbi is replaced, if that person was good, energetic and well liked, then a core membership coalesces around them and starts a new shule. This has happened numerous times, and though it doesn’t always become sustainable, sometimes the community that forms as a result of this kind of origination outlasts the rabbi and becomes a fully-fledged community of its own. This was certainly the case with Ohr Yisael. The...

  Torah Portion: Behalotcha Synagogue: Chabad of Caulfield (770) Walking time from home: 5 mins Reason for going: Why not try something close? Kiddush: N/A There is an old Jewish joke about a person who gets shipwrecked on a deserted island, and then years later when he is discovered, his rescuers find that he has built a sophisticated makeshift city, including two synagogues. When they ask him why he has built two shules since he is there on his own, he answers that one is the one he goes to, and the other is the one he would never step into. It is a silly story and it is a theory I clearly don’t subscribe to given the nature of this blog and my regular attendance at a vast array of shules, but many people quote it when asked why they go to a shule far from their home and not one that is closer.  This week, to combat that notion, I went to the shule that is c...

Torah Portion: Naso Synagogue: Elsternwick Jewish Community, modern Orthodox Walking time from home: 35 mins Reason for going: Something new and different Kiddush: Very small but friendly Though I often plan which shule I will go to – at least on the Friday before – I don’t usually do much research about what special events they may have on that week, unless I’ve been invited or specifically know about a guest speaker or some kind of Simcha. Therefore, when I got to Esternwick shule this week (on the campus of Yavneh College), I was a little disappointed by the turnout. In fact, it wasn’t till more than half an hour into the service that there was even a minyan.  As it turns out, a family that regularly comes to this shule was having a Bar Mitzvah, but because there was a pre-arranged event in the hall, they couldn’t accommodate both events and thus the Bar Mitzv...

  Shavuot (2 days of Yom Tov) Day 1 (morning): Mizrachi; Day 2 (morning): Sassoon Yehuda Sephardi Across the two days of the Yom Tov of Shavuot (which included Shabbat), I went to four different synagogues for four different services (Thurs night, Fri morning, Fri night and Sat morning). Each was very different, but in their own right interesting and inspiring. I started at South Caulfield shule, where I went to support my friend who was on a panel later in the night, but in the meantime we had a lovely dinner, listened to a fascinating speech by a convert to Judaism, then a comedy routine and then there was a panel about organ donation from a Jewish perspective. It turns out that in most cases, it is allowed and is even encouraged. My friend was then on a panel about the upcoming referendum on the Voice for Indigenous Australians, and despite the potential controversies that such a topic often induces, it was lovely to discuss it in such a lovely and...

  Torah Portion: Bamidbar Synagogue: Young Yeshivah, Chabad Walking time from home: 10 mins Reason for going: Close to home in the rain Kiddush: Large sit-down Kiddush with multiple courses It is said that there are 61 synagogues in Melbourne, but that belies the fact that there are actually a lot more Minyanim on a Shabbat morning. Within some of the complexes there are 2, 3 or even more services, often simultaneously.  This week, on a rainy Saturday morning, I wanted to go somewhere close and somewhere a little nostalgic, so I went to Yeshivah, which is actually an umbrella term for all the services that are on the complex of the Yeshiva Centre. Many years ago, whilst still in high school, I would occasionally go to the Yeshivah main shule, so I intended to go back there for a bit of nostalgia. But when I arrived, I discovered that Young Yeshivah – one of ...

  Torah Portion: Behar-Bechukotai Synagogue: Gary Smorgon House Walking time from home: 40 minutes Reason for going: Invitation by the rabbi Kiddush: Sit down kiddush with big birthday cake This was my second Shabbat home after my trip overseas, and though physically I am here, my mind is still not quite back. My shule experience this Shabbat made me confront the issues of my trip yet again, but in a cathartic kind of way. I was invited to attend the shule at Gary Smorgon House, one of the institutions of Jewish Care, where one of my co-participants on the March of the Living is the rabbi. He also became the quasi rabbi of our program and our group. It was great to see him in his home environment, taking on most of the roles in the shule, from leading the service, to reading from the Torah and making the announcements, and somehow in between, he managed to say he...