1. religion and spirituality
2. judaism

The
Melbourne
Hebrew
Congregation
Founded 1841
ISSUE 9
Destiny – Magazine of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Inc.
Nisan – Elul 5768 / April – September 2008
Print Post Publication No. PP 318473/00005
From the Chairman’s Desk
Melbourne Hebrew Congregation
Established 1841
Cnr Toorak Rd & Arnold St
(P.O. Box 372) South Yarra 3141
Ph: (03) 9866 2255 Fax: (03) 9866 2022
email:
mhc@melbournesynagogue.org.au
Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Inc
ABN 39 003 125 142
Registration No A0019856D
www.melbournesynagogue.org.au
Synagogue Office Hours
Monday – Thursday 9.00am – 4.00pm
Friday 9.00am – 12.00 noon.
Rabbi:
Dovid Rubinfeld
rabbi@melbournesynagogue.org.au
Outreach & Public Relations Manager:
Ronny Kowadlo
ronnyk@melbournesynagogue.org.au
DESTINY EDITOR:
David Lissauer
dliss@sothertonsmelbourne.com.au
Local Contributors:
David H Sherr, Diane Jacobson,
Freda Kaufman, Stephen Reynolds,
Eric Cohen OAM, Ronny Kowadlo
Leonard Yaffe
International Contributors:
Ted Roberts, Eliezer Segal, Ephraim Inbar,
Hirsh Goodman, Sy Manello
Shule Magazine Coordinator:
Linda Williamson
lindaw@melbournesynagogue.org.au
Proofreading:
Diane Jacobson, Karen Lissauer
Design, Photography & Production:
Photosynthesis Graphic Design
Tel: 9877 4455
photosynthesis@bigpond.com
Advertising Co-ordination:
Jackie Somerville
jackies@melbournesynagogue.org.au
Destiny Magazine is published by
and circulated to members of the
Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Inc
© MHC 2008.This magazine is a copyright publication.
No part of it may be reproduced without
the prior written permission of the publisher
(Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Inc.).
MHC – A Brief History
he Melbourne Hebrew Congregation
traces its history back to almost the
beginning of British settlement in
Melbourne. Established in 1841, it is
Victoria’s oldest congregation and one
of the oldest continuously operating
orthodox congregations in the
English-speaking world.
Often referred to as the Mother
Congregation of Victorian Jewry, its
members have always been proud
Australians who have positively
contributed to the community.
The original synagogue building
was situated in Bourke St, Melbourne.
In 1930 General Sir John Monash
opened the current synagogue designed
by noted Australian architect, Nahum
Barnet. It has been described as the
Cathedral Synagogue of Melbourne,
and with its classical architecture,
has become an iconic landmark.
The auditorium seats over 1,300 people.
The dome and clerestory features twelve
magnificent lead glass windows, depicting
the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Many distinguished leaders have
attended services here over the years
including members of the Knesset,
distinguished philosophers, two Presidents
of the State of Israel and numerous
Australian Governors General.
T
appeal not only to our members
and their friends but also to
students of art history and
architecture, individuals
interested in religious buildings
and those in the arts with an
appreciation of the beauty of
leadlight artistry..
I acknowledge the efforts of
David Sherr editor of the book
who together with Stephen
Reynolds and Stephen Freeman
of Photosynthesis have worked
tirelessly to ensure this
publication will be a success.
The Shule’s website is now in
excess of 12 years old and is
need of significant updating, one
could say that it needed a facelift
and a new heart to make it more
user friendly and bring it up to
date. In addition it requires a the
necessary processes to ensure the
site is continually updated and
improved. I am delighted to
announce that cardiologist,
Dr Victor Wayne has agreed to
undertake this task and we all
look forward to reviewing the
web site revamp and updates as
they unfold.
We are also pleased to
announce that after many years
we have decided to upgrade a
number of the conveniences
within the building. A contract
has been let and construction
will commence after Passover to
ensure the construction works
will be completed before the
High Holyday period. The work
undertaken will see major
changes to the ladies
conveniences located on the
landing at the front of the
building as well as the male &
female conveniences located at
the rear of the building. At this
point in time due to the
substantial costs associated with
this project, we will not be
upgrading the external male
conveniences; however we hope
that these can also be addressed
in the not too distant future.
Members who visit our Shule
on a Shabbat from Pesach
onwards will see a change to the
main Shule. We have installed
blinds under the perimeter of the
ladies gallery that can be lowered
or raised electronically.
The main Shule area as we all
know is a very large space and on
a normal Shabbat when we
attract 50 to 100 regulars these
daveners sit on their seats spread
throughout the auditorium. The
Dear Congregants,
welcome to the
Pesach 2008 edition
of Destiny.
Since the New Year issue your
Executive has been particularly
busy and the results of much of
this effort can be seen in this
issue.
Perhaps the largest and most
complicated project nearing
completion is publication of a
deluxe hard cover coffee table art
book entitled ‘The Architecture
and Leadlight Windows of the
Melbourne Synagogue’.
At the time of writing the final
touches are being made to the
book and it is anticipated that
printing of the book will
commence during the later part
of April. A personalised
invitation will be sent to all
members together with
communal and other dignitaries
to attend the official launch of
this landmark publication and I
hope that many of our members
will take the opportunity of
attending what will be a very
special event. A major part of the
cost of this publication has been
generously underwritten by two
families – Mr Israel Rosenfeld &
family together with Dr and Mrs
Harry Perelberg. Both families
are members of long standing
and continue to be generous
supporters of the Congregation.
The Executive have decided
that every member family of the
congregation will receive (at no
charge) a copy of this
magnificent book as recognition
of your ongoing membership
and support of the Congregation.
For those members that consider
they would like to make a
contribution towards this project,
such of course will be welcomed
and much appreciated.
We also plan to release a
"limited edition" leather bound
version of the book that will be
available at $250.00 and all
interested in securing a leather
bound copy will need to be early
in contacting the shule office to
reserve one.
The Congregation is currently
negotiating with a local
bookstore to stock and sell the
case bound book and this
information will be onforwarded once final
arrangements have been made.
There is no doubt the book will
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executive decided to look for
ways to make the ground floor
mens area cosier and the service
more inclusive. The installation
of the blinds will result in our
regulars and guests sitting in a far
more confined space closer to the
Bimah ensuring their
involvement in the service and
their proximity to the Rabbi and
Bahl Tefillah. .We realise this
change may take some getting
used to however, for the ultimate
benefit of the service and the
members who regularly attend
we believe this is an important
step that will benefit all and only
enhance our services.
Members should be aware
that for events such as Wedding
call ups and Barmitzvahs the
blinds will be raised if and when
required.
Our thanks to the Bennie &
Jeanette Borenstein & family for
sponsoring the project. We
certainly look forward to
members attending on a service
when the blinds are down and
receiving your feed back.
Friday evening and early
morning services will continue to
be held in the Herscu (minor)
Shule. If any members have not
attended a Friday night service in
our minor Shule surrounded by
the magnificent new Perelberg
leadlight windows, you are
certainly doing yourselves a
disservice and I suggest that you
attend one of these short services
and see for yourselves.
An integral part of the project
to install the electronic
retractable blinds are plans for
the installation of a mechitza on
the ground floor of the
synagogue, and of course within
the confines of the blinds,
thereby bringing ladies who may
wish to be seated on the ground
floor, in closer proximity to the
service. This will also have the
added benefit for any who
encounter difficulties in climbing
the stairs to the ladies gallery.
(Continued)
On those weeks when the
downstairs mechitza is in
operation the Shabbat morning
kiddush that follows the service
will be held downstairs in the
front foyer and not in the
Winton Hall.
Members are aware that our
stunning building, constructed in
1930, requires constant
maintenance. All buildings need
regular maintenance and clearly
the older the building the more
that is required. Since the
construction of the building
however, the charter of the
synagogue has somewhat
changed. Yes the synagogue is
used by its members as a house
of worship but over time the
building has been viewed by the
wider Jewish community as the
venue of choice for large
communal events. These aren’t
necessarily religious in nature
and are as diverse as a venue for
concerts or a function to honor a
visiting dignitary. Furthermore
the congregation now plays host
to an ever increasing number of
PROBUS and other visiting
groups and to students from non
Jewish schools as well as hosting
our changing archival exhibitions
that are open to the general
public and not only to our
members or the Jewish
community..
The congregation being the
mother congregation for
Victorian Jewry also boasts a
significant archival collection
specifically related to Victorian
Jewry and the role its members
and others have played in the
development of the State of
Victoria and the Australian wider
community.
Both the congregation and the
wider general community are
part of an ageing population and
as a result there is an increasingly
important requirement that our
building be made user friendly
not only for the disabled but
those that can no longer climb
stairs easily.
To ensure that we are in a
position as we move forward to
make the necessary changes to
our building to enable a large
number of urgent building
upgrade works, including those
as noted above, and to
furthermore ensure we can
appropriately house our unique
archival collection, reputed to be
one of Australia’s finest, the
Congregation will require
significant funding to meet the
cost of this major project.
After much consideration, the
executive resolved that to move
forward we firstly needed to
prepare building plans that
allowed for disabled and elderly
access for the entire community
and then to further develop and
enhance our building to ensure
its library and archival collection
can not only be appropriately
stored, but displayed and
accessible in a manner that will
enable use by not only members
but researchers & historians from
the wider community in
Melbourne & throughout
Australia.
This plan needed to be carried
out in line with the heritage
characteristics of our building,
the requirement to be as energy
conscious as possible and
cognizant of the fact that the
Australian population is an
ageing one. Needless to say
occupying the highly visible
stature that we do, the public
building security aspects also
needed to be taken into account.
Once the plan prepared and
costed by Norman Faifer was in
place the next step in the process
was to register an application for
the synagogue to receive status
as a "deductible gift recipient"
.This process was put into place
and an application has in fact
been lodged with the Federal
Government. To date we are yet
to hear if our application will be
successful. Assuming we will be,
donations made specifically to a
building fund in line with the
plans as prepared, will then
become tax deductible. I will
report back to you the members,
once we receive the outcome of
the application.
The real work will them
commence in raising sufficient
funds to ensure works can be
undertaken.
The executive is of the
opinion that the Melbourne
Synagogue is a landmark
building in Melbourne and
belongs not only to our
members and those ever
increasing members of the wider
general community that avail
themselves of what we have to
offer, in reality it, as are our
members, a part of the very
fabric of the city of Melbourne
and of the State of Victoria. To
that end the Synagogue is
currently making applications to
various government authorities
to inquire as to whether financial
assistance is available to realize
the plans that have now very
much now been formalised..
Once again I will keep you
informed as to our success but
have every reason to be
optimistic that we will be
successful in all our endeavors in
this regard.
All the above changes have
required a significant input from
our head of House, Norman
Faifer in particular and together
with other members of the
congregation, I take this
opportunity to thank them on
your behalf.
A further significant change
has been the appointment of
Ronny Kowadlo as the Shule’s
Outreach and Public Relations
Manager. We are delighted that
Executive member Malcolm
Brown has agreed to be a mentor
to Ronny and work closely with
him to pass on his wide
experience in marketing and
sales. All of you would know
Ronny as our Bahl Koreh, he
having occupied this position
with our congregation for ten
years, and he certainly knows
many of those members who
attend on a regular basis. He
hopes over time to get to know
all our congregants. In the
meantime Ronny has been very
busy organising our first ever
Seder to be held on the first
night of Pesach and as this
edition is being finalised we are
pleased to report that at least
thirty participants have indicated
they will be attending. Ronny
will also be actively campaigning
to increase our membership both
from within the Shule as well as
externally and we look forward
to Ronny and his wife Natalie
settling into the new role and
adding significantly to the
ongoing development of Toorak
Shule. Ronny will also play an
integral role in leading groups of
school students and overseas
visitors through the Shule as
required. Congratulations are in
order to the Kowadlos. Natalie
and Ronny are expecting their
second child later this year. We
look forward to them and their
growing family becoming a long
term and important component
of the Shule for many years to
come.
I am pleased to note that this
years Batmizvah classes have
commenced under the guidance
of Yehudit Kazatsky. This year we
have six girls participating. Their
graduation is planed for late
November 2008 and I look
forward to reporting their
progress in further issues of the
magazine. To date I have heard
that all participants are
thoroughly enjoying the learning
experience that is an important
part of them completing their
batmitzvah study year.
This issue of Destiny contains
a number of articles pertinent to
3
Pesach and we hope you find
them interesting and enjoyable.
It also covers recent Shule
fuctions in words and pictures as
well as travel, kosher food and
contributions from our overseas
correspondents.
It would be remiss of me not
to draw attention to the article
referring to the 80th birthday of
Eric M Cohen OAM. A life
Governor and Past President of
the Congregation, Eric has and
continues to be a tireless worker
on behalf of the Congregation..
It was a wonderful Shabbat in
our Shule when we together with
Eric’s family and friends joined
together to recognize this
important milestone. We wish
Eric and Bev many more years of
health and happiness together
and we certainly look forward to
their continued involvement in
all aspects of Shule life
An article of considerable
interest is the review of the
official launch of our latest
archival exhibition entitled ‘With
This Ring – the Mystique of
Jewish Marriage – Rituals &
Traditions’. Reaction from within
the congregation as well as from
visitors to the Synagogue has
been positive and certainly is an
endorsement of the Archival
Committee & the decision of the
Executive to enable aspects of
our vast archival collection to be
available for public viewing. If
you have not visited the
exhibition I urge you to do so.
In February the congregation
was delighted to host the first
Sheva Brachot for long time
supporters of the congregation,
Amanda Mendes Da Costa and
Michael Danby M.P. A full report
with photographs can be found
on pages 16 and 17.
Whilst you are in the Shule
spend a few minutes with Ronny
or the Rabbi over a coffee –
they’ll certainly welcome a chat
with all members and visitors.
On reflection it’s been a very
busy and rewarding time for the
executive and we hope that our
endeavors on the part of you our
members, are meeting your
expectations.
I take this opportunity on
behalf of Karen and our family to
wish all congregants Be-birkat
chag kosher vesamech, may you
all enjoy a happy Pesach
David Lissauer,
Chairman.
Shule
Notes
Chief Rabbi’s
Pesach Message 5768
This year as we prepare to
celebrate Israel's sixtieth
anniversary, think of the power
of Pesach to shape Jewish
history.
Thursday Morning Services
Held in the Herscu Minor Shule
at 7.15am followed by a tasty
breakfast.
Tuesday Night Shiur
Pesach was and always will be
our way of remembering the
miracles of the past: the journey
from slavery to freedom, from
Egypt to the promised land. But
when Israel again went into exile,
memory of the past became hope
for the future. What had
happened once would happen
again. In the words of the
prophet Micah (7:15), 'As in the
days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show you miracles'.
So hope was born. Nowhere
was this expressed so simply and
powerfully as in the words with
which the Seder opens: 'This year
here, next year in the land of Israel.
This year slaves, next year free.'
That hope sustained the
Jewish people through some of
the darkest nights of human
history, ages in which Jews knew
all too well what is was to eat the
bread of affliction and taste the
bitter herbs of suffering.
When, a thousand years from
now, people look back on Jewish
history, people will wonder, with
genuine astonishment, how three
years after the Shoah, the Jewish
people was reborn as a sovereign
nation in its own land. They will
see it as a miracle not less than
the original exodus. Pesach is not
only about the past but about
the present and future.
Memory plus faith equals
hope. Israel is the nation whose
national anthem, Hatikvah,
means hope.
The Rabbi’s Tuesday night Shiur
held for both men and women
commences at 8.30pm.
Location 33 Melby Avenue,
East St Kilda.
Bar Mitzvah Classes
The classes the Rabbi holds for
Bar Mitzvah are held at his home
33 Melby Avenue, East St Kilda
every Tuesday night at 7.30pm.
The state of Israel, testimony
of the power of faith to triumph
over tragedy, is a living symbol of
hope.
The State of Israel still needs
hope. It has found its many
offers of peace rebuffed. It is still
surrounded by enemies, still at
risk of terror. It still has to fight
for what every other nation takes
for granted, the right to be. It is
at such times that we realize, all
over again, that the fate of
nations is as much determined
by spiritual as by military
strength, perhaps more so. Faith
sustained Israel in the past.
It will do so now.
So important do I believe this
to be, that together with the
most wonderful support of some
outstanding people, I have made
a double CD which is being sent
to all communities under my
aegis for distribution. It tells the
story of Israel from biblical times
to today, together with
contemporary music from or
about the land, because song
expresses emotion better than
the written or spoken word.
If I were to summarise the
message, it would be in the
words of Mallei:' This is the Lord's
doing. It is wondrous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.'
This Pesach, and this Yom
Ha-Atzmaut, let us think about
the chapter in the story of Pesach
added by the modern state of
Israel. It tells of how a people,
ravaged by anti-Semitism, were
inspired to undertake another
exodus, another journey from
slavery to freedom; and whether
they knew it or not, G-d was
with them, helping them do
wonders. May He be with the
land and its people, and with us,
in these worrying yet wondrous
times.
Be-birkat chag kosher
ve-sameach,
Chief Rabbi,
Sir Jonathan Sacks
MHC Chanukah Service for Jewish Care
n keeping with an MHC tradition, the Shule held its Chanukah Service
for Jewish Care in early December. The 90 who attended included
residents of the five special accommodation houses, their families,
carers and MHC Congregants. The proceedings were conducted by Rabbis
Rubinfeld and Kluwgant and finished with an individual candle lighting
and refreshments.
A presentation
by the Synagogue
was made of
framed relief maps
of Israel for each
of the five special
accommodation
houses.
I
4
Any questions feel free to contact
the Rabbi at the Shule office or
on mobile 0419 302 422.
Bat Mitzvah Classes
Hadassa Kessler holds
Bat Mitzvah classes.
Call Jackie Somerville on
9866 2255 for details.
G.O.F. (Jeff) Panckow
Painting & Decorating
Home Maintenance
Advice & Service
9707 5161 and
0417 408 592
Compliments and
best wishes from
Michael & Sara
Kowadlo
From the Rabbi’s Desk
that some of my time away from Melbourne should be spent at this
conference that was promoted as "THE ETERNAL JEWISH FAMILY".
For those interested, I’m more than happy to chat about many of the
themes discussed there – during the numerous lectures and informal
discussion sessions.
I did spend time with my children and grandchildren, however my
wife the rebettzen, suggested that while in the USA, we should also
attend the Agudah Convention, held
annually in Connecticut and where over a
thousand Jews encompassing rabbonim
and communal leaders (among others)
from around the world gather to discuss
issues of importance – with an emphasis on
KIRUV RECHOKIM, bringing people closer
to Judaism.
Maybe things did not work out
exactly as I planned – but it was all well
worth while.
I learnt much from many of the
lectures and gained a greater insight into the
difficulties facing our people – on many fronts. On a personal note, I
just hope that those who take the trouble to read this message will take
time to just sit down [or stand] and think about their lives, their future,
and what goals and achievements they would like to attain. There is
more to living than just eating, drinking, and working. We have to
make changes by spending more time enjoying a Shabbat or Yom Tov,
attending shule services as a first priority and making an effort to learn
how to use a siddur. Then comes a familiarity with the Chumash and
Talmud – knowledge and learning that bring you closer to Judaism.
As an aside, for anyone interested in learning to read Hebrew, it will
give me great pleasure to present you [with my compliments], a copy of
an Aleph Bet reading book that I published. With my assistance or
during your spare read through the book. It will be of great benefit to
you and of course do not hesitate to call on me for any personal
tuition.
A number of years ago I was invited to chair an evening with a
special guest speaker on the topic "IS IT FUN BEING JEWISH".
As may be expected, this question was not
answered with a simple "YES" or "NO".
Before I introduced the guest speaker
I offered my perspective – explaining to
the audience about the persecutions and
tsores [troubles] we Jews have always
suffered for being Jewish, [even in
many places until today].
Our two holy temples were
destroyed in Jerusalem more than
two thousand years ago and we
continue to commemorate this tragedy
in our calendar – called Tisha B’av – a
day of mourning, fasting and
depriving ourselves from comfort to
commemorate those destructions.
In addition to that we have other days
in the year where we commemorate other
unfortunate incidents that occurred many years ago.
What about the Spanish Inquisition and the atrocities of the Holocaust
which we should never allow any of our children or the world to forget.
I would interrupt myself during my talk by asking, "NU, is it fun being
Jewish"? I then continued on and on [as usual] until it was time for the
guest speaker to address the crowd and of course, we both agreed with
the same outcome.
Passover [Pesach] is a very enjoyable festival [yom tov] where
families gather together for the Seder; children and grandchildren
asking the four questions (of the ‘Ma Nishtanah’) and the father or
grandfather sitting at the head of the table discussing the exodus from
Egypt. This is a beautiful time in a Jewish family’s life. So I ask a fifth
question "is it fun, when the first Seder happens to occur this year on a
Saturday night – necessitating all the preparations for the Seder being
completed before Saturday ?"
And a final thought –
So, I would like to write a few lines explaining – Ma Nishtana –
why this year is different to other years.
Mazel tov, you finally bought the Saab you had your eye on for a
long time. Leather seats, sun roof, the right colour and has all the extra
gadgets you could think of. Of course let us not forget the cost of the
car, very expensive. You are sitting in the car not going anywhere just
sitting and enjoying the comfortable leather seats, inviting your friends
to have a glance at it making sure they don’t lay any finger marks on
your new and beautiful shiny silver Saab. Suddenly, you are giving
yourself a tour around the car and you nearly faint when you discover a
tiny scratch on the side that no one would even notice except when you
stop and stare at it. You are devastated, you don’t believe that you really
saw that tiny scratch – but it is not a dream – you really saw it. It is
such a disaster that you feel like saying kaddish over this horrible
unfortunate sight.
The first seder night may fall on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and
Friday evenings. If it falls on a weekday evening, the cleaning and
burning of the chametz [bread] is all completed at its normal time.
The night before the Seder you carry out the obligation of searching
and cleaning out the bread from your house or any other property that
belongs to you, and the next morning which is the eve of the Seder you
burn it. But what happens when the first Seder falls on Saturday night
and you cannot search and clean your house the night before (ie.
Friday) for chametz and of course let alone burn the chametz the eve of
the Seder (which is Saturday) ??? This is why the search, clean and burn
procedure is completed a day early, commencing on Thursday evening,
and burning the chametz on Friday morning. The difficult part is to eat
bread on Shabbat which is an obligation while being forbidden from
eating matzah – that cannot be eaten until the Seder night. But we Jews
manage just like we manage with everything else in life !!
Well by now you are wondering where this is leading to. Be patient I
am working through an analogy.
A wedding day is a very happy and special celebration, a day when a
man and woman decide to get married in anticipation of sharing their
future lives together. By celebrating this occasion you want to make
sure that everything is perfect. You may have even engaged a wedding
planner to ensure that the flowers are matching, the bridesmaids
looking beautiful, the groomsmen handsome, the music in tune and
the photos and video sharp. Everything perfect – or is it ?? Your big day
and special event will develop that dent and scratch by having non
kosher catering at your simcha ! From my experiences I can assure you
that having a kosher function will be of great benefit to the families of
the simcha and to the rabbis officiating. This applies not only for a
wedding but for all your simchot as well. So, let us try and avoid the
dents and scratches of life and have a perfect Saab [simcha].
May we all be blessed to enjoy good health and many simchot;
together with my wife Miriam, I extend a Chag Pesach Kasher
v’sameach – a happy and joyous festival of Pesach to you all.
Maybe now you can understand how much fun it is to be Jewish !
On the other hand, [whether fun or not] our Jewish culture, heritage
and tradition is unique and no other nation is able to comprehend our
way of life if all they think we stand for are war and politics. Those
people who read and understand what really is the purpose of our
being here, [to keep the torah and its commandments] look at us
differently and with respect.
Have you ever experienced an incident where things did not work
out as planned? Well, that is what happened to me on my recent trip to
the U.S. in November. My intentions were to visit my family in New
York and New Jersey, however this all changed after I received a
telephone call from my son-in-law in New Jersey informing me of a
special "GEIRUS" convention in Washington D.C. – a convention
dealing with conversions and intermarriage. Being an issue that I am
constantly quizzed about and often need to become involved in at
the Irequest of members and others, I considered it only appropriate
Rabbi Dovid Rubinfeld, Chief Minister
5
Meet Ronny Kowadlo – The Shule’s
Outreach & Public Relations Manager
Recently Ronny resigned as Operations Manager from a large safety
company to take up his new full time position at Toorak synagogue.
He is dedicated to reaching out to those members who come to shule
rarely and involve them more in synagogue life. “The synagogue is a
living feature of Jewish life”, he said, “and it is there for them”.
Describing some of his strategies for the immediate future, Ronny
outlined several attractive concepts, and the fundamental streams soon
emerged – informality and camaraderie. He plans to visit members –
go for coffee – chat and get to know them, targeting a social and
relaxed relationship. Ronny is also very keen to attract new
members to our congregation. He would like to see more
Shabbatons at shule so that families can join together for
food and fun. To begin the new directives, a Seder will take
place in Winton Hall on the first night of Pesach –
amazingly, a first for our shule, and may it be a harbinger
for the future.
Ronny is a Collingwood supporter and a keen
sportsman with ambitions to qualify for the squash team
in the 2009 Maccabee Games. “I’m happy to take on a
challenge from any of our members”, he quipped.
Please ring Ronny at the synagogue office on 9866 2255
to say hello or with any ideas you may have to keep our
beautiful and historic shule a viable Beit Knesset for the
Melbourne Jewish community.
A new, exciting appointment has been made at Toorak Shule.
Ronny Kowadlo is the new Outreach and Public Relations
manager at our synagogue.
If you are envisaging a corporate style, high flier office
bearer, you will be disappointed, for 31 year old Ronny is
softly spoken, with a disarming smile and quiet, yet
authoritative personality. He is no stranger to the
Melbourne Hebrew Congregation as he has been the
Baal Koreh since 1998, a position he still retains.
Ronny is the son of Sarah and Michael
Kowadlo with a sister, Natalie. Together
with his wife, (the new) Natalie, he is
founding his own little dynasty with 16
month old son Lior.
Many mature members of the
congregation will remember Reverend
Kowadlo from the St Kilda Hebrew
Congregation in the 1940’s. Ronny
explained that the Reverend was his
grandfather’s brother, in a word, his great
uncle!
Ronny was educated at Yeshivah College,
followed by a year in Israel on the B’nei Akiva
program, which also included a learning
period in a Yeshivah.
On his return, he studied a Sales and
Marketing course and has had related work
experience since that time.
Something Is Fishy
Freda Kaufman.
FOOTNOTE: Ronny and Natalie are expecting
their second child in October.
According to Thoreau, “Time is but a stream I go fishing in.”
How philosophical! How existential! How literary!
ot to depricate a great American author, let us instead fixate
on the prominence of fish (and other denizens of the deep)
in our everyday conversation. With water being such a large
component of our earth, it should not be surprising that we have so
many expressions that entail references to “fish.”
Who among us has never felt like a fish out of water? Take us
from our secure element and often we are at a loss. Then, if you sense
others studying you, you may feel as if you were living in a
goldfish bowl.
Sometimes we encounter
someone who will not just get on
with the things at hand and we
want to confront this person and
challenge him with, “Just fish or
cut bait!” After all, you cannot
waste so much of your precious
time when you have many other fish to fry.
Have you ever done something and craved recognition for it? You
may have been said to be fishing for compliments. Don’t, however,
succumb to those who are easy with their flattery or you may find
yourself falling for something hook, line and sinker.
If you find yourself having a whale of a time, you may later
concoct a whale of a tale. If friends do not believe you, then seek
others; there are many fish in the sea. If someone gives you the fish
eye, then clam up. It may be that they are just baiting you.
When an activity comes to you with ease, you may think that it is
like shooting fish in a barrel. (The unfairness of such a situation never
seems to bother many; hmmm.)
Daily problems we may encounter involve being packed in like
sardines or fending off someone who drinks like a fish.
Other creatures we may meet on a daily basis are
those who are sharks (ferocious in their pursuit),
bottom feeders (the scum of the earth) or
shrimp (nonentities). There is
also the one who does
bad things and is
hard to catch; he is
slippery as an eel. If
the person has a rather hard
exterior and is often snappish and sharp in
his discourse, he may be described as a crab.
For those of you who cannot distinguish between mussels and
muscles, I have little to say other than you should be more devoted
readers of my columns. For those who question the porpoise of my
writing, let me say that I do it just for the halibut.
N
Sy Manello
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Eric M Cohen OAM – 80th Birthday
ric Cohen’s life has been a
lifetime of dedication and
devotion to family and
community service. It is fitting
that we acknowledge and
celebrate Eric’s 80th year in this
shule as Eric has been an integral
part of it for as long as I can
remember, and I am 68.
Eric has been involved in the
management of the shule for
many years and was one of the
members responsible for the
rejuvenation of the shule and the
congregation in the mid 80s.
Eric was president for two years
during 1987 and 1989 but his
active involvement in the shule
pre-dated and post-dated that
term for many years.
E
A few statistics:
• Eric was born in January
1928.
• He stated university just after
his 17th birthday doing a
commerce course
• After university he joined
the accounting practice
established by his late
father Morris.
• He and Beverley married in
1953 – he was only 25.
• Eric and Beverley have 3
children and 8 grandchildren
aged 14 to 24.
But statistics don’t tell about the
real man – As Beverley has put it:
"For as long as I have known him
he has been doing something for
someone else"
His accounting talents acted
as a magnet for many
organisations and institutions
over the years, both Jewish and
non Jewish. As Beverley again
noted: "Being an accountant,
someone always wanted him to
be Treasurer"
The list of organisations and
institutions who have been the
recipients of Eric’s guidance,
wisdom and talents is endless,
but let me list just a few of them:
• United Jewish Education Board
• The Heart Foundation
• Bethlehem Hospital
• Numerous accountancy
committees and tribunals
• He has been actively involved
with the Jewish Museum from
its inception in the early
1980s and was its Treasurer
for 12 years.
• The Historical Society, both
State and Jewish
• The Genealogical Society
I should interrupt my list for a
moment to say that over the
years Eric has developed a
passionate interest in history and
the preservation of archives.
He has been substantially
responsible in recent years for
the preservation and protection
of the archives of this
Congregation which date back to
the earliest days of the
establishment of the Colony of
Victoria. That’s not surprising
considering that Eric’s greatgreat- great-grandfather, and
mine, Michael Cashmore was the
founding President of this
Congregation, established in
1841.
• Eric and Beverley are active
members of the B’nai B’rith
and Eric has been auditor of
B’nai B’rith Australia, B’nai
B’rith Victoria and their units
as well as being involved in
the Anti-Defamation
Commission and its
important work.
• I must not forget the Orphans
and Aid Society which is
concerned with the
integration of children into
Jewish schools. Eric has been
its Treasurer for many years.
I could go on, but the list is
endless of organisations and
institutions to whom Eric has
rendered substantial and
ongoing honorary service.
Eric is the quintessential
communal honorary worker.
That is why he was recognised by
being admitted to the Order of
Australia, receiving an OAM for
communal service.
Eric we salute you, we are
humble in your presence.
We congratulate you on
achieving your first 80 years and
look forward to Davening with
you in this shule for many years
to come.
This is the full text delivered by
Alan Goldberg at the Shabbat
service, 1st March 2008.
ERIC & BEC COHEN FAMILY WEDDINGS AT MHC – FIVE GENERATIONS
Morris J COHEN married Isabella JONES .............................20th December 1857
Joseph M COHEN married Esther ABRAHAM ............................23rd March 1898
Morris J COHEN married Esther COHEN .........................................14th April 1927
Eric COHEN married Beverley JOSEPH ..............................................9th April 1953
Robyn COHEN married David WINOGRAD...................................1st August 1982
Also
Henry COHEN married Esther CASHMORE..............................5th February 1868
Hyman JOSEPH married Sarah MARKS ...........................................25th June 1856
Joseph D JOSEPH married Esther SOLOMON .................................11th April 1883
Let me continue my list of
organisations and institutions
with which Eric has been
involved:
Note:
Henry Cohen was Eric’s Great Grandfather
Hyman Joseph was Bev’s Great Grandfather
Joseph D Joseph (A past president of MHC) was Bev’s Grandfather)
“60 Days for 6 Million” –
Reactions to our DVD from the United Kingdom
I’m Mike Lyons and I run the website for the Brighton
& Hove Hebrew Congregation in England.
Every week I highlight a couple of synagogues
from around the world and a few weeks ago
I chose, at random, the Melbourne Hebrew
Congregation and sent an email informing
them of this.
David Lissauer kindly sent me a copy of
the 60 Days for 6 Million DVD and asked me
to let you know what I thought of it – and I
don’t know! I’m not finding it very easy to
describe how I feel simply because I’m not too
sure how I feel.
As we go through life we tend to pigeonhole things
and everything is classified and catalogued even if it’s only in
our minds. A book, for instance, is either good, bad, okay, exciting,
boring or silly but now I’m standing here with your DVD in my
hand and I don’t know which pigeonhole I should place it in.
I’ve only experienced this once before and that was after the
film Schindler’s List which of course was also about the
Holocaust. Normally when a film finishes and reality
regains control people start chatting and laughing and
carrying on with their lives, but not after that film.
You could almost hear that pin drop as the audience
filed out, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
It must be the same after visiting the sites of the
concentration camps but I don’t wish to find out.
I think I’ll have to file your DVD under ‘Numb’.
It is obvious that a huge amount of organising and
work went into the making of this DVD.
To those people who put so much thought and effort
into producing it and especially to the person who originally
thought of the idea – thank you.
Mike Lyons, Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation, UK.
www.communigate.com.uk/sussex/bhhc/
7
A Pesach Visitation
Did your rabbi ever tell you the
tale of the thirty-six Tzadiks
who circulate in our world?
Outside, they look like me and you.
Inside,they glow with righteousness. To put it
plainly, they are the spies of G-d; their
mission is surveillance of the human
heartscape.
Filed directly with the Creator, their annual
report determines the world’s fate the
following year.
If all is ethically well; the fruit trees bow
low with their harvest, the S&P 500 index
zooms, the Winter is mild and the Summers
are balmy.
But the Berg family at Mt Hotham Road,
Ascot Vale had no time for rabbinic tales.
They were busy planning their Passover. They
would have a guest this year, they decided –
some homeless stranger. A real Mitzvah it
would be.
The next morning found Sarah Berg
dialing around to several Jewish agencies until
she found her man.
Sure, they had a candidate. A young,
rootless fellow passing through town.
What a glorious Passover it would be,
thought Sarah. A sumptuous meal, the Seder
ceremony, and the added Mitzvah of the
indigent guest. Just as the Hagaddah says;
"let all who are hungry come and eat".
But so much preparation and post-meal
cleanup. She cringed at the thought of dirty
dishes piled in the sink, crusted with the
remains of five courses. She'd get a maid.
A small luxury.
Now, it's Seder night. The doorbell rings.
It's him, the guest. He's in torn jeans, plaid
shirt, and a Collingwood sports cap.
He smells of stale beer. A derelict, with an
attitude. And a vacant look in his watery eyes.
But the Bergs welcome him into their
home with smiles. Uncomfortably, they make
small talk as the stranger sits stiffly at the
table. They proceed with the Seder, but he
seems to have no understanding of the service
and his face reflects distaste at the ceremonial
blessings. He's the rejected suitor at the
wedding feast. Nor is he interested in Daniel
Berg's Passover anecdotes directed at both
him and the children. "When do we eat?" he
says as they pass the matzoh and moror
sandwiches around the table.
The guest eats steadily as the family
participates enthusiastically in the service.
They talk of ancient miracles as he
enthusiastically devours the brisket and roast
chicken. The children swing their heads from
the derelict to their parents in silent wonder
at the sullen guest.
In the middle of this tension there is a
horrible crash of china from the kitchen. The
floor is littered with the shards of Sarah Berg's
wedding china; a gift from her mother, who
had died the month before.
The maid had slipped and upset the card
table holding the dirty dishes. She stared
down at her clumsy handiwork. A silent tear
ran down the old lady's cheek as Sarah
looked at her mother's heirloom, now
splintered china, all over the kitchen floor.
A great sadness seized her heart. The failed
holiday, the memory of her mother, this
Succoth with the Rubinfelds…
s he has for a number of
years the Rabbi and
rebbitzen hosted a catered
Succah party. This year’s event
was attended by 60 members of
the congregation and as the
attached photos attest a great
time was had by all.
An added bonus this year, the
rabbi’s children and
grandchildren
were here from
the states
allowing those
members
present to get to
know them.
If members
get the chance
next year drop
in to the Rabbis Succot function. It is always a great night and one the kids really enjoy
A
8
incompetent human being
who couldn't even clear
the table without disaster.
But she swallowed the lump in her throat
when she saw the remorseful tears in the eyes
of the old lady.
“That's OK, that's OK." She patted the
shoulder of her Passover helper as the maid
swept the remains of Sarah's mother's Lenox
china into a brown paper grocery sack.
Sarah returned to the table determined to
crown the evening with ceremony appropriate
to the holiday. Fitfully, they resumed the
singing. And soon, mercifully, the evening
came to an end. The maid, still red-eyed, was
paid handsomely, in deference to the holiday,
and sent home early with a plastic bag full of
roast chicken. The kids – sleepy, irritable,
appalled by the rude guest – were ordered
upstairs to bed.
The family went upstairs to an uneasy
sleep where Sarah's dreams were strangely
lighted by the tearful eyes of the clumsy maid.
A miserable night.
Ah, but what a golden year followed for
the Berg family: and the world they inhabited.
With a soft flute-like sound in the trees, a
warm wind blew over the face of the earth
and unlocked the cold heart of humanity. The
earth smiled. The fruit trees bowed low with
their harvest, the stock index zoomed, and the
Winter was mild and the Summer was balmy.
And all for the price of a pat on the shoulder,
a plastic bag full of leftover chicken, and a set
of dishes. Who would suspect that a Tzadik's
duties included sweeping the kitchen floor.
© Ted Roberts. All Rights Reserved
A New Look
for Pesach in MHC
he accompanying
photos show our new
special Pesach
Parochet (ark curtain)
donated by the
Basist/Lissauer families in
honor of the marriage of
their children Naomi to
Joel. The families have also
ordered a special Shavuot
Parochet that will be
featured in our next
magazine.
Also pictured are the
new bimah cover and bein
gavrah (torah cover)
presented in honour of the
60th wedding anniversary
of Miriam and Ben Sherr
and the newly installed
retractable blinds to the
downstairs area of the
Shule, generously donated
by Bennie and Jeanette
Borenstein and family.
T
Jack Bercove
Platter
he family of Jack Bercove
(Past President of
Melbourne Hebrew
Congregation 5724-1963) have
donated to the Shule archives this
ceremonial platter which was
presented to him in appreciation
of his time in office.
T
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
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Proudly representing the
electorate of Melbourne Ports.
117 Fitzroy St (PO Box 2086)
St Kilda West VIC 3182
Ph: 9534 8126 Fax: 9534 1575
michael.danby.MP@aph.gov.au
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9
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Our Shule’s Windows
and Architecture Book is Finally Complete!!
s outlined in the Chairman’s report the final touches are being
made to the deluxe coffee table art book cataloguing the beauty
of our Shule. It is to be a case bound publication of nearly 100
pages outlining in pictorial content and fold out spreads the
architecture and magnificent windows of “Toorak Shule”.
Associate Professor Julie Willis of the Faculty of Architecture,
University of Melbourne, has authored the architectural content while
window designer Rimona Kedem has contributed her thoughts and
perspectives on her thirty+ year design project. The publication of this
book has been greatly assisted by the philanthropy and generosity of
dedicated congregants Mr Israel Rosenfeld and family and Dr and Mrs.
Harry Perelberg. Every member family of the Melbourne Hebrew
Congregation will receive a copy of this magnificent book.
A personalised invitation will be sent to all members together with
communal and other dignitaries for the launch of this landmark
publication which at the time of going to press will be likely to occur
in mid to late May.
A "limited edition" gold stamped leather bound version of the
book is also to be made available at a cost of $250 (available via prior
reservation), and a number of congregants have already, I’m heartened
to report, reserved copies.
Sunflower Bookshop in Elsternwick have been given the
exclusive rights to stock and sell the book after its launch in late May.
Pricing and details will be made available to congregants once costs
are finalised.
I acknowledge the support of the Executive in realising this special
project, and they share my belief that the book will appeal to not
only our members and their friends but also to students of architecture
and art, those individuals interested in religious buildings and anyone
with an appreciation of the beauty of contemporary leadlight windows.
Special thanks are due to Stephen Reynolds and Stephen Freeman of
Photosynthesis who have been instrumental in ensuring the quality of
our planned publication will be nothing short of first rate.
A
David H Sherr, Editor
10
– With Compliments –
MHC Youth Activities
BBL Enterprises Pty Ltd
9804 7644
Youth activities are planned by
Ronny and Natalie Kowadlo.
Please contact either Ronny
on mobile 0413863263
or alternatively via e-mail on:
ronnyk@westnet.com.au
Messages can also be left via
the Shule office.
Barbara & Barry
Landau and family
11
– With Compliments –
Bev & Eric Cohen
& family
With This Ring…
The synagogue foyer sparkled
with a plethora of vibrant
photographs, Ketuboth and
memorabilia as visitors excitedly
wended their way through the
new exhibition “With this
ring…the Mystique of Jewish
Marriage-Rituals and Tradition”.
The exhibition was officially
opened by Rabbi Laibl Wolf,
Dean of the Spiritgrow Centre, at
10.30am on Sunday 25th
November 2007.
Mr. Leonard Yaffe acted as
Master of Ceremonies in the
synagogue for the official
opening and emphasized the
ongoing efforts of the Archival
Committee to bring glimpses of
Jewish life to the public through
vignettes and the congregation’s
archival material.
‘For the many non-Jewish
organizations from metropolitan
and country Victoria to our
shule, the exhibitions aimed to
show the involvement of Jews in
the Australian community and
also demonstrated Jewish
traditions and customs’, he said.
Leonard introduced the
keynote speaker of the day: Rabbi
Laibl Wolf, the Dean of
Spiritgrow, a holistic Jewish
centre for personal and spiritual
growth.
Rabbi Wolf declared that he
was delighted to open an
exhibition on what he
considered the secret of Jewish
continuity.’ We are living in a
world of immense change’, he
said, and pointed out that in the
last sixty to eighty years, more
change has taken place than in
the whole of history. A single
factor has been the media, which
substantially directs us how to
think, feel, wash and dress! It is
impossible to create a bulwark
against it’, Rabbi Wolf said. He
pointed out that this must come
inwardly from ourselves. ‘Jewish
people still have the same value
system as of old, and there is a
mystique that comes from the
early mists of Jewish dawn. The
process begins in the centrality of
the Jewish home’, he said.
‘Marriage, the coming together of
man and woman, lies at the core
of Judaism’.
Rabbi Wolf described
commitment as the essential
ingredient, one which allowed a
relationship to leap into a higher
level that otherwise could not be
reached. ‘Every picture we see in
this exhibition’, he said, ‘depicts
a sense of oneness. God has
defined the world in dualitieseyes, ears, nostrils and brain
hemispheres. He directs that we
take all the twos in life to create
oneness: specifically the unity of
the love of man and woman’.
In conclusion, the Rabbi paid
tribute to our synagogue and
hoped the initiative would
provide a lead to other
congregations.
The next speaker, Mrs. Sarah
Wein, has been the Curator for
three exhibitions in the
Melbourne Hebrew
Congregation. She explained that
this exhibition had focused on
the wedding ceremonies in this
synagogue, with many artifacts
depicting two or more family
12
generations of weddings. The
exhibition, she said, was in
accordance with the words from
the Biblical text:
“And the Lord God said: it is
not good for man to be alone, he
needs a helpmate” Genesis 2:18
Sarah thanked Sonia
Oberman for her able assistance
in mounting the exhibition and
additionally her enthusiastic
team of helpers and synagogue
personnel.
Leonard Yaffe expressed his
appreciation to Rabbi Wolf,
Sarah, Eric Cohen and the
Archival Committee, Stephen
Reynolds and all those who had
contributed to the exhibition.
Visitors adjourned to morning
tea in Winton Hall but soon
gravitated downstairs for yet
another glimpse of themselves,
family and friends in wedding
attire. (Were our waistlines
really so tiny?) The portraits
sometimes spanned three
generations, and more
eloquently than words
depicted family traditions
welded to the Melbourne
Hebrew Congregation, which
consecrated the first
synagogue in Bourke St.,
Melbourne on Friday 17th
March 1848 and opened its
doors on the corner of
Toorak Rd. and Arnold St. on
Sunday 25th May 1930.
Freda Kaufman
13
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A Cluster of Dates
have always taken a great
interest in calendars and dates.
As a small boy I would get up
early on the morning of January 1
to check if the newspapers had
changed the year on their
mastheads. To me this year
2008/5768 is most interesting
because of the almost one
month's divergence between
Pesach and Easter.
I
THE COMMON YEAR
(Christian calendar)
About 700 BCE the first Roman
calendar came into being. It
featured a seven day week and a
year of twelve months.
In the year 325 CE the Roman
emperor, Constantine, convened
what became known as the
Council of Nicaea which made
three changes to the calendar –
the year became one of 365.25
days, he retained the dissection
into twelve months, Sunday
became a holiday in a seven day
week, Christian holidays with
fixed dates were recognised, and
Easter was recognised as not
having a fixed date.
In 1582 Pope Gregory
instituted a calendar now known
as the Gregorian Calendar
correcting the error of the former
Julian Calendar which
overestimated the solar year by 11
minutes 14 seconds.
To do this a papal ruling
eliminated 5-14 October 1582.
However, countries such as Great
Britain and the American colonies
did not adopt the new calendar
until 1752 when they eliminated
eleven days.
Japan did not accept the new
calendar until 1873 and China
until 1949.
In 1971 the Eastern Orthodox
Church decided to retain the
Julian calendar.
THE HEBREW CALENDAR
The Hebrew calendar has a
complicated leap year system
when an extra month is added.
This leap year occurs every
3-3-2-3-3-3-2 in a cycle of
nineteen years.
This enables the calendar to
relate to the lunar year. There are
further adjustments so that
yomtovim such as Rosh
Hashonah cannot fall on a
Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday.
EASTER
Put simply Easter Sunday the
spring equinox (March 22 in the
Northern hemisphere) –
astronomically the point
between winter and summer at
which the sun strikes the Equator
– is the date used to determine
Easter.
Easter is celebrated on the
first Sunday after the first full
moon after the spring equinox.
At the Council of Nicaea
PESACH AND EASTER
So allowing for necessary
adjustments to both the general
calendar and the Hebrew calendar
why in the year 2008/ 5768 does
Good Friday fall on March 21 and
Seder night on April 18?
No.
Month
Pronunciation
No. of Days
in Month
Corresponding Months
of Gregorian calendar
1
Nisan
ne-san
30
March – April
2
Iyyar
e-yar
29
April – May
3
Sivan
sev-in
29
May – June
4
Tammauz
tam-mux
29
June – July
5
Av
aah-b
29
July – August
6
Elul
el-ool
29
August – September
7
Tishrei
tish-ri
30
September – October
8
Cheshvan
ches-von
29-30
October – November
9
Kislev
kis-lov
30-29
November – December
10
Tevet
te-bet
29
December – January
11
Shevat
sha-va</td>
29-30
January – February
12
Adar
are-dar
29-30
February – March
13
Adar II
are-dar
29
Intercalary Month
(Leap Year)
(325 CE) an attempt was made
to regularise or fix the date of
Easter but conflict before and
after the conference continued.
PESACH
First day Pesach occurs on 15
Nisan but, because of the affect
of leap years, first day can vary
from March 27 to April 25. So to
try and correlate Easter and
Pesach is like comparing apples
with oranges.
Eric M Cohen OAM
Feasts and Events
14th Passover
15th Unleaven Bread
21st First Fruits
16th-17th Pentecost. Feast of Weeks, seven weeks after Passover
The Temple was destroyed on 9th of Av 70 AD
1st Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashannah
Feast of Trumpets
10th Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
15th Feast of Tabernacles (Succot)
Feast of Lights – Chanukah which celebrates the redication
of the Temple in 168 BC.
13-14th Purim (Celebrates Queen Esther and Mordecai saving
the Jewish people from being destroyed during the
Babylonian captivity
15
Sheva Brachot (the Seven Blessings) Celebrations
for Michael Danby & Amanda Mendes da Costa
uch publicity
surrounded the
wedding of the Federal
Member for Melbourne Ports,
Michael Danby MP to barrister
Amanda Mendes de Costa in
Canberra’s Federal Parliament,
that was conducted by three
rabbonim from Melbourne –
Rabbis Motel Gutnick, Yitzhok
Riesenberg & our own Dovid
Rubinfeld
On the evening following
Rabbi Rubinfeld together with
his wife Miriam hosted a Sheva
Brachot celebration for the newly
married couple at their home in
East St Kilda.
The wedding by all accounts
was a glittering affair,
wonderfully catered by Unger
Catering of Melbourne. The
some 250 guests were witness to
what is believed to be the first
orthodox Jewish wedding in a
federal parliament house
anywhere in the world. Such
was the occasion that Rabbi
Rubinfeld felt compelled to
recite the Shechiyanu prayer,
usually recited on the eve of
festivals and holydays, believing
that this was the most
appropriate recognition of such
a unique event.
According to the our Rabbi,
it was the first time he’d danced
with a Prime Minister, (Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd) and even
Rabbi Mordy Katz aka Robert
Weil, moved beyond the
mechitza & was seen to be
enjoying the mitzvah tanse
(complete with handkerchief
between them) with Deputy
Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The post wedding sheva
brachot at the home of our
Rabbi and Rebbitzen was
attended by selected Life
Governors, Members of the
Executive & the clergy of the
Congregation together with
other members of the wider
Jewish community, and was
a delightful evening.
M
The excellent catered dinner
was complimented by several
musical renditions and duets by
Rabbi Rubinfeld in concert with
Ronny Kowadlo. Both Michael
and Amanda gave heartfelt and
insightful speeches and touched
on their long journey to their
chupah at Parliament House.
Amanda reiterated some of
the feelings she’d expressed the
night before, emphasizing her
pride at now having become an
orthodox Jew, and the
importance it now plays in her
life. It was this pride expressed
the previous evening that had
moved some in attendance to
tears.
The evening concluded with
the benching (grace after meals)
and the recitation of the Sheva
Brachot, as always sung so
beautifully by Rabbi Rubinfeld,
and it was on this happy and
pleasant note that a warm and
wonderful evening ended with
good wishes for a long and
happy future for the newlyweds.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sheva Brachot literally "the seven blessings" also known as birachat
Nesuin, "the wedding blessings" in halacha (Jewish religious law) are blessings that
are recited for the bride and the groom during a Jewish Wedding ceremony under the
chupah over the second cup of wine (called the Cup of Blessing).
These blessings are also recited as part of the festive meals that continue for a week
after the wedding. They are said over a cup of wine after the Birkat Hamazon (Grace
After Meals), and it is a common custom for these blessings to be divided among
honored guests. If multiple people say the blessings, the cup is passed to the person
saying each blessing. These blessings are said only if a minyan is present. On
weekdays their recitation also requires the presence of at least one person who was
not present at the wedding & for any previous Sheva Brachot of the couple. On
Shabbat there is no need for a new guest, since the Shabbat itself is considered a new
guest. New guests are referred to as Panim Hadashot – new faces.
16
Parliament
House to host
its first Jewish
wedding…
Workplace wedding ...
Melbourne Ports MP
Michael Danby is tying the
knot at Parliament House.
ederal Labor MP,
Michael Danby, will
marry in Parliament
House today – in the first
Jewish wedding to be held
in the big house.
Mr Danby, the member
for Melbourne Ports, will tie
the knot with long-time
partner Amanda Mendes
Da Costa.
Mr Danby insists he
chose to wed in Canberra
because of its central
location, not because of the
strict work ethic laid down
by leader Kevin Rudd.
“Michael has friends
from all over the country...
[Canberra] seemed a nice,
central place," Mr Danby's
spokeswoman said.
In a traditional
ceremony, the bedecken –
veiling ceremony – will take
place in the Marble Hall,
with the chuppah –
traditional Jewish wedding
canopy – erected at the
Queens Terrace.
Presiding over the
ceremony will be rabbis
Reisenberg, Rubinfeld and
Gutnick. Dinner will follow
in the Mural Hall, with two
truckloads of kosher catering
being driven from
Melbourne to feed guests.
About 200 people are
expected to attend,
including Deputy Prime
Minister Julia Gillard.
Ms Mendes Da Costa,
who is of Jewish descent,
recently converted to the
faith.
Mr Danby's
spokeswoman said the
couple had paid the full cost
of the wedding.
The newlyweds will
honeymoon briefly on
Victoria's Surf Coast before
Mr Danby gets back to
business.
F
Jehane Sharah | February 24,
2008, Sydney Morning
Herald
17
Jewish
Wedding
in Parliament
ichael Danby,
federal parliament's
most active
member of the Jewish
community, brought the
Jewish community to
parliament yesterday.
He hosted the first Jewish
wedding ceremony to take
place in Parliament House
when he unveiled his bride,
Amanda Mendes Da Costa,
a Melbourne lawyer, on the
steps of the Marble Hall in
Canberra.
The throng of yarmulkawearing faithful who
converged on the hall to the
sounds of Yiddish music
included a few regulars in
the house.
Deputy Prime Minister
Julia Gillard, Communications Minister Stephen
Conroy, Health Minister
Nicola Roxon, Parliamentary
Secretary Bill Shorten, and
former Labor MP Con
Sciacca were all on the
230-strong guest list.
Fellow members of the
house and of the Jewish
community Mark Dreyfus
and Mike Kelly were also
on the list, as was the
Dalai Lama's representative
in Australia, Tenzin
Phuntsok Atisha.
A yarmulka-wearing
Mr Kelly, who has an IrishCatholic background and a
Jewish wife and son, said
the diversity of the list
reflected the nature of
Australia. "It all celebrates
once again the fact we're
inclusive in our culture,"
he said.
Mr Danby, who was
previously married and is
the father of two children,
served for many years as
editor of the Australia/
Israel Review.
The pair chose the
Parliament House venue
because it was central to
many of their friends and
family. After the unveiling,
they moved to a temporary
chuppah, or canopy, erected
on the Queen's Terrace.
M
Siobhain Ryan | February 25,
2008 The Australian
"Are Jews Too Powerful?”
The Vanity Fair Perspective
controlling.
It’s not easy giving a correct
answer to this question because I
believe Jewish tradition provides
two contradictory responses. On
a verse toward the end of Genesis
where Jacob speaks to his
children as they are about to go
down to Egypt, the Midrash
describes the conversation:
"Jacob requested of them: do not
go out with bread in your hands
and do not all enter through one
gate … do not go out with bread
in your hands in order not to
arouse ill feeling and do not all
enter through one gate for fear of
the eye."
There was a famine in Egypt
and Jacob is telling his children
that when they go down to Egypt
don’t let the people see that you
have bread. And don’t all come
marching in together as one;
people will be afraid of you;
people will envy you; people will
give you the ‘evil eye.’ With this
in mind, one cannot help but
think that the articles in Vanity
Fair are not doing us any favor. It
would be better if there wasn’t so
much attention drawn to our
success.
On the other hand, in the
Book of Exodus, in describing
the garment that was made for
the High Priest to wear in the
Temple, we are told that the hem
of his robe had bells on it so that
people would know that he was
coming. And the Lubavitcher
Rebbe saw this as a lesson that a
Jew should go out into this
world proud and confident,
trying to spread the message. And
that’s just what Lubavitcher
Chasidim do these days, with
their “Mitzvah Mobiles” and the
big Chanukah menorahs they
put up in public squares
throughout our country. So, from
the perspective of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe you could say – although
he never would have put it this
way: “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!”
So what do you think? Lay
low or flaunt it? Is Vanity Fair
good for the Jews or not?
I venture to say that your answer
depends upon how old you are.
Alan Derschowitz put it so well
in his book appropriately
entitled, “Chutzpah” when he
pointed out, “We are at a
generational crossroads. The Jews
who were the American pioneers –
our first generations of
immigrants – were indeed guests
You’re going to find this hard to
believe, but according to Mr.
Aaron’s calculation, 51 out of the
100 are Jewish!
Shabbat Sermon October 20,
2007 Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg,
Beth Tfiloh Congregation,
Baltimore, Maryland.
his magazine may be
dangerous to your health …
or maybe not! You can’t tell
which magazine it is because I’ve
only shown you the back cover.
The front cover has a picture of
Nicole Kidman in a state of
undress and I fear if I show it to
you, you may have trouble
focusing on me!
The magazine I am referring
to is the October 2007 issue of
Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair is one of
the magazines I subscribe to. I do
so because I have a subscription
that costs only $12 a year and
despite the fact that most of its
advertisements (the main reason
I subscribe to any magazine) is
geared toward women, I find
Vanity Fair a lively magazine
where every month at least one
or two of its articles I find of
interest. But nothing prepared
me to expect what is found in
two articles in October’s Vanity
Fair – two articles that may be
dangerous to your health as a
Jew – or maybe not!
In the October issue of Vanity
Fair there is an article on page
259 entitled, “The 2007 New
Establishment” – a list of what
Vanity Fair considers the 100
most powerful, influential people
in American society.
Now I think it was Joseph
Aaron in the Chicago Jewish
News who first took note of a
rather remarkable aspect about
these 100 people. We Jews
represent about 2.5 percent of
the American people. So one
could naturally expect that out of
the 100 most influential people
in America, one would find listed
two or three Jews. How many
Jews do you think were listed?
T
Now, keep in
mind that this is
not a list of
shleppers …
amongst the 100
are people with
names like
David Geffen
Warren Buffet,
Bill Clinton and
Oprah Winfrey.
And yet, right
along side of
them are people
with names like
Schwartzman
and Spielberg
and Bloomberg Mayor Bloomberg
and Geffen and
Perelman and
Lauder and
Wasserstein and
Cohen and
Weinstein and
Weintraub, and
Friedman, and
Stephen Spielberg
Silver.
Not bad, my friends! Not
bad! Not bad when one
considers that there are more
people born in China every year
than there are Jews in the whole
world! And as if all this is not
enough, on page 306 in the same
issue of the magazine, there is
another list. This one called "The
Next Establishment" listing
younger people who Vanity Fair
believes will eventually make it
to the ‘big list.’ There are 26
people on that list … 15 are
Jews. Again, over 50%! Eat your
heart out, Anne Coulter!
And then, just in case you still
don’t get it, on page 308 of
Vanity Fair they have a list of
people who made the "New
Establishment" list in the past,
but for one reason or another
didn’t make it this year, but
Vanity Fair believes will be back
in the future. There are 9 names
on this list … 8 of them are Jews!
This is absolutely unbelievable!
This is absolutely incredible! The
only question is – the age old
question: Is it good for the Jews?
Does presenting so many Jews
out front in the public, in
positions of power, drawing
attention to us … is that good? It
shows how good we are? Or is it
bad, feeding the hatred of the
anti-Semites who accuse us of
being too powerful and too
18
in other people’s land." Yes, many
of our fathers and mothers and
certainly our grandfathers and
grandmothers felt that they were
guests in America. And so they
made sure that they did nothing
to ‘rock the boat.’ They did as
little as possible to draw
attention to themselves. They
had a ‘sha-shtil’ philosophy – lay
low and they won’t come after us
with an axe.
And so, Betty
Perske changed
her name to
Lauren Bacall,
and Joseph
Gottlieb to Joey
Bishop, and
Issur
Lauren Bacall
Danielovich
Demsky to Kirk
Douglas, and
Sidney Liebowitz
to Steve
Lawrence.
But as Jews
grew more
Kirk Douglas
successful in
America they
also grew to feel
at home in
America. And
suddenly Jews
were asserting
their rights as
Jews. In the 50’s
Joey Bishop
and 60’s when
many Jews
moved to the suburbs there were
many synagogues across the
country that built their parking
lot in the front and the
synagogue in the back so as not
to upset their neighbors.
But then, all of a sudden, in
the 70’s "Freedom for Soviet
Jewry" was put on billboards in
front of every synagogue … and
Jews started demanding their
rights and asserting their
interests. Sure, it led the Jimmy
Carters and the Walts and the
Mearsheimers to claim that the
Jewish lobby was too powerful.
But just one generation ago there
was no Jewish lobby! And there
was no Israeli Air Force! And by
the time others fought our battle,
6 million Jews had gone up in
smoke!
At the beginning of this
morning’s Torah portion God
challenges Abraham to leave his
country and to come to the
Promised Land of Israel. "V’escha
l’goy gadol – and I will make of
thee a great nation and I will
bless thee and make thy name
great and be thou a blessing."
God promised Abraham that his
progeny would become a great
nation. As you know, the Jewish
people have never been great in
numbers, and yet there are
people who think that we rule
the world! It’s unbelievable!
There are _ of a billion Hindus in
this world. There are over 300
million Buddhists. There are
more Zoroastrians and Mormons
in the world than there are Jews!
But who rules the world? Not
them! Who rules? Me and you …
and our ‘mishpocho’ over at
Vanity Fair.
And you know what? There
are lots of people who think
that’s true! And you know what?
I’m glad they do! It’s very
important for our survival.
My teacher, Rabbi Joseph
Soloveitchik, of blessed memory,
once pointed out and interesting
fact about Abraham. Abraham
found respect from the outside
world only in the aftermath of
one particular incident. As we’re
told in our Torah portion this
morning, "Melchizedak, king of
Salem, brought forth bread and
wine." He went so far as to make
a kiddush – "And he blessed him
and said: Blessed be Abraham of
God most high, maker of heaven
and earth."
What prompted this
profusion of compliments? Why
was a Jew suddenly thrust into
the role of universal hero?
Pointed out Rabbi Soleveitchik:
this reception was never accorded
Abraham when he fulfilled his
characteristic of chesed, showing
kindness to strangers and
hospitality to wayfarers. Helping
others won Abraham no worldly
praise. It was only now – now
that Abraham has pursued the
terrorists who held his nephew
Lott captive, and in the words of
the Torah: "Smote them and
pursued them." …only now did
the world show respect. For what
impresses the world is not
saintliness as much as strength,
not character as much as courage,
not piety as much as power.
Let our enemies think that we
are all-powerful. As Akiva Eldar
once put it in the Haaretz
newspaper, "The Arab belief that
the Jews rule the world has
become one of Israel’s most
important deterrent factors, no
less than its military strength. The
lunatic idea that 6 million Jews
dictate the policies of a
superpower with 280 million
inhabitants has contributed
greatly to the decisions by Arab
and Palestinian leaders, and even
to that of the Arab League, to
accept – albeit with gritted teeth
– the existence of the Jewish state.
When Anwar Sadat and King
Hussein came to Jerusalem, they
had at least one eye fixed on
Washington."
Yes, let the Arab world think
that we’re all-powerful. That’s the
only way they may somehow
come to the realization that
they’re going to have to learn
how to live with us.
And here in America, I’m sure
there are some people who,
when they read Vanity Fair, will
have an upset stomach. But do
you think they would learn to
love us if we were less successful?
Should we be less successful just
to please them? The Jews living
in the shtetels of Eastern Europe
were not successful, had no
power. That didn’t stop the
Cossacks and others from
destroying their homes and
killing their families!
Dov Burt Levy, writing in the
Forward newspaper, described
sitting in a café in London on
Feb. 28, 2001 reading the
International Herald Tribune. He
couldn’t get over the fact, in
turning to the editorial page, five
of the six columns were written
by Jews: Richard Cohen, Stephen
Rosenfeld, Robert Caplan, Ellen
Goodman and Thomas
Friedman. The sixth column was
written by a South Korean by the
name of Prof. Han Sung-Joo. Five
Jews and a Joo!
It’s true, with so many Jewish
names in positions of
prominence, it drives our
enemies crazy. But you know
what? It makes many of our
friends feel good! And we Jews
have many friends here in
America. Many of them believe
that the Bible is the word of God.
And they take seriously – very
seriously – the words of God’s
promise to Abraham when He
said, "V’avorcha m’vorechacha
u’mkalelcha oar – and I will bless
them that bless thee and him that
curseth thee I will curse." Those
are very important words that
God promised to Abraham; that
those who will support the Jews
will be blessed and those who
curse us will be cursed. You
should know that it is this
promise which forms the basis of
much of the Evangelical
Christian support for the State
of Israel.
Type in the words of this
promise on an Internet search
engine; type in Genesis 12:3 and
you’ll see how many Christian
websites pop up. If you are our
friend, you’ll be blessed … if you
are against us you’ll be cursed.
It’s one of the facts of history.
We speak of the "glory that was
Greece and the grandeur that was
Rome." But that glory and
grandeur soon departed after the
Greeks and Romans turned
against us.
Similarly, soon after Spain
expelled its Jews, the sun began
to set on the Spanish Empire.
And in modern times, the Iron
Curtain of Communism first
began to fall when the Jews
sought their freedom. So let
people think we are blessed.
They just might be right … and
they just might be blessed as
well. "I will bless them that
bless thee and him that curseth
thee I will curse."
On a majestic night nearly
4000 years ago, God promised
our forefather Abraham that his
people would be made in to a
"great nation." That pledge by
the Almighty was repeated to our
forefathers and remains a solemn
oath. This month’s Vanity Fair
seems to indicate the pledge is
being fulfilled in our day. We are
the most blessed generation in
the last 2000 years of our people.
We should thank God for being
that privileged generation that
has an Israeli Air Force that could
knock out Iraq’s nuclear reactor
and Syria’s as well. We should
thank God for living in this great
country, the good old U.S. of A
where a majority of the members
of the New Establishment are
Jewish. "Hashem oz l’amo yitain.
Hashem yevorach et amo
bashalom. The Lord has given
strength to His people. May He
now bless us with peace." Amen.
Reproduced with the blessing of
Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg.
Vanity Fair’s "The 2007 New Establishment"
1
Rupert Murdoch,
19
Al Gore,
37
Giorgio Armani (last year: 32)
2
Steve Jobs,
20
Larry Ellison,
38
Jeffrey Katzenberg (last year: 45)
3
Sergey Brin and Larry Page,
21
Herb Allen (last year: 48)
39
4
Stephen Schwarzman and Pete Peterson,
22
Jeff Bewkes (last year: 16)
Ronald Lauder and Leonard Lauder
(last year: 40)
5
Warren Buffett,
23
Jeff Bezos (last year: 42)
40
George Lucas (last year: 41)
41
Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein
(last year: 39)
42
Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols
(last year: 47)
6
Bill Clinton,
24
Peter Chernin (last year: 15)
7
Steven Spielberg,
25
Leslie Moonves (last year: 18)
8
Bernard Arnault,
26
Jerry Bruckheimer (last year: 28)
9
Michael Bloomberg,
27
George Clooney (last year: 23)
43
Bruce Wasserstein (last year: 38)
10
Bill and Melinda Gates,.
28
Bono (last year: 24)
44
Miuccia Prada (last year: 58)
11
Carlos Slim Helú,
29
François Pinault (last year: 26)
45
Steven Cohen (last year: 29)
12
H. Lee Scott,
30
Roman Abramovich (last year: 50)
46
Tom Cruise (last year: 35)
13
Ralph Lauren,
31
Ronald Perelman (last year: 31)
47
Jay-Z (last year: 46)
14
Oprah Winfrey,
32
Tom Hanks (last year: 25)
48
Ron Meyer (returning)
15
Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg,
33
Jacob Rothschild (last year: 80)
49
Frank Gehry (last year: 77)
16
David Geffen
34
Robert De Niro (last year: 27)
50
Arnold Schwarzenegger (new entry)
17
Howard Stringer,
35
Howard Schultz (new entry)
51
Henry Kravis (new entry)
18
Richard Parsons,
36
Robert Iger (last year: 13)
52
Karl Lagerfeld (last year: 60)
19
Purim Mini-Golf Day 2008
his years Purim party was an event that will be remembered for a long time to come. Not only for its
sweltering 38 degree heat (with only an oasis on the horizon) and the faint sound of the Melbourne
Grand Prix but also for the guest appearances from Slash – the lead guitarist for Guns ‘N’ Roses,
Captain Feathersword – the Friendly Pirate, Kobe Bryant – an L.A Lakers Basketball Player and Tiger Woods
who needs no introduction.
The event was held at Caulfield Park, and besides the blistering heat it didn’t stop the keen mini golfers.
In fact, it brought out their skill, accuracy and determination to overcome the 9 hole challenging mini golf
course whilst sipping on cold drinks and noshing on
Hamantaschen.
Over 35 people came and witnessed, Bennie
Borenstein, (pictured top right dressed as himself) win a
nail biter with close competition coming from his wife
Jeannine and a new junior in the world ranking known
as Adam Borenstajn (not related to the winner)
Although the Rabbi took up the challenge, he was
quickly reminded not to give up his day job. I can also
confirm that I won’t be giving up my day job since I
came last, and no doubt even my 16 month son could
have taught me a trick or two.
T
Ronny Kowadlo
20
Mount Scopus Memorial College
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
Level 6 468 St Kilda Rd Melbourne 3004
Tel: 9820 6400 Fax: 9820 6499
Dr and Mrs
Mervyn Jacobson
and Family
Sothertons Melbourne: An association
of independent accounting firms
throughout Australasia
www.sothertonsmelbourne.com.au
– With Compliments –
Phone: 9525 2377 Fax: 9525 2439
21
Bal Tashchit –
Thou Shalt Not Destroy
you do, there is no one to repair it
after you." Midrash Rabba:
Ecclesiastes 7:13
The exhibition Bal Tashchit –
Thou Shalt Not Destroy at the
Jewish Museum of Australia
illuminates environmental
prescriptions in the Hebrew Bible
by bringing together fourteen
contemporary Australian artists,
Jewish and non-Jewish, working
across the media of painting,
drawing, photography, and
sculpture.
This exhibition takes as its
base the writings of the Torah
and rabbinic commentary,yet the
warnings in the Hebrew Bible are
universal and terribly,
irrevocably, relevant today.
Australian art
meets the
apocalypse
Environmental
Apocalypse and the
Hebrew Bible
Jewish Museum of Australia
8 April – 29 June 2008
Today, as humankind
pillages the riches of the
Tasmanian rainforests or the
jungles of the Amazon,
pollutes the seas and the skies,
over-warms the earth and
extinguishes species, we are
clearly not heeding the
prophetic words:
“When God created the first
man, God took him around to all
the trees in the Garden of Eden
and said to him: "See my
handiwork, how beautiful and
choice they are… be careful not to
ruin and destroy my world, for if
These artists’ creative
responses to urgent
environmental issues and allied
biblical verses sit alongside
contemporary facts and figures of
environmental degradation.
Warnings of environmental
catastrophe were written well
before such terms as carbon
emission and global warming
entered our lexicon. Concern for
our environment flows like a
stream through the Hebrew Bible
and the commentaries upon it.
Care for other species, and for
nature itself, appears throughout
Genesis, Deuteronomy,
Ecclesiastes, Joshua, and in
Maimonides’ Guide of the
Perplexed.
LAUREN BERKOWITZ – Drift, 2008, herbs,
spices, pulses “Ought ye not to know that the LORD G-d
of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to
him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?” II Chronicles 13.5
FIONA OMEENYO – Shining, 2007 acrylic on canvas “And before him I told the dream, saying… O
Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the
visions of my dream that I have seen and the interpretation thereof.” Daniel 4. 8–9
LISA ROET – Chimpanzee Finger,
2006, bronze
“The love and tenderness of the mother for her young
is not produced by reasoning but by feeling and this
faculty exists not only in humans but in most living
things.” Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed 3:48
22
LINDA IVIMEY – Dust Will Return, 2008
BERNHARD SACHS –
Dead Sea, 2008
Hari Ho –
Eternity: Moment by Moment,
2003, C-type print
“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy
light shall we see light.” Psalm 36
PAT BRASSINGTON –
Unspecified Procedures, 2006, pigment print
“… a person who combines two varieties introduces a change and denial of
primordial Creation, as if he thought that the Holy One, blessed be He, had
not sufficiently perfected His world, and so he wishes to assist in the creation
of the world by adding new creations. Nahmanides on Lev. 19:19
PETER DAVERINGTON –
Ain Sof, 2008
VERA MÖLLER –
Veronium, 2007, oil on canvas
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and
there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the
ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant
to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst
of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
Genesis 2.8–9
IRENE HANENBERG–
Cheetah (Augustus),
2007
Jewish Museum of Australia
26 Alma Rd, St Kilda Vic
Tel: 03) 9534 0083 www.jewishmuseum.com.au
Open: Tues – Thurs 10am – 4pm;
Sun 11am – 5pm;
Closed: Jewish holy days.
KATHY TEMIN –
Model for Greenhouse,
2008
23
Most people in the Jewish community are aware that
Ashkenazi women have a predisposition to breast cancer.
There are hundreds of women in the community who have
been touched by breast cancer in their lives. And, unfortunately,
many more will be affected until a cure can be found.
The Jewish Breast Cancer Support Group
has been formed because of the growing
number of women in our community
being diagnosed with this illness.
Anne Bransby
There are in existence many Breast Cancer support groups, but,
with our unique culture and traditions, a support group
specifically for Jewish women is considered to be better suited
to meet the needs of women in our community.
The Jewish Breast Cancer support group aims to provide
emotional support to all Jewish women with any stage breast
cancer, whether they have had breast cancer in the past, or are
currently undergoing treatment, in a comfortable, safe and
confidential environment.
It will provide expert information sessions within the field of
Breast Cancer and Women’s Health in general.
It will also run workshops such as yoga and meditation to help
these women live well, happily and healthily.
And the JBCSG also want to help look after the families of these
women by holding separate partners meetings and having
family outings to celebrate the various Jewish festivals during
the year.
Our meetings are held at National Council of Jewish Women
Australia (Victoria) House, 133 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield,
from 8-9.30.
Future dates are as follows:
• Wednesday 16th April, 2008
• Wednesday 14th May, 2008
• Tuesday 1st April, 2008
• Wednesday 30th April, 2008
• Tuesday 27th May, 2008
Thereafter meetings should be fortnightly
on Tuesday’s from 27th May.
For further information contact: Anne – 0419 396 627
Marsha – 0409 029 198 Email – jbcsgroup@gmail.com
Haphtorah
Classes
As you may be aware
following extensive
advertising in the Jewish
News, the COSV wishes to run
another Haphtorah Class, if
there is sufficient interest
from members of our
community who known how
to daven but have not recited
a Haphtorah since their Bar
Mitzvah.
The classes extend over as
many weeks as the
experienced teacher thinks
necessary and tapes of a
preferred Haphtorah are
provided as well as individual
assistance etc.
The cost of each lesson is only
$5 and will be held on a week
night, for 1 hour, at a suitable
location in Caulfield.
For any further information,
please contact Harvey Bruce,
COSV Outreach Co-ordinator,
on 8680 5555 or AH 9571 0780.
COUNCIL OF
ORTHODOX
SYNAGOGUES
OF VICTORIA
Rabbi Rubinfeld attends Conventions in the USA
ur Rabbi Dovid Rubinfeld
attended a major
convention in Washington
D.C. entitled “The Eternal Jewish
Family” as well as the Agudah
Convention in Connecticut.
He is seen here with various
other delegates including [far right]
Cantor Yitzchak Helfgot who came
to Australia for our famous “A Night
to Remember” concert in August
2005.
The Rabbi will be writing a
comprehensive report which will
appear in the next issue.
O
Rabbi Dovid Rubinfeld spent quality time
with his grandchildren during his recent
visit to the USA
24
Fellowship
Meal for Jews
and Catholics
Never on Pesach
t’s Pesach and I’m reminded
that the Angel of Death –
who cruised the skies over
Egypt that haunted night of the
last plague – serves the Lord like
all the rest of his creatures. He
obeys the same laws of nature
that govern the tides of the sea,
the spinning of the planets, and
the salmon’s journey home to
renew the species.
All angels are subject to divine
law, including the “hooded one”.
It’s just that some get a favorable
press and some don’t. Look at
Archangel Michael, full time
guardian of Israel and protector
of the gates of Eden. He’s
famous. Meanwhile, the Malach
Hamoves (as the Angel of death
is called in Hebrew), the reaper
of souls, gathers the weak, the
sick, the unfortunate. Not exactly
a mission calculated to gain fame
and adulation.
But one must admit, he did
grab the spotlight in the Pesach
drama. With the exception of his
immediate supervisor upstairs,
he is the central character as he
swoops over the rooftops of
Egypt. Moses and Pharaoh stare
at him with awe.
You remember he skipped the
huts of the Israelites because of
the dash of lamb’s blood on the
doorpost. Could it be that some
Passover precedent was struck?
Consider that during the poxes
and plagues of the Middle Ages,
Malach Hamoves seemed to skip
over the houses of the former
Israelites. Could we posses some
Pesach immunity dating back to
that first great escape in Egypt?
Have you noticed how few Jews
are yanked out of this
comfortable world on Pesach?
They tell the story of the
Widow Aronberg. 92 years old,
4 sons, 3 daughters, enough
grandchildren for a Hadassah
chapter, enough great
grandchildren for a congregation
of their own. It was early
Autumn as she lay in her bed, at
the home of her granddaughter.
She awaited the Dark Angel with
the free ticket to the
Promised Land in his
pocket. Then as her
nurse went to fetch a
handful of pills – there
he was in full coat and
tails leaning on the
bedpost – the Malach
Hamoves – He had
come for her soul.
Immediately, she
was awake. “Ah,” she
gasped, “it’s you.”
“You call – we haul,” replied
the visitor, who was well
accustomed to rejection.
“After 92 years, 73 days, and
approximately 6 hours what’s the
significance of another day?
ANOTHER goodbye to your
family? ANOTHER pill? Come –
you’re as old as stone – take my
hand. OK Bertha, let’s go. I have
to be in Perth for an airplane
crash by noon.”
Bertha waved a crooked finger
in the Dark Angel’s face.
“Waitaminute, waitaminute,”
panted the old lady with more
eyes than teeth. “I don’t want to
go today. It’s Pesach. And I’m
expecting another great
grandchild next Tuesday. I need to
see her. I need to refresh my soul
for the long journey ahead.”
The angel was startled.
“Bertha, this is not Myers. There’s
nothing here to negotiate. You
should spiritually pack your
bags.”
“Wait till Wednesday, then I’ll
gladly squeeze your hand. We’ll
fly away like a pair of bluebirds!”
The angel, who had been
through eons of final scenes like
this, knew it was best to humor
the reluctant ones. he considered
it unprofessional to drag them
off wailing as they clung to the
bedposts. Messy. Bad for his
reputation.
“Listen, Bertha, no scenes,
OK?” He hated scenes. They
degraded his dignity.
“Yeah?” responded the
reluctant space traveler. “Well
guess what is today – and I don’t
mean Easter.”
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
I
FOR FASHION MENSWEAR
ev and I represented
our shule and the
Jewish community at
the third and our second
Fellowship Meal held at the
Cardinal Knox Centre,
East Melbourne, on
28 October 2007.
About one hundred
people were welcomed by
Rev Dr John Dupuche, chair
of the Catholic Interfaith
Committee. There was a
second welcome from
Anton Block, president of
the Jewish Community
Council of Victoria who
also showed his singing
ability by joining the
musicians in singing Adon
Olom – maybe a future
chazan.
There were two keynote
addresses the first given by
Sr Mary Raeburn who gave
an outline of the
improvements in interfaith
relations which began with
the Second Vatican Council
of 1962 which attempted to
correct the wrong attitude
present in the Catholic
Church for almost two
thousand years.
Rabbi Morgan continued
the bridging of the gap with
an interactive presentation
using the final psalm, Psalm
150 (Halleluyah) as his
message.
We enjoyed a kosher
meal and the company
present.
FOOTNOTE:
We attended a Catholic
funeral recently and were
quite amazed how, in many
respects, the service
matched ours.
It made us wonder why
through the centuries
differences have been
highlighted rather than
similarities.
B
She went on to point out that
it was the second day of Pesach
and if he’d look carefully at the
doorway, he’d see a mezuzah.
“And everybody knows you
shouldn’t dare enter a Jewish
home on Pesach. Not then, not
now.” She reminded him that
the mezuzah, like the lamb’s
blood, was on her doorpost to
keep him out.
The dignified visitor – who
looked as though he was dressed
for the Premier’s inauguration –
stepped back from the bed. He,
of all people, respected tradition.
He tipped his hat – a black
derby he’d taken from a Klezmer
musician. “Bertha, see you
Wednesday night – when Pesach’s
over.”
And as Bertha had foretold,
Tuesday morning brought the
gift of life to the Aronberg family.
The next day, from downstairs
they brought the child, pillowed
in a pink quilt, to the old lady.
She took a long look as deep as a
lover’s sigh: then nodded to the
well-dressed but shady
gentleman in the corner of the
room.
Well, it’s only a story my
grandmother told me when I was
a little boy. I’m not sure I believe
it. But nobody in my family ever
died on Passover – my wife’s
either.
© Ted Roberts,
All Rights
Reserved
Eric M Cohen OAM
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
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Israel Brodie – by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple AO, RFD
Kovno and Oxford:
Israel Brodie and his
Rabbinical Career.
The Rabbi LA Falk Memorial
Lecture for 2008 by Rabbi Dr
Raymond Apple, AO, RFD,
Emeritus Rabbi of the Great
Synagogue, Sydney
The following is an abridged
version, and taken from the first
third of Rabbi Apple’s lecture, in
particular the section dealing
with Rabbi Brodie’s early years in
Melbourne.
Rabbi Brodie presided over
the British chief rabbinate for
seventeen eventful years. It was
not an easy time. The Jewish
world had to come to terms with
the lingering agony of the
Holocaust and the excitement of
the emergence of Israel. AngloJewry itself was changing.
New situations, challenges
and movements constantly arose
to ruffle the smooth stability of
the community. How he handled
the challenges will be addressed
later in this paper, but there was
never any doubt on the personal
level that whilst urbane, august
and ecclesiastical, he was also
warm, passionate and concerned
for people and their feelings.
Every segment of the
community believed, as did the
Australians, that the Chief was
one of them. The grand dukes
were content to have a real
Englishman as Chief Rabbi. The
communal power-wielders were
relieved to have a Chief who was
a gentleman and diplomat. The
Zionists felt assured by his love
for Zion. The ex-service people
remembered how well he had
cared for his troops. The
ministers had a warm feeling for
a good colleague who had always
been a good friend. The mighty
Dayan Abramsky and Sir Robert
Waley Cohen, miles apart in
religious standards, were united
in their respect and support for
the Chief.
– With Compliments –
A recent author, Miri
J Freud-Kandel, in her
Orthodox Judaism in
Britain since 1913:
An Ideology Forsaken
(Vallentine Mitchell,
2006), has decided that
as things turned out,
Brodie was weak and
wavering, browbeaten by
the right-wing and
unable to maintain the
middle-of the-road ethos
of Anglo-Jewry.
In an editorial on his
retirement, the Jewish
Chronicle (4 June, 1965)
was more tactful, but
said that he "was at times
misguided", and referring
to the Jacobs controversy,
which we will analyse in
a few minutes, said, "A man
whose every instinct disposed him
to tranquillity was … thrown into
a raging conflict which tore the
community asunder and whose
effects have not yet entirely
abated. Yet he pursued his course
with tenacity and resolution."
How valid these assessments are
will be examined later in this
paper, but first we need to know
the background of the man and
the influences that moulded his
career.
He gained a BA degree from
University College in 1915 and,
after a period at Balliol College, a
BLitt from Oxford in 1921.
Brodie had two brothers and two
sisters, of whom one sister,
Minnie, was well known to
Australian Jewry. Minnie came to
Melbourne to keep house for the
bachelor rabbi; she married
Emanuel Sheink and eventually
made Aliyah when in her
nineties.
Though he did not study in a
yeshivah, Brodie imbibed his
feeling for the Talmud from his
teachers, Rabbi Tarshish and
Rabbi YM Sandelson, and
acquired the traditional
sing-song of talmudical study.
Not even far-away Melbourne
could dim his ardour for the
Talmud; he studied with his
rabbinic predecessor, Rabbi Dr
Joseph Abrahams, and with that
embodiment of eastern European
learning, Rabbi JL Gurewicz, and
also found some old-timers at
the Montefiore Home whom he
engaged in talmudic argument.
It should be recorded that
Rabbi Gurewicz liked Brodie but
not Rabbi Danglow, and never
understood why Danglow and
not he was made acting head of
the Melbourne Beth Din when
Brodie left. Danglow was no
Talmudist, and Gurewicz
questioned the kashrut of
Melbourne meat supervised by
the Beth Din under Danglow for
export to the Holy Land.
Brodie was aware of
Danglow’s rabbinical limitations,
but Danglow had seniority after
nearly thirty years on the
Melbourne Beth Din.
Brodie’s musical abilities were
highly admired. He loved the
sung Grace After Meals and the
intricate Zemirot (table hymns),
and he produced translations of
some of the difficult
elegies for Tisha B’Av. His
assistant at the Melbourne
Hebrew Congregation, Rev
Solomon M Solomon, had
no great cantorial capacity,
so Brodie was chazzan as
well as rabbi and sang with
the choir (in those days a
mixed choir of men and
women).
It was an anglicised
congregation but even
some of the more
assimilated leadership
retained some
traditionalism, so that
when the ladies presented
the rabbi with a ministerial
robe it was so long (Brodie
was far from tall) that one
of the wardens remarked
that the rabbi looked like
"the long V’Hu Rachum"
(one of the lengthy
supplicatory prayers). For a while
there was a gentile choirmaster,
who probably conducted the
choir well but shocked the rabbi
by telling him on one occasion,
"Christ, what a Sh’ma Yisra’el we
sang today!"
Brodie shone as a preacher.
Our elocution teacher at Jews’
College called Brodie one of the
finest preachers in England. His
sonorous speaking voice was
made for oratory. His language
was cultured and classical. Noone can forget his measured way
of saying, "Our sages of blessed
memory". No-one could handle a
Midrash in the pulpit as could
he. Melbourne was his trainingground; it is a pity that his
synagogue was not constantly
thronged with worshippers able
to appreciate his abilities.
He had come to Melbourne as
a young man in his 20s after a
brief period as a wartime army
chaplain from 1917-19 and as a
welfare minister in the East End
of London, working with Basil
Henriques and others. His
people skills were soon obvious
to the Melbourne community.
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
No chief rabbi began
with such promise.
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The young people in
particular set their eyes upon
him – the girls (and their
mothers) because he was
unmarried, the boys because they
saw him as a role model.
Melbourne never before (or
probably afterwards) knew
anything quite as exciting as
"Rabbi Brodie’s boys", who hiked,
debated, camped, and forged
fierce friendships.
The rabbi also moved into
wider fields. He became a wellknown Masonic lecturer and
developed many friendships
outside the Jewish community.
However, there was a problem as
to who was to be the clerical
representative of the Jewish
community, a role with which
Danglow had been entrusted.
The outcome was that the
community leadership agreed to
leave the status quo until Brodie
married and seemed to be more
or less permanently settled in
Melbourne.
Within the Jewish community,
the Zionist movement was in its
infancy; Sir John Monash was the
honorary president of the
Australian Zionist Federation, but
Brodie was the active leader from
1927-37 and feared not to step
in to protest about the Wailing
Wall incident of 1928, in spite of
the fears of his colleagues Francis
Lyon Cohen and Jacob Danglow
and the disapproval of some of
the lay leaders, who feared
repercussions from
demonstrations against the
British Government.
Brodie’s successor as Zionist
Federation president, Rabbi
Ephraim M Levy of Sydney, was
also outspoken but less
diplomatic, and became
embroiled in literary combat
with Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir
Samuel Cohen. Levy’s contract
with the Great Synagogue was
not renewed after an initial three
years; Zionism may have had a
role in the board’s decision, but
there were many other issues, as
the archived correspondence
between the parties makes clear.
The Melbourne Hebrew
Congregation, to which Brodie
came in 1923 to succeed Rabbi
Dr Joseph Abrahams who had
held office since the 1880s, had
occupied a down-town city site
in Bourke Street since the 1840s.
The congregants had long since
dispersed to the suburbs, and
even the personality and talents
of a new young rabbi could not
guarantee a future for a
synagogue on the wrong site.
The move to a commanding
location in Toorak Road, South
Yarra, brought some
improvement, but it was still a
synagogue without a resident
community. Brodie utilised the
new opportunities by means,
amongst other things, of regular
adult lectures, which sometimes
attracted such large numbers that
they were moved from the hall
into the synagogue itself.
All this time both Rabbi and
Congregation knew that
Melbourne would not be able to
hold Brodie for ever. More than
once he resigned with the
intention of going back to
England to resume an academic
career and work for a doctorate.
Eventually he did leave, in 1937.
Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple, AO, RFD,
Emeritus Rabbi of the Great
Synagogue, Sydney
(Abridged
version by
Leonard Yaffe.
March 2008)
Jewish Humour –
You Can’t Beat it !
JEWISH DIVORCE - HAPPY PASSOVER
An elderly man on the Gold Coast calls his son in Melbourne and says, “I hate
to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are
divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough.”
“Dad, what are you talking about?” the son screams.
“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the old man says.
“We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you
call your sister in Sydney and tell her.” and he hangs up.
Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone,
“Likeheck they’re getting divorced,” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this.”
She calls her father immediately and screams at him,
“You are NOT getting divorced! Don’t do a single thing until I get there.
I’mcalling my brother back, and we’ll both be there
tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?”
And she hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.
“Okay,” he says,”They’re both coming for Passover
and paying their own airfares.”
Front cover of the Victorian Police Gazette showing Sgt
Peter Benjamin with Rabbi Dofid Rubinfeld at the inaugural
Victoria Police Jewish Community Dinner held last year.
– With Compliments –
With best
wishes to
the Rabbi,
Congregants &
Community
of the
Melbourne
Hebrew
Congregation
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
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R. J. MORRIS F.C.P.A.
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96 Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn East 3123
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The Jewish Community of Bolivia
At Rosh
ago for Mexico).
Hashanah services,
My daughter had been
Jorge spread his
introduced to a young
tallit on the floor
man, Juan and he
and went prostrate
invited us to Rosh
on the floor during
Hashanah dinner at a
one prayer. This
friend’s apartment.
was quite a feat for
When we met
this large man! A
another young
woman in her 60’s
American medical
next to me
student at Erev Rosh
commented that
Hashahah services
her father
who was also
of blessed
volunteering
memory
with Rachel
had been a
with Children
• Cobija
BRAZIL
rabbi in
and Family
PERU
another
Health
Lake
• Trinidad
Titicaca
Bolivian
International,
La Paz
city and she
our hosts
• Cochabamba
had never
readily invited
• Santa Cruz
• Oruro
seen this
her to join in
• Sucre
• Potosi
done. After
the festivities.
PARAGUAY
Rosh
At this dinner
• Tarija
Hashanah
of 3
CHILE
ARGENTINA
services
generations,
several
we were about
congregants
20 people
warmly greeted us. One man
strong. This represents 10% of
commented on my tallit, noting
the current population at the
that he had taught his daughter
shul. Just a few years ago they
the morning prayers and laying
were 500 strong. In 1939 Bolivia
of tefillin because she is living on
was one of the first countries to
a remote island.
accept Jewish immigrants and
I enjoyed attending Shabbes
the population was once 10,000
morning services. Frequently I
Jews. One of their congregants,
was the sole woman sitting on
Leo Spitzer wrote the book,
the left side – we were separated
Hotel Bolivia**. The title is very
telling – Jews came to Bolivia on
only by floor, no curtain. When I
a temporary basis.
had a question for one of my
During the Rosh Hashanah
male friends it was easy to catch
dinner we were told that kosher
their attention. For example, on
wine is not available in Bolivia.
my last Shabbes, I told them of
These people wait for friends and
my imminent departure and one
family to bring it from Mexico
gentleman told me he wanted to
and nearby Argentina. My friend
offer a prayer for my safe journey
Claire tells me that, although
on this long trip. He asked my
some Passover products are made
father’s name (they would not
available through the synagogue,
mention my mother’s name). To
she also waits for kosher
ensure I had the correct name I
products for Pesach that are
asked him if Tzvi meant deer.
brought to her from other
During one of my early visits to
countries.
the shul, I thought that the
BOLIVIA
he Jews from La Paz say
they pray closest to G-d and
at 2 miles high in the
Andes mountains, I believe
them!
There is one synagogue in La
Paz, Bolivia that is located in the
Obrajes neighborhood. Their
former immense shul on Plaza
Estudiante in La Paz proper is no
longer used as a synagogue. In
addition to this orthodox shul,
Chabad operates out of a hotel,
providing Erev Shabbat dinners
and the opportunity to worship
together.
I’d like to tell you about my
experiences with the Jewish
community at the orthodox shul.
My daughter Rachel and I
lived in a large apartment
building, a mere block away
from the synagogue. Because
there are no identifying marks on
the exterior of the synagogue my
daughter had passed it many
times in her 3 months stay, never
recognizing that this building
was, indeed, a synagogue. When I
arrived in La Paz to visit her it
was Rosh Hashanah and we
needed a place to worship.
Purchasing our tickets for the
services, we again noted that the
synagogue was an innocuous
building amongst many other
buildings in a busy
neighborhood.
Circulo Israelita houses a very
warm congregation. Jorge*, a
learned Ashkenazic businessman
whose family was from
Argentina, leads the congregation
(their last rabbi left a few years
T
28
restroom was downstairs. As I
headed for the stairs I heard a
loud clearing of the throat and
somehow realized that the
restrooms must be in the corner
of the room.
There is much love expressed
for the young people who attend
Shabbes services. It is currently
traditional in Bolivia to greet
everyone with 2 kisses, one on
each cheek. When young men
were present at Shabbes services
they were warmly hugged by the
older men. Children are also
allowed on the men’s side and,
again, all of them are sweetly
cuddled and spoken to. Another
heartwarming tradition was the
sharing of tallisim. The man
departing the bima would
remove his tallit and give it to
the next man who had an aliyah.
After Shabbes morning
services everyone sits down
together at one long table for a
light meal. I frequently found
myself seated next to a Mexican
man and my “tall friend”. Our
brunch consisted of typical fare:
herring, fresh onion rolls,
chopped liver and an incredible
honey cake. Naturally there were
hard liquors for the b’racha. I
was teased that during weekday
services they have even better
food but I never made it to these
services to find out!
My daughter and I also
attended an Erev Shabbes service.
It was difficult to understand
Jorge’s rapid Spanish and accent
from Argentina. Rachel provided
a brief synopsis of his D’var
Torah and she remarked on how
spiritual this businessman was.
(He commented that the story of
Jacob’s ladder tells us that as Jews
we are always hovering between
the divine and mundane worlds).
It was after this service that a
lovely gentleman introduced
himself with a smile, his name
and age and that he was a
Holocaust survivor. The next day
his daughter invited me to a
double Bat Mitzvah party. She
convinced me to come by saying
it was a mitzvah to attend the
festivities. An interesting
ceremony performed by the girls
was the “lighting” of 13 candles.
They had a poster with pockets
on it and placed a nosegay of
flowers in each pocket after
appropriate speeches. One of the
girls cried when her mother gave
a speech – every woman cried
with her.
When I asked at the
synagogue what gift my shul of a
thousand member families could
make to them, my friend Pablo
said a Torah. This was later
revised. They have 2 Torahs that
are used for each new month.
They have several other Torahs
that they suspect are non-kosher.
A good bar / bat mitzvah project
would be to raise money for a
scribe (perhaps there is one in
nearby Argentina which has a
thriving Jewish population) to
ascertain what work needs to be
done on these Torahs.
I also visited the “Jewish”
school in La Paz. It has only 5
Jewish students with a total
population of several hundred
students. Jewish courses are
presented at the school and the
front hall has Hebrew / Spanish
signs that identify various offices.
There is a synagogue on the
school premises that is used for
weekly services. The Jewish
population no longer lives in the
city – they tend to live in Zona
del Sur (an expensive
neighborhood approximately 30
minutes south of La Paz) so
perhaps this is one reason why
the population at the school has
dwindled so small.
While visiting the Jewish
school, I noticed a plaque in the
front hallway that has photos of
President Clinton meeting with
Arabs. It was titled “Fomentado
La Paz” (translates to Fomented
La Paz) and contains the
following psalm:
“Mirad cuan bueno y cuan
delicioso es habitar los hermanos
juntos, en armonia.” Salmos
133:1. (Behold how beautiful
and wonderful it is when
brothers are together in harmony
– Hiney Mah Tov).
Speaking with several men in
their 50’s and 60’s I realized that
it was traditional to send each of
them to study in Israel. Many
had received their university
degrees in Israel. My friend Pablo
was still fluent in Hebrew, 40
years after he attended university
in Israel!
I also noted how children
today are sent to Europe, Mexico,
Israel, other South American
countries and the USA for their
college education. In some
families, children and
grandchildren are now living and
working abroad. One woman
predicted that the entire
olivia’s Jewish presence — which began in the 16th century and
reached its zenith right after World War II — has been dwindling
for decades.
The origins of Jewish settlement in Bolivia can be traced back to the
colonial period, when Marranos from Spain arrived in the country,
which at the time was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Some Jews
worked in the silver mines of Potosi, others were among the pioneers
who founded the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in 1557 under the
leadership of Nuflo de Chavez.
Indeed, certain customs still maintained by old families in that
region, for example lighting candles on Friday nights and sitting on
the ground in mourning when a close relative dies, suggest possible
Jewish ancestry.
It was not until the 1900’s that substantial Jewish settlement took
place in Bolivia. In 1905, a group of Russian Jews settled in Bolivia
and were followed by another group from Argentina, and later by
several Sephardi families from Turkey and the Near East. The Jewish
community nonetheless remained minuscule. It was estimated that in
1917 only 20 to 25 Jews lived in the country, and by 1933, at the
beginning of the Nazi era in Germany, there were only 30 Jewish
families. The first tide of Jewish immigration came in the early 1930s,
with an estimated 7,000 new immigrants by the end of 1942.
Approximately 2,200 emigrated, however, from Bolivia by the end of
the 1940s. Those who remained settled in La Paz, and by 1940
communities had arisen in outlying cities such as Cochabamba,
Oruro, Sucre, Tarija, and Potosi.
In 1939, Bolivia’s liberal immigration policy was modified, as it
had been in other Latin American countries. This move kept with the
policy of barring entry to nationals of the Axis powers. In addition, a
certain amount of discontent was engendered with the discovery that
most of the Jewish immigrants who had entered the country on an
agricultural visa were actually involved in commerce and industry.
B
17 Kerferd Street,
East Malvern, VIC 3145
Tel: 9509 8364
www.faifer.com.au
Naomi M. Sussman, Ambler,
Pennsylvania USA
Naomi was a recent visitor to our Shule
and the Jewish Museum while her
husband was conducting business
with the Victorian railways.
*Names of congregants have been
changed to preserve their anonymity in a
country predominantly of another faith.
** “Hotel Bolivia: The Culture of Memory
in a Refuge from Nazism”
By Leo Spitzer. Published by Hill and
Wang, New York, 1999.
In May 1940, all Jewish visas were suspended indefinitely;
nevertheless, immigration did continue. After World War II a small
wave of Polish Jews who had fled to the Far East after 1939, but
abandoned Shanghai in the wake of the communist takeover, arrived
in Bolivia. The major part of the group remained in La Paz, and was
incorporated into the existing community.
Unlike neighboring Peru, which kept a tight lid on immigration
before and during World War II, Bolivia granted thousands of visas to
stranded German, Polish and Russian Jews in search of a homeland.
After the war, between 1946 and 1952, another wave of Jews
(Holocaust survivors from as far away as Shanghai) settled in Bolivia.
At its peak, the Jewish community in Bolivia numbered 10,000.
Nevertheless, Jewish institutions in Bolivia – like their counterparts
in much of Latin America – keep a very low profile, with armed guards
protecting the mostly unmarked buildings and all visitors carefully
scrutinized before being allowed to enter.
According to community leaders, approx 200 Jews today live in La
Paz, with another 150 in Santa Cruz. In addition, maybe 50 Jews live
in Cochabamba, which was once home to hundreds of Jewish families
and to this day boasts Bolivia’s most beautiful synagogue. Jews are
generally accepted in Bolivian society.
Despite the difficulties of being Jewish in Bolivia, the community’s
intermarriage rate is only 20% — far lower than the 50% among Jews
in the United States.
Outside of La Paz, the community of Cochabamba, which had a
Jewish population of about 600 in the mid-1900’s, was, and is, the
second largest in the country. Its history is inextricably linked with its
founder, an Alexandrian Jew named Isaac Antaki, who arrived in the
1920s. He established a large textile factory and also built a synagogue
to serve the Ashkenazi and Sephardi community. The Jewish
population of the city reached its peak after World War II, but large
numbers emigrated in the 1950’s. The community never managed to
establish a Jewish school, only a kindergarten exists.
Bolivia’s Jewish Community
Norman A Faifer
& Associates
community will disappear in a
few years because it has gone so
rapidly from 500 a few years ago
to 200 today and she knows that
20 people are leaving soon. It
would be very sad, indeed, to see
such a loving community
become simply a dream.
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Members of Master Stonemasons
Association of Victoria
Rachel and
Alan Goldberg
and Family
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The Challenge of Keeping
Kosher in China
INGBO, CHINA
— It isn't easy
being a kosher food
inspector in the land of moo
shu pork. No matter how hard
you try.
“Once, they got me into a
restaurant and they ordered a
whole plate of food and put it in
front of me,” recalls Rabbi Martin
Grunberg, who has the unusual
task of ensuring that Chinese
factories that make food for
export comply with ancient Jewish
dietary laws. “They were putting
me to the test because they really
don't understand why I can't eat
Chinese cuisine.”
Keeping kosher is a breeze back
home in Jerusalem, but it's a daily
challenge here in China, where
food is practically a religion and
people say they'll eat anything
with four legs – except for the
table.
It means Grunberg can't travel
light on his monthly trips through
China: He carries two or three
suitcases packed with dry goods,
canned meats and vacuum-sealed
packets, so he can feed himself
breakfast, lunch and dinner. That
way, he never has to step into a
Chinese restaurant where about
the only thing he can order is a
fruit plate and can of Coke.
Although many here have
never heard the word “kosher,”
China is now the world's fastestgrowing producer of koshercertified food, with more than 500
Chinese factories producing the
approved products.
That number is expected to
soar, not because this country that
is still officially atheist has
embraced Judaism, but because
it's good for business.
“I used to get this puzzled look,
'What is kosher?' “ said Grunberg,
54, a field inspector for the New
York-based Orthodox Union,
which is responsible for certifying
more than 300 plants in China.
“Now a lot of people know it as
a marketing tool to increase their
market share, especially in the
United States."
N
The largest kosher market in
the world is the U.S., where a
growing number of the
consumers are non-Jews who see
kosher-certified food as generally
safer and healthier.
That's important in China,
which is trying to recover from
the recent spate of tainted-food
scandals. Eager to regain
consumer trust, the “Made in
China” label has found an
unexpected ally in the onceobscure kosher symbol.
“People have been looking for
some other measure of security for
products coming out of China,”
said Rabbi Shimon Freundlich,
one of a handful of Beijing-based
independent kosher field
inspectors. “They want to see
quality control, and kosher is a
standard people know."
As China in recent years has
become a factory for the world,
practically anything can be made
here at a bargain. The unlikely
kosher business flourished simply
because of supply and demand:
The global appetite for kosher
products exploded and China is
happy to feed the frenzy.
But even after the Chinese
learned basic kosher rules -no pork, no shellfish, no fish
without fins or scales -misunderstandings remain.
As the calls poured in from
Chinese companies looking for
kosher approval, Freundlich
recalls explaining why he
couldn't certify a toy maker that
produced plastic food.
“They sent me samples of fake
apples, fake vegetables,”
Freundlich said. “They were right
about the food aspect. They didn't
know we don't do wooden toys or
plastic toys."
Then there was the guy who
makes dining room tables.
“Since food goes on the table
he thought we needed a kosher
table,” Freundlich said. “Of
course, every table is kosher."
It's even hard for many
Chinese to grasp the meaning of
“rabbi."
“Sometimes they call me
'rabbit,' “ Grunberg said. “I start
hopping. They don't get it. I let it
pass. It doesn't pay to explain."
In the frigid Chinese winter,
Grunberg, a grandfather of five,
keeps his white beard relatively
short and covers his head with a
wool hat. He keeps his yarmulke
in his pocket and puts it on only
when the room is warm enough.
The Israeli resident has long
given up on wearing his widebrimmed black hat when
traveling across China. “They get
squashed,” he said, during the
extended transits by plane,
bus and train.
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
Carolyn and
Henry Jolson
and their families
Ahda, Alan
and Evi Selwyn
Bracha and
George Weinberg
(Dante Minerva Pty Ltd)
30
It's harder for Freundlich, 34,
to blend in. His black beard is
much longer and bushier, and
some Chinese he meets can't
resist tugging at it with their
fingers.
“They used to call me Santa
Claus,” said Freundlich, who
moved to Beijing with his family
in 2001 to start a Jewish
community center. Then came
the Sept. 11 attacks. “They started
calling me Bin Laden, which is
unfortunate."
But they don't mean any
harm by it, he said. For the most
part, rabbis are treated with
respect, even if the Chinese
know very little about the Jewish
people and their religion.
“In China, we have very little
contact with the Jewish people,”
said Lucy Qian, the general
manager at Ningbo Gooddays
Food, a factory that makes
mostly novelty candies here in
one of China's manufacturing
hubs. “We are doing this purely
because of market demand."
Since the factory went kosher
a few years ago, sales have
soared 40%, she said. Her
primary customers are Israelis
and Americans who want such
things as kosher lipstick-shaped
Barbie candy, some of which
ends up on the shelves of places
like Wal-Mart.
The tainted-food scandals,
she said, had no impact on her
business last year. In fact,
sales grew.
“I'm sure the kosher
certification helped,” Qian said.
For now, finished products
such as candy, fish and some
dehydrated vegetables are a
small component of the
Chinese-made kosher market.
The bulk of the business is in
raw materials and food additives,
but that is likely to change very
soon, according to the Orthodox
Union, which expects huge
growth in the demand for
kosher snacks, soft drinks and
even beef.
(Continued)
Jewish dietary rules originate
in the Hebrew Bible, particularly
the Book of Leviticus. But rabbis
working in China try to sidestep
serious discussions on religion to
avoid political minefields in a
country where anything other
than state-sanctioned church
activities are strictly forbidden.
Once, Grunberg said, an
official asked him during a
public function to explain what
religious law kosher is based on.
Caught off guard, the rabbi
quickly emphasized the common
ground between the Chinese and
Jewish people, who share long
histories of pride and
persecution.
“I didn't bring religion or G-d
into the equation,” Grunberg
said.
That's just fine to pragmatic
Communist Party officials, who
see little contradiction in
describing their brand of
unbridled capitalism as
“socialism with Chinese
characteristics.” Tolerating
unfamiliar foreign ideas seems a
small price to keep the exportdriven economy humming.
“The biggest benefit of going
kosher is that it introduces more
accountability,” said Ray Cheung,
a Chinese broker who acts as a
bridge between Chinese
companies seeking
kosher approval
and Jewish
agencies that
certify them.
“The rabbi
inspectors need to
know where each
ingredient is
made and be
able to trace it
back to the
factory that made
it. If you don't
provide that
information, we
don't give you
the certification."
Certification
can be labourintensive for the
rabbis.
During a
recent trip to the
Gooddays candy
factory, which
requires four annual inspections,
Grunberg checked long lists of
raw materials and poked around
every warehouse and factory
floor, picking up bottles of
sweetener and food coloring,
asking if there had been any
changes in the suppliers and if
the buckets on the floor were
used to store anything other than
kosher products.
Sometimes,
despite the best
of intentions,
he has to
turn the
applicant
down.
Once,
he said, he
traveled to far
western
China to
watch
Tibetan
herders using
a primitive
method to
turn yak milk
into casein, a
dairy protein
used as a
food additive.
“It was
like a million
Tibetans all
privately cooking
this on their stoves – every home
is a little factory,” Grunberg said.
“It would be an impossible type of
supervision."
Then the Chinese government
stepped in to form a company
that supplied the Tibetans with
cows and a place to milk them
by machine. Grunberg went back
and certified the liquid milk that
will be used for the casein.
The rabbi's requirements
don't always go over well with
productivity-crazed Chinese
plant owners.
“Somebody once called me and
asked me to come bless the fish,”
said Freundlich, referring to a
company that processes Alaskan
fish for the American market.
“I told him that's not the way
it works."
But even Freundlich wasn't
prepared for what he faced when
he got to the fish plant.
Jewish law says fish must have
fins and scales to be kosher. But
with frozen fish, it is difficult to
tell which ones do. So even
though the plant had processed
thousands of fish, Freundlich
says he rolled up his sleeves to
check them by hand.
He and a partner worked
three days straight, scratching
each one of the 37,000 fish with
their gloved fingers.
“So many fish in the sea look
the same,” said Freundlich.
“If I can't find the scale or the
fin, it can't be eaten.”
© Article by American journalist
Ching-Ching Ni.
It was found by David Lissauer in
a local Cambodian newspaper
while working recently in
Cambodia and Lao.
Victorian Jewry
commends apology to
Indigenous Australians
13 February 2008
Anton Block, president of the Jewish
Community Council of Victoria, the
peak body of Victorian Jewry, said
today:
“The Victorian Jewish Community is committed to a society that is
harmonious, inclusive, egalitarian and diverse. This is unattainable
without a process of reconciliation with Indigenous Australians who
possess unique histories, cultures and spiritual relationships to this
land and its seas.
Today ’s apology to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Rudd is
an integral part of this process, a necessary acknowledgement of the
suffering of so many of our fellow Australians.
Yet our community recognises that considerably more is needed to
turn good intentions into action to ensure the equality of all
Australians.
There remains a pressing need to reduce the relative disadvantage
many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may face by
improving education, health, housing, employment, governance,
social and communal relationships, and justice systems. I particularly
encourage the Jewish community to increase its knowledge and
understanding of the identities and experiences of Indigenous
Australians and to reflect this awareness in our social relationships
and provision of support .”
For further information, please contact:
Anton Block on 0418 320 417 or Geoffrey Zygier on 9272 5579.
Hilary McMahon, Business Manager – Jewish Community Council
of Victoria Inc (JCCV) 306 Hawthorn Road, South Caulfield Vic 3162
Tel: (03) 9272 5566 Fax: (03) 9272 5560
31
Who Would Stand By
and Withhold The Gift of Life?
remember as a child
hearing of a sweet
little old lady who
had been robbed and
bound in her basement
flat. She was calling out
for help. Apparently a
passer-by called back to
her, "I’m sorry, I can’t
stop. I’m late for an
interview!" For days, the
audiences of television
magazine and talk back
radio shows were
rightfully disgusted.
We assume that none
of us would be such a
bystander. None of us
would let an injustice
play itself out before our
eyes without intervention. All of
us who have been raised in the
shadow of the Shoah know how
a silent majority of Germans
stood by as evil was wrought
right in front of them.
Television and the internet
has brought Darfur, Burma and a
host of other humanitarian
tragedies into our dining rooms.
It is most certainly incumbent
upon us all to register our protest
at distant iniquity and slaughter.
We might justify our disinterest
or passivity with the wonder,
what can we really do? It’s so far
away…
So what do we do when the
bystander scenario is right on our
doorstep?
It is one of the realities of the
rabbinate that I get to meet many
people and vicariously
experience the joys and the
sorrows of their lives. Regrettably,
I see abuse and suffering,
unscrupulous dealings, bad luck
and ill health. I hear family
members wishing there was more
they could do to help… wouldn’t
we all?
Sometimes I see sick people
deteriorating and there is no
hope. That weighs heavily on us
all. Sometimes, though, there is
good cause for hope but no-one
comes to help. That weighs
heaviest of all.
As an example, over the years
I have met a few people who
have experienced kidney failure
and need regular dialysis. When
they work, our kidneys purify our
blood, they balance its minerals
and remove toxins. Kidney
failure is a consequence of a
number of conditions including
diabetes and requires dialysis, an
I
artificial filtration of the blood.
At the best of times, dialysis is
not a pleasant process.
Sometimes it is not available or
not an option.
It is one of our fears; to be
young, have a healthy mind but
have our body degenerate. Illness
might be a part of life and not
everything can be cured.
Sometimes though I encounter
patients and their families who
are in a spiral of decline and
suffering as the body poisons
itself from within. A debilitating
death sentence… Who in their
right mind would not take it
away if they could? Restore a
person to health and give a
family a future together?
We often glibly pledge, "I’d
give my right arm to help so and
so…" But would we give a
kidney?
Kidneys are just one example
of an organ which can be
donated. In fact as we have two
kidneys it is one of the few
organs where one can safely be
removed from a healthy living
donor. Nonetheless, most
transplantation comes from
recently deceased donors.
While a few decades ago,
transplantation was in its
infancy, now it is well established
and routinely successful. It is
possible to restore a patient from
death row to the expectation of a
normal life in the enjoyment and
company of family.
Organ donation is not a
conventional gift like a ring or a
pen. It is the gift of life.
Unfortunately, the circumstances
which enable it or facilitate it
mean that the donor seldom gets
to know or see the happy faces or
the relief of the recipient and
family. For a number of reasons,
there are fewer transplants than
there could be and consequently
we are allowing people to die
whom we could gift with life.
Jewish Law (Halacha) does
allow for transplantation.
It allows for organ donation.
Halacha rightly treats a dead
body with tremendous respect
and sanctity. The work of the
Chevra Kadisha, the process of
Tahara (washing) and clothing
the body, the solemnity of our
conduct in the presence of a
body are all indicative of the
reverence we accord. We do our
utmost to avoid invasive
autopsies, to recover all blood
and tissue for burial. Halacha
does not allow post-mortem
surgery for scientific research.
More than reverence for the
dead, though, Halacha cherishes
life and living. Where an organ
can be donated to save a life, that
preservation of life is a mitzvah.
It is a wondrous gift. The organ
that I might donate is of no use
to me anymore; yet it, alone, is
the most valuable object in the
world for a patient somewhere. It
is a chance for a fellow to live
and not die. In fact, five or more
people might regain their lives
through the organs of a single
donor.
Halacha does not allow the
killing of one innocent to save
another, or by extension, one
patient for another. A Halachic
standard of death must be
attained before any organ is
removed. At the time of writing,
the standards required by
Halacha and those applied for
organ transplantation in
Australia are very close indeed.
32
At least one highly
respected orthodox
practitioner is satisfied
that they are met.
I carry a Donor Card
from HODS the Halachic
Organ Donor Society.
The society has
endorsements from
many renowned Halachic
authorities . These are
the rabbis I trust to tell
me the laws of Kashrut
and Shabbat, whom I
may or may not marry.
I respect their psak on
what I ought to do when
I can save a life. They tell
me I should be a donor.
As there are divergent
opinions on the point where an
organ my be removed, the card
allows carriers to choose between
the two most prevalent positions;
irreversible cessation of
autonomous breathing (which is
the position of the Israeli Chief
Rabbinate ) or irreversible
cessation of heartbeat .
Irreversible cessation of
autonomous breathing is the
standard which allows for more
transplants and essentially
conforms to local practice.
The rabbis upon whom I
depend admit corneal grafting ,
even though it is not an
immediately life-saving
operation. On a number of
Halachic grounds, they confirm
that the laws of pikuash nefesh
(saving a life) are not restricted
to Jewish organs going to a
Jewish recipient.
The HODS card includes a
requirement that a rabbi be
consulted so that there is
appropriate Halachic oversight.
Organ transplantation in
Australia falls far short of its
potential for a number of
reasons. Perhaps, surprisingly, a
shortage of donors is not the
biggest problem. The
circumstances where an organ
might be removed are quite
limiting. A donor must be
undergoing treatment in
intensive care, which rules out
many fatalities. One of the
biggest hurdles is getting consent
from the family.
It is not easy to broach the
topic of organ donation with
relatives who are anxiously
awaiting good news, who are
praying and clinging onto
desperate hope. The family want
to see the
doctors and
nurses as
trying to
do
everything
to save
their loved
one’s life.
This is
compromised when those same
doctors have to initiate a
discussion on donation. What
makes it harder still is that even
though the patient carries a card,
the family might not have known
this, nor given it any real
thought.
It is time for us to embrace
the opportunity for halachic
organ donation in Australia, and
time for us to initiate that
dialogue within our community.
While we are fit and healthy, our
spouses and our children should
be introduced to our desire to
become donors, should the
opportunity present itself. They
should be made familiar with
our wish, because the doctor will
be asking them, not us, to release
the organs.
Moreover, it is important that
they, too, are drawn into a
discussion on organ donation
with a view to becoming donors
in their own right.
I am keen to develop Halachic
organ donation in Australia and
to Come). Organ donation is a
mitzvah.
The Torah instructs that we do
not stand by as the blood of our
neighbour is shed. We would not
want to be the person who
rushed by a little old lady who
had been robbed and bound
because we were in a hurry to get
on with our day. We would not
want to be remembered as
bystanders who failed to
alleviate suffering when we were
uniquely placed to help.
We wouldn’t want to stand by
and let another die. But lack of
awareness and enthusiasm for
donation means that we are
doing precisely that.
If they were asked, I would
not want my family to stand by.
If a little less of me was buried
but one more person lived or
possibly four or five more people
lived, then some of me would
to encourage the
infrastructure
that will enable
it to fit
seamlessly into
the Australian health system. I
enjoin the community to support
realising this vision.
Within the Jewish community
we must correct the false
impression that organ donation
is prohibited as a desecration of
our bodies or that it would be
some kind of impediment to
attaining Olam Haba (the World
still be doing good and I could
rest assured that at my very last, I
had performed a mitzvah and
made a contribution to make the
world a better place for those
around me.
To register for a Halachic Organ
Donor’s Card please contact
www.hods.org
Rabbis with HODS cards include R’ Yaakov
Wahrhaftig ( Israeli Chief Rabbinate), R’
Shaar Yashuv Cohen (Chief Rabbi of
Haifa), R’ Melchior MK (Chief Rabbi of
Norway), R’ Shlomo Riskin (Chief Rabbi of
Efrat), R’ Moshe Tendler (Rosh Yeshiva,
Yeshiva University).
Ruling of Israeli Chief Rabbinate (1986)
http://www.hods.org/pdf/Chief%20Rabbi
nate%20of%20Israel.pdf, also the
position of R’ Shlomo Zalman Goldberg,
R’ Shaul Israeli, R’ Dovid Feinstein, R’
Moshe Tendler.
Irreversible cessation of heartbeat is the
position favoured by R’ Schach, R’ Eliezer
Waldenberg, R’ Bleich.
Psak of R’ Isser Yehuda Unterman
Plain Sailing ?
ounger member and keen sailor Ari Sherr is
developing his passion for ocean racing and
completed the Melbourne to Launceston
sailing race at the beginning of the year, finishing in
5th position. Competing in a HICK 39 boat called
Just a Minor Hiccup, he and his sailing mate Ryan
Epstein, part of the an eight-man crew, enjoyed
unusually mild weather conditions and although
Ryan is pursuing a career as a pilot, Ari has his
sights set on ocean racing off the USA & France.
Y
There are also two colour maps, drawn to
scale, showing the exact addresses of many
places of Jewish interest in Carlton and the
surrounding northern suburbs.
“Orthodox Jewry in Carlton
and Surrounding Suburbs”
Author David Havin has a limited number of
copies of his book “Orthodox Jewry in Carlton
and Surrounding Suburbs” which he published
for bus tours of Carlton, the CBD and
East Melbourne held late last year.
The second part is a collection of 22 topical
extracts from books, journals and
newspapers, and which include:
• Historical monographs from various
sources including the Australian Jewish
Historical Society Journal and the
Australian Jewish News (all in
English);
The book, of 250 pages, is in two parts.
The first part of 55 pages is a history
of the following Shules and Institutions:
• Even Saphir, by Rabbi Jacob
Saphir, in which he records his
impressions of Australian Jewry
after his visit in 1861 (Hebrew);
• East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation;
• Woolf Davis Chevra Hebrew Congregation (Stone’s Shul);
• Chevra Sha’arei Tikvah (Fitzroy);
• Beth Avrohom, by Rabbi
Avrohom Eber Hirschowitz,
the founder of Chevra Torah in
Carlton (1892 – 1894), in which he
discusses whether or not Jews who live in the
Southern Hemisphere ought recite the prayer for rain in the
Shemoneh Esrei at the same time as Jews who live in the Northern
Hemisphere (Hebrew);
and,
• Chevra Torah of Rabbi Avrohom Eber Hirschowitz (Carlton);
• Melbourne Chevra Kadisha and the rival
Chevra Chesed Shel Emeth;
• Carlton United Hebrew Congregation;
• Mincha in Flinders Lane and Chevra Beth Rivkah;
• Hascolah Talmud Torah (Carlton);
• Brunswick Talmud Torah;
• Dos Is Mein Leiben, by Feige Rochel Bennett, in which she
reminisces about Carlton Jewry from the time of her arrival in
Australia in 1938 (Yiddish).
• Shtieblach (Carlton);
• North Carlton Batei Din and the Melbourne Beth Din;
• Northcote Jewish Centre (Thornbury Shul);
• Coburg Hebrew Congregation and Coburg Beth Ya’akov;
The cost of the book is $40.
• Moonee Ponds Minyan; and,
If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please e-mail:
• Carlton Jewish Commercial District.
djhavin@vicbar.com.au
33
for further details
Rykestrasse Synagogue reopens
in the heart of East Berlin
It was re-inaugurated in 1953
and was the only synagogue to
serve East Berlin's tiny Jewish
community. In communist East
Germany there was little funding
available for the maintenance of
places of worship and the
building slowly fell into disrepair.
After the fall of the Wall
immigration, particularly from
the former Soviet Union, boosted
the city's Jewish community and
it now has 12,000 registered
members. There are eight
synagogues, as well as a Jewish
kindergarten, schools and a
brand new cultural centre.
The 1,200-capacity synagogue
was one of the few Jewish
institutions in Berlin to survive
the Kristallnacht (Night of
Broken Glass) pogrom of
November 9, 1938.
It was spared because it
was located between "Aryan"
apartment buildings which
might have caught fire had the
synagogue been torched.
But its precious Torah rolls
were damaged and rabbis as
well as congregation members
were seized and deported to
the Sachsenhausen
concentration camp.
Trepp, who at that point was
serving as a rabbi in the northern
city of Oldenburg, was among
the rabbis shipped off to
Sachsenhausen.
He was released three weeks
later and, with the help of a
British rabbi friend, he got the
necessary visa to escape almost
certain death in Nazi Germany.
The last prayer service at the
Berlin synagogue took place in
April 1940.
After the war, when the
Prenzlauer Berg district became
part of communist East Germany,
the synagogue reopened in 1953
and became the central gathering
place of the remaining Jewish
community in East Berlin.
With national unification in
1990, Germany began welcoming
tens of thousands of Jewish
immigrants from the former
Soviet states. The German Jewish
community now has some
120,000 members.
The inauguration service
featured Jewish liturgical songs
originating from German
synagogues in the 19th century
whose sheet music was only
recently recovered.
Germany's biggest
synagogue reopens
as a symbol of
Jewish rebirth
ermany's biggest
Synagogue reopened late
last year after being
completely restored to its former
glory. The renovation and
reopening of Rykestrasse
Synagogue in the heart of East
Berlin is a symbol of the gradual
regeneration of Jewish life... in
the German capital 60 years after
the defeat of the Nazi regime.
Located in Berlin's trendy
Prenzlauer Berg district, built in
1904 its scale is not immediately
apparent from the modest redbrick façade. Hidden away off a
courtyard, its huge prayer hall
seats up to 1,200 people.
More than 1,000 guests
including elderly Holocaust
survivors confined to wheelchairs
attended the opening and gasped
as they saw the main sanctuary,
pointing to lovingly repainted
frescoes, restored stained glass
windows and gleaming
chandeliers.
Leading the service was Rabbi
Chaim Rozwaski, a native of
Belarus who came to Berlin in
2000 as part of an influx of Jews
from the former Soviet Union
that still makes Germany one of
the fastest growing Jewish
communities in the world.
He dedicated the reopening to
the members of the Rykestrasse
synagogue congregation who
were murdered in the Holocaust.
"As we remember the past, we
must not forget all those from
Rykestrasse who were killed in
concentration camps, work camps,
who died of hunger, gas or were
shot," he said.
G
"They are here today in our
minds and our souls."
Berlin had a thriving,
integrated Jewish community that
counted 173,000 members in the
1920s. After World War II, the
population numbered just 6,500.
Rabbi Leo Trepp, 94, who had
preached at the synagogue in the
1930s after the Nazis came to
power, called the reopening a
"miracle".
"It is a miracle that there are
Jews in Germany again," Trepp
told the guests at the
inauguration ceremony in the
restored building with political
leaders and Holocaust survivors
from around the world.
"And the synagogue on
Rykestrasse, which survived two
different regimes, is the symbol
of that miracle."
Built in 1904, the neoClassical construction was closed
for more than three years for the
4.5-million-euro (six-milliondollar) refit.
Architect Ruth Golan and her
partner Kay Zareh have spent the
last two years restoring the
building to its original beauty,
with only some old photographs
to work with. "We used scalpels to
take off layer after
layer from the ceiling
to restore the original
paintings," "We also
had to redo all the
woodwork -- it was
penetrated with
mould." The architects
also restored the
celestial blue dome
above the altar, and
installed modern
stained glass windows.
Under the Nazis
the building was used
as stables and as a
textile warehouse.
34
Social and Personal
Our best wishes on the “new additions”
to their families go to:
B I RT H S
E N G A G E M E N T S
Ruth & Erwin Mote.............................................................................great grandson
Ellie Heine & Michael Rogers
Clare Devine & Mark Pomeroy
Maia Glowinski & Adrian Weinberg
Mary Goldfarb & Hank Rosens ..................................................2 grand daughters
Naomi & Darren Harrison.......................................................................................son
Our heartiest Mazal-Tov go to the
following couples and their families:
Joanna Rogers & Darren Rubenstein
Judy Prager & Simon Wail
Anna Aisenberg & Yoniv Shimoni
Hedy & Russell Harrison...............................................................................grandson
Betty & Michael Adelist ....................................................................great grandson
M A R R I A G E S
Rose Harrison .......................................................................................great grandson
Lily & Phil Zamel.......................................................................great granddaughter
Barbara & Wally Black..............................................................................2 grandsons
Yvette & Antony Sormann ......................................................................................son
Gerard Sormann .............................................................................................grandson
Dana Zaslavsky & Dan Weingart
Becky Aisenberg & Justin
Templehof
Rachelle Sapir & Daniel Knoche
Simone Oberklajd & Simon Whine
Gina Huberman & Daneal Blicblau
Becky Swart & Josh Somerville
Tanya Szylkrot & David Nozik
Tanya Ishanim & Yossi Smith
Jacqui Klinger & Darren Szer
B E R E AV E M E N T S
Our sincere condolences are extended
to the following families:
Tammie & David Slade .................................................................................twin sons
Mary & Graham Slade.......................................................................twin grandsons
Jordi & Jonny Klein....................................................................................................son
Our best wishes for a long and happy life
together go to the following couples:
Esther Rozen .............................................................................on the loss of her son
Nicky & Rod Jacobs ........................................................................................grandson
Julie Kessel .........................................................................on the loss of her brother
Renee & Bill Roth.................................................................................great grandson
George Weinberg..............................................................on the loss of his brother
Georgia & Ron Zukerman........................................................................................son
James Reich ........................................................................on the loss of his brother
Helen & Eddie Kutner....................................................................................grandson
Barry Goldenberg..............................................................on the loss of his brother
Lydia & Sam Gance ........................................................................................grandson
Howard Goldenberg ........................................................on the loss of his brother
Eve Goodman .......................................................................................great grandson
Michael Rich...........................................................................on the loss of his sister
Rita & Sam Fink .........................................................................................2 grandsons
Gary Lubransky..................................................................on the loss of his mother
Rina & Eddy Etyngold ....................................................................................daughter
Dael Lewis ..............................................................................on the loss of her sister
Rosalind Michelson ............................................................................grand daughter
Ilya Bennett ........................................................................on the loss of his mother
Marie & John Cashmore.........................................................great granddaughter
Sally Elfman ....................................................................on the loss of her husband
Anita Boymal........................................................................................great grandson
Pauline Bloom......................................................................on the loss of her father
Fanny Rubenstein................................................................................great grandson
Sabina Josem ........................................................................on the loss of her sister
Gaby & Antony Jacobson..............................................................................daughter
Loti & Victor Smorgon ..............................................on the loss of their daughter
Sandra & Joe Nowoweiski................................................................grand daughter
Lissa Franke ..........................................................................on the loss of her father
Golda Lasky ...............................................................................great grand daughter
Deidre Beville.......................................................................on the loss of her father
Inna & Joel Glowinski....................................................................................daughter
Maurice Jacobson ...................................................................on the loss of his wife
Huguette & Louis Glowinski ...........................................................grand daughter
Colin Wise ...........................................................................on the loss of his mother
Doris Golding..................................................................on the loss of her husband
We extend good wishes
to Mrs Violet Movitz on
her 102nd birthday
You are certainly a record breaker and
it is with much pride that we
acknowledge this milestone of our
most senior honorary member.
As mentioned last year, the
traditional Jewish wish to continue to
enjoy good health, bis 120, is in need of updating for in your
case, we’ll soon need to say bis 130 !
Once again we pray for Hashem’s blessings that you may
continue to enjoy only good health and much happiness
together with Ivan and Lillian, Joy and your dear grandchildren
and great-grandchildren.
Our heartiest mazal-tov and warmest good wishes.
Eddy and Rina Etyngold
with new daughter Ruth .
B ’ N E I
M I T Z VA H
Our best wishes on attaining Bar
Mitzvah are extended to the following
young men and their families:
Cory Verstandig
James Fink
Jeremy Alter
Benjamin Hayman
Daniel Badov
Michael Voinsky
Justin Kestelman
Jack Pinkus
Thomas Rogers
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
– With Compliments –
The Danos Family
– With Compliments –
The Kutner Family
Melbourne’s Leading Kosher Caterer
Phone: 9555 3255
Fax: 9555 3455
2 Keys Rd Moorabbin VIC 3180
catering@kosherclassique.com.au
175 Stanley St, West Melbourne
Ph: 9326 6258 www.worboys.com.au
35
Victorian Premier John Brumby with
representatives of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria
n keeping with a tradition
established a number of years
ago, representatives of the
Rabbinical Council of Victoria,
and including our own Rabbi
Dovid Rubinfeld, visited the
Premier the Hon John Brumby
MP, prior to the high holydays
last year, and extended greetings
for the forthcoming New Year
5768.
At the same time they took
the opportunity to congratulate
him on his recent elevation to
the position of Premier of the
State of Victoria. As is custom
during such gatherings, all
present were entertained by some
fine chazzanut from Rabbi
Rubinfeld.
I
36
David Pincus, Leadlight Designer of the Shule’s
“Jewish Festivals” – Returns after Four Decades
avid Pincus was born in
Berlin in 1930 and
migrated to Australia
with his parents in 1938 as the
storm clouds of Hitler’s Germany
spread over Europe.
They were part of the 5000
Jews in Melbourne known
disparagingly as “those bloody
reffos”.
David attended Tooronga
Road Primary School and when
it was taken over by the
American Forces as a base during
World War II he was sent to
complete his secondary
education at Scotch College.
His tertiary years were spent
as an architecture student at the
University of Melbourne from
where he graduated in 1955 and
then travelled extensively
overseas for the next six years.
In that time he worked in
Canada, the United Kingdom
and Switzerland.
On his return to Australia he
won the Stegbar Prize: an
architectural competition for the
design of an accommodation
complex for the elderly –
subsequently this was to provide
the incentive to start his own
architectural practice. Initially
however he joined the firm of
Mockeridge, Staley and Mitchell
where over the next few years,
amongst others, he gained
experience in the design of
ecclesiastical buildings. In 1965
he resigned to start his own
practice undertaking principally
institutional works. During this
period he undertook major
commissions for the (then)
D
Australian Jewish Welfare &
Relief Society and was
responsible for designing the
V.U.P.J. synagogues at Kew and
Bentleigh and some of the early
architectural alterations at
Temple Beth Israel in St Kilda.
Within these projects his talents
extended well beyond
architecture as he also created
menorahs, window designs
(sculpture calligraphy and even
the ark curtain) for several of the
above.
His involvement with
Melbourne Hebrew
Congregation was in the late
1960’s when he was
commissioned by the Board of
Management under Rabbi Dr. I.
Rappaport’s direction to design
the tryptich of the three Jewish
festivals – Sukkot, Shavuot and
Pesach.This was the first 3 of the
36 windows that now adorn
Toorak Shule.The windows were
fabricated by Yencken Glass
under David’s supervision and
were consecrated in
July 1969.
In 1971 David
completed
postgraduate studies
in town planning
before leaving his
practice to take up a
position with the
CSIRO in 1973 as the
Senior Strategic
Planner in that
organisation’s Property
Group.
He held this
position until his
“retirement” in 1995
when he was retained
as a consultant for the
next ten years.
David now spends
his time split between
his love of painting
[Above] David H Sherr showing early proofs of the
(he has had a solo
David Pincus with David H Sherr in front of the three Jewish Festival windows he
designed in the late 1960s.
exhibition), writing, travel,
but also the trials and
helping to raise his
tribulations of working under
grandchildren and assisting one
Rabbi’s, Boards of Management
day a week at a local primary
and the constraints one had to
school.
face in designing and creating
Earlier this month David
these unique art pieces.
Pincus returned to
Toorak Shule to see the
windows he had
designed nearly four
decades earlier. Past CoChairman David Sherr
gave him a guided tour
of the Shule where
apart from viewing his
own works after all
these years he also
viewed Karl Duldig’s
and Rimona Kedem’s
artwork “glowing” in
the mid autumn light.
He was shown
colour proofs of the
soon to be released
book “The Architecture
and Leadlight Windows
of the Melbourne
Synagogue”and
reflected on his earlier
times and the pleasure [Above] David Pincus viewing Rimona Kedem’s 12 Tribes
forthcoming Architecture and Leadlight Windows book.
of Israel in the dome.
37
M AY 2 0 0 8
Calendar
Thursday 1 – 26 Nisan
Morning Service
7.15 am
APRIL 2008
Thursday 3 – 27 Adar 11
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 2 – 27 Nisan
Yom Hashoa
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.30 pm
Candle lighting
5.14 pm
Saturday 3 – 28 Nisan
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Mevarchim HaChodesh
Parshat Kedoshim
Barmitzvah Matthew Hyams
Shabbat ends
6.11 pm
Sunday 20 – 15 Nisan
1st Day Pesach
Morning Service
9.00 am
Evening Service
5.30 pm
Yom Tov candle lighting
not before
6.26 pm
Monday 21 – 16 Nisan
2nd Day Pesach
Morning Service
9.00 am
Yom Tov ends
6.25 pm
Friday 4 – 28 Adar 11
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
6.00 pm
Candle Lighting
6.51 pm
Saturday 5th – 29 Adar 11
Morning Service
8.45 am
Parshat HaChodesh
Mevarchim HaChodesh
Tazria
Shabbat ends
7.47 pm
Monday 5 – 30 Nisan
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
7.00 am
Tuesday 22 – 17 Nisan
Chol Hamoed
Pesach
Sunday 6 – 1 Nisan
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
8.00 am
Wedding Tanya Ishanin &
Yossi Smith
Thursday 10 – 5 Nisan
Morning Service
7.15 am
Tuesday 6 – 1 Iyar
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
7.00 am
Morning Service
7.00am
Wednesday 23 – 18 Nisan
Chol Hamoed
Pesach
Wednesday 7 – 2 Iyar
Yom Hazikaron
Thursday 8 – 3 Iyar
Yom Ha’Atzmaut
Morning Service
7.15 am
Morning Service
7.00am
Thursday 24 – 19 Nisan
Morning Service
7.00 am
Friday 11 – 6 Nisan
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
6.00 pm
Candle lighting
5.41 pm
Saturday 12 – 7 Nisan
Morning Service
8.45 am
Parshat Metzora
Shabbat ends
6.37 pm
Friday 9 – 4 Iyar
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.30 pm
Candle lighting
5.07 pm
Saturday 10 – 5 Iyar
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Emor
Shabbat ends
6.05 pm
Chol Hamoed
Pesach
Friday 25 – 20 Nisan
ANZAC DAY
Morning Service
8.00 am
Sunday 13 – 8 Nisan
Wedding Jacqui Klinger &
Darren Szer
Thursday 17 – 12 Nisan
Morning Service
7.15 am
Fast of the First Born
(in lieu of Shabbat)
Friday 18 – 13 Nisan
Evening Service
5.45 pm
Candle Lighting
5.31 pm
Saturday 19 – 14 Nisan
Morning Service
7.45 am
Shabbat HaGadol
Parshat Achrei Mot
Erev Pesach
Evening Service
5.30 pm
Yom Tov candle lighting
not before
6.28 pm
Chol Hamoed
Pesach
Evening Service
5.30 pm
Shabbat & Yom Tov
candle lighting
5.22 pm
Saturday 26 – 21 Nisan
7th Day Pesach
Morning Service
8.45 am
Shevii Shel Pesach
Evening Service
6.00 pm
Yom Tov candle lighting
not before
6.19 pm
Sunday 27 – 22 Nisan
8th Day Pesach
Morning Service
9.00 am
Yizchor
Yom Tov ends
6.18 pm
Catered Breakfasts
Following every Thursday morning &
Rosh Chodesh service a breakfast
comprising fresh juice and coffee, fruit
salad, bagels and pastries is available.
A catered breakfast however is served
at the conclusion of all early morning
services during Chol Hamoed Pesach
and when Selichot are recited (prior to
Rosh Hashanna).
Thursday 15 – 10 Iyar
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 16 – 11 Iyar
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.15 pm
Candle lighting
5.00 pm
Saturday 17 – 12 Iyar
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Behar
Shabbat ends
5.59 pm
Thursday 22– 17 Iyar
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 23 – 18 Iyar
Lag B’Omer
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.15 pm
Candle lighting
4.56 pm
Saturday 24 – 19 Iyar
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Bechukkotai
Shabbat ends
5.55 pm
Join us & start the day
on a spiritual high!
Thursday 29 – 24 Iyar
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 30 – 25 Iyar
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
4.52 pm
Saturday 31 – 26 Iyar
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Mevarchim HaChodesh
Parshat Bamidbar
Barmitzvah Koby Gean
Shabbat ends
5.52 pm
– With Compliments –
SUPERMARKET
550 Glenferrie Road,
Hawthorn
102 Burwood Road
Hawthorn
64 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
38
JUNE 2008
Monday 2 – 28 Iyar
Yom Yerushalayim
Wednesday 4 – 1 Sivan
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
7.00 am
Thursday 5 – 2 Sivan
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 6 – 3 Sivan
Mincha/Kabbalat
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
4.50 pm
Saturday 7 – 4 Sivan
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Naso
Shabbat ends
5.51 pm
Sunday 8 – 5 Sivan
Erev Shavuot
Evening Service
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
4.50 pm
Monday 9 – 6 Sivan
1st Day Shavuot
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY
Morning Service
9.00 am
Evening Service
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
not before
5.50 pm
Tuesday 10 – 7 Sivan
2nd Day Shavuot
Yizchor
Morning Service
9.00 am
Thursday 12 – 9 Sivan
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 13 – 10 Sivan
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
4.49 pm
Saturday 14 – 11 Sivan
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Beha’alotcha
Shabbat ends
5.50 pm
Sunday 15 – 12 Sivan
Wedding Judy Prager
& Simon Wail
Thursday 19 – 16 Sivan
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 20 – 17 Sivan
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.00 pm
Batmitzvah
Tully Stern
Candle lighting
4.50 pm
Saturday 21 – 18 Sivan
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Shelach
Barmitzvah Jake Zilberman
Shabbat ends
5.52 pm
Thursday 26 – 23 Sivan
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 27 – 24 Sivan
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
4.52 pm
Saturday 28 – 25 Sivan
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Mevarchim HaChodesh
Parshat Korach
Shabbat ends
5.53 pm
J U LY 2 0 0 8
Thursday 3 – 30 Sivan
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
7.00 am
Friday 4 – 1 Tammuz
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
7.00 am
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.00 pm
Batmitzvah
Natalie Hayman
Candle lighting
4.55 pm
Saturday 5 – 2 Tammuz
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Chukkat
Shabbat ends
5.56 pm
Thursday 10 – 7 Tammuz
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 11 – 8 Tammuz
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.00 pm
Candle lighting
4.59 pm
Saturday 12 – 9 Tammuz
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Balak
Shabbat ends
6.00 pm
Thursday 17 – 14 Tammuz
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 18 – 15 Tammuz
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.15 pm
Candle lighting
5.04 pm
Saturday 19 – 16 Tammuz
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Pinchas
Shabbat ends
6.05 pm
Sunday 20 – 17 Tammuz
Shiva Aser b’Tammuz
Fast begins
6.05 am
Fast ends
5.54 pm
Thursday 24 – 21 Tammuz
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 25 – 22 Tammuz
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.15 pm
Candle lighting
5.09 pm
Saturday 26 – 23 Tammuz
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Mevarchim HaChodesh
Parshat Mattot
Shabbat ends
6.09 pm
Thursday 31 – 28 Tammuz
Morning Service
7.15 am
AUGUST 2008
SEPTEMBER 2008
Monday 1 – 1 Elul
Rosh Chodesh
Morning service
Friday 1 – 29 Tammuz
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.30 pm
Candle lighting
5.15 pm
Saturday 2 – 1 Av
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Rosh Chodesh
Parshat Masei
Shabbat ends
6.15 pm
Thursday 7 – 6 Av
Morning Service
Friday 8 – 7 Av
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
Candle lighting
Saturday 9 – 8 Av
Shabbat Service
Shabbat Chazon
Parshat Devarim
Shabbat ends
Sunday 10 – 9 Av
Tisha B’Av
Fast ends
7.00 am
Thursday 4 – 4 Elul
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 5 – 5 Elul
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.45 pm
Candle lighting
5.44 pm
Saturday 6 – 6 Elul
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Shoftim
Barmitzvah Bade Hilton
Shabbat ends
6.42 pm
7.15 am
5.30 pm
5.21 pm
Sunday 7 – 7 Elul
Wedding Florianna Khait &
David Shirinov
Thursday 11 – 11 Elul
Morning Service
7.15 am
8.45 am
6.20 pm
Friday 12 – 12 Elul
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
6.00 pm
Candle lighting
5.50 pm
Saturday 13 – 13 Elul
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Ki Tetze
Barmitzvah David Ellinghaus
Shabbat ends
6.48 pm
6.10pm
Thursday 14 – 13 Av
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 15 – 14 Av
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.30 pm
Candle lighting
5.26 pm
Saturday 16– 15 Av
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Shabbat Nachamu
Parshat Vaetchannan
Barmitzvah Andrew Slade
Shabbat ends
6.25 pm
Sunday 14 – 14 Elul
Wedding Katrina Fine &
David Krygger
Thursday 18– 18 Elul
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 19 – 19 Elul
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
6.00 pm
Candle lighting
5.56 pm
Sunday 17 – 16 Av
Wedding Lisa Fink &
Ilan Tirosh
Thursday 21 – 20 Av
Morning Service
7.15 am
Saturday 20 – 20 Elul
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Ki Tavo
Shabbat ends
6.54 pm
First Selichot
Midnight Service 12.01am
Monday 22– 22 Elul
Morning Service
7.00 am
Tuesday 23 – 23 Elul
Morning Service
7.00 am
Wednesday 24 – 24 Elul
Morning Service
7.00 am
Thursday 25 – 25 Elul
Morning Service
7.00 am
Friday 26 – 26 Elul
Morning Service
7.00 am
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
6.00 pm
Candle lighting
6.02 pm
Saturday 27 – 27 Elul
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Nitzavim
Shabbat ends
7.00 pm
Sunday 28 – 28 Elul
Morning Service
8.00 am
Monday 29 – 29 Elul
Morning Service
6.30 am
Erev Rosh Hashanna
Evening Service
6.00 pm
Candle lighting
6.04 pm
Tuesday 30 – 1 Tishrei
1st Day Rosh Hashanna
Morning Service
8.00 am
Evening Service
6.00 pm
Candle lighting
not before
7.03 pm
OCTOBER 2008
Wednesday 1 – 2 Tishrei
2nd Day Rosh Hashanna
Morning Service
8.00 am
Friday 22 – 21 Av
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.30 pm
Candle lighting
5.32 pm
Saturday 23 – 22 Av
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Parshat Ekev
Shabbat ends
6.31 pm
Thursday 28 – 27 Av
Morning Service
7.15 am
Friday 29 – 28 Av
Mincha/Kabbalat
Shabbat
5.45 pm
Candle lighting
5.38 pm
Saturday 30 – 29 Av
Shabbat Service
8.45 am
Mevarchim Hachodesh
Parshat Re’eh
Barmitzvah Michael Fisher
Shabbat ends
6.36 pm
Sunday 31 – 30 Av
Rosh Chodesh
Morning Service
8.00 am
– With Compliments –
The Majtlis
Family
Manufacturers & Suppliers of Corporate,
Promotional & Sporting Apparel
and Accessories
3A Fink Steet, Preston 3072 VIC
Ph: 03 9489 5499 Fax: 03 9489 6399
www.actionknits.com.au action@mdrglobal.com.au
39
Shule Roundup
in Pictures
Mazal Tov to Judy Prager and Simon Wail pictured here at
their engagement party.
The Magazine Editorial Committee appreciates sharp and clear
photographs of recent social events and celebrations. Please forward
to the Shule office in protective cardboard or email as high resolution
jpegs if they are digital files. All material will be returned.
Congratulations to Jonathan and Jordy Klein on the safe
arrival of Noah (born 9th November 2007). Pictured here
with Charlie Klein.
Yosi, Yacov and Lisa Frenkel with baby Yair.
Yosi Frenkel, Rabbi Rubinfeld, Mottel Greenbaum and Rabbi Berlin.
Noah Chrapot and his proud family with
Noah’s winning Chanukah poster.
Jack Pinkus with family members at his
recent Bar Mitzvah.
Mazal Tov to Esther Rokman on her 93rd Birthday.
Jed Kaufman seen holding his new brother Harley Ryan.
Some of the Barmy Boys enjoying
some table tennis at the Rabbi’s home.
Current participants are Daniel Badov,
Rommie Shustin, Michael Voinsky,
Thomas Rogers and Matthew Hyams.
Congregant Sam Stopnik was recently acknowledged in the Cancer Council publication
for his 25 years of unswerving volunteering to that organisation and the presentation of
a well-deserved Gold Award.
Jonah aged 6 months, son of Naomi &
Darren Harrison and grandson of
Hedy & Russell Harrison.
40
Jeremy Machet and his proud family at
his Bar Mitzvah.