William Cooper, an Aboriginal who demonstrated in Melbourne in ...

William Cooper, an Aboriginal
who demonstrated in
Melbourne in 1938 against
Kristellnacht, was honored in
Jerusalem on 28 April 2009.
On November 9, 1938, 91 Jews
were murdered as Nazis went on
a rampage throughout Germany
following the assassination of
Ernst Vom Rath by Herschel
Grynzpan. Kristellnacht spelt
the destruction of more than 200
syngagogues and initiated the Nazi
Final Solution…a plan devised
to murder the entire Jewish
population.
News of Kristellnacht made
little impact on the world’s
community but on December
6, 1938, William Cooper, the
founder of The Australian
Aborigines’ League, led a group
of protesters to the German
Consulate in Melbourne to
demonstrate against the wholesale
slaughter of the German Jews.
They carried with them a
resolution calling for an end to
the “cruel persecution” of the
Jewish people by Nazi Germany.
The group was ignored by the
Germans.
But the Australian community
did not forget and 70 trees were
planted in Cooper’s name and a
plaque dedicated to his memory in
the Martyrs’ Forest near Jerusalem.
Cooper’s grandson Alfred was
present at the ceremony (in April
2009) as well as JNF officials and
James Larsen, the Australian
Ambassador to Israel.
Together with
JNF Deputy
Chairman
Menachem
Leibovitz,
Alfred Cooper,
Ambassador
James Larson,
fifteen
descendants of
the Aboriginal
activist William
Cooper were in
Jerusalem on
12 December
2010 for the
announcement
of a new
academic chair
at the Holocaust History Museum
of Yad Vashem named in honour
of their forefather.
Mr Cooper’s grandson, Uncle
“Boydie’’ Turner, his great
grandson, Kevin Russell, and
13 other descendants were in
Jerusalem for the event, organised
through the Australian Israeli
Leadership Forum.
Uncle Boydie Turner, now 82,
said the family had been trying to
get recognition for Mr Cooper for
a long time. ‘’We’ve always known
about this story and we’ve always
wanted other people to know
about it,’’ he said.
Kristallnacht – ‘’the night of
broken glass’’ – is seen by many
historians as the start of the
Holocaust, and it was widely
reported around the world.
However, Mr Cooper’s march is
believed to be the only private
protest organised at the time.
William Cooper was already
77 in 1938 and died three years
later. He helped establish the
Australian Aboriginal League,
which campaigned for land rights
and representation in parliament.
Representatives of MHC,
Lorette and Malcolm Brown
attended a Gala Dinner at
Flemington Racecourse on
Thursday 16 June, to celebrate the
[L-R] December 2009, Shmuel Rozenkrantz, Yuval Rotem Israeli Ambassador, John
Searle JCCV President, Boydie Turner grandson of William Cooper, Jenny Macklin
Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Ella Anselmi, a niece of Boydie Turner
who is an “aunty”, an Aboriginal elder.
53
legacy of
William Cooper.
This event was presented by
the Western Suburbs Indigenous
Gathering Place in conjunction
with The William Coopper
Family and the Reagan Milstein
Foundation.
Colleen Marion, the Founder
and CEO of The Gathering Place
reflected on the achievements of
the organisation that she founded
and of the collaboration with
The William Cooper Family and
the Reagan Milstein Foundation
to bring about the Gala Event.
Colleen spoke of ‘Uncle’
William continuously fighting for
aboriginal people’s rights 70 years
ago and for standing up against the
persecution of the Jewish People.
Alfred ‘Uncle Boydie’ Turner
remembered living with his
grandfather William Cooper and
spoke of learning from William’s
leadership qualities. Uncle
Boydie is a Director on the Board
of Management of Rumbalara
Aboriginal Corporation and is
their longest serving Director. Like
his famous grandfather he speaks
softly and politely and is a greatly
respected Elder of the Yorta Yorta
people.
The Reagan Milstein
Foundation has been created in
the memory of
a popular and
sports‑loving
teenager, who
died tragically
after a scuba
diving accident
in July, 2010.
Reagan had
an incredibly
gentle and
loving nature
and was always
looking for ways
to help people,
particularly
those who were
disadvantaged or
underprivileged
and it is with this
in mind that the Reagan Milstein
Foundation was born.
Their aim is to raise funds to
offer financial and moral support
to Australian youngsters who
may not have the opportunity or
financial resources to play sport or
be involved in a sports club, with
a special interest in Indigenous
Australian youth.
Because of Reagan’s great
love of football (soccer) it was
decided to channel the efforts of
the foundation into two particular
areas: Predominantly to help in
the development of indigenous
footballers and also to help in
the continued growth of his own
football club, North Caulfield
Maccabi JFC.
The evening honoured the
ideal of equality for all that
William Cooper championed for
his people and the Jewish people
earlier last century and, not so
surprisingly, an ideal that many
years later Reagan Milstein so
strongly believed in and which his
family hope to continue through
the medium of football.
Review of the Evening from The Reagan
Milstein Foundation Website with
permission from Kevin Milstein.
The grave of William Cooper can be found at Cummeragunga, the former mission
station on the banks of the Murray River. Photo: Jessica Noske-Turner.

Kabbalah & Chicken Soup –
Late Teens / Young 20s
From Her Perspective
The Kabbalah and Chicken
Soup evenings are an initiative
for young adults in their late
teens and early twenties.
The stimulating discussion is
augmented by the rebbitsen’s
wonderful chicken soup.
My experience at Rabbi Jacks’
‘Kabbalah and Chicken Soup’
session was both enjoyable and
insightful.
To begin with, until I met
Rabbi Jacks, I didn’t realise how
open‑minded religious Jews could
be. I was under the impression
that there were different sects of
Judaism, and that there were firm
borders that separated these sects.
One thing I thought I knew
for sure, was that while Orthodox
Jews may be ‘frum’, and keep
‘kosher’, and believe in G‑d, they
did not believe in the New Age
way of thinking.
I don’t have a deep
understanding or knowledge
of Kabbalah, but I knew it had
something to do with mysticism
– hence I was curious to see
what an Orthodox Rabbi had to
say about that, and so when my
brother invited me to the evening,
I went along.
To my surprise, I found myself
engaging with our new Rabbi, and
chatting about esoteric concepts
that I have always intuitively felt
were true. It’s strange enough
talking about these concepts, but
talking about them with a Rabbi –
that’s one for the books!
There was another man who
attended the session who is a
Kabbalistic Expert. He conducted
a guided‑mediation at the
beginning of the session – which
was calming and soul‑finding.
In my opinion, it is the perfect
way to start any spirituality
stimulating conversation.
I felt a real pleasure knowing
that it wasn’t just ‘the hippies’
talking about notions of soul and
spirituality, but that there were
relatable Melbournian Jewish
people, sitting around a table with
chicken soup, talking about the
exact same ideas that I believe to
be so important when trying to
live a full and peaceful life.
My personal belief is that
everything thing happens for a
reason, and everything G‑d does
is part of a Divine Plan, and it was
particularly enjoyable to talk about
these notions with other people
my age and get their opinions on
these subjects.
I enjoyed the diverse opinions,
and independent minds of the
group. I was surprised to find that
most people did not believe in G‑d
– but pleased that the concept of
G‑d, the Universe, the Divine, the
Spirit (whatever you want to call
it) was being discussed and pulled
apart on a real level that young
people my age could relate to and
identify with.
I feel there is a great
importance in talking about
higher spirituality, and the
notion of ultimate acceptance
and forgiveness, all the while,
intertwining it with Judaism.
I look forward to attending
another session, as I feel that these
types of mentally stimulating and
spiritually nourishing sessions
are necessary in order to live a
compassionate and loving life –
the kind of life that I am striving
to live. Talia Mazor
54
From His Perspective
I will start by saying that as an
average non-religious 26 year
old Jew, I have never had much
interest in the Jewish religion
or its practices.
After having met Rabbi Jacks,
and inspired by his enthusiasm
I began to take an interest in
Judaism in terms of its moral and
spiritual principles.
We have been meeting for
several months now, to discuss
Kabbalah and general life issues
– but from a Jewish standpoint.
What I have really loved about
it is that Rabbi Jacks has shown
me that Judaism is full of such
incredibly positive attitudes
towards life, morality, and
spirituality – and these are issues
that apply to everyone.
The Rabbi asked me what he
could do to reach out to people
like me, in my age range, who
wouldn’t usually be interested in
the religious aspects of Judaism.
We decided that the best
thing to do would be to create a
forum where people could meet
and discuss life issues, morality,
spirituality and philosophy.
And so ‘Kabbalah and
Chicken Soup’ was born!
This is a fortnightly meeting
at the Rabbi’s home, where we
enjoy his wife’s excellent chicken
soup, and then spend a few hours
learning and discussing topics
such as good and evil, overcoming
obstacles in our lives, and the
nature of G‑d.
We are joined by the wonderful
Yirmi, a deeply spiritual man
with an extensive knowledge
of Kabbalah and Jewish healing
practices.
Yirmi conducts short
meditations at the beginning of
each meeting, which allows us to
enter into a more spiritual and
focused mode of being before
starting the discussions.
I always walk away from our
meetings feeling very calm and
with one or two excellent new
ways of looking at life. These
spiritual and moral ideas are
directly applicable to life in
general, and the fact that I am not
a religious person does not detract
from this.
I must stress that there is no
pressure here to become more
religious – that is not what our
sessions are about. I, for one, do
not believe in G‑d in the strict
Jewish sense, yet with an open
mind I am still able to learn and
apply so much.
I have been surprised to find
that many of the things I think
and feel about life are directly
echoed in the spiritual and
mystical teaching of the Kabbalah.
These meetings are
fundamentally a way to learn
about Judaism, while still allowing
people to bring their own beliefs
and individual ideas to the table.
I believe that anyone who is
interested in the deeper aspects of
Judaism, and life in general, would
really enjoy and appreciate these
meetings, and I urge everyone in
my age range (late
teens and 20s) to
come along, even
just once, to see what
you make of it.
Auriya Mazor

BIRTHS
Our best wishes on the “new additions”
to their families go to:
Tammy & Steven Aronowicz ................................................................................... daughter
Annette & Henri Goldin ............................................................................. grand daughter
Marcie & Joshua Bernshaw ...................................................................................... daughter
Caroline & David Bernshaw....................................................................... grand daughter
Rebbitzen & Rabbi Jacks .......................................................................................... daughter
Yehudit & Binyomin Kazatsky ................................................................................. daughter
Rachelle & Daniel Knoche ........................................................................... twin daughters
Jan & Warren Sapir ............................................................................ twin grand daughters
Lidia & Michael Knoche ................................................................... twin grand daughters
Fiona & Ryan Solomon............................................................................................. daughter
Eva & Harvey Rotstein ................................................................................ grand daughter
Amanda & Andrew Rettig ..................................................................................................son
Mary Rettig .................................................................................................................grandson
Faye & Henry Frenkel .................................................................................. grand daughter
Judy & Simon Wail ...............................................................................................................son
Sandra & Lother Prager ...........................................................................................grandson
Dana & Russell Lewis ............................................................................................... daughter
Dael & Roger Lewis ..................................................................................... grand daughter
Roslyn Glickfeld .........................................................................................................grandson
Emma & Darren Gerber ....................................................................................................son
Nicky & Rod Jacobs ..................................................................................................grandson
Renee Roth ..................................................................................................... great grandson
Fiona & Daniel Leighton .......................................................................................... daughter
Ruth & Henry Leighton .............................................................................. grand daughter
Lisa & Martin Meltzer ............................................................................................... daughter
Jenny & Martin Meltzer ............................................................................... grand daughter
Stephanie & Ron Sack ................................................................................. grand daughter
Anna & David Serry .................................................................................................. daughter
Barbara & Barry Landau ............................................................................. grand daughter
Minnie & Sam Smorgon .................................................................... great grand daughter
Henry Holzer ..................................................................................................grand daughter
Rita & Lionel Kowal .......................................................twin grandson & grand daughter
Marni & Josh Basist ............................................................................................................ son
Debbie & Roger Weinstein ................................................................................... grandson
Bette Kanter................................................................................................... great grandson
Julie & Simon Kessel ............................................................................................... grandson
Esther Rozen .................................................................................................. great grandson
The Chairman David Lissauer, Life Governors, Members
of the Executive Committee, together with Rabbi Dovid
Rubinfeld, Rabbi Avrohom Jacks and Ronny Kowadlo
record with sadness the passing of
Past President Nathan Goldrich
and his wife Anne
who passed away within days of each other,
Anne on the 17th June and Nathan on the 20th June.
55
Our sincere condolences are extended
BeReAveMeNTS
to the following families:
Dzunia Selwyn ......................................................................... on the loss of her husband
Yvonne Goldbloom ......................................................................on the loss of her father
Susan Selwyn ..................................................................................on the loss of her father
Alan Selwyn ................................................................................ on the loss of his brother
Joe Gottlieb ..................................................................................on the loss of his mother
Jack Friedman ..................................................................................... on the loss of his wife
Trevor Friedman ..........................................................................on the loss of his mother
Howard Friedman .......................................................................on the loss of his mother
Robert Redlich ...........................................................................on the loss of his mother
Rodney Jacobs ..............................................................................on the loss of his mother
Felina Goldberg ..........................................................................on the loss of her mother
Maisie Dudakov ........................................................................ on the loss of her husband
Roslyn Roseman ....................................................................... on the loss of her husband
David Roseman ...............................................................................on the loss of his father
Mark Roseman ................................................................................on the loss of his father
Jonathan Roseman .........................................................................on the loss of his father
Jill Haskin .................................................................on the loss of her mother & husband
Silvia Piorun .................................................................................on the loss of her mother
Alain Rose ........................................................................................on the loss of his father
Ian Mandie ........................................................................................on the loss of his father
Evie Danos ......................................................................................on the loss of her father
Stephen Mandie ..............................................................................on the loss of his father
BAR MITzvoT
Our best wishes on attaining Bar Mitzvah are extended to
the following young men and their families:
Zac Trytell Naphtali Meltzer Damon Flicker
MARRIAgeS
Our best wishes for a long and happy life together
go to the following couples:
Candice Levy & Nick Karp Tania Tevelson & Peter Tyser
eNgAgeMeNTS
Our heartiest Mazal-Tov go to the following couples
and their families:
Sherrie Gelberg & Simon Krampel Kim Sacks & Danny Isaacs
The Chairman David Lissauer, Life Governors,
Members of the Executive Committee together with
Rabbi David Rubinfeld, Rabbi Avrohom Jacks
& Ronny Kowadlo
record with much sadness, the passing of
DAVID MANDIE AM OBE
who passed away on
17 August 2011 / 17 Av 5771
A generous, loyal and long standing member who will be
warmly remembered and greatly missed.

Q & A The Jewish Way –
at Beth Weizmann
On Sunday July 3rd 2011 B’nai
Brith Melbourne Mitzvah
conducted a very successful
Q & A evening with a packed
audience at Beth Weizman.
The panel comprised:
Photography Ronny Kowadlo
Dr. Leslie Cannold, a writer,
Dr. Jack Felman, everyone’s
favourite ‘Bubba’, Zeddy
Lawrence, National Editor
Australian Jewish News,
Debbie Wiener, Barrister
and our own Rabbi Dovid
Rubinfeld.
56
The moderator was the well
known auctioneer Phillip
Kingston.
The wide range of questions
reflected the interests of our Jewish
community and the answers from
a panel of experts were certainly
All proceeds to Jaffa Institute for
Disadvantaged Children in Israel.
illuminating. Our Rabbi Dovid
Rubinfeld in his answers was able
to inject his own inimitable sense
of humour, as well as a religious
perspective.
Melvyn Barnett. OAM

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57
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Funeral Service of the Late
David Mandie AM OBE
As befits a highly respected
leader of industry, renowned
philanthropist and long time
member of the Congregation,
the funeral service for the
late DAVID MANDIE AM
OBE was conducted at the
synagogue on Friday morning
19th August.
In attendance were family
members, fellow industrialists,
many friends and acquaintances,
members of his beloved
Richmond Football Club,
politicians and representatives of
the many and varied charitable
organisations of which he was a
generous supporter and patron.
All present were warmed by the
touching eulogy from Rabbi Jacks
and a very special and heart
felt account of a long life well
lived, as personally articulated by
David’s daughter, Evelyn Danos.
Conducted by
Rabbi Jacks in
a most dignified
manner (Rabbi
Rubinfeld was
in the USA at
the time*) the
service concluded
with an address
by the Grand
Master of the
United Grand Lodge of Ancient,
Free & Accepted Masons of
Victoria.
It was indeed a ceremony that
acknowledged the contribution
of a warm and loving father and
58
grandfather, a great Australian
and indeed a special MHC
member – and someone who has
left an enduring legacy that his
grieving family should be justly
proud.
* Rabbi Dovid Rubinfeld sent a
short message that was read out
at the beginning of the service by
Life Governor Leonard Yaffe.
MHC Website
To maintain ongoing contact with congregants,
their families and friends (both here and overseas)
or just to see the latest news, functions etc,
the Shule has a comprehensive website:
www.melbournesynagogue.org.au
Your contributions to both the website
(and this magazine) are welcomed whether by
articles, photographs or comment.
Please forward any material
to the Shule office marked: The Editor,
Melbourne Hebrew Congregation,
PO Box 372, South Yarra, Victoria 3141
or email: mhc@melbournesynagogue.org.au

50 YEARS AGO…
In this and future editions of DESTINY,
we’ll look back at the forerunner of our
magazine to the early editions of what
was then seen as an innovative means
of communication with our members!
We are grateful to Eric M Cohen
OAM who has kindly presented the
Congregation with a comprehensive
collection of magazines published by the
Congregation and dating back to the very
first edition – the brainchild of the then
59
President, John Mense and
edited by Michael Cohen.
We trust you’ll enjoy looking back to
some of those items reported in the very
first edition that was circulated to members
toward the end of 1961.
David H Sherr

Discovering Jewish Eastern European –
A detailed report of the most recent tour
The following article by
David Havin LL.B., a Melbourne
Barrister, appeared originally in
a more detailed format in the
Australian edition of Hamodia
in 2010.
The editorial committee believe
it is an article of considerable
interest to the broader
readership of our congregation,
to those with a keen interest
in Jewish history and especially
those who may have Eastern
European heritage or are
considering visiting former
centres of Jewish interest in
Eastern Europe.
The Editorial Committee.
In May 2010, 26 of us, mostly
members of Congregation
Adass Israel and led by Rabbi
Shimon Opman, spent 10 days
touring Eastern Europe.
Previously in 2008, Yumi
Friedman (of Yumi’s Quality
Seafoods), Lazer Lowy (of Kosher
Classique) and I had organised
a tour to Galicia (south‑east
Poland), Ukraine, the Slovak
Republic, Hungary and Austria.
On this occasion, we decided to
tour Poland (including some of
the towns and villages in Galicia
we had not previously seen),
Belarus and Lithuania and I shall
try to chronicle some of our trip’s
highlights.
We arrived in Krakow on
Monday morning, 3 May, where
we met our Polish guide, Tomash.
There is so much to do in Central
and Eastern Europe that when
settling our itinerary we had
made an in principle decision
not to revisit any of the
places we had previously seen
other than Lyzensk, which
we felt was a special case.
This meant that
unfortunately we would not be
able to return to Krakow, a city of
almost unparalleled Jewish charm
and history, especially its old
district of Kazimierz. Some of the
tourists who had not been with us
on our first tour therefore decided
to travel ahead of the main group
and spend a few days in and
around Krakow.
Within an hour we had loaded
our luggage on the bus and were
on our way to Bobov. The first
Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo
Halberstam (1847–1905), is buried
there. Unfortunately, we could not
gain access to his mausoleum as
the local caretaker, whom we had
arranged to meet, was celebrating
the Constitution Day public
holiday by being stone drunk and
not answering his phone! We
had to be content with standing
outside. We also saw the shule
in which the rebbe prayed and
which was built in 1778. We were
quite surprised when leaving the
grounds of the shule to find the
gate to the street locked and with
us unable to leave. Apparently, the
caretaker had decided that we had
short changed him and wanted
some extra compensation before
letting us out.
We arrived in Rimanov where
we met quite a large number of
chasidim from Israel, the USA
and Europe who had come to the
mausoleum of Rabbi Menachem
Mendel of Rimanov (1745–1815),
whose yahrtzeit was that day. He
was one of the most prominent
students of the Rebbe Reb
Elimelech of Lyzensk. He
was also a great supporter of
Napoleon in his campaign
against Russia and believed
that the war could be the
prophesised battle of Gog
and Magog which
would herald
the Messianic
Age. It is told
that before
he died, the
Rebbe Reb
Elimelech
bequeathed
the soul of
his mind
to Rabbi
Menachem
Mendel of
Rimanov,
the power
60
of his speech to Rabbi Avraham
Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, the spirit
of his heart to the Kozhnitzer
Maggid and the sight of his eyes
to the Chozeh of Lublin. We also
went to the adjacent mausoleum
of his successor, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh
of Rimanov. There is a shule
which was built in the 17th
century and which has recently
been partially restored. While
there, we had the good fortune of
meeting a visiting rabbi who had a
Sepher Torah with him and which
meant we were able to lein.
In Lancut, we caught a glimpse
of Lancut Castle – which many
people (mistakenly) believe was
the birthplace of the Ger Tzedek
– before arriving at the stunning
shule that was built in 1761 and
now meticulously restored. The
architectural dominance of the
bimah emphasises the honour and
elevated status accorded to the
Torah. The bimah is profusely
decorated with representations
of Biblical scenes and all the way
around the walls of the shule
are arched niches filled with the
texts of various prayers as well as
paintings of animals, signs of the
zodiac and floral ornamentation.
It is similar in style to the shule in
Rimanov, but on a much grander
scale. Everyone was gobsmacked
and it was a great thrill for all
of us to pray Ma’ariv there. We
finally visited the cemetery where
Rabbi Naphtali Tzvi Horowitz of
Ropshitz (1760–1827) is buried
before calling it a day.
Tuesday began with a visit
to Shineve, where the Divrei
Yechezkel, Rabbi Yechezkel
Shraga Halberstam (1811–1899),
is buried. There is also a plaque in
the mausoleum commemorating
Rabbi Nachum Weidenfeld
(1875–1939), the rabbi of
Above & below, a walk through the chilling
Madjanek Camp.
Dombrova. When, in 1939,
Poland was divided between
Germany and the USSR pursuant
to the Molotov – Ribbentrop Pact,
Rabbi Weidenfeld found himself
in the German sector. He tried
to flee but was accosted by the
Germans who threw both him
and his tefillin to the ground. He
was so devastated and broken by
this that although he finally did
manage to cross the border and
reach Shineve, he collapsed in the
very first house of the town and
passed away.
It was now time to return to
Lyzensk. Those of us who had
already been there were keen to
see whether it would be as gripping
on this occasion. The Rebbe
Reb Elimelech (1717–1786) was
one of the very greatest chasidic
masters. After the death of the
Mezeritcher Maggid, he was
considered by most of his students
and followers to be his successor.
His very powerful prayer, which
is on one of the walls of the
mausoleum, includes the famous
passage, “on the contrary, place in
our hearts the ability to see only
the good in our friends and not
their shortcomings”. We sang, we
danced and many of us felt that
the atmosphere was as charged as
at Neilah on Yom Kippur. Our
time there was very emotional and
inspiring and clearly Lyzensk had
lost none of its special pull.
We then spent almost three
hours at Majdanek which is
located on the outskirts of
Lublin and had the benefit of an
exceptionally informative guide. It
is not nearly as large as Auschwitz‑
Birkenau, which we had visited in
2008, but most of us found it to be
more chilling and haunting.
[Continued]

Learning the Daf Yomi in Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, in Lublin.
There was a lot to do in Lublin,
which had been the headquarters
of the famous Jewish Parliament
known as the Council of Four
Lands (Greater Poland, Lesser
Poland, Ruthenia and Volhynia)
from 1580 until 1764. First, we
visited the new cemetery where
Rabbi Leibel Eger (1816–1888)
and Reb Zadok (1823–1900) are
buried. It was very depressing to
see that almost the entire large
cemetery had been razed by the
Germans. From there we made
our way to the old cemetery
where Rabbi Shalom Schachna
(the teacher and father‑in‑law
of the Rema, Rabbi Moshe
Isserles), Rabbi Shlomo Luria (the
Maharshal, 1510–1574) and the
Chozeh of Lublin (1745–1815) are
buried.
We then drove into the city
centre to visit Yeshivat Chachmei
Lublin, which is located in
imposing grounds at the corner of
Lubartowska and Unicka Streets.
The cornerstone was laid in 1924
and the six‑storey yeshiva with
110 rooms was officially opened in
1930 before an estimated crowd of
30,000 people. Potential students
needed to show a proficiency
in not less than 250 pages of
Talmud and competition to gain
entry was intense. In 1939, the
Germans stripped the interior,
commandeered the building
for their regional headquarters
and burned its vast library in
the city square. After the war, it
became the home of the Faculty
of Medicine of the University of
Lublin but, in 2003, the property
was finally returned to the Jewish
community. The ground floor
now houses the community
offices and the first floor has been
exquisitely restored as a shule
and beit midrash. There is also a
large photographic display which
is particularly informative. We
had learned Monday’s Daf Yomi
(double‑sided page of the Talmud)
on the bus but were not going to
give up the unique opportunity of
learning today’s
Daf at Yeshivat
Chachmei
Lublin, whose
head, Rabbi
Meir Shapiro,
first thought
of the idea.
The Talmud
contains 2,711
pages. The first
cycle began in
1923 and the
current cycle
is due to be
completed in
August 2012.
Finally, we visited the only
shule in Lublin to have survived
the war, Chevrat HaNosim. It
had been built in 1889 and, as
its name indicates, this was the
shule in which the community’s
pallbearers prayed. It is quite small
and situated on the first floor of
a building (which may explain
how it was not destroyed). It also
houses a Memorial Chamber
to the Jews of Lublin, which
includes a number of rescued
Sifrei Torah and other religious
artefacts. The shule was neither
ornate nor imposing; in fact, it was
quite ordinary and even perhaps
a little drab, but it was this very
ordinariness which we felt gave
it such charm and authenticity.
There was a minyan each Shabbat
until as recently as 1984 and we
were privileged to pray Ma’ariv
before heading to our hotel for
dinner.
Wednesday was an ambitious
day. We travelled almost 500
kilometres and visited Kotzk,
Kozhnitz, Kielce, Lelov, Radomsk
and Pietrokov.
In Kotzk, we first went to the
cemetery where Rabbi Menachem
Mendel Morgenstern, the Kotzker
Rebbe (1787–1859), is buried.
He was a prominent student of
Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa
and, upon the latter’s passing,
attracted many of his followers.
He was renowned for his incisive
philosophies and very many sharp‑
witted aphorisms (“people are
accustomed to look at the heavens
and to wonder what happens
there. It would be better if they
would look within themselves
to see what happens there” and
“Where is G‑d to be found? In the
place where He is given entry”).
As is well known, he spent the last
20 years of his life in almost total
seclusion and on our way out of
town, we were able to drive by his
actual house and see the famous
attic. He is considered to be the
61
spiritual founder upon which
Ger is based as the Chidushei
HaRim was both one of his closest
disciples and his brother‑in‑law.
After stopping in Kozhnitz to
visit Rabbi Yisroel Hopsztajn, the
Kozhnitzer Maggid (1737–1814),
one of the leading disciples of the
Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lyzensk,
we arrived in Kielce. On 4 July
1946, barely a year after the end
of World War II, there was a
bloody pogrom in which 42 Jews
were killed by the local Poles and
a further 40 were injured. Most
of the 200 Jews who returned
after the war were housed in a
single building administered by
the local Jewish community at
7 Planty Street. It was the old
canard of a blood libel followed by
unimaginable brutality and death.
Poland is almost literally a country
soaked in Jewish blood. Beyond
the immediate loss, it also put an
end to the hopes of many Jews
who thought they would be able to
resettle in Poland and precipitated
a mass exodus of Polish Jewry. We
stood outside the building, read
the various memorial plaques,
recited Tehillim and said Kaddish.
In the local cemetery, we found a
mass grave of the town’s children
who were murdered in 1943.
About two hours later, we
arrived in Radomsk. The cemetery
is quite large and, unlike some
others we saw, reasonably well
preserved. The founder of the
dynasty, the Tiferet Shlomo
(Rabbi Shlomo Rabinowicz,
1801–1866), the Chesed
L’Avraham (Rabbi Avraham
Yissachar Rabinowicz, 1843–1892)
and the Knesset Yechezkel (Rabbi
Yechezkel Rabinowicz, 1864–
1910) are all buried here. The
fourth rebbe, Rabbi
Shlomo Chanoch
Rabinowicz was
murdered together
with his family,
and is buried in
Warsaw. In 1926,
he decided to
create a network of
yeshivot throughout
Poland to be known
as Keter Torah; a
mere thirteen years
later, there were
36 yeshivot with
more than 4,000
students learning
in them. The rebbe
was amongst the
very richest Jews in
Poland. There is a
pathway from the
cemetery entrance
David Havin in the Kovno Shule.
all the way to the mausoleum
which allows access for the many
descendants of the rebbes who are
also kohanim.
It was almost dark when we
stopped in Pietrokov. It had been
a long day and although there
were many prominent rabbis
buried here, the one rabbi almost
everyone wanted to visit was
Rabbi Dr Chaim David Bernhard
(1758–1858). He was in fact not
your typical “Rabbi Doctor”, but
a secular medical practitioner. He
had all but given up on a patient
who then miraculously recovered
through the intercession of the
Lelover Rebbe. Dr Bernhard
thereafter became a ba’al
teshuvah and subsequently a great
rebbe himself.
Our initial itinerary included
touring Lodz that day but we
realised that we would not have
sufficient time and pushed this off
until the next morning, Thursday.
With the solitary exception
of Warsaw, Lodz was home to the
largest Jewish community in pre‑
war Europe. Some 230,000 Jews
lived in this manufacturing, and
especially textile, centre.
We prayed Shacharit in the
community centre which consists
of a shule, a mikveh, a kitchen
and various offices.
The sole surviving pre‑war
shule was built between 1885 and
1890 and is located off a main
street and at the end of an internal
courtyard. It was damaged by fire
in 1987 and rebuilt two years later
with the assistance of the Ronald
S Lauder Foundation. Nearby
is the Statue of Moses and the
Ten Commandments, which was
erected in 1995.
[Continued]

Rabbi Shimon Opman speaks in the Lodz Shule.
On the way to the cemetery,
we discussed the role of Chaim
Rumkowski, the head of the
Judenrat in Lodz. His role remains
controversial but he is generally
viewed as a traitor and a Nazi
collaborator. He was deported
to Auschwitz in 1944. Our
guide, Tomash, told us that by
some accounts he was murdered
en‑route by Jews who had come to
revile him.
Lodz has the largest Jewish
cemetery in Europe (although
more Jews are buried in Warsaw).
During World War II, it became
part of the eastern section of
the ghetto. The tahara shtiebel
(mortuary), which was completed
in 1898, is enormous. None of
us had previously seen a shtiebel
on such a scale. Rabbi Eliyahu
Chaim Meisel (1821–1912) was
the city’s famous and kindly chief
rabbi. He did much to alleviate
the untoward effects of rapid
industrialisation, even going
so far as to build a factory for
handweavers who had become
unemployed as a result of the
mechanisation of the textile
industry. He was beloved by all
sectors of the community and it
is said that no less than 50,000
people attended his funeral.
We had a photograph with us
on the bus of part of the crowd
which suggests that this was no
exaggeration. Unlike some of
the smaller cemeteries we had
visited, there are simply so many
prominent rabbis in Lodz that we
could not even pass them by. The
one couple whom it is impossible
to miss is Israel and Eleonora
Hertz Poznanski as they are buried
in an obscenely huge and tasteless
mausoleum. It is
almost certainly
the largest Jewish
mausoleum in the
world.
Before we left
Lodz, we visited
Radegast. This
was the former
railway station from
which, during the
war, an estimated
150,000 Jews were
deported. It has the
same significance
for Lodz as the
better known
Umshlagplatz in
Warsaw. However,
unlike Warsaw,
which is nothing
more than a
stone monument
resembling an
open freight car by the side of a
road, Radegast was transformed in
2005 into a visually very powerful
Holocaust memorial. There are
three cattle trucks on train tracks
which were used to deport Jews to
the camps. A little tentatively, we
went inside one of them and tried
to imagine how 150 Jews could be
squashed into such a suffocatingly
small area. Original deportation
lists and other memorabilia line
a long concrete tunnel which
gave us a year by year depiction
of the community’s increasing
hopelessness. At the other end of
the tunnel is a very tall chimney
which conjures up the death of so
many and on the outside of which
there is a plaque in Hebrew, Polish
and English, Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Aleksander is not more than
a half hour away. The cemetery
has the graves of the first three
rebbes: Rabbi Yechiel Danziger
(1828–1894), the Yismach
Yisrael (Rabbi Yerachmiel Yisrael
Yitzchak Danziger, 1853–1910)
and the Tiferet Shmuel (Rabbi
Shmuel Tzvi Danziger, his
brother, 1840–1923). The fourth
rebbe, the Akeidat Yitzchak
(Rabbi Yitzchak Menachem
Mendel Danziger, 1879–1943)
was murdered in Treblinka. The
current rebbe and some 400 of
his chasidim had been there
earlier that year to commemorate
the hundredth yahrtzeit of the
Yismach Yisrael, whose last words
were, “it was good, it is good and
it will be good”. Before the war,
Aleksander was the second largest
group of chasidim in Poland; only
Ger was larger. In nearby Lodz,
for instance, there were some 35
Aleksander shteiblach.
62
In Ger, we met Velvel
Karpman, a pre‑war Gerrer chasid
who still lives in the town and
who acted as our guide (he is no
longer frum). We visited the large
two‑storey beit midrash, which
was built in 1859. Upstairs we also
saw a small matzah bakery. The
rebbes lived in the apartment next
door and would greet the throngs
from the balcony. Velvel was a real
character and told us many stories,
some of which might actually
have been true. He claimed to
have been a childhood friend of
one of the rebbes and arrogated to
himself the privilege of calling the
rebbe by his first name – to the
intense dismay of the chasidim,
who regarded this as nothing more
than an act of impudence. There
is a mausoleum in the cemetery
where both the Chidushei HaRim
(Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter,
1798–1866) and his grandson, the
Sfat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh
Leib Alter, 1847–1905) are buried.
We arrived in Warsaw just in
time for Mincha and Ma’ariv at
the Nozyk Synagogue. Built in
1902, it is the only surviving shule
from some 300 or so before the
war. Warsaw’s Jewish population in
1939 was officially 393,950 but the
actual figure was closer to 450,000.
The assistant rabbi is Daniel
Simons, who was born and raised
in Sydney and has been in Warsaw
with his family since 2009.
We spent three nights in
Warsaw and left on Sunday
morning.
Our first port of call on Friday
was the Okopowa Street cemetery.
It contains approximately 250,000
marked graves as well as mass
graves of victims of the Warsaw
Ghetto. While still in Melbourne
we had prepared a preliminary
list of some 40 outstanding rabbis
and rebbes, but it was clear that
even this would not be achievable
and we further pared the number
down. We had arranged with
the cemetery to allow us early
entry and, in about 2½ hours,
we were able to visit the graves
of Rabbi Naphtali Tzvi Yehudah
Berlin (the Netziv), Rabbi Chaim
Soloveitchik, the Chemdat
Shlomo, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Zinz
and very many rebbes and their
descendants, including those of
Amshinov, Chernobyl, Ger, Kotzk,
Modzitz, Novominsk, Radomsk,
Radzymin, Slonim, Sokolov and
Vurke.
As we left the cemetery, we
came across a monument to
honour the memory of Janusz
Korczak (1878–1942), the director
of the Jewish orphanage in
Warsaw. In August 1942, the Nazis
came to take its 192 orphans and
send them to Treblinka. Although
Korczak was offered the means to
escape on a number of occasions,
he repeatedly refused, saying that
he could not abandon his children.
Instead, he dressed the children in
their best clothes and told them
that they were going on an outing.
He then accompanied them on
the one‑way trip to Treblinka,
consoling and encouraging them.
We then toured the
Umshlagplatz, Mila 18 (the
headquarters bunker during the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943),
some remnants of the ghetto wall
and one of the local museums
before calling it stumps for the
week...but not before stopping by
our restaurant at about 3pm for a
much appreciated meal of meat,
cholent and kishke.
Shabbat did not begin until
just before 8pm and everyone
delighted in having a few
unstructured hours. At about 9.30,
we commenced a very leisurely
dinner. Everyone was soaking
up the atmosphere. We sang, we
ate, we shared Divrei Torah and
we reminisced. It was a beautiful
meal, as was lunch the following
day. Our mashgiach was a friendly
local chasid, Pinchas Menachem
Bramson.
Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael
Schudrich, was supposed to have
visited Melbourne the previous
month. Initially, he deferred his
trip on account of the funeral of
Lech Kaczynski, the country’s
president, who died in a plane
crash on 10 April, but ultimately,
he had to cancel his visit as no
flights were leaving Europe due
to the volcanic eruptions in
Iceland. We had been in touch
with him earlier in the year and he
graciously agreed to make himself
available to meet with us late on
Shabbat afternoon. He has been
in Poland since 1990.
We learned much about the
role of a modern‑day chief rabbi
in Poland: part teacher, part
diplomat, part ambassador as well
as fulfilling all the traditional
aspects of his office. He is a very
charismatic and able individual
with superb political connections
and we were all most impressed.
We asked him whether it was true
that he was invited to accompany
the president on his fateful trip
and he confirmed that it was and
that of course he declined because
it was Shabbat. Our scheduled
45 minute meeting morphed
[Continued]

Touring the Warsaw ghetto.
into almost a couple of hours and
he shared with us a number of
sensitive matters in which he has
been involved. Wherever we had
been in Poland, we encountered
death, destruction and desolation
but we learned from the chief
rabbi that there are 12 present‑day
functioning communities and that,
just perhaps, there is also a future
for Jewish life in the country.
One telling instance of this
was that we were not able to use
the mikveh on either Friday or
Shabbat as it was already being
used on those evenings. We were
delighted to be able to repay his
hospitality earlier this year when
he visited Melbourne. Together
with Rabbi Rubinfeld, he walked
from South Yarra on Shabbat
afternoon, and the group spent
a very enjoyable couple of hours
with him at seudah shlishit.
Sunday was our last day in
Poland. That night we were to be
in Kovno, a seven‑hour drive from
Warsaw and en‑route we visited
both Treblinka and Tiktin.
On our way out of Warsaw,
I read an article to the group
entitled, From Skinhead
to Covered Head. The
article recounts the amazing
transformation of a young man
who did not even know he was
a Jew into a fully observant
member of the community. A few
of the tourists were sufficiently
perspicacious to realise that the
person in question was none other
than our mashgiach.
Nothing remains of the killing
machine that was Treblinka. It was
to Warsaw Jewry what Auschwitz‑
Birkenau was to Hungarian Jewry
and Belzec was to the Jews of
Galicia.
There is a small
museum which
shows the physical
layout of the camp
as well as a number
of monuments.
Perhaps the most
visually striking
was the symbolic
cemetery of 17,000
stones stretching as
far as the eye could
see. It is explained
as representing
either the 17,000
communities
destroyed in the
Holocaust or the
highest number
of Jews who were
gassed in a single
day when the camp
was in operation.
Tiktin has a beautiful shule
which was built as long ago as
1642 and which was restored
between 1974 and 1978. It is
one of the town’s major tourist
attractions. Tomash told us that
Tiktin is the last remaining
example of a shtetl in Poland.
Nothing has been built in the
town since the war and a slow
drive around its streets easily
conjured up what life must have
been like a hundred years ago
(absent the cars).
The drive from Tiktin to
Kovno was about four hours
and we took up the time by
showing two DVDs: the first was
of our 2008 tour and the second
was Sugihara: Conspiracy of
Kindness. Chiune Sugihara was
the Japanese Consul in Kovno
during World War II. In defiance
of his government’s orders he
issued visas to several thousand
Jews, including almost the
entire Mirrer Yeshiva. He was
subsequently shunned by Japan’s
political elite. The DVD begins
with a famous quotation of the
18th century philosopher, Edmund
Burke, “All that is needed for evil
to triumph is for good men to do
nothing” and concludes with the
Talmudic dictum, “He who saves
one life saves the entire world”.
We met our new guide, Chaim,
in Lithuania and then drove
across the famous bridge linking
Slobodka and Kovno. A few
minutes later we were standing
outside the Slobodka Yeshiva
(its official name was Knesset
Yisrael). Its leaders included Rabbi
Nathan Tzvi Finkel (1849–1927,
known as der Alter) and Rabbi
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
(1866–1934). Some of its most
63
prominent students included such
future leaders as Rabbi Yechezkel
Abramsky, Rabbi Reuven
Grozovsky, Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner,
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky and
Rabbi Aharon Kotler. There was
also a second yeshiva in Slobodka
(Knesset Beit Yitzchak), which
was founded in 1897. From 1904,
the rosh yeshiva was Rabbi
Baruch Ber Leibowitz.
We stopped outside 9 Panerlu
Street. It was in this house that
Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman was
captured on 6 July 1941. Together
with thousands of other Jews, he
was murdered by the Germans and
their Lithuanian collaborators at
the Seventh Fort in Kovno two
days later. He had been in the
USA in 1938 on a fundraising trip
and in London in March 1939
but refused all entreaties to stay,
telling everyone that his students
needed him.
We then returned to Kovno
and went to the new cemetery
where we visited Rabbi Yitzchak
Elchanan Spektor (1817–1896).
He was revered throughout the
Jewish world, especially by those
in Czarist Russia, and came to
be considered the pre‑eminent
halachic authority of his time.
There were two other
prominent rabbis in the cemetery:
the first was Rabbi Avraham Dov
Ber Kahana‑Shapiro, the D’var
Avraham who was the last rabbi of
Kovno. He was born in 1871 and
studied in Volozhin, which had
been founded by his great‑great‑
grandfather. He passed away in
the Kovno Ghetto in 1943. Rabbi
Baruch Horowitz, a rosh yeshiva
in Slobodka and the Rabbi of
Aleksot (a suburb of Kovno) is
buried next to him.
We prayed on Monday
morning in Kovno’s last remaining
shule. Before the war, some 40,000
Jews lived in Kovno. The shule,
built in 1872, was very large and
imposing, especially the Aron
Kodesh with its gold and burgundy
columns.
Between 1882 and 1915, ten
forts were constructed around
Kovno. They were designed to
protect Czarist Russia’s western
borders. During World War II,
thousands of Jews were murdered
in both the Seventh and Ninth
Forts. Little remains of the
Seventh Fort other than a plaque
which we saw. The Ninth Fort
houses an extensive museum,
including a room devoted to
Sugihara. We also learned of the
Great Escape on 25 December
1943, when 64 prisoners managed
to flee. Unfortunately most of
them were subsequently captured
and killed. There is also a
memorial which reads, “This is
the place where Nazis and their
assistants killed more than 30,000
Jews from Lithuania and other
European countries”.
It is only 100 kilometres from
Kovno to Vilna. En‑route, we
stopped in Ziezmariai where we
were able to see one of the last
instances of a wooden shule,
which had once been very popular
in Poland and Lithuania. It has
long been abandoned and is today
nothing more than an empty shell.
We arrived in Vilna at midday
and hoped that the balance of
the day would be enough time
to see most of the city’s Jewish
highlights.
Nothing remains today of the
old Shnipishok and Zaretcha
cemeteries other than small
commemorative monuments.
We stopped very briefly at each of
them and then made our way to
the Saltonishkiu cemetery where
the incomparable Vilna Gaon
(1720–1797) is buried. There are
a number of his family members
in the mausoleum as well as some
of the ashes of the Ger Tzedek,
Avraham ben Avraham, who was
burned at the stake on the second
day of Shavuot 1749.
Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
(1863–1940), the pre‑eminent
rabbi in pre‑war Europe and one of
Orthodoxy’s great leaders, is buried
nearby. His only child, Malka,
died at the age of 20 and is buried
next to him. We were able to drive
past his house the next morning.
We then spent a couple of
hours meandering through the old
quarter of Vilna, which was home
to the Jewish community and,
during WWII, the ghetto. It was
a particularly sunny and pleasant
afternoon which made our stroll
all the more enjoyable. We passed
by the site where the Gaon’s house
once stood and walked up and
down Zydu Gavte (Jews’ Street)
and Gaono Gavte (Gaon’s Street).
There are very many plaques
pointing out the city’s rich Jewish
past as well as a (rather bizarre
looking) statue of the Vilna Gaon.
It was now time to go to shule,
known as Taharat HaKodesh
(1903), and to meet some of the
local community as well as to pray
Mincha. Although not quite as
large as the shule in Kovno, it
was still very impressive. There is
a large chart on the wall with the
daily order of Tehillim as per the
Vilna Gaon’s custom. Before the
[Continued]

war there were approximately 100
shules in Vilna. As in Lublin,
Lodz, Warsaw and Kovno, only
one shule remains. On the way to
our hotel, we drove passed the site
of the famous Widow and Brothers
Romm publishing house.
We left Vilna on Tuesday
morning and an hour later arrived
at the Belarus border. It took only
1¾ hours to get through passport
control, a great improvement on
the four hours it had taken us in
2008 to enter Ukraine.
We arrived in Radin in a
state of great excitement. The
yeshiva still exists although,
incongruously, today it is a cultural
centre and theatre. The Chafetz
Chaim’s home, which used to
be next to the yeshiva, is no
longer there. In 2002, the Chafetz
Chaim’s grandsons and great‑
grandsons purchased the home
from the City of Radun for $9,000.
The house was then disassembled
and moved to Monsey, where they
hope to rebuild it exactly as it
was and set up a monument and
museum as a memorial to their
holy ancestor.
The Chafetz Chaim (1838–
1933) continues to exercise a great
influence on us all. Ever since we
arrived in Krakow, we were so
often chasing our tails as we tried
The stunning Shule in Lancut.
to keep up with our itinerary. We
realised, however, that in Radin
(as in Lyzensk in the first week) we
would be putting our stop watches
away. This was without doubt one
of the most anticipated visits of
the entire tour and no‑one was
in a rush. The great rosh yeshiva,
Rabbi Naftoli Trop (1871–1928),
was also buried in the same row.
Rabbi Alexander Ziskind
(Yesod VeShoresh Ha’Avodah,
died 1794) is buried in Grodno as
is Rabbi Shimon Shkop (1860–
1939), the rosh yeshiva of Sha’ar
HaTorah. Under Rabbi Shkop’s
leadership, the yeshiva grew
into one of the most prestigious
in Lithuania and White Russia.
Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman and
Rabbi Yoseph Kahaneman were
amongst his most famous pre‑war
pupils.
The shule in Grodno, where
we prayed Mincha, was built
between 1902 and 1905. An
earlier wooden shule on the
same site had been built as long
ago as 1580 but was destroyed by
fire in 1902. It was vandalised by
the Germans in 1941 and then
closed by the Russians in 1944.
The shule was only returned to
the small community in 1991. It
remains in disrepair but there are
plans to rebuild it with the help of
funds from abroad.
We then had a long
drive before arriving
in Mir. The yeshiva
is now a post office
and there are also two
shules nearby, but they
are inaccessible and,
as we have seen on
other occasions during
our tour, merely empty
shells.
Rabbi Yerucham
Levovitz, the Mirrer
mashgiach (circa 1873–
1936) was a disciple
of der Alter. His
own students, among
the most prominent
of who were Rabbi
Chaim Shmuelevitz,
Rabbi David Povarsky
64
and Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, were
said to have followed his every
word, never doing anything that
they even thought he might not
approve.
We arrived a little wearily in
Minsk at about 9pm, had dinner
and prayed Ma’ariv (the earliest
time for which was 10pm) before
heading off to bed.
Wednesday was our final day
of touring. We needed to be at
the airport by midday and all
we intended to do was to drive
to Volozhin, which was only 75
kilometres away. Yeshivat Etz
Chaim was known as “the mother”
of all yeshivot (at least in Russia,
Poland and Lithuania) and had
been established in 1803 by Rabbi
Chaim of Volozhin (1749–1821),
the most outstanding pupil of
the Vilna Gaon. The yeshiva has
very recently been returned to the
Belarus Jewish community and we
were able to gain entry inside its
famed walls. We had asked Rabbi
Opman to deliver a shiur based
on the Netziv and Reb Chaim
Brisker and then, as a final day
surprise, we gave out badges and
fridge magnets to all the tourists
with the words I Learned in
Volozhin on them, before breaking
into a lively dance. Rabbi Chaim
of Volozhin is buried in the
cemetery together with Rabbi
Eliezer Fried, Rabbi Chaim Hillel
Fried and Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro.
In 2008, our focus was almost
exclusively visiting the graves of
Davening in the Grodno Shule.
Davening at the kever (grave) of the Vilna Gaon.
rabbis and rebbes and this was
still the largest single component
of our tour. Nevertheless, we
also visited many shules. Some
of these were both stunning and
breathtaking in their beauty. We
toured Majdanek and Treblinka
as well as Holocaust memorials in
Kielce, Lodz, Warsaw and Kovno.
We felt that the mixture resulted
in an even more successful tour
than in 2008.
Wherever we went, we soaked
it up. This was the phrase I used
at our group meeting and I think
it really happened. We squeezed
every last ounce of meaning
out of whatever we did and saw.
We prayed, we lit candles, we
sang, we danced, we laughed, we
cried. The esprit de corps was
outstanding. These were indeed
days of opportunity; we could sleep
once we were home. We learned
and saw so much in ten days and I
think many of the experiences and
memories will remain with us all
our lives.
Our guide, Rabbi Opman, was
peerless. He gave us the benefit of
his multifarious talents as talmid
chacham, scholar, bibliophile,
historian and raconteur.
We have started planning our
next tour which is scheduled for
next May 2012, when we hope
to tour Germany and the Czech
Republic.
David Havin.

Mazal Tov to MHC Congregant
Natalie Miller OAM
In July, Jeanne Pratt AC was host
to a tribute dinner to honour
MHC congregant Natalie Miller’s
contribution over the last
45 years to the Australian Film
industry with over 100 industry
identities attending.
As Natalie said on the night;
“These things usually happen to
you when you retire or when you
leave this world so it is quite good
to be still working.”
The tribute dinner was organised
not only to honour their friend but
also to establish the Natalie Miller
Fellowship.
To date $60,000 has been raised
towards a $250,000 target that will
establish a perpetual fund paying
• Publicist for the Melbourne
International Film Festival
• Established her Film
distribution business Sharmill
Films
• Founded the Longford Cinema
• She and husband Henry have
raised 3 sons
$10,000 a year to any
woman who can utilise
the money to pursue
a business idea in the
Australian film industry.
Friend Sue Maslin says
“The exciting thing
about the fund is it
could apply to any
woman in any sector of
the industry. It’s also
about encouraging
any woman to identify
what could help them
achieve their career
goals.”
Some of Natalie Miller’s many achievements:
• Established and then expanded
Cinema Nova in Carlton into a
15‑screen art‑house complex.
• On industry boards including
Film Victoria & Australian
Centre for the Moving Image.
• Awarded Order of Australia
Medal.
Yom Hazikaron Commemoration, Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University
Around the world on the day
prior to the joyous celebration
of Yom Ha’Atzmaut,
Israel’s Independence Day,
communities gather annually
to honour those of Israel’s
fallen soldiers and victims
of terror attacks, on what is
known as Yom Hazikaron.
Here in Melbourne, this year
the commemoration was held on
Sunday evening 8th May 2011
at the Robert Blackwood Hall at
Monash University.
An almost full auditorium
watched and listened to a moving
evening (that coincided with
Mothers Day) and acknowledged
the ultimate sacrifice made by
so many Israeli mothers, fathers,
sons and daughters. Rabbi James
Kennard, principal of Mt Scopus
Memorial College, acted as
master of ceremonies and with
all speeches presented bilingually
(in Hebrew and English), the
connection to the People and the
State of Israel at this sad time, was
only heightened.
As is the custom, the
ceremony began with the Zionist
Youth Council marching onto
the stage following the singing
of the national anthem, proudly
raising and lowering the Israeli
flag. The ceremony also included
the recitation of the yizkor prayer
65
and el maleh rachamim
by our own Rabbi, Dovid
Rubinfeld.
A powerful opening
address was given by Israel’s
Ambassador to Australia,
Yuval Rotem, who
poignantly commented
‘…from all the periods,
there is none like ours.
A strong Israel, prepared,
mainly relying on itself,
displaying impressive
military prowess,
economic capability and
most importantly amazing
human capital…’.
Candles were lit in
memory of those who were
killed in the establishment
and ongoing protection of
the State of Israel
and those who were
brutally slaughtered
as innocent victims
of terror. Moving
testimonies were given
in respect of eight
individuals who were
truly brave martyrs.
Perhaps part of the stirring
address given by ZCV President
Sam Tatarka summed up the very
raison d’être for commemoration
ceremonies such as this – ‘…
Yom Hazikaron also challenges
us to remember with pride the
reason and the purpose for
which so many have made the
ultimate sacrifice… The Jewish
people, more than any other, are
a people of collective memory:
The Torah commands memory
and history demands memory…’
May the day arrive speedily
when the enemies of Israel will
put down their guns and the
terrorists love their children
more than they hate the People
of Israel; and for all to live
in peace in a safe, secure and
prosperous State of
Israel, regardless of race
or ethnicity. Perhaps
then Yom Hazikaron
will truly be a service to
remember the people
and events of the past.
David H Sherr