TELL Magazine: October - November 2019
The magazine of Emanuel Synagogue, Sydney Australia
The magazine of Emanuel Synagogue, Sydney Australia
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Moving forward as<br />
one country for all<br />
Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins<br />
Creation<br />
Elul-Tishrei 5779/80<br />
<strong>October</strong>-<strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Open the gates<br />
to forgiveness<br />
Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio<br />
For the love<br />
of a dog<br />
Rev Sam Zwarenstein<br />
Challenges<br />
and Changes<br />
Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth
Crossroads<br />
Music + Visuals + Movement<br />
Vocal testimony, historic visuals<br />
of the Holocaust & live music.<br />
An exclusive, never seen before, two night<br />
only performance not to be missed!<br />
Crossroads<br />
Emanuel Synagogue New Sanctuary<br />
<strong>November</strong> 27 7pm / <strong>November</strong> 28 7pm<br />
Secure your seats at:<br />
tinyurl.com/crossroadsconcert<br />
or 02 9389 6444<br />
For this special event, The Sydney Art Quartet<br />
will be showcasing Pulitzer Prize-winning<br />
composer Steve Reich who was recently<br />
called “…the most original musical thinker of our<br />
time” (The New Yorker) and “…among the great<br />
composers of the century”<br />
(New York Times).<br />
His instantly recognizable musical language<br />
combines rigorous structures with propulsive<br />
rhythms and seductive instrumental colour<br />
which will be combined with an oversized<br />
cinema installation and the professional debut<br />
of a very special Jewish singer.<br />
Artistic Director James Beck<br />
The Sydney Art<br />
Quartet is a virtuosic<br />
quartet that weaves<br />
together ancient and<br />
contemporary stories,<br />
touching multiple<br />
senses and cultures<br />
to give audience<br />
memories that live<br />
long after the last<br />
note has died.<br />
Steve Reich<br />
Composer<br />
Garcia & Sá<br />
Visuals<br />
Avital Greenberg<br />
Vocals<br />
Anton Projects<br />
Rehearsal Director<br />
Bangarra Dance Theatre<br />
This is Emanuel Synagogue's annual fundraiser - please support
YOUR QUARTERLY JOURNAL ON SPIRITUALITY, LEARNING & COMMUNITY<br />
Emanuel Synagogue offers a home where you can live your Judaism in a contemporary<br />
world, drawing on our ancient teachings and traditions. We are a pluralistic community<br />
offering a choice of services, programs and activities for the Masorti, Progressive and Renewal<br />
movements. We do this with contemporary understanding to create a dynamic and diverse<br />
community, welcoming you and your involvement.<br />
PROGRESSIVE<br />
The structure of our Progressive<br />
services allows you to choose<br />
the type of prayer that is<br />
most meaningful for you.<br />
You may choose from alternate<br />
readings in English, you may read<br />
the Hebrew prayer (available in<br />
both Hebrew script, and in English<br />
transliteration), or you may choose to<br />
take a moment of personal reflection.<br />
Our Friday night “Shabbat<br />
Live” service is a moving,<br />
innovative service where prayer<br />
is enhanced with musical<br />
instruments, beautiful melodies,<br />
creative readings and stories.<br />
Shabbat Live is held at<br />
6:15pm every Friday.<br />
The Progressive Shabbat Service begins<br />
at 10am each Saturday morning.<br />
MASORTI<br />
Our Masorti (traditional) services<br />
are run almost entirely in Hebrew,<br />
honouring the tradition with<br />
contemporary insights.<br />
As with all services at Emanuel<br />
Synagogue, men and women<br />
participate equally and fully.<br />
The Friday night Carlebach service<br />
is a traditional Kabbalat Shabbat<br />
service, featuring the well-known<br />
melodies of Shlomo Carlebach.<br />
The Carlebach service is held<br />
at 6.15pm every Friday.<br />
Our Masorti Shabbat Service begins<br />
at 9am on Saturday mornings.<br />
We also hold a Masorti Minyan<br />
at 6:45am on Monday and<br />
Thursday mornings.<br />
RENEWAL<br />
The Renewal movement is devoted to<br />
personal and spiritual development,<br />
reinvigorating modern Judaism with<br />
Kabbalistic and musical practices.<br />
Through our Renewal activities<br />
you will have the opportunity to<br />
reach a new level of awareness,<br />
stress relief, self-development,<br />
relaxation and inner healing.<br />
Email: orna@emanuel.org.au<br />
Kabbalah Meditation<br />
An opportunity to learn meditation<br />
in a Jewish context. With Rabbi Dr.<br />
Orna Triguboff, and guest musicians.<br />
Wednesday nights in <strong>November</strong><br />
from 7:00-8:30pm<br />
Yom Kippur Eve - Music,<br />
Meditation and Prayer<br />
Tues 8 <strong>October</strong> - doors open 7:45pm<br />
Bookings online essential: events.<br />
humanitix.com.au/yomkippur<br />
Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kamins Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth<br />
Reverend Sam Zwarenstein<br />
Cantor George Mordecai
{CEO UPDATE}<br />
Suzanna Helia<br />
“The Jews started it all – and by “it”<br />
I mean so many of the things we care<br />
about, the underlying values that make<br />
all of us, Jew and gentile, believer and<br />
atheist, tick. Without the Jews, we<br />
would see the world through different<br />
eyes, hear with different ears, even<br />
feel with different feelings. And we<br />
would set a different course for our<br />
lives… Their worldview has become<br />
so much a part of us that at this point<br />
it might as well have been written<br />
into our cells as a genetic code.”<br />
- Thomas Cahill,<br />
The Gifts of the Jews<br />
Our synagogue has taken a<br />
path not only to be a centre for<br />
learning, prayer and spirituality,<br />
but also a place for Jewish arts<br />
and culture, as these are a strong<br />
part of our Jewish identity.<br />
As I sit in my living room with a<br />
cup of tea, listening to Gershwin<br />
and thinking about writing this<br />
article, I scan the room and gaze at<br />
a beautiful Slim Aarons photograph,<br />
and reflect - Slim Aarons was<br />
Jewish; Anne Liebowitz is Jewish;<br />
and the music I am listening to<br />
was composed by a Jew. This<br />
relatively small group of people<br />
created so much of the beauty that<br />
we enjoy today. Jews are known to<br />
be smart, cultured and generous.<br />
They have an ingrained sense of<br />
social justice and worldliness.<br />
A basic search on the Internet<br />
highlighted that Jews have won<br />
twenty-two percent of all Nobel<br />
prizes awarded; twenty nine<br />
percent since 1950, after the<br />
Holocaust destroyed a third of<br />
the population. Given the small<br />
population, proportionately, they<br />
could have been recipients of<br />
one in five hundred, or possibly<br />
two Nobel prizes for medicine,<br />
chemistry or physics. However,<br />
Jewish people have been awarded<br />
one hundred and twenty-three.<br />
Jews are also disproportionately<br />
represented in most of the arts. Since<br />
their respective dates of inception,<br />
{INSIDE THIS EDITION}<br />
TRANSFORMATIVE<br />
LEARNING<br />
20<br />
WANT TO WRITE YOUR<br />
OWN OBITUARY?<br />
Barbara Karet<br />
14<br />
THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN<br />
Cantor George Mordecai<br />
26<br />
ELUL JEWELS<br />
30<br />
JUDAISM - A PATH OF WELLBEING<br />
INSPIRING PRAYER<br />
8<br />
OPEN THE GATES<br />
TO FORGIVENESS<br />
Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio<br />
14<br />
NEW PROGRESSIVE MACHZOR<br />
Rabbis Dr John Levi AM. Ph D.<br />
and Jonathan Keren-Black<br />
16<br />
GESTATION OF A NEW MACHZOR<br />
22<br />
CHANGES AND CHALLENGES<br />
Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth<br />
31<br />
HIGH HOLY DAYS AT EMANUEL
America's leading orchestras have<br />
been led by Jewish conductors one<br />
third of the time. Jews created nearly<br />
two thirds of Broadway's longest<br />
running musicals. One quarter of<br />
the greatest photographers of all<br />
time are Jewish. Of all the movie<br />
directors who have earned Oscars,<br />
thirty eight percent were Jews.<br />
Rabbi Ninio’s history of the<br />
synagogue revealed that the initial<br />
intention was for Temple Emanuel<br />
to be a place for prayer and<br />
gathering; a place where spirituality,<br />
Jewish identity and music were a<br />
fundamental part of what we all<br />
share together (think of the days of<br />
Werner Baer and Cantor Deutsch).<br />
This has also been the vision of<br />
Rabbi Kamins since the time of<br />
his arrival here thirty years ago.<br />
Over the last few years we have<br />
hosted the Australian Chamber<br />
Orchestra and the Sydney Sacred<br />
Music Festival. We also provided a<br />
home for Shir Madness to perform,<br />
created monthly Israeli and Jewish<br />
movie nights, and with Cantor<br />
George Mordecai, have regular<br />
inspiring musical events. Our In<br />
Conversation sessions saw a host<br />
of interesting topics and people<br />
including Dr John Hewson, Rabbi<br />
Gab Krebs, Dr Alan Finkel, Jessica<br />
Rowe and Thomas Mayor on the<br />
Uluru Statement from the Heart.<br />
Our focus is to continue to<br />
provide a platform for culture<br />
and arts to further flourish, so<br />
children, young people, families<br />
and older generations can get<br />
together and enjoy the range<br />
of amazing events we have<br />
planned for our community.<br />
This year we are hosting the Sydney<br />
Art Quartet with a one-off cultural<br />
event created especially for the<br />
Emanuel Synagogue community.<br />
This concert is the major fundraiser<br />
for our Synagogue for the year<br />
and I urge you to support this<br />
important event. This performance<br />
will poignantly and dramatically<br />
explore human rights and the<br />
Holocaust, plus feature an entrirely<br />
new dance work performed and<br />
lead by the choreographer of the<br />
Bangarra Dance Company.<br />
A Friends of Kaveret concert<br />
featuring Lior that will bring joy<br />
to the Jewish community; we<br />
are forging a partnership with<br />
Musica Viva, which was founded<br />
by a Jewish immigrant. And all<br />
this is only the beginning of the<br />
cultural and spiritual events we<br />
look forward to sharing with<br />
you in the years to come.<br />
This time as we are closing<br />
one year and are about to step<br />
into a new one, I would like<br />
to wish all L'Shanah Tovah<br />
Tikatevu V'taihatem and I am<br />
looking forward to enjoying<br />
many beautiful connections and<br />
spiritual moments enlightened by<br />
enthralling music that Emanuel<br />
Synagogue will bring to you.<br />
SUSTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT<br />
AND HEALING THE WORLD<br />
6<br />
MOVING FORWARD<br />
AS ONE COUNTRY FOR ALL<br />
Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins<br />
17<br />
FOR THE LOVE OF A DOG<br />
Reverend Sam Zwarenstein<br />
27<br />
HOME IS A STATE OF BEING<br />
Donna Jacobs Sife<br />
CONNECTING WITH ISRAEL<br />
& WORLD JEWRY<br />
24<br />
APPRECIATING OUR<br />
HERITAGE SANCTUARY<br />
Dudu Gottlib<br />
27<br />
NEWS FROM NETZER<br />
Caroline Freeman<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
4<br />
CEO UPDATE<br />
32<br />
SUKKOT AT<br />
EMANUEL SYNAGOGUE<br />
33<br />
SHABBAT BY THE SEA<br />
5
{MOVING FORWARD AS ONE COUNTRY FOR ALL}<br />
Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kamins OAM<br />
We take great pride that our word of greeting, “shalom”, means both wholeness and<br />
peace. Shalom is a word of engagement that champions inner and relational peace. Yet<br />
we often live lives that are not as whole and full as we wish, because of things we have<br />
done, or things we have failed to do. While we can work for forgiveness, healing and<br />
reconciliation every day, we often fail to take the initiative and overcome the obstacles.<br />
The upcoming Yamim Noraim<br />
provide the opportunity for us to<br />
focus on the power of repentance,<br />
or teshuva, in all of our different<br />
relationships and situations.<br />
Judaism, which has been in the<br />
forefront of bringing the notion of<br />
forgiveness to human culture, has<br />
over time developed a simple rubric<br />
of steps to follow for repentance –<br />
recognition, remorse, restitution<br />
and resolve. We can practise<br />
repentance daily - but most of us<br />
do not. Many Jews still come to<br />
synagogue over the days of Rosh<br />
HaShanah and Yom Kippur, but not<br />
all of them will take advantage of<br />
this concentrated and focused time<br />
to heal self, relationships and society.<br />
Nevertheless, the opportunity<br />
beckons on many levels.<br />
I would encourage all of us<br />
to recognise the significance<br />
of what it means to live in<br />
Australia, especially those of us<br />
who have immigrated here in<br />
the last two centuries or so. I<br />
arrived in 1989, and so loved<br />
being in this country, felt so<br />
much at home, that I became<br />
a citizen in 1992. (Those were<br />
the easier pre-September 11<br />
days.). Little did I know of the<br />
country’s deep time history,<br />
let alone its last 200 years. I<br />
knew the Aboriginal people<br />
had been wronged, but not to<br />
what extent, and I knew even<br />
less about their history and<br />
culture. Mabo, Sorry Day,<br />
Rabbit Proof Fence and other<br />
aspects of contemporary history<br />
6<br />
and culture made me more aware of<br />
the displacement and racism in the<br />
formation of this modern country,<br />
but while I knew somewhat of the<br />
injustices done, the knowledge was<br />
vague.<br />
Then one night in late May 2017,<br />
I was watching the late-night news<br />
and heard the report on the newly<br />
released Uluru Statement from the<br />
Heart. As I have written before, I<br />
sensed deeply that I had experienced<br />
an historic moment in Australia,<br />
the opening of a true moment<br />
for real reconciliation. But real<br />
reconciliation requires a process<br />
similar to repentance. For there<br />
to be true healing, there needs to<br />
be recognition of what the First<br />
Nations and their descendants have<br />
suffered for over 200 years - the<br />
near destruction of the most ancient<br />
human culture on earth. You and I<br />
were not here during the settlement<br />
and colonial era, nor the decades<br />
beyond in which genocide occurred<br />
and racism became endemic. Most<br />
of us came to political consciousness<br />
when the 1967 referendum passed.<br />
Yet still, nearly all of us who are<br />
not descendants of Indigenous<br />
people have benefited from the<br />
enterprise of 18 th century colonial<br />
settlement. Therefore, we have some<br />
responsibility toward the descendants<br />
of those whose lives were destroyed<br />
by that very enterprise. Thus, we<br />
have a responsibility to learn about<br />
those citizens of the greater society<br />
in which we live.<br />
When the government of the day<br />
dismissed the Uluru Statement<br />
from the Heart, it seemed as if an<br />
historical opportunity had been<br />
lost. Fortunately, two and a half<br />
years later, it appears that there is bipartisan<br />
work being undertaken to<br />
respond to the Statement. Deeply<br />
sensing that this issue is a moral one<br />
for all humans, and especially for<br />
Jews given our stated values, I chose<br />
to learn more about Aboriginal<br />
culture and history during my recent<br />
eight-week sabbatical. In no way am<br />
I implying that after a few weeks of<br />
reading, I have internalised a sense of<br />
what it is to be an Aboriginal person<br />
in Australia, any more than someone<br />
reading a few books on Jews and<br />
Judaism would have that inner sense<br />
about us. But my reading has made<br />
me clearly recognise that in learning
about Aboriginal history and culture,<br />
we also learn so much about our<br />
journey as Homo sapiens; about a<br />
highly developed, self-sustaining,<br />
spiritual and unique, semi-nomadic<br />
and agrarian culture. My reading has<br />
also opened my eyes to an inevitable<br />
culture clash between English settlers<br />
and First Nations; the former’s<br />
material power, combined with a<br />
sense of cultural superiority ranging<br />
from paternalism to racism, that led<br />
to the devastation of the latter.<br />
There are so many places where each of<br />
us can begin to learn and understand<br />
the past of this land we share. Billy<br />
Griffiths’ Deep Time Dreaming 1 takes<br />
one on an archaeological tour of<br />
ancient Australia, opening our eyes<br />
to the fact that the knowledge of<br />
Homo sapiens’ arrival in Australia<br />
has shifted our entire understanding<br />
as an evolving species. Bruce<br />
Pascoe’s Dark Emu 2 demonstrates the<br />
previously unacknowledged agrarian<br />
practices of Aboriginal peoples, and<br />
how they developed technology to<br />
work sustainably within a harsh<br />
environment. In Treading Lightly 3 ,<br />
Karl-Erik Sveiby and Tex Skuthorpe<br />
reveal the wisdom behind Aboriginal<br />
practices, offering suggestions about<br />
what we can still learn from the first<br />
inhabitants of this land, in the harsh<br />
environment in which we all live.<br />
Together, these books undermine<br />
the notion that the First Nations of<br />
this land were in any way culturally<br />
or spiritually backward. However,<br />
they were comparatively materially<br />
underdeveloped, and thus subject to<br />
European “might makes right”. There<br />
are several histories, such as Richard<br />
Broome’s Aboriginal Australians 4 and<br />
C.D. Rowley’s The Destruction of<br />
Aboriginal Society 5 , which reveal the<br />
broad history of conflict and endemic<br />
racism of Europeans toward Natives<br />
that has resulted in a decimated<br />
society. The hard hitting The Colonial<br />
Fantasy 6 , by Sarah Maddison,<br />
underscores the fact that Aboriginal<br />
Australians have never given up their<br />
identity and their claims to this land<br />
that they have inhabited for at least<br />
60,000 years; claims that need to be<br />
addressed in contemporary Australia<br />
by all of us.<br />
Hopefully, as we read and learn<br />
in different formats, we will not<br />
only recognise the historic injustice<br />
suffered by the First Nations of this<br />
land, and their descendants, but<br />
we will also feel remorse for not<br />
having done enough to date to make<br />
restitution. I strongly believe that in<br />
the same way that two decades ago<br />
Emanuel Synagogue took a leading<br />
role in the move toward marriage<br />
equality, so too should we take the<br />
lead on this issue at this time. We<br />
have the opportunity now, when<br />
both government and opposition<br />
have in some fashion supported a<br />
referendum to address the inequity<br />
that still plagues society, to help<br />
move justice forward. The 1967<br />
constitutional referendum, the Mabo<br />
case and the Federal apology by<br />
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2007<br />
have been necessary precursors, but<br />
not sufficient responses to actualise<br />
true teshuvah, repentance<br />
and reconciliation. A<br />
beautiful book that can<br />
help open our hearts<br />
and minds to Aboriginal<br />
Australia is called<br />
Growing Up Aboriginal<br />
in Australia 7 , edited by<br />
Anita Heiss. Stan Grant's<br />
Talking to My Country<br />
powerfully presents the<br />
issues of racism and<br />
displacement endemic to<br />
our country. Ever since<br />
Thomas Mayor came to<br />
HEALING THE WORLD<br />
us ‘In Conversation’ in March of<br />
this year, we have been promoting<br />
learning about Indigenous Affairs<br />
under the Social Justice link on our<br />
website. Details of many of the<br />
books mentioned above, plus links to<br />
films and speeches can be found there<br />
as well.<br />
Emanuel Synagogue will continue<br />
to take the lead on this issue over<br />
the year ahead, hoping soon to<br />
have Thomas Mayor’s book launch,<br />
a special screenings of The Final<br />
Quarter, The Australian Dream and<br />
other films and presentations by<br />
leaders of the Aboriginal community.<br />
Only when we recognise the truth of<br />
the past can we truly walk toward the<br />
future together. As it says in Pirkei<br />
Avot 1:18, The Wisdom of our Sages,<br />
“The world stands on three things: on<br />
justice and on truth and on peace.”<br />
We Jews who have been displaced<br />
from our land, suffered as a minority,<br />
and struggled to have our truth heard<br />
and understood by others, should<br />
have great sensitivity and empathy<br />
for the First Nations of this land.<br />
Repentance begins at home, and in<br />
continued over...<br />
7
the weeks ahead we will speak about<br />
the personal steps we can take in our<br />
lives to heal our relationships. For<br />
over 30 years I have called Australia<br />
home, and I hope we can heal the<br />
rifts in our greater home, with<br />
recognition, remorse and restitution<br />
- voice, treaty and truth is the<br />
appropriate response to the Uluru<br />
Statement from the Heart. We can<br />
then resolve to move forward as one<br />
country for all, with justice, truth,<br />
and peace - shalom.<br />
References:<br />
1. Griffiths, Billie (2018) Deep Time<br />
Dreaming. Black Inc. Australia.<br />
2. Pascoe, Bruce (2018) Dark Emu.<br />
Magabala Books. Australia.<br />
3. Sveiby, Karl-Erik and Scuthorpe,<br />
Tex (2006) Treading Lightly. Allen<br />
& Unwin. Australia.<br />
4. Broom, Richard (2010) Aboriginal<br />
Australians. Allen & Unwin.<br />
Australia.<br />
5. Rowley, C.D (1970) The<br />
Destruction of Aboriginal Society.<br />
Australian National University<br />
Press. Australia.<br />
6. Maddison, Sarah (<strong>2019</strong>) The<br />
Colonial Fantasy. Allen & Unwin.<br />
Australia.<br />
7. Heiss, Anita Ed. (2018) Growing<br />
Up Aboriginal In Australia.<br />
Australia.<br />
{OPEN THE GATES TO FORGIVENESS}<br />
Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio<br />
This year we are delighted to be<br />
using our new machzor for the<br />
first time. The text is modelled on<br />
the American machzor with some<br />
changes to make it resonate with<br />
our region. There are a number of<br />
articles in this Tell which explain<br />
some of the choices that were made,<br />
and the vision for the machzor.<br />
As part of the process in America,<br />
numerous surveys were conducted<br />
where people were asked what<br />
they would like to see in the<br />
machzor, and what was important<br />
to them. These responses shaped<br />
the machzor which was created.<br />
Interestingly, one result from the<br />
survey was discomfort with the<br />
word ‘sin’. There was a push for<br />
it to be removed from the text.<br />
I am not sure if this is legend or<br />
reality, but there were discussions<br />
about whether ‘sin’ had a place in<br />
the machzor in our modern age,<br />
where we don’t believe in doctrines<br />
of Divine reward and punishment,<br />
heaven and hell, or the duality of<br />
the world in which our ancestors<br />
lived. It was possibly in response to<br />
these discussions about ‘sin’, that<br />
Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman wrote an<br />
article which appears in the machzor<br />
“Why ‘Sin’ Still Matters or What’s a<br />
Heaven For?”<br />
Our thoughts during the High<br />
Holyday period are infused with<br />
the concept of sin and repentance,<br />
judgement and forgiveness, the<br />
8
weighing of deeds, contemplation<br />
of our lives. Our misdeeds and<br />
wrongdoings are taken and<br />
examined, and we hold a mirror<br />
to our true selves. We remove the<br />
pretence, the veneers, the masks we<br />
wear, and we confront who we truly<br />
are with all our flaws and wounds.<br />
If we remove the notion of sin from<br />
this equation, we are left with an<br />
emptiness and a moral relativism<br />
which is hollow, and we miss the<br />
power and purpose of this season.<br />
In our world we are uncomfortable<br />
with the word sin, and we struggle<br />
with saying that something<br />
is ‘wrong’. So often I hear<br />
justifications- “well you have to<br />
look at it from their point of<br />
view”, or “it is wrong for ME, but<br />
I can’t say whether or not it is for<br />
them.” Hoffman cites the work<br />
of A.J Ayer who says: “‘Murder<br />
is wrong’ simply means that the<br />
speaker disapproves of murder”.<br />
This leads us to the position of<br />
ethical relativism - nothing is a sin,<br />
nothing is right or wrong, it is just<br />
right or wrong for ME. Dostoevsky<br />
said, “in a world without God<br />
everything is permitted.” 1 So if we<br />
are no longer comfortable asserting<br />
that something is wrong, we negate<br />
the concept of sin. Afterall, if we<br />
don’t believe anything is wrong, if<br />
we don’t believe in heaven, Divine<br />
reward and punishment, then why<br />
have a concept of sin at all? The<br />
logical conclusion then is to remove<br />
‘sin’ from the machzor.<br />
And it is not just to help others feel<br />
better and not ‘judged’; we do it for<br />
ourselves as well. We don’t like to<br />
feel uncomfortable. We don’t enjoy<br />
looking at the parts of ourselves<br />
which are less than perfect and our<br />
world is oriented to help us in this<br />
avoidance. Our on-line profiles<br />
portray our lives and ourselves in<br />
our perfection not our flaws. Even<br />
1 Rabbi Hoffmann “Why Sin<br />
Matters or What is Heaven<br />
For?” pg xxvi<br />
the times that we choose to show<br />
our vulnerability seem to have<br />
become a competition to see who<br />
can be the ‘most’ vulnerable, the<br />
‘most’ flawed; and so it feels less like<br />
a real examination and more like<br />
an exercise in increasing ‘likes’ and<br />
‘followers.’ Just as there is very little<br />
‘reality’ in ‘reality TV’, there is very<br />
little unbrushed and unpolished in<br />
our on-line presences. Despite this<br />
knowledge, there is still a part of us<br />
that believes what we see on-line to<br />
be true. As a result, the discomfort<br />
and challenges posed by the selfexamination<br />
of the High Holyday<br />
period are even more challenging<br />
and so we try to airbrush and avoid<br />
them too. The rationale being: ‘if<br />
we remove sin from the machzor,<br />
then we have a celebration of life,<br />
we have an affirmation of the good<br />
and shiny, and we are perfect.’<br />
But we are not perfect, and growth<br />
and learning only come through<br />
struggle; through seeing and<br />
acknowledging the imperfections<br />
and working to make change.<br />
The word for ‘sin’ in Hebrew is<br />
‘chet’, and it has a really interesting<br />
etymology. It is the term used in<br />
archery for missing the mark; it<br />
describes the act of aiming for the<br />
bullseye and missing. Unlike many<br />
of our notions of sin, Judaism<br />
teaches us that sin is straying from<br />
the path. It acknowledges that we<br />
aim for the bullseye but inevitably<br />
we will miss sometimes, and that<br />
is okay. It is human. Our tradition<br />
teaches that we aim for the good,<br />
we try to follow a right path, but<br />
sometimes we go astray; sometimes<br />
we make a mistake and<br />
we acknowledge that<br />
and try to do better<br />
next time. It does not<br />
have the heavy weight<br />
of the word ‘sin’ in<br />
English, but it does<br />
acknowledge that there<br />
is a right and wrong.<br />
And in order to grow,<br />
to become all we can<br />
be and create a better<br />
world, we need to be<br />
able to say that some<br />
actions are wrong,<br />
others are right; some behaviour<br />
is good and some is bad, and we<br />
have a right and a responsibility<br />
to recognise that and to state it.<br />
Rather than removing ‘sin’ from<br />
the machzor, we need to recognise<br />
it, and allow it to form part of our<br />
INSPIRING PRAYER<br />
prayer. To quote Rabbi Hoffmann<br />
again: “we dare not abandon the<br />
moral language of tradition, for it<br />
comes brimming with profundity.<br />
Abandoning the metaphorical<br />
reality of wrongful behaviour as<br />
sinful and righteous acts as blessing,<br />
withdraws all poetry from our<br />
world.<br />
Only a world replete with sin and<br />
9
salvation, the great and the noble<br />
and the heavenly is a world worth<br />
having…these words remind us of<br />
our ultimate challenges.” 2<br />
High Holy Days and the process<br />
of self-examination is difficult. It<br />
involves judgement and repentance,<br />
acknowledgement of our flaws as<br />
well as our goodness and to do that<br />
we need to say that some actions<br />
are right and others are wrong. We<br />
need ‘sin’ in order to open the gates<br />
to forgiveness, growth, betterment<br />
of ourselves and our world. There<br />
is holiness in our sins as well as in<br />
our goodness - sometimes it is those<br />
cracks that allow the light to shine<br />
through.<br />
I wish for us all a season of reflection<br />
and growth. I would like to leave<br />
you with a poem by Stacey Zisook<br />
Robinson:<br />
2 ibid pg xxvii<br />
The Holiness of Broken Things<br />
I carry my brokenness with me<br />
It is holyas<br />
holy as my breath,<br />
my heart,<br />
my wholeness.<br />
It is a part of me, these<br />
scattered pieces<br />
of shattered longing<br />
and battered dreams.<br />
My sins.<br />
All of them.<br />
I carry themall<br />
of them;<br />
All of these broken things<br />
that bend me and bow me,<br />
together with my wholeness,<br />
these holy things.<br />
Idols to my shame,<br />
wrapped in gold and<br />
adorned in abandon.<br />
I fed the fires of that sacred forge<br />
with fear and guilt,<br />
and the alters ran slick with salted<br />
tears.<br />
I offeredofferthe<br />
broken pieces as my sin offering,<br />
for they are holy<br />
and I carry them with me,<br />
together with my wholeness<br />
I carry my brokenness with meall<br />
my sins<br />
and shame<br />
and salted tears,<br />
and I place them<br />
together with my wholeness<br />
on the sacred altars<br />
holy, holy, holy.<br />
They twine together in red and gold<br />
flames,<br />
Broken<br />
and Whole<br />
offered together<br />
and returned to me,<br />
Whole<br />
and Broken-<br />
Holy still,<br />
carried together<br />
until I reach the next altar.<br />
10
Shabbat In The Circle<br />
One Saturday each month from 9:30am<br />
<strong>October</strong> 19 & <strong>November</strong> 16<br />
Join us for this special Shabbat morning gathering.<br />
We begin at 9:30am with the study of Hassidic and other mystical<br />
texts then discuss how we can apply them in our daily lives.<br />
This is followed at 10:15am by a collaborative musical<br />
gathering based on the Shabbat morning service incorporating<br />
melodies, poems and dance to enhance our Shabbath.<br />
Contact gmordecai@emanuel.org.au<br />
Kabbalah Meditation<br />
Wednesday Nights in <strong>November</strong> from 7:00-8:30pm<br />
An opportunity to learn meditation in a<br />
Jewish context. With Rabbi Dr. Orna<br />
Triguboff and guest musicians<br />
Expecting<br />
a baby?<br />
Jewnatal is a program for those expecting a<br />
baby in their lives, whether through birth or<br />
adoption, and whether the 1st or 5th!<br />
The concept is to foster/build relationships with<br />
people going through the same life stage that will<br />
carry forward after the class has concluded.<br />
Email Rabbi Kaiserblueth:<br />
rkaiserblueth@emanuel.org.au<br />
Contact the office on 9389 6444 for details.<br />
11
12
NEED A CELEBRANT?<br />
Jon Green<br />
Civil Marriage Celebrant<br />
WEDDINGS<br />
RENEWAL OF VOWS<br />
BABY NAMINGS<br />
CALL JON ON:<br />
0414 872 199<br />
Lunch<br />
'n'<br />
Learn<br />
.<br />
NOURISHMENT FOR MIND, BODY AND<br />
SOUL. ENJOY LUNCH, MEET FRIENDS AND<br />
DELVE INTO TORAH.<br />
Join us on the second Saturday morning of<br />
each month following Shabbat services:<br />
<strong>October</strong> 12 - Rabbi Claudio Kaiser-blueth<br />
<strong>November</strong> 9 - Cantor George Mordecai -<br />
Rabbi Nachman: Reflections on the<br />
Tormented Master
{INTRODUCING MISHKAN T’SHUVAH -<br />
NEW PROGRESSIVE MACHZOR}<br />
By Co-Editors Rabbis Dr John Levi AM. Ph D. and Jonathan Keren-Black<br />
Why is this Machzor different from all other Machzorim? Quite simply<br />
because it reflects our own community’s tone, needs and practices.<br />
True, our new High Holy Day<br />
prayer book actually began life<br />
in 2015 in the form and shape<br />
of the new American Machzor<br />
Mishkan HaNefesh — Sanctuary of<br />
the Soul. The Central Conference<br />
of American Rabbis produced<br />
a great book, or rather books<br />
in the plural. The liturgy and<br />
accompanying materials for the<br />
High Holydays is so extensive<br />
that it requires two companion<br />
volumes, one for Rosh Hashanah<br />
and the second for Yom Kippur.<br />
The layout of each page was very<br />
impressive. The type in both<br />
Hebrew and English was splendid.<br />
The notes that accompanied each<br />
page of prayer were scholarly and<br />
interesting. After all, there are<br />
no less than 1500 of our rabbis<br />
working and teaching in the<br />
United States and Canada. They<br />
serve more than a million and<br />
half people and together their<br />
movement constitutes an amazing<br />
resource of Jewish scholarship<br />
and learning. But, and there is<br />
always a “but”, its very strength<br />
presented us with some problems.<br />
We had to choose. There are<br />
progressive prayer books in England<br />
and France and Israel and Germany.<br />
In America there are three nonorthodox<br />
movements: Reform,<br />
Conservative and Reconstructionist.<br />
And there were also differing<br />
orthodox prayer books to be<br />
studied. Unless there is good reason<br />
not to, we prefer in our region to use<br />
the more traditional order of words<br />
and services. However, since our<br />
Shabbat and Daily Siddur is based<br />
14<br />
on the CCAR version, and not<br />
surprisingly there was a similarity of<br />
visual and liturgical style between<br />
their Siddur and Machzor, as well<br />
as an established and effective<br />
working relationship between us, we<br />
concluded that Mishkan HaNefesh<br />
was our best starting point.<br />
We believe we chose correctly,<br />
and hope that, as the final Shofar<br />
blows on Yom Kippur, you’ll<br />
agree with us. The Machzor of<br />
the American Reform Movement<br />
was powerful and moving. The<br />
Hebrew text was clear and easy<br />
to follow. It was accompanied<br />
by a transliterated version of the<br />
text and a modern gender-neutral<br />
English translation. No other<br />
prayer book was so inclusive. The<br />
new Machzor needed to make<br />
sense theologically and relate to<br />
our own times as well as our long<br />
history. It did not yearn for the<br />
resumption of animal sacrifices and<br />
it did not expect the building of a<br />
Third Temple at the end of time.<br />
Of course, in the Southern<br />
Hemisphere, and in the tropics<br />
of South East Asia where our<br />
congregations are to be found, the<br />
seasons do not correspond with
North America. We don’t have<br />
snow on pine trees and we didn’t<br />
arrive at Ellis Island in the shadow<br />
of the Statue of Liberty. Our own<br />
communal traditions and our<br />
cultural patterns differ. Our music<br />
is different and often reflects the<br />
European Jewish experience.<br />
Following the morning service<br />
of Yom Kippur we have included<br />
the Musaf or additional service,<br />
including an updated version of<br />
the traditional poetic epic “From<br />
Creation to Redemption”, slightly<br />
shortened and revised from that<br />
in Gates of Repentance following<br />
the example of the British Liberal<br />
Movement, which includes the<br />
stirring recollection of the Temple<br />
Service in Jerusalem and continues<br />
into the traditional memories<br />
of the martyrs of our people.<br />
Yizkor is to be preceded by an<br />
innovative ‘prelude’, linking these<br />
ancient martyrs to those of more<br />
recent times before turning to<br />
remember our own loved ones.<br />
As we all know, our spoken<br />
Australian language is also different<br />
in many subtle but significant ways<br />
from our American and English<br />
“cousins” and we have reflected<br />
this in our translations, and in the<br />
selection of readings. With the<br />
variations in structure and language,<br />
our Machzor was sufficiently<br />
different that it was decided to call<br />
our edition by its own distinctive<br />
title of Mishkan T’shuvah-Sanctuary<br />
of Repentance. We are very grateful<br />
for the scholarship and creativity<br />
as well as the generosity, tolerance<br />
and understanding shown by our<br />
rabbinic colleagues in both North<br />
America and the United Kingdom.<br />
We kept the pattern of two books<br />
even though our edition has actually<br />
“lost” some two hundred pages<br />
of poems and readings which did<br />
not speak to us or our seasons.<br />
Nevertheless, we have retained a<br />
rich collection of poetry, philosophy<br />
and commentary that challenges<br />
the reader and gives depth and<br />
new meaning to our most sacred<br />
days. If you pick up the books for<br />
the services alone and then replace<br />
them on the book-shelf you will<br />
miss an intellectual and spiritual<br />
treasure-house that deserves to<br />
be browsed and considered.<br />
The new Machzor reflects the<br />
impact of Israel and modern<br />
Hebrew. It is deliberately designed<br />
to allow congregations to follow<br />
and develop their own minhag<br />
or custom. There are very few<br />
instructions in either book about<br />
congregational behaviour. The<br />
old Jewish joke about reciting<br />
the Shema has relevance: “Some<br />
congregations will stand and some<br />
will sit and some will just stand<br />
and sit and argue”. Our new High<br />
Holy Day books require annual<br />
preparation. It is not meant to<br />
be an automatic page-turning<br />
experience. There are choices to<br />
be made. And there are so many<br />
choices that no High Holy Day<br />
experience will, or can, quite be<br />
the same as the previous year.<br />
Generational works such as this just<br />
don’t happen. The contents were<br />
debated by the rabbis of our Union<br />
again and again. The editorial<br />
team, also including Cantor Michel<br />
Laloum and Dr Linda Stern, with<br />
Rabbi Jacki Ninio and Rabbi<br />
Kim Ettlinger, spent many hours<br />
meeting, studying, discussing and<br />
debating, and the co-editors have<br />
spent many sleepless days and<br />
nights at the computer giving shape<br />
to each page. Rabbi Hara Person,<br />
the Chief Strategy Officer of the<br />
Central Conference of American<br />
Rabbis who was formerly<br />
in charge of publications<br />
of the Central Conference,<br />
and Rabbi David E. S.<br />
Stein, an expert on Jewish<br />
liturgy were both very<br />
helpful (Rabbi Keren-<br />
Black and Rabbi Stein –<br />
who also worked together<br />
on the Siddur, go back<br />
a long way – they were<br />
‘Chevruta’ study partners<br />
at Pardes Yeshiva in<br />
Jerusalem in 1986!). The leadership<br />
team of the Union for Progressive<br />
Judaism, Roger Mendelson,<br />
Brian Samuel and Neil Samuel,<br />
supplied us with practical advice,<br />
and UPJ Executive Officer Jocelyn<br />
Robuck kept the project on track<br />
throughout. We have had support<br />
from generous donors whose names<br />
appear in the front of each book.<br />
INSPIRING PRAYER<br />
15
{GESTATION OF A NEW MACHZOR}<br />
Some animals have gestation periods of up to two years, but the new Progressive<br />
Machzor is nearly twice that. Indeed, we started thinking about the options<br />
as soon as the Mishkan T’filah Siddur was published in 2010.<br />
The discussions engaged the<br />
Rabbis of our movement in<br />
heated debate at our six monthly<br />
meetings over several years, and<br />
we explored various options in<br />
2011-15, before the US Mishkan<br />
HaNefesh companion to their<br />
version of Mishkan T’filah was<br />
eventually published. At that<br />
point, they made it clear that they<br />
were willing to work with us once<br />
more on creating our own regional<br />
version based on theirs, as we had<br />
with the Siddur, and the Rabbis<br />
recommended this course of action.<br />
An Editorial Committee was<br />
convened, based in Melbourne,<br />
and started work in earnest over<br />
three years ago. It reported back<br />
six monthly to the Moetzah, with<br />
various issues being discussed back<br />
and forth and options debated and<br />
evaluated before decisions were<br />
slowly arrived at. In particular,<br />
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive<br />
Officer of the publisher, the<br />
Central Conference of American<br />
Rabbis, was the guest at the<br />
Moetzah and at the subsequent<br />
UPJ Biennial Conference in<br />
Perth in <strong>November</strong> 2016. She<br />
explained and emphasised some<br />
of the decisions and reasoning<br />
from the American team, and<br />
strongly urged us to review some<br />
of our inclinations. For example<br />
it was from this meeting that we<br />
decided to keep more of the creative<br />
material and therefore follow their<br />
example of two volumes rather than<br />
keeping to one, as was the Gates<br />
of Repentance. We had invited all<br />
congregations to give feedback on<br />
the many creative readings found<br />
in the US Machzor, and also ran<br />
lay information and feedback<br />
sessions both at this conference<br />
16<br />
and again in Melbourne in 2018,<br />
as the book was being finalised.<br />
We should especially acknowledge<br />
Dr Linda Stern, a long-standing<br />
member of the Leo Baeck Centre,<br />
who is a regular service leader and<br />
who was on the Siddur Editorial<br />
Committee, and who has provided<br />
an invaluable lay perspective<br />
throughout the formal editorial<br />
process of Mishkan T’shuvah.<br />
BASIC PRINCIPLES<br />
A starting principle was to maintain<br />
language, look and feel with our<br />
version of the Siddur, Mishkan<br />
T’filah. A second principle was to<br />
make the Machzor and its prayers,<br />
translations and additional materials<br />
Women’s<br />
Rosh Chodesh<br />
Group<br />
8:00pm - 10:00pm<br />
<strong>October</strong> 9 and <strong>November</strong> 8<br />
relevant, accessible, stimulating,<br />
challenging and meaningful. This<br />
included translations of all Hebrew,<br />
and full, simple and accurate<br />
transliteration of the prayers. As<br />
with the Siddur, a third principle<br />
was to tend towards traditional<br />
structures and formulations if<br />
there was no good reason not to<br />
do so. We hope and feel that the<br />
result is a more cohesive, new,<br />
fresh and modern yet traditional<br />
Machzor which vibrates with<br />
the energy of review, repentance,<br />
renewal, the offer of new starts<br />
and fresh hopes which will speak<br />
to our congregations in its variety<br />
of voices for many years.<br />
Why a Women’s Rosh Chodesh Group?<br />
There is a legend told that when the Israelites came<br />
to create the golden calf, the men asked the women<br />
to give them all their jewellery and gold to be melted<br />
down for the calf. The women refused to supply their<br />
jewels and as a reward a special festival was given to<br />
them: the festival of Rosh Chodesh, the celebration of<br />
the new moon.<br />
For more information and to find the location, please<br />
call the Emanuel Synagogue office on 9389 6444 or<br />
email info@emanuel.org.au.
TWO VOLUMES<br />
There is a volume for Rosh<br />
Hashanah and one for Yom<br />
Kippur. An easy way to remember<br />
is ‘Red for Rosh Hashanah,<br />
White for Yom Kippur’.<br />
WOODCUTS<br />
The beginning of each service<br />
features a specially commissioned<br />
woodcut graphic by Joel Shapiro.<br />
COMMENTARY AND CREATIVE<br />
MATERIALS<br />
Commentary and contemplation<br />
as well as creative materials are<br />
integral parts of this Machzor<br />
and are indicated with a grey or<br />
blue tinted background to expand<br />
on and explain the themes and<br />
vocabulary of the traditional<br />
liturgy, but also to encourage study<br />
and deep reflection in a manner<br />
both intellectually engaging and<br />
sometimes spiritually provocative.<br />
FAMILIAR, YET TRADITIONAL<br />
The red cover of Rosh Hashanah<br />
was chosen, in part, to show the<br />
connection to Gates of Repentance,<br />
and although the look will be quite<br />
different from that Machzor, it<br />
will immediately feel familiar to<br />
users of Siddur Mishkan T’filah,<br />
with sidebars for navigation,<br />
transliteration of the Hebrew, and<br />
notes at the bottom of the page. But<br />
as the services unfold, the prayers<br />
and songs will also feel familiar to<br />
those who have grown up with Gates<br />
of Repentance, with some slight<br />
changes and additions to the words,<br />
many of which are of course in<br />
line with the Siddur, including the<br />
introduction of the matriarchs and<br />
the gently degendered translations.<br />
YOM KIPPUR SEEMS SO DIFFERENT!<br />
At first sight, the Yom Kippur Day<br />
may appear to be substantially<br />
changed from Gates of Repentance,<br />
but this is less the case than it<br />
seems, although various prayers,<br />
songs and even whole sections<br />
have moved place or even service!<br />
MUSAF<br />
The ‘innovation’, khiddush, which<br />
makes the day feel and look different<br />
is the reintroduction of a Musaf<br />
(additional) service following the<br />
Shacharit morning service. In fact<br />
it is not so different, as much of<br />
the material contained used to be<br />
in the very long afternoon service.<br />
I do hope many people will stay<br />
for the Musaf service, rather than<br />
leaving at the end of Shacharit.<br />
You will be handsomely rewarded.<br />
The tone changes and the Musaf<br />
service includes a beautifully<br />
revised and shortened version<br />
of the ‘Creation to Redemption’<br />
{FOR THE LOVE OF A DOG}<br />
By Reverend Sam Zwarenstein<br />
narrative based on the section found<br />
in the traditional Musaf. It offers<br />
an insightful overview of Jewish<br />
history, providing the context for<br />
the Avodah Temple offering on Yom<br />
Kippur, and the Eileh Ezk’ra section<br />
about the martyrs of our history.<br />
MINCHAH<br />
The now much shorter afternoon<br />
service goes pretty well straight<br />
into the Torah and Haftarah<br />
with the story of Jonah, and<br />
then the Vidui confessions.<br />
YIZKOR<br />
We believe that Yizkor memorial<br />
service will perhaps be the most<br />
powerful and moving service<br />
of all, but we note that some<br />
may find it difficult and even<br />
distressing, because of a stunning<br />
and powerful double page spread<br />
to reflect on our losses, and some<br />
very specific new prayers for<br />
different circumstances of loss.<br />
NEILAH<br />
The concluding service has the<br />
traditional feel of urgency and<br />
excitement as ‘the gates are closing’,<br />
with the familiar tunes but less<br />
lengthy tracts of English. This most<br />
powerful day concludes<br />
as usual with the Shofar<br />
blow and Havdalah.<br />
My work in pastoral care takes me to many different places, with very different<br />
settings, and of course, gives me the opportunity to meet lots of different people.<br />
INSPIRING PRAYER<br />
As I explain to those I visit, I<br />
am not a doctor or any type of<br />
medical professional. My role is<br />
to offer support, to see how they<br />
are doing, perhaps provide some<br />
encouragement, and to always be<br />
available to listen to what they<br />
are interested in talking about.<br />
Sometimes they have family or<br />
friends with them, sometimes they<br />
are alone, and sometimes they<br />
don’t want to see anyone (there<br />
are times when I can certainly<br />
relate to that!) They may be deeply<br />
engrossed in a television show or a<br />
book they are reading, or perhaps<br />
it’s a crossword, sudoku puzzle or<br />
a magazine/newspaper<br />
article that has taken their interest.<br />
Over the years, I’ve also learnt that<br />
there are many kinds of therapy<br />
being practised and engaged, as<br />
well as being developed for support<br />
in the future. Of course, different<br />
pastoral activities will have varying<br />
impacts on those needing support.<br />
17
One therapy that I’ve encountered<br />
in the past couple of years, that<br />
seems to have a very positive and<br />
placating effect on many people,<br />
is the use of therapy dogs. When I<br />
first encountered the therapy dogs,<br />
my immediate thought was, ‘how<br />
are they able to let the dogs in to<br />
see sick people? Isn’t there a health<br />
concern in that regard?’ I wasn’t<br />
questioning what they were doing,<br />
or should this be happening, but<br />
feeling concerned for the health<br />
of susceptible patients. After all,<br />
we are in the high care section of<br />
a nursing home (well that’s where<br />
I first encountered this therapy).<br />
When I saw the reaction to the<br />
dogs of the majority of patients,<br />
I was pleasantly amazed to see<br />
how interactive they were. It was<br />
like a ray of sunshine entered,<br />
what could otherwise be a rather<br />
dispirited environment. Many<br />
reached out to pat the dogs, or<br />
talk to them, and the dogs seemed<br />
to know when it was time to<br />
move on to the next patient.<br />
18<br />
One of the nurses took me to see<br />
an elderly lady who had recently<br />
had a stroke, and she told me that<br />
the lady spends much of her day<br />
sleeping or staring at the wall,<br />
even when her family come to<br />
visit. The nurse said that when<br />
the therapy dogs come along, it’s<br />
like a different person in that bed;<br />
someone who eagerly awaits her<br />
turn to interact with the dogs,<br />
smiling and laughing a little when<br />
they are around. Unfortunately,<br />
the downside is that the day after<br />
they have visited, she reverts back<br />
to her original behaviour, not<br />
wanting to interact with anyone.<br />
The dogs visiting the nursing home<br />
that day were not accompanied<br />
by humans; they simply wandered<br />
from area to area (yes, I know,<br />
they have been trained to do that).<br />
However, most of the programs<br />
in operation have a team, that<br />
is, a human and a dog, who visit<br />
different wards in hospitals or<br />
homes, bringing an additional<br />
dimension to the patient’s healing.<br />
Both the human and the dog are<br />
trained to offer a presence which<br />
will help patients in various ways.<br />
Perhaps it’s simply the presence of<br />
the team (okay, the dog) that makes<br />
the patients smile. Or perhaps the<br />
dogs make them feel a bit more<br />
relaxed, more comfortable, and<br />
therefore less stressed. Other benefits<br />
can include lowering of blood<br />
pressure, improving recovery time,<br />
and providing motivation to move<br />
about more and exercise for longer.<br />
The potential benefits can help<br />
patients across a wide range of<br />
ailments and circumstances, from<br />
children having dental procedures,<br />
to patients undergoing cancer<br />
treatment, people with dementia,<br />
people with anxiety, veterans with<br />
PTSD, and the list goes on.<br />
Professor Dale Needham, Medical<br />
Director of the Critical Care<br />
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation<br />
Program at the John Hopkins<br />
School of Medicine says; "Doctors<br />
and nurses have traditionally been<br />
of the mindset that if we just give<br />
patients the 'right' medication, their<br />
psychological status will improve<br />
... In fact, we probably need to<br />
give less medicine and rely more on<br />
nonpharmaceutical interventions, such<br />
as music therapy, relaxation training,<br />
and animal-assisted therapy to help<br />
improve patients' psychological status."<br />
As soon as I included that quote, I<br />
realised that I will probably bear the<br />
brunt of some rather strong criticism<br />
from some medical professionals,<br />
inquiring why I am ignoring the<br />
importance of medicine in treating<br />
patients. Let me be very clear - by<br />
quoting Professor Needham, I am<br />
not saying ‘let’s all just listen to some<br />
music, do some yoga, get a dog or<br />
two to come visit, and all will be<br />
just fine and dandy.’ I am, however,<br />
supporting his theory that there is<br />
definitely a role for multiple types<br />
of therapies in the care of a patient,<br />
and without a doubt, medicine,<br />
along with related aids, is probably<br />
the single most important of them.
Non-pharmaceutical therapies that<br />
are already in practice, or currently<br />
being trialled, focus on improving<br />
the mood, rehabilitation rate, and<br />
overall well-being of the patient,<br />
in support of medicine and other<br />
traditional treatment mechanisms.<br />
Dr Megan Hosey, Assistant<br />
Professor of Physical Medicine<br />
& Rehabilitation, at the same<br />
university as Dr Needham (John<br />
Hopkins School of Medicine)<br />
says, “The data from a psychological<br />
perspective shows that building<br />
motivation to become more active,<br />
for example, is a way dogs can<br />
help patients. Once you have a<br />
dog in the room staring up at you<br />
expecting a treat or a pat, it’s hard<br />
for a patient to avoid engaging”.<br />
In research done at the same<br />
hospital, they note that in<br />
other cases, a dog may simply<br />
sit on a patient’s lap, providing<br />
a calm, affectionate presence<br />
that has been shown to improve<br />
mood and pain ratings.<br />
I couldn’t give you an exact figure<br />
as to how often I see a therapy<br />
dog when I visit hospitals or<br />
nursing homes, but I do see<br />
them quite often. Of course, that<br />
doesn’t account for the possibility<br />
that they may be visiting that<br />
location on a different floor, or<br />
at a different time to when I am<br />
there. What is very clear to me<br />
though is the effect I can see and<br />
feel, including the overall mood<br />
and demeanour of the residents or<br />
patients, during or after a visit.<br />
The work they do, and the positive<br />
effect that therapy dogs have on<br />
patients and families, give those<br />
weighing up the decision as to<br />
whether or not to have them visit,<br />
a clearer and more measured task.<br />
Many hospitals, nursing homes,<br />
and aged-care facilities put in place<br />
very stringent rules to ensure that<br />
the animals are clean and healthy,<br />
that their behaviour is suited to<br />
the surroundings they work in,<br />
and that their vaccinations are up<br />
to date. After all, they do have a<br />
duty of care to uphold the hygiene<br />
standards of their institutions,<br />
and provide a highly sanitised<br />
environment. This approach allows<br />
a win-win for all involved.<br />
Our Emanuel community has a<br />
number of volunteers that assist<br />
with dog therapy and hospital visits,<br />
and I’d like to mention one such<br />
team. Viv Lewin works with Marley<br />
at Delta Society, providing many<br />
hours of loving care and attention<br />
to patients each week. The patients<br />
and staff are always happy to see<br />
Marley (and Viv of course!) Not<br />
only do they do an amazing job,<br />
but they also find it to be very<br />
rewarding - just ask Viv. It would<br />
be remiss of me not to acknowledge<br />
the contribution that<br />
Viv and Robert Lewin<br />
have made to Emanuel<br />
Synagogue. Their generous<br />
donation has allowed our<br />
synagogue to sponsor a<br />
therapy team, through the<br />
Red Bandana Club that the<br />
Delta Society operates.<br />
If you would also like to<br />
sponsor a team through<br />
the Red Bandana Club,<br />
please contact me.<br />
As a pastoral carer, and on a<br />
personal note, I hope to see more<br />
therapy dogs and volunteers bring<br />
smiles and comfort to patients and<br />
residents, as they carry out their<br />
very important care duties.<br />
The Lost Princess<br />
TEXT STUDY<br />
Weekly on Thursday evenings at 7.15pm<br />
Cantor George Mordecai presents a new series of classes.<br />
Initially we will study The Lost Princess, a deeply insightful<br />
story from Rabbi Nahman, with music and meditation.<br />
Email: gmordecai@emanuel.org.au<br />
IHEALING THE WORLD<br />
19
{WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN OBITUARY?}<br />
Barbara Karet<br />
One day I was driving home from a funeral with Reverend Zwarenstein<br />
(Sam), and remarked that I would hate to write a eulogy (or<br />
obituary) about myself because my life has been so boring.<br />
‘Boring’ is perhaps not quite the<br />
right word; let’s substitute the word<br />
‘uneventful’ instead. This is not a<br />
complaint, so much as a statement<br />
of fact. I really feel blessed that,<br />
as A.B. Facey put it, I have had ‘a<br />
fortunate life’ 1 , however I know I<br />
would never make it on to any of<br />
today’s TV reality shows. I am one of<br />
those lucky baby boomers who has<br />
enjoyed a comfortable upbringing,<br />
a good ‘free’ education, and as an<br />
adult, a rewarding career and happy<br />
family. I have no background ‘sobstory’<br />
that would make me even<br />
remotely interesting to television<br />
viewers. I haven’t struggled against<br />
adversity; there has been no ‘rags to<br />
riches’ tale, and I have made no great<br />
achievements to make an account of<br />
my life in any way compelling. In<br />
short, my obituary would be brief<br />
and uninteresting. But then, is that<br />
the point? Maybe I should not be<br />
focusing on great achievements,<br />
or stories of derring-do, but rather<br />
on the type of person who has<br />
been described, and whether I have<br />
lived a good, purposeful life.<br />
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, in his book<br />
‘The Book of Jewish Values’ 2 , tells<br />
the story about a rabbi he knows.<br />
Every year, this rabbi prepares<br />
for the High Holidays by writing<br />
not one, but two obituaries about<br />
himself. The first version is how<br />
he thinks it would be written, and<br />
the second is how he would like it<br />
to be written. His aim each year<br />
then, is to become more like the<br />
second version than the first.<br />
According to one account, it was a<br />
premature obituary that motivated<br />
Alfred Nobel, the Swedish munitions<br />
industrialist to establish the Nobel<br />
Prize awards. The story goes that<br />
he was aghast when he read an<br />
obituary mistakenly written about<br />
himself, instead of his recently<br />
departed brother. Nobel was the<br />
inventor of dynamite, and he<br />
had become extremely wealthy<br />
producing explosives. The newspaper<br />
headlined its article, ‘The Merchant<br />
of Death is Dead’, and said he would<br />
be remembered ‘as the man who<br />
made it possible for more people<br />
to be killed more quickly than<br />
anyone else’ 2 . This was not the way<br />
he wanted to be remembered, and<br />
so to redeem himself, he set out<br />
to create a positive legacy. He left<br />
a bequest to establish one of the<br />
world’s most prestigious prizes,<br />
The Nobel Prize. It is awarded for<br />
intellectual services rendered to<br />
mankind, honouring those that<br />
have benefited humanity in fields<br />
as diverse as literature, economics,<br />
peace, science and medicine.<br />
He is now mainly remembered<br />
for his generous humanitarian<br />
and scientific philanthropy.<br />
I am not advocating that we should<br />
change our lives because of the way<br />
we want to be remembered. The<br />
point is that we can all reflect on<br />
the person that we are, and then<br />
strive to become a better version<br />
of ourselves. We can consider what<br />
would be written in version one<br />
of our ‘virtual’ obituary, and then<br />
decide to make a few changes in our<br />
lives so that we can be more like<br />
the person described in a second<br />
aspirational version. Many of you<br />
would not have recalled that Alfred<br />
Nobel became wealthy making<br />
munitions, but instead would<br />
associate him with his positive<br />
contribution to society of the Nobel<br />
Prize. We can’t change what we have<br />
done in the past, but we can resolve<br />
to be better in the future. With<br />
luck, we won’t have the misfortune<br />
of reading our own obituaries, but<br />
let’s try to live our lives so that<br />
if we did, we would approve of<br />
the person that it describes.<br />
References:<br />
1. Facey, A.B. (1981)<br />
A Fortunate Life. Penguin, Aust.<br />
2. Telushkin, Joseph (2000)<br />
The Book of Jewish<br />
Values. Bell Tower.<br />
20
Bread Tags<br />
for Wheel Chairs<br />
Please save your bread tags and bring them to Emanuel Synagogue<br />
– they will be recycled to fund wheelchairs in South Africa.<br />
Bread Tags for Wheelchairs has been recycling bread<br />
tags in South Africa since 2006. They currently collect<br />
about 500kg/month, which funds 2-3 wheelchairs.<br />
Now they are collecting in Australia too!<br />
It’s easy ….. save your<br />
bread tags for a while and<br />
then drop them off in<br />
the bowl in our foyer.<br />
Ask your family, friends,<br />
school and local café to help.<br />
More information:<br />
breadtagsforwheelchairs.co.za<br />
Plus61J together with Emanuel Synagogue present<br />
Israel, Jews & the<br />
Middle East through Film<br />
from 7:00pm at Emanuel Synagogue<br />
<strong>October</strong> 23 - The Other Son (2012)<br />
<strong>November</strong> 20 - The Kindergarten Teacher (2014)<br />
December 18 - Year Zero (2004)<br />
21
{CHANGES AND CHALLENGES}<br />
Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth<br />
I look at my sons, now aged 5, 3 and almost 1 year old, and then look back at their birth<br />
photos; it is difficult for me to comprehend that these are the same people. How could<br />
those tiny bundles of joy have morphed into these walking, babbling little people?<br />
They were born as blank canvases,<br />
and now, a few years later, they<br />
are walking, talking (or beginning<br />
to talk), becoming aware of the<br />
world around them, and interacting<br />
with it on their own terms.<br />
These developments are so striking,<br />
not only because of the speed in<br />
which they are occurring, but also<br />
because of the leaps and bounds in<br />
which they are progressing. When<br />
I haven’t seen a close friend or<br />
relative for a significant period of<br />
time, the difference in appearance<br />
or character is much more obvious,<br />
compared with someone I see<br />
regularly. Does this then mean<br />
that a significant change has not<br />
occurred, or is it simply that I am<br />
unable to perceive these changes?<br />
The changes do not occur on a<br />
day to day basis, but slowly over<br />
time. Hair does not change colour<br />
overnight; wrinkles do not appear<br />
within a week; and personal growth<br />
does not occur in a month. All<br />
of these are continual processes<br />
that are almost imperceptible if<br />
viewed on a constant basis.<br />
Every year, we gather together<br />
during the High Holidays in order<br />
to take an accounting of our souls,<br />
a heshbon nefesh, from the previous<br />
year, and to seek ways to improve<br />
for the coming year. It can be a<br />
profound change if taken seriously.<br />
In this upcoming season we gather<br />
in our community centre, the<br />
Synagogue, where, surrounded<br />
by one another, we focus on this<br />
process. Together, we lift ourselves<br />
up, and push one another to reach<br />
ever-deeper depths of our inner<br />
selves. But why there in shul? A<br />
22<br />
contemporary rabbi, Solomon<br />
Goldman, replied to this question<br />
with the following words:<br />
"I come to the synagogue to probe<br />
my weakness and my strength,<br />
and to fill the gap between my<br />
profession and my practice.<br />
I come to lift myself by my bootstraps.<br />
I come to quiet the turbulence of my<br />
heart, restrain its mad impulsiveness<br />
and check the itching eagerness<br />
of every muscle to outsmart and<br />
outdistance my neighbor.<br />
I come for self-renewal<br />
and regeneration.<br />
I come into the sadness and<br />
compassion permeating the<br />
Synagogue to contemplate and be<br />
instructed by the panorama of Jewish<br />
martyrdom and human misery.<br />
I come to be strengthened in my<br />
determination to be free, never<br />
to compromise with idolatry,<br />
pettiness and fanaticism.<br />
I come to behold the beauty of the<br />
Lord, to find Him who put an<br />
upward reach in the heart of man."<br />
As the new spiritual year is<br />
approaching, and we gather under<br />
one roof in a solemn spiritual mood,<br />
may we again be able to renew our<br />
spiritual strengths. May we all dive<br />
within ourselves and our loved ones,<br />
to bring out the best and holy. May<br />
we renew our bonds of love and care<br />
towards those in need. May we face<br />
the challenges of our daily life with<br />
courage and determination, and may<br />
we strengthen our commitment to<br />
our Jewish People, our holy traditions<br />
and the Source of all life - God.<br />
Perhaps this year we will see one<br />
another in a completely different<br />
light, and with a profound change.<br />
As together, we undertake this<br />
process of heshbon nefesh, a spiritual<br />
accounting of ourselves and our<br />
actions, so that we can look at<br />
each other in a year and without a<br />
doubt, perceive the holiness we have<br />
achieved, and the positive change<br />
we have enacted in our lives.<br />
Shana Tova Umetukah,<br />
A Sweet and Happy New Year.
Conversations<br />
about Israel<br />
Every Monday, join Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins<br />
or guest speakers to examine the complex<br />
issues facing contemporary Israel.<br />
Monday mornings from 10:00-11:30<br />
Learn<br />
(or improve your)<br />
Hebrew<br />
Classes are Monday evenings during<br />
term starting from 6:00pm-7:00pm<br />
Register now at<br />
emanuel.org.au/engage/learn_hebrew<br />
23
{APPRECIATING OUR HERITAGE SANCTUARY}<br />
by Stephen Nordon, Nordon Jago Architects<br />
The Heritage Sanctuary is the crucible of the Emanuel Congregation, a place where<br />
more than 75 years of history, both personal and congregational have taken place.<br />
What goes un-noticed is that the<br />
values of today’s congregation were<br />
shared by the original congregation,<br />
and that the architecture<br />
of the Heritage Sanctuary<br />
reflected these philosophies.<br />
It washed up on the other side of<br />
the world like Noah’s ark from<br />
the wreckage of European Reform<br />
Judaism, into a host community of<br />
conventional orthodoxies, a host<br />
community nervous about what<br />
impression these newcomers were<br />
going to make on their world.<br />
This founding congregation came<br />
from a tradition that sought<br />
to refine religious practice and<br />
philosophy to their ethical essence;<br />
to do its own thinking. They<br />
chose to represent themselves with<br />
the latest architectural thinking<br />
from Europe. It was not the<br />
architecture of symmetrical set<br />
piece authority. It was inspired<br />
by the modern, the geometry of<br />
dynamic repose and asymmetry<br />
This can be seen in the main façade<br />
of the sanctuary. The prisms that<br />
form its spatial presence and the<br />
lines that define its doors, windows<br />
and parapets are inspired by the de<br />
Stijl movement, a mid-20th century,<br />
contemporary art movement,<br />
whose compositional principles are<br />
reflected in modern architecture.<br />
The original spatial composition<br />
of the sanctuary was obscured<br />
with the construction of the north<br />
wing, old plans show that the<br />
entire north façade with its circular<br />
windows are no longer visible. You<br />
can still see these windows from<br />
the gallery staircase. (below)<br />
24
The austere lines of the parapets and<br />
discrete decoration are symbolic<br />
of unadorned principle, almost<br />
invisible to the contemporary<br />
observer. The next time you are at<br />
Emanuel have a look at the brick<br />
work. It’s full of detail and symbols<br />
that have been fired into the bricks.<br />
Even the displacement of these<br />
elements form subtle patterns across<br />
the facades. The symbolic bricks<br />
have been laid to create a diagonal<br />
grid in the brickwork, look closely<br />
and you will see that the bricks<br />
with the Magen David pressed in<br />
them have been laid slightly proud<br />
of the main wall line, forming a<br />
secondary Magen David pattern.<br />
We now have exciting plans (pending<br />
DA approval) to restore the sacred<br />
presence of this sanctuary, by<br />
restructuring its interior to enhance<br />
the use of space, light and sound.<br />
We also dream to accentuate its<br />
uniqueness with a redesign of the<br />
North Wing Learning Centre. This<br />
vision will be on display in the breezeway<br />
during the High Holy Days.<br />
The siting of the Heritage Sanctuary<br />
is really interesting. The conventional<br />
wisdom would have been to place it<br />
at the street frontage, not at the end<br />
of a long avenue of Cyprus trees.<br />
Again this is modernist thinking.<br />
It is not the architecture of the Sun<br />
King overlooking Versaille, with<br />
the world radiating symmetrically<br />
around a static vision of god. It is<br />
dynamic, its perspective, the interplay<br />
of asymmetrical prisms, changing as<br />
you approach, different perspectives,<br />
different points of view, different ways<br />
of seeing the same thing – pluralism.<br />
25
{ELUL JEWELS}<br />
Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio<br />
I have a friend from rabbinical school, Rabbi Brian Zachary Mayer and he<br />
has a blog called “Religion Outside the Box”. Each week he posts his thoughts<br />
and issues about which he is thinking and it was there I was introduced<br />
to Reverend Will Bowen and his “21 day no complaint challenge”.<br />
Reverend Bowen was the minister<br />
of a small church in Kansas and he<br />
was running a series about prosperity<br />
when he realised that everyone<br />
felt that they were not prosperous<br />
enough; they wanted more. Yet<br />
despite this, all they did was<br />
complain about what they<br />
actually did have. So he decided<br />
to do something about it. He<br />
knew that doing an action for 21<br />
days straight changes behaviour.<br />
So he created a batch of 500<br />
rubber bracelets and handed<br />
them out to his congregation<br />
and set them a challenge: go<br />
for 21 days without making a<br />
complaint. Put the wristband on<br />
and every time you complain,<br />
criticize or gossip, move it to the<br />
other wrist and start the count again.<br />
Will also took up the challenge and<br />
he found it was much harder than he<br />
thought. It took him months before<br />
he went for 21 days in a row without<br />
a complaint. His congregation<br />
were similarly challenged but the<br />
word spread and before long,<br />
Will had started a revolution.<br />
To date, 11 million people in 106<br />
countries have taken the challenge.<br />
They have found it takes the average<br />
person 4-8 months to go for 21<br />
days in a row without complaining.<br />
It is estimated that on average,<br />
we make 15-30 complaints a day<br />
and 30-40% of our conversations<br />
consist of complaining. Will notes<br />
that complaining has become<br />
a competitive sport, we try to<br />
outdo one another with our list of<br />
MITZVAH DAY<br />
Emanuel Synagogue’s<br />
Beach Clean<br />
Sunday 17th <strong>November</strong> from 10:00am - 12:00pm<br />
This year join us for a new and different Mitzvah<br />
Day activity. We will gather together to clean<br />
up some of Rose Bay Harbour beaches.<br />
Save the date and details of the beaches and<br />
the gathering point will be sent.<br />
complaints. And when we<br />
complain, our brain activity is<br />
rewired, we find it harder to find<br />
the positive and dwell more on<br />
the negative parts of our lives.<br />
Unchecked, this can spiral and place<br />
us in a world of unhappiness<br />
and dissatisfaction. But<br />
when we remove the<br />
complaints and negativity<br />
the opposite happens, we<br />
are happier, more content<br />
with our lives and find<br />
gratitude in what we do<br />
have rather than focusing<br />
on what we don’t have.<br />
I remember reading<br />
about a woman who<br />
wanted to compliment someone<br />
for the service she received at a<br />
department store. She called the<br />
store and asked for the place where<br />
she could lodge her praise. The<br />
operator did not know where to<br />
send her. There was a complaints<br />
department but nowhere to direct<br />
a call of satisfaction and gratitude.<br />
Sometimes I think we are a little<br />
like the department store, we<br />
have lots of outlets for lodging<br />
our complaints, lots of ways to<br />
find the negative, which obstructs<br />
our ability to find the good.<br />
So perhaps this Elul, this month of<br />
reflection is the time for us to join<br />
the revolution and take up the “21<br />
day no complaint challenge” and see<br />
how we go, enter into the new year<br />
in a place of gratitude and positivity<br />
rather than complaints. My goal is<br />
to complete the challenge before the<br />
next Elul! Good luck and may your<br />
year ahead be filled with happiness,<br />
blessings and gratitude.<br />
26
{NEWS FROM NETZER}<br />
Caroline Freeman<br />
Netzer is the youth movement for the Progressive Jewish community in Sydney. We<br />
run weekly peulot (activities) and bi-yearly camps for children in years 3-12, aiming to<br />
provide a well-rounded knowledge of Progressive Jewish values via informal education<br />
methods, such as games, songs, dance, text studies, discussions, and more.<br />
We aim to create a safe and supportive<br />
environment whereby participants<br />
can share their thoughts and ideas,<br />
empowering each other to make<br />
informed decisions and intentions.<br />
In <strong>2019</strong>, Netzer Australia is<br />
celebrating our 40th anniversary. If<br />
this was a biblical story, we may have<br />
spent the past 40 years wandering and<br />
searching for our final destination.<br />
Netzer however, is celebrating 40<br />
years of being a pioneering voice<br />
in our community and providing<br />
a space for young Jewish people<br />
to thrive and grow. We have the<br />
immense privilege of building upon<br />
the work and momentum that<br />
has been established by previous<br />
generations of Netzer leaders. In the<br />
past year, Netzer has continued to<br />
move from success to success, with<br />
around 140 participants attending<br />
our camps this year. For those who<br />
haven’t joined us on camp before,<br />
our Machanot exemplify the kind of<br />
Jewish community we aim to create.<br />
That is, a community which nurtures<br />
youth and inspires leadership, a<br />
community that is a hub of creativity<br />
for Progressive Judaism, and a<br />
community that promotes meaningful<br />
relationships among our peers.<br />
I would like to thank the Emanuel<br />
Synagogue community that continues<br />
to do so much to support our work.<br />
We are enjoying the opportunity to<br />
be involved in the community and<br />
it is so meaningful to collaborate in<br />
nurturing our community’s youth and<br />
to give back to the community that<br />
nurtures us. Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth<br />
and Reverend Sam Zwarenstein<br />
have both joined on our camps and<br />
throughout the year, providing us<br />
and our participants with endless<br />
amounts of spiritual, educational,<br />
and emotional support. We have also<br />
been enjoying using the youth centre<br />
which has become home to many<br />
of our activities, including a variety<br />
of educational weekend programs,<br />
our Chocolate Seder, and Kabbalat<br />
Shabbat services. Our movement<br />
could not operate without our<br />
team of committed volunteers; an<br />
exceptional group of young leaders,<br />
equally committed to furthering their<br />
own Jewish education as they are<br />
to inspiring a new generation’s. It is<br />
due to their hard work and countless<br />
hours of their time that Netzer can<br />
provide meaningful Jewish experiences<br />
to our youth. Thank you all.<br />
As we enter into a new year, I look<br />
forward to building a deeper and<br />
stronger connection among our<br />
communities and hope for 40<br />
more years together strengthening<br />
Jewish identity and contributing<br />
SUMMER<br />
netzer<br />
MACHANOAR<br />
january 21-26<br />
(SCHOOL YEARS 3-8)<br />
CONTACT:<br />
E: campnsw@netzer.org.au<br />
to our shared vision for the world.<br />
In January, whether you are a<br />
returning Netzernik or have never<br />
been before, we’d love to see you<br />
on one of our Summer camps<br />
to get the full Netzer experience!<br />
Senior camp, ‘MachaNetzer 2020’,<br />
will be for years 9-12 from 7-15<br />
January 2020, and Junior camp,<br />
‘MachaNoar 2020’, will be for years<br />
3-8 from 21 - 26 January 2020.<br />
If you would like any information<br />
about Netzer, our weekly activities,<br />
or camps, please contact me<br />
at sydney@netzer.org.au or<br />
visit www.netzer.org.au<br />
Thank you and Chag Sameach,<br />
Caroline Freeman<br />
Netzer Sydney Mazkira<br />
(Chairperson) <strong>2019</strong><br />
with<br />
2020<br />
M A C H A N E T Z E R<br />
january 7-15<br />
(SCHOOL YEARS 9-12)<br />
CONTACT:<br />
Tahlia 0407 434 241<br />
Sara 0433 964 151<br />
E: machanetzer@netzer.org.au<br />
F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N , V I S I T N E T Z E R . O R G . A U<br />
CONNECTING WITH ISRAEL<br />
27
Renewal Rosh Hashanah Tashlich at the Beach<br />
with Music and Meditation for the Jewish New Year<br />
4:00pm 30th September<br />
Come hear the Shofar for the Jewish New Year. Near the ocean, we contemplate the deep meaning of<br />
the New Year accompanied by music, meditation and spiritual community.<br />
Facilitated by Rabbi Orna Triguboff and musicians Nadav Kahn, Emanuel Lieberfreund<br />
and Anna Friedman at one of the eastern beaches in Sydney<br />
Children are welcome. To find out the location please email orna@emanuel.org.au<br />
Cuddle Bundles supplies Mums and their new babies with gifts of gently-worn baby wear in excellent condition.<br />
All our bundles are packed with love, care and respect.<br />
We support all communities and cultures, both locally and overseas.<br />
HOW YOU CAN HELP<br />
• Let us know of any Mum or organisation who would welcome a gift from Cuddle Bundles.<br />
• Donate gently-worn, unstained baby goods in as new condition. Our main focus is on baby clothing<br />
for ages 0-6 months, blankets, wraps, small soft toys, feeding equipment and accessories.<br />
• Knit or crochet baby blankets, baby wear for our babies, or donate wool.<br />
• Sew gift bags for Cuddle Bundles.<br />
• If you are travelling to Israel or South Africa and<br />
would be happy to take a parcel of 5kg of more,<br />
it will be collected from your accommodation.<br />
• Drop off donations at Emanuel Synagogue<br />
CONTACT US<br />
Facebook.com/cuddlebundlesoz<br />
cuddlebundlesoz@gmail.com<br />
• Michele 0415 893 331<br />
• Ella 0410 565 121<br />
28
{HOME IS A STATE OF BEING}<br />
Donna Jacobs Sife<br />
Several years ago, between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, I traveled across<br />
New South Wales to Broken Hill, following the Darling River<br />
and camping beneath the moon. I learnt a little about the land,<br />
the history and the simple pleasures of being a wanderer.<br />
I learnt about Black Country and Red<br />
Desert. I marveled at the big skies,<br />
walked through strangely fragrant<br />
wildflowers, across cracked and thirsty<br />
earth, and mourned a plundered<br />
river. I heard of the sacrifice made<br />
by desperate men who made Australia<br />
prosper; how without the mines<br />
they would have starved and yet<br />
within them endured great sufferings<br />
and early death. I viewed remote<br />
caves with ancient aboriginal art,<br />
mysterious markings in code. I met<br />
black cockatoos, eye to eye, bright<br />
green parrots, emu tracks, and eagles<br />
doing their best to clear the gory<br />
animal remains of road carnage. A<br />
little history, a glimpse of country,<br />
a broadening of my sense of home.<br />
Whilst contemplating the endless<br />
red road, that disappeared into<br />
what seemed to be a distant<br />
island, shimmering in the heat, I<br />
remembered the opening words<br />
of the Seder night on passover<br />
- “My ancestor was a wandering<br />
Aramean”. Why are we reminded<br />
of this, year after year?<br />
We come from a tradition of nomadic<br />
life. The word itself comes from the<br />
word ‘pasture’. Abraham, Jacob,<br />
David – they all tended their flocks,<br />
traveling here and there to find the<br />
greenest pastures. Perhaps the first<br />
keeper of sheep was Abel. Cain was a<br />
settled farmer. Abel was the favourite<br />
of God, and yet Cain, who would<br />
build the first city, was promised<br />
dominion over him. A Midrashic<br />
verse, commenting on their quarrel,<br />
says that the sons of Adam inherited<br />
an equal division of the world: Cain<br />
the ownership of all land, Abel of<br />
all living creatures – whereupon<br />
Cain accused Abel of trespass.<br />
The names of the brothers are a<br />
matched pair of opposites. Abel<br />
comes from the Hebrew ‘hebel’,<br />
meaning ‘breath’ or ‘vapour’: anything<br />
that lives and moves and is transient.<br />
The root of Cain appears to be the<br />
verb ‘kanah’: to ‘acquire’, ‘get’, ‘own<br />
property’ and so ‘rule’ or ‘subjugate.’<br />
The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos<br />
and Hosea were nomadic revivalists<br />
who howled abuse at the decadence<br />
of civilization. By sinking roots in<br />
the land, by ‘laying house to house<br />
and field to field’, by turning the<br />
Temple into a sculpture garden,<br />
we had turned away from God.<br />
As wanderers, we owned only what<br />
we could carry with us, and had<br />
no need to acquire new things. As<br />
wanderers, we had no fear of invasion,<br />
nor had we any need to conquer.<br />
Our security lay with a benevolent<br />
God, who governed the rains and the<br />
sun. We would welcome strangers,<br />
knowing that they too could one<br />
day be welcoming us. We did not<br />
suffer the ills of a settled life, that of<br />
watching over possessions, competing<br />
with neighbours, fearing the loss<br />
of what we have, or holding on to<br />
and toiling over a piece of soil. In<br />
the seeming permanence of a home,<br />
we paradoxically create our own<br />
insecurities. And conversely, the<br />
nomadic life in its very temporariness<br />
IHEALING THE WORLD<br />
has the potential to<br />
offer permanent joy.<br />
I thought of these things,<br />
as I slept on a swag, with<br />
nothing around me but<br />
a cool breeze, a slow river, and the<br />
persistent call of a mopoke owl. As the<br />
nights passed, I watched the moon<br />
grow to perfect fullness, knowing<br />
that Sukkot was imminent. We are<br />
taught to be joyful during Sukkot. It<br />
is in fact a mitzvah, a commandment.<br />
We are told to move out of our<br />
homes, and take up residence, just<br />
for a while, in a temporary dwelling.<br />
Sleep beneath the stars. Be woken<br />
by the music of bird song. To invite<br />
our ancestors in, and be secure in the<br />
fact that we are a continuation of a<br />
people that is proud and honourable.<br />
On Sukkot, we remember that true<br />
security lies beyond that which<br />
we can acquire, beyond four solid<br />
walls, beyond that which we see. We<br />
remember that a piece of land can<br />
never be truly home, and securing it<br />
is illusion. Home is a state of being,<br />
and travels with us wherever we go.<br />
True joy lies in faith, detachment<br />
from worldly things, and in knowing<br />
where, how and why we belong.<br />
29
{JUDAISM – A PATH OF WELLBEING}<br />
By Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff<br />
It’s what you make of it, that’s what I think! The 10 Days of Awe, from Rosh<br />
Hashana to Yom Yippur are an example of this path of heartfelt compassion.<br />
ROSH HASHANA DAY 1.<br />
We go down to the water, just like<br />
in ancient days by the rivers of<br />
Babylon. We gather in community<br />
at a beach or by a stream or lake and<br />
symbolically throw breadcrumbs into<br />
the ocean as if we were emptying<br />
our sins and regrets into the sea. It’s<br />
time for a new start, a new year, a<br />
new chance. What is your new year<br />
resolution? Ponder on the words of<br />
prayer – “sing a new song”. What<br />
will your new song be this year?<br />
DAY 2.<br />
We hear the shofar (we heard it on<br />
day 1 too). What is the point of<br />
hearing the shofar blasts? Firstly,<br />
don’t you just love it? The short terse<br />
blasts, the inevitable stuff ups when<br />
no sound comes out and finally, the<br />
long drawn out smooth sound of<br />
the tekiah gedolah? It is<br />
said that the sound of the<br />
shofar awakens the hidden<br />
quiet voice inside us, it<br />
is the voice that is always<br />
waiting to be heard. What<br />
does your inner quiet voice<br />
wish to say to you today?<br />
DAY 3.<br />
A deeper sense of gratitude<br />
awakens within us after<br />
Rosh Hashana. We have<br />
entered a new year and say<br />
the prayer – modeh ani,<br />
“I am grateful”. Spend<br />
your day with mindful<br />
awareness on the things<br />
you are grateful for.<br />
Notice how thanks giving<br />
can change your whole<br />
outlook on the day, and<br />
on your year ahead. What<br />
are you looking forward<br />
to in the year ahead?<br />
30<br />
DAY 4.<br />
Another name for teshuvah is “soul<br />
accounting” or cheshbon ha-nefesh.<br />
This brings an aspect of positivity<br />
to the process of these Days of<br />
Awe. Sometimes the atonement<br />
process can get us down with<br />
negativity however the concept<br />
of soul accounting gives the idea<br />
that we invited to consider the<br />
positive in our actions over the last<br />
year just as much as the negative<br />
ones. It’s a time to ask yourself,<br />
“What would I like to improve<br />
in the year ahead and what have<br />
I been doing well for which I<br />
should pat myself on the back?”<br />
DAY 5.<br />
“One of the greatest transgressions is<br />
to feel you can never make amends<br />
for something you have done.”<br />
Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.<br />
Can you forgive yourself? Can<br />
you forgive others? One aspect<br />
of forgiveness is internal.<br />
DAY 6:<br />
This year Shabbat falls on the<br />
6th Day of Awe. It is a day to<br />
connect with the deeper meaning<br />
of teshuvah-Atonement: At Onement.<br />
It is a day to reflect on the<br />
the concept of unity and oneness,<br />
asking yourself: “What makes me<br />
feel whole?” “What brings a feeling<br />
oneness in my life?” “Over the<br />
last year when have I felt at peace<br />
with the world and how can I<br />
strengthen this in the year ahead?”.<br />
DAY 7.<br />
The Jewish mystics envisioned<br />
that during this period,<br />
“A thin golden thread from<br />
the Celestial Mother, Binah<br />
(the universal power of<br />
Understanding), shines with<br />
the light of repentance and<br />
surrounds the whole world".<br />
(Tiqunei ha Zohar).<br />
DAY 8.<br />
Reb Nachman states that<br />
the process of repentance<br />
and efforts towards selfimprovement<br />
can be guided<br />
by a sense of love or fear. We<br />
can make changes motivated<br />
by fear (yir'ah), which is a<br />
lower level of motivation<br />
than than love (ahavah). Any<br />
move towards repentance is<br />
welcome however it can be<br />
interesting to know where<br />
your motivation comes from.<br />
Ask yourself, “Where does my<br />
desire for change come from?"
DAY 9.<br />
“We are responsible for each other”<br />
is the focus of this day. The viduy<br />
prayer of this season contains a<br />
long list of transgressions that<br />
are written in the plural form –<br />
ashamnu, bagadnu, galzalnu…”we<br />
are guilty, we have betrayed, we<br />
have overeaten…” etc. Why is the<br />
plural used? So as to remind us<br />
that we do not live in a vacuum.<br />
We are part of a society in which<br />
we influence one another. A<br />
deep principle of Judaism is the<br />
recognition that we are responsible<br />
for each other – arevim zeh la zeh.<br />
Today contemplate what this mean<br />
for you - How are you going to<br />
help others this year? How are<br />
others going to help you this year?<br />
DAY 10<br />
The Zohar “Book of Enlightenmet”<br />
states that on Yom Kippur our<br />
consciousness expands to the level<br />
of angels. The practice of turning<br />
our focus from the physical senses<br />
to sensing the spiritual, leads us<br />
to a deeper sense of the ziv hashechinah,<br />
the “radiance of the<br />
Divine Presence”. Rather than<br />
physical food we are nourished<br />
by divine light. It is said that the<br />
angelic cherubim and seraphim sing<br />
with us as we pray. Whether there<br />
are angels or not, can you feel the<br />
lightness of being on this day? Can<br />
you get a sense of your inner light?<br />
And then Yom Kippur is over, what<br />
is the first thing you do? Yes, eat, but<br />
then we pray the evening prayers<br />
in which we ask forgiveness for our<br />
transgressions! But wait a minute,<br />
we just went through a period of a<br />
month; 10 days in which the focus<br />
was on atonement and preparing<br />
ourselves for a year of goodness and<br />
improvement? Yes we did! However<br />
the sages of old knew that within<br />
a short time, we would “miss the<br />
mark” once again, and the process<br />
of teshuvah would begin once again.<br />
Our sages left us a message within the<br />
text of the siddur (prayer book), they<br />
said, yes we know you will try your<br />
best, but you will more than likely<br />
transgress within a short time of Yom<br />
Kippur’s end. We have the psychospiritual<br />
technology to help you on<br />
your path of wellbeing. We have At-<br />
Onement processes each morning<br />
and night, at the end of each week<br />
and at the end of each month,<br />
helping you to be more aware of your<br />
essence and how to connect with<br />
goodness. And hopefully the process<br />
of teshuvah will not be circular, but<br />
an ever-ascending spiral symbolising<br />
the higer level of wellbeing at which<br />
you arrive each year.<br />
Shana Tova, and may<br />
you find a deeper level<br />
of wellness and love<br />
within this ancient,<br />
wise and ever-evolving<br />
tradition.<br />
ITRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING<br />
Yom Kippur Eve - Music, Meditation & Prayer<br />
A unique opportunity to raise your spirits through music, prayer and chant, with musician<br />
Amir Paiss (co-founder of Temple of Song and Sheva Band in Israel), and Rabbi Dr. Orna<br />
Triguboff, Emanuel Lieberfreund and Aviva Pinkus. This reflective circle of prayer and music<br />
promises to be a heart-opening experience to be remembered.<br />
7:45pm-9:45pm, 8 <strong>October</strong> in Neuweg<br />
All welcome. Bookings essential - early bird $35 before 1 <strong>October</strong>,<br />
otherwise $45. Children under 15: $10<br />
Because space is limited, Emanuel members are requested to<br />
reserve a free ticket online here if you would like to participate.<br />
Reserve your seat:<br />
events.humanitix.com.au/yomkippur<br />
31
SUKKOT AT EMANUEL SYNAGOGUE<br />
Come and join us in the Sukkah for a range of exciting activities and services throughout Sukkot.<br />
SUKKAH DECORATING AND DINNER<br />
Come along and help decorate our “Sukkah under the Stars” We will supply the<br />
materials, we need you to help us make our Sukkah shine Fun for all ages!<br />
When: Sunday 13th <strong>October</strong><br />
Time: 5:30pm: decorating the sukkah<br />
6:15pm: service in the sukkah followed by dinner<br />
SUKKAH SERVICE AND DINNER<br />
Join us for first night sukkot services and stay for dinner in the sukkah<br />
When: Sunday 13th <strong>October</strong><br />
Time: 5:30pm: Decorating the Sukkah<br />
6:15pm: Service in the Sukkah followed by dinner<br />
FAMILY SUKKOT SERVICE<br />
A wonderful opportunity for families to share in the celebration of Sukkot with their children. Join us<br />
for a musical service in the sukkah connecting with the themes of the festival, followed by snacks.<br />
When: Monday 14th <strong>October</strong><br />
Time: 10am<br />
SUKKAH SERVICE AND STORY<strong>TELL</strong>ING<br />
Be a part of our second night Sukkot tradition of Storytelling in the Sukkah.<br />
This year as we contemplate Sukkot and the booths our ancestors dwelled in the desert, the journey they took both<br />
spiritually and physically we have invited ten congregants to each share a ten minute story about the theme of “journey”<br />
When: Monday 14th <strong>October</strong><br />
Where: Emanuel Synagogue Sukkah<br />
Time: 6:15pm services followed by<br />
a light dinner and stories<br />
HOSHANA RABA (SHAKSHUKAH IN THE SUKKAH)<br />
Following our Hoshana Raba service marking<br />
the end of Sukkot, we will enjoy our last meal<br />
for the year, Shaksukah, in the Sukkah.<br />
Date: Sunday 20th <strong>October</strong><br />
Time: Services 9:00am followed by shakshukah<br />
32
COMMUNITY<br />
Emanuel Synagogue<br />
Shabbat by the Sea<br />
Friday 25 <strong>October</strong><br />
Marks Park, Bondi<br />
Succah by the Sea is an installation at Sculpture by the Sea,<br />
Bondi being organised as an exciting initiative with Shalom.<br />
Succah by the Sea reimagines the 3000 year old Jewish ritual<br />
and structure of the Succah through a 21st century lens.<br />
On Friday 25 <strong>October</strong>, Emanuel Synagogue will be having a special Kabbalat<br />
Shabbat service among the Succah-inspired sculptures in Mark's Park, Bondi.<br />
• Start at 5:30pm with guided tours of the Succah<br />
• Join us from 6:15pm for a Shabbat Live! service under the stars<br />
• Stay for a BYO picnic dinner.<br />
Renewal Dawn Meditation<br />
Friday <strong>November</strong> 8 from 7:00am<br />
Marks Park, Bondi<br />
Come and join Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff for a special Meditation<br />
experience among the Succah By the Sea installation.<br />
33
Rosh Hashana 1st Day Mon Sept 30 9:00am Rosh Hashana Service<br />
Heritage Sanctuary<br />
HIGH HOLY DAY AT EMANUEL SYNAGOGUE<br />
8:30am RH Service<br />
New Sanctuary<br />
Family service 10:00am-11:00am<br />
Neuweg<br />
Heritage Sanctuary 11:30 Yiskor Heritage Sanctuaary<br />
ALL TIMES APPROXIMATE 12:30 Musaf<br />
2:30 Mincha<br />
2:00pm Afternoon service,<br />
musaf & mincha<br />
4:00 - 5:30pm Study<br />
5:45pm Yizkor 6:00pm Neilah<br />
6:30pm Neilah<br />
7:41pm Havdallah 7:41pm Ma'ariv Havdallah<br />
11:00am - 12:00am Morning Service<br />
Neuweg<br />
12:00-1:00pm<br />
Torah meditation<br />
Music & prayer<br />
1:10pm - 2:00pm Compassion Meditation<br />
2:10pm - 3:00pm Angels Meditation<br />
3:10pm - 4:00pm Yizkor Meditation<br />
Neuweg<br />
Service Date Progressive Masorti Renewal Other<br />
Havdallah and Selichot Sat Sept 21 8:30pm Combined 8:30pm Combined 8:30pm combined<br />
New Sanctuary New Sanctuary New Sanctuary<br />
Rosh Hashana Erev Sun Sept 29 6:15 Combined 6:15 Combined 6:15 Combined<br />
Heritage Sanctuary Heritage Sanctuary Heritage Sanctuary<br />
Tashlich Mon Sept 30 5:30pm Tashlich - Centennial Park 4:00pm Tashlich with Shofar<br />
Model Yacht Pond - Nielsen Park<br />
Rosh Hashana Erev 2 Mon Oct 1 6:00pm Maariv 6:00pm Maariv<br />
Centennial Park Centennial Park<br />
Rosh Hashana 2nd Day Tues Sept 31 9:30am-11:00am 8:30am RH morning<br />
Rosh Hashana Live New Sanctuary<br />
Neuweg<br />
Kol Nidrei Tues Oct 8 6:30pm Kol Nidrei 6:30pm Kol Nidrei<br />
6:30pm Kol Nidrei<br />
Heritage Sanctuary New Sanctuary<br />
8:30pm Yom Kippur Chanting Circle<br />
Neuweg<br />
Bookings essential: Members free,<br />
open to non-members on separate ticket<br />
Yom Kippur Wed Oct 9 9:00am Morning Service 9:00am Children's service<br />
11:00am Morning service ALL TIMES APPROXIMATE 9:45am Family service<br />
34
ROSH<br />
HASHANAH<br />
LIVE!<br />
When: Second day Rosh Hashanah,<br />
Tuesday 1st <strong>October</strong> 9:30am-11am<br />
Join us for a spiritual, meaningful,<br />
Second day Rosh Hashana service.<br />
The musicians from Shabbat Live<br />
together with Cantor Mordecai and<br />
Rabbi Ninio will guide a soulful<br />
service connecting to the themes and<br />
prayers of this High Holy Day season<br />
Everybody welcome!<br />
Where: Neuweg Sanctuary<br />
35
{SERVICE TIMES}<br />
Morning Minyan<br />
Morning Minyan is on Mondays and Thursdays at 6:45am.<br />
All service times are subject to change. Please check<br />
emanuel.org.au for any amendments to our regular services.<br />
SHABBAT SERVICES<br />
Erev Shabbat<br />
• 6:15pm - Masorti Service (Neuweg)<br />
• 6:15pm - Shabbat Live (New Sanctuary)<br />
Shabbat Morning<br />
• 9:00am - Masorti service (New Sanctuary)<br />
• 10:00am - Progressive service (Heritage Sanctuary)<br />
Details of High Holy Day and Sukkot services pages 32-34.<br />
{CONTACT US}<br />
All services and other programs are held at the synagogue unless otherwise indicated:<br />
7 Ocean Street, Woollahra NSW 2025<br />
There are many ways to get in touch — we would love to hear from you!<br />
Call: (02) 9389 6444<br />
Email: info@emanuel.org.au<br />
Visit: emanuel.org.au<br />
Like: facebook.com/emanuel.synagogue<br />
Follow us! We’re on Twitter @emanuelshule and Instagram @emanuelsynagogue<br />
Office hours<br />
Monday–Thursday: 9am–5pm<br />
Friday: 9am–2pm<br />
_______<br />
Edited by Robert Klein<br />
{THANK YOU}<br />
A huge thank you to all of the contributors to this edition of Tell, and<br />
to our wonderful team of volunteers who give their time to help us<br />
get the magazine packed and into members’ homes each quarter.<br />
If you would like to contribute to the next edition of Tell, or to<br />
enquire about advertising, please email tell@emanuel.org.au.<br />
If you are interested in volunteering, email volunteer@emanuel.org.au.