TELL magazine: December 2020 - Emanuel Synagogue

Resilience

KSLEV/TEVET 5781

December 2020/ January 2021

COVID, Connection

And Community

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins

Finding the Holy

Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio

A Great Day for

Democracy

Reverend Sam Zwarenstein

The Contribution

of Jews from

Arab Lands

Cantor George Mordecai

Appreciating The

Connections

Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth

Fun for all the family!

Bring a picnic dinner.

We’ll supply the sufganiyot!

YOUR QUARTERLY JOURNAL ON SPIRITUALITY, LEARNING & COMMUNITY

Emanuel Synagogue offers a home where you can live your Judaism in a contemporary

world, drawing on our ancient teachings and traditions. We are a pluralistic community

offering a choice of services, programs and activities for the Masorti, Progressive and Renewal

movements. We do this with contemporary understanding to create a dynamic and diverse

community, welcoming you and your involvement.

PROGRESSIVE

Join us for the beautiful music,

poetry and prayer of our

Progressive services. Weaving

Hebrew prayers with beautiful

English readings, our services

provide an opportunity to

connect with the spirit and awe of

Judaism. Our musicians help lift

our prayers with inspiring music.

Shabbat Live - 6:15pm Friday

(Millie Phillips Building - in

person & live-streamed) https://

emanuel.org.au/services

The Shabbat Progressive Service

begins at 10am each Saturday.

(in person and online)

https://emanuel.org.au/services

MASORTI

Our Masorti (traditional)

services are run almost entirely in

Hebrew, honouring the tradition

with contemporary insights.

As with all services at Emanuel

Synagogue, men and women

participate equally and fully.

We hold a Masorti Minyan at

8:00am Monday to Fridays

(https://zoom.us/j/702546413)

and 9:00am Sundays

(https://zoom.us/j/306800789).

On Thursday we also hold

an in-person service.

Masorti Kabbalat Shabbat

Friday at 6:15pm in person

10:00am - Masorti Shabbat (Millie

Phillips Building) in person

RENEWAL

Jewish Renewal services and classes

are a chance to meditate, discuss,

sing and be uplifted spiritually,

intellectually, emotionally and

physically – meeting online, in

person and often times in nature.

Email: orna@emanuel.org.au

Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kamins Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth



SUSTAINING THE

ENVIRONMENT &

HEALING THE WORLD

12

FINDING THE HOLY


15

SOCIAL JUSTICE PROFILE -

TANYA IGRA

17

SOCIAL JUSTICE SPOTLIGHT

17

VOLUNTEER UPDATE

Andrina Grynberg

{INSIDE THIS EDITION}

TRANSFORMATIVE

LEARNING

12

A GREAT DAY FOR DEMOCRACY}


19

RECOGNISING THE CONTRIBUTION

OF JEWS FROM ARAB LANDS


20

"SHOW ME A PLAGUE, AND I’LL

SHOW YOU THE WORLD!”

Nicole Waldner

22

THE POWER OF OBJECTS


INSPIRING PRAYER

4

COVID, CONNECTION AND

COMMUNITY

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins OAM

14

APPRECIATING THE CONNECTIONS

Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth

26

YAMIM NORAIM LIKE NO OTHER

CONNECTING WITH

ISRAEL & WORLD JEWRY

24

21 YEARS OF PEACE

AND JUSTICE

Donna Jacobs-Sife

28

A WALK THROUGH

JEWISH SYDNEY

COMMUNITY

7

CEO UPDATE

27

BNEI MITZVAH

29

NEW MEMBERS

29

TZEDAKAH

34

MAZAL TOV

34

DECEASED

35

PUZZLE PAGE

by Anne Wolfson

We need your help.

Emanuel Synagogue Social

Justice Committee is running a

Asylum Seeker Centre

Chanukah Drive

We are collecting urgently

needed non-perishable food

items and toiletries.

Bring some light into the

life of people in need.

You can drop off the goods to:

Emanuel Synagogue, Woollahra

(Woods Ave entrance)

Jesse's Cafe 443-445 Old

South Head Rd, Rose Bay

Le Marais 6/1094 Anzac

Parade, Maroubra

For a list of goods required, see

https://emanuel.org.au/asc-drive/

Thank you for your

generous support.

{COVID, CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY}

Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kamins OAM

As we begin 5781 and close out 2020 it seems opportune to reflect

on events this year, particularly the COVID pandemic, and how it

has affected each of us, our families and our community.

In particular, it is important to

think of the way forward, considering

the benefits we have

observed of virtual connection, but

being cognizant of the risks that

this poses to genuine community,

especially within the synagogue.

I remember arriving in Los Angeles

for a visit with my family, just two

days after Purim, the very day the

World Health Organisation declared

COVID was beyond an emergency

- it was a pandemic. The world

as we knew it changed immediately.

While there were runs on stores

for basic provisions, and tragic tussles

over toilet paper, there were also

positive responses. For instance, in

my neighbourhood back in Sydney,

people gathered emails and mobile

numbers from residents on the

street, so we could ensure that we

could look after each other. The selfish

survival instinct of ‘reptilian

brain’ did not destroy our altruistic,

communitarian and social nature.

The clergy team in Sydney immediately

considered ways of reaching

out in a virtual sense, to ensure that

our community remained connected

through lockdown and social distancing.

We initiated the Dunera

Project, a broad platform providing

curated and original content of culture,

education, spiritual engagement,

entertainment and more. We

began specific programs to connect

with individuals in our congregation

- recording and broadcasting daily

“clergy thoughts for the day”; created

the “clergy café” (now morphed into

my Tuesday afternoon Speakeasy

and Reverend Zwarenstein’s Friday

morning pre-Shabbat schmooze),

and transitioned our programs to

virtual platforms, including our

Shabbat Live service, the innovative

Shabbat Embrace of Rabbi Ninio

and Cantor Mordecai, and all kinds

of conversations about Israel, health,

and contemporary events such as the

Uluru Statement from the Heart.

All this virtual programming culminated

in our livestreamed services

for the Yamim Noraim, in which

we reached over 3,000 households

and 10,000 individuals at one time.

The connections we have provided

over this period of COVID have

had a far-reaching impact for community,

both positive and potentially

negative as well, and now is the

continued over...

5

time to reflect on this. That which is

most positive is our ability to provide

connection to community for those

who were previously disenfranchised

– our many congregants who live

far away from Sydney, from Bega to

Darwin, from South Coast to North;

young families, whose children need

attention precisely at the time of our

services, classes or other programs;

the elderly who no longer go out in

the evening, and the ill and immobile.

What a privilege and pleasure it

is to bring you back into community.

That which is conversely, the downside

is whether by providing this service

for those who truly need it we

are also beginning to undermine the

ultimate sense of what it is to be in

community. While we connected

with over 10,000 people in thousands

of households over the Yamim

Noraim, those thousands of individual

families were not connected with

each other. There truly is something

different, something spiritually, emotionally

and physically elevating to

sing together in community, to learn

in interactive conversation, to feel the

pulsating presence of other heartbeats

beyond those of our inner circle.

There is a real place where the whole

is greater than the sum of its parts. In

my mind, that place is the synagogue.

Over this time of COVID, we have

been able to connect partially, but

our challenge in the year ahead, is to

guarantee that while we maintain that

essential connection for those who

have pressing need, we impress upon

each other the essential teaching of

Judaism - not to separate from the

community (Hillel, Mishna Pirkei

Avot 2:5). It is in the synagogue, the

unique place for multi-generational,

multi-dimensional connection

through singing, learning and celebrating,

that we can truly look each

other in the eye, feel the vibrations

and understand the nuances of communication

not transmitted through

the screen, but only in person. I look

forward to seeing you soon.

Conversations about Israel

Every Monday, join Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins or guest speakers to

examine the complex issues facing contemporary Israel.

Monday mornings from 10:00 to 11:30

https://zoom.us/j/631843337 and in-person

6

by Suzanna Helia

It is 4 in the morning, and I am

enjoying a ‘Facetime’ conversation

with my son in Switzerland. Our

conversations vary - sometimes they

are only for a few minutes, to let me

know he is okay, or that he needs some

shirts or stationery; lately however I

realised that we have started enjoying

longer conversations. I listen to him

practising violin, or we might work

together on his drawing assignments.

Sometimes, after speaking with him

for more than an hour, I see his brother

playing a video game with him while

on the phone. What I am discovering

is that although I am completely

devastated by the fact that he is not

here with us in Sydney, I realise that in

all that sadness of separation, distance

and “the void of him not being here”,

I have found some tangible benefits.

Similarly, I have discovered the

benefits of the world turning

digital; I have been looking into

the implications for the Jewish

community world-wide adopting

the digital space. It seems that the

Jewish community with the largest

population today is not in Jerusalem

or New York City, but the ‘digital’

Jewish community, with a population

numbering many, many millions.

Historically, the way Jewish

communities evolved and were

identified were often by their location.

Members of a synagogue and those

living nearby tended to build a

community. Jews used to live in

ghettos and in small geographical

locations in parts of cities. Yet the

digital space suddenly disrupted

this function completely and has

opened up new opportunities.

The question is - ‘how will our children

and grandchildren think about this?’

Will they belong to a synagogue

based on location, where they have

family and friends, or will they join

a synagogue that focuses on the

most fulfilling aspects of their Jewish

{CEO UPDATE}

beliefs, independent of the country,

location or the place they call home?

So, is this an opportunity to craft

early versions of digital Jewish

experience, that potentially grow into

fully formed expressions of Judaism

in the coming decades and centuries?

If we did, we would have to redefine

the meaning of a community. Do

we have an opportunity to create

digital communities based on similar

interests - supporting each other or

sharing the same background, and

at the same time address some social

issues that so many are dealing with?

But if community refers to a set of

people who are interested in gathering

together, supporting one another,

sharing life’s moments of sadness and

joy, and marking important occasions

and festivals together, that should be

achievable online. We just have to

wholly commit to that task as a Jewish

collective, in order to make it a reality.

Here in Australia we are now

standing on the brink of the victory

over the virus. It is hard to believe

that the world will be going back to

the ‘way before’; that we will now

switch off the streaming of services,

or that the digital platforms we

have built will now be closed down.

During the High Holy Days, we

experienced the benefit of bringing

grandparents from Los Angeles,

or cousins from London, to the

experience of our service or dinner,

for free. I don’t believe we will now

be content to only gather with

folks who live nearby, or are able

to travel to. Not to mention the

advantages for the members of

our families and community with

disabilities and in aged care homes.

Jews who live in places without

Jewish institutions will continue to

want digital opportunities for Jewish

engagement. I believe the times we

are living in right now, will mark a

point in the history of Jewish culture

and evolution. I see an opportunity

for early adopters to really make

a mark and become a strong and

most importantly relevant Jewish

community.

Once we have experienced the benefit

of sharing a lifecycle event through

digital streaming, in addition to

having a digital memory or video

available to view for the lifetime of

the Bar Mitzvah boy, for example, I

believe the face to face experience will

from now on always be supplemented

by the digital and virtual space.

At this moment, someone is

organising to change a law or fight

for those without a voice. Someone is

delivering a meal to a person in need.

And someone is simply searching

for a way to get involved in our

community. It will be fascinating

to see how well we will master this

digital trajectory that, to my mind, is

an extraordinary opportunity.

7

{FINDING THE HOLY}

by Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio

During these past weeks, I have been thinking a lot about trees. It all began

when we found that a pipe at the front of our house had been cracked by

the roots of a magnificent tree which stands sentinel on our street.

The previous owners of our house

tied themselves to that tree to

stop it being removed when all

the others along the street were

cut down. Their actions saved our

magnificent tree, which is home

to bats, birds and all manner of

insects and creatures. It hums with

the sounds of our street, and the

neighbourhood in which it made

its home long before most of the

residents set foot on this land. The

tree is welcoming and hospitablea

grand, wise guardian of our

street. It grows ever upwards, but

also beneath the ground, its roots

entwining with others, making

connections. It whispers to us, its

leaves singing an ancient chant.

I feel its protection, its presence,

its company. I cannot imagine

my home without my tree

companion, regally overseeing

the neighbourhood and the lives

of all who live within her domain.

The power of one tree, with

which I have had a connection

for a mere 12 years, is palpable.

Our tradition recognises the

power of trees. They are central

to our story, to who we are. Our

understanding of, and connection

with, them has roots deep within

our tradition. The Torah, our

most precious gift, is likened to

a tree. It is described as a ‘tree

of life’, the source of learning

and growth. God’s first act on

earth was planting a garden: the

trees and plants in the Garden

of Eden. The moral behaviour

8

of humanity was determined by

our treatment of a tree in the

Garden: the tree of knowledge

of good and evil. Sacred Jewish

texts are replete with instructions

about how we should treat

trees: when we should plant and

harvest, how we care for them

and the environment, and how

we should ensure sustainability

for the future. And we learn

from trees. We are called to listen

for the song of nature, the tune

that every living entity sings into

the world. The Talmud teaches

us that we also learn about one

another by the way we treat our

trees. We plant trees to celebrate

the birth of our children, to

commemorate special moments

in our lives, in times of joy and

sadness. And we give to the

generations to come by placing

seeds and saplings in the earth

which will grow for the future.

Just as trees are central to Jewish

teachings and life, so too trees are

an integral part of learning and

spirituality for the Indigenous

peoples of this ancient land. Trees

are sacred, holy sites - places

where connections are made

with spirit. They link songlines,

they tell the stories, they provide

comfort, solace, grounding, place.

In Indigenous culture when a child

is born, their placenta is mixed

with the seed of a tree planted in

the earth. From that day forward,

the tree becomes that child’s

‘directions tree’: a place they can go

for guidance for their spirit, where

they can connect with the past

and hear the stories of ancestors in

the whispered song of their special

place. Alongside ‘directions trees’

are grandfather and grandmother

trees: two trees which grow

together, a pair which support and

care for one another. And there

are ‘birthing trees,’ where women

sheltered to bring new life into the

world. All these trees tell the story

of a people. They are deep, ancient

teachings, embedded in the soil

of the children whose lives began

beneath the branches; generations

of families, their roots intertwined

with those of the trees; songlines

which link across country. These

trees are guardians, and are

described as being like the most

magnificent cathedrals, spiritual

places where you can feel the

presence of the sacred ancestors.

A group of such trees, sacred to

the Djab Wurrung people, are

slated for destruction to make

way for a highway in Victoria.

A pair of trees, a grandmother

and grandfather who are 800

and 700 years old, stand guard

over the land. The grandmother

tree will be spared, but the

grandfather will be chopped

down. A Djab Wurrung woman

said: “...they would be nothing

without each other … standing

this ground for so long and being

with her would be like losing

someone very close … a spouse.”

An article describes the two trees:

“...the grandmother, a tall Red

River Gum, is in fact two trees

that have joined just above a

large hollow, also believed to be

the place of thousands of Djab

Wurrung births. The trunk of

the grandfather tree opposite her

bends around and over, forming a

“U” like shape. His veiny branches

are intricate, curly and erratic, but

reach outwards towards her.” 1

This pair, grandmother and

grandfather, will be forever

separated when the grandfather

is chopped to the ground. And

already a sacred directions tree, a

Yellow Box Gum, has been killed,

chainsaws destroying a sacred site:

hundreds of years of spirituality, a

holy place, destroyed. One of the

Djab Wurrung women likened it

to the fire which burned Notre

Dame. We fight to protect our

sacred buildings, our places of

worship, our holy sites, but we

Continued over...

SHABBAT LIVE

Join us in person or virtually as we welcome

the Shabbat with the spiritual, meaningful,

music, prayers and stories of Shabbat Live.

Join us in person or online on Zoom from 6:15pm.

Shabbat Live will also be available on Facebook Live!

www.emanuel.org.au/services

are willing to destroy the sacred

places of our Indigenous people,

somehow viewing them as ‘less

than,’ because they are part of the

natural world. These holy places

have stood for hundreds of years

longer than our churches and

synagogues. They are part of the

earth; they are living souls whose

sacred power is planted in the

soil, ever-growing and changing,

enabling a connection with spirit.

We Jews understand awe and

respect of nature. Our ancestors,

too, found holy places outdoors.

So many ancient encounters

with God occurred in places of

nature: God speaking to Moses

from a thornbush; Jacob’s vision

of the angels in the desert night

sky. And today, for many of us,

our moments of spirituality occur

when we encounter and meet the

sacred in the earth, the holy places

beneath the skies. We understand

the links to land, to place, to

the earth, the soil and nature.

And so we must remember and

acknowledge sacred places of

spirit, to see that it is not only

bricks and mortar which create

places of the soul. And once we see

that, then we have a responsibility

to protect those spaces which

have deep spiritual meaning,

just as we would the Kotel and

other sacred Jewish sites. We

are called to protect the sacred

places for all, especially our First

Nations people, who walked this

land, who heard its stories and

who sang its songs for thousands

of years before we were here.

New Zealand has a treaty with

its Maori nations. A river sacred

to the Whanganui people of the

North Island was, in a world first,

given the same rights against

harm as a living entity, protecting

a holy site, a sacred covenant.

In this year, more than ever,

when we have been challenged

to find sacred place outside our

buildings, maybe we can expand

our understanding of where we

find the holy, to honour and

protect the sites of all peoples and

to recognise the power of nature

and land, to elevate our spirits

and connect us with the sacred. I

hope and pray that we can come

together in peace, all nations,

religions and spiritual traditions,

to learn from one another, to

listen to each other’s stories, and

together sing the song of this land

and all its peoples, in harmony,

respect and honour.

1. SMH, Sherryn Grouch,

31 October 2020. “What do

these Sacred Trees tell us about

Aboriginal Heritage in Australia?”

Chanukah

Kabbalah

Inspirational

Emails

Receive a daily email with

teachings about Light and

Jewish Mysticism from

Rabbi Orna Triguboff

December 10-18

To join please email

orna@emanuel.org.au

Women’s

Rosh Chodesh Group

From 8:00PM

Join us each month

Join women of all ages as we

celebrate the beginning of the

Hebrew month with prayer,

discussion and an opportunity

to connect with one another.

Starts 8pm on the day of

Rosh Hodesh. Email info@

emanuel.org.au for information

about the next gathering.

10

CLERGY CAFE

Speakeasy with

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins

Tuesday 5:00pm

An hour of shmoozing about a topical

matter of social import, made that

much easier with a drink of your choice

from the comfort of your home.

Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/94346997043

Pre-Shabbat Shmooze

Friday 10:00am

Join Reverend Sam Zwarenstein for a

chance to chat and catch up over coffee,

tea, wine, whiskey or green smoothie!

10:00am to 11:00am - Shmooze on Zoom.


Thursday evenings

from 7:15pm

Join Cantor George Mordecai on

Thursday evenings to learn some very

deep Torah. Cantor Mordecai will

give over the insightful and amazing

teachings imparted to him by his teacher

and mentor, Reb Miles Krassen.

Contact gmordecai@emanuel.org.au


Expecting

a baby?

Jewnatal is a program for those expecting

a baby in their lives, whether through birth

or adoption, and whether the 1st or 5th!

The concept is to build relationships

with people going through the same

life stage. Relationships that will carry

forward after the class has concluded.

Email Rabbi Kaiserblueth:

rkaiserblueth@emanuel.org.au

11

{A GREAT DAY FOR DEMOCRACY}

By Reverend Sam Zwarenstein

"I love voting day. I love the sight of my fellow citizens lining up to make their

voices heard."

- Beth Broderick

Elections of any sort, in many

organisations, states, provinces

or countries, can be complex and

complicated matters, and they have

the propensity to confuse the voters

and people living in those areas,

never mind those who have little or

no knowledge or experience with

such matters.

Elections in the USA always provide

a classic example of this, and that’s

without having to go anywhere past

the presidential election. 2020 has

certainly produced lots of unexpected

and harrowing experiences; we

always knew this was going to be a

hotly contested and debated election.

Perhaps, therefore, we may not

have been all that surprised to have

endured innumerable explanations

of how the electoral college system

works, and the various possible

permutations and contentions as

the race to 270 (and therefore the

presidency) had billions of people

impatiently waiting for each update.

In line with the wonders this year

has brought us, these elections threw

another curveball. In addition to

the presidential election, a number

of other elections took place, some

pertaining to seats within each state.

In North Dakota there were four

candidates seeking election in the 8th

district, where two seats were being

contested for the state legislature.

One of those candidates was David

Andahl, a Bismarck native, and

12

clearly a popular individual, as he

managed to garner close on 36%

of the vote in that district, and

thereby a seat. Are you ready for the

curveball? David Andahl died on

5th October, from COVID-19. Yes,

they elected a candidate who died 29

days before the election. The North

Dakota Attorney General (Wayne

Stenehjem) said that the state's court

system uses the "American" rule,

"where votes cast for the deceased

candidate should be counted”.

In keeping with all matters relating

to these elections, there is a fair

amount of conjecture as to who gets

to fill that seat, even though the law

provides a process for such cases.

While this would be an interesting

set of arguments to follow, it does

not detract from the fact that a

dead person managed to get elected,

Successful candidate, David Andahl

having died close on a month before

the election.

In America alone, since 2000 there

have been no less than six candidates

(and it’s possible there are more), for

mayoral, state and federal elections,

who died leading up to their respective

election, but were still elected. There

are many similar stories around the

world and throughout the ages that

should leave us gobsmacked, or at

the very least, bewildered.

Yet, as the classic saying goes - here

we are.

When this type of story appears in a

book or a movie or a play, it is usually

one part of a theme, or perhaps it

is the main theme itself. After all,

fiction, drama and amazement are

all part of the game. However, what

we have here is reality; the seemingly

impossible has actually materialised.

I surveyed 23 people to get their

reaction to the events of the recent

North Dakota state legislature

elections and discover what makes

one vote for a candidate whom we

know is no longer alive. The range

of reactions to the story included:

“that can’t be true”, “how unpopular

do you have to be to lose an election

to a dead person?”, “why am I not

surprised?” and “you’d think with a

crazy presidential election going on,

they’d have more important things to

report on”.

In terms of respondents’ thoughts

on why people would vote for a

dead person, there were suggestions

including ignorance (either not

knowing the candidate had died

or not knowing enough about the

electoral system) and claims of apathy

(including the classic “donkey vote”).

Then there was a strong focus on

the theme of delivering a variety of

messages to the candidates, political

parties and the system(s) of voting

(a “stick it to the man” approach).

The inference was: ‘voters felt that

it was essential for them to make a

statement through the platform that

allowed them to do so en masse, and

that their voice would then be heard,

loud and clear’. Reflections indicated

that voters may have felt that a dead

person would do a better job than

(some) other candidates, and/or that

they’d rather have no-one in the role

rather than someone they would

never vote for.

No matter what each voter’s intention

was, the result will stand as it is. In the

future, this event will become another

statistic, joining the ever-growing list

of the highly improbable. Right now,

it is a timely reminder that people

want to have their voices heard and

their opinions counted, and that

goes for all sides of politics. It may

be a nightmare for the legislators and

other officials, but it certainly is a

great day for democracy.

Parashat HaShavua -

Weekly Parasha Study

Every Wednesday from 8:15pm

- Musings on our Texts -

Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth presents

a contemporary look at our

ancient texts. We will delve into

our weekly portion looking at

difficult passages, inspiring texts,

and stories that you think you

know to cast new light on the

stories essential to our identity.

No prior knowledge of

texts is required.

https://zoom.us/j/93124176951

REFLECTIONS ON THE

PARASHAT HASHAVUA CLASS

by student, Merril Shead

What are we really saying when we ask “What’s this

week’s parasha?”. First, there’s the translation: parasha =

portion. So, our parasha is our portion of the Torah for

the week—that is, the week ushered in by Havdalah,

week upon week. The constant is the Torah, and each

week we can enter the sacred circle that the Torah’s 54

portions comprise via our parasha, our weekly portion.

Since the first alarming weeks of the COVID-19

pandemic, as so many of our weekly routines centred on

our synagogue unravelled, Rabbi Kaiserblueth has kept

us gathered together in a Zoom circle on Wednesday

nights for relaxed guided study of the week’s parasha.

So, yes, here’s another COVID-19 silver lining:

interactive text study—highly intertextual, too,

thanks to Rabbi Kaiserblueth’s savvy interactions

with Sefaria—without having to leave home! (Rabbi

Kaiserblueth always makes sure he’s got a background

with verve ready for when the camera rolls at 8.15

on Wednesday night. A talking point—and then

the sweet/savoury tasting of the portion begins.)

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks diagnosed ‘a potentially tragic …

sense of helplessness’ in The Politics of Hope (1997).

The antidote, he noted, is openness ‘to wisdom … the

voice of tradition’ (pp. 26–7). You are truly welcome

to experience this openness at the Emanuel portal:

https://zoom.us/j/93124176951 Wednesdays, 8.15 pm.

13

{APPRECIATING THE CONNECTIONS}

By Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth

As we approach the end of what can only be described as a chaotic year, I

have come to appreciate most of all the connections that I have, and have

been able to maintain, with my friends and family, especially as I relied

on those connections to surmount especially difficult moments.

What has strained those relationships

the most are those inevitable

difficult or challenging conversations

that come up. How we handle them

can make or break our relationships.

Who among us has not had an occasion

where we would have preferred

to walk away, or feel our blood boil

as the person we are speaking with

espouses ideas that are completely

antithetical to our ideals, or maybe

spewing hatred toward you or

a group of people, or maybe simply

repeating baseless “facts” or even

simply opinions we disagree with?

In any community or society, I am

certain this occurs constantly. How

we navigate these conversations,

whether during elections, pandemics,

or religious observance decisions,

is a testament to their strength.

We have no shortage of examples

in our tradition of advice on how

to navigate these types of conversations.

Notably, there is Moses as he

attempts to converse with Korah,

or the multiple cases in the Talmud

where rabbis seek to learn from one

another in pursuit of the truth.

Yet, I am drawn most closely

to the conversation between

Abraham and God which we read

a few weeks ago in chapter 18 of

Genesis. God reveals to Abraham

the plan of destruction for Sodom:

Then God said, “The outrage

of Sodom and Gomorrah is so

great, and their sin so grave!

I will go down to see whether

they have acted altogether

according to the outcry that has

reached Me; if not, I will take

note.” The men went on from

there to Sodom, while Abraham

remained standing before God.

I can only imagine what Abraham

must have been feeling at this point.

The very idea that God would be

contemplating wiping out a city,

something horrific to even contemplate,

would leave many of us either

speechless or in a state of fury. Yet,

Abraham, to his credit, and setting

an example to us all does something

very simple but very powerful:

ו ‏ַּיֹאמַ֑ר הַאַ֣ף ‏ּתִסְּפֶ‏ ‏֔ה צַּדִ֖יק עִם־רָׁשָֽע׃

Abraham came forward and

said, “Will You sweep away the

innocent along with the guilty?

In this moment of tension, where

the two parties could not be farther

apart, Abraham actively steps forward,

approaches God, and strives

to engage in a dialogue. How many

times have we heard the advice,

“just walk away” or “don’t engage”

with people we are at odds with?

Yet here, in this instance, Abraham

defies common sense and approaches,

attempting to bridge the gap.

I do not believe that Abraham expects

to change God’s mind. The goal here

is hinted at with the powerful active

verb that is employed, Vayigash,

to approach with purpose. It is the

same verb used by Judah, when he

approached Joseph to plead for the life

of Benjamin, not by shouting, fighting,

or defensively arguing, but coming

close to Joseph to attempt to bring

understanding to a charged situation.

Rather than retreating further into

our echo chambers of politics, religion,

or our personal narratives, further

distancing ourselves from one

another, let us look to Abraham, to

bring dialogue and understanding in

place of tension and conflict. The goal

is not to convince the other or prove

the other wrong, but to comprehend

the other, to engage with the other, in

order to bring about a closer relationship.

May that be the legacy we can

begin to enact, to push back against

the trends of isolation, whether it be

physical, spiritual, emotional, political,

or otherwise, and find reasons to

come closer together with the wondrous

variety that surrounds us.

14

{SOCIAL JUSTICE PROFILE - TANYA IGRA}

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT

YOURSELF: HOBBIES,

BACKGROUND, FAMILY, ANYTHING

YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE.

I migrated from South Africa at the

age of 17 with my family in the mid-

1980s. My father took a brave step

at the age of 54, moving our family

across the globe to find a better

future for us. I am forever grateful

to him for making this wise decision,

despite the many sacrifices and

financial uncertainty that came with

migration at his age. He had faith

that things would somehow work

out in the end.

My mother is originally from Israel,

so I have a strong connection with

Eretz Yisrael, having spent some

time living there over the years, and

regularly visiting my grandparents.

They were part of the early pioneers,

having migrated to what was then

Palestine in the early 1930s, and were

very involved in helping to establish

the State of Israel. They remained

living there, despite all their children

moving to the Diaspora.

I currently work as a social worker

in an Older Persons’ Mental Health

Team. I have always enjoyed working

with older people, especially learning

from the strengths, life stories and

wisdom they have to offer. We

need to listen, and give them the

opportunity to share them with us.

As a book enthusiast and dog lover,

you can guess how I spend my spare

time.

YOU HAVE BEEN A DEVOTED MEMBER

OF THE SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE

FOR MANY YEARS. WHAT INSPIRED

YOU TO JOIN THE COMMITTEE?

One year I joined the Mitzvah Day

activities as a volunteer and enjoyed

it very much. I immediately realised

the great value it was offering to the

community. On that particular

Mitzvah Day, we were packing

toiletries for women and families

who had escaped domestic violence

situations. I asked one of the other

committee members how I could

become more involved. Shortly after

attending one of the Social Justice

Committee meetings, I initiated

co-ordinating a ‘soup kitchen’ at

Chapel by the Sea down at Bondi

Beach. I have remained involved

in the committee ever since. My

focus now is on organising Mitzvah

Days, and assisting with practical

issues for some of the other projects.

This role has melded well with my

background in social work and social

justice advocacy.

WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SOCIAL

JUSTICE WORK, AND INITIATIVES

FOR YOU, OVER THAT TIME?

I really enjoyed running the Chapel

by the Sea Soup Kitchen. It was

fabulous to recruit and coordinate

a group of volunteers, negotiate the

logistics of starting a new program,

developing links with other

organisations like OzHarvest, as well

as managing various challenges such

as occupational health and safety

risks for volunteers in this setting.

Another highlight has been choosing

Mitzvah Day projects, through

brainstorming and researching

options with the rest of the Social

Justice Committee, who are a

dynamic and talented team. It is

always interesting to explore the

variety of opportunities out there to

assist groups of people in need, and

then settling on a few projects that

are within our scope and brief, with

safety of volunteers always being

paramount.

YOU HAVE BEEN INTEGRAL TO

OUR MITZVAH DAY FOR OVER

10 YEARS. WHAT ARE SOME OF

THE PROJECTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

OF THOSE DAYS FOR YOU?

It’s delightful to see the buzz and

energy in the shule hall, when

everyone turns up on Mitzvah Day

to lend a hand. We are continually

amazed at the generosity of the

donations, and the time that

volunteers devote to help packaging

goods, creating messages and using

their artistic flair in decorating the

cards for the recipients. Projects

appeal to all age ranges, including

families bringing their young

children to participate. It is always

satisfying to see that all ages can

derive benefit from contributing in

some way to the chosen project.

Starting a new environmentally

focused Mitzvah Day project last

year was great fun. Despite the

inclement weather, a small but

extremely enthusiastic group of

continued over...

15

volunteers turned up to Watsons Bay

Beach to help collect rubbish as part

of the local Council’s HarbourCare

Program. The rubbish “pickerupper”

sticks were a big highlight

for the kids and adults alike. Lots of

excitement as well, to see the volume

we collected and saved from going

into the ocean. Prizes awarded for

the most unusual pieces of rubbish

found kept everyone searching!

DO YOU THINK JUDAISM HAS HAD AN

INFLUENCE ON YOUR SOCIAL JUSTICE

PASSION?

Judaism has had a huge influence on

my passion for pursuing social justice

in my personal and professional

life. I think the values of Judaism,

specifically kindness, caring,

compassion, sense of community

and repairing the world, have always

remained part of who I am. I have

grown up with these values through

my Jewish upbringing at home, as

well as involvement in the Progressive

Tanya with Rabbi Ninio and other volunteers at a previous Mitzvah Day.

Jewish Movement from a young

age. I can say that these influences

have definitely led me to my chosen

profession, and I continue to strive

for social justice where I can. I feel

my involvement in the Social Justice

Committee is an extension of this,

and it is gratifying to be involved

in this within my own congregation

and community.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE WISH FOR

THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

There are many wishes I would like

for the world, but I think on the top

of my list would for no-one to be

homeless or hungry.

16

{SOCIAL JUSTICE SPOTLIGHT}

Last TELL, Tanya Igra reported

on the social justice project undertaken

by some of our volunteers.

They selected the Gunawirra school

backpack drive for Aboriginal preschool

children living in rural and

remote areas of NSW. This followed

the success of a similar

care-pack drive conducted by our

Synagogue for Mitzvah Day in 2018.

One of Gunawirra’s signature programs

is the Five Big Ideas program.

By teaching pre-schoolers about personal

hygiene, basic health care and

simple nutrition, significant improvements

to primary health care can be

created. The program aims to reduce

longer term chronic health problems,

and ultimately reducing the difference

in life expectancy between Indigenous

and non-Indigenous Australians.

Our appeal provided 95 backpacks

that were transported together

with the collections from other

donor organisations to reach

over 600 Aboriginal pre-school

children. Thank you again to all

those who helped with this project.

Below are photos of some of the children

receiving their backpacks.

Well, what a year 2020 turned

out to be!! I won’t drag us through

all of the sordid details but it is

good to be coming out the other

side of it relatively in one piece.

Unfortunately, the year that was

did affect our amazing volunteering

programs. But we did manage to pull

off one of our biggest initiatives to

date: the packing and delivery of over

1800 gifts to the congregation in

time for the Yamim Noraim. A feat

that would not have been possible

without our volunteer packers and

delivery angels on foot, on pushbikes,

planes, trains and automobiles. Kol

hakavod to everyone involved; it was

a huge success that was very much

appreciated by the congregation!

(In the unlikely event that you did

not receive your candles and honey

please let me know: I have stock.)

{VOLUNTEER UPDATE}

Opportunities for Tikkun Olam at

Emanuel Synagogue are numerous

and diverse. Due to the COVID-19

pandemic, most of our face-to-face

volunteering programs were placed

on hold. Looking towards 2021 we

are finding ways to work with the

restrictions that have become part of

our everyday reality.

Nora’s Kitchen Cooking Club, Ruth's

Garden Green Team and our Shabbat

Welcoming Team will resume in

2021. We will be expanding these

initiatives to activities outside of the

synagogue, reaching out to members

of our congregation who need

assistance at home, in the kitchen

and in the garden, or members who

would just like to have a friendly

phone call every now and then. If you

would like to find out more about

these volunteering opportunities for

2021, please register your interest by

emailing andrina@emanuel.org.au

For volunteering in our Social

Justice please contact socialjustice@

emanuel.org.au. So, watch our

website and ebulletin; more details of

our 2021 volunteering opportunities

will come in the weeks ahead.

I would like to take this opportunity

to thank all of our amazing existing

volunteers who have given us much

support over the past year.

And I wish you all a restful and

enjoyable end of year break with

family and friends.

Andrina Grynberg

Campus Coordinator and

Volunteer Engagement Officer

17

By Cantor George Mordecai

{RECOGNISING THE CONTRIBUTION OF

JEWS FROM ARAB LANDS}

I recently had the opportunity to address the congregation

on a topic very close to my heart.

The Shabbat of 27–28 November

was designated Jews of Arab Lands

Shabbat—a time to remember the

cultural contribution of these Jews,

to celebrate their culture and history

and to commemorate the losses they

incurred during the late 1940s and

early 1950s when so many Judeo-

Arabic communities were forced to

leave their homes in the countries

they had lived in for centuries.

I am very proud of my Judeo-

Arabic heritage. I have clear and

strong memories of my siti’s (my

grandmother’s) and my siyidi’s (my

grandfather’s) home. On Shabbat

and Sundays many of their Iraqi

Jewish friends would visit, drink

kahwa (strong black Arabic coffee),

play Tawlee (backgammon), eat

baklawa and listen to Oum Kultoom,

Fairuz, Abdel Wahab and other great

Arabic singers and composers. Songs

like ‘Lama Bada Yatathana’, an old

Andalusian love song, and ‘Faug

Nahal’ were standards at their home. 1

All four of my grandparents spoke

Arabic as their first language. My

cousins and I all grew up with the

sounds of Arabic etched in our hearts.

My family are very strong Israel

advocates. So, while the food and

the music of the Middle East was an

integral part of my upbringing, the

Arab countries were definitely seen as

the enemy.

All of this pointed to something

deeply complex. They—the Arabs—

were totally ‘other’; yet, not at all.

We shared so much: language, food,

music, customs, humour—yet our

religions and culture were, and

continue to be, in a life-and-death

struggle.

Truthfully, Jews were part of the rich

mosaic that defined Islamic civilisation

from its very beginning. Some

historians wish to idealise the historical

relationship between Jews and Arabs,

emphasising cooperation, friendship,

Golden Ages; others paint a darker

picture of inequality and Islamic

contempt for Jews and Judaism. The

truth, as always, is somewhere in

between these two extremes.

There were periods of greatness when

Jews, Muslims and Christians of the

Middle East lived in harmony and

when cooperation and collaboration

created breakthroughs in science,

medicine, literature and mysticism. In

Abbasid Iraq, from 750 to 1000 CE,

and during the Spanish Andalusian

Golden Age, Jews played a crucial role

in the development and advancement

of those civilisations. However,

with the clash of Jewish and Arab

nationalisms during the late Colonial

period, Jews living in Arab and Islamic

lands began to pay a heavy price.

Iraqi Refugees after arrival in Israel, 1950 - National Photo Collection of Israel

18

Jews had lived in Iraq for over 2500

years and by the 1930s made up close

to half the population of Baghdad.

However, when the Nazi-inspired

Farhud (pogrom) resulted in the

murder of innumerable Baghdadi

Jews in 1941, Jews left Iraq in droves.

By the early 1950s only a handful

remained.

It has taken our Judeo-Arabic culture

both in Israel and in the Diaspora

quite a while to recover from this

tragedy and to feel empowered again.

I remember in my late teens attending

a lecture at the Sephardic Synagogue

in Fletcher Street, where my family

were and still are members. A couple

from America were visiting and gave a

talk about Sephardic culture. The lady

told us in no uncertain terms that we

were all descendants of Spanish Jews.

When a wise and dear friend of mine,

Myer Samra, correctly pointed out

to her that Iraqi Jews were mainly

Judeo-Arabic and not of Spanish

descent, she abruptly dismissed his

comment. I was mortified; it was

okay to be Sephardic, associated with

Spain, the Golden Age and Europe.

It was not okay to be associated with

the “backward” Middle Eastern

Arabic-speaking world! This stirred

something deep in me.

Thankfully so much has changed in

the past 30 years, epitomised by the

setting aside of a Shabbat devoted to

Jews from Arab lands. There is still

much work to be done—more to learn

and more to understand about the

amazing contributions to the Middle

East and to the world of Arabic and

Judeo-Arabic culture- I will continue

to write about and teach this history.

I am very proud of my Judeo-

Arabic heritage. It has given me so

much and actually led me to our

wonderful Emanuel community! In

1990 a new and dynamic Rabbi by

the name of Jeffrey Kamins called

me and asked me to give a talk and

musical presentation on the history

and music of Sephardic and Middle

Eastern Jewish communities. That

presentation was the beginning of a

heart centred relationship between

me and the Emanuel community that

continues to the present day.

1

Our cuisine for Shabbat and

Haggim is also very different from

what most Ashkenazi Jews imagine

Jewish food to look and taste like.

My grandmothers would cook

aloomaqalas, a delicious fried-potato

dish; hashwa, a spicy rice dish cooked

in chicken skin; barmya, an okra

dish; shwanda, a beetroot curry;

and samak mikli, fried fish eaten

with amba, a delicious citric spice.

A few photos from the recent concert by Israeli band

Yemen Blues presented by Emanuel Synagogue and

the Israeli Embassy. Photos by Yuval Erel.

NEED A CELEBRANT?

Jon Green

Civil Marriage Celebrant

WEDDINGS

RENEWAL OF VOWS

BABY NAMINGS

CALL JON ON:

0414 872 199

19

By Nicole Waldner

Thoughts and articles from our

community members

In two essays separated by a decade

- “Illness as Metaphor”, 1978 and

“AIDS and its Metaphors”, 1989 -

Susan Sontag describes the damaging

effects of using physical illness as

a metaphor for psychological/spiritual

malaise:

"With the modern diseases (once TB,

now cancer), the romantic idea that

the disease expresses the character is

invariably extended to assert that the

character causes the disease–because

it has not expressed itself. Passion

moves inward, striking and blighting

the deepest cellular recesses."1

Stigma has always attached itself to

the sick. Diseases change, the language

used to describe disease changes,

but stigmas always remain. In the

case of TB (tuberculosis), of which

Sontag’s father died, there was a deep

mistrust of the restless, urban underclass

and their unsanitary, immoral

ways. So deep was the ignorance

about TB for so long, that for centuries,

its lethal contagion remained

unknown, and it was believed to be

hereditary. How many times have

we heard it said: ‘anger is a cancer,

ergo, angry people get cancer’? With

AIDS, it was all too easy to point

the quivering moral finger at homosexuals

and drug addicts. As for the

scarcely understood COVID-19,

perhaps it’s still too early to know

where the stigma will fall, but the

ostensible “meaning” of the pandemic

is already doing the rounds:

Mother Earth’s revenge; Mother

Earth’s call for quiet; Mother Earth

is culling; disease is a demographic

correction. As Sontag says - illness,

even once understood, always needs

to stand for something else: “There is

a peculiarly modern predilection for

20

“SHOW ME A PLAGUE, AND I’LL

SHOW YOU THE WORLD!”

psychological explanations of disease,

as of everything else. Psychologizing

seems to provide control over

the experiences and events (like

grave illnesses) over which people

have in fact little or no control.” 2

TB is an ancient disease, and one

with the earliest known cases of

zoonotic (animal to human) transfer.

Evidence of the disease has been

found in bison dating back 17,000

years, but whether TB emerged

from bovines or via another animal

is unknown. Pre-historic human

remains, from as far back as 4000

BCE, have shown evidence of TB.

In Europe alone, it was responsible

for the deaths of twenty five percent

of people between the 1600s and

1800s. In 1815, one in four deaths

in England were due to “consumption”.

In 1918 in France, one in six

people were still dying from TB.

It was only in the 1880s that TB’s

highly contagious nature was properly

understood; whereupon governments

began mass public campaigns

to transform social interactions,

especially in densely populated urban

areas which were hotbeds of transmission.

Spitting in public was banned,

personal hygiene education was

instituted, and people were urged to

keep their distance from one another.

All of these measures faced serious

social resistance. TB, although

not limited to the urban poor, disproportionately

affected them; with

porters, street vendors, factory workers

and those living in over-crowded

housing being hardest hit.

In the mid-19th century, a German

doctor by the name of Alexander

Spengler claimed to have found the

cure for TB - it was pure, simple

and available in abundance. In its

essence, Spengler’s cure was fresh air,

preferably the high-altitude mountain-kind,

in purpose-built sanatoriums

which he pioneered. The idea

that light, fresh air and sunshine are

all somehow healing is embedded

in our popular beliefs about health.

Nice as they are, it was eventually

a combination of improved sanitation,

pasteurization, vaccination

and the development of the antibiotic

streptomycin in 1946 that

eventually ended TB’s stranglehold.

Larry Kramer, the playwright and

passionate AIDS activist wrote:

Air cure in a school sanatorium, London, 1932, courtesy of Fox Photos/Getty Images

“Show me a plague, and

I’ll show you the world!” 3

What did Larry Kramer mean?

That a plague, (a pandemic), reveals

something true about our world that

would otherwise remain opaque? If

so, what could that be? And what

is COVID-19 revealing about our

world? Is it the astonishing ease with

which this virus has brought the

world to its knees? Or the way it has

utterly reshaped our social interactions?

Or the speed with which it has

exposed the shakiness of our institutions?

Or how the mutual mistrust

between nations has been laid bare?

In Virginia Woolf’s 1926 essay “On

Being Ill”, she wrote about the startling

dearth of writing devoted to

disease in the wake of the Spanish

influenza pandemic, a global

catastrophe which killed tens of millions

of people in 1918 and 1919.

She argued passionately for the

importance of writing about illness,

both acknowledging the difficulty of

this and calling for a new language

to describe disease directly. Woolf

also wrote about the divide between

the healthy and the sick, and in

doing so she unintentionally conjured

a very contemporary image:

“We float with the dead leaves on the

lawn, irresponsible and disinterested

and able, perhaps for the first time

for years, to look around, to look up

– to look, for example, at the sky.” 4

For millions of us, this may be the

single, defining, collective experience

of COVID-19 - the lockdown,

the shelter in place, the shielding,

call it by any euphemism you wish.

In one way or another, we have all

experienced it, or are still experiencing

it, somewhere on earth

today. The frustration, the flatness,

the loneliness, the fear for our livelihoods,

maybe even the terror of

being shut in; but also, the bliss

of being given permission to just

stop, look up and stare at the sky.

1. “Illness as Metaphor” by

Susan Sontag, 1978, Farrar,

Strauss & Giroux, NY

2. Ibid.

3. The Larry Kramer quote is from

“The American People: Volume 1:

Search for My Heart: A Novel”,

2015, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux,

NY. I came across the quote in a

NY Times article by Dwight Garner

from April 11, 2020: https://www.

nytimes.com/2020/04/11/opinion/

sunday/covid-quotes-literature.html

4. Virginia Woolf, “On Being

Ill”, 1926, published by T.S.

Eliot’s journal “The Criterion”

P.S. TB lives on: https://www.abc.

net.au/news/2020-06-26/tuberculosis-outbreak-at-st-vincents-hospital-in-sydney/12398918

To read more of Nicole’s writing

please visit nicolewaldner.com

21

{THE POWER OF OBJECTS}

By Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio

Last night, I watched the Sydney commemoration for Jews from Arab Lands and

Iran. November 30th has been designated the date upon which we remember the

suffering and persecution of the Jews of these communities, and we also pause

to remember and celebrate the lives they led: the rich culture and traditions.

As part of the commemoration, there

was a virtual tour of the Sydney

Jewish Museum’s exhibition of

Jews from Arab Lands. As part of

the exhibition, we viewed artefacts

which had been rescued and brought

to Australia when families fled and

travelled across the seas; memories

and mementos of their lives. It was

so powerful to see these objects and

to remember and understand their

history and what they represented for

families: a wedding dress from Iran,

a Torah cover from India, a seder

plate from Egypt, all with distinctive

colours and patterns reflecting the

surrounding cultures in which they

were immersed.

Also in November, we commemorated

Kristallnacht. Then too, we

remembered and reflected on the

persecution of different communities

of Jews and again, we remembered

not only their suffering, but also the

full lives they led before the war. We

saw and reflected upon stories, many

told using and through objects. And

I began to think about objects: what

they mean and represent, how they

help us remember and their power in

our lives.

As we move now into Chanukah, the

festival of miracles, I want to share

with you a story of an object and a

miracle. This tale is told by Denny

Pinkus. Denny lives in Old Yaffa

in Israel and he runs a gallery. One

day a man came in wanting to sell

one rimon, the silver bell ornaments

from a Torah. The problem was, he

only had one of them, they come in

pairs. When Denny asked him why

he only had one, the man explained

that he was born in Germany. On

the evening of Kristallnacht all the

community, including his family,

had run to the synagogue to try and

save whatever they could. He said

that he ran in and a man standing

by the ark, handed him one of the

rimonim. He grabbed it and ran. The

Nazis destroyed the synagogue and

all that remained were the artefacts

that people were able to smuggle out

that night. He explained that he was

taken in by a Christian family and

he did not see his family again. They

moved to Romania and it was from

there he had recently made aliyah

and come to live in Israel. He was

now short of money and needed to

sell the rimon.

Denny listened to the story. He said

he has no idea what possessed him but

he bought the man’s rimon. It was of

absolutely no use to him, he could not

sell it without the pair, but something

compelled him to buy it that day. He

said that for years the rimon remained

in the gallery. Periodically it would be

polished, it moved from display case

to display case, never really finding a

home. He would look at it from time

to time and marvel at the intricate

work. Sometimes collectors would

show some interest but without the

matching one, they were not willing

to buy it.

One morning, many years after

the man had brought in the rimon,

a woman came in wanting to sell

some silver objects and Denny could

not believe his eyes when, there,

amongst the items she brought, was

the other rimon. He was sure that

it was the matching pair. He asked

the woman to tell him how she came

to have it. She explained that it was

Kristallnacht and they had all raced

to the synagogue to save whatever

they could. She was a child. She

looked in the ark and saw one rimon

sitting there so she grabbed it and

ran. At home she kept it with her

dolls. She was sent by her family to a

convent where she remained through

the war. Afterwards, her father found

her and they moved to Argentina

and then to Israel.

On a whim, Denny asked her if

she had a brother. She said that she

had a brother three years older but

they assumed he had died in the

concentration camps, they did not

hear anything about him after the

war. Denny and she both had tears

22

in their eyes. He bought all her silver

and when she left he compared the

two rimonim; they were identical,

the matching pair. He then began

to do some research and after a few

weeks and help from the Jewish

Agency he found the man who sold

him the rimon. He asked him the

same questions: did he have brothers

or sisters, how old were they? He

discovered that he had one sister,

three years younger than him but

assumed she was dead because he

never heard from her. Denny was

now sure…

“I know where your sister is, she is

here in Israel,” he said, “the rimon

you saved and the one she saved are

identical, let me take you to her now.”

The man started to shake and sweat

and did not know whether to laugh

or cry. They went to Denny’s car and

it WAS his sister. Denny writes: “A

history of forty two years passed in

that room in seconds. You need two

rimonim for the Torah. They are

together now. Nothing can happen

to them anymore. They are in Israel.

Brother and sister- the two rimonim

for the Torah.”

What a remarkable story, made even

more so when you think about all

the moments that it could have gone

wrong, all the ways that brother and

sister could have missed the chance

to meet again; if one had not kept

their rimon, if they had gone to a

different gallery, if the owner had

not decided to buy and then keep

the first rimon…the list goes on. I

wonder what we would have done.

Would we have chosen to save

objects from the synagogue? In those

desperate hours, what would we have

decided to rescue?

So many of our stories today are told

and reflected in the objects lovingly

rescued and saved from generations

past. We hold and treasure the items

that they held and treasured. And

they are more than mere objects

for they contain memories, hopes,

dreams and loves. Sometimes the

objects are meaningful only when

we know the story, other times,

their value and connection is deep

and clear. I have a brightly coloured

organza scarf, small, threadbare,

it would mean nothing to anyone

else, but for me it holds memories of

my Nona. Me rummaging through

her shelves, finding the coloured

scarves and dancing around her

room imagining: sometimes being,

an exotic middle eastern dancer,

other times a ballerina. I hold it to

my cheek and I can even still smell

a little of her cologne all these years

later. It’s a treasured possession filled

with memories and love, music and

dance.

Today, in a world where we seem to

accumulate so many things, I wonder

what we hold precious? What would

objects, discovered or uncovered

centuries later, reflect about us: our

values and our journeys? What are

the items which hold memories for

you and your family? Maybe during

the summer months we can find a

chance to reflect upon the objects in

our lives and what story they will tell

in the future.

23

{21 YEARS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE}

by Donna Jacobs-Sife

Some thoughts and articles

from our community members

This year marks the 21st

anniversary of ‘Jewish Voices

For Peace and Justice’, a group

co-founded by Lyndall Katz

and myself. We meet monthly,

to share ideas and discuss

issues largely relating to Israel,

with impunity and tolerance.

The initial impetus for the

formation of the group was

a column I wrote for the

Australian Jewish News all

those years ago, which seems as

relevant today as it was then.

Because it references Chanukah

and its meaning, I thought

I would share it with you.

24

___

Readers of this column may be

aware of the frightening and

marginalizing experience I had

at a peace rally a few weeks ago.

The anti-Israel and consequently

anti-Semitic rhetoric forced me

out, leaving me to scurry back

to my car with heart pounding

and tail between my legs.

I attended another rally this week

(will she never learn!), and the

experience was so completely

different it is only fair that

I share that with you too.

This time together with two

friends, I wore a sign that read

“Jew for Peace”. That way I

felt that when faced with the

judgement against Israel, I would

not be complicit, but rather

identify myself as separate from

it. My friend and I discussed at

length how we would respond to

the inevitable abuse that would

be hurled in our direction. We

would not respond with counterargument.

We would not hurl

fact for fact, statistic for statistic.

We would try to hear the story

that lay beyond their opinion.

We were nervous. My friend

waited for me to arrive before

putting on the sign, not feeling

safe to do so without support.

Within moments of my arrival,

a large, loud and well organised

pro-Palestinian contingent

appeared. ‘Oh dear’, we

thought, now it begins. One of

the event organisers came up and

asked if we would be willing to

meet with one the Palestinian

supporters. Of course we were.

We shook hands. We talked,

and by the end of a few minutes,

he was wishing us well, and

hoping that Israel continues to

flourish. We in turn, hoped

that they would achieve a

homeland and that peace would

finally come to us both.

What a strange thing. We were

on the same side. Nothing

separated us. We both hoped for

justice and peace - a homeland

for the Palestinians, and the

right for Israel to exist in security

and without fear. A number

of Moslems approached us,

wanting to know what ‘Jew

for Peace’ meant. Of them

all, not one disagreed with the

desire to see both Israel and

Palestine exist in peace together.

The fear I had initially felt at

this body of protest turned

into hope - these people are

the same as me. Far from my

enemy, they are my allies.

So what made the difference?

Firstly, the rally itself set a tone

calling for diversity. The speakers

spoke essentially from a place of

support for victims of war and

injustice - not from a place of

blame and condemnation. There

was therefore nothing to defend.

The glue was compassion, not

hatred. Therefore, when the

occasional sign of condemnation

appeared, it was OK. There

was enough to focus on

that was positive, without

having to respond to that.

The night of the rally was

first night Chanukah. It was

a poignant moment, when I

took the chanukiah and placed

it by the window, two candles

aflame, for all to see. One of

the requirements of Chanukah

is that we publicly display our

faith - be visible and proud and

claim the right to be Jews. I was

struck by how different it was

at this rally when I identified

myself. It removed any sense

of betrayal that I had felt at

the first rally when I walked

anonymously, amongst those

placards condemning Israel. It

allowed others to voice their

support and encouragement.

It created the opportunity for

those on ‘the other side’ to shake

my hand and dissolve perceived

differences. It encouraged the

few Jewish participants at the

rally (remarkably few, in fact)

to take a stand, and reminded

them that they were not alone.

It created Peace.

The most enduring lesson for me

is that a faceless body is a scary

thing. When Loud Opinion

walks down the street, with

signs for mouths, and fists for

hearts, there is nothing to do

but shake a fist - and join them

or fight them. But when you

look into the eyes and hearts

of that Loud Opinion, they

so often reflect your own. On

Chanukah, we quote the words

of Zachariah: “Not by might,

and not by power, but by spirit

alone, will we all live in peace.”

Amen.

16 TO 26 OCTOBER 2022

6:00pm December 11

25

{YAMIM NORAIM LIKE NO OTHER}

With a degree of uncertainty around the High Holy Days and in considering the safety of

our community, a decision was made by our clergy and endorsed by the synagogue board

to live stream our High Holy Days services.

It was agreed that all services would

be made available free of charge for

members and also to the greater

community globally. All services were

then available on a dedicated section

of our website.

Progressive services were live streamed

and Masorti, Renewal and children’s

services were pre-recorded.

In addition our socially distanced

gatherings attracted dozens of people

with Rabbi Kaiserblueth walking

through the Eastern Suburbs of

Sydney with the "Wandering Shofar".

This gave hundreds of people the

opportunity of fulfilling the mitzvah

of hearing the shofar and many

more joined our clergy for Havdalah

services each day.

With the help of dozens of amazing

volunteers, special High Holy Days

packages were compiled, including

the guide for High Holy Days services

and then personally delivered by over

40 volunteers to 1600 households

throughout Sydney.

Our clergy spent an enormous

number of hours preparing for High

Holy Days services. We put together

an expert technical support team

to ensure members would receive

the best possible virtual experience

allowing them to create their

own sacred spaces at home. They

often had a choice of four services

simultaneously (Progressive, Masorti,

Renewal and children's). On Kol

Nidrei more than 4000 people joined

us from all over Australia and beyond.

The services surpassed our

expectations and created a deep sense

of community and intimacy despite

the limitaitons of physical distancing.

People watched services on their

computers, phones, tablets and

televisions. This allowed our

congregants to connect with our

clergy in a personal way even though

the experience was mediated by

technology.

We received literally hundreds of

thank you emails, Facebook posts

and text messages highlighting the

sense of intimacy and community

that was felt by everyone who tuned

in. Following is a very small selection

of comments we received:

"Wonderful to feel part of the service from home."

"We loved every moment."

26

"I felt I was in shule with you."

"Thank you to all those who made these virtual

services possible. They were absolutely spectacular

and we enjoyed participating in your magnificent

services. It made our Yom Tov so inspiring."

"It was such a beautiful and moving service

– I was mesmerised the whole day!"

"Thank you for a very spiritual

experience beautifully relayed."

"A simply wonderful and uplifting experience."

"Thank you so much. It was wonderful to

participate and feel that I was really in Shul,

both in the Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services.

This was an amazing achievement."

"Thank you all so much for your efforts to

make the High Holy Days as meaningful

as ever. And so poignant."

"You managed to transform an online event into

an extraordinary and moving experience."

"For me, if not for these virtual services, I

wouldn’t be able to connect. So wonderful

that I can join with community."

"We felt very much connected following the

various services on our devices. You were all so

innovative and inclusive.Thank you.What a

wonderful Shule and congregation to belong to!"

27

{A WALK THROUGH JEWISH SYDNEY}

Adapted from the Australian Jewish News

Discovering Jewish historic hidden gems

Using his detailed knowledge of

Sydney's Jewish history, Emanuel

Synagogue member Peter Keeda discovered

some fascinating facts while

developing the Australian Jewish

Historical Society (AJHS)'s free

mobile app A Walk of Jewish Sydney.

A Walk of Jewish Sydney was developed

by the AJHS with support

from the City of Sydney. Consisting

of 45 stations, the full 5-kilometre

walk takes about 3 hours to complete,

but users can open the map

and browse a few stops at a time.

"On Macquarie Street, there is a mystery

kerbstone inscribed with a menorah,"

he noted. Peter also learnt of

Edmond Samuels, who ran a pharmacy

and "head-ache bar" on Castlereagh

Street — believed to be the only one in

the world. Another "interesting discovery"

was a Magen David in a window

of St Patrick's Church on Harrington

Street. After Patricia Ritchie donated

money towards the restoration of St

Patrick's Church, she asked if a Star of

David could be placed to honour the

memory and Jewish background of

her late husband, W. M. Ritchie.

Within the Sydney CBD there have

been six synagogues. Commercially,

Jews have played a significant role in

the development of commerce within

the city and politically there have been

two Jewish Lord Mayors of Sydney.

This app also visits the sites of some

Jewish personae who might not be so

praiseworthy: a bushranger, a member

of the ‘razor gangs’ and some other

characters of dubious reputations.

These and other details about the history

of Sydney's Jewish community

form a 5km guided route around the

CBD. The seeds for the app were planted

when Peter attended a community

walk of Jewish Sydney with the AJHS

six years ago. Following a walking

path based on Helen Bersten's book

Jewish Sydney: The First Hundred Years

1788-1888, Keeda thought of ways in

which the tour could be enhanced.

Exploring the AJHS archives, he

began gathering material. Around the

same time, Peter undertook a Master

of Arts degree within the Department

of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish

Studies of University of Sydney,

run by Professor Suzanne Rutland.

"From time to time over the ensuing

years, I returned to the project

spending many, many hours at

libraries, archives and on the internet,"

he said. Around three years

ago, he managed to secure a grant for

the AJHS from the City of Sydney.

"It occurred to me that this would be a

perfect fit — historic Sydney together

with Australian Jewish history ... I love

the research but hate writing it up, to

which two of my mentors, Professor

Suzanne Rutland and Professor

Konrad Kwiet, will attest. "However,

I have found that in modern technology

such as a phone app, you don't

have to be academically perfect ... As

long as you get the facts straight, readers

are happy." With social distancing

measures now relaxed, Peter believes

now is a good time to download the

app and discover more of Sydney's

rich Jewish history. "It will be a good

activity to get people outdoors because

you don't have to gather in groups

or crowds ... You can do it at your

own pace and on your own terms."

While conducting research for the

app, Peter gathered additional material

which he hopes to include in future

walks. A Walk of Jewish Newtown,

A Walk of Jewish Parramatta, A

Walk of Jewish Darlinghurst and

A Drive in Jewish New South

Wales are all slated as possibilities

for projects down the track.

The app is available on

Google Play and Apple.

York Street Synagogue, circa 1870

28

Ms Ruth Cohen

Mr Charles Malin &

Ms Ava Crawford

Mr Daniel & Mrs Nathaza Dagan

Mr Martin Dalefield

Mrs Polly Duchen

Miss Nicky Goldin

Miss Leigh Golombick

Ms Jeniene Grice

Mrs Sandra Hochberg

Mr Gibson Kariuki

Madison Kennewell

{NEW MEMBERS}

To welcome the stranger

Mr Judah Caplan &

Ms Bianca Kreiling

Dr Jeffrey &

Mrs Cheryl Baron Levi

Mr Jonathan Struggles

& Ms Judith Levine

Mr Oded & Mrs Genia Lifschitz

Mr Natan & Mrs Clare Nadas

Mr Lance & Ms Jennifer Nurick

Dr Tal Koren &

Miss Abigail Palmer

Mr Ariel Peles Halfon

& Mrs Naomi Peles

Mr Adam & Ms Jacqueline Perl

Ian & Mrs Annik Revelman

Dr David & Mrs Faye Sharpe

Slavik & Mrs Sophy Tabachnik

Ms Alicia Vidler

Mrs Diane Wilkenfeld

{TZEDAKAH}

Greater is tzedakah than all the sacrifices

$10,000 or more

Besen Family Foundation

Mr Aaron & Mrs Margaret Ezekiel

The Goodridge Foundation

Lara Goodridge

$5,000 or more

Dr John & Mrs Roslyn Kennedy

$1,000 or more

Mr Laurence & Mrs

Suanne Adelman

Dr Drew Heffernan &

Dr Karen Arnold

Ms Susan Bear

Mr Rodney Brender &

Ms Bettina Kaldor

Mr Robert & Julie Brown

Mr Roy & Mrs Jennifer Cohen

Mrs Renate Cowan

Mr Andrew &

Mrs Carolyn Crawford

Dr Steven Spielman &

Ms Natasha Figon

Frater Holdings Pty Ltd

Dr Michael & Mrs Cyndi Freiman

Lisa Goldberg

Mr David & Mrs Karen Gordon

Dr Reg & Mrs Kathie Grinberg

Dr John & Mrs Joanna Hempton

Mrs Jennifer Hershon

Mrs Valerie Hosek

Mrs Cynthia Jackson

Dr Jason & Mrs Jessica Kaplan

Mr Thomas Breen &

Dr Rachael Kohn AO

Ms Caz Lederman

Mr Anthony & Mrs

Louise Leibowitz

Mr Philip & Mrs Lorraine Levy

Mr Keith Miller

Prof.Graham Newstead AM

& Ms Michele Newman

Ms Elenita Nicdao

Ms Arabella Rayner

Mrs Aliza Sassoon

Mr Ron Schaffer

Mr Ronald & Mrs Gloria Schwarz

Mr Richard Hoenig &

Ms Sharon Stern

Mr Robert Griew &

Dr Bernie Towler

Mr Bob & Mrs Gabriella Trijbetz

Mr Robert Whyte

Ms Clementine Whyte

Ms Jemima Whyte

Mr Gary & Mrs Karyn Zamel

$500 or more

Mr Sydney Bader

Mr Dror &

Mrs Anthea Ben-Naim

29

Ms Susan Benjamin

Dr David & Mrs Sandra Berman

Dr Bettina Cass

Dr Richard & Mrs Ellen Dunn

Ms Naomi Elias

Mr John Szabo & Ms Jenifer Engel

Dr Joseph Enis

Ms Eleonora Fleischmann

Mrs Giza Fletcher

Mr Gennadi & Mrs Dina Gofman

Mr Brian Gold

Prof Ivan & Mrs Vera Goldberg

Dr Mark Baldwin &

Ms Margery Granofsky

Mr Andrew & Mrs Dee Hilton

Mr Gordon Jackson

Mr Gary & Mrs Aliza Jacobs

Justice Peter Jacobson

Mr Peter & Mrs Susan Kadar

Mr Andrew &

Mrs Dorothy Kemeny

Dr Peter &

Mrs Elizabeth Kitchener

Mr Clive Klugman

Mr Marc Lane

Ms Micheline Lane

Mr John & Ms Nita Lavigne

Mr Julian Lavigne

Dr Leo Robin & Ms Shirley Leader

Mr Daryl & Mrs Jeanette Lees

Dr Robert & Mrs Vivian Lewin

Sam Linz

Mr Adam & Mr Luc

Marshall-Weinberg

Mrs Denise McOnie

The Hon Walter Secord &

Ms Julia McRae-Levitina

Mr Thomas Biller & Dr

Anita Nitchingham

Ms Jane Parker

Mr David & Mrs Susie Phillips

Ms Jenny Van Proctor

Mrs Jennifer & Roy Randall

Mr Kenneth Raphael

Mr Leslie & Mrs Jennifer Rosen

Mr John Roth

Dr John Saalfeld

30

Mr Manfred &

Mrs Linda Salamon

Mr Norbert OAM &

Mrs Sonja Schweizer

Ms Judy Selby

Dr Ross Bellamy &

Ms Yvette Slomovits

Mrs Renee Symonds

Mr Umut Tan

Sam Wainer

Dr Alla Waldman

Up to $499

Mr Reuben OBE & Mrs

Cornelia Aaron

David Abulafia

Jerry Adler

Mr Peter Adler

Mrs Phyllis Agam

Ms Linie Albert

Esther Alter

Mr Brendan Higgins &

Ms Daryl Karp AM

Ms Helena Ameisen

Mr Albert-Maurice &

Mrs Suzanne Amzallag

Professor Gary Sholler &

Mrs Kristine Anderson

Ms Mary Aston-Levy

Paypal Giving Fund Australia

Mrs Bernice Bachmayer

Sandra Back

Miss Rochelle Baer

Mr Michael & Mrs Nicole Baer

Mr Stephen & Mrs Wendy Baer

Ms Karin Banna

Mr Peter & Miss Katherine Barany

Mr Paul Bard

Joseph & Racheline Barda

Mrs Janis Baskind

Mr Victor Baskir

Gavin Basserabie

Mr Mervyn Basserabie

Ms Deborah Bauer

Kathy Baykitch

Ms Joanna Bayliss

Mr John & Mrs Yvonne Bear

Ms Deidre Bear

Mr Miguel & Mrs Petra Becker

Mr Damon Sharwood &

Ms Miriam Belnick

Ms Beverley Berelowitz

Mrs Lilian Berley

Dr Adele Bern

Mr Joseph Bern

Mr Graeme Isaac & Ms

Winsome Bernard

Ms Vikki Biggs

Mr Wayne & Mrs Jackie Black

Pearl Blasina

Mr Lewis (Dickie) Bloch

Mr Tim Fox & Ms Jessica Block

Mrs Rosie Block

Gabriel & Robyn Bloom

Mrs Leah Bloomfield

Mr Mark & Mrs Michelle Blum

Anthony & Mrs Lisa Bognar

Mr George Bognar

Dr Imre Bokor

Peter & Mrs Judith Bonta

Mrs Tessa Boucher

Mr Dennis & Mrs Marla Bozic

Mr Sidney & Mrs Julie Brandon

Mrs Brenda Braun

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Ms Lisa Bristowe

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Rochelle Hersch & Dr Jayne Bye

Mr Jonathan & Ms Janine Cane

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Dr Randolph Baral &

Dr Melissa Catt

Ann Cebon-Glass

Mrs Jennifer Ceylon

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Alan and Susan Chonowitz

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Gary Cohen

Miss Nell Cohen

Mr Anthony Cohen

Mr Neville Cohen

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Mr Aharon Danieli

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Danon OAM

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Mr Rodney Davies

Mr George Davis

Mr Roger Davis

Ms Dina Davis

Ms Ethel Davis

Mr Stephen & Mrs

Susan Denenberg

Mrs Marianne Derofe

Mr Bob Desiatnik

Ms Dahlia Dior

Mr David Doctor

Judith Doobov

Mr Isaac Douek

Mrs Claire Dukes

Mrs Viviane Eastin

Ruth Eckstein

Debbie Edinburg

Mr Gidon & Mrs Lisa Edinburg

Julie Eisenberg

Mr David & Mrs Barbara Eisenberg

Mr Benjamin Elias

Mr Colin & Mrs Rosy Elterman

Mr David Emanuel

Leone Engel

Dr Anthony & Mrs Helen Epstein

Mrs Marlene Epstein

Ms Anne Erber

Mr David & Mrs Karen Evans

Mr David Faigen

Mr Mark & Mrs Julie Faigen

Shoshana Faire

Mr Anthony Faust

Ms Michelle Favero

Judy Feyzeny

Ms Doreen Finkelstein

Oscar Finn

Michael Fischer

Frank & Ms Judy Fischl

Denise Fletcher

Miss Brittany Foetschl

Professor Gregory Kolt &

Ms Emma Fredman

Dr Edgar & Ms Del Freed

Leonie Freed

Dr Anthony & Mrs Kerry Freeman

Mr David Freeman

Mr Greg Freeman

Mrs Karen Fried

Ernie OAM & Mrs Lea Friedlander

Mr Anthony Kahn & Mrs

Judith Kahn Friedlander

Dan Friedman

Desmond & Liane Froneman

John & Mrs Judy Gal

Mr Michael Gayst & Ms

Monique van Tulder

Mr George & Mrs Judith Gelb

Andrew Gelbart

Mr Harry Gelman

Mr Howard & Mrs Jean Gelman

Dr Sean Baron Levi &

Ms Donna General

Mr Daniel Deutsch &

Mrs Mary Gilbert

Rafi & Louise Glaser

Mr Craig Shulman & Ms Julia Glass

Mr Richard & Mrs Liza Glass

Mrs Jill Gold

Mr Trent Bartfeld &

Ms Tanya Goldberg

Mr David & Mrs Michelle Goldman

Cecil & Mrs Claire Goldstein

Mrs Zinaida Gorelick-Weiss

Mr Barry & Mrs Isabel Gottheiner

Mr Samuel Gowland & Mrs

Kobe Ryba Hayes Gowland

Ms Deborah Grace

Mr Andrew & Mrs Anya Grant

Mr Jon & Mrs Susan Green

Mr Geoffrey Greene

Ms Tracey Griff

Mr Sydney OAM & Mrs

Marcelle Grolman

Judith Gyenes

Dr Richard Haber

Mr Mark & Dr Danielle Hadassin

Dr Claude & Mrs Roslyn Hakim

Dr Graham & Mrs Judi Hall

Dr Christine Harris

Mr David & Mrs Sharon Harris

Mr Harry Harris

Mr Les Hart

David Hayes & Ms

Jackie Ryba Hayes

Mr Peter Hecht

Ms Lesley-Ann Hellig

Mr Michael & Mrs

Anthea Hemphill

Mr Alexandre & Mrs

Megan Henkin

Mr Arnold & Mrs Ilana Hersch

Shirley Hersch

Mr James & Mrs Christine Hill

Dr Ralph Hilmer & Mrs

Margaret Perlman Hilmer

Christine Lee Yung Ho

Mr Robert & Mrs Susan Hofbauer

Mr Guy Olian & Ms

Justine Hofman

Mr Anthony & Mrs Sandy Hollis

Ms Barbara Holmes

Dr Hillel Hope

Ms Sandra Hotz

Mr Mark & Mrs Sheryl House

Mrs Jane Houston

Ms Danielle (Letina) Hutchison

Mr Anthony & Mrs Louise Hyman

Mr Anthony & Mrs Tanya Igra

Wayne & Mrs Rosalind Ihaka

Mr Louis Isaac

Mr Benjamin Isaacs

Mr Samuel Isben

Kevin & Nicole Jacobson

Rabbi Paul & Mrs Lisa Jacobson

Dr Arie & Mrs Simone Jacoby

Mrs Vera Jacoby

31

Mr Andrew Jakubowicz &

Mrs Marianna Moustafine

Ms Carly Jassy

Dr Jack AM & Mrs Maureen Jellins

Dr Ivor Katz & Dr Gillian De Jong

Mr Maxwell Kahn

Dr Mark Gorbatov &

Dr Megan Kalucy

Mr Steven Kamsler

Mr Alan Kanuk

Mr Basil Kaplan

Barbara Karet

Mr Barry & Mrs Pamela Karp

Dr Paul Lowenstein &

Ms Robyn Katz

Mr Andrew Silberberg &

Ms Michelle Katz

Mr Leslie & Mrs Sonia Katz

Ms Hilary Katzeff

Mr Steven Kay

Dr Mark Penny & Dr Anne Kean

Dr Thomas & Ms Deborah Kertesz

Ms Annie Kingsbury

Rabbi Aviva Kipen

Ms Shirli Kirschner

Jeanie Kitchener

Mr Jack & Mrs Maxine Klarnet

Mr Steven & Mrs Julianna Klimt

Ms Annabelle Klimt

Sandra Komesaroff

Ms Renee Koonin

Jarrod Meerkin & Mrs

Amanda Kopcho

Mrs Linda Kopcho

Ms Yvonne Korn

Mrs Dorothy Krawitz

Mr Andrew & Mrs Dianne Krulis

Ms Therese Kutis

Mr Harry Wrublewski & Ms

Sara Landa-Wrublewski

Mrs Eugina Langley

Mr Paul & Mrs Gabrielle Langsam

Ms Larraine Larri

Mr Uri & Mrs Betty Laurence

Mrs Cathy Laurence

Ms Yittah Lawrence

Ms Margaret Lazar

32

Mr Solomon & Mrs Linda Lebovic

Mrs Ilona Lee

Mrs Penelope Lee

Professor Gus & Mrs Nanna Lehrer

Dr Michael & Mrs

Jeannine Leibowitz

Dr Sylvia Lenny

Josh Leslie

Dean Lesser

Mr Collin Levi

Mrs Nikki Levi

Mr Justin Levis

Dr Michael Levy & Mrs

Renee Ferster Levy

Mr Gregg & Mrs Sue Levy

Mrs Beth Levy

Mrs Lynette Levy

Sherel Levy

Dr Geoffrey & Mrs Lolita Lewis

Mrs Joan Lewis

Ms Myrna Lewis

Erna Liby

Stanford & Mrs Abirah Lifschitz

Les & Ruth Lilian OAM

Mrs Erika Lindemann

Mr Alex & Mrs Rosemary Linden

Mr Maurice Linker

Bruce & Natalie Lobelson

Mr Sydney Lonstein

Wendy Lovell

Jennifer Lush

Rimma Madorsky

Dr Iraklis Koustantopoulos

& Dr Millicent Maier

Dr Linda Mann

Mr Marsden Auerbach &

Dr Joanne Manning

Mr Ian & Mrs Jillian Mansell

Mr Daniel & Mrs Anna Marcus

Mrs Renee Markovic

Adam & Mrs Gaelle Marks

Jethro & Melanie Marks

Simone Markus

Mr Dennis Karp & Ms

Jane Marquard-Karp

Antoine Matarasso

Mr Phillip McGarn

Mr Paul & Miss Billi Meltz

Mr Alan Menzies &

Miss Lisa Salkinder

Mr Richard & Mrs Julia Merten

Mr Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz

Mr Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz

Professor Ilan Katz & Ms

Julia Meyerowitz-Katz

Miss Zoe Ryba Hayes

& James Michael

Ms Annette Mitchell

Mrs Ursula Moddel

Alexander Morley

Mr Gavin & Mrs Louise Morris

Mrs Diana Moses

Mrs Donna Moses

Mrs Nicci Nahon

Dr Leslie & Mrs Marcia Narunsky

Ms Jacqueline Nash

Miss Dianne Nassau

Mr Max Meyerson & Amira Nathan

Mr Michael & Mrs Ruth Nathanson

Mr Laurence & Mrs

Shelley Neumann

Janet Neustein

Mr George Newhouse

Mr Terry & Mrs Anne Newman

Mr William & Mrs

Barbara Newman

Dr Raymond & Mrs Rose Novis

Ivan Nurick

Mr Anthony & Mrs Ronit Olovitz

Dr Alex Knopman & Ms

Danielle Oppermann

Ms Ruth Osen

Roger & Mrs Cecily Parris

Dr David & Mrs Linda Penn

Mr Peter & Mrs Yvonne Perl

Kenneth Willing & Ms

Evelyn Perlmutter

Ms Belinda Phillips

Mr Justin Phillips & Ms

Louise Thurgood-Phillips

Mr Jonathan & Mrs Renee Pinshaw

Ms Teresa Pirola

Dr Dennis Pisk

Mr Sergio & Mrs Olivia Polonsky

Mr Victor & Mrs Margarita Prager

Mr Heiko & Mrs Carol Preen

Mr Ian & Mrs Beverly Pryer

Dr Alexander Rosenwax

& Ms Birgit Raabe

Ms Danielle Raffaele

Aruni Rajagulasingam

Mr Andrew Singh &

Ms Nina Rassaby

John Ray

Mr Jonathan & Mrs

Kimberley Raymond

Ronald Reichwald

Dr Robert Reznik

Miss Isabella Rich

Mr John & Mrs Maxine Rich

Ms Amelia Rich

Bernard Cohen & Ms

Nicola Robinson

Mr Mikhael Nisner &

Mr Barry Robinson

Rabbi Gary & Mrs Jocelyn Robuck

Mrs Margaret Roden

Mr Albert Stafford &

Mrs Karin Rose

Prof. Alan Rosen & Ms

Vivienne Miller

Ellis & Lynette Rosen

Mr Marshall & Mrs Suzanne Rosen

Helen Rosenbaum

Mrs Deanne Rosenthal

Leora Ross

Ms Edna Ross

Mr George Rotenstein

Mr Albert & Mrs Arlette Rousseau

Ms Estelle Rozinski

Suzanne Rutland

Dr Brian & Mrs Andrea Ruttenberg

Mr John Ryba

Mr Peter & Mrs Edith Ryba

Mr Sam Ryba

Julian Sack

Dr Alan & Ms Nicole Sacks

Dr Neville & Mrs Ingrid Sammel

Mr Allan & Mrs Eleanor Sangster

Ms Lisa Sarzin

Dr Regina Sassoon

Ms Deborah Saunders

Dr Garry & Mrs Angela Schaffer

Mrs Marianne Schey

Dr Stephen & Mrs Debbie Scholem

Anne Schwartz

Miss Jacheta Schwarzbaum

Ms Janet Scott

Dr Ilan & Mrs Shira Sebban

Mr Greg Weisz & Ms Jane Sebel

Mr Roger & Dr Eleanor Sebel

J Segal

Mr Raphael & Mrs

Roslyn Shammay

Dr Dorian & Mrs Elizabeth Sharota

Pauline Shilkin

Mr Yakov & Mrs

Ludmila Shneidman

Mrs Regina Shusterman

Ms Joleen Silbert

Mrs Marianne Silvers

Mrs Edith Simon

Mrs Salome Simon

Robyn Sloggett

Mrs Irene Smith

Mrs Sharon Snir

Joel & Mrs Gina Solomon

Ms Jody Somogy

Mr Anthony Spencer

Mr Leo & Mrs Neva Sperling

Ms Lesley Spindler

Katerina Spurway

Mr Max Kurz & Ms

Caroline Stalbow

Mr Harley Wright &

Ms Alida Stanley

Mr Mark & Ms Carolyn Steinberg

Ms Lindy Stern

Dr Paul & Mrs Ellen Stone

Dr Benjamin Kremer &

Dr Sarah Strasser

Dr Jeffrey & Mrs Jeanette Streimer

Mr Peter Sussman

Joseph & Avril Symon

Brett Kaplan & Ms Rachel Szekely

Mr Daniel Szekely

Professor Lucy Taksa

Ms Natalie Tanne

Mr Serge Tauber

Mr Alan & Mrs Joan Taylor

Mr Feliks Tchoudnovski

Mrs Patricia Toben

Avi Topelberg

Mr Stephen & Mrs Edna Viner

Robert Goodman & Erica Vorsay

Dorran & Mrs Tania Wajsman

Mr Irving Wallach

Brad Wargo

Mrs Hannah Wargon

Ms Beverley Warren

Jacqueline Wasilewsky

Mr Gerald & Mrs Audrey Weinberg

Mr Eran & Mrs Vanessa Weiner

Ms Lesley Weiner

Mr Rami & Mrs Allison Weiss

Mr Robert & Mrs Miriam Weiss

Mrs Viola Wertheim

Mrs Marta Weyland

Mrs Evelyn Whittaker

Mr Gary & Mrs Sonia Wilkan

Paula Wilkenfeld

Ms Pamela Lansky Williams

Dr David & Mrs Ruth Wilson

Peter Wise

Mr Phillip AM & Mrs

Suzy Wolanski

Ms Dianne Wolff

Mr Thomas Levi & Miss

Isabella Woodhouse

Mrs Lynnette Zaccai

Ms Brigitte Zeitler

Ms Rosanna Zettel

Courtney Ryba & Jordan Zubani

Dr Ruth Zwi

33

Ari Barany

Henry Rees Einfeld

Dion Faludi

Leo Goldman

Felix De Hesselle

Ayda Jacobs

Shemi Kahn

Oscar Lewis

{BIRTHS}

Welcome to

Leah Cecelia Magano

Camille Jane Shulman

Isabella Sternberg

Lachlan Henry Stewart

Jacob Tom Marshall-Weinberg

Amelia Levy Woodhouse

Zachary Abrahams Cuss

Daniel Allul

Felix Antflick

Oliver Berger

Jed Berkal

Aaron Berkowitz

Ariel Bloom

Rohan Britton

Jonah & Ziggy Broughton-Oshlack

{B’NEI MITZVAH}

Mazal Tov to

Indiana Cohen

Liam Danon

Leah Doust

Amy Gross

David Hakim

Leo Hoenig

Caiubi Keeda

Max Klausen

Jonah Lemberg

Benjamin Lesnik

Jessica Linker

Sara Morris

Tiana Moses

Niek Nathan

Callie Owen

Cooper Shaw

David Winter

Liam Winter

{MARRIAGE}

To rejoice with the happy couple

Judah Caplan &

Raphaella Kreiling

Stephen Camden-Smith

& John Johnson

Phillip Brandon

Fran Brender

Renate Cowen

Teodor Fisterman

Lotte Forsher

Ida Glouchankova

Harold Gold

Netty Grant

34

Slava Inberg &

Ester Sarkadi-Clarke

Charlotte Krass & William Clegg

{DECEASED}

To comfort the bereaved

Claire Green

Rita Karger

Jean Korn

Kitty Levy

Ivan Lorentz

Isaac (Angel) Mallach

Schloma Marczak

Charlotte McKern

Alicia Vidler & Shai Zarivatch

Samantha Wygoda &

Daniel Musat

Lesley Rosenberg

Samuel Schindler

Morris Seamonds

Alexander Sevitt

Faye Sharpe

Irina Teplitsky

Debbie Wilson

Puzzle Page

by Anne Wolfson

35

{SERVICE TIMES}

All service times are subject to change. Please check

emanuel.org.au for any amendments to our regular services.

Morning Minyan

Morning Minyan is on Monday to Friday at 8:00am

(Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/702546413) and

Sunday at 9:00am

(Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/306800789).

Thursday morning minyan is also in person; all are welcome.

SHABBAT SERVICES

Erev Shabbat

• 6:15pm - Masorti (Neuweg - in person only)

• 6:15pm - Shabbat Live (Millie Phillips Building - in person & live-streamed)

(emanuel.org.au/services)

Shabbat Live will end for the year on 12th December and reconvene on

5th February 2021. There will be a combined service on Friday nights

throughout that period.

Shabbat Morning

• 10:00am - Progressive Shabbat service in-person and online

(see: emanuel.org.au/services)

• 10:00am - Masorti (Millie Phillips Building - in person only)

To attend services in-person please register before Friday 11am. NB: Security

screenings are required for all persons unknown to the Synagogue prior to

attending. Please contact info@emanuel.org.au for further information.

{CONTACT US}

All services and other programs are held at the

synagogue unless otherwise indicated:

7 Ocean Street, Woollahra NSW 2025

There are many ways to get in touch — we would love to hear from you!

Call: (02) 9389 6444

Email: info@emanuel.org.au

Visit: emanuel.org.au

Like: facebook.com/emanuel.synagogue

Follow us! We’re on Twitter @emanuelshule and Instagram @emanuelsynagogue

Office hours

Monday–Thursday: 9am–5pm

Friday: 9am–2pm

_______

If you would like to contribute to the next edition of Tell, or to

enquire about advertising, please email tell@emanuel.org.au.

If you are interested in volunteering, email volunteer@emanuel.org.au.

TELL magazine: December 2020 - Emanuel Synagogue

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