Tell Magazine June 2018 5778

Tikkun Olam 

Tamuz-Elul 5778 

June-August 2018 

Tikkun Olam Within The 

Interpersonal Realm 

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins 

To Heal The Broken 

Places 

Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio 

The Real Cost 

Of Kashrut 

Reverend Sam Zwarenstein 

Behind The 

Pink Triangle 

Yoav Yaron 

Sordid Beauty 

Shira Sebban

\ 

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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 

The structure of our Progressive services 

allows you to choose the type of prayer 

that is most meaningful for you. 

You may choose from alternate 

readings in English, you may read 

the Hebrew prayer (available in 

both Hebrew script, and in English 

transliteration), or you may choose to 

take a moment of personal reflection. 

Our Friday night “Shabbat Live” 

service is a moving, innovative service 

where prayer is enhanced with musical 

instruments, beautiful melodies, 

creative readings and stories. 

Shabbat Live is held at 

6:15pm every Friday. 

The Progressive Shabbat Service begins 

at 10am each Saturday morning. 

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. 

The Friday night Carlebach service 

is a traditional Kabbalat Shabbat 

service, featuring the well-known 

melodies of Shlomo Carlebach. 

The Carlebach service is held 

at 6.15pm every Friday. 

Our Masorti Shabbat Service begins 

at 9am on Saturday mornings. 

We also hold a Masorti Minyan 

at 6:45am on Monday and 

Thursday mornings. 

RENEWAL 

The Renewal movement is devoted to 

personal and spiritual development, 

reinvigorating modern Judaism with 

Kabbalistic and musical practices. 

Through our Renewal activities 

you will have the opportunity to 

reach a new level of awareness, 

stress relief, self-development, 

relaxation and inner healing. 

6 July 6:15pm Kabbalat Shabbat 

A Renewal-style Shabbat eve with 

music, meditation and prayer. 

19 August 10am-3pm 

Kabbalah Art and Meditation Seminar 

with David Friedman, visiting 

artist from Israel. 

Kabbalah Tour of Israel 

October 2019 

10-day tour of Israel with a 

focus on Jewish Spirituality. 

Led by Rabbi Dr. Orna Triguboff and 

Israeli musicians, teachers and artists. 

email: orna@emanuel.org.au 

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

{ CEO UPDATE} 

CHANGING THE WORLD 

Introducing Global Citizen 

at Emanuel Synagogue 

Suzanna Helia 

It was a hot summer day in late 

December, I was on Sydney Harbour 

with family and friends, enjoying 

boating, lunch and swimming. 

My two boys being well, boys I 

guess, had left their hats at home 

and didn’t put on any sunblock. 

As any parent would, I panicked, and 

asked around if anyone would have a 

spare hat or a cap as I didn’t want the 

boys to get sunburnt. To my surprise, 

one of the people on the boat (a friend 

of a friend) passed me a hat, with a 

Global Citizen logo on it. I thanked 

him, and jokingly asked if he had one 

more, as both my boys needed one. 

And he reaches into his bag and passes 

me another hat. I thank the guy as it 

seems that whatever a child would need 

on a boat, this guy had it! Intrigued, 

I asked him, "Why do you have all 

this things with you? Your children 

seem to be very well equipped." He 

simply answered, "I like to give". 

A few weeks later I received a book 

in the mail; Give and Take by Adam 

Grant. It was profound. I finished 

reading it in one sitting. It had so 

many interesting perspectives. One 

comment that I continue to dwell 

on is: “it is well to remember that 

the entire universe, with one trifling 

exception, is composed of others” . 

We are all here together and need to 

look after one another, I thought. 

I have always felt passionate about 

innovation and the ability to make a 

difference. Now I had the urge – if I 

don’t try to make a difference, who 

will? I go to the screening of a film 

by Global Citizen in Sydney with my 

three children. It is pouring with rain 

and by the time we get from the car 

to the Powerhouse Museum we are 

soaking wet. Despite our discomfort, 

by the time we finish watching the 

movie, my children are inspired. They 

ask me if I can help them to get this 

initiative happening at their school, 

and in the synagogue. My oldest, 

Oscar Louis is already planning who 

will be on his team; to work out how 

he could get his friends' parents to 

understand and support this cause 

and how to get his school to work 

{INSIDE THIS EDITION} 

TRANSFORMATIVE 

LEARNING 

22 

MITZVAH VS GOOD DEED 

Daniel Samowitz 

26 

FIGHTING FOR LIFE 

Donna Jacobs-Sife 

24 

REMEMBER THIS 

Nicole Waldner 

INSPIRING PRAYER 

7 

NEW BUILDING WINS 

DESIGN AWARD 

11 

UNDERSTANDING TIKKUN OLAM 

Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth 

14 

THE REAL COST OF KASHRUT 


Cover art by David Friedman 

See page 16 for details of the Seminar 

in August featuring David

with them. My daughter Saskia is 

horrified by the thought that there are 

countries where children don’t have 

toilets in the school, and girls of her 

age can get married off. Felix chats to 

the musician and discovers that you 

can make an impact with music, "Hey 

that is awesome!", he says. Felix loves 

his piano, especially Jazz and Blues. 

So, this is how it all came together. 

At Emanuel Synagogue we have 

a fantastic social justice program 

including feeding homeless at the 

Matthew Talbot Hostel, to some of us 

sleeping on the street to raise funds for 

St. Vincent’s De Paul, organizing food 

delivery to the elderly and arranging 

reading support for underprivileged 

children. We bake and provide little 

gifts for the elderly before Jewish 

festivals, we collect needed items 

and deliver to detention centers, we 

organise Mitzvah days and fundraisers 

for a variety of important causes. The 

work is endless and rewarding but 

very difficult for a child under the 

age of eighteen to participate in. 

We arranged for Stand Up (a social 

justice program) to be included 

into our curriculum to educate 

youth on social justice issues and 

support. This is part of their Bnei 

Mitzvah program, however if we do 

not provide a path for the children 

to actually apply their energy and 

enthusiasm to make a difference, 

their excitement will fade away. 

We want to create a way for children 

in our community to accomplish 

something meaningful, beyond their 

academic or sporting achievements. 

And from this, the Global Citizen 

at Emanuel Synagogue Program was 

born. The purpose of this initiative 

is to provide young people with 

the tools to influence and to make 

a difference to people in need. 

It will be part of the multiple social 

justice initiatives that I am so proud 

of, that Emanuel Synagogue supports 

and leads, it is about engaging young 

people after their Bnei Mitzvah 

program and aligns with our 

fundamental values by empowering 

them to make the world a better 

place. We are aiming to launch this 

program very soon and I encourage 

you all to join young and old, 

parents, children and friends. 

Two of Suzanna's children at the 

Global Citizen screening 

SUSTAINING THE 

ENVIRONMENT & 

HEALING THE WORLD 

4 

CHANGING THE WORLD 

Suzanna Helia 

6 

TIKKUN OLAM WITHIN THE 

INTERPERSONAL REALM 


20 

BEHIND THE PINK TRIANGLE 

Yoav Yaron 

25 

INTRODUCING GLOBAL CITIZEN 

Marina Capponi 

CONNECTING WITH ISRAEL 

& WORLD JEWRY 

16 

ART AND SPIRIT 

Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff 

21 

WORLD CONGRESS OF 

LGBT JEWS IN SYDNEY 

Kim Gotlieb 

27 

SORDID BEAUTY 

Shira Sebban 

30 

UPJ BIENNIAL 

COMMUNITY 

8 

TO HEAL THE BROKEN PLACES 


19 

CELEBR8! 

23 

MAZAL TOV RUTH 

29 

OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS 

33 

NEW MEMBERS 

34 

MAZAL TOV 

35 

WEDDING MAKES HISTORY 

5

{TIKKUN OLAM WITHIN THE INTERPERSONAL REALM} 


It has been an exciting month with the dedication of our new sanctuary - part 

of the Millie Phillips Building. This building also houses our new preschool 

(to be dedicated once we receive all the relevant permits allowing the children 

to move there). On that special evening, I wanted to thank so many people, 

but inevitably, as perfection rests only within the ultimate mysterious one we 

call God, I made several omissions. Welcome to the realm of the human! 

According to kabbalist thought, since 

perfection only resides in the realm 

of the Holy One, the creation of 

the universe we inhabit necessarily 

comes with imperfection and the 

need to repair. This repair is known 

as “Tikkun”. We often use the 

phrase “Tikkun Olam”, repairing the 

universe, in the sense of the social 

justice work we do as individuals and 

a community. However, the early 

rabbinic phrase enshrined in the 

prayer “Aleinu”, that concludes every 

service, and features prominently on 

Rosh Hashanah, speaks of “repairing 

the world within the sovereignty 

of God.” This means that we must 

understand the work of Tikkun 

not just as right action, but also 

spiritual, healing work as well. 

Now, right action is at the core of 

what Judaism is about, and made 

clear from the Torah’s injunction, 

“Justice, justice you shall pursue” 

(Deuteronomy 16:20). It is 

reinforced by dozens and dozens of 

mitzvot focusing on our acting in 

all spheres of life involving justice 

and equity, particularly looking after 

those less privileged in economic 

and social power structures. The 

prophets emphasize this message in 

their teachings; famously in Isaiah’s 

6

teaching: “Learn to do good; devote 

yourselves to justice; aid the wronged; 

uphold the rights of the orphan; 

defend the cause of the widow”; 

and Amos’s call: “But let justice well 

up like water, righteousness like an 

unfailing stream.” (Isaiah 1:17 and 

Amos 5:24). For thousands of years, 

we have had an understanding as 

a people, that because we suffered 

the oppression of slavery under 

the Egyptians, we are called to 

alleviate and eventually end that 

physical suffering for all people. 

But Judaism goes further than this in 

its notion of Tikkun, because when 

we came out of Egypt we were called 

to freedom in order to serve. That 

life of service primarily calls us to 

a spiritual mission as a “kingdom 

of priests and a holy nation.” Our 

teachings about God have been 

somewhat confused because of all 

the verbiage and action associated 

with belief. However, stripped to its 

core, as in the opening words of the 

Shema, we are called to understand 

that “is” is our God, and all that 

“is” is one. Our rabbis taught: 

“The one who saves a single life is 

considered as if he or she saved the 

entire universe.” All being one, 

each individual is an entire universe 

(olam in Hebrew) in him or herself. 

Tikkun Olam requires us to heal 

the wounds we have caused others. 

With those thoughts in mind, 

reflecting on the opening night, I 

want to acknowledge that I may 

have hurt certain people. Although 

I did mention how co-operative our 

builders have been, in particular, I 

want to mention Belmadar’s Site 

Manager, James Blackburne, who 

has been on site daily, working with 

such deep understanding of helping 

build our spiritual community. I 

would also like to thank Aaron 

Huey, the assistant foreman, Stuart 

Tan, Belmadar’s Project Manager, 

Alf Marrocco, Belmadar’s Managing 

Director and Geoff Finch, our Project 

Manager - they have enjoyed our 

full faith throughout the project. 

Nor would this project have been 

brought to fruition without the 

sterling work of the building 

committees over the last decade, 

led by highly devoted volunteers 

Gordon Woolf, Robert Woolf and 

Alex Lehrer. Our CEO Suzanna 

Helia, with tireless effort, has 

ensured that the project moved 

forward to success. She has had 

the steadfast support of our Board, 

led by Louise Thurgood Phillips, 

our recently retired president. 

In the rush of activity that wonderful 

night, I know there were hundreds 

of people I did not have the time to 

recognise and greet personally. In 

fact, reflecting on my last 29 years 

in the rabbinate, I have 

thought of so many 

people with whom I have 

not used my best words or 

demonstrated my highest 

values, and inadvertently 

hurt and disappointed in 

some way. It has made 

me realise that life is not 

long enough to truly 

do “Tikkun Olam” in 

terms of each individual 

universe with whom we engage. We 

can only hope that at the end of it 

all, our personal ledgers demonstrate 

that our wrongs are diminishing, and 

that the requisite Tikkun Olam has 

been undertaken to the best of our 

ability. As our rabbis taught in Pirkei 

Avot: “It is not incumbent upon 

you to finish the work, but neither 

are you free to desist from it.” 


EMANUEL SYNAGOGUE'S 

NEW BUILDING WINS 

DESIGN AWARD 

The new Millie Phillips Building 

has just been awarded a Silver 

Award in the 2018 Sydney 

Design Awards. The Award 

noted that the design of the 

Sanctuary reflects the values of 

the community and expands its 

architectural heritage. It indicated 

the architecture displays a concern 

for transparency and connection 

to the exterior environment 

- natural light, fresh air. 

Congratulations to Lippmann 

Partnership and the design team. 

7

{TO HEAL THE BROKEN PLACES} 


The year was 1946 and the war had finally ended. Rabbi Schenk rose and spoke 

passionately about the role of the synagogue, he said: “Judaism must not stand aside 

when the great problems of humanity which are reborn in every new epoch, struggle in 

the minds of men to gain expression, battle in the societies of mankind to find their way. 

We must not as Jews, deny 

ourselves to the problems of 

the time, nor hide ourselves, as 

Jews in the face of them; they 

must not be something that 

goes on outside our Judaism 

in another sphere. We are Jews 

also for the sake of humanity… 

we must fight the Jewish fight 

for the new world of men, of 

God’s children, of universal 

morality, justice and peace.” 

For Rabbi Schenk it was not 

possible to divorce the spiritual 

from the religious, for one led 

to the other. And so too for the 

founders of Temple Emanuel, 

who all saw the work for tikkun 

olam, healing the world, as 

fundamental to their lives, their 

Judaism and their synagogue. 

Judaism has always been a 

religion of action; the great 

prophets of our tradition exhort 

us to act. They argue that the 

spiritual means nothing unless 

it inspires us to correct the 

injustices of the world and to 

heal the broken places. Rabbi 

Abraham Joshua Heschel said: 

“A religious man is a person 

who holds God and man in 

one thought at one time, at all 

times. Who suffers harm done 

to others, whose greatest passion 

is compassion, whose greatest 

strength is love and defiance of 

despair.” Judaism is a religion 

of the day to day, the here and 

now. Our texts cry to us to 

take action, to be involved. 

Heschel said: “The teaching 

of Judaism is the theology 

of the common deed. God 

is concerned with the 

everydayness, the trivialities 

of life… the prophets’ 

field of concern is not the 

mysteries of heaven, the 

glories of eternity but the 

blights of society, the affairs 

of the marketplace… 

the prophet addresses 

himself to those who 

trample upon the needy, 

increase the price of 

grain, use dishonest scales 

and sell the refuse of corn” 

And our synagogue has a proud 

history of involvement in social 

action, in bold acts of tikkun 

olam, healing the world. In the 

founding years, the synagogue, 

especially through its Board 

and its Women’s Guild, worked 

tirelessly in the war efforts. They 

welcomed refugees coming 

from Europe, cared for military 

personnel far from home, 

helped with soup kitchens, 

trained as home nurses to offer 

care to the wounded and sick. 

The Women’s Guild members 

made camouflage netting for 

the war efforts, sitting in their 

homes in the evenings and 

Rabbi Max Schenk 

working during the day 

in Martin Place creating the 

nets. The synagogue continued 

to reach out and help during 

the war years, and afterwards 

settling new arrivals, healing 

and welcoming them into 

community. At the same time, 

almost every member of the 

congregation was working 

to help others in individual 

projects outside the synagogue, 

something which has spanned 

the generations of synagogue 

members, so many contributing 

to shaping a better world 

either under the banner of the 

synagogue or individually. 

8

In the 1980s, there was a 

wave of immigration from 

the Former Soviet Union and 

South Africa. The synagogue 

made a concerted effort to 

welcome the new arrivals, 

especially those from the FSU. 

There was a synagogue op 

shop which helped to support 

those in the community 

who needed assistance. 

There were annual collections 

to help those in the broader 

community including 

collecting coats for the 

winter and food each year 

for Mazon, an organization 

established together with North 

Shore Temple Emanuel to 

alleviate hunger. Social justice 

programs were linked with 

all the Jewish festivals, and 

collections were made and 

donations given, in line with 

the themes of the festival. 

For many years, Emanuel 

has had a connection with 

the Exodus Foundation, 

cooking and serving Easter 

Lunch for the clients. On 

a number of occasions 

volunteers were invited to 

speak at the Easter service. 

Emanuel Synagogue’s social 

justice group has been 

involved with refugees and 

asylum seekers, young people’s 

literacy programs, feeding the 

hungry and homeless, as well 

as collecting items to assist in 

many areas of the community. 

They also provide a forum for 

information about issues which 

face the community, from 

the environmental concerns 

and mental health, to asylum 

seeker policies and 

distribution of wealth. 

Interfaith dialogue 

was a feature of the 

synagogue as well, 

something which has 

continued through the 

80 years - reaching out 

to other communities, 

building bridges of 

understanding and 

working on shared projects. 

COMMUNITY 

Our congregation has a proud 

history of involvement in 

projects which help to shape 

a better world. Inspired by 

the teachings of our tradition, 

impelled by the words of the 

prophets, our congregation has 

always held as an imperative 

the need to do acts of tikkun 

olam. And we do so because 

we are Jews. The synagogue 

should not only be a place 

Volunteers serving meals at Matthew Talbot Hostel 

9

of spiritual uplift, but also a 

place where we confront the 

challenges of the world, and 

be inspired to shape a better 

tomorrow because the spiritual 

leads to the practical. The Torah 

is a political document; it sends 

us back into the world to care 

as God does, about suffering, 

prejudice, poverty and war. 

The foundational document 

of Judaism calls upon us to 

speak, to act and to care, and 

the inspiration for such deeds 

can also come from the pulpit. 

Sometimes we need to be 

challenged; we need to hear 

opinions which are different 

from our own; we need to 

find the space for respectful 

dialogue and discussion. But 

this must always be grounded 

in the spiritual, inspired from 

a place of love and concern 

for the world and for one 

another. There must be room 

for both politics and spirit in 

the synagogue, for there is a 

need for religious voices to be 

heard promoting peace, justice 

and compassion. Otherwise 

we risk the religious agenda 

being hijacked by extremist 

voices who do not speak for 

us, who do not represent 

our understanding of our 

traditions and teachings. 

Religion and politics are interwoven, 

and it is our sacred duty 

to have our voices heard, not 

just as concerned citizens but as 

people of faith; people who are 

inspired to action by the words 

of our holy texts. Grounded 

in our tradition and our 

experience, we must speak, we 

must care, and along with our 

mouths, our feet, our hands, 

our bodies are called to pray, in 

word and in deed. Together we 

can bring a sense of the holy to 

politics, and ensure that religion 

is the foundation for making 

positive changes in the world. 

JOIN OUR MORNING MASORTI MINYAN 

MONDAYS & THURSDAY AT 6.45AM 

SUNDAYS FROM 9AM 

1. Temple Emanuel first AGM, 1946 

2. Abraham Joshua Heschel 

God in search of Man 

3. Abraham Joshua Heschel 

“The White Man on Trial” in 

Waskow “Theology and Politics 

in Abraham Joshua Heschel” 

Conservative Judaism Spring 1998 

SHABBAT 

LIVE 

A spiritual, meaningful and 

musical Shabbat experience 

every Friday at 6:15pm 

1020

{UNDERSTANDING TIKKUN OLAM} 


Tikkun Olam is a ubiquitous term that has become so common 

place that the original meaning has been lost. 

If we dig a little beneath the surface, 

we realise very quickly that it is 

not as simple as “fixing the world,” 

but a powerful amalgamation 

of concepts. It has evolved to 

encompass several distinct ideas 

apart from the conception of today. 

Probably the earliest usage of the 

term comes from the Aleinu prayer, 

first written for use during Rosh 

Hashanah, most likely in the 2nd 

century. The term there refers to 

an idea “to establish/fix the world 

under the kingdom of God”, or 

“perfecting earth by Your (God’s) 

kingship.” Different prayer books 

translate that line in a variety of ways, 

probably reflecting our modern-day 

discomfort with the concept of one 

religion reigning supreme over all 

the others. The concept is generally 

understood to mean a cleansing of 

the world of all impurities (read 

idolatry) that will allow the full 

manifestation of God’s presence. 

There is also a reference in the 

Midrash roughly contemporary 

with the Aleinu being written. In 

the Midrash, the rabbis use the term 

Tikkun Olam to mean the work 

of creating a sustainable world fit 

for habitation. In one particular 

Midrash, God uses rain to establish 

the world (l’taken olam) and 

sustain it. This reading is concerned 

solely with the physical world. 

Around the same time that Aleinu 

was being written, the Mishnah was 

being codified. In it, there are several 

references to the term Tikkun Olam, 

however in the case of the Mishnah, 

the reference is an entirely different 

concept. Here it is almost always 

justifying the creation of a legal 

loophole to protect the marginalised 

and less fortunate. The purpose 

in these cases refers to a notion of 

preserving a system as a whole. 

Finally, many hundreds of years 

later, during the rise of the Kabbalist 

movement, Tikkun Olam came 

to be used to refer to the idea of 

realising a divine perfection in the 

world, where the original state of the 

universe would be restored through 

our human performance of mitzvot, 

both ritual and ethical. It was a 

radical idea that humans could have 

a direct impact on the cosmos. Jews 

had to look beyond a specific act, 

and look at the larger picture to see 

what impact that act might have. 

It is only in the last 40 years or so 

that the term Tikkun Olam came 

to be a catchall term that signified 

acts of social justice. As with many 

concepts in our tradition, the term 

obviously has evolved. In fact, it is 

possible to see elements of each of 

the concepts reflected in our current 

understanding of the 

term Tikkun Olam. 

Whether one is 

engaged in providing 

for the homeless and 

refugees; or political 

activism, environmental 

causes, aiming to 

rid the world of evil, 

creating a sustainable 

world, protecting 

the marginalised; or 

positively affecting the planet around 

us to bring the divine presence 

among us – then that is truly a 

repair of our world. The work is 

grounded in a divinely inspired 

idea to create a world rid of evil, 

that is sustainable and accessible to 

everyone, and that brings us closer 

to the original state of creation when 

all was in a state of harmony. 

Volunteers Adam Carpenter and Bob Tribetz help on Mitzvah Day 


11

MASORTI MINYAN 

TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS 

6:45AM 

HELP SPONSOR OUR NEW MACHZORIM 

The existing machzor, Gates of Repentance, is old, out-of-date and written for North American 

congregations. A new machzor, Mishkan T’shuvah has been developed and edited by a team 

of UPJ rabbis and cantors to reflect the practices, culture and language of our region. 

We are looking to our congregation to help sponsor the 1200 copies of Mishkan T’shuvah 

required for our Progressive service. The books will be available for use in 2019 Holy Days. 

The current price per copy is $80. All donations will be tax deductible. Donors over 

$5000 will be acknowledged in the books; we will contact you to discuss. 

We also ask people to let us know if they want to order books for their use in order for us to order 

the correct amount. The books will be available for sale once delivered in 2019. This is a limited offer 

so we encourage you to order now. Purchase of the books for personal use is not tax deductible. 

This machzor is likely to be 

used for more than 20 years. 

Sponsoring the machzor is a 

meaningful and significant way to 

keep the memory of your loved 

one alive while really making a 

difference for our community. 

To donate towards this need, please 

email accounts@emanuel.org.au. 

12

Women’s 

Rosh Chodesh Group 

NEED A CELEBRANT? 

Jon Green 

Civil Marriage Celebrant 

WEDDINGS 

RENEWAL OF VOWS 

BABY NAMINGS 

CALL JON ON: 

0414 872 199 

8:00PM - 10:00PM 

July 12, August 12, 

October 9, November 8 

Why a Women’s Rosh Chodesh Group? 

There is a legend told that when the Israelites 

came to create the golden calf, the men asked the 

women to give them all their jewellery and gold to 

be melted down for the calf. The women refused 

to supply their jewels and as a reward a special 

festival was given to them: the festival of Rosh 

Chodesh, the celebration of the new moon. 

Please call the Emanuel Synagogue 

office before the meeting to find out 

the location on 9389 6444. 

Call the office or email 

info@emanuel.org.au for details 

including location. 

302 Oxford Street Bondi Junction 

Phone (02) 9389 3499 

302 enquiries@waltercarter.com.au 

Oxford Street Bondi Junction 

Phone www.waltercarter.com.au 

(02) 9389 3499 

enquiries@waltercarter.com.au 

www.waltercarter.com.au 

Funeral Directors onsite 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

Funeral Directors onsite 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week 

Looking after families in the 

Eastern suburbs for over 

Looking after families in the 

120 years. 

Eastern suburbs for over 

120 Traditional years. Values. 

Contemporary Choices. 

Traditional Values. 

Contemporary Choices.

{THE REAL COST OF KASHRUT} 


This very sore topic is often debated and it isn’t going away any time 

soon. The cost of keeping kosher, especially when it comes to purchasing 

meat and other specifically hechshered (certified) products, is very 

scary, and in many cases, bordering on being prohibitive. 

You only have to pay 

a visit to the kosher 

section in your 

local supermarket, 

or head on in to a 

kosher establishment 

(restaurant, butcher, 

etc.), and you say; “Here 

we go again”. You can’t 

help but feel as though 

you’re being ripped off 

and taken advantage of. 

It would not be fair to 

place any of the blame 

on the establishments 

themselves, as they 

are caught up in the 

same big (kosher) 

hamster wheel that 

we are, i.e. they 

charge the prices they do because they 

are lumbered with unfair costs and 

somewhat ridiculous hindrances. 

In March 2012 (six years ago), Rabbi 

Meir Rabi of Kosher VeYosher wrote an 

article called “The Cost of Kosher”, in 

which he delivered a scathing attack on 

the kashrut authorities (operating then), 

and the inexplicable cost variations 

levied upon the Jews of Australia. 

In his article, he wrote: 

“Kosher has been made unnecessarily 

difficult, and unjustifiably expensive. 

We do not, and many believe that 

we cannot, explain and justify that 

the costs are fair and not extortive. 

Kosher has been made to look silly 

and political. That’s the consequence 

of insisting that a kitchen must 

be Koshered after being used by 

a Kosher caterer supervised by a 

different Kosher organisation. 

14 

Kosher has been made to look 

trivial. That’s the consequence of 

knowing that the products on the 

Kosher list are not Kosher enough 

for the rabbi who endorses the list. 

Kosher has been made to look petty. 

That’s the consequence of accepting as 

Kosher the same food in one state of 

Australia but not in another state.” 

Some of these issues are not limited 

to the Australian scene, and there are 

many communities around the world 

where some of the same absurdities are 

rife. Where is the sense of community 

cohesiveness and responsibility that one 

would expect from such authorities? 

What happened to the notion of 

making kashrut accessible to the masses, 

affordable to all who desire to keep 

kosher, and treating the community not 

only with respect, but also promoting 

the values associated 

with keeping kosher? 

We all know about the 

2014/2015 Kashrut 

Commission of Inquiry, 

which highlighted a 

number of issues within 

the NSW Kashrut 

Authority, and eventually 

resulted in the formation 

of a second authority 

in NSW (Community 

Kashrut or CK). 

It took a formal 

commission and an 

enormous amount of 

community engagement 

to get to this result. 

Why? Well, that can be 

debated at length on 

many levels. I will however, state that 

I believe it is because of unwillingness 

of the “authorities” to engage in 

change, as well as the audacity of some 

people in positions of power. These 

people think they know what’s best 

for us at all times in these matters, 

and that we should continue to trust 

their judgement and their decrees. 

When you place yourself on a pedestal, 

and you determine the matters that 

Rabbi Meir wrote about to be the 

absolute truth, and the only way 

to (in this case) keep kosher, then 

you build unrealistic expectations 

for those who strive to live by the 

laws of kashrut. Effectively, you are 

hindering, rather than facilitating a 

community’s ability to keep kosher. 

Instead of helping to keep the price of 

kosher goods and services in line with 

reasonable expectations, you help to

drive prices through the roof. Instead 

of building a community-focused 

environment for those who choose 

to keep kosher, you put stumbling 

blocks for all concerned. For instance, 

insisting that a kitchen used by a 

caterer supervised by another kashrut 

authority be re-kashered, because that 

caterer is not under your supervision. 

Similarly, products determined to 

be kosher for everyone else, are not 

necessarily “kosher enough” for the 

rabbinic authority who endorsed 

the kashrut of that product. 

Then there’s the absurd notion 

that food can be kosher in one 

geographical region, but as soon as 

it is taken to another area it may no 

longer be kosher. So, food coming 

from Melbourne, for instance, may 

be deemed kosher, but take that 

same food to Sydney, and it may 

no longer be considered kosher. 

Maintaining that level of absurdity 

will only end up in tears- in fact, it 

already has. Think about the number of 

Jewish families who are trying to keep 

kosher. Think about the many people 

who have undertaken the life-changing 

decision to convert to Judaism. In their 

interview with the Beit Din, we asked 

them to affirm their commitment to a 

Jewish life and its ideals, which includes 

the principles of kashrut, and how we 

respect and live by those principles. 

We tell everyone that keeping kosher 

is a level we should strive towards, 

and that the principles of kashrut are 

amongst the holiest and most noble in 

Judaism. Then we engage in ridiculous 

acts of hypocrisy, contradiction and 

superiority. Where is the holiness and 

sanctity of kashrut, if we allow the rules 

and conditions to reach this level? 

We now have another kashrut 

authority in NSW, the aforementioned 

Community Kashrut (CK). This has 

provided some alternatives and more 

competition, which certainly in this 

case, will be good. It’s still early days, 

but more establishments and caterers 

are being endorsed through the CK. 

This is also leading to better results 

under the KA as well, with more 

establishments obtaining approval 

under their authority as well. I’m not 

mentioning any names, but getting four 

challot for $10 is a refreshing change. 

Kashrut however, is bigger than all of 

this - believe it or not. In spite of all 

these contentious issues, kashrut remains 

an ideal of our culture and religion. 

It is one of several key elements that 

defines what it means to be Jewish. 

Keeping kosher is not only about 

buying approved and supervised 

items, despite what one would think 

after reading the above examples. It 

also entails a level of responsibility, 

a commitment to the animals and 

the environment we find ourselves 

entrenched in, and taking advantage of. 

We have a responsibility to acknowledge 

that the delicious roast served up for 

dinner didn’t just appear on the plate, 

and it isn’t a coincidence that we find 

it (almost) ready for our use in the 

supermarket/ butchery. It came from a 

living being, and had to be slaughtered, 

cut, and prepared, according to the laws 

of kashrut. Similarly, the eggs we eat or 

use for baking didn’t just appear out of 

thin air. They are part of an ecosystem, 

and kashrut teaches us that we should 

act responsibly when interacting with 

and taking from that ecosystem. A 

deeper level of kashrut also teaches us 

respect for (in this case) the chickens 

that laid those eggs. We should consider 

how are they have been treated. We 

should strive to buy free-range eggs, so 

that we are supporting the right ideals 

and ensuring the right behaviour. 

Although I’ve dedicated a smaller portion 

of this article to the greater responsibility 

of kashrut (i.e. a commitment to not 

only do the right thing through the 

laws of kashrut, but also the social 

responsibility of kashrut), I abhor the 

focus placed by some members of our 

wider community that keeping kosher 

relates solely to maintaining control and 

creating an environment where they 

don’t even treat fellow Jews 

with respect, let alone the 

environment and all 

that lives within it. 

Promoting kashrut is 

an essential goal of any 

Jewish community, 

but it has to match 

the ideals of, and 

reasons for keeping 

kosher. It is our 

religious and cultural 

duty to endorse 

kashrut, to continue learning 

and to help others understand 

what it means to keep kosher. 


There is no question that we must always 

strive to live by these ideals, and seek to 

improve the levels of kashrut. Having 

said that, that focus cannot be limited to 

the concerns raised above, even though 

they are extremely important and must 

be part of the overall approach. In order 

to provide long term sustainability of 

kashrut and its ideals, our plans and 

actions must also focus on the deeper 

levels of kashrut, on being part of a 

greater picture, and acknowledging that 

we have a bigger responsibility than just 

overseeing day to day operations and 

worrying about why we think somebody 

else’s kashrut is not as good as ours. 

Let’s start by changing the way 

we approach kashrut, and taking 

responsibility for our role in the overall 

picture. That way, we allow ourselves 

to strive to the true ideals of tikkun 

olam, by changing ourselves, then 

our community, and then the world. 

Along the way we’ll dispense with 

the trivialities and the politics, and 

make ourselves and others proud of 

our commitment to kashrut. 

15

{ART AND SPIRIT} 

David Friedman visiting from Tsfat 

Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff 

To warm our winter, the mystic and artist, David Friedman, will be presenting 

his art and teaching Jewish meditation at Emanuel Synagogue. To get a 

sense of who David is, I interviewed him and here is what he said: 

I was born in Denver, Colorado 

and raised in a Modern Orthodox 

family. I developed a talent for art 

at an early age, and started to get 

serious about art as a teenager. I 

liked the artwork of album covers 

of 60’s and early 70’s music, which 

was an early inspiration for me. I 

was also inspired by mandala art of 

The Star of David by David Friedman 

16 

India. I attended the Rhode Island 

School of Design in Providence for 

a year, and then left to study Torah 

and Jewish mysticism in Denver, 

with the late Rabbi B. C. S. Twerski. 

I emigrated to Israel in 1977 at 

the age of 20, and spent two years 

studying Torah in Jerusalem, where 

I met my wife, Miriam. We got 

married in 1979 and moved to 

Tsfat. In Tsfat, I mostly immersed 

myself in Talmud study and other 

classic texts of Judaism as well as 

Kabbalah, but I continued to make 

art at night. As early as 1980, I 

began to produce artwork that 

was based on Torah concepts in 

an attempt to integrate Torah and 

art. I felt that I could make Jewish 

mandalas. The first piece I produced 

as a print (The Orchard of the 

Torah) is based on the design of a 

Tibetan mandala, and continues 

to be a top-selling print for me. 

After a bout with cancer in 1987 

(advanced-stage Hodgkin’s disease, 

which I received eight months 

of aggressive chemotherapy), I 

started practising meditation, and 

discovered that there was such a 

thing as Jewish Meditation. The 

books of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan 

showed me how meditation is 

an important part of Kabbalah, 

that has been quite hidden until 

recently. I started practising yoga, 

developed healthy eating habits 

thanks to my wife Miriam, and 

focused primarily on the study of 

Kabbalah. This combination of 

Kabbalah, meditation, and modern 

conceptual art produced a large 

series of kabbalistic/meditative 

paintings, most of which I executed 

in watercolors and pen-and-ink. 

I developed my own original 

system of translating kabbalistic 

concepts into graphic shapes and 

colours, based mostly on Sefer 

Yetzirah (the Book of Creation), 

but also inspired from other texts. 

I have exhibited in North America

and Israel, and my works can be found in many 

homes and art collections around the world. 

I often lecture on Kabbalah and Jewish Meditation 

to groups of teenagers and adults, whether tourists, 

students or spiritual seekers from around the 

world. These groups usually find my presentations 

enjoyable and educational as I use my art to 

simplify and clarify profound kabbalistic ideas - as 

they say, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. 

Although I have studied many classical Torah Texts 

(both conventional and esoteric) I am primarily selftaught, 

and I prefer the way of the mystic to be as 

independent and non-denominational as possible. 

Two of my main influences in the realm of Kabbalah, 

whose texts I frequently teach, are the great 18th 

Century kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto, 

and the early 20th Century mystic, Rabbi Abraham 

Isaac Hakohen Kook. I continue to live, work 

and teach in Tsfat, Israel, with my wife Miriam. 

MYSTICAL ART 

Let’s have a look at a few of David’s 

paintings and how he explains them: 

Kabbalah inspired artwork by David Friedman 

David Friedman 

QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING 

OF THE STAR OF DAVID? 

I connect it with a teaching from the ancient Jewish 

text: Sefer Yetzirah, Book of Creation: It talks about 

space having 6 directions (up, down, left, right, front 

and back) and there being a place in the centre of 

them which it calls “the Holy Palace” precisely in 

the centre, and it is the essence of them all. It relates 

it to the holiness of the Shabbat, the 7th day. 

So, when you look at the magen david, each point 

symbolises one of the 6 directions of space, and 

the centre of the star is a holy palace, a 

place of harmony. In this image I was 

inspired by the artist M. C Escher. 

QUESTION: YOU SEEM TO BE 

FASCINATED BY LETTERS, CAN YOU 

TELL US ABOUT THIS IMAGE? (left) 

This is a painting of 3 key letters: 

the Shin ש is red, the Mem ‏,מ blue 

and Aleph א in yellow. (see left) 

The Shin, stands for fire (aish in 

Hebrew) and rises like red hot fire; the 

Mem, which stands for water (mayim 

in Hebrew), flows downward like water. They 

are opposites - the outward hissing sound of 

Shhh, and the inward humming of Mmmm. 

CONNECTION WITH ISRAEL & 

WORLD JEWRY 

א The yellow which surrounds them represents Aleph 

– the first Hebrew letter. It symbolises a breath of air or 

light (the Hebrew words for light and air are similar). 

Aleph stands for the One that includes the Two – just 

as one breath of air includes the exhale and the inhale. 

17

These three letters are known in the Sefer Yetzirah 

“Book of Creation” as the Three Mother letters, 

and are the subject of many of my paintings. 

QUESTION: DO YOU TEACH 

MEDITATIONS BASED ON THIS? 

Yes, the Jewish meditations I teach are based 

on Kabbalah. For example I have a meditation 

I teach based on the letters: Shin ש is red, 

the Mem ‏,מ blue and Aleph ‏.א It is a breath 

meditation, as well as sounding the letters. 

My art is also like a meditative piece of art that 

can inspire people just by looking at it. Having the 

art on a wall can help people relax and focus. 

I’m really looking forward to visiting the 

Emanuel Synagogue community in August. 

See you then. 

ART KABBALAH AND 

MEDITATION SEMINAR 

with 

RABBI DR ORNA TRIGUBOFF 

and visiting Artist from Tzfat, Israel 

DAVID FRIEDMAN 

Kabbalist, Artist and Meditation Teacher 

SUNDAY 19TH AUGUST 

10:30am-3pm 

email: orna@emanuel.org.au 

A 10-day tour of Israel 

with a focus on Jewish 

Spirituality. We explore 

ancient sites, learn 

with the best kabbalah 

teachers in the world 

and experience authentic 

inspiring tikun olam 

projects, getting to know 

the people involved. 

KABBALAH TOUR 

OF ISRAEL 

OCTOBER 2019 

LED BY RABBI DR. 

ORNA TRIGUBOFF 

AND ISRAELI 

MUSICIANS, 

TEACHERS AND 

ARTISTS. 

For more information, 

please email 

orna@emanuel.org.au 

18

{CELEBR8} 

Photos from the Opening of our new Sanctuary 

COMMUNITY 

Photos by Bob Trijbetz 

19

{BEHIND THE PINK TRIANGLE} 

Yoav Yaron 

Why Gay history matters when remembering the Holocaust 

The future of Holocaust 

remembrance has become a growing 

concern for Jewish communities 

worldwide. As a third-generation 

descendant of Holocaust survivors, 

I almost consider it my privilege to 

be able to see and listen to survivors’ 

memories and stories from early 

childhood through to adulthood 

– many of which I can still vividly 

recall. These living memories, often 

of members of the Kibbutz I grew 

up in, were the building blocks 

of my Holocaust education. 

They inspired an enduring interest 

not just for me, but for many others. 

Projects like 'Zikaron BaSalon', draw 

dozens of listeners to thousands of 

Holocaust commemorations services 

every year. It seeks to strengthen 

one's personal connection to the 

Holocaust, through survivors' 

stories and testimonies. Yet with 

regards to future generations, 

there remains a pressing question: 

How can we keep the memory 

alive without a living memory? 

An ongoing debate in the Israeli 

Holocaust Education discourse deals 

with the question of 'the lesson(s) 

learned'. On one hand, many choose 

to stress the significance of Israel as 

a Jewish homeland, and the anti- 

Semitism that is still raging in many 

countries. Other educators emphasise 

what they see as the humanistic 

lessons that stem from the Holocaust, 

warning against xenophobia, racism, 

and other forms of oppression. 

In the age of identity politics and 

individual expressionism, I believe 

future generations will find the latter 

far more relatable and potent. Other 

stories by those who were subject to 

persecution may also be instructive. 

After all, while the mass-murder 

of the Jewish people was the most 

20 

disastrous, the Nazis also murdered 

and persecuted a large number of 

other 'Untermenschen' (‘under’, 

or in other words ‘inferior’, 

people) which they considered 

undesirable under their racial 

policy. The disabled, for instance, 

were amongst the first victims to 

be killed in gas chambers as early as 

1939. Non-Aryans who interfered 

with the concept of the German 

'Living Space' were exterminated 

by Nazi troops, and Europeans of 

African descent were persecuted 

for contaminating the race. 

Among these stories, the Gay 

and Lesbian story of persecution 

has won less attention in research 

and Holocaust-related discourses. 

Homophobia it seems, persisted 

after the war, and it was not until 

the 1980's that this story was 

acknowledged. In fact, a German 

apology, for those who consider 

these apologies a matter of moral 

importance, was only made in 2002. 

It wasn't until recent decades that 

characters such as Freddy Hirsch, a 

Jewish educator, 'reclaimed' his sexual 

identity, even though it was known 

to many in both Theresienstadt 

and Birkenau, where he helped 

thousands of Jewish children. 

His sexuality, in fact, may be the 

reason that he was overlooked from 

collective commemorations. Or the 

incredible love affair between Nazi 

commander Anneliese Kohlmann 

and the Czech-Jewish prisoner Lotte 

Rosner. This story was adapted into 

the play 'Under the Skin' by the 

Israeli playwright Yonatan Calderon, 

and premièred in London's Old 

Red Lion Theatre in 2018. Beyond 

these figures, which have become 

internationally acclaimed in today's 

research, there must be thousands 

Mug shot of homosexual Auschwitz prisoner: August Pfeiffer, servant, born Aug. 8, 1895, 

in Weferlingen, arrived to Auschwitz Nov. 1, 1941, and died there Dec. 28, 1941. 

of other stories that have never, 

and perhaps, could never be told. 

For the inmates of the Nazi 

concentration camps, it may not have 

mattered what colour triangle they 

wore on their badge. However, it 

apparently was common knowledge 

that homosexuals suffered an unusual 

degree of cruelty by their captors, 

and were subjected to even more 

abuse than their fellow inmates. This 

category of prisoners, relatively small 

in number (estimated to be around 

15,000 gay men were imprisoned in 

camps), represents only a small, most 

unfortunate fraction of a thriving gay

and lesbian community. These people 

were forced to go underground, 

flee and often marry a partner of 

the other sex, to avoid being sent to 

the concentration camps. From an 

historical perspective, the incitement 

of Nazi anti-gay propaganda and 

acts of violence, such as the purging 

of gay clubs, and the breaking 

into the Institute of Sex Research, 

that ended in the public burning 

of its libraries, paved the way for 

Nazi brutality which was later 

turned against the Jewish people. 

These belatedly-told Holocaust 

stories seem to be instructive even 

to our own generations, let alone 

generations to come. Together with 

histories of other groups persecuted 

by the Nazis, we begin to see the 

political developments and increase 

in brutality as it gradually and 

systematically grew; it became the 

well-organized and brutal violence 

carried out against the Jews on all 

fronts of Europe. On the other 

hand, in these histories there lies a 

stark reminder for us and for future 

generations; i.e. in no version of 

Martin Niemöller's famous poem 

'First they came for...' (arguably 

the most used, however ill-read, by 

Holocaust educators) do the Jews 

appear to be the first to be called for. 

This is by no means a call to abandon 

the Jewish Holocaust history, and 

its particularity. It is an invitation 

to revisit the deadliest catastrophe 

in our people's history through 

its large totalitarian context, and 

to learn and teach some of the 

inevitable human lessons therein. 

These completing histories of 

persecution and suffering should 

not be detached from our own. 

Yoav Yaron is the NSW 

Shaliach Australasian Union 

of Jewish Students | AUJS 

{THE WORLD CONGRESS OF LGBT 

JEWS IN SYDNEY} 

March 21-24, 2019 

Dayenu, Sydney’s Jewish LGBT+ Group is proud to 

announce they were successful in securing the bid for the 

2019 Conference in Sydney in March next year. 

The World Congress held its last 

conference in Rome, and previously 

in Paris as well as many destinations 

around the globe. Since Sydney is 

further away for most delegates, it 

was challenging to inspire them to 

come Downunder, but Dayenu is 

very excited to step up to the work at 

hand. 

Emanuel Synagogue has already 

shown considerable support for 

staging the Conference, which will 

be able to utilise the state-of-theart 

technology built into the new 

Synagogue, where many of the 

activities will take place. 

The Congress is keen to live-stream 

many aspects of the Conference, for 

which the new shule is ideally suited. 

It would be wonderful if there 

were some members of Emanuel 

Synagogue, who would be willing 

to host one or two delegates in their 

home, over that weekend. Contact 

Kim Gotlieb on kim@kimgotlieb. 

com for further details. 

Dayenu President and World 

Congress Co-ordinator, Kim 

Gotlieb said, “We are so excited to 

be hosting this event. There is so 

much emerging from the broader 

Jewish community in support of the 

LGBT+ community. Our aim is to 

maximise the interface both within 

the Jewish sphere and in relationship 

Delegates address the previous World Congress in Rome 

SUSTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT 

& HEALING THE WORLD 

with the generalised queer 

community.” 

Beyond the Conference 

itself, there will be a range of 

opportunities for everyone to engage 

in this momentous happening. 

Watch for details or email Kim 

(kim@kimgotlieb.com) to show your 

support or to get involved. 

21

{MITZVAH VS GOOD DEED} 

By Daniel Samowitz 

A father came up to me recently and said “Daniel I don’t think my son is learning 

in Bar mitzvah class.” I smiled at him and said “Yeah, I’ve heard that before!” 

A lot of educational institutions 

value knowing the facts, value 

having the right answer, place 

the highest emphasis on knowing 

what happened, whereas we 

want the students to seek to 

understand. At Emanuel we value 

the education of the character, and 

the nurturing of a curious spirit”. 

I further explained that in our 

programs we delve into the Jewish 

narrative and my educational priority 

is for our students to grow a love for 

learning, to grow a love for turning 

up, to increase their excitement 

for class, and ultimately to grow 

a love for community. I want this 

educational hub on Ocean Street to 

be a second home and a safe space. 

A space they can feel unique and 

connected to previous generations. 

thing we do? And then we played 

this game in class and it was so fun 

and in the game I had to act out 

a mitzvah and then... and then... 

and the story went on and on. 

“And then I disagreed so I ran to 

Rabbi Kaiserbluth and he said what 

a mitzvah is and I was so sure the 

week before Rabbi Kamins said 

something different, so Samo (our 

teacher) stopped the class and let 

the class run up to Rabbi Kamins’ 

At Emanuel, our education is 

about connecting our students to 

their Jewish story, and encouraging 

a generation that have a million 

things to do on a weekday and 

a million channels and apps to 

engage with, to WANT to come 

to synagogue. Finding meaningful 

and powerful ways for them to 

choose to engage with a dilemma 

and create and express their opinion 

about something the Jewish people 

The father looked at me confused 

and with many more questions. I 

asked him next time he sees his son 

to ask him the difference between 

a good deed and a Mitzvah. This 

was a concept with which we had 

dealt the day before in class. He 

asked “why”? I said “don’t focus on 

your son’s answer, which will be 

correct, but look into your sons’ 

face and see the excitement, see 

the joyful engagement shine out 

when he gives you his answer. 

The father called me the next 

day. “What have you done to my 

son?” he exclaimed. “I couldn’t get 

him to stop talking … He said: 

“It’s so annoying how when people 

say you’re doing a mitzvah they 

are saying the wrong thing and at 

first I thought the wrong thing too 

because I thought it was just a nice 

22 

Bnei Mitzvah students take a close look at a torah 

desk in the middle of class to ask 

him the definition of a mitzvah….” 

This was just one Thursday 

afternoon of many: a whole cohort 

of students running around the 

synagogue campus, playing, 

laughing, disagreeing with the 

Rabbis and the teachers, in their 

safe space, their second home 

and not for a second did any of 

them think they were learning. 

have been struggling with for 

generations. Connecting hearts 

and minds with their Jewishness. 

In my parents’ generation B’nei 

mitzvah class was sitting in the 

chair and learning the aleph bet 

for hours. Some of them loved it 

some of them did not. One thing 

for sure is they could remember the 

aleph bet. With this new tech savy, 

hyperactive, constantly questioning 

generation, we need to educate

differently. That is why we engage 

their Jewish character, we ignite their 

internal desire, a desire for more, 

to understand, to connect to his or 

her community, his or her story. 

The father I spoke to saw that his 

son’s attitude towards what it means 

to be Jewish had changed by virtue 

of the journey his son had been on 

in the B’nei mitzvah course. His son 

had dealt with his own ideas of what 

it means to be Jewish in 2018 and 

what his answers were going to be. 

Our students walk out of our B’nei 

mitzvah course understanding 

community, building a life of 

meaning and how being Jewish 

is a way to enhance and grow 

these ideals. I am not interested in 

trying to attract the students by 

entertaining them. Having a Bar 

and/or Bat mitzvah or coming to 

Kef kids (Emanuel Synagogue's 

Hebrew School) is not an attractive 

extra mural activity in competition 

with gymnastics and swimming. I 

want our students to have the right 

answers and to be able to recite the 

prayers but I really want to instill in 

them a questioning, a love of learning 

and a thirst for more, a wanting 

to be a part of something bigger 

than themselves. I want them to 

feel responsible for their 

community and I want 

them to understand being 

Jewish is not a burden - 

“something I have to do” 

- but an aspect of who 

they are and something 

they need more tools 

to explore. There is no 

better way than coming 

to our educational 

programs and gaining the tools to 

build their own authentic Jewish 

mission statement one that envisions 

and builds an authentic personal 

and collective Jewish future. 

TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING 

{MAZAL TOV RUTH!} 

Special Mazal Tov to Ruth Rack, 

our wonderful, long-standing 

member of Emanuel Synagogue, 

champion of choral music and 

stalwart of the Emanuel choir, 

who celebrated her 90th birthday 

this year on the 3rd April. 

By pure serendipity Ruth’s 

birthday coincides with other 

personal anniversaries including 

her 52-year association with the 

Emanuel choir. In addition, 

her birthday celebration falls in 

line with the 80th Anniversary 

of the founding of her beloved 

Emanuel Synagogue, at which 

she celebrated the opening of 

Stage 1 of the long-awaited 

redevelopment of the new 

Synagogue campus. 

Ruth’s dedication to the Emanuel 

community through her Jewish 

practice continues on many 

levels including her ongoing 

support of our musicians and 

singers. Her indefatigable energy 

is currently being channelled 

into creating an archive of 

the history of the Synagogue 

choir and its important 

Online 

Kabbalah 

Text Study & Meditation 

Tuesday evenings in August 8:00pm 

We will explore the 13th Century Kabbalah of Rabbi 

Avraham Abulafia, his ideas about language, sound, 

healing, developing focus and connection to self. 

For info email: orna@emanuel.org.au 

role in the cantorial and musical 

life of the community. 

Her greatest pride is her family 

including her six grandchildren 

and three great-grandchildren. 

She is a long-standing committee 

member of the Child Holocaust 

Survivors Association and 

member of the Sydney Jewish 

Museum. In 2000 Ruth wrote 

and published an account of her 

experiences. The Book of Ruth 

is now entering its 2nd edition. 

To all who know Ruth well will 

testify to her zest for life, her 

positivity, and her capacity for 

friendships. She continues to 

be an inspiration to so many, 

and a blessing to us all. 

23

{REMEMBER THIS} 

Nicole Waldner 

I can’t write music, so I’ve always composed my songs by whistling. I play piano with 

one hand only, the left one, ‘cause with my right hand I keep time. I conduct myself. 

As for my singing, my boss puts it this 

way, “Little Seress, you’ve got a voice, 

you just can’t sing.” They call me Little 

Seress because when I sit down behind 

the piano I pretty much disappear 

behind it. I’ve been making music for 

43 years. I include the four years in 

forced labour camp and the eight years 

the Communists banned me from 

playing. I include them because even 

then I had all of my songs inside me. 

The very first time I sat down behind a 

piano I knew I was home. This is what 

I wanted. What amazes me most after 

all these years - even now in 1966 when 

my music’s not exactly the fashion any 

more - is that I managed to pull it off. 

People still remember Gloomy Sunday. 

That was my song. Billie Holiday 

had a big hit with it in 1941. Louis 

Armstrong sang it. Bing Crosby, 

Frank Sinatra, Josephine Baker, Sarah 

Vaughn, Ray Charles. They sang it 

all over Europe too. They recorded it 

in China and Japan, even somewhere 

in Africa. 28 languages it’s been 

translated into, at least. People came 

from all over the world to hear me 

play. Toscanini and Visconti from Italy, 

Otto Klemperer from Berlin. Louis 

Armstrong! Even Spencer Tracy and 

John Steinbeck came from Hollywood. 

All this because of one song. All this 

from the old ghetto of Budapest. 

I think what made Gloomy Sunday such 

a big hit was the times we were living in. 

I wrote it in 1933. The Nazis had just 

come to power. We were all recovering 

from one world war and already we 

could smell another one coming. The 

chords at the start, they really set the 

tone. I work those high octave keys 

for emotion. As for the words, I didn’t 

write them. I mean I did, originally, but 

mine were considered too bleak. You 

can’t tell people, “Love is dead”. You 

can’t say, “The world has ended”. You 

can’t take away people’s hope. It isn’t 

right. Maybe the doctors can, or the 

Nazis, but not the musicians, not the 

poets. People come to us for hope, for 

relief. So we went with Jávor’s lyrics. I 

wouldn’t go so far as to call his version 

optimistic, it was still my song after all, 

but he made it more personal. People 

could relate to it because everyone’s had 

a broken heart before, and everyone 

loves a love song, ‘cause even when 

it’s love gone wrong, it’s still love. 

No one in Hungary has ever had an 

international hit like me. Not Feri Lehár 

and not Feri Liszt either. They invited 

me to Paris and New York. I didn’t 

go. Even before the war I wasn’t big 

on traveling, but after the war I didn’t 

want to go anywhere. I just wanted 

my piano, my audience. It’s not just 

all the unknowns when you travel, it’s 

the trains and aeroplanes which scare 

the hell outta me. Boats are the pits. 

After I’ve been on one of those Danube 

barges my bed rocks for days. I don’t 

even like buses or trams, that kind of 

bone shake I can do without. I never 

take the metro because the thought 

of being underground sends me into 

a spin. I rarely even go to Buda. This 

is where I wrote my songs, so this is 

home. Kispipa is only two blocks away. 

The food is best not spoken about and 

they don’t clean the place too often, 

but every night that’s where I play. 

The royalties never quite panned out. 

Maybe I should have gone to New 

York? But to hell with the money, 

everyone’s poor here. What really gets 

me though is that I’m going to be 

defined by that song, and its ugly wake 

too. When it started getting attention 

in the ‘30s and ‘40s there were all 

these stories in the papers about people 

who committed suicide clutching the 

score to Gloomy, supposedly. Then the 

Americans dubbed it “The Hungarian 

Suicide Song”. Personally, I blame Ray 

Ventura. He was the one that started 

this whole business. They say that in 

Paris, in ’36, every night before he 

played my song, he’d read out all these 

lies to the audience. How many people 

died in Reykjavik when they heard my 

song and how many in Rome. Then, 

24

as if that wasn’t enough, after the first 

verse, the drummer would get up and 

shoot himself in the head with a starter 

pistol! Talk about a bunch of posers! 

The thing is no one can control what 

happens to their songs. Music travels, 

and don’t I know it, but rumours, once 

they get started, they travel more. 

I used to print up song lists and hand 

them out to the audience so that 

they’d know I’d written other songs 

too, but they always wanted Gloomy 

Sunday. I guess that without meaning 

to or wanting to it seems I captured 

what they call the spirit of the times. 

Gloom. Doom. Lost love. Love I don’t 

mind, even lost love I don’t mind. But 

that kind of love, the kind that kills 

you and you kill yourself for, I don’t 

want to be remembered for that. 

The other night someone in the 

audience asked me what my favourite 

song is and I said, Let’s Love Each 

Other Peeps. Hands down. That was 

a big hit for me too. I wrote it the 

year before Gloomy, in 1932, and 

that year the whole country sang it. 

Let’s love each other peeps, 

the heart is the greatest treasure. 

In all the wide world, 

Love is the grandest pleasure. 

The melody is sweet as a good liqueur, 

the words too, most of them anyway. 

It’s the sense of urgency that makes it 

so timeless. Let’s love each 

other right now, ‘cause it’s 

all so damn fleeting. I’ve 

started opening and closing 

every set with Let’s Love 

Each Other Peeps. I like to 

sing it on my way to work 

and on my way back home. 

I whisper it to myself like a 

prayer, as if it mattered. As 

if the right song really could 

change something. Remember this. 

If you would like to read more 

of Nicole’s work please visit 

www.nicolewaldner.com 

TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING 

INTRODUCING GLOBAL CITIZEN 

At Emanuel Synagogue, we have the vision to empower young people to 

change the world through entrepreneurial learning and thinking. 

This empowerment starts with our B'nei 

Mitzvah program which encompasses 

a social justice element that forms an 

important part of the curriculum. 

However, post-B'nei Mitzvah how do 

we inspire young people to become 

agencies of change or to care about 

their social impact on the world? 

And there the excitement begins…. 

inspired by a conversation with our 

CEO Suzanna Helia about 

the positive reaction of 

young Australians at a recent 

screening of the Global 

Citizen documentary Louder 

Together, hatched the idea of 

Global Citizen at Emanuel. 

This involves a new 

programme for schoolaged 

youth to allow them to 

think critically and creatively 

about the different ways 

they could change the world 

through a social purpose 

lens. The programme aims 

to inspire them to see how they can 

develop ideas or use their advocacy 

to end the world's most inhumane 

problems. It empowers our youth 

to take action and see themselves 

as a Global Citizen. Young people 

and their families who are interested 

in participating in the program are 

encouraged to attend an information 

evening and pre-screening of the 

Global Citizen documentary 'Louder 

Together' narrated by Hugh Jackman 

at Emanuel Synagogue on July 19. 

I am so excited to be sharing with 

you this fantastic launch and look 

forward to meeting your families and 

inspiring young minds at the event. 

Marina Capponi 

globalcitizen@emanuel.org.au 

25

{FIGHTING FOR LIFE} 

Donna Jacobs-Sife 

Years ago, doctors opened my father’s chest and breast bone, 

reached into his body and held his heart in their hands. 

There it lay beating before them, 

as they gazed upon the ungazable. 

They cut his heart open and removed 

the valve that was blocking his flow 

of blood, and replaced it with the 

valve of a pig. We made many jokes 

about his unkosher heart in the build 

up before the Big Day. 

We went to see him, having 

prepared ourselves for what 

we would see. "There will be 

lots of tubes" we told each 

other, "and he will be very 

pale". But nothing quite 

prepares you for the sight 

of your beloved in a state 

of coma, on life support. 

He looked so vulnerable, 

so unfamiliar. We held his 

hand, and whispered that 

we loved him in his ear, 

and left. We walked across 

the park to the car silently, 

holding each other’s hands 

tightly, four abreast, marching against 

the cold wind, an army - linked by 

common blood and full hearts. 

Across the road, I noticed that 

my car door was open. "Look," I 

said to my sister, "mum must have 

forgotten to close the door." But as 

my eyes began to focus I thought I 

saw someone sitting in the passenger 

seat. Disengaging from the others 

I ran across the road, and saw that 

indeed, a man was sitting in my car. 

"Hey!" I shouted, crisp and sharp. 

He jumped out, like a wild foraging 

animal, disturbed by the sudden 

appearance of man. "Sorry, sorry, 

sorry" he babbled. "I was so desperate. 

Here," he said, taking my hand, "take 

it back". Two five-cent pieces and a 

ten-cent piece rolled into my hand. 

He was quite beautiful really, my 

age, with a torn thin checked shirt 

and tight black jeans. His immediate 

contrition touched me. Instinctively 

my fingers tightened on his and I 

felt the trembling and knew that 

it was more than cold, it was also 

the disease of withdrawal. "Its ok," 

I said to him, "I understand." I 

understood that he was cold and in 

pain. I understood that he was so 

Our Jewish Story: Our Land, Our People 

Monday mornings from 10:00am-11:30am 

Join Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins or guest speakers to examine the complex 

issues facing contemporary Israel. 

sorry that life had brought him to 

this moment. His eyes, hooded with 

shame, held mine. So vulnerable, so 

familiar. For a moment, the world 

stopped spinning and all that existed 

were two pairs of human eyes holding 

each other. Gazing upon what is so 

often ungazable, in these 

cold streets of Sydney. For 

a moment he let me hold 

his heart in my hands, and I 

knew that nothing separated 

us. His pain was mine. His 

shame was mine. My fingers 

loosened their soft grip 

and as he slipped away, we 

smiled. Turning back, rather 

tenderly, almost fatherly he 

said "lock your car in future." 

That night they gave my 

father morphine to numb the 

pain. The man from the street 

was probably was in some 

seedy place, administering 

to himself to numb his own pain. 

My father was fighting to regain life, 

to mend his heart; not so different 

from that man. Both were soldiers on 

the front line. The doctors removed 

the blockage in my father’s heart, 

and somehow I can’t help but feel 

that this man and I did something 

similar for each other. Something 

that dwells in the mystery of a 

moment, when two people allow 

themselves to be seen by the other. 

As I drove away, I saw that man 

standing at the lights. I noticed he was 

standing tall with his head up against 

the lightpole, looking at the stars. 

I knew how he felt, my heart was 

hopeful too. I beeped. We waved. 

26

{SORDID BEAUTY} 

Shira Sebban 

Garishly painted faces leered at Naomi as she scurried nervously down Jaffa’s 

dark, unpaved lanes. She shuddered as strange, shadowy figures darted 

urgently past the workshops, factories, stores and out-door cafes, where the 

smoke of nargilehs mingled with a heady aroma of spice and perfume. 

Police seemed to be on 

guard everywhere. 

Passing a police car, she noticed 

some prostitutes sitting in the back, 

mostly young girls in skimpy clothes. 

“They were waiting to be taken to 

the station and charged,” she would 

later note in her diary. She had 

known of course that prostitutes, 

both Jewish and Arabic, had 

long been plying their trade in 

brothels on the roads between 

Tel Aviv and Jaffa, but this 

was the first time she had been 

so close to the action and her 

discomfort was evident. 

“Let’s go!” she urged 

her companions. 

Reluctantly, Aliza nudged 

Motke, raised her eyebrows 

and shrugged wryly. “You’re 

not much of a Sabra 

anymore, are you?” 

The evening had not been 

meant to end this way. Aliza, 

fun loving and capricious as 

ever, had been keen to hear 

Aris San, a 17-year-old, short 

Greek singer, who had recently 

arrived from Athens and was 

already making quite a name 

for himself. Motke had been 

only too happy to oblige, 

driving the women to the wellknown 

Arianna nightclub. 

The sharp metallic sounds of 

the bouzouki wafted through the 

thick, sweltering May night air 

as they approached the Salonican 

Jewish-owned Arianna, the bastion 

of Greek popular music in Israel. 

Constructed on the ruins of an 

Arab building, it was not far from 

Jaffa’s old central bathhouse, which 

had been converted into another 

nightclub known as the Hamam. 

“The Arianna looks very ordinary 

from the outside,” Naomi would 

subsequently record, “but is situated 

in beautiful surroundings near the 

sea and close to mosques, towers and 

ruins of a house – charming indeed”. 

A few years later, by the 1960s, 

the Arianna would have become a 

favorite haunt for army officers and 

members of the Mapai Government, 

the forerunner of Israel’s Labor 

Party. The crowds, which would 

line up around the Jaffa Clock 

Tower to get in, included such 

luminaries as Chief of Staff, Major- 

General Moshe Dayan and his wife 

Ruth, who would go there to dance 

on a Friday or Saturday night. 

For Naomi, however, the spell was 

broken. The chaotic commotion of 

Jaffa was too much for her. Perhaps 

Aliza was right… she had 

become too Australian. 

At any rate, she preferred 

Jaffa by day. Hadn’t she and 

her cousin Miriam battled 

through the bustling maze 

of winding, dirty alleys just 

over a month ago to visit 

the home of the late War of 

Independence hero Yitzhak 

Sadeh? She recalled stopping 

at the end of the street 

now known 

as Zichron 

Kedoshim to see 

the house that 

had belonged 

to the first 

commander of 

the Palmach, the 

elite strike force 

of the pre-state 

underground 

Jewish army, 

the Haganah. 

CONNECTION WITH ISRAEL & 

WORLD JEWRY 

Perched near cliffs, with 

panoramic views, it had 

been easy to picture the 

charismatic Major-Generalturned 

writer, nicknamed HaZaken 

(The Old Man) while still only in 

his fifties, hosting his disciples and 

fellow warriors, Yigal Allon and 

Yitzhak Rabin, in the enormous, 

blossoming garden, with stairs 

27

leading down to the sea. Naomi 

could even visualize the goat that 

Sadeh had kept tethered to a tree in 

defiance of then new Israeli laws. 

His room was just as he had left it in 

1952 – a modest bed and wooden 

desk, books and photographs, 

many of him in action against 

the Egyptians, a collection of 

military maps and guns, swords 

and daggers amassed during his 

military exploits – all as you would 

expect of one of the founders 

of the Israel Defense Forces. 

That had been a wonderful 

afternoon, Naomi thought, 

remembering how they had 

earlier visited Tamar, lingering 

over tea and luxuriating in 

the stunning surrounds. 

Tamar had been most hospitable, 

and the large garden around her 

Arab limestone villa overlooking the 

azure sea far below was exquisite, 

the hilly lawn carpeted with the 

purple and yellow wildflowers so 

typical of the Mediterranean coast. 

Shaded by pine trees and cooled 

by sea breezes, the stone slabs and 

fountains taken, as Naomi noted, 

“from the recent excavations 

in Ashkelon”, had glistened in 

the sunny Friday stillness. 

“A most ideal place to live,” she 

would later pronounce. Indeed, 

situated south of Old Jaffa, Ajami 

– the neighborhood where Tamar 

resided – had been founded as 

a small, wealthy, upper middleclass 

residential settlement by 

Maronite Christians in the late 

19th century under Ottoman rule. 

Since the establishment of the Israeli 

State, however, the roughly 4000 

Arabs who had remained in and 

around Jaffa were now concentrated 

in Ajami, where many buildings 

had been demolished. Meanwhile, 

Tamar’s family had been among the 

thousands who had settled in homes 

vacated by the 70,000 or so Arabs 

who had fled or been displaced. 

Ultimately, Ajami would 

rapidly deteriorate to become a 

cramped and dilapidated home 

to the destitute, both Jewish 

and Arabic … facts that Sabraturned-outsider 

Naomi seemed 

blissfully unaware of during her 

visit on that day in 1957. 

This story is from ‘Unlocking the 

Past: Stories from My Mother’s 

Diary’ – a new book by Shira 

Sebban. It is available on Amazon 

as an e-book or as a paperback 

from the publisher’s online 

Australian store: mazopub.com 

28

{OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS} 

At the Annual General Meeting of Emanuel Synagogue on May 22, 

we welcomed two new Board Members, Michael Hukic and Casey Guth. 

MICHAEL HUKIC 

Michael has a background in 

banking, and he is currently 

completing an MBA at the 

University of New South Wales. 

He hopes his business skills, and 

his passion for our dynamic and 

diverse community, allow him 

to make a valuable contribution 

to our Synagogue. Michael is 

passionate about learning and 

currently working on completing 

his MBA through UNSW AGSM 

Business School. Prior to this 

Michael has completed his studies 

in commerce and Applied Finance. 

Professionally Michael has been 

in banking and finance for close 

to 15 years helping number 

of corporate and not for profit 

organisations focusing on 

creating long term relationship. 

Passionate about meeting and 

getting to know different people 

from different walks of life. 

Outside of work and studying, 

Michael loves to spend quality time 

with family, friends and his much 

loved dog Archie (the boxer). 

Michael is strong advocate for 

diversity (in full meaning) and 

he is passionate about helping 

all our members including the 

members of GLBTIQ +, members 

with disability and refugees. 

You will see Michael at most Shabbat 

Live nights and major events at the 

Synagogue. Please don't hesitate to 

say hello as Michael looks forward 

to meet you and hear all your 

comments and feedback. Michael 

is particularly looking forward to 

being involved in the upcoming 

World Congress of LGBT Jews to 

be held in Sydney early next year. 

CASEY GUTH 

Casey Guth is an enthusiastic, 

diligent and high-achieving Media 

Sales Manager who has spent the 

last ten years at Fairfax Media and 

News Corp Australia. She hopes 

to utilize her communications, 

interpersonal and relationship 

management skills on the Board of 

Directors at Emanuel Synagogue. 

Volunteer work is close to her 

heart and a key focus area for her 

work on the board. She was on 

The Sydney Children’s Hospital 

events Committee for four years, 

and participates in the Montefiore 

Nursing Home volunteer program. 

In early 2018, Casey spent one 

month in Israel volunteering 

at hospitals and nursing homes 

throughout the country. 

Excerpts from Casey’s 

speech at Recent AGM 

‘I really want to partner in working 

towards the creation of a secure 

financial and spiritual future for 

Emanuel – for generations to 

come. As a Board Member of the 

Synagogue, I will set an example 

for fellow congregants through 

participation in education 

and cultural programs 

as well as Shabbat 

and holiday worship 

services. Serving as a 

role model for our community 

is an opportunity I will relish’ 

‘I hope to create ways and means 

by which my congregation can 

adopt the great principles and 

ideals of our people in order to 

become a congregation of vision, 

one that truly represents a centre 

of Jewish Life, encompassing 

our values: integrity, leadership, 

inclusive respect and growth. 

COMMUNITY 

‘I see this as a marvellous opportunity 

to develop the programmatic and 

spiritual direction of Emanuel; 

young adult engagement; the 

strategic plan and policy’ 

‘I have no doubt that my service on 

the Board will be a meaningful one as 

Emanuel has been such a supportive 

environment for me. I can only hope 

to give back as much as the team and 

community have given to me’. 

29

The UPJ Biennial is all about focusing on the 

“progress” in Progressive Judaism. We’ll be asking 

how we can keep progressing with the times, while 

maintaining a grip on the traditional values that 

have always undergirded our movement and given it 

authenticity. 

Another key word is “transformation”: How can we transform our movement from being the most 

inspirational and creative movement in Judaism in the 20th century to becoming the most visionary and 

responsive Jewish movement for the 21st century? 

To help us progress and transform in ways that are important to us, all the while expressing the values 

which are the beating heart of our movement, we are bringing to our region one of the most dynamic 

and insightful Jewish scholars of our age, a world-renowned figure, Rabbi Dr Lawrence A. Hoffman from 

the Hebrew Union College in New York. 

Larry Hoffman has revolutionised Jewish thinking in two areas: worship and liturgy, what he calls “the art 

of public prayer”; and synagogue transformation, creating synagogues that are relevant and meaningful 

for the 21st century. In addition, he has written a unique spiritual travel guide for Israel, which can 

enable us in the UPJ to redefine our relationship to the land, people and state of Israel. 

We’ll be hearing from Rabbi Hoffman on his analyses of where we’ve been and where we hope to go in 

terms of public worship, synagogue life and Israel consciousness, discussing their relevance to our own 

congregations and regions, as well as listen to expert opinion on our relationship to Israel, and on Jewish 

demography – the Gen17 report on Jewish life in Australia and its analogues in New Zealand and Asia. 

Every UPJ Biennial is also notorious for the opening night cocktail party with top-notch guest speakers 

(watch this space!), creative and uplifting Shacharit and Shabbat services, great dinners and after-dinner 

entertainments, Netzer-led havdalah, opportunities for regional forums and special interest groups to 

meet, Saturday night “Ted Talks” (new to this Conference, a chance for you to share your thoughts from 

a soap-box on a subject close to your heart!), and much more. There will even be a shuk selling all sorts 

of Judaica from books to art works. 

This Conference is not all “serious work”; like all our conferences, it will be filled with fun, laughter and 

camaraderie as well. 

If you want to have a real say about the kind of progress we hope to make in Progressive Judaism over 

the years to come, then we look forward to seeing you at the Biennial Conference in November! 

30 

For further information on the Conference program, contact 

Rabbi Fred Morgan, Movement Rabbi for the UPJ, at 

fred.morgan@upj.org.au 

For registration and administrative matters relating to the 

Conference, go to www.tinyurl.com/upj-biennial-2018, or 

contact Jocelyn Robuck, Executive Officer of the UPJ, at 

jocelyn@upj.org.au

Chanukah In July 

Sunday July 29 from 6:00pm 

Light up your winter nights with Chanukah in July! 

Warm up the cold winter with a night of light and wonder as we celebrate Chanukah 

in July. 

Join us for a warming meal with the traditional Chanukah fare, music and a journey 

through the 8 decades of our synagogue as we light 8 candles and tell 8 stories. 

Bookings now open at tinyurl.com/julymenorah 

Plus61J together with Emanuel Synagogue present 

Israel, Jews & the Middle East 

through film 

Join us each month for a fascinating festival of film followed by engaging discussion 

12th September 

Walk on Water (2005, 104 minutes) 

The Sabra and the Shoah – The end of the dream? 

Eyal is an agent in Mossad, the Israeli security service and the agency decides that he needs to take 

on a less challenging assignment: to find an aging Nazi war criminal and get him "before God does". 

10th October 

Immigration from Arab countries 

Farewell Baghdad / The Dove Flyer (2013, 105 minutes) 

An Israeli film takes us through the story of a 16-year-old Jewish boy, and depicts the story 

of the last days of the Baghdad Jewish community of the 1950s, and on the eve of the 

Aliyah of almost all of that community to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. 

14th November The Palestinian point of view 

Paradise Now (2006, 90 minutes) -Follows Palestinian childhood friends Said and Khaled who live in Nablus 

and have been recruited for suicide attacks in Tel Aviv. It focuses on what would be their last days together. 

12th December Gotta be Happy” – Yiddish humor in America 

The Komediant (2004, 85 Minutes) 

Wistful and melancholy recollections of Yiddish theatre are conveyed in this 

documentary, which centers on the story of the Burstein family. 

Book now: emanuel.org.au/films 

31

{AROUND EMANUEL} 

Scenes of life around our Synagogue 

Michelle Lowy and Aliza Waxman perform at A Night 

with the Music of Simon & Garfunkel and Cat Stevens 

Kim Cunio joins Rabbi Dr Orna Triguboff 

for a Renewal Kabbalat Shabbat 

Some of our 

wonderful Kef Kids 

32

{NEW MEMBERS} 

Welcome new members 

Mayan Amiezer & Mariana Zhuryan 

Mr Mark Avraham 

Dr Laurie Berg & Ms Natalie Purcell 

Mr George Boski 

Ms Marina Capponi 

Ms Danielle Celermajer 

Mr John Cohen 

Mr Nathan & Mrs Rachel Cohen 

Mr Edward & Mrs Irit Davis 

Mrs Irene Deutsch and 

Mr Morris Symonds 

Mr Rod & Mrs Joanne Donoso 

Mrs Deborah Dorrian 

Frank Dorrian 

Ms Romy Ehrlich 

Mr Tim Ellis 

Mr Matthew & Mrs Danielle Ellison 

Miss Brittany Foetschl 

Mr David Whitcombe & 

Ms Alexis Goodstone 

Mrs Zinaida Gorelick-Weiss 

Dr Richard Grant 

Mr Rami Harel 

Ms Sophie Inwald 

Mr Peter & Mrs Susan Kadar 

Mr Richard & Mrs Gina Karsay 

Mr Erez Sharabani & Mr Nic Kat 

Mr Arnaldo Kretzig & Ms 

Kerryn McIntyre 

Mr Anthony & Mrs Louise Leibowitz 

Mr Mark Levi 

Mr Roman Kuperman & Dr Joy Liu 

Mr Herman & Mrs 

Frances Melkman 

Mr Darryl & Mrs 

Libby Pribut 

Mr Bob & Mrs Eva Rosen 

Mr George Ryner 

Mr Raymond Salomonn 

Mr Dennis Tavill 

Mr Alan & Mrs Eve Taylor 

Mr Adam Tsipris & Mrs 

Emma Solomon 

Zoltan & Nicole Waldner 

Mr Alan Weinstein 

Mr Simeon Weisz & 

Ms Adriana Granados-Fallas 

Mrs Karen Wolf 

COMMUNITY 

NOURISHMENT FOR MIND, BODY AND 

SOUL. ENJOY LUNCH, MEET FRIENDS AND 

DELVE INTO TORAH. 

Join us on the second Saturday morning of 

each month following Shabbat services: 

July 14 

August 11 

September 8 

October 13 

Lunch 

‘n’ 

Learn 



Rev Sam Zwarenstein 

George Mordecai 

{BEREAVEMENT 

SUPPORT 

GROUP} 

Experience has shown that 

bereavement support can provide 

people with appropriate care in their 

time of need. Jacky Gerald, who 

has experience in this field, will be 

facilitating a number of one-hour 

group sessions for those seeking 

help in dealing with bereavement. 

As these sessions will be held off-site (in 

the CBD), registration will be required. 

To register, email info@emanuel.org.au, 

and we will send you details (including 

address and times) of the sessions. 

Please Note: This will be a closed 

group for up to six individuals to 

attend each of the three sessions. We 

shall offer another group should more 

than this number wish to attend. 

33

{MAZAL TOV} 

Read about some of our members who have recently become Bar/Bat Mitzvah. 

AIDEN MERTEN 

School: Emanuel School 

Hobbies: Reading and 

playing the piano 

Likes: Food, reading, music, 

being with friends 

Dislikes: Vegetables, boring stuff. 

Pets: A dog called Nutmeg. 

About me: I love to read more than 

anything in the whole world. My 

other interests included eating and 

making music. I am in multiple 

bands and choirs at school and love 

all types of music. My favourite 

subjects at school are science, maths, 

music and HSIE (Geography and 

History). I don't know what I want 

to do as a job in the future but I 

have a few ideas. I believe that it 

is important to do what you love 

but also to try help other people 

whenever yoI would like to try to 

help fix global warming. I want to 

be more organised and less clumsy. 

Tikkun Olam: I'm involved in a 

few social justice projects. I will 

be donating half of the money I 

receive for my bar mitzvah to the 

charity Books in Homes Australia 

which is a charity that provides 

books to disadvantaged children 

to take home, and this helps them 

develop reading skills needed for 

success in life. I am also organizing 

an event that I am calling the Read 

Against Racism Readathon. This 

is where I will be getting kids to 

read books over a month and get 

people to sponsor them. The kids 

will have to read one book about 

racism. All the proceeds will go to 

the charity Together for Humanity. 

My aim is to raise money and 

awareness against racism. 

What will you remember most 

about your Bar Mitzvah? 

The thing I will remember most 

about my Bar Mitzvah is all the 

practice I had to do. I 

will also remember my 

tutor Kim. We had lots of 

fun times together. 

TOBY DANON 

School: Emanuel School 

Hobbies: Tennis, playing drums, 

piano, drawing, cooking and reading 

Likes: Sushi, architecture, 

animals and music. 

About me: I really enjoy music, 

playing instruments and seeing 

live bands. On the weekends, 

I'm involved with Maccabi 

tennis. I really care about animals 

and support charities who look 

after them. I hope to be an 

architect when I leave school. 

Social Justice: I've baked biscuits 

for the homeless, donated to 

ALIZA SCHETZER 

School: Rose Bay 

Secondary College 

Hobbies: Photography 

Likes: Music, naure and travelling. 

Dislikes: Tomatoes. 

Pets: Two dogs - Ginger 

and Sammy 

About me: In school, 

I'm in a rock band called 

Hallucination. My favourite 

subjects are music and art. 

Social Justice: To give an 

equal amount of education 

around the world. 


about your Bat Mitzvah? 

Writing my Haftarah speech. 

charity and would like to volunteer 

more to help those in need. 


about your Bat Mitzvah? I'll always 

remember the values that I was 

taught while learning my portion. 

34

{WEDDING MAKES HISTORY AT 

EMANUEL SYNAGOGUE} 

History was made at Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue on May 2nd, 

with the first religious same-sex marriage held in Australia. The 

happy couple were Oscar Shub and Ilan Buchman. 

COMMUNITY 

The touching ceremony was performed 

by Senior Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins in 

front of 170 friends and family. In 

another milestone, the couple were 

the first to be married in the new 

Sanctuary. Underlining the importance 

the ceremony held for them, Oscar 

said: “Certainly the reason we chose 

to get married in a synagogue – and 

we believe it’s an appropriate message 

to send to the Jewish community – is 

that times have changed and that if 

people suddenly discover that they 

have gay children or gay grandchildren, 

those children or grandchildren 

can still lead a regular existence.” 

Ilan concurred: “For young people 

and those not out yet, hopefully by us 

getting married, officially with a rabbi 

officiating, it sends a good message.” 

In agreement were the 168 guests 

attending: family and friends who 

flew in from the many places where 

the couple had lived, including 

South Africa, Israel, England, 

Canada, Perth and Melbourne. 

Raucous applause erupted at the 

ceremony’s conclusion, when Rabbi 

Kamins said: “You have performed the 

rituals, signed the documents and said 

the words that make you husband and 

husband, in accordance with the laws 

of this Commonwealth of Australia.” 

As Oscar said after the wedding: 

“When he said, ‘I pronounce you 

“husband and husband” and the whole 

synagogue broke into clapping; it was 

just amazing – it was fantastic!” 

Their love story has been 47 years in the 

making: Oscar and Ilan met in 1971. 

Ilan grew up in Lvov, Poland and went 

to Israel when he was 18; they met at 

a mutual friend’s dinner party in Tel 

Aviv when Oscar was on his way to 

Europe from his home in South Africa. 

In addition to some of the wording 

being tweaked, a couple of traditions 

were also adapted. Usually the bride 

walks around the groom seven times. 

Instead, each groom circled the other 

three times and the seventh one they 

did together, like a figure eight. 

And both grooms smashed a glass 

simultaneously. “As you know, it is the 

custom that the man breaks 

the glass,” explained Ilan. “So 

for us it was really fantastic because we 

feel, not just in terms of our life, we 

like to expand the traditions; because 

being Jewish is not just sitting in 

synagogue, there’s more to it than that.” 

Prior to the glasses being broken, 

Rabbi Kamins not only referenced 

the Temple’s destruction, but also 

today’s modern reality: “There’s lots of 

brokenness in this world, lots of people 

who face tragedy and discrimination. 

...there’s still so much work to do, in 

our country and around the world, to 

bring that sense of wholeness and peace. 

“But these shards of glass are not just 

to think of what is broken but also 

of the power of your love to bring 

healing.” With that, the simultaneous 

smashing was greeted by a loud and 

joyful “Mazeltov!” by the guests. 

The atmosphere at the ceremony was 

palpable – charged with excitement. As 

well as many friends and relatives, the 

ceremony was observed with interest 

by the wider community and media. 

Australian Marriage Equality co-chair 

Alex Greenwich MP said: “Many 

Rabbis and people of the Jewish 

faith have played a leading role in 

Australia’s movement for marriage 

equality, so it is no surprise that the 

first religious same-sex marriage 

ceremony will occur in a Synagogue. 

“Congratulations to the couple, and the 

wider Jewish community for showing 

that various faith groups are fully 

supportive of LGBTI friends, family and 

parishioners.” . 

Article adapted from reports by 

Plus61J and Wentworth Courier 

35

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36

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Alexandre and 

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Dee Hilton 

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Adrienne Hirst 

Miss Shirley Hollander 

Ms Barbara Holmes 

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Dr Gordon Innes 

Mr Benjamin Isaacs 

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Doreen Isenberg 

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Mrs Claudette Jacobs 

Mr Kevin & Mrs 

Nicole Jacobson 

Justice Peter Jacobson 

Dr Martin & Mrs 

Sharon Jacobson 

Dr Jack Jellins & Mrs 

Maureen Jellins 

Professor Steven & Mrs 

Andrea Kalowski 

Mr Garry Kam 

Mr Steven & Mrs 

Amanda Kamsler 

Mrs Elise Kaye 

Mrs Susie & Mr 

Stephen Klein 

Mrs Toni & Mr 

Mark Kleiner 

Mrs Veronica Kolman 

Alexander Korenblium 

Mrs Dorit & Mr 

Aubrey Krawitz 

Emeritus Prof. Konrad 

Kwiet & Mrs Jane Kwiet 

Mr Steven Lang 

Ms Magdalena Langer 

Mrs Eugina Langley 

Ms Larraine Larri 

Mrs Ilona Lee A.M. 

Dr Andrew Leipnik 

Mrs Barbara Leser 

Dr Gregory Levenston 

Mrs Beth Levy 

Mr Philip & Mrs 

Lorraine Levy 

Ms Michal Levy 

Mrs Joan Lewis 


Patricia Lieberman 

Mr Sydney and Mrs 

Valerie Lonstein 

Dr Ivan Lorentz AM & 

Mrs Judith Lorentz 

Annette Lovecek 

Mrs Kitty Lowe (z"l) 

Miss Debbie Ludwig 

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Mrs Dorrit Mahemoff 

Dr Isaac & Mrs 

Denise Mallach 

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Sue Marsden 

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Mrs Julia Merten 

Mr David 

Meyers & 

Ms Monique 

Werkendam 

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Milroy 


Vivienne Mohay 

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Philip Moses 

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Neumann 


Michelle New 

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COMMUNITY 

37

{...TZEDAKAH CONTINUED} 

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Saunders-Klimenko 

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OAM & Mrs Sonja 

Schweizer 

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Anne Slade 

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Jacob Slomovits 

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Anne Steigrad 

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& Mrs Sandra Steinweg 

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Tim Storrier 

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Phelps AM 

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Edna Viner 

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Ann Waxman 

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Audrey Weinberg 

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& Mrs Suzanne Wolanski 

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Lana Woolf 

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Rev. Sam Zwarenstein 

& Mrs Michelle 

Lyons-Zwarenstein 

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and numerous other 

anonymous donors 

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Elizabeth Sharota 

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& Dr Gene Sherman 

Mrs Lorraine & 

Mr Barry Shine 

Professor Gary Sholler 

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Mrs Rosemarie Silvers 

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38

{BIRTHS} 

Mazal Tov to 

Mr Roberto & Mrs 

Fernanda Fromer 

Mr Nathan & Mrs 

Rachel Cohen 

Mr Hayim Dar & 

Jaime Comber 

Mr Daniel Faludi & 

Mrs Lana Faludi 

Mr Raphael Hammel 

& Ms Anne Classine 

Mr Jamie Hilton 

Mr Julian Leeser & Ms 

Joanna Davidson 

Mr Greg & Mrs Layla Lunz 

Mr Justin & Mrs 

Louka Marmot 

Adam Ossher and 

Portia Ryles O'Brien 

Mr Darren Smith & Ms 

Amanda Altshuler 

Mrs Natalie & Mr 

Larry Wagenheim 

COMMUNITY 

{B’NEI MITZVAH} 

Mazal Tov to 

Elad Ben-David 

Avraam Polites Carleton 

Emily Feller 

Sam Hadassin 

Dakota Madison 

Kedzier-Hurst 

Zoe Gabrielle Kertesz 

Jonathan Riesel 

Macs Rubain 

Oscar Slade Scheinberg 

Aliza Trish Schetzer 

Rosie Hannah Sharpe 

Darcie Rose Chelly Shaw 

Jack Cooper Simon 

Daniel Slade 

Benjamin Stubbs-Goulston 

Joshua Stubbs-Goulston 

Deborah Jane Winter 

{MARRIAGE} 

To rejoice with the happy couple 

Alan Harca & Eliza Sevitt 

Jonathan Raymond 

& Kimberley Levi 

Kristine Mientka & 

Sam Shoolman 

Alan Harca & Eliza Sevitt 

Oscar Shub & Ilan Buchman 

Joshua Weinstock 

& Jenita Stoloff 

Scott Whitmont and 

Christopher Whitmont-Stein 

{DECEASED} 

To comfort the bereaved 

Peggy Baldwin 

Jacob Hassan 

Meda Meyer 

Adele Julia Simson 

Vera Barta 

Bernard Jacoby 

Erwin Mohay 

Leor Vitenberg 

Cely Benchoam Malki 

Lola Janks 

Peggy Josephine Morris 

Susanne Wakil 

Irene Rachel Dan 

Susan Eva Josef 

Peter Reichmann 

Frank Wolf 

Sonia Davis 

Maurice Kelly 

Dov Bernard Richter 

Anne Maria Erdeyli 

Samuel Norman Klugman 

Lewis Rischin 

Helga Givorshner 

Edith Kopcsanyi 

Harold Rose 

Celina Grant 

Kitty Lowe 

Panni Roseth 

Jacob Greene 

Carmel Marjenberg 

Edward Simon 

39

{SERVICE TIMES} 

Morning Minyan 

Morning Minyan is on Mondays and Thursdays at 6:45am. 

All service times are subject to change. Please check our website 

for any amendments to our regular services. 

Tisha B'Av 

Saturday 21st July 

6:15pm Tisha B'Av services including the chanting of Eicha (the Book of 

Lamentations) and kinnot (elegise) sung by the community choir 

Sunday 22nd July 

9:00am Tisha B'Av morning services 

3:00pm Screening of the movie The Forgotten Refugees about the experiences 

of the exile of Jews from Arab lands. We will watch the film and then have the 

opportunity to hear from people in the community who were refugees from Arab 

lands talk about their experiences 

4:45pm Mincha Ma’ariv services followed by a light meal to break fast. 

{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: www.emanuel.org.au 

Like: www.facebook.com/emanuel.synagogue 

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

Office hours 

Monday–Thursday: 9am–5pm 

Friday: 9am–2pm 

{THANK YOU} 

A huge thank you to all of the contributors to this edition of Tell, and 

to our wonderful team of volunteers who give their time to help us 

get the magazine packed and into members’ homes each quarter. 

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 June 2018 5778

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