TELL Magazine August - September 2019

Walking the path 

in your own way 

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins 

Spirit 

Av-Elul 5779 

August-September 2019 

Beneath 

the waters 

Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio 

Creativity 

Rev Sam Zwarenstein 

The Conquest 

of Canaan 

Cantor George Mordecai

Sydney Sacred Music Festival 

A night of World Music 

Saturday 7th September from 7:00pm 

Tickets - $49 • Members & students - $39 • Under 18s - free 

The 11 piece inter-faith Orchestra is made up of artists from Western Sydney, representing 

diverse cultural and faith backgrounds, creating ‘new’ Australian Sacred music. They are 

bringing their performance to Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs for the first time for the opening 

night of the Sydney Sacred Music Festival. Joining the Orchestra will be Cantor George 

Mordecai who will draw on his Iraqi-Jewish heritage. 

at Emanuel Synagogue 

7 Ocean Street, Woollahra p: 9389 6444 

Bookings: events.humanitix.com.au/sacred

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. 

Email: orna@emanuel.org.au 

Kabbalah Meditation 

An opportunity to learn meditation 

in a Jewish context. With Rabbi Dr. 

Orna Triguboff, accompanied by 

musician Emanuel Lieberfreund. 

Friday mornings 9:30am 

August 9, 16, 23 & 30 

Renewal Kabbalat Shabbat, 

Dinner and Meditation 

August 23 from 6:15pm 

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

Reverend Sam Zwarenstein 

Cantor George Mordecai

{CEO UPDATE} 

Recently I witnessed a family 

donating a significant amount 

of money towards a specific gift 

for the synagogue. This act of 

generosity gave great joy not 

Suzanna Helia 

only to the donor, but also to the 

children and grandchildren. I 

observed how the wider family felt 

incredible joy, pride, and a sense 

of recognition amongst them. 

There was a sense of ownership, 

self-worth, and belonging. 

As many of you have probably 

noticed, my name is often associated 

with asking members for donations, 

or reminding people about their 

membership fees, etc. In fact, it 

wasn’t long ago when I attended 

a large function attended mostly 

by eastern suburbs Jews. As I was 

introduced to people, I often 

received the look of, ‘Oh I do know 

your name’, followed by ‘Oh, you 

send us reminders for billing…’ 

After a number of emails were 

sent from our office, I received 

several notes of dissatisfaction 

about the fact that the synagogue 

is yet again asking for money. 

It is my responsibility to make 

sure that Emanuel Synagogue is 

sustainable, and that we can afford 

all the wonderful programs, events 

and services that we provide. 

I wish membership dues alone could 

support our great clergy team and 

our hardworking administrative 

and educational staff. At the 

same time, I appreciate the fact 

that many of our members attend 

synagogue only a few times a year, 

mainly on the High Holy Days. 

Yet over the last couple of years, I 

have been incredibly fortunate to 

witness the impact and joy that 

giving provides not only to the 

individual who writes the cheque, 

but the positive impact it has 

on the wider family; the joy and 

pride reflected among the family 

and friends. Yes, it undoubtedly 

defined their pro-social reputation, 

{INSIDE THIS EDITION} 

TRANSFORMATIVE 

LEARNING 

7 

BENEATH THE WATERS 


9 

CREATIVITY 


INSPIRING PRAYER 

6 

WALKING THE PATH YOUR WAY 

Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins 

29 

TISHA B'AV 

10/11 AUGUST 

14 

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 

Cantor George Mordecai 

Cover 

Our new torah is written. 

Dedicated by the Hauser family.

and reinforced their sense of social 

connection and belonging. 

Dialogue on whether pro-social 

behaviour increases well-being dates 

as far back as ancient Greece, where 

Aristotle argued that the goal of 

life was ‘to achieve eudaemonia,’ 

which is closely tied to modern 

conceptions of happiness. According 

to Aristotle, ‘eudaemonia is more 

than just a pleasurable, hedonic 

experience; eudaemonia is a state 

in which an individual experiences 

happiness from the successful 

performance of their moral duties’. 

A Harvard Business School study, 

Feeling Good about Giving: The 

Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested 

Charitable Behavior, by Lalin 

Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. 

Norton and Elizabeth W. Dunn, 

researched the link between 

charitable behaviour and happiness. 

The study demonstrated that, at 

the most basic level, functional 

magnetic resonance imaging 

evidence shows that giving money 

to charity leads to similar brain 

activity in regions implicated in the 

experience of pleasure and reward. 

In a study conducted by Harbaugh, 

W. T., Myer, U., & Burghart, D. 

R., Neural Responses To Taxation 

And Voluntary Giving Reveal 

Motives For Charitable Donations, 

neural activity was recorded while 

participants decided how to split a 

one-hundred dollar sum between 

themselves and a local food bank. 

Results showed that donations 

of the original one-hundred 

dollar sum to the food bank 

led to activation in the ventral 

striatum, a brain region associated 

with representing the value of a 

range of rewarding stimuli, from 

cocaine to art to attractive faces. 

(Aharon, I., Etcoff, N., Ariely, D., 

Chabris, C. F., O’Connor. E., & 

Breiter, H. C. in ‘Beautiful Faces 

Have Variable Reward Value: fMRI 

And Behavioral Evidence.’) Thus, 

these results would suggest that 

giving (in the form of charitable 

donations) is inherently rewarding. 

I will leave you to reflect 

on these concepts. 

Maybe I am just trying to make 

us all a little happier? 

SUSTAINING THE 

ENVIRONMENT & 

HEALING THE WORLD 

20 

NEHAMA WERNER IN PROFILE 

27 

OUT OF THE DESERT 

Kobi Bloom 

CONNECTING WITH ISRAEL 

& WORLD JEWRY 

22 

FAREWELL FROM DUDU 

Dudu Gottlib 

30 

BATMITZVAH FROM KILLALOE 

Lara McMahon 

COMMUNITY 

4 

CEO UPDATE 

25 

EVERY Q&A PERIOD 

28 

AROUND EMANUEL 

33 

NEW MEMBERS 

33 

TZEDAKAH 

31, 32 & 37 

MAZAL TOV 

5

{WALKING THE PATH IN YOUR OWN WAY} 

Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kamins OAM 

During the period of counting the Omer, we symbolically re-enact the 

seven-week journey from escaping slavery and oppression in Egypt to 

embracing freely a life of commitment to right action at Sinai. 

Each of us walks this path in our 

own way; at Emanuel Synagogue we 

hope to create a community of likeminded 

sojourners along a spiritual 

path. As we begin our ninth decade 

as a synagogue community, we follow 

in the footsteps of our founders. 

80 years ago, they imagined the 

synagogue as more than a place 

of prayer. They envisioned the 

synagogue as a spiritual community 

centre for multi-generational 

activity and engagement. 

This vision has been handed down 

from generation to generation and 

now with a full clergy team and great 

support from board, staff and our 

members, we are able to realise this 

dream. We are creating an incredible 

community, and while of course we, 

we continue to be a place of prayer 

with wide and varied offering of 

services, we are much more too. 

For example, each member of 

the team has areas of interest and 

expertise that they share to enhance 

the sense of creative community. 

Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio organises the 

myriad opportunities for social justice 

action, drives all our family festival 

programs, is the soul of Shabbat Live, 

creates family programs around all 

the festivals, inspires programs such 

as “Chanukah in July” and Icecream 

Sunday. Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth, 

with his three boys under four years 

old, has led the return of young 

families to the community, with 

new programs engaging those about 

to be married and those about to 

start families, and now will begin on 

Friday mornings a special program 

for tots between newborn to three 

years old , and . Rabbi Orna 

Triguboff continues to attract people 

through her meditative and musical 

renewal services, whether on site or 

in nature, often pot luck affairs that 

provide a positive social component. 

Reverend Sam Zwarenstein has an 

indominable and caring approach 

felt especially in his davening and 

pastoral work, and will ensure that 

those who do not have the physical 

ability to make it to the community 

centre of Emanuel still feel embraced 

by the community. Finally, Cantor 

George Mordecai has returned with 

amazing new teachings on chassidut 

and a new monthly service called 

Shabbat in the Circle, an interactive 

and co-creative Shabbat morning 

in the experience. I am working 

on creating conversations in the 

community: Conversations about 

Israel every Monday morning, 

“In Conversation” with leading 

communal figures the first Sunday 

of the secular month and “Health 

Conversations” bi-monthly. This is 

just a sample of what we are doing to 

move the community beyond only 

a place of Shabbat worship. Our 

intention is to be a multi-faceted, 

interactive and engaged community, 

integral to broader Australian society. 

So this is the time to walk the 

walk. Understanding how each 

of us fits within the fabric of life, 

and how each of us within that 

can form circles of relationships, 

and through that, understand 

that we celebrate our freedom by 

forming relationships, creating 

community and transforming for 

better the society around us. 

6

{BENEATH THE WATERS} 


I stood in the vast yet sheltering 

room, its domed ceiling calling me 

to look at the stars beginning to 

twinkle in the night sky. I muted 

the lights so a soft, gentle glow 

enfolded the room and I took my 

first tentative steps into the waters. 

The natural rock was smooth 

beneath my feet as I walked down 

the 7 steps into the waters of the 

mikvah. The waters were warm 

and soft as they wrapped around 

me and I floated for a moment, 

looking at the stars, being present. I 

felt awash with emotion which was 

unexpected, unexplained and yet 

right. I read the words on the card, 

focused on the prayer, the intention: 

“May this immersion help me move 

from what has been and may my 

heart be open to what is yet to come. 

When I emerge from these “mayyim 

hayyim” these living waters, may 

I be filled with renewed energy 

and a sense of direction in my 

life’s journey. May God grant me 

strength, courage and peace. Amen” 

I say the Hebrew blessing and drop 

beneath the waters, staying for as 

long as I can below the surface. 

I read the second prayer: 

“In gratitude I celebrate the blessings 

in my life. I honour those who have 

helped me along the way and give 

thanks for their supportive presence. I 

appreciate the journey that has brought 

me to this moment. Thank you God 

for the many gifts I experience in my 

life, for the good I have known.” 

I slip beneath the waters 

again, thinking and feeling an 

overwhelming sense of gratitude for 

the people, the blessings in my life. 

I see those I love in a rolling picture 

book as their faces flash before me, 

I feel their arms surround me with 

the waters. I read the final prayer: 

“O source of life, keep me in 

awe of sunrise and sunset. Keep 

me in wonder of things grand as 

mountains and oceans. Let me find 

joy in ordinary days. Let me embrace 

happiness, celebrate life, praise You. 

May the blessings of joy, love, kindness 

and compassion be with me always. 

May I find peace and wholeness as 

I continue my journey in gratitude. 

Baruch Ata Adonai, eloheinu Melech 

ha’olam shechecheyanu vekiimanu 

vehigianu lazman hazeh.” 

I float suspended beneath 

the surface of the waters 

once more and then 

I lie there, floating, 

peaceful, blessed. 

TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING 

This was my first 

experience of mikvah 

which was not in the 

ocean. It was powerful 

and beautiful and for no 

traditional reason. I was 

visiting Mayim Hayyim, 

a community mikvah 

in Boston as part of my 

research into mikvah, 

hoping to learn as much as I could 

to see if we could create our own 

mikvah here. This was the last place 

I went before I returned to Australia 

and they casually said “will you want 

to immerse in the mikvah today?” 

I was shocked and taken aback. I 

had no reason to be at the mikvah, 

no purpose other than research 

but then I decided in the spirit of 

research, I should actually go into 

the mikvah. Then I suddenly realised 

that the only mikvah I had ever 

experienced was the ocean. I had 

never been into a mikvah like the 

one I was proposing and hoping 

to build here. I said I would like to 

go into the mikvah, never thinking 

for a moment it would be anything 

other than an academic exercise, 

“research.” But I was reminded again 

that mikvah is never academic, it 

is powerful, it is transformative, 

even when you don’t expect it. 

Mikvah has had a traditional 

purpose but recently we are 

rediscovering the power of this 

ancient ritual and we are creating 

new opportunities beyond the 

traditional, to embrace its healing, 

7

estorative waters. Mayyim Hayyim 

and other community mikvaot 

throughout America are reminding 

us all of something our ancestors 

knew intuitively: there is a deep 

connection between our bodies and 

our spirit. There is great wisdom 

in our tradition and sometimes 

we need to be reminded that we 

can connect with it in profound 

and meaningful ways. For some, 

the traditional monthly ritual of 

attending the mikvah is a beautiful 

acknowledgement of the miraculous 

workings of our bodies, sometimes 

it is sadness, sometimes it is routine. 

But if we limit our use of ritual and 

mikvah to those cycles, we are not 

recognising and embracing all that 

this ritual can be and mean for us. 

Mayyim Hayyim have created a 

book of ceremonies and rituals, 

times when we may choose to enter 

the waters of the mikvah. I decided 

to immerse using a combination of 

the prayers for immersion at a time 

of gratitude and a life transition. But 

there are many more opportunities 

they suggest for this ritual. Some 

mirror the ancient times of sacrifice. 

People brought offerings when 

they sought forgiveness, when they 

were thankful or grateful. Times 

of transition and significance were 

marked. They also brought offerings 

for festivals and celebrations. 

Traditionally men used the mikvah 

before every Shabbat. After the 

Temple was destroyed and there 

were no more sacrifices, the rabbis 

introduced rituals and prayers to 

reflect those offerings. But rituals 

were also created to sanctify and 

celebrate and to mark significant 

moments in people’s lives. And 

the prayers and rituals in the book 

of mikvah moments reflect all of 

those. There are prayers for marking 

times in the Jewish calendar, 

immersing before Rosh Hashana 

and Yom Kippur, before Shabbat, 

the beginning of a Hebrew month. 

Also lifecycle moments, for times 

of gratitude and celebration. But 

there are also new rituals which 

reflect significant moments which 

may not have been marked this 

way in the traditional prayers. 

There is a ritual for mourning 

miscarriage, embarking on a 

fertility journey, menopause. 

There are rituals for completing 

shloshim or a period of mourning, 

acknowledging the grief and loss 

of divorce and beginning again. 

There are rituals for healing during 

chemotherapy treatment, receiving 

difficult news or diagnosis, healing 

from abuse. There are rituals for 

joyous life moments, marking a 

significant birthday, the 9th month 

of pregnancy, birth, marriage or 

completing a course of medical 

treatment. Rituals for embracing 

the body we have, for honouring 

the process of coming out, for 

a gender transition milestone. 

There are rituals for gratitude, 

forgiveness, life transitions. So 

many rituals to reflect moments, 

to bring a sense of the sacred and 

the holy to the lives we live. 

Our world is so fast paced, it is 

filled with activities, to-do lists, 

commitments, rushing, stress and 

pressure and sometimes we forget 

to honour the moments. To pause 

and reflect, to celebrate, to mourn, 

to just be. Rituals provide the 

opportunity to do just that: to slow 

the frenetic pace of our lives and 

allow us a sacred space to reconnect 

with ourselves and perhaps discover 

what we need. Our spirits are 

crying out to be nurtured, to be 

held and embraced and we can do 

that by linking our mind, bodies 

and souls as one through ritual. It 

is not necessary to use the mikvah, 

we can make those connections 

in other ways, through beautiful, 

meaningful, personal ceremonies 

8

which help us to celebrate, grieve, 

heal, reflect and move forward into 

lives enriched with meaning and 

depth. We have so many resources 

within the tradition as well as a 

{CREATIVITY} 


In 1994, Jeff Bezos took a 

vision he had for e-commerce 

domination, and launched what 

became known as Amazon. 

In the beginning, all Amazon 

sold was books, but Bezos 

knew that his company would 

become a super-powerful force 

that sold almost everything. 

What made it so powerful was that 

the model it was built on didn’t 

require a retail presence. It was all 

online, so there was one fulfilment 

centre (which has grown to several 

hundred) that would process 

orders, collect money, acquire and 

send out the books (and later on, 

deliver just about everything). 

This online kingdom offered 

opportunities to any and everyone 

to set up a virtual storefront, sell 

whatever they’d like. They could 

provide merchants and sellers 

warehouse and logistical capabilities 

to sort, pack and ship these 

products, at a price, of course. 

Amazon used to venture into areas 

of the market (and our imagination), 

that you couldn’t even fathom just 

a short time before they launched 

that product or service. Nowadays, 

we’re eagerly awaiting news that 

will deliver the next revolution in 

our lives, the next concept that will 

change the way we exist. In many 

cases, we’re left wondering how we 

lived before it came into our lives. 

Then there’s Amazon Web Services, 

which was originally developed 

to handle Amazon’s e-commerce 

infrastructure needs. It is now a 

constantly evolving pool of newly 

crafted prayers and rituals. And 

we have the ability to create our 

own prayers, to speak to God or 

Spirit with our own words, from 

multi-billion dollar business that 

powers a range of cloud computing 

solutions for others in the big wide 

world, including Netflix, Adobe, 

Samsung, Airbnb, and many others. 

By the way, it also houses the 

Kindle e-book library, and facilitates 

the ability for Alexa (Amazon’s 

voice-activated assistant) to 

advise you on the latest movies 

showing, describe the weather, or 

if the traffic is too congested. 

These are just a few of the 

trailblazing products and solutions 

that Amazon have developed and 

that they continue to reinvent. One 

excitedly wonders … what’s next. 

The ability to think not only 

outside the box, or outside of the 

warehouse, if you like, has given 

rise to all these opportunities and 

more. The defining differentiator 

seems to be the wisdom and ability 

to step back from the hustle and 

bustle of whatever is consuming 

one’s time, and utilise the creative 

enthusiasm to keep ahead of 

our hearts. I hope that together 

we can shape rituals and prayers 

to mark moments together in 

holiness and blessings. 

what others may be working on, 

to be a leader and innovator. 

The world we live in is almost 

prohibitive in allowing us to take 

that step back, let alone be creative 

and think outside the box. We often 

find ourselves so busy trying to 

cope with what’s already going on, 

and in some instances, we’re trying 

to catch up with work or other 

commitments. There is no room or 

time for the creative spirit to sprout, 

take hold, and develop. We’re told 

that to be able to think creatively, we 

need to have a clear mind, free time, 

and space around us, so that we 

cannot be disturbed or interrupted. 

The time to think and be creative 

has become an almost impossibility. 

However, I would venture to say 

that in the case of Amazon and 

its leadership, that is far from the 

case. At any one stage, there are 

copious amounts of activities on 

the go, concepts flying back and 

forth, ideas being developed and 

9

tested, with no end to the chaos 

in sight. Despite all of this, the 

creative juices just keep flowing. 

Comedian Lewis Black referred to 

discovering a Starbucks coffee shop 

diagonally across the road from 

another Starbucks coffee shop, as the 

“end of the universe”. The inference 

being that this is so unbelievable, 

most definitely not something 

you were expecting, and perhaps 

you’d do a double-take when you 

encountered such a phenomenon. 

That moment for me, while not 

as much a shock to the system as 

what Lewis Black was describing, 

was seeing for the very first time a 

“bricks and mortar” Amazon store. 

Yes, I’m referring to an actual shop 

where they sell books, devices, 

electronics, toys, and so on. Now, 

you may ask, so what? What’s the 

big deal about Amazon having 

physical retail stores? Well, if we go 

back to the original concept that 

Jeff Bezos developed and which 

became Amazon, it was all about 

removing the need for there to 

be a physical presence. You could 

go online, order and pay for your 

product, have it shipped to you, and 

none of this required you to leave 

your house. Next thing you know, 

there are Amazon retail stores. 

To me, this was like turning the 

whole model upside down. As 

confused as I was, I felt like I was 

being drawn in, I had to go inside 

and see what was going on in 

this aberration, this “end of the 

universe”. Lo and behold, it felt like 

a normal experience. There were 

all the physical products I referred 

to above, and people walking 

around asking if customers needed 

assistance. There were customers 

and browsers, and places to pay 

for the products. So, what was all 

the fuss about? Why the departure 

from the non-physical presence 

Amazon was built on? What 

were they looking to achieve? 

Join our morning MASORTI minyan 

Mondays & Thursdays at 6:45am 

I believe that one of the answers lies 

in a key philosophy Bezos shares; 

“Our customers are loyal to us 

right up until the second somebody 

offers them a better service”. It is 

the realisation that you can’t be so 

entrenched in what you’re doing 

that you forget to look around to 

see what’s going on, nor you can 

you spend all your time looking 

for new opportunities, ignoring 

your customers. It’s a delicately 

SHABBAT 

LIVE 

A spiritual, meaningful and 

musical Shabbat experience 

every Friday at 6:15pm 

balanced approach that enables 

you to deploy both tactics. 

Physical stores are an answer to the 

public’s desire to experience before 

they engage. We’re told that it 

reflects Amazon’s growing drive to 

increase engagement with the public. 

Apple changed their relationship 

with customers by designing 

innovative retail stores, where you 

can experience any product they sell, 

before you commit to purchasing. 

Amazon adapted that to suit their 

model, emphasising platforms 

that serve each of its customers in 

the best way possible, considering 

the diverse needs of people and 

what they wish to experience. 

They saw a need to take something 

that people enjoyed, and rather 

than just copying it, which may or 

may not have proved successful, 

they put their own spin on it, 

turned the focus back on them, 

and kept the imagination going. 

It is this creative entrepreneurship 

that allows them to run a successful 

enterprise, yet continually be ready 

to change (either individual things 

or entire concepts), so that their 

customers and potential customers 

turn to them first when shopping, 

looking for support and storage 

services, streaming services, or 

the next new thing out there. 

Creativity is no longer prohibitive. 

We no longer need to have a clear 

mind, free time, and space around 

us, so that we cannot be disturbed or 

interrupted. The time to think and 

be creative has become achievable. 

Stay home, or step outside – go 

wild, but dare to challenge your 

imagination. The world is waiting. 

10 

20

Shabbat In The Circle 

One Saturday each month from 9:30am 

August 17, September 21, October 19 & November 16 

Join us for this special Shabbat morning gathering. 

We begin at 9:30am with the study of Hassidic and other mystical 

texts then discuss how we can apply them in our daily lives. 

This is followed at 10:15am by a collaborative musical 

gathering based on the Shabbat morning service incorporating 

melodies, poems and dance to enhance our Shabbath. 

Contact gmordecai@emanuel.org.au 

Kabbalah Meditation 

Friday mornings from 9:30am 

August 9, 16, 23 & 30 

An opportunity to learn meditation in 

a Jewish context. With Rabbi Dr. Orna 

Triguboff, accompanied by musician 

Emanuel Lieberfreund. 

Expecting a baby? 

Jewnatal is a program for those expecting a 

baby in their lives, whether through birth or 

adoption, and whether the 1st or 5th! 

The concept is to foster/build relationships with 

people going through the same life stage that will 

carry forward after the class has concluded. 

Dates for 2nd cycle 2019 

August 25 • September 15 • October 13 

Contact the office on 9389 6444 for details. 

11

12

NEED A CELEBRANT? 

Jon Green 

Civil Marriage Celebrant 

WEDDINGS 

RENEWAL OF VOWS 

BABY NAMINGS 

CALL JON ON: 

0414 872 199 

Lunch 

'n' 

Learn 

. 

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 

10th August - World-renowned 

scholar and Rabbi Dr David Frankel of 

Machon Schechter in Jerusalem

{THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN: A CASE STUDY 

IN THE EVOLUTION OF SACRED NARRATIVE} 

Cantor George Mordecai 

The conquest of Canaan has been etched in the consciousness of the Judeo-Christian 

world since time immemorial. It is the subject of one of the most popular African 

American spirituals of all time. I remember, 41 years ago, as a boy soprano singing 

“Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” as part of large choir at the Opera House. 

The story of the Israelite conquest 

of Canaan is an epic! It has been an 

inspiration for great works of music 

and art as well as serving as a major 

theological justification for Jewish 

and Christian claims to the Land of 

Israel. For most of the period since 

the narrative was composed, we have 

accepted it as a true and accurate 

account of a series of events that did 

indeed take place. However, as a 

result of the scholarship that emerged 

in the wake of the Enlightenment, 

the Biblical stories that we hold so 

dear were seriously questioned and 

subject to historical critique. Scholars 

of the Bible saw literary and historical 

inconsistencies in the text that had 

been identified earlier by Rabbinic 

and Christian commentators. The 

difference between the approach 

of the scholars as opposed to 

the Rabbinic and Christian 

commentators revolved around the 

fact that these scholars were not 

bound by theological restrictions. 

They were not compelled to resolve 

seeming contradictions and problems 

in the text in order to fit the text into 

a narrative that supported Jewish and 

Christian claims of divine authorship. 

We would be hard pressed today 

to find too many historians who 

hold the view that the study of 

history is a empirical science. 

Nevertheless this ‘scientific position’ 

was definitely the view of the late 

18th and 19th century scholars who 

pioneered what became known in 

the English speaking world as the 

Documentary Hypothesis. So what 

was so radically different about 

14 

this view? Not constrained by the 

need for theological conformity, 

they concluded that the Bible was 

not composed at once but over a 

period of many centuries by different 

authors who held very different 

political and religious world views. 

They identified four main authors 

whom they called J for those whose 

The Taking of Jericho by James Jacques Joseph Tissot 

deity was named YHVH; E for 

those who worshiped Elohim and 

the El pantheon; P for the priestly 

caste who were concerned with 

the duties of the priesthood; and 

D for those who were responsible 

for the composition of the book 

of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of 

the Pentateuch that stands out as

a separate work in form from the 

preceding four books. Much of 

their research was also supported by 

archeological evidence. Through a 

combination of archeology, historical 

and literary source criticism, scholars 

have been able to paint a clearer of 

the political, religious, and social 

concerns of the biblical authors. 

The conquest narratives found 

the books of Joshua and Judges are 

among the most difficult stories to 

unpack for source critics, historians 

and archeologists of the Biblical 

period. Many alternative theories 

exist ranging from support of an 

Israelite invasion though questioning 

the Biblical account and timeline, 

to outright rejection of the Biblical 

narrative and Israelite conquest. 

Almost all of their opinions, 

however, fall within the range 

of four main theories: peaceful 

infiltration, military invasion, 

peasant revolution, and ruralisation. 

All of them are general categories 

that have strong foundations for 

support, but all of them have 

flaws that need to be articulated. 

1. Peaceful Infiltration: There 

was a gradual infiltration of 

pastoral nomads over a period 

of time. The main problem with 

this view is that it does not take 

into account the archeological 

evidence for the destruction of 

Canaanite cities and villages. 

2. Military Invasion: This 

supports the biblical claim that 

there was a forced entry into 

Canaan. The problem with this 

theory is that the archeological 

excavations seem to suggest that 

the destruction of the major 

Canaanite cities occurred at a 

different period than described 

in biblical narrative.The biblical 

timeline for the invasion of 

Canaan cannot be supported. 

3. Peasant Revolution: This 

theory proposes that there 

was a peasant uprising inside 

Canaan, possibly inspired by or 

in collaboration with nomadic/ 

pastoral clans who were slowly 

infiltrating the border villages. 

This theory has elements of both 

theories 1 and 2. The problem 

with theory 3 is that there is 

no mention of any peasant 

revolution in either the book of 

Joshua or the book of Judges. 

4. Ruralisation: There is 

archeological evidence for 

a population explosion at 

the end of the 13th century 

BCE, coinciding with the 

end of the Bronze Age. Large 

numbers of peoples outside of 

the Canaanite borders moved 

into unoccupied or sparsely 

populated areas of Canaan and 

united with local inhabitants. 

These outsiders were mainly 

pastoralists and herders who 

combined with the local rural 

Canaanite population to attack 

the major cities. This theory 

combines the peasant revolution 

with those who support the 

theory of a military invasion. 

Whether or not any or all of 

the four theories are ultimately 

true, what seems clear is that the 

account of the conquest of Canaan 

expressed in the books of Joshua 

and Judges are not reliable. 

In the book of Joshua itself we see 

different invasion narratives that 

suggest a more complex story. 

One view expressed repeatedly 

throughout the book of Joshua is 

that of a conquest of Canaan. 

“Joshua conquered the whole of this 

region, the hill country of 

Judah, all the Negev, the 

whole land of Goshen, the 

Shephelah, the Aravah, and 

the hill country and coastal 

plain of Israel, everything 

from Mount Halak, which 

ascends to Seir, all the way 

to Baal-gad in the valley 

of the Lebanon at the 

foot of Mount Hermon, 

and he captured the 

kings there, and executed 

them.” (Josh. 11:16-17) 

Other verses tell a different story. 

Joshua was now old and advanced 

in years. The Lord said to him: 


“You have grown old and advanced 

in years and very much of the 

land still remains to be taken 

possession of…the land of the 

Gabalites, with the whole valley 

of Lebanon, from Baal-gad at the 

foot of Mount Hermon to Lebohamath 

on the east.” (Josh. 13:1-6) 

The Walls of Jericho fall down - Dutch Bible 

15

In chapter 11, Baal-gad a Canaanite 

city was taken and their kings 

executed. In chapter 13 we see that 

Baal-gad remains to be captured. 

The fact that the book of Joshua 

contains two competing views of 

the conquest suggests that there 

was more than one author. 

It is clear that these different 

narratives often contradict each 

other, as in the case of Baal-gad. 

Additionally, the book of Judges 

provides a very different perspective 

on the conquest of Canaan and 

reflects elements expressed in chapter 

13 of the book of Joshua as opposed 

to the conquest narratives. In the 

opening chapters of the book of 

Judges, the Canaanites were still in 

the hill country and the southern 

wilderness and the Philistine cities 

on the coast were not taken. 

We also have the archeological 

evidence, which more often than 

not is in conflict with the biblical 

narrative. The archeological 

evidence for Joshua’s invasion is 

underwhelming to say the least! 

There is evidence of the destruction 

of major Canaanite cities but during 

a different period. For example, the 

famous Battle of Jericho could not 

have occurred during the time of 

Joshua, because Jericho was not a 

walled city at that point. There is 

evidence of destruction in Jericho, 

and it seems that the walls did 

indeed come tumbling down, but 

centuries earlier. The book of Joshua 

devotes two full chapters (7 and 8) 

to the destruction of Ai, but there 

is no evidence of such a city ever 

existing. While there were some small 

settlements, there is no evidence of 

a walled city. Archeological findings 

do indicate that new waves of 

settlements in Canaan commencing 

around 1200-1000 BCE, during 

Iron Age I occurred but even here, 

we will never know for certain 

who these peoples really were. 

Ancient history is painfully difficult 

for even the most seasoned historian. 

Information is scant which makes 

it difficult to offer any kind of 

hypothesis or theory with absolute 

certainty. It is hard enough to gather 

factual evidence for certain events 

in modern times where we have 

eyewitness accounts and more sources 

to help us. What seems probable 

to me, though, is an evolutionary 

process of the indigenous peoples of 

Canaan gradually merging with semi 

nomadic pastoral clans during the 

Iron Age I to form a new identity 

that would eventually come to 

be known as Israelite. The early 

Iron Age was a period when major 

empires withdrew from Canaan. 

This allowed these indigenous groups 

to merge and eventually achieve a 

cultural synthesis. Gradually, social 

structures developed, as did cultural 

affinity. Hostilities surely broke 

out among these groups, but it was 

more likely that a gradual and, for 

Joshua at Jericho - Romare Bearden 

16

the most part, peaceful settlement 

of the land took place, centuries 

after the Exodus and conquest 

narratives are said to have occurred. 

This is also reflected in the merging of 

YHVH, travelling deity of the semi 

nomadic clans and the indigenous 

Canaanite El pantheon, Asherah, 

Baal and Yam. The nomadic YHVH 

has finally found a home in Canaan, 

and over time becomes identified as 

being synonymous with Elohim. This 

cultural synthesis is also reflected in 

the celestial realm. When the Temple 

is erected in Jerusalem, YHVH finally 

is finally domesticated, identified 

with a specific place. Despite this 

YHVH has not lost the memory 

of earlier days as a nomad. It is this 

dual identity that eventually allows 

YHVH to be both the particular 

God of the Judaean community and 

the universal monotheistic God. 

Historiography and the study of the 

past is a recent discipline along with 

the other social sciences. The great 

epic poets and storytellers of antiquity 

were not historians; they were not 

preoccupied with the recording 

“facts.” Marc Zvi Brettler in his book, 

How to Read the Bible, makes the 

following comment: “In antiquity a 

storyteller related details about past 

events because they were important, 

not because they were true.” The 

biblical authors, like all of the great 

storytellers of antiquity, were not 

interested in the study of the past for 

its own sake. They edited, reframed, 

and recomposed stories of the past 

for didactic, theological, or political 

reasons that were of concern to their 

society, centuries after these events 

were believed to have taken place. The 

biblical epics that we have inherited, 

that we cherish, struggle with, and 

read annually were a result of the 

final redactors’ cultic, political, and 

social outlook. These narratives can 

be very powerful and transformative 

when read as stories. When read as 

history, however, they are misleading. 

The books of Joshua and Judges can 

appear to have been written in a 

historical genre with a chronology of 

events, battles, land grabs, and grants. 

Brettler makes the very compelling 

case that if it were an attempt at 

writing history, the book of Joshua 

would have ended with Israelite 

possession of the land. The historical 

record would have been complete, 

but the last three chapters of Joshua 

focus almost solely on theological 

concerns and obedience to YHVH, 

and YHVH here will not tolerate 

any fraternization with the locals. 

“ For should you turn away and 

attach yourself to the remnant of 

those nations — to those that are 

left among you — and intermarry 

with them, you joining them, they 

joining you, know for certain that the 

Lord your God will not continue to 

drive these nations out before you, 

they shall become a trap for you, a 

scourge to your side and thorns in 

continued over... 

Bread Tags 

for Wheel Chairs 

Please save your bread tags and bring them to 

Emanuel Synagogue – they will be recycled 

to fund wheelchairs in South Africa. 

Bread Tags for Wheelchairs has been recycling bread 

tags in South Africa since 2006. They currently collect 

about 500kg/month, which funds 2-3 wheelchairs. 

Now they are collecting in Australia too! 

It’s easy ….. save your 

bread tags for a while and 

then drop them off in 

the bowl in our foyer. 

Ask your family, friends, 

school and local café to help. 

CONNECTION WITH ISRAEL & 

WORLD JEWRY 

More information: 

breadtagsforwheelchairs.co.za 

17

your eyes, until you perish from this 

good land that the Lord your God 

has given to you.” (Joshua 23:12-13) 

The two verses quoted above from 

chapter 23 of the book of Joshua 

are fascinating to me and give us 

a window into what the scholarly 

approach is trying to unpack in 

order to arrive at what I believe to 

be a greater truth. A careful reading 

the above verses, reveal more about 

the concerns of those who returned 

from Babylon to rebuild the Second 

Temple and to resettle Jerusalem 

than they do about Joshua. It is 

most likely that the final editors 

and redactors of this chapter 

and the book of Joshua were 

scribes and priests who were part 

of the entourage returning to 

Jerusalem from the Babylonian 

exile in the wake of the Persian 

conquest of Babylonia and the 

Middle East from the late 6th 

century BCE. In the books 

of Ezra and Nehemiah we see 

that the exiles returning from 

Babylonia struggled to establish 

themselves as the ruling elite 

in Jerusalem and surrounding 

areas. They undoubtedly 

returned with the blessings of the 

Persians and had trouble with 

the indigenous communities 

who remained in Judea. 

The redactors here are warning 

their returning brethren not to 

mix with the indigenous population 

whose cultic practices were different 

from their own. Large tracts of 

the book of Joshua therefore are 

not really about Joshua, the battle 

of Jericho, the holy wars, or the 

extermination of the Canaanite 

inhabitants. What we see in these 

chapters are veiled references to a 

power struggle unfolding between 

those peoples who remained in 

Judea after the expulsion and those 

who returned with the authority, 

granted by the Persian kings 

and satraps, to govern. Which 

group will establish itself as the 

authoritative voice in the formation 

18 

of a new emerging community 

in Judea in the late 6th and 5th 

centuries BCE? Large tracts of 

Joshua, Judges, other sections of 

the early prophets and the Torah 

were reshaped by the hands of 

editors, probably priests and scribes 

who advocated for the political 

claims of the returning exiles 

Also, interestingly these above 

verses give us a window into the 

political climate during the early 

second temple period, especially 

the concerns and anxieties of the 

returning elite. “The Lord your 

God will not continue to drive 

these nations out before you, they 

shall become a trap…” Here we 

see an acknowledgement by the 

redactors of the political situation 

on the ground. The returning exiles 

do not have full autonomy, nor are 

they powerful enough to be able 

to wage war against the indigenous 

inhabitants, therefore the holy 

wars of extermination described in 

other parts of Joshua are modified 

here to reflect the political and 

social reality of their time. The 

conquest narratives are complicated, 

reflecting the struggles of different 

groups within the Israelite and the 

later returning Judaean exiles to 

establish their authority. They do 

this by editing older narratives and 

even occasionally writing whole new 

passages into those narratives to 

reflect their concerns and agendas. 

The editors and redactors of the 

early Second Temple period focused 

on reworking older narratives as 

opposed to writing whole new 

epics that might have reflected their 

social situation 

more clearly. Why is 

this? In both early 

and late antiquity, 

unlike in post- 

Enlightenment 

modernity, it was 

important for a 

community to 

demonstrate that 

it was a part of a 

chain of tradition. 

Innovation was 

not respected in 

the same way as it 

is today and could 

be accomplished 

only by attribution 

to an older source. 

By articulating 

their political 

and theological 

perspectives through 

the mouths of 

YHVH and Joshua, 

returning exiles centuries later 

could make the claim that their 

perspectives were not new at all. 

It could then be accepted by the 

returning Judaean exiles and the 

ruling Persian elites as an authentic 

expression of a tradition grounded 

in older indigenous ancestral cultic 

practice. We see a later example 

of this in Mediaeval times. The 

Zohar, arguably the greatest mystical 

work in our tradition, written and 

compiled at the beginning of the 

13th Century CE in Spain and 

Provence was attributed to the 

second-century sage, Rabbi Shimon 

bar Yochai, in order for it to be

The Lost 

Princess 

TEXT STUDY 

Weekly on Thursday 

evenings at 7.15pm 

Cantor George Mordecai presents a new 

series of classes. Initially we will study 

The Lost Princess, a deeply insightful 

story from Rabbi Nahman, with music 

and meditation. 

Email: gmordecai@emanuel.org.au 

considered authentic. This also 

is true of early Christianity. The 

Jesus messiah movement had to 

yoke itself to the Biblical narrative 

in order to make the claim that it 

was not a new idea but actually a 

legitimate expression of an older 

Judaean tradition. The Roman 

authorities had trouble seeing how 

Christianity fit into the world of 

late antiquity precisely because 

early Christians had difficulty 

showing that their emerging 

religion was a continuation 

of an older Judaean tradition 

and not a departure from it. 

Our redactors and editors who 

trekked back to Judea from 

Babylonia had to show that 

their group and theological 

perspective was part of an older 

set of traditions. They were merely 

re-articulating and upholding 

that which had already been 

established in the past. This 

would have been the source of 

their emerging authority. They 

were not changing anything, it 

had always been so. Innovation 

under the guise of an unchanging 

tradition was an acceptable form 

of exegesis in the ancient and 

mediaeval world. The Biblical 

scholarship that emerged during 

the Enlightenment changed the 

rules of engagement. This has 

created a “circling of the wagons” 

among many who cannot live 

with the rupture caused by the last 

three hundred years of scholarship. 

Nevertheless, we cannot retreat 

into a mode of exegesis that 

shuts out the insights of the last 

two hundred years of Biblical 

scholarship. Understanding 

the way in which our tradition 

has evolved over time is crucial 

for us today. Uncovering the 

human hand in the formation 

of our major religious text does 

not delegitimize the narrative. 

On the contrary it leads to a 

deeper engagement with it. 

The socio-political concerns 

of those who were responsible 

for the final redaction of the 

Torah and the book of Joshua 

does not diminish its sacred 

essence or relevance to us. Our 

need to connect to the Divine 

Source of all Life is an ongoing 

human project. As our cultural 

and political conditions change 

and transform over time we 

will continue reinterpret and 

reimagine our relationship 

with the Divine and our sacred 

texts. This process is an essential 

part of the religious quest. 

19

{NEHAMA WERNER IN PROFILE} 

1. TELL US A LITTLE BIT 

ABOUT YOU, YOUR HOBBIES, 

BACKGROUND, FAMILY... 

I was born in Israel to my father, 

a Holocaust survivor from Poland 

and my mother, a refugee from 

Egypt. When I was 6 years old 

our family arrived in Australia. 

My youth was spent in Habonim 

and I was part of the Habo Israeli 

dance group which was a very 

important part of my adolescence. 

When I finished school I went on 

Shnat Hachsahra with Habonim 

which was a life changing 

experience. Upon my return, I 

studied to be a physiotherapist and 

then began my career, working 

primarily in woman’s health and 

community care with a focus 

on health promotion. I also 

began my family and I am the 

proud mother of two wonderful 

daughters. Although I loved my 

work as a physiotherapist, I felt 

I could have a greater impact as 

a teacher. I am truly passionate 

about teaching and education. 

In 2015 I retired from classroom 

teaching, reluctantly leaving my 

teaching position with Emanuel 

School which I held for eight 

years. Since my retirement, I 

have remained exceptionally 

busy doing a range of things, 

including teaching Environmental 

Education for Randwick Council, 

mentoring student teachers from 

Macquarie University and coaching 

school students in debating. I 

also volunteer for Mum for Mum, 

a wonderful programme run 

through the National Council of 

Jewish Women, supporting new 

mothers in the community. I am 

the secretary for my organic food 

co-operative, and I co-ordinate 

the Early Literacy Support Project 

which is part of the Social Justice 

20 

programme at Emanuel Synagogue. 

I am also a doting grandmother 

and I spend a lot of time with 

my precious grandson. I love 

nature and walking anywhere but 

particularly bush walking. I also 

love gardening, music, community 

events and vegetarian cooking. 

2. THE EARLY LITERACY SUPPORT 

PROGRAMME AT THE SYNAGOGUE 

WAS YOUR INITIATIVE AND 

INSPIRATION AND YOU CONTINUE 

TO BE THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND 

THE PROGRAMME, WHAT MOTIVATED 

YOU TO START THIS PROJECT? 

I believe that education is the basis 

for success in life and the earlier 

we can address disadvantage in 

education, the better the outcomes 

both academically and in the area 

of confidence, something that is 

supported by the research literature. 

Having worked in education, I 

know how valuable it is 

to have support in the 

classroom. I've taught 

in disadvantaged schools 

where such support is 

particularly impactful. 

From my work in 

Community Health, I 

know that there are many 

people in the community 

who have some spare 

time and are interested 

in making a difference to 

the lives of others, so it 

seemed natural to create 

an opportunity for those 

with time to assist in an 

area where they could 

make a real difference. 

3. CAN YOU DESCRIBE 

THE PROGRAMME? 

We support two schools, 

Chifley Public School 

and Alexandria Park 

Community School. We 

selected these schools 

because of the high proportion of 

Indigenous students. We implement 

each school's literacy programme 

and our volunteers facilitate 

literacy activities and/or listen to 

students read and share their love 

of literacy. As part of the process, 

connections are established between 

students and volunteers which is 

a very important part of what is 

achieved; some of the students we 

work with do not have other people 

around who listen to them read and 

discuss books. The focus has been 

on the early years (Kindergarten 

to Year 2) but this year, one of the 

schools has asked us to go beyond 

Year 2, supporting students up to 

Year 6 to help them reach their 

expected literacy outcomes. 

We require a minimum weekly 

commitment of an hour but most 

of our volunteers stay beyond the 

hour and some of our volunteers 

Nehama and her grandson, Joe

come more frequently, one as often 

as four times a week; one of our 

volunteers comes from Parramatta! 

4. WHAT EFFECTS HAVE YOU SEEN THE 

PROGRAMME HAVE AT THE SCHOOLS 

AND PERHAPS FOR THE VOLUNTEERS 

AND YOU PERSONALLY AS WELL? 

It's been a very positive experience 

for all involved. The teachers are 

very grateful for the support and 

have seen significant improvements 

in their students through the 

direct help our volunteers provide 

and also through being freed to 

work intensively with groups of 

students who require extra 

support or extension. 

The students have built 

up positive relationships 

with volunteers who 

come weekly to connect 

with them and help them 

advance in literacy. Our 

volunteers love sharing 

the joy that students 

experience as their skills 

improve and as they gain 

confidence; some of our 

volunteers have been 

involved in the project 

since its inception four years ago. It 

has been so rewarding for me seeing 

the benefits to all those involved. 

5. WHAT HAS THE EXPERIENCE 

OF WORKING WITH OTHER 

VOLUNTEERS BEEN LIKE? 

It has been a real privilege for me 

to become acquainted with our 

band of dedicated volunteers who 

bring such passion and world 

experience to the work they do; 

I feel humbled to support and to 

learn from these impressive people. 

Women’s 

Rosh Chodesh 

Group 

8:00pm - 10:00pm 

October 9 and 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. 

For more information and to find the location, please 

call the Emanuel Synagogue office on 9389 6444 or 

email info@emanuel.org.au. 

6. HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN 

INVOLVED IN SOCIAL JUSTICE 

INITIATIVES AND VOLUNTEERING? 

I have had a long interest in social 

justice issues, particularly with 

respect to Indigenous Australians. 

I feel lucky that I have reached 

a point in my life where I am 

able to dedicate a significant 

amount of time to pursuing 

some of these areas of interest. 

7. DO YOU THINK THAT JUDAISM 

HAS BEEN AN INFLUENCE IN YOUR 

SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVITIES? 

It's hard to imagine how 

Judaism has not influenced 

these activities since, even 

though I'm not religious, 

my connection 

to Judaism is a 

strong one. 

8. IF YOU COULD 

HAVE ONE 

WISH FOR THE 

WORLD, WHAT 

WOULD IT BE? 

SUSTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT 

& HEALING THE WORLD 

Have struggled over this 

one ... I just can't narrow 

it down to one wish. I have so 

many concerns about our precious 

planet and those living on it that 

I can't choose just one. Sorry! 

9. HOW CAN PEOPLE GET 

INVOLVED IN THE EARLY LITERACY 

SUPPORT PROGRAMME IF THEY 

WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER? 

We love to welcome new volunteers! 

Contact me via socialjustice@ 

emanuel.org.au and I will be in 

touch with more information. If 

anyone decides to get involved, 

I will provide ongoing support, 

beginning with training and 

orientation at the school. 

21

{FAREWELL FROM DUDU} 

Dudu Gottlib 

In June, after 3 1/2 years as Netzer and Progressive/Pluralist Community 

Shaliach, Dudu Gottlib farewelled Australia and returned to Israel. 

To all the amazing shutafim 

(partners) I made along 

the way, shalom rav, 

It seems like it was a lifetime ago 

when I landed in Sydney to begin my 

Shlichut, on the 11th of November 

2015. And like all chapters, this 

chapter too must come to an end. 

Fulfilling the role of Netzer and 

Progressive/ Pluralist Community 

Shaliach was the most meaningful 

job I have had in my life, mainly 

because for me it was not just 

a job. It was, as it is called in 

Hebrew, a Shlichut (a mission, a 

calling, a sacred responsibility). 

I can summarize my Shlichut as 

trying to do the best I can in being 

a bridge. A bridge between the 

youth and the older generations of 

our community. A bridge between 

Israel and the Sydney Jewish 

community, a bridge between the 

synagogue and its members. And 

even, if I may have the Chutzpah 

to say - a bridge between Kodesh 

(uniqueness) and Chol (mundane). 

As a 'bridge' I had the opportunity 

not only to facilitate growth, change, 

conversations and plans for the future 

within the many organisations I 

served, but also to grow and change 

myself. I can say with full confidence 

that I am not the same person I 

was before I came here. I am much 

better - I have changed for good. 

I would like to thank each and 

every one of you not only for the 

part you played in making my 

Shlichut a success but also for your 

friendship, your partnership. 

There are so many of you to thank. I 

cannot mention you all but I will try 

to name a few; the amazing Board 

of Governance and professional staff 

at the Jewish Agency for Israel and 

The World Zionist Organization, 

the good people in the World Union 

of Progressive Judaism, the brilliant 

staff of Netzer Olami and TaMar, 

the visionary Executive Board of 

the Union of Progressive Judaism 

and the Moetzah, the dedicated 

Board of ARZA and ARZENU, 

the talented Board and staff of the 

Zionist Federation of Australia 

and the very qualified group of 

Shlichot and Shlichim in Australia. 

I'd like to make a few last special 

todot rabot (many thanks): 

Firstly, to the Emanuel Synagogue 

Rabbinical and clergy team, its 

board and staff, lead by Alex Lehrer, 

Rabbi Kamins and Suzanna Helia 

- you are truly leaders of a thriving 

community that enriches Jewish 

life and you have enriched and will 

continue to do so even from afar. 

Secondly, to anyone I had the 

pleasure of teaching, whether it was 

the Monday Morning Conversations 

About Israel class, the Darkeinu 

group, B’nei Mitzvah, Lunch ‘n’ 

Learn or any other setting - thank 

you for your passion to learn and 

for installing in me the passion to 

teach and to learn about you. 

Finally, and most of all, Toda 

Rabba to the Netzer Bogrim and 

Bogrot (leaders) for making my 

time in Australia so precious and 

unforgettable. It is inspirational 

how much you invest of yourselves 

into shaping our next generation 

of Jewish leaders. Watching this 

moves me deeply. You are incredible 

and have selflessly been doing 

amazing things, resulting in huge 

growth and success for Netzer. 

It has been an honour, a privilege 

and an empowering journey 

working with you all. 

I'd like to end with saying- L’hitraot, 

which, in Hebrew, acknowledges the 

moment of farewell but also implies 

that we shall meet again. I do not 

know how or when, but I do know 

that I love you all- and what is loved 

continues to live and always leaves 

the opportunity to meet again. 

So, my partners, L’hitraot. 

Please keep in touch, 

Please feel free to contact me 

whenever you want at 

gotlib.dudu@gmail.com 

22

A REVEALING 

EVENING WITH 

JESSICA 

ROWE 

SUNDAY AUGUST 4 

FROM 5:00PM 

Jessica Rowe AM is an accomplished journalist, 

television presenter and best selling author. She 

has written candidly about her struggles to have 

the “perfect life” and the damage it can cause. 

Join us as Jessica has an intimate conversation 

with Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio about the wisdom 

she has gained; being a woman in a maledominated 

industry, juggling the demands and 

expectations of parenthood, struggling with 

mental health and the importance of being kind 

to yourself. 

Book now: tinyurl.com/rowe-talk 

Conversations 

about Israel 

Every Monday, join Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins or guest speakers 

to examine the complex issues facing contemporary Israel. 

Monday mornings from 10:00-11:30 

Learn 

(or improve your) 

Hebrew 

Classes are Monday evenings during 

term starting from 6:00pm-7:00pm 

Register now at 

emanuel.org.au/engage/learn_hebrew 

23

24

{EVERY Q&A PERIOD AT EVERY 

JEWISH EVENT EVER} 

By Andrew Silow-Carroll. 

The guest expert’s talk at the local synagogue is wrapping up … 

Speaker: … and in conclusion, if 

we don’t remember this history, 

we are doomed to repeat it. 

As Hillel said, “If I am not for 

myself, who will be for me?” And 

finally, as Rabbi Tarfon put it so 

eloquently, “It is not our duty to 

finish the work, but neither are we 

free to neglect it.” Thank you. 

Moderator: Let’s thank our 

speaker for what we all can agree 

was a beautiful and powerful 

presentation. At this point we 

can take a few questions, but 

please, let’s try to make them 

questions, not statements [general 

laughter]. Please wait until one 

of the interns can bring you a 

microphone and — OK then, looks 

like you are not going to wait. 

First questioner: … in Rose Bay 

in 1937. And what I’d like to 

know is, if what you say is true, 

how come our young people don’t 

know more about it? What can 

we do to have this taught in every 

primary and secondary school? 

Speaker: Well, first of all … 

Various audience members: 

Can you repeat the question? 

Speaker: The question was, “If 

what you say is true, how come 

it isn’t taught in school?” That’s 

basically what you asked, right? 

First questioner: Yes. Because 

what you said was very provocative, 

but I worry that our young 

people don’t know much about 

it. And that our schools don’t do 

a good job of teaching about it. 

So, we should have more schools 

teaching this. And by schools, I 

mean primary schools, private 

schools, Jewish day schools, public 

schools, other high schools … 

Speaker: Yes, I think I got it. 

So, let me give a fairly lengthy 

answer about that while ignoring 

the large number of hands being 

raised around the room. 

Moderator: Next question. 

Yes? In the back. Please wait 

for the microphone. 

Second questioner: … as a 

demolition sergeant serving with 

the First Battalion, 21st Marines, 

3rd Marine Division. When I was 

back in Melbourne, my brother 

and I started a small appliance 

repair company, after which … 

Moderator: Please sir, let’s try 

to limit this to questions … 

Second questioner: My question is, 

when I was in the service, there was 

antisemitism, sure, but mostly we all 

got along. And it really didn’t matter 

where you were from: Jews, Italians, 

Greeks, Orientals. As my mother, 

of blessed memory, used to say … 

Moderator: Sir, is there a 

question for our speaker? 

Speaker: I think I know 

what he is asking. 

Moderator: You do? 

Speaker: I do, and 

I will now answer it 

at such length and 

with such a plethora 

of details that we’ll all forget 

what was and wasn’t asked. 

Moderator: I see a lot hands raised, 

so let’s try to keep our questions 

short and to the point. You, there. 

Third questioner: I actually have 

three questions. The first is … 

Moderator: Please, if 

we can limit … 

Third questioner: … if the 

American president knew, why 

didn’t he bomb the rail lines? 

Second, if the Palestinians say 

they want peace, why did they 

reject all the previous offers 

Israel put on the table? And 

third, why do Jews continue 

to vote for Labour when … 

Moderator: None of those 

are the subject of our talk! 

WORLD JEWRY 

Speaker: That’s OK, I can answer 

by providing a rambling anecdote 

about meeting Barbra Streisand at 

a car show, and then by urging you 

25

to buy my book, which is on sale in 

the lobby directly after this talk. 

Moderator: Next question, please. 

Fourth questioner: Yes, thank 

you. Did you read Peter Fitzsimon’s 

column this morning? 

Speaker: I did, but what does 

that have to do with … 

Fourth questioner: What 

did you think? 

Speaker: Well, I thought … 

Fourth questioner: I thought 

it was brilliant. [sits down] 

Fifth questioner: THE SYDNEY 

MORNING HERALD 

IS ANTI-SEMITIC! 

Moderator: Please wait for the 

microphone to come to you. 

Fifth questioner: I DON’T 

NEED A MICROPHONE! I 

STOPPED SUBSCRIBING TO 

THE HERALD FIVE YEARS 

AGO, BUT EVERY DAY I 

READ MY NEIGHBOUR’S 

COPY AND IT IS FULL OF 

LIES ABOUT ISRAEL! 

Moderator: Thank you, sir. 

But again, we are looking for 

questions, not statements. Let’s get 

a younger person. OK, you’ll do. 

Sixth questioner: Excuse me, but I 

want to read this [pulls paper out of 

pocket] and do so painfully slowly 

so I get it right. “We know that 

feminism and critical race theory 

have gifted us with intersectionality 

as a heuristic and analytic tool. 

We also know, per Neusner, that 

the probative value of category 

formations helps a culture organize 

the social order. And of course, 

there is Levinas, who sought to 

reconfigure the ethical tradition 

of Jewish monotheism in the 

language of first philosophy” … 

Moderator: Is there a question? 

Speaker: I think I know 

what she is asking. 

Moderator: You do? 

Speaker: Yes, I do. Actually, I don’t. 

But I will answer by deftly avoiding 

the question and explaining that I 

need to clarify something raised by 

a previous questioner. And then I’ll 

add an anecdote about the time I 

met Yitzhak Perlman at a pet store. 

Moderator: I think we can take one 

more. There, the green sweater. 

Seventh questioner: Mine is 

a four-part question … 

Moderator: Oh, for Pete’s … 

Speaker: I’ll be happy to stick 

around if you want to ask me 

something directly, knowing full 

well that it will keep me away from 

the snack table until all the good 

biscuits are gone. But that’s how 

generous I am with my time. 

Moderator: Thank you all for 

coming, and good night! 

Adapted with permission from article 

by JTA www.jta.org : please be sure to 

sign up for JTA’s free enewsletter. 

In June, Joel Sykes of Nava Tehila (above) 

lead a special Shabbat Live! service 

Right - Joel leads a musical circle of musicians 

26

OUT OF THE DESERT 

Kobi Bloom 

Pesach is the story of the end of the Jews time in slavery, a time where we were 

constrained physically and mentally in Mitzrayim, Egypt, the narrow place. 

On the second night of Pesach we 

begin counting the Omer, a period 

of 49 days between Pesach and 

Shavuot, between the end of slavery 

and the beginning of the Jewish 

people at Har Sinai. So, we have 

left Mitzrayim but not yet reached 

Sinai, neither here nor there, we are 

in an in-between space, a liminal 

space. This is a period of our Jewish 

calendar for us to consider transition. 

There is a theory, offered by author 

William Bridges that transitions 

happen in 3 stages, ending, the 

neutral zone and beginning. In 

our story, Pesach is the ending 

of slavery, Shavuot is a new 

beginning, a life no longer dictated 

by the demands of an earthly 

taskmaster bur rather Torah and 

our collective imperative for good. 

Yom Haatsmaut this year marked 

71 years since David Ben Gurion 

proudly declared Hee Medinat Israel. 

Was this our new beginning? Or was 

it perhaps just the end of our time 

in Mitzrayim, a period of 2000 years 

where our lives as Jews often hung 

perilously in the hands of others. 

But before I speak about Zionism, 

we need to really understand 

the in between time, the neutral 

zone that Bridges speaks about, 

in our story from Mitzrayim to 

Sinai, this in between time takes 

place in the desert, bamidbar. 

According to Bridges, people in 

this intermediate space are often 

confused, uncertain and impatient. 

There may be feelings of anxiety, 

scepticism or low morale – the past 

has been let go of, but the path to 

the future has not yet manifest. 

It is uncomfortable, being no 

longer this but not yet knowing 

what that is going to look like, 

how it feels, who we will be and 

whether it will be any good at all. 

And yet the neutral zone is a time 

of rich spiritual power, creativity, 

a time to try new ways of being 

in the world. It can be liberating 

to not be constrained by old ideas 

about who we are, what are our lives 

are supposed to be like. Terrifying 

sure, but also exhilarating. 

The neutral zone is a time of 

quietness, of seeking out silence 

and the power it holds. 

It is no coincidence that everything 

important in the Bible – prophecies, 

kingships, Torah – came out in the 

wilderness. It’s a place of danger 

and vulnerability, and perhaps it 

can feel like it can go on forever. 

Midbar Medaber, despite its almost 

inconceivable silence, the desert 

speaks with incredible power. 

I suggest that Yom Ha’atzmaut this 

year, Israeli Independence marks the 

ending of our 2000-year exile and 

since then, our people have been 

in transition, in between. The fact 

that Israel now exists cannot alone 

be our Shavuot, our redemption. 

We need to see the State of Israel as 

a place that still needs to reach the 

promise laid out in the Declaration 

of Independence, which states that, 

continued on page 29 


27

{AROUND EMANUEL} 

Scenes of life around our Synagogue 

Clockwise from top left: 

• Ben Adler and Ilan Kidron provide 

music for the Torah dedication 

• The Hauser family participate in 

the writing of the new torah 

• Nathan Hauser reads from the new torah 

• The panel on The War on Slavery 

• Dr Alex Wodak in conversation with Rabbi Kamins 

• Walt Secord MLC, Josie Lacey and Rabbi Ninio 

prior to the In Conversation - War on Slavery 

28

continued from page 27 

“Israel will foster the development 

of the country for the benefit of 

all its inhabitants; it will be based 

on freedom, justice and peace as 

envisaged by the prophets of Israel; 

it will ensure complete equality of 

social and political rights to all its 

inhabitants irrespective of religion, 

race or sex; it will guarantee 

freedom of religion, conscience, 

language, education and culture; 

it will safeguard the Holy Places of 

all religions; and it will be faithful 

to the principles of the Charter 

of the United Nations.” Notice 

that it says The State of Israel will 

ensure equality, it will be guarantee 

freedom. It will, it will, it will. 

Israel is far from perfect and yet so 

many people celebrate it as if it is. 

The founders of Israel wrote 

about Israel in the future tense 

because they knew that we must 

always be in transition towards 

this better future. Our nation 

has made progress, but it is not 

there yet. We know that we are 

once again under threat, Israel 

recently was being bombarded by 

hundreds of rockets and while we 

hope for peace and are regularly 

challenged by tragedy, we do not 

want to abandon our dreams of 

an Israel that we can always be 

proud of, a light unto the nations. 

That’s the thing about Judaism 

and transitions, we are always 

transitioning towards something 

better. We don’t believe that our 

ancestors were freed from slavery so 

our job is done or that we received 

the Torah at Sinai so we are done 

with reinventing ourselves. We 

have a Seder, count the Omer and 

celebrate Shavuot every year. 

So, while we sit here in that 

uncomfortable time of transition 

between the Israel we have and 

the Zion we dream of we are also 

reminded by Pesach, The Omer 

and Shavuot that revelation 

is a process that we transition 

towards constantly. The point 

of the transition is for us to sit 

with the anxiety, ambiguity 

and the unknowability of our 

what comes next. This is the 

time to go down deep into 

the deepest recesses of who we 

are, to find the resources and 

riches we didn’t know where 

there. We must take hold 

of this transitional time and 

harness the spiritual power and 

creativity it affords us to try new 

ways of being in the world, so that 

together, we can try to live up to 

the hope of our Jewish Nation. 

This article is inspired by the work 

of Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. 

Kobi Bloom is an Emanuel school 

teacher, who also helps guide youth 

education at Emanuel Synagogue. 

ISRAEL & WORLD JEWRY 

TISHA B'AV - 10th/11th August, 2019 

Erev Tisha B'Av - Saturday 10th August 

6:15pm - Evening service including reading of Eicha and kinnot 

Featuring international guest, world-renowned scholar and Rabbi Dr David Frankel. Rabbi Dr. 

David Frankel did his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University and has been teaching Bible and Jewish 

Studies for nearly twenty five years at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. 

Tisha B'Av - Sunday 11th August 

9:00am - Morning service 

11:00am - A chance to learn about meditation and mindfulness with a Jewish perspective. 

What better time to meditate than Tisha B’Av, a day of reflection and going into the depths of the 

soul? 

With Rabbi Dr. Orna Triguboff, we will explore traditional techniques of meditation in the 

Jewish tradition. This workshop is free and people of all backgrounds are welcome. 

3:00pm - Mincha 

4:00pm - A special presentation by Hand in Hand (see below for details). 

6:15pm - Ma’ariv service folowed by light snacks to break the fast. 

Hand in Hand is building a growing network of Jewish-Arab public schools and shared 

communities. In six locations across the country, thousands of students, teachers, and families 

come together every day in multicultural, bilingual classrooms, and integrated communities. 

Living Together in a Divided Society? 

The Temple was destroyed due to sinat chinam (baseless hatred). Hear an inspiring 

story from Israel about how the Hand in Hand school network is today transforming 

divided communities through Jewish-Arab integrated schools and communities. 

Hand in Hand changemakers Shada Edress-Mansour and Noa Yammer will share both 

their personal journeys to this work, as well as the dilemmas and successes that come 

with building a shared and equal future for Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel. 

29

{BAT MITZVAH FROM KILLALOE} 

By Lara MacMahon 

Lara comes from a small village in Ireland and recently celebrated her 

Bat Mitzvah at Emanuel Synagogue. This is her Dvar Torah. 

The Pesach or Passover story tells the 

story of the Exodus and the Jewish 

people finally being granted freedom 

from Pharoah and Egypt. It is a 

story of community, perseverance, 

faith and ultimately freedom. 

The Jews had been slaves under 

Pharoah in Egypt for over 3000 

years. When Moses discovered 

he was Jewish , God came to 

Moses, and helped him to decide 

to fight for the freedom of his 

people, the Jewish people. 

Moses went to Pharaoh and tried 

to negotiate for freedom. 10 

times Pharaoh promised to free 

the Jews and changed his mind. 

Each time Pharaoh broke his 

promise, god released a plague 

on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. 

The rivers turned to blood, there 

was hail, locusts – destruction. 

With the final plague, the houses 

of the Jews were passed over. 

Eventually, after 3000 years 

the Jews were free. 

30 

So what can I take from this dramatic 

story to help me in my life? 

Thankfully, I live in a time of great 

freedom. Freedom is not something 

I have had to fight for. For Moses 

and the Jews in ancient times, 

their faith, belief in community 

and perseverance were eventually 

rewarded with freedom. For me, 

my faith, belief in community 

and perseverance have been 

rewarded by being able to stand 

up here today and celebrate. 

When I decided I wanted to 

celebrate my Bat Mitzvah, it was 

difficult because we live in a small 

village called Killaloe, in the middle 

of Ireland. It is a beautiful village 

on a lake and my father’s family 

have lived in this area of Ireland 

for over 1000 years. We are very 

lucky to have a great community of 

friends in the our village, and we get 

involved in many village activities. 

However, there are not many Jewish 

people living in rural Ireland. 

The closest synagogue to us is 2 

hours drive away, and there are no 

Hebrew religious teachers around. 

But celebrating my Bat Mitzvah 

was still something I wanted to 

do. My mum is from Sydney and 

whenever we come back to visit our 

Sydney family, my mum brings me 

to Emanuel Synagogue. My greatgrandparents, 

my grandparents and 

my Aunt were all married in this 

synagogue. My grandfather, 

my mum, my aunt and 

my cousins Lily and Eli 

all had their Bar or Bat 

Mitzvahs here. Like the 

people in Killaloe, the 

community at Emanuel is 

an important part of who I 

am. And when I decided to celebrate 

my Bat Mitzvah, the community 

at Emmanuel had faith in me and 

supported me. Andrina sent me a 

distance learning programme and 

I have been meeting with Rabbi 

Ninio on line for the last year. 

At first, the idea of learning and 

chanting Hebrew seemed really 

difficult. But, like the Jews in ancient 

Egypt, I had faith and persevered. In 

Ireland, I get the bus to school in the 

mornings and I listen to my Hebrew 

lessons on the way. After school and 

on holidays, I have sat down with 

mum and worked hard. Thankfully, 

the hard work and perseverance 

has paid off and here I am today, 

making my Bat Mitzvah. Many 

people from my Killaloe community 

made the exodus from Ireland to 

be here today and join with my 

Jewish community in celebrating 

this important day in my life. 

Freedom is often fought hard for and 

should never be taken for granted. 

I am free to choose to practice 

my religion. My communities, 

in Ireland and here, faith and 

perseverance have helped me reach 

this day. These are lessons that I 

hope will continue to help me, 

and all of us grow in the future. 

Shabbat Shalom

{BNEI MITZVAH} 

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

MADELEINE STEINMETZ-LYNTON 

School: Rosebay Secondary College 

Hobbies: Drawing, horseriding 

Pets: Rabbit called Maisy 

and a cat called Apache 

Likes: Sushi, chocolate, Japan, 

food, cats, horses, bunnies 

Dislikes: Sassy people, some sports 

About me: Like Beabadoobee 

(musician), visual art and 

technology (school subjects). 

Social Justice (tzedakah) projects: 

I have been involved in the Monash 

University Resilient Kids program 

which aims to help children and 

teens to be emotionally strong. I 

want to make less plastic waste and 

not eat any meat, one day a week. 

What will you remember most 

about your Bar Mitzvah? I will 

remember Irit, my Hebrew teacher 

and Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio, the 

Rabbi who did my bat mitzvah. 

I will also remember my parsha 

because I read it over 1000 times! 

JACK GOLDBERG 

School: Emanuel School 

Hobbies: Soccer and sport in 

general, socialising and YouTube 

Likes: Soccer and all sports, 

socialising, YouTube, tasty food, 

Rabbitohs, Manchester United 

Dislikes: Roosters, Liverpool 

Pets: none 

About me: My name is Jack and I 

am looking forward to celebrating 

my Bar Mitzvah - Bechukotai. I am 

a student at Emanuel School where 

I started High School 

this year. Last year I 

was very proud to hold 

the leadership postition 

of Head Madrich of 

primary school. This 

involved being a role 

model for the younger 

kids and representing 

and speaking on behalf 

of my fellow students at 

important occasions. 

Plus61J together with Emanuel 

Synagogue present 

Israel, Jews & The Middle 

East through Film 

From 7:00pm at Emanuel Synagogue 

August 14 - Someone to Run With (2006) 

September 18 - Afterthought (2015) 

October 23 - The Other Son (2012) 

November 20 - The Kindergarten Teacher (2014) 

December 18 - Year Zero (2004) 

HEALING THE WORLD 

31

{BNEI MITZVAH} 

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

HARRY SKURNIK 

School: Cranbrook 

Hobbies: Soccer, rugby, hanging 

out with friends, movies 

Likes: Sport, holidays, friends 

Dislikes: Vegetables, boredom, 

annoying people 

Pets: A dog called Tess 

About me: I grew up in Hong Kong 

and have many friends and memories 

still there. I go to Cranbrook School 

and and enjoy playing rugby at 

school and soccer for Maccabi. 

I enjoy school and want to be a 

doctor or lawyer as a career. My 

favorite show on Netflix is Lucifer. 

Social Justice (tzedakah) projects: 

I regularly send packages to the 

Philipines to help out families in 

need. I enjoy helping others. 


about your Bar Mitzvah? 

Having to practice my Hebrew 

all the time and the friends that 

I made at Thursday classes. 

MAC BERMAN 

School: Newington Collegel 

Hobbies: Basketball, Rugby, 

gaming, skateboarding 

Likes: loves hanging out with 

friends, family and playing sport. 

Dislikes spiders, school assignments, 

homework and eggplant 

About me: My favourite subjects 

at school are Woodworking/DT 

2 to 5 year olds 

and Sport. One day I hope to play 

basketball in the NBA otherwise 

I'd like to own my own business. 

Pets: 2 dogs - Millie and Jack 

Social Justice: Along with some 

school friends I have supported 

Skateisan, a global charity that 

connects children in developing 

countries through skateboarding 

and sport. It aims to build 

confidence in kids and encourages 

them to attend school. 


about your Bar Mitzvah? It was 

pretty good, and a challenge, to learn 

Hebrew. My family and cousins 

have encouraged me a lot and I 

will always remember how patient 

my teacher Yael has been with me. 

She helped me be prepared and I 

will always remember that. 

First Friday of the month, 5:00pm–6:00pm 

Once a month we join together for 

an hour of songs, prayers, stories, 

craft activities and fun. We begin with 

a noisy, song-filled prayer service, 

followed by some dancing, stories and 

a craft activity. Then together we say 

the Shabbat prayers for candles, wine 

and challah. 

It is a lovely way to introduce your 

children to Shabbat and an opportunity 

to meet other families in the community. 

Parents and grandparents welcome. 

32

{NEW MEMBERS} 

To welcome the stranger 

Ms Lea Bouganim 

Mr Kurt Brown 

Mr Leslie & Mrs 

Lisa Davey 

Mr Daniel Folb & 

Miss Elizabeth De Paoli 

Rabbi Brian Fox AM 

Ms Laura Friezer 

Dr Sharon Gold 

Mr Gerald & 

Mrs Laura Goldwater 

Dr David Goltsman & 

Miss Rebecca Gordon 

Mr Phillip Hakim 

Ms Louise Hammond 

Mr Michael Hofstein 

& Dr Jordan Kahn 

Mr Alan Jowell 

Miss Ilana Blum & 

Mr Desi Kohn 

Mr Michael & Mrs 

Shirley Leibowitz 

Dr Ron Levy & 

Ms Kate Ogg 

Ms Ronna Ludgate 

Ms Jodie Newell 

Frederica Perlmutter 

Mr Amitai Rotem & 

Mrs Abigail Ciscar 

Mr Ryan & Mrs 

Samantha Rubinstein 

The Hon Walter Secord & 

Ms Julia McRae-Levitina 

Mr Jacques Seidenberg 

Mr Samuel & Mrs 

Julia Simmons 

Mr Leonard & Mrs 

Shirley Simon 

David and Ronit Tassie 

Mr Gary & Mrs 

Sonia Wilkan 

Mr Samuel Wilkan 

Dr David Wilson 

Mr Matthew 

Jarrod Wilson 

COMMUNITY 

{TZEDAKAH} 

Greater is tzedakah than all the sacrifices 

BEQUEST 

The late Ann Kirby's Estate 

$10,000 or more 

Mrs Millie Phillips 

Mr Gary & Mrs Karyn Zamel 

$5,000 or more 

Mr Jeffrey Hilton & 

Ms Suzy Coleman 

Dr Mark Gorbatov & 

Dr Megan Kalucy 

Perpetual Foundation - The 

Wolf Family Endowment 

$1,000 or more 

Dr David & Mrs Sandra Berman 

Mr Malcolm Cardis 

Mr David Duchen 

Mr Michael Fisher 

Dr Anthony & 

Mrs Kerry Freeman 

Dr Michael & 

Mrs Cyndi Freiman 

Mrs Ruth Guss 

Dr Karen Arnold & 

Dr Drew Heffernan 

Mr David Hirsch & 

Donna O'Connor 

Mr Daniel & Mrs Natalie Knoll 

Mrs Judit Korner 

Mr David Landa 

Mr Keith Miller 

Mr Lawrence & Mrs Sylvia Myers 

Mr Terence Nabarro 

Mr Terry & Mrs Anne Newman 

Mr Andrew Silberberg 

& Ms Michelle Katz 

Mr Bob & Mrs Gabriella Trijbetz 

$500 or more 

Jonathan Abelsohn 

Ms Susan Lynette Bear 

Mr Michael & Mrs Fiona Berman 

Mr Thomas Biller & 

Dr Anita Nitchingham 

Dr David Block A.C. & 

Mrs Naomi Block 

Mr Benjamin & Mrs 

Margaret Elias 

Mr Aaron & Mrs 

Margaret Ezekiel 

Mr David & Mrs Karen Gordon 

Mr Andrew & Mrs Dee Hilton 

Mrs Cynthia Jackson AM 

Mr Gordon Jackson 

Mr Andrew & Mrs 

Dorothy Kemeny 

Ms Shirli Kirschner 

Mr Daryl & Mrs Jeanette Lees 

Mrs Jennifer Michelson 

33

{...TZEDAKAH CONTINUED} 

Mr Kenneth Willing & 

Ms Evelyn Perlmutter 

Emily Rose 

Mrs Aliza Sassoon 

Miss Jacheta Schwarzbaum 

Ms Elaine Solomon 

Up to $499 

Mr Reuben Aaron OBE 

& Mrs Cornelia Aaron 

Mr Garry & Mrs 

Carmel Abeshouse 

Ms Kate Abrahams 

Mr Peter Adler 

Mr Rafael & Mrs Rachel Adler 

Mrs Ruth Adler 

Mr Rodney & Mrs 

Jacqueline Agoston 

Mrs Diane Armstrong 

Ms Mary Levy 

Mr Stephen & Mrs Wendy Baer 

Dr Felix & Mrs Caroline Barda 

Mrs Janis Baskind 

Mr Victor Baskir 

Mr David & Mrs Sandra Bassin 

Ms Katarina Baykitch 

Ms Deidre Anne Bear Household 

Mr Grahame Lindsay 

Bear Household 

Mr Miguel & Mrs Petra Becker 

Mr James & Mrs Carol Beecher 

Gesell Benchoam 

Mrs Ruth Bender 

Mr Ben & Mrs Sharon Berger 

Dr Adele Bern 

Mr Joseph Bern 

Dr Joel & Mrs Denyse Bernstein 

Mrs Jackie & Mr Wayne Black 

Mr Peter Bloomfield 

Mr Lester & Mrs Frankie Blou 

Mr Darren Justin Blumberg 

Mr Peter & Mrs Judith Bonta 

Ms Wendy Bookatz 

Mr Allan and Mrs Rita Boolkin 

Mr Sidney & Mrs Julie Brandon 

Mrs Brenda Braun 

Mrs Julianna Brender 

Mrs Wendy & Dr David Brender 

Ms Hannah Briand-Newman 

Mary Anne Brifman 

Mr Leon & Mrs Emma 

Bronfentrinker 

Join our Gardening Bee! Email andrina@emanuel.org.au 

Ms Lindsay Broughton 

Mr Robert & Mrs Julie Brown 

Mr Simon & Mrs Karine Buchen 

Miss Ingeborg S. Chan 

Mr Daniel Casey 

Dr David & Mrs 

Noirin Celermajer 

Mr Darren & Mrs Hannah Challis 

Mr David Cohen & Ms 

Sharon Marjenberg 

Mrs Wendy Cohen 

Ms Doris Cope Krygier 

Mrs Valerie Coppel 

Mr Max Crawford 

Dr Suzanne Cremen 

Mrs Jacqueline Dale 

Mr Robert Davidson 

Mr Allan Davis 

Mr Edward & Mrs Irit Davis 

Ms Ethel Davis 

Mr Roger Davis 

Professor Graham De 

Vahl Davis AM 

Mr Stephen & Mrs 

Susan Denenberg 

Mr David & Mrs Suzette Doctor 

Mrs Raissa Doubina 

Mrs Lily Dreyer 

Dr Richard & Mrs Ellen Dunn 

Ms Naomi Elias 

Ms Julie Ellitt 

Issac & Ann Elnekave 

Mr Michael Elstein 

Mr Colin & Mrs Rosy Elterman 

Mrs Joy Evans 

Mr Mark & Mrs Julie Faigen 

Mr George & Mrs Vera Faludi 

Ms Bassina Farbenblum 

Ms Michelle Favero 

Mrs Zinaida Fettmann 

Mrs Julie K Fidler & 

Mr Aaron A Fidler 

Ms Maria Finlay 

Mr George & Mrs Anita Fisher 

Ms Denise Fletcher 

34


Mrs Giza Fletcher 

Mr Brian Fox 

Mr David Freeman 

Dr Ronald & Dr 

Susanne Freeman 

Dr Ida Freiman 

Dr John & Mrs Francine Freiman 

Dr Marcelle Freiman 

Mr Lev Fridman 

Ms Dani Fried & Mr 

Hugh McMullen 

Mrs Karen Fried 

Dr Talia Friedman 

Mr David & Mrs Christine Frish 

Mrs Diane Geffrey 

Mr Howard & Mrs Jean Gelman 

Mr Ronald Gerechter 

Mr Heinz & Mrs Yvonne Gerstl 

Mr Liam and Mrs Nicky Getreu 

Mr John Glajz 

Mr Raphael and Mrs 

Louise Glaser 

Mrs Freda Glass 

Mrs Liza & Mr Richard Glass 

Mr David & Mrs Ruth Glasser 

Mr John & Mrs Judith Gleiber 

Dr Eli & Mrs Alethea Gold 

Mr Alex & Mrs Greta Goldberg 

Mr Dan Goldberg & 

Ms Jody Tocatly Goldberg 

Mr David & 

Mrs Michelle Goldman 

Mr Cecil and Claire Goldstein 

Mr John & Mrs Tova Goldstein 

Dr. John & Mrs Judith Goodman 

Mrs Zinaida Gorelick-Weiss 

Michael & Ruth Goulburn 

Dr Lorna Graham 

Mr Richard David 

Grant Household 

Mr Jon & Mrs Susan Green 

Mr Geoffrey Greene 

Mr Robert Griew & 

Dr Bernie Towler 

Ms Tracey Griff 

Dr Ary & Mrs Mira Grinberg 

Dr Reg & Mrs Kathie Grinberg 

Dr Richard Haber 

Dr Graham & Mrs Judi Hall 

Michael Halliday 

Dr George & Mrs 

Romaine Hamor 

Benjamin Harris & Alyssa Severin 

Dr Christine Harris 

Mr Alexander Hart & 

Ms Lisa Emanuel 

Mr Les Hart 

Mr Neville & Mrs 

Debbie Hausman 

Mrs Kathleen Hearst 

Ms Lesley-Ann Hellig 

Mrs Manou Heman 

Michelle Pauline Hilton 

Mr David & Mrs Monique Hirst 

Miss Shirley Hollander 

Mrs Dinah Hornung 

Mrs Valerie Hosek 

Sandy Hotz 

Mr Anthony & Mrs 

Louise Hyman 

Mrs Tanya & Mr Anthony Igra 

Ms Sophie Inwald 

Mr Benjamin Isaacs 

Dr Frank & Mrs Penelope Isaacs 

Mr Barry & Mrs Doreen Isenberg 

Justice Peter Jacobson 

Dr Arie & Mrs Simone Jacoby 

Mr Tony Jacoby & Ms 

Anita Ullman 

Mrs Vera Jacoby 

Dr Jack Jellins & Mrs 

Maureen Jellins 

Mrs Caon Johnson 

Mr Maxwell Kahn OAM 

Professor Steven & Mrs 

Andrea Kalowski 

Mr Steven & Mrs 

Amanda Kamsler 

Barbara Karet 

Mr Paul Lowenstein & 

Ms Robyn Katz 

Mrs Elise Kaye 

Mr Michael & Mrs 

Samara Kitchener 

Mrs Susie & Mr 

Stephen Klein 

Clive Klugman 

Raymond Klugman 

Mrs Evelyn Kohan 

Mrs Betty Kohane 

Mrs Veronica Kolman 

Mrs Dorit Krawitz 

Mr Andrew & Mrs Dianne Krulis 

Mrs Dora Krulis 

Emeritus Prof. Konrad Kwiet 

& Mrs Jane Kwiet 

Mrs Judith Lander 

Micheline Lane 

Mr Steven Lang 

Mrs Eugina Langley 

Ms Larraine Larri 

Mr Julian Lavigne & Lidia Ranieri 

Ms Yittah Lawrence 

Ms Margaret Lederman 

Mr Philip Lederman 

Mrs Ilona Lee A.M. 

Dr Andrew Leipnik 

Mr Lewis Levi 

Tom Levi 

Mr Jules & 

Ms Daphna Levin-Kahn 

Mrs Beth Levy 

Mr Philip & Mrs Lorraine Levy 

Ms Michal Levy 

Mr Barry Lewis 

Mrs Joan Lewis 

Dr David & Mrs 

Patricia Lieberman 

Mrs Aletta Liebson 

Mr Alex & Mrs Rosemary Linden 

Mr Maurice Linker 

Dr Ivan Lorentz AM & 

Mrs Judith Lorentz 

Annette Lovecek 

Miss Debbie Ludwig 

Mrs Hedy Ludwig 

COMMUNITY 

35


Mrs Sylvia Luikens 

Mr Michael Lyons 

Mrs Dorrit Mahemoff 

Dr Isaac & Mrs Denise Mallach 

Mr Robert Marjenberg 

Mrs Renee Markovic 

Mrs Ruth Marks 

Ms Caroline Marsden 

Mr John Marsden 

Dr Bernard Maybloom 

Mr Fraser & 

Mrs Michelle McEwing 

Ms Judy Menczel 

Prof Alan Rosen AO & 

Ms Vivienne Miller 

Mrs Lilly Mosberg 

Mrs Donna & Mr Philip Moses 

Mrs Donna & Mrs Philip Moses 

Ms Primrose Moss 

Ms Helen Mushin 

Clare Nadas 

Mr Ervin & Mrs Sarolta Nadel 

Mr Allan & Mrs Lisa Nahum 

Mr Alan & Mrs Josie Nathan 

Mrs Valerie Newstead 

Dr Joel Nothman 

Mr Paul Nothman & 

Ms Dagmara Zadembski 

Sue Nothman 

Dr Raymond & Mrs Rose Novis 

Ms Rita Opit 

Mrs Cecily Parris 

Mr Barry & Dr Yvonne Perczuk 

Mr Peter & Mrs Yvonne Perl 

Mrs Jacqueline Perry 

Mrs Renee & Mr 

Jonathan Pinshaw 

Dr Dennis Pisk 

Mr Wolfie Pizem OAM 

& Mrs Karen Pizem 

Mr Sergio and 

Mrs Olivia Polonsky 

Mr Heiko & Mrs Leisa Preen 

Mr Ian & Mrs Beverly Pryer 

Ms Sandra Radvin 

36 

Rabbi Gary & Mrs 

Jocelyn Robuck 

Ms Karnie Kay Roden Household 

Myriam & Jack Romano 

Dr Ellis and Mrs Lyn Rosen 

Ms Edna Ross 

Mr John Roth & Ms 

Jillian Segal AO 

Mr Albert & Mrs Arlette Rousseau 

Mr Steve & Mrs Ann Rubner 

Dr Brian & Mrs Andrea 

Ruttenberg 

Ms Vicky Ryba 

Mr Manfred & Mrs 

Linda Salamon 

Tara Stern & Josh Same 

Mr Allan & Mrs Eleanor Sangster 

Mr Michael Sanig 

Dr Regina Sassoon 

Ms Julie Saunders 

Dr Garry & Mrs Angela Schaffer 

Mr Ron & Mrs Melissa Schaffer 

Mrs Marianne Schey 

Ms Anita Schwartz 

Mr Ronald & Mrs Gloria Schwarz 

Mr Norbert Schweizer OAM 

& Mrs Sonja Schweizer 

Dr. Ilan & Mrs Shira Sebban 

Mr John & Mrs Joan Segal 

Mrs Miriam Segal 

Mr Kenneth & Mrs Cathy Shapiro 

Mr Andrew & Mrs Mai Sharp 

Mrs Vivienne Sharpe 

Mr Isadore & Mrs Brenda Sher 

Mr Yakov & Mrs 

Ludmila Shneidman 

Professor Gary Sholler 

Mrs Regina Shusterman 

Ms Donna Jacobs Sife 

Mr Jeff & Mrs Naomi Silberbach 

Mrs Agnes Silberstein 

Mrs Marianne Silvers 

Mr Leonard & Mrs Shirley Simon 

Ms Lilly Skurnik 

Mr Ricky Slazenger 

Mrs Rena Small 

Ms Leslie Solar 

Peggy Sorger 

Felipe Rocha de Souza 

Dr Ron & Dr Judy Spielman 

Ms Jacqueline Stricker- 

Phelps OAM & Professor 

Kerryn Phelps AM 

Dr Alfred Stricker 

Ms Tessa Surany 

Mrs Julia Taitz 

Mrs Ruth Tarlo 

Mr Serge Tauber 

Mr Alan & Mrs Eve Taylor 

Richard Thomas 

Mrs Miriam Tier 

Mrs Ann Toben 

Dr Michael Urwand 

Mrs Marcelle Urwand 

Ms Marianne Vaidya 

Mr William & Dr 

Miriam Van Rooijen 

Mr Stephen & Mrs Edna Viner 

Mr Frank Waldman 

Mr Maurice Watson 

Mr Leon & Mrs Tracey- 

Ann Waxman 

Mr Gerald & Mrs 

Audrey Weinberg 

Ms Leah Werner 

Mr Matthew Jarrod Wilson 

Mr Phillip Wolanski AM & 

Mrs Suzanne Wolanski 

Ms Dianne Wolff 

Mr Harold & Mrs Lana Woolf 

Dr Robert Woolf & 

Dr Candice Wallman 

Mr Harry Wrublewski & Ms 

Sara Landa-Wrublewski 

Ms Eve Wynhausen 

Anne Zahalka 

Ms Rosanna Zettel 

Dr Ruth Zwi 

Mr Norman Zylberberg 

and numerous other 

anonymous donors

{BIRTHS} 

Mazal Tov to 

Mikayla Lily Bennett 

Billy David Dart 

Noa Mina Deutsch 

Isabelle Margaret Elias 

Ella Josie Getreu 

Max Henry Joffe 

Mia Grace Diaz Lambert 

Leo Pinshaw 

Jesse Pinshaw 

Hannah 

Shemesh 

William 

Isaac Tassie 

COMMUNITY 

Mackenzie Charles 

Berman 

Ethan Bowhay 

Harrison Bowhay 

Zara Buchen 

Thomas William Ellison 

Talia Suchy Elnekave 

{B’NEI MITZVAH} 

Mazal Tov to 

Nathan Elias Galper 

Jack Ethan Goldberg 

Hannah Sonia Goldman 

Eva Elizabeth Gorbatov 

Ella Emanuel Hart 

Aaron Chaim Hoenig 

Isaac Jacoby 

Elise Kitchener 

Benjamin David Landa 

Saul Terry Magner 

Lara Shayna McMahon 

Scarlett Harrie Phillips 

Jake Tao Sharp 

Jett Sher 

{MARRIAGE} 

To rejoice with the happy couple 

Kathryn Lilly Silberberg 

Harry Max Skurnik 

Noah Dalhoff Susskind 

Miss Talia Musia Tsipris 

Elijah Jacob Zuckerman 

Guy Abelsohn & 

Geneviv Fanous 

Mr Joshua Golombick 

& Ms Daniela 

Zanino Filippini 

Jacob Harris & 

Sophia Pender 

{DECEASED} 

To comfort the bereaved 

Jean Margaret Brodie 

Ruth Goulburn 

Yvette Negrine 

Pauline Vellins 

Jacques Chatard 

George Greenfield 

Leslie Ngatai 

Alan Vorsay 

Leonard Collins 

Joyce Herz 

Steven Ringler 

Charles Weber 

Michael Coper 

Paul Horsky 

Fritzi Ritterman 

Sylvia Weisenberg 

Svetlana Farbman 

Irene Inwald 

Leonard Robuck 

Zdenek Weiss 

Susan Feller 

Joslyn Katz 

David Maurice Rosswick 

Carole Ann Whitby 

Clara Fredilis 

Lionel Simon Katz 

Leon Rozenman 

Jeffrey Woolf 

Susie Gold 

Patricia Minnie King 

Hannah Shein 

Sylvia Golding 

Clara Langsam 

George Shelton 

Helena Goldstein 

Guido Alfred Mayer 

Helly Silberman 

Simon Gompertz 

Elaine Morris 

Margalith Spindler 

Eva Gottlieb 

Peter Morris 

Revekka Vakhgelt 

In the previous issue of TELL, we congratulated Mr Marcus Schweizer and Ms. Romy Ehrlich on their 

marriage. In error, the prefix “Mr” was used for Romy. We apologise for the error and any embarrassment. 

37

Sydney Art QuarteT 

CRossROADS 

an emanuel synagogue special event 

STEVE REICH'S DIFFERENT TRAINS 

by THE SYDNEY ART QUARTET 

with THEATRE & CINEMA INSTALLATION PLUS 

soon to be announced special guests 

Founded by Artistic Director & Cellist James Beck, the 

Sydney Art Quartet weaves ancient and contemporary 

stories into concert experiences that touch multiple senses 

and cultures. Since 2015 the group has created and 

produced over 100 performances with some 

of this country’s most exciting creatives. 

Wednesday 27th November, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm & 

Thursday 28th November, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm 

Entry includes drinks reception hosted by Cadence & Co. 

Bookings now open: 

https://events.humanitix.com.au/crossroads 

All encompassing 

events that embrace 

the here and now 

THE GUARDIAN 

AUSTRALIA 2017 

38

MASORTI MINYAN 

MONDAYS & THURSDAYS 

6:45AM 

39

{SERVICE TIMES} 

Morning Minyan 

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

All service times are subject to change. Please check 

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

SHABBAT SERVICES 

Erev Shabbat 

• 6:15pm - Masorti Service (Neuweg) 

• 6:15pm - Shabbat Live (New Sanctuary) 

Shabbat Morning 

• 9:00am - Masorti service (New Sanctuary) 

• 10:00am - Progressive service (Heritage Sanctuary) 

For other services, see: emanuel.org.au/events/month 

{CONTACT US} 

All services and other programs are held at the synagogue unless otherwise indicated: 

7 Ocean Street, Woollahra NSW 2025 

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

Call: (02) 9389 6444 

Email: info@emanuel.org.au 

Visit: emanuel.org.au 

Like: facebook.com/emanuel.synagogue 

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

Office hours 

Monday–Thursday: 9am–5pm 

Friday: 9am–2pm 

_______ 

Edited by Robert Klein 

{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 August - September 2019

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