The Brisbane Synagogue

Archive for December, 2018

“They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat” epitomizes most Jewish holidays. Food is central to our celebrations and we do a good job at preparing (and eating) all sorts of delicacies, especially on Chanukah.

But with every celebration comes a reminder of the sad times. Consider the Jewish wedding ceremony which always concludes with the breaking of a glass to remind us that we are still in exile and that our joy will not be complete until the Holy Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem.

And so, a mere week after Chanukah, Jews around the world observe the 10th of Tevet, this coming Tuesday, December 18, as a fast day. On this day, we commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem in 425 BCE, which eventually led to the destruction of the Temple on Tisha B’av.

Starting at sunrise and and ending at nightfall, we do not eat or drink and we recite additional prayers, beseeching of G-d to send us Moshiach, return all Jews to the Holy Land, and rebuild the Temple. May we soon witness this!

Mazal Tov to our many school graduates, who have today completed their primary and secondary schooling and we wish all students and their families a happy and healthy summer break.     

As we are now entering the summer vacation season, some of our members are away. Please make an extra effort to attend Shul services as we sometimes struggle to make a Minyan during this period.     

Shabbat Shalom we look forward to seeing you at Shul.

Levi and Dvorah Jaffe

This past Sunday, the first night of Chanukah, a historic Menorah lighting took place in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin where, eighty years ago, the very same spot was emblazoned in red Nazi flags at a torch-lit rally hours after Hitler ym”s (may his name be erased) formally rose to power..

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier proudly lit the shamash of the magnificent Menorha and addressed the crowd: “the lighting comes 80 years after the Nazis’ anti-Jewish Kristallnacht pogrom and in the shadow of the Holocaust.” He added that he was “thankful for the Jewish communities in Germany,” and remarked that “it is a gift that we can reach out to join hands over the chasm of our history.”

Rabbi Yehuda Tiechtel, chief Rabbi of Berlin, commented, “This gate marking Hitler’s rise to power, 80 years ago, represented the epitome of darkness … kindling the Chanukah lights at this very spot, represents the absolute triumph of good over evil, there could be no better place for a Chanukah menorah.”

Chanukah in front of the Brandenburg Gate reminds us, that our faith in G-d has, and will always prevail over all the darkness of the world, and the brightest flame of all is that of the irrepressible human spirit that lies within each of us.

Being that this Shabbat coincides with Rosh Chodesh and Chanukah, tomorrow will be one of those rare occasions when we remove three Torah scrolls from the Aron Hakodesh (Ark), and in the Birchat Hamazon (grace after meals), we will include mention of each of these special occasions.

Please see information below regarding various Chanukah celebrations, including our special Menorah lighting at Shul this evening.

As we are now entering the summer vacation season, when some of our members are away, please make an extra effort to attend Shul services, as we sometimes struggle to make a Minyan during this period.

Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov and Happy Chanukah and we look forward to seeing you at Shul and at Chanukah in the City.

Levi and Dvorah Jaffe