The Brisbane Synagogue

Archive for May, 2020

This past week has been somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster, from ANZAC day last Shabbat, to the Yom Hazikaron commemorations – via unusual, yet creative online methods, including an eerie and lonely memorial ceremony at the Kotel – Western Wall, with only a small number of people present in person. President Rivlin, the IDF Chief of Staff, the Kotel Rabbi, a small squad of the military and some parents of fallen soldiers and the father of a martyred soldier recited Kaddish for his beloved son. Followed by Israel’s transition from mourning to the celebration of its Independence. May there be only cause for celebration in the future.

It is absolutely awe-inspiring to see how Israel has gone from a fledgling, underdeveloped nation to a virtual superpower in the last few decades. Baruch Hashem!

As a result of the recent forums which were held before Pesach in the Brisbane Synagogue Memorial Hall, for the purpose of sharing ideas on how we may enhance the services and activities of our congregation, it is our intention to use this newsletter as an avenue to keep our members and friends abreast of developments in this regard. In the coming weeks we will report on some of these outcomes and we welcome your feedback and comments in this regard

We are also planning to re-introduce a periodic section entitled ‘Congregant Profile’, in which we will invite various congregants to share about their lives, and in particular their association with the Brisbane Hebrew Congregation, which will afford us the opportunity to get to know each other a little more intimately, and gain a glimpse into the life and times of our congregational history. This section will no doubt have particular relevance during these challenging times of physical social distancing. This week we feature below Jack Carol, our most senior regular Shul attendee, who arrived to Brisbane, originally from Manchester UK, in 1934 and has many fond memories of Brisbane and his long-standing association with the Brisbane Hebrew Congregation.

Next Friday will be Pesach Sheni – the second Pesach, which takes place a month after Pesach (Passover), reminding us that it is never too late and, if we fail to achieve success the first time round, we always have another opportunity to improve and make things right. It is customary to eat Matzah on this day and to reflect on the message of the day.

In light of the State Government’s easing of Covid 19 restrictions from this weekend, please ensure that you adhere to the various regulations in this regard for the safety of everyone.

Please join us for our weekly Erev Shabbat Zoom session this afternoon at 4.30pm via the following link: https://zoom.us/j/79189717814 Please be aware that, in order to participate you need to download the Zoom app to your computer or mobile phone. All welcome!

We wish you and your family Shabbat Shalom .

Levi and Dvorah Jaffe