The Brisbane Synagogue

Archive for November, 2022

Last night, a moving Kristallnacht commemoration was held at our beautiful Synagogue, organised by the Qld Jewish Board of Deputies, with participation by many members of our community and the wider community, including representatives from various other faiths. Kol Hakavod to the speakers, and presenters, some of whom are members of our congregation,children and grandchildren of those who lived through the horrors of Kristallnacht, and the Shoah.

See below image of faith leaders and organizers of the Kristallnacht Commemoration  

This morning, we commenced lesson two of our current JLI course, ‘My G-d’ in which , among other commonly asked questions about Hashem, we addressed the question of whether Hashem communicates with us today, as He was prone to do with the Prophets of old, such as Moshe (Moses), Shmuel (Samuel) and Yeshayahu (Isaiah), which brought to mind the story that Victor Frankl includes in the introduction to his best-selling book ‘Man’s search for meaning’, in which he recounts that, before the war, he had the opportunity to escape Vienna and was even issued a visa. He and his wife Tilly, were expecting a child and the idea of emigrating was appealing, but he was torn about leaving his mother and father. On a visit to his parent’s home, his father showed him some marble carvings that he rescued from a destroyed synagogue (presumably from Kristallnacht). When Frankl looked at the inscription, it was one of the Ten Commandments, “Honor your mother and father.” Frankl viewed this ‘coincidence’ as a message from Hashem to remain with his parents, and he let his visa expire.

According to our Chassidic masters, we all receive subtle messages from Hashem, either consciously or subconsciously, gently guiding us in life, sometimes in the form of unexpected inspiration, or a sudden feeling to improve. It is up to us be mindful and pay attention to these messages.

Shabbat Shalom!      

Levi Jaffe

This week we commence the story of our people, with the fist communication of Hashem to our founding father, Avraham, and his devoted wife, Sarah, at the age of seventy five, requesting of them to leave their home and familiar surroundings, as they embark on a journey to unknown destination, a journey which has continued for over four thousand years, to this very day.

The wording that the Torah employs to describe Hashem’s instructions to Avraham to leave home seem to to be in incorrect order, “Go for yourself, from your land, your birthplace and your father’s house”. As when one leaves home geographically, the journey begins from one’s parents home, followed by one’s birthplace (City) and finally from one’s land. Why the reverse order.

Among the powerful messages being conveyed to Avram, and by extension to all of us, is that the Torah is not merely discussing a geographical journey, in which the order would indeed be to first leave home, then our birthplace – city and lastly our country, but rather it is referring to our spiritual and psychological journeys, as we progress and move forward in life, requiring of us to go out of our comfort zones, to dig deeper into ourselves to discover the inner resources that we posses to grow and confront life’s challenges, materially and spiritually. In this regard, the ‘journey’ is reversed, as it is easier for us to leave the influences of our country, more challenging are the influences of our cities and communities, and then come the most challenging of all, the unhealthy habits and influences we may have developed from our family and genetic make-up.

It has been said that one of the greatest miracles of history is the survival and endurance of the Jewish people, which has outlived many large and powerful nations, carrying the message of Monotheism, morality and Torah values to all corners of the world, as we have been dispersed throughout the world, including this wonderful Land Down Under.

It is not coincidental that the very week when read of Hashem’s initial call to Avraham, we here in our community, along with many other communities around the world, are embarking on our upcoming six-week JLI course, entitled ‘My G-d’ – Defining the Divine, which will address some of the fundamental questions about Hashem, the very questions which Avraham and Sarah grappled with on their journey towards the discovery of Monotheism and their mission to bring this awareness to the world.

We encourage you to join us for this fascinating and spiritually uplifting course, which will surely broaden your understanding and appreciation of Judaism.

We extend our Mazal Tov wishes to Binyamin Netanyahu, on his re-election as Prime Minister of Israel, may this usher in an era of increased stability, security and prosperity for Israel and the world.

Dvorah and I wish you and your family Shabbat Shalom and may we share good news

Shabbat Shalom!      

Levi Jaffe