Central Synagogue Rosh Hashana 5776

JOURNAL THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE

ROSH HASHANAH 5776 / 2015

REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIA POST PP100001387

contents WELCOME Message from Our President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Message from Rabbi Levi Wolff . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

TISHREI CALENDAR AT THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE

Message from Rabbi David Freedman . . . . . . . . 6 Farewell Message from our Shlichim . . . . . . . . .8 Our New Arrivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 YOUR HIGH HOLYDAY GUIDE Rosh Hashanah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Yom Kippur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Shofar Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Sukkot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah . . . . . . . . . 17 Unetaneh Tokef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 VOICES FROM OUR COMMUNITY A Wedding of Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 King of the Egg Cream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Meeting with Marianna Kasprazak . . . . . . . . . 22 Klal Yisroel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Oliver Sacks: Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Matthew, Our Long Lost Brother . . . . . . . . . . . 31 COMMUNITY NEWS AND UPDATES Hineni Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 S.P.A.R.C.S. Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Bar Mitzvahs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Bat Mitzvahs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Engagements & Weddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Past & Upcoming Event @ Central . . . . . . . . . . 42 Rosh Hashanah Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Awards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Condolences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

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SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER EREV ROSH HASHANAH Selichot / Sacharit . . . . . . 7:30am Candle Lighting . . . . . . . 5:28pm Mincha followed by Maariv 5:40pm MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 1ST DAY ROSH HASHANAH Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . . 7:45am Torah . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00am Creche (2-6) . . 9:30am to 1:30pm Childrens Service (6+) 10:30am-1pm Shofar . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00am Mussaf . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:15am Sermon . . . . . . . . . . . 12:30pm Mincha followed by Maariv 5:40pm Light candles . . . . . .after 6:22pm TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2ND DAY ROSH HASHANAH Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . . 7:45am Torah . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00am Creche (2-6) . . 9:30am to 1:30pm Childrens Service (6+) 10:30am-1pm Shofar . . . . . . . . . . . 10:00am Mussaf . . . . . . . . . . . 10:15am Sermon . . . . . . . . . . . 12:30pm Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . 5:40pm Shabbat Service . . . . . . . 6:22pm WEDNESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER FAST OF GEDALIAH Fast commences . . . . . . .4:38am Selichot/Shacharit . . . . . . 6:15am Mincha followed by Maariv . 5:15pm Fast ends . . . . . . . . . . . 6:13pm No 2nd Minyan TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER EREV YOM KIPPUR Selichot/Shacharit . . . . . 6:15am Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . .1:00pm Candle Lighting & Fast Commences . . . . . . 5:31pm Kol Nidre 5:30pm for 5:45pm sharp WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER YOM KIPPUR Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . .8:45am Torah . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:15am Yizkor & Sermon . . . . . . 11:15am Mussaf . . . . . . . . . . . 12:00pm

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SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER EREV SUCCOT Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . 8:00am Candle Lighting . . . . . . .5:35pm Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . .5:45pm Yom Tov Services . . . . . . 6:00pm Family Succot Dinner in the Shule MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 1ST DAY SUCCOT Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . .8:45am Hallel/Torah . . . . . . . . .9:30am Mincha/Maariv . . . . . . . .5:45pm Maariv . . . . . . . . . . . .6:00pm Light Candles . . . . After 6:34pm TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2ND DAY SUCCOT Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . .8:45am Hallel/Torah . . . . . . . . .9:30am Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . .5:45pm Maariv & Yomtov ends. . . 6:40pm SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER HOSHANA RABA Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . 6:00am Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . .5:45pm Maariv . . . . . . . . . . . .6:00pm Candle Lighting . . . . . . . 6:40pm MONDAY 5 OCT. (public holiday) SHEMINI ATZERET Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . .8:45am Hallel/Torah . . . . . . . . . 9:30am Yizkor/Sermon . . . . . . . 10:15am Mussaf . . . . . . . . . . . 10:30am Mincha followed by Maariv & Hakafot . . . . . . . . . . 7:00pm Light Candles . . . . . after 7:39pm TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER SIMCHAT TORAH Shacharit . . . . . . . . . . .8:45am Kiddush & Hakafot . . . . 10:00am Mincha . . . . . . . . . . . 6:50pm Maariv & Yomtov ends. . . .7:40pm

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

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ver the past year, as President, I was present at many wonderful smachot at The Central Synagogue. Recently, my only son, Ryan, celebrated his Barmitzvah and as a proud father I was able to see from a celebrant’s perspective the beauty of a Shabbat at Central. It was an unforgettable experience and a privilege to enjoy our special simcha with the entire Central Synagogue family.

The year 5776 holds many exciting things for The Central Synagogue. As we eagerly await approval to begin development plans on our new Outdoor Art Gallery and Youth Centre the Synagogue is alive with excitement. A new play area for our children, an art gallery to capture our history and a brilliant new learning facility for young and old will all form part of the planned complex. The new development will pave the way for our next generation and will ensure the very important continuity of Yiddishkeit in our community.

We recently said farewell to our Shlichim, Aaron and Shachar, who have returned back to Israel after almost two years with us. They will both be sorely missed by the community and I know that all their hard work and excellent new initiatives will continue for many years to come.

We are excited to advise that joining the team is Alon Bar David who will continue Aaron and Shachar’s great work as the new Hineni Shaliach. Alon will arrive in early December and will hit the ground running at Hineni’s ever growing summer camp.

Along with Alon, we have the privilege of welcoming our new Youth Rabbi and Rebbetzin who will be joining the Central team just after the Chagim. Gabi and Mushka Kaltmann, and their new addition, Avraham Dov, will be heading up all our Youth Programs and building on an already strong foundation of Judaism. We look forward to making Gabi, Mushka and Alon feel at home and a part of The Central Synagogue family.

On 23 and 24 October the community will all rally together in a show of support of The Shabbat Project. There are many events and activities planned at Central, including a Challah bake, a young adult dinner and a Havdallah concert – so do not miss out! We are very ex-

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

cited to announce that we will be hosting a Central Synagogue concert on 4 November.

Join The Sydney International Orchestra, Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, Cantor Shimon Farkas OAM, Cantor Yehuda Niasoff and The Central Synagogue Choir for a magical, musical evening. Tickets go on sale on 21 September.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Executive and Board Members of The Central Synagogue for their continued support and involvement. We are also truly blessed to be led by our dynamic Rabbi Levi and Rebbetzin Chanie Wolff whose continued commitment to Judaism, Israel and the community is unwavering. A Yesher Koach to Rabbi David Freedman who with his friendship and sincerity is a great help in servicing our growing communal demands. I thank our exceptional Chazzanim, Cantor Shimon Farkas and Rabbi Yehuda Niasoff and the entire Central Synagogue Choir without whom our magnificent services would not be possible. They all bring immense pleasure and joy to the prayers and davening that make this Shul so special.

Finally I am indebted to our dedicated office staff of Leigh Golombick, Phil Ginges, Janice Wolff , Dani Glasser, Rai Parisat and Vicky Sherman who keep the wheels of the Synagogue moving. We also all pray for Malka’s speedy recovery and look forward to her return to work.

In conclusion, as we bring in the New Year, I thank all of you for your continued support of our ever growing Synagogue and look forward to sharing many more blessings with you. May the coming year see Hashem’s greatest gifts bestowed on us and on Klal Yisrael.

On behalf of my wife Dannielle, The Executive and the Board of Management of The Central Synagogue I want to wish you and your families a Shana Tova and well over the fast.

BY DANNY TAIBEL President

THE NEW DEVELOPMENT WILL PAVE THE WAY FOR OUR NEXT GENERATION AND WILL ENSURE THE VERY IMPORTANT CONTINUITY OF YIDDISHKEIT IN OUR COMMUNITY.

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MESSAGE FROM OUR RABBI

IT PAYS TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE

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t never stops to amaze me how quickly time flies. Just yesterday Chanie and I were sitting around the Pesach Seder table with the family and here I am writing about Rosh Hashanah! The last 5 months have been very busy at The Central Synagogue. From our Mummy & Me Kidz Ruach Club, our weekly Shiurim and our Monday S.P.A.R.C.S group our weeks are never dull!

BY RABBI LEVI WOLFF

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If I were to point out a few highlights, the Tikkun Leil on Shavout was a roaring success with over 170 people in attendance who sat and studied with a line-up of great speakers well after midnight! Shavout saw a very impressive crowd in Shule which was followed by a wonderful Shavuot lunch with guest speakers Searle Brajtman from Yad Vashem and Dr Colin Rubenstein, Director of AIJAC Australia.

In June we launched a special new group for our Young Adults called “Cholent and Chat” which welcomes our 20-30 year olds on Saturday afternoon once a quarter for a schmooze and some good old fashioned Shabbes food. We also launched a new initiative called AINYC – Australians In New York City. With so many young adults moving abroad to New York, AINYC aims to provide an immediate support network of fellow young Jewish Aussie’s who are working, studying or visiting the big apple. I was privileged be in NYC for the launch which took place in Manhattan with over 60 attendees. Many more events are planned so stay tuned!

Aaron and Shachar have also been very busy having launched our first ever “Book

Swap” which welcomed over 100 people through our doors and saw several hundred books exchanged. What a wonderful sight to see so many people enjoying their Israel and Judaica books. Hineni camp was also a thriving success with one of the largest groups attending to date. Kol Hakavod to them and the madricihim for running such a successful week!

With a heavy heart I take this opportunity to farewell our Shluchim, Aaron and Shachar, who are heading back to Israel after almost two years of service at The Central Synagogue. Aaron and Shachar have made an impenetrable difference to the Shule and they will be sorely missed by us all. They have introduced several brilliant new initiatives, made many lifelong friends and taken Hineni into many exciting new directions. We wish you both all the health and happiness in the world and look forward to visiting you in Israel.

After quite a few months of searching, we are excited to advise that Alon Bar David, will be joining Central in late November as our new Shaliach. Alon comes from Rehovot in Israel and has spent the last four years running youth camps all

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over the world. Along with Alon’s arrival, we also have the privilege of welcoming Rabbi Gabi and Mushka Kaltmann as our new Youth Rabbi and Rebbetzin of The Central Synagogue.

Gabi and Mushka have just had their first baby and all three will be coming to Sydney after the High Holydays. Gabi is originally from Australia and Mushka grew up on Shluchis in Thailand. I am sure we will all make our new arrivals feel very much at home and look forward to an exciting fun packed year ahead.

Following the High Holydays and our new arrivals we roll straight into the Shabbat Project. On Thursday, 22 October we invite all the women of our community to come to a “Challah with Chanie” evening, sponsored by Glicks.

Learn the Rebbetzin’s secret to her perfect Challah recipe and enjoy the magic of this essential Shabbat ritual! On Friday, 23 October all our young adults are invited to a “Bedouin on Bon Accord” Shabbat evening. Enjoy a Moroccan feast under the night’s skies in a beautiful Bedouin tent. Shabbat afternoon we will be hosting a range of hub activities for the young and old and finally to end Shabbat a magical Havdallah concert with a host of exciting singers!

As we prepare once again these High Holydays to gather in Shule in prayer, consider this thought in mind: Many of you may know about the groundbreaking brain research done in the last 20 years. Scientists identified the two sides of the brain and their individual functions. The left brain controls verbal ability and intellectual thinking while the right brain controls emotional, creative functioning. That is why, G-d forbid, a person who has had a stroke on the left side of their brain will be able to think, feel, and recognise, but not be able to express any thoughts in words.

Well, prayer in Judaism, though it uses words, is primarily a right-brain phenomenon. Its purpose is more emotional than intellectual — it’s called the Avodah sheb’lev. It does not matter how much Hebrew you know. What matters is how much your heart is connecting to

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G-d when you pray.

I have a moving bit of scientific proof for this. A few years ago, I “YOU ARE MY MAN! THAT read a book by a speech therapist who worked IS THE MOST SINCERE, with stroke patients. She wrote about an eightyHEARTFELT PRAYER I seven-year-old man who suffered a left-hemHAVE HEARD ALL DAY.” isphere stroke.

He couldn’t talk, he couldn’t tell you his name, but he could recite the entire Jewish morning service by heart. You see, prayer is from the high holydays reflect on the meaning of heart. the words. Don’t worry if you can’t keep One year, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of up with the congregation. One word said Berditchev told his congregation that from the heart is greater than a hundred he was looking for someone to blow said without understanding or attenthe shofar on Rosh Hashanah. One can- tion. If a particular passage touches you, didate after another applied. He asked stay there for a while, and if you’re realeach of them what was their kavanah, ly brave, close your eyes and reflect. If on what were they concentrating, when you’re not proficient in Hebrew I’m told they blew the shofar? Each candidate that G-d understands English well. And, responded with a profound, esoteric, don’t worry as I will announce the pages Kabbalistic concept. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak so you can always catch up. dismissed them all.

Finally, remember, as you sit in Off to the side, stood a man who ap- Shule, that you join millions of Jews in peared hesitant to apply. “Do you know synagogues across the world. You are how to blow the shofar?” Rabbi Levi part of a four-thousand-year-old choral Yitzchak asked. “Yes,” the man replied, symphony, composed of the voices of “And what would you think about at the every Jew across the centuries who said moment of blowing shofar?” Rabbi Levi these words. This alone is a powerful Yitzchak asked. The man began to cry. commitment to your own Jewishness, “Rebbe,” he said, “I am not learned in to your ancestors, and to the Jewish Kabbalah, and I do not know any eso- people. teric meanings. I am poor, and I do not Chanie and the children join me have sufficient money for my daughter’s in wishing you and your family a Shawedding, and I fear the engagement na Tovah! — A Gut Yohr. May we all be might break up because of this. I there- inscribed in the Book of Life for a hapfore will think, “Father in Heaven, I am py, healthy, peaceful, prosperous, safe, doing your will and blowing the shofar secure and spiritually rewarding New as you commanded. Please answer my Year. Good yomtov! prayer and give me the means to allow my beloved daughter to marry.”

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak beamed with delight. “You are my man! That is the most sincere, heartfelt prayer I have heard all day.”

You see, from this story, we learn that it pays to keep things simple. Let us pray from the depths of our heart.

So when you daven throughout the 5

MESSAGE FROM RABBI DAVID FREEDMAN

BEING CREATED IN G-D’S IMAGE

WHAT I CAN DO TO ENHANCE G-D’S IMAGE IN THE WORLD.

I

like to think that I am consistent. It is important to me. But I am human and therefore by definition, imperfect. So it is that when I act inconsistently, I feel that I have let myself and others down.

BY RABBI DAVID FREEDMAN

SO WHAT IS THE TRUTH ... ARE WE G-D’S PRIDE AND JOY, OR HAVE WE FAILED DISMALLY TO REFLECT HIS GLORY?

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With that in mind, whenever I have seem to run counter to one another. advised people how to make their home The first is Betselem Elokim Bara Oto kosher, I have always asked them the – that man was made in the image of G-d. same question – whether or not, now that This crucial sentence has coloured the they are going to be ‘kosher’ at home, will Jewish view of humanity. While some oththey be consistent in their new found reli- er religions maintain that human beings gious zeal? In other words, will they be as are born with evil intent, a concept known kosher as their kitchen, or will they only as Original Sin, Judaism insists instead keep to the complicated and demanding that every person is created in the image Jewish Dietary Laws in their own home? of G-d and contains a spark of the Divine Or to those who are inspired to keep with a yearning to do good.

Shabbat for the first time, and now won’t It is the image of G-d which sets huswitch on anything electrical during manity apart from the rest of the animal Shabbat, nor drive a car for 25 hours, I kingdom, as it says in Pirke Avot (The Ethalways feel compelled to ask, will you be ics of the Fathers), “beloved is the human just as meticulous with some of our oth- being who is created in the image of G-d.” er codes of conduct, such as lashon hara, Several fundamental ideas emerge trying to avoid tale-bearing and gossip, or from the Tzelem Elokim principle. Firstly, abiding by the demanding rules of Jewish if each of us is created in G-d’s image, it business ethics ensuring that one is scru- follows that all people-regardless of race, religion, nationality, age, or gender-are of pulously honest at all times?

I also worry when verses in the To- equal value. rah appear to be contradictory, or where One rabbinic commentary teaches us they appear out of sync with life around that because of this single sentence in us. If anything should be the absolute ex- Genesis, human beings can relate to G-d ample of consistency, surely it should be “vertically” and “horizontally.” Namely, the Torah, since this was given to us by that we have the capacity to reach upG-d. After all, we call the Torah, Torah wards to G-d through prayer and ritual, as Temimah – the Perfect Torah – so any in- well as reaching out to Him by performing consistencies are deeply worrying. acts of gemilat chesed, loving-kindness, Let me give you an example of such for our fellow human beings. Either way an apparent contradiction. There are two we are connecting with the Divine. To be verses at the beginning of the Bible that sure, our belief is that if one hurts another

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human being, G-d is hurt. Similarly, if one brings joy to another, G-d is more joyous. Hence we can maintain both a horizontal and vertical relationship with the Almighty.

So much for the first verse – an uplifting description of the innate nature of man.

But like a person who keeps kosher at home and eats treif outside, or one who is meticulous with Shabbat but not so fussy with lashon hara – suddenly the bubble is burst when we read a second verse a chapter or so later in the Book of Bereishit – that totally contradicts the first sentence. Some would say it’s the most poignant line in the Bible.

G-d has just created a world of order and beauty.

He has formed man, in His own image, when suddenly and tragically he sees human beings doing wrong, first Adam and Eve, then Cain. Humanity, acting without humanity and certainly without godliness, and they begin to undermine and destroy society, until by the time of Noah the world is full of violence.

It is then that the Bible states: “And G-d regretted that He had made man on earth and it grieved Him to His very core.”

So what is the truth, is it the first verse or the second? Are we G-d’s pride and joy, or have we failed dismally to reflect His glory?

Are we G-d-like creatures, which the Bible initially suggests, or are we, as the second verse indicates, a

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dark satanic species endlessly in conflict with one another, bringing horror and terror, violence and evil into the world?

I do not know that I can answer that question, the jury is still out; but I do believe that the two verses which reflect humanity’s predisposition to do good, but equally to perform evil are not entirely contradictory – for it must be remembered that the image of G-d does not mean that every human being is automatically good.

Whatever we are remains difficult to define, but I am able to tell you, according to Jewish tradition, what we are not! We are not machines. We are not automatically programmed to be moral and upright, to be sincere and angelic at all times.

The reality is that the two verses are not contradictory, but rather a hope and a warning. If we struggle and we conquer our base instincts then we can overcome them, and with faith and effort we can live our lives in G-d’s image. This is the hope. But if we fail in this stern test, then we could sink lower than any animal that has roamed the earth, and far from being a blessing, humanity would bring tragedy, sorrow and destruction into the world.

As we recall on Rosh Hashanah the creation of the world, it is worth reading very carefully the opening chapter of Bereishit. There the words ki tov (and it was good), are found after every stage of creation, except with regard to the formation of mankind.

This is because as human beings, on being created, we only have potential, not certainty. If properly nurtured, we may ascend to sublime heights, if abused we will descend to the lowest depths.

Whether we are tov (good) depends on the way we live our lives, and it is the High Holy Days which remind us that we are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur compel us to confront the issue head on by demanding that each of us ask the question, ‘What can I do to enhance G-d’s image in the world?’

May each of us be blessed to find an answer that will truly bring goodness to others and peace for ourselves in the coming year.

May I wish each and every one of you – Ketivah Vachtimah Tovah, that you be inscribed and written in the Book of Life.

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SCHLICHIM MESSAGE

FAREWELL MESSAGE FROM THE SHLICHIM SHACHAR & AARON KALMAN

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n Jewish tradition Rosh HaShanah is, among other things, the day on which the world was created and the story of life began. According to this idea, the celebrations of this Holy Day aren’t only a festival, but rather the birthday party for the world.

BY SHACHAR AND AARON KALMAN

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE BEST PART OF OUR SHLICHUT WAS GETTING TO KNOW ALL OF YOU, THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THIS AMAZING COMMUNITY...

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When we look at the prayers of Rosh HaShanah we see that the Rabbis, in a number of times, alluded to this idea – the most famous of which is the liturgical poem ‫היום הרת עולם‬, roughly translated as the day on which the world’s pregnancy came to an end. This prayer talks about Hashem looking at everything he created and passing his judgment regarding what was – and what will be.

With the idea of the day being the world’s birthday, some have asked why the Torah readings don’t reflect this notion. Instead of reading the story of creation as told in the first chapters of Bereshit, we read about the birth of Yishmael and Yitzhak, as well as their near-death experiences. Both stories start with Hashem commanding Avraham to send his son to his death, continue with a miraculous intervention by G-d – with the child saved by the appearance of an angel and, in Yitzhak’s case, Avrham sacrificing a ram instead of his son. Both stories also leave us with the question “Should Avraham have done what he did,” asked in some way or another.

What’s very clear is that the Torah readings chosen don’t talk about Rosh HaShanah as the day of creation, but rather frame the day as something else. Why

is this? Why do we reflect on these stories, as opposed to the marvelous world around us?

One answer is that the story of Bereshit is that of a clean start: Hashem creates a beautiful world, with no worries and no problems; Literarily, a Garden of Eden on earth, with man living in it. Only later do things start to get more complicated, with the sins of mankind and the expulsion from paradise.

Rosh HaShanah, on the other hand, isn’t a clean start; it’s the story of changing direction, not of starting a new life.

When we stand before Hashem in the days before the new year and all the way through to Yom Kippur we’re busy with two main aspects – confessing our misguided actions in the past, and looking towards the future; at no point in the prayers do we pretend to say that our past is erased – only that our behavior in the future can be different.

This can explain why we read the stories of Yishmael and Yitzhak, the sons of Avraham. Our Rabbis found these stories to be ones of inspiration – for they talk about our ability to follow Hashem’s wishes, while asking very real and challenging questions about our morality and decisions. As we listen to the Torah, we’re

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all meant to be thinking about the past and the future of our own, very real, lives – not about an abstract and beautiful world that was once created.

It’s hard to believe that almost two full years have passed since we arrived at The Central Synagogue and began to know and love this community. Two years ago we felt like a new world was spread at our feet: we were full of ideas and projects we wanted to implement in order to give you a taste of our Israel. Now, we can look back at our time in Sydney and say there were events we succeeded in putting together, projects we enjoyed being part of and challenges that we had to overcome.

It’s hard to summarise two years of activities.

Where should we start? The SereTov Israeli Film Club, which run almost every month for two years and drew dozens of people was a great way to see parts of Israeli society through a different lens; Working with Hineni on weekly meetings and camps for hundreds of participants was tiring at times, but also provided us with some of the best memories from Australia; communal Shabbat meals and festivals on Purim and Chanukah were a huge part of our life, and the Yom HaAtzmaut Photo Exhibit was one of the most exciting projects we put together. But our time here wasn’t only about the big and large events advertised in the newsletters. It’s hard to describe the joy and satisfaction of running Central’s KidzClub and getting to know the children of the community, week after week over time; The same is true about the Madrichim in

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Hineni and other youth movements in Sydney, who came to our house every Monday evening for a study and discussion group about current affairs through classic Jewish writings; and talking to those who attended our various Israel-related mini series of classes was a real treat.

There is no doubt that the best part of our Shlichut was getting to know all of you, the wonderful people who make up this amazing community. Almost every week we had the privilege of hosting teenagers, university students, young adults or families at our place for a Shabbat meal. The conversations we had together, about Israel, Jewish life and many less serious topics were some of the best moments we had here, and we know they weren’t the last conversations we’ll have with you.

Rosh HaShanah is about reflection, but not only about looking at the past. Without a future, or a goal for your life, there is no reason to look back on what you’ve done so far. These special days in the Jewish calendar allow us to pause and think – not merely about what was, but rather about how we can make next year better than the one that just ended.

In Hebrew when you say “goodbye” you use the word ‫להתראות‬. It’s different to English, because it doesn’t only bid a farewell to the person being waved off – it actually contains an important message: “See you again.” When we say ‫ להתראות‬we don’t always know when or where we’ll meet, but we have every intention of not letting that person step out of our lives.

As we say ‫ להתראות‬to this lovely community, we encourage you to let us know when you’ve booked your next trip to Israel, because we’d like to see you there; In the words of the prayer ending Yom Kippur, ‫להתראות‬ Next year in Jerusalem.

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OUR NEW ARRIVALS

INTRODUCING OUR NEW YOUTH LEADERS! RABBI GABI & MUSHKA KALTMANN

R RABBI GABI & MUSHKA KALTMANN

abbi Gabi Kaltmann is committed to actively spreading Judaism wherever he may find himself. He has travelled the world extensively, meeting Jewish people from all types of communities in his role as a Rabbi, including the Hills of India, the unpaved roads of Nigeria and the sweltering streets of Bangkok.

To many people, Gabi is known as the “Kotel Rabbi,” where he often coordinates Taglit-Birthright Friday Night services and has hundreds of people dancing and singing in unison on Friday nights at the Western Wall. Gabi’s infectious passion for his Jewish heritage has a lasting impact on every Jew he meets.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Gabi has studied at Yeshivahs in Brunoy, France, Brooklyn, New York, Tzfat and Jerusalem. Gabi received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivah Beis Menachem in Jerusalem, Israel. In the USA, Gabi worked for The Shul of Bal Har-

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bour – the biggest synagogue in Florida, running their youth programs. Which included after school programs, pre holiday get togethers and there famous Shabbat teen Minyan. As well as organising Jewish single events. Married in Bangkok Thailand in 2014 to his beautiful wife Mushka, Gabi and Mushka have lived for the past year in the Holy Land.

Mushka Kaltmann, nee Kantor grew up as the eldest of 8 children in the only religious family in Bangkok, Thailand, where her father, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor is the Chief Rabbi. Mushka has always served as a guide and leader for those

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TOGETHER WITH THEIR NEW BABY THEY ARE EAGER TO MEET THE MANY PEOPLE THAT around her, as the majority of people she grew up with visiting her home were not religious. At only 9 years of age she started her own Hebrew club, teaching her Jewish friends in Thailand about Jewish holidays and customs. Since then she has ran summer camps, Shabbat kids services, and teen social events in Israel, The USA, Sweden and her home country Thailand. Mushka finished her high school education in Los Angeles, California and has a Bachelors degree in education from Bet Chana Tzfat, Israel.

Her unique upbringing, coupled with her outgoing personality and Hassidic Ideology has been brought to seminars and youth programs that she has run around the globe. Mushka speaks four languages including Thai.

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

MAKE UP THE WONDERFUL COMMUNITY OF CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE...

Gabi and Mushka are very excited to move to such a vibrant and upstanding community. Together with their new baby they are eager to meet the many people that make up the wonderful community of Central Synagogue. They hope that people will gravitate to their home which they intend to fill with interesting Torah classes and regular Shabbat meals. They have many plans for engaging the kids and youth, running exciting new initiatives for all ages. Including a brand new interactive program for Shabbat and holiday children services, bringing the Shul experience to a new

level. They have a vision to strengthen the community of teens and young adults with a broad range of religious, cultural, welfare and social programs because that is where the community of the future lies.

Gabi and Mushka look forward to forging connections, promoting Jewish values and enriching Jewish life, ensuring that each person with whom they associate with feels part of this truly unbelievable community.

Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, sweet new year filled with blessing and success.

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H

OLY DA H H G I Y

GUIDE 5776

ROSH HASHANAH: SUNDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER

R

osh Hashanah (Head of the Year). The Kabbalists teach that basically what your brain is to your body, Rosh Hashanah is to the year.

It’s the Head of the Year, it’s the nerve center of the year, what happens on Rosh Hashanah impacts the entire year.

ALSO KNOWN AS: Yom Hazikaron (Day of Remembrance). This is the name of the holiday used in our prayers, blessing at candle lighting, and in the Kiddush.

HISTORICAL ORIGINS: It’s the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve.

BIBLICAL VERSE: “…Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh 12

month, on the first of the month, it shall be a Sabbath for you, a remembrance of [Israel through] the shofar blast a holy occasion.” – Leviticus 23:24 Rosh Hashanah is the day we proclaim G-d King of the Universe. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, “all inhabitants of the world pass before G-d like a flock of sheep,” and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who

shall live, and who shall die . . . who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.”

SPECIAL OBSERVANCE: Hear the Shofar. The shofar, the ram’s horn, which was used to warn people of approaching danger or to call them to return and regroup, was also used to coronate kings. The Heavenly shofar was heard at Mount Saini and the Heavenly shofar will again be sounded in the future to herald the arrival of the redemption. On Rosh Hashanah make sure to hear the Shofar on both days.

THE SHOFAR: Best to use a ram’s horn to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to G-d;

we evoke Abraham’s merit as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity.

DO-IT-YOUR-SELF: The shofar has three sounds: 1) the long blast of tekiya 2) the three shorter blasts of shevarim and 3) the nine rapid blasts of teruah. The length of each of the three sounds should be the same so that the one tekiya is the length of the shevarim or teruah. Of course that’s not true of the final tekiya gedola or the large tekiya that can go as long as you can hold the note. Do not place the shofar in the center of your lips like a trumpet, rather use the right side of your mouth. Practice to blow from your stomach not your cheeks, so if your cheeks are puffed up right now, you’re doing it wrong.

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THE MONTH BEFORE: During Elul, the month before the High Holy Days, we begin practicing blowing the shofar daily and reciting Psalm 27 in our daily prayers. The code of Jewish Law encourages people to visit the resting place of a great tzadik to pray before the High Holy Days.

THE DAY BEFORE: To separate between the practice shofar blowing and the real ones, we do

not blow the shofar on the day before Rosh Hashanah. Give extra charity. Girls and women light candles 18 minutes before sunset.

Bless your friends with the words “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”

CUSTOMARY FOODS: Eat apple dipped in honey on the first night, to symbolize our desire for a sweet year. Some have a head of a fish, ram, or other kosher

animal, to symbolize our desire to be at the “head of the class” this year.

Pomegranates symbolise our wish for a year full of mitzvot and good deeds as a pomegranate is filled with seeds.

Throughout the meal, it is customary to also eat foods whose names in the vernacular allude to blessing and prosperity. For example, many have the custom of eating a carrot dish, because in Yiddish the word for carrots,

Ask your parents for a blessing and bless your children, light a memorial candle (if applicable). Girls and women light candles 18 minutes before sunset.

CUSTOM: In the early morning hours before Yom Kippur we take a white rooster, or fish, or money and give it to charity in what is called the Kaparot ceremony.

YOM KIPPUR:

TUESDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER

Y

om Kippur means “Day of Atonement.” Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year—the day on which we are closest to G-d and to the quintessence of our own souls.

BIBLICAL VERSE: “…On the tenth of this seventh month, it is a day of atonement, it shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall afflict yourselves...” —Leviticus 23:27 HISTORICAL ORIGINS: The golden calf incident happened while the Jews were camped at Mount Sinai.

Moses ascended the mountain to beg for mercy and on the 10th day of Tishrei, G-d said: “I forgive you.” That

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

WHAT TO WEAR: It is a custom to wear white as a sign of purity. Men bring your tallit to services Yom Kippur eve as it’s the only night service that the tallit is worn.

day was the first Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement.

And that Divine forgiveness happens every year on the 10th of Tishrei.

OBSERVANCE: 1) Abstain from food and drink. 2) Do not wash your body. 3) Do not anoint your body with creams or lotions. 3) Do not wear leather footwear.

5) Abstain from marital relations.

BEFORE YOM KIPPUR: Request and receive honey cake, should you ever need to ask for anything this year, let it be a piece of cake. Eat a festive meal; some immerse in a mikvah; and give extra charity. In the late afternoon we eat the pre-fast meal.

PRAYERS: In the course of Yom Kippur we hold five prayer services: 1) Maariv, with its solemn Kol Nidrei service, on the eve of Yom Kippur; 2) Shacharit—the morning prayer, which includes the Yizkor memorial service; 3) Musaf, which

meren, means to multiply.

Eat a new fruit on the second night and recite the Shehecheyanu blessing.

TASHLICH: On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, a special prayer is said near a body of water with fish in it. Water is a symbol of Divine kindness and fish a symbol of an ever-open-eye, making it the perfect place to pray for Divine mercy.

includes a detailed account of the Yom Kippur Temple service; 4) Minchah, which includes the reading of the Book of Jonah; and 5) Neilah, the “closing of the gates” service at sunset.

(See page 2 for our complete schedule).

The closing Neilah service climaxes in the resounding single blast of the shofar, followed by the proclamation, “Next year in Jerusalem.”

We then perform the Havdalah service and Blessing of the New Moon, and partake of a festive after-fast meal, making the evening after Yom Kippur a yom tov (festival) in its own right.

DEEP & MYSTICAL: Kabbalah teaches that the soul has five parts 1) Nefesh animates action 2) Ruach animates emotions 3) Neshama animates intellect 4) Chaya animates spiritual life and 5) Yechida is simply one with G-d, the quintessence of the soul. Yom Kippur is the holiday of the Fifth level of the soul, Yechida “Oneness,” That’s why we have 5 observances and the 5 prayers, to awaken our fifth level of pure connection and oneness with Divinity.

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SHOFAR SECRETS: PERFECT PARABLES

“…Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, it shall be a Sabbath for you, a remembrance of [Israel through] the shofar blast a holy occasion.” —Leviticus 23:24

T

SHOFAR: HOW TO FIND YOUR VOICE

here is a beautiful parable. It is about a king and his only son. The prince was kind and smart, but his strength and bravery were unknown as he grew up in the safe and wealthy castle of his father. So, one day, the king decided that it would be educational for the prince to travel to a faraway land to learn the wisdom and ways of the people who lived there. The king gave the prince an entourage of ministers and servants as well as a large amount of money for this expedition, all so that he advance in his knowledge and wisdom beyond his ability to do so at home, in the king’s court.

But the plan didn’t really work out and as the journey wore on, the prince spent all the money on the luxuries he was accustomed to at home plus other excesses that he indulged in on the way. Eventually, he was left with nothing, and had arrived at a place so far away from home that no one there had ever heard of his father.

Distraught, the prince decided it was time to go home. But he had been away so long that he had forgotten his native tongue, so when he finally made his way back to the capital city of his kingdom, he could not explain to anyone who he was and 14

where he needed to go. He tried to gesture to them that he was the prince, but of course no one paid any attention to him. Finally, when he was near enough to the palace so the king could hear him, he let loose a wordless scream so his father would recognise his voice. The king indeed recognised his son’s voice and sent for him, and so they were reunited.

The great Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chasidism would tell this story when he wanted to explain the relationship between the Jewish soul and G-d. He would say: Your Jewish soul is like G-d’s child; and you were sent into the foreign environment of this material world learn the ways of the Torah and fulfill its commandments.

But sometimes we get side tracked, the soul becomes increasingly estranged from its native milieu; it is gradually drawn into an environment that does not recognise Divinity and is not concerned with it, and it eventually forgets the language of holiness and purity.

But at some point, it remembers who it is and cries out to G-d. This is the wordless blast of the shofar, which utters the innermost voice of the soul that is longing for its Divine home.

When G-d hears this cry, He restores the soul to its former glory.

SHOFAR SECRETS: HOW TO REKINDLE AND RECLAIM YOUR VOICE A king once set out on a journey that led him deep into a thick forest. At one point, he lost his way and could not

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Illustration by Marc Lumer

determine how to get out. A group of villagers passed by, so he asked them for directions back to the palace. But they did not recognise him, so they did not know if they should help him or not, and moreover, they did not know the way to the palace. Eventually, someone passed by who did recognise that this was the king and who did know the way to the palace, so he escorted the king back home. The king was so impressed with this person’s knowledge that he made him his personal advisor.

A long time after this, the advisor wronged the king in some way, and in his anger, the king told his ministers to judge the advisor and declare him guilty of rebellion. The advisor was very upset because he knew what this meant, so he asked the king for one last request: that they both dress themselves in the clothes they wore when they had their first encounter in the forest. The king agreed, and when he put on the clothes he wore then and saw his advisor wearing the clothes he wore then, he remembered at once the tremendous favor the advisor had done him by leading him out of such a hopeless situation. In his gratitude, the king forgave the advisor of his misdeed and returned him to his post.

Similarly, when G-d wished to give the Torah, he first inquired of all the other nations and none accepted it. It began to look as if no one was interested in fulfilling G-d’s purpose in creation.

But then, the Jews accepted the Torah

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

YOUR JEWISH SOUL IS LIKE G-D’S CHILD; AND YOU WERE SENT INTO THE FOREIGN ENVIRONMENT OF THIS MATERIAL WORLD LEARN THE WAYS OF THE TORAH AND FULFILL ITS COMMANDMENTS. immediately and enthusiastically.

Eventually, our initial enthusiasm and passion waned. But when we blow the shofar to remind G-d of the day when we first “met” at Mount Sinai and the shofar was blowing as we accepted His Torah. The shofar is a

reminder that we accepted the Torah unconditionally, in this way, we recapture the innocence and inspiration of a soul newly born and of the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, and this renewed inspiration powers our relationship with G-d for the coming year.

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all six directions: right, left, forward, up, down and backward. Taking the Four Kinds are also known as “Shaking the Lulav.”

BUY: You could get your very own Lulav and Etrog Set and have it shipped to your door, call the Shule to place an order.

BUILD: If you’re handy you could build your own sukkah, if not, you could buy a pop-up sukkah at your local or online Judaica shop.

SUKKOT:

SUNDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER

S

ukkot literally means “Huts.”

The Jews enjoyed the protection of the miraculous “clouds of glory” as they traversed the Sinai Desert following the Exodus. That’s something we should not forget. We are commanded to dwell in a sukkah—a hut of temporary construction with a roof covering of branches—for the duration of the Sukkot festival (on the Jewish calendar Tishrei 15-21) BIBLICAL SOURCE “For a seven day period you shall live in booths. Every resident among the Israelites shall live in booths, in order that your [ensuing] generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt. I am the L-rd, your G-d. —Leviticus 23:42-43 ALSO KNOWN AS: Z’man Simchateinu (The Time of Rejoicing). All Jewish holidays are a joyous occasion, however, Sukkot is the only holiday called “The Time of your Rejoicing.” The nightly evening-to-dawn festivities 16

held in the Holy Temple in preparation for the drawing of water for use in the festival service, was considered an unparalleled joyous occasion.

OBSERVANCE: Eat all your meals in the sukkah hut and otherwise regard it as your home.

Take the Four Kinds: a) an etrog (citron), b) a lulav (palm frond), c) three hadassim (myrtle twigs), and d) two aravot (willow twigs).

On each day of the festival (besides Shabbat), we recite a blessing over them, bringing them together in our hands as we wave them in

DEEP & MYSTICAL: The sukkah is unique in that you can literally step into the space of the mitzvah and be completely surrounded by it. Thus, the sukkah represents a unique transcendent and “surrounding” Divine light that envelops all of the Jew creating a one-of-a-kind all-encompassing unity.

Our sages tell us that the Four Kinds represent the various types and personalities of people. When we bring the different types together we emphasise our intrinsic

unity. While the sukkah walls provide a “surrounding” unity, the Four Kinds help us “Internalise” this unity as we wave the Lulav in all directions and eventually bring it all back to our hearts.

DEFINITION: Chol Hamoed (literally, “the weekday of the holiday”) refers to the “intermediate period” of the festivals (Tishrei 17-20).

We eat in the sukkah, shake the Lulav, drink wine and rejoice, and but work is permitted.

DEFINITION: Hoshaana Rabbah (literally, “Great Salvation”) is what the seventh day of Sukkot is called (Tishrei 21) and it closes the period of Divine judgment that begun on Rosh Hashanah. On this day we encircle the bimah (synagogue reading table) seven times while holding the Four Kinds, it’s also traditional to take a bundle of five willow branches and beat them against the ground five times.

SHEMINI ATZERET: SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER

S

hemini Atzeret, literally The Eighth (Day) of Restriction (Tishrei 22-23), is a biblical festival that comes right after the seven days of sukkot, that’s how it got its name “The Eighth Day.” BIBLICAL VERSE: “[For] a seven day period, you shall bring a fire offering to the L-rd. On the eighth day, it shall be a holy occasion for

you, and you shall bring a fire offering to the L-rd. It is a [day of] restriction. You shall not perform any work of labor.” – Leviticus 23:36 THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

BIBLICAL COMMENTARY: [G-d says to Israel,] “I have detained you [to remain] with Me.” This is analogous to a king who invited his sons to feast with him for a certain number of days, and when the time came for them to leave, he said: “My sons!

Your separation from me is so difficult, please, stay with me just one more day!”

DEEP & MYSTICAL: The Rabbi’s tell us; how does “Stay with me one more day” change the fact that it’s difficult for them to be apart from each other? Won’t this separation anxiety be there on the next day as well?

The Rebbe explains that the Hebrew word “Predaschem” (“Your separation”) is key to understanding this analogy and the power of the holiday.

The fact is we can never be far from the Divine truth, it’s only in our minds and hearts that we create this “Separation” between our lives and the Divine truth, hence the word “Predaschem” “Your Separation.” On Shemini Atzeret, on the extra day that we unite with G-d in a unique and intense manner, we come to understand that we are never alone and in truth there is no separation to have anxiety about.

In contrast to the other festivals that celebrate a historic event, Shemini Atzeret is unique in that G-d simply asks

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

the Jews not to go back to their daily life after the holiday of sukkot, and to spend “Just one more day with just you and I.” Thus, Shemini Atzeret helps us retain this sense of spiritual intimacy we’ve experienced over the High Holy Day season, allowing us to feel close and connected to the Divine truth all year long.

JOY: This holiday is characterised by utterly unbridled joy, which surpasses even the joy of Sukkot.

ISRAEL VS. DIASPORA: In the Diaspora Shemini Atzeret is a two-day holiday, the second day is known as Simchat Torah. In Israel, Shemini Atzeret is a one-day holiday (which includes Simchat Torah).

OBSERVANCE: Shemini Atzeret is observed as a biblical Holiday with candle lighting 18 minutes before sundown and a festive meal that begins with Kiddush over wine. The morning service features the annual prayer for rain as we officially start the rainy season in ritual prayer. The Yizkor memorial service is observed (if applicable) after the Torah reading. It’s not sukkot, so no need for shaking the lulav, but many have the custom to still eat and drink in the sukkah without making the special blessing upon the sukkah.

CUSTOM: Sometime before sundown, it is customary to go into the sukkah, have a bite to eat, and “bid farewell” to its holy shade. As the

sun sets and Simchat Torah begins we no longer use the sukkah, all eating and drinking returns to our homes.

SHEMINI ATZERET: SUNDAY, 5 OCTOBER

S

imchat Torah means the “The Joy of the Torah.” The most joyous occasion as we celebrate our Divine inheritance and our intrinsic inner connection to the Torah.

OBSERVANCE: Simchat Torah features the hakafot, held on both the eve and the morning of Simchat Torah, in which we march and dance with the Torah scrolls seven times around the reading table in the synagogue. We won’t be celebrating by studying the Torah, rather, we will be dancing with the Torah while it is closed. Showing that the joy is from our inner supra-rational essential connection to the Torah.

CONCLUSION AND START OF THE TORAH: On this joyous day when we conclude the Torah, it is customary for every man to get called up to the Torah, i.e., to receive an aliyah. The children, too, receive an aliyah!

After the final aliyah of the Torah, we immediately begin a new cycle from the beginning of Genesis; this is because as soon as we

conclude studying the Torah, G-d’s infinite wisdom, on one level, we immediately start again, this time to discover new and loftier interpretations.

CUSTOM: Children dance with Simchat Torah flags.

The custom is to eat stuffed cabbage on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

DEEP AND MYSTICAL: Shemini Atzeret and Rosh Hashanah are parallel in many of the mystical meditations and spiritual unifications. On Rosh Hashanah, though, these are in a mode of elevation and on Shemini Atzeret in a mode of elicitation from On High downward. On Rosh Hashanah man’s service is with supplication, submission and intense bitterness; but on Shemini Atzeret the service is accomplished with joy.

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‫תנה‬ ‫וקף‬

Unetaneh Tokef THE GLORY OF BEING HUMAN

T

BY RABBI L. WOLFF

here is a novel about a man who travels back in time to try to prevent the Titanic from sinking. He warns the captain that there are icebergs ahead, but the captain dismisses him, saying “Don’t worry about it. We’re professionals and we know what we’re doing.”

In desperation, he gets someone to distract the captain for a few minutes, and turns the ship’s steering wheel a few degrees to the right.

What he doesn’t know is that the captain told him not to worry because he had already been warned about the iceberg and had adjusted the ship accordingly, and our hero had just moved the ship back into line with it.

This is not a Jewish story. This story suggests that everything is pre-determined. It relieves us of responsibility.

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Nothing that ever happens is our fault.

Somebody smarter than us wrote the script and we do what the script calls for. Have a nice crash.

But Judaism rejects that way of looking at things. It refuses to absolve us of responsibility. On the contrary, the glory of a human being is his or her sense of responsibility.

This is what we will chant in one of the most powerful of all the High Holyday prayers, Unetaneh Tokef.

The Prayer describes how G-d sits

on his throne of justice and writes down the fate of all his creatures on Rosh Hashanah sealing the decree on Yom Kippur. But the prayer concludes that with:

‫ו ְּת ׁשו ָּבה ו ְּת ִפלָ ה ו ְּצ ָד ָקה ַמ ֲע ִב ִירין ֶאת ר ַֹע ַהגְ זֵ ָרה‬

“Repentance, Prayer and Righteous Acts we have the power to transform any bad decree!”

What are these High Holy Days about if not the possibility of change, so that next year won’t be a repeat of the past year. We can change our behaviour, we can change the way we relate to the people around us, and our lives will change. And G-d helps and blesses us and our efforts.

The insistent message of Judaism is: Choose Life! You choose life. Nobody else is doing the choosing for you. You choose between good and bad, between healthy and unhealthy, between kindness and self-indulgence, between mitzvah and sin.

Notice how in the, Netaneh Tokef it says that when the great Book of Life is opened in Heaven: ‫וְ חוֹ ָתם יַ ד ָּכל ָא ָדם בּ ו‬

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

‫ונת‬ ‫תו‬ — “the entries are in our own handwriting”.

We each write our own notes in the Book of Life. The message is that we get to edit this book, we get to erase mistakes and revise it.

And the next chapter has not yet been written; G-d is waiting for us to write it, based on our choices, our priorities, our decisions. We are co-author with G-d in the story of our life.

We don’t come to shul and say to G-d “While You’ve got the Book of Life open, could I peek at the final chapter to see how it comes out? And if not the last chapter, can I at least peak at next Friday’s stock tables?”

But if we did, I imagine that G-d would tell us that there is really nothing there to look at. The next chapter of our lives has yet to be written. The only pages in our Book of Our Life that have been filled are the ones we already know about, the ones we’ve already written.

And even the bad story lines in those chapters, G-d says, can be wiped away with ‫“ ְת ׁשו ָּבה ו ְּת ִפלָ ה ו ְּצ ָד ָקה‬Repentance, Prayer and Righteous Acts.”

Our fate is not in the stars, our fate is in our hands. May G-d grant that we choose well, may G-d grant us a good and a sweet year of life!

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

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VOICES

A WEDDING OF NOTE ANGELA DENG AND DORON KALINKO

D

oron and Angela recently met under the Chuppah, but unlike most, their story started in China and their marriage began in a century old museum.

Angela Deng, born and raised in Henan Province, China, made a very brave and bold decision that she would convert to Orthodox Judaism in order for her and Doron to marry under Jewish law and to have a Jewish household and family. After many years of study under 20

Rabbi Shlomo Aouizerat in Shanghai and under direction and guidance of the Sydney Beth Din, Angela passed her conversion exam on her first attempt.

Angela not only had the English language barrier to overcome but she also had to learn to read and write Hebrew, which she did ever so well!

Their marriage was consummated on 1 April 2015 in one of the most beautiful ceremonies and unlike most, took place in an old Jewish museum in Shanghai, a museum that was originally a Synagogue but that had not been in use for well over 70 years. For just their wedding day, the museum revived itself as a Synagogue, a Chuppah was bought

in and the wedding ceremony was performed. Then everyone present enjoyed dinner, Israeli dancing and a few speeches under a white marquee which was erected next to the museum.

It was such a joyous and unique occasion and more so a landmark historical event for China that even the media attended. The next day several Chinese newspapers and TV stations flashed the story and pictures of the beautiful wedding.

We wish Doron and Angela a huge Mazeltov on the occasion of their very special and unique wedding and look forward to sharing many more wonderful Simcha’s with them!

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

VOICES

A NEW OLD-TIME RADIO PLAY ABOUT THE SWEET, SYRUPY

KING OF THE EGG CREAM

EGG CREAM RACKET OF 1920S NEW YORK CITY

BY EMIL AND SIGMUND STERN

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et in the 1920s, King of the Egg Cream tells the true story of Harry Dolowich, a young man with a dream — the dream of controlling the chocolate syrup rackets of New York City.

The project began for us with the obsession of actor-director Justin Bartha (The Hangover), who had been gripped by Harry’s story for years. The fact that Harry’s story took place during the golden age of radio gave us the idea of making an old-fashioned radio play out of Harry’s tale, but one for the modern era.

That there was scant information about Harry’s life turned into a blessing, and he became a focal point for all of our personal fascinations (truly, none of our Jewish education went to waste). We were thrilled when Tablet Magazine came on board, and a wonderful cast came together, as our version of Brownsville became populated with the mostly fictional characters who would surround, inspire, torment Harry.

For a month, with the actors in LA and New York, we recorded voices.

Every day brought new wonders. We

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

listened as Joe Grifasi morphed from Italian-American character actor into Brownsville tallis salesman; brilliant comic Lewis Black became the kvetchy and odd Uncle Alf; heartthrob Jason Ritter, a cackling psychotic ally of Harry’s. Michael Stuhlbarg became Harry’s spiritual mentor, who infuriates Harry by taking the high road and succeeding. Ellen Barkin transformed into stalwart Russian widow Mrs. Kaplan, who refuses to join Harry’s ring, and ruins his life.

New Zealand-born Melanie Lynskey learned the proper pronunciation of ‘chas v’sholom’. Alex Karpovsky became the smarmy rival for Harry’s sweetheart Charlotte, played by Ari Graynor, who put her heart and soul into the Pitkins’ Pickles jingle. Justin Bartha is the centre of it all as the brilliant, fast-talking Harry, who chooses a dubious road to success. Richard Kind’s unmistakable voice as narrator

brings it all together. The show’s ten chapters culminate in a special Yom Kippur episode, where the characters apologize for pretty much everything, an ending we feel is sorely lacking in entertainment, these days.

The characters in King of the Egg Cream may be long passed or, indeed, have never existed, but they, and 1920s Brooklyn, feel very much alive to us.

King of the Egg Cream is available to purchase at tabletmag.com/eggcreams

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VOICES

MEETING with MARIANNA KASPRZAK The daughter of Righteous Gentiles

BY STAN KALINKO

A

couple of months back my son Kevin decided it was time to trace our family history, particularly my father’s roots in Poland. So flights were booked, and Poland here we came. Prior to departure we sought out a travel guide who could show us around Poland and decided as a family that it would be an outstanding opportunity for us to meet a Righteous Gentile when there, and if possible from the town my father originated from, Radzyn Podlaski.

The guide, Chris, worked tirelessly at our request, and to our delight a family was found from Radzyn Podlaski. The date and time were set and before we knew it, the day had arrived. At 11am my wife, Venetia, Kevin and I made our way to Marianna Kasprzak house. As we pulled up to the gate Marianna and her family came rushing out of the modest home and hugged us as if we were long last family. The warmth and emotional embrace moved us all!

As we entered their home, a feast was laid out for us. Soup, noodles, homemade bread, cheesecakes and more. The hospitality was phenomenal.

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We all took our seats around their little table and Marianna began her almost unbelievable and heart wrenching tale. So much so, that our guide Chris, had to pause many times just to catch his breath from the tears that were streaming down his face.

Marianna began … she was born in 1936 in Radzyn Podlaski (where my father was born). She had 2 sisters and a brother. At this time Marianna was 6 years old. She mentioned to us that “these were very difficult times in Radzyn Podlaski, as it was German occupied. During these years there was a large Jewish population in Radzyn Podlaski. My family was close to the Jewish people. Our next door neighbours were Jewish. Their name was Ronstein. Their son, who was my friend, as we were similar in age, was mentally handicapped. The real horror started with him. The Germans started with retarded children. I saw them shoot him dead.”

“Then they started killing Jews. They put the Jews into a Ghetto where there were dilapidated houses. Later they start-

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THESE WERE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES IN RADZYN PODLASKI, AS IT WAS GERMAN OCCUPIED. DURING THESE YEARS THERE WAS A LARGE JEWISH POPULATION IN RADZYN PODLASKI. MY FAMILY WAS CLOSE TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

The Potocki Palace in Radzyn Podlaski before the war

ed to liquidate the Ghetto.”

Marianna went on to tell … “one day, Pesa Schumaker, who was about 24 years old, ran into our yard and knelt at my mother’s knees and begged for help.

Pesa’s husband and 2 children had been killed by the Nazis. Because we were outside, where the neighbours could see what was happening, my mother said : “go away, because we will all be killed”, and gave her some bread. Then she told Pesa to climb into a big barrel that was in our shed and that my mother would cover her. Later when my father came home from work, Pesa came out of the barrel and into our house. My mother made soup, but Pesa was still hungry

PASSOVER ROSH HASHANA JOURNAL 57762014 / 2015

and wanted more bread. My mother said no, because Pesa had not eaten for a few days and it would have been bad for her to eat too much. Pesa stayed with us for 3 years from 1942 until 1945.

My father was a craftsman/painter and the Germans employed him to work on buildings they were renovating because they wanted to use those buildings. The Germans also used young Jews to work there. One of the Jewish boys was Molek Lichtenstein, who knew my father as he also lived in Radzyn Podlaski. He had a girlfriend, Sima (also called Saba). She was from Miedzyrzec (this is where Stan Kalinko’s father’s mother, Frymeta Bekkerman came

from). Sima, who was 22 years old was shot in the leg by the Germans while escaping from a cattle wagon that was taking her to Treblinka. Molek asked my father if he would help to save Sima’s life by letting her stay in our house. My father said yes.

Our house was small. It comprised 1 room, a kitchen and an anteroom. Our family had 6 people, my father, mother and the 4 children. With Pesa and Sima, we were now 8 people. Sima was very cold and she was bleeding from her leg.

My father called Dr Gouchetsky (a Polish doctor) and he removed a piece of bullet from her leg and treated it. He then said we must not call him again and my mother continued to treat it. As we had no bandages, she tore strips off a bed sheet to use as a bandage.

When the bandages were washed she couldn’t hang them outside to dry because the blood did not wash off. My mother was scared that the neighbours would see the blood and know that we were harbouring an injured person. We overcame this problem by getting my older sister to hang them out because it would look like she had used the bandages during her period.

There were Germans all around us.

Two houses away, the Germans took over the house that had been vacated by a Polish lawyer and his family. Oppo23

MY GRANDFATHER’S TOMBSTONE

BY STAN KALINKO

I

have always wanted to better understand my family history which led me to contact Judy Wilkenfeld, Jewish Genealogy Specialist. After some excellent research, Judy managed to locate information that indicated that my grandfather’s tombstone may be in a Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland.

I was uncertain as to whether this information was correct as I knew that my grandfather grew up in Radzyn Podlaski so why would he be buried in Warsaw?

Judy however was certain!

Judy managed to locate a photo of the tombstone and when my family and I decided to make the trip to Warsaw Poland our Polish guide got in touch with the cemetery.

The manager of the cemetery happened to be a very friendly Jewish man who was happy to show us the grave.

He led us down a paved road, through a sandy pathway, into a long forest and finally to the tombstone.

It was a small and humble Gravestone of Stanley Kalinko’s Grandfather gravesite. Luckily the cemetery in Warsaw, Poland manager could read and interpret Hebrew writing. He informed us that written on the stone was the name “Shimon Kalinka” the person that I am in fact named after, and that he came from Radzyn Podlaski. That’s when I immediately knew it was my grandfather’s grave.

Then an amazing thing happened. Under his name and place of origin was written “A gentle and honourable man.” The reason for this significance is that no-one in my family had ever witnessed or seen this gravesite. By absolute coincidence the EXACT same Hebrew inscription is written on my father’s gravestone, who died in 1981 in Johannesburg.

They were buried many years apart, on other sides of the world, having never witnessed each other’s gravestone and the exact same inscription was used!

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site us, there was a barracks with many German soldiers. Down the road, there was a German jail.

To allow Molek to see Sima, my father would send him to buy building materials, and he would go and see Sima. For as long as Molek was alive, he was able to meet Sima. We used to peep to see what they were doing.

Then my father discerned that the Germans were going to eliminate all the Jewish workers. On the last day that Molek visited our house, my father told Molek to stay with us. Molek said that if he stopped going to work, the Germans would search for him and if they found him at our house, we would all be killed. If on the other hand he goes back to work, Sima would be saved. Molek decided to go back to work in order to save Sima. All the Jewish workers, including Molek, were shot and killed.

The terror intensified. It was a terrible shock for Sima. We were all very frightened. How did we manage? We were saved by a miracle. There was a niche in our apartment, which my father made bigger so it could be a small hiding place for Pesa and Sima. It was half way up the wall and was entered by crawling through a door. To reach it, the girls had to stand on a table. The door was camouflaged by a picture hung in front of it.

I was told never to tell anyone about the 2 girls staying with us.

During the day, the 2 girls moved around the house. If someone approached, they would hide in the hiding place. There was insufficient air in there, even though my father provided an influx of air.

Once I was alone at home. A German officer came to our house to talk to my father about a painting job my father was doing for him. I told him my father was not home. But he came into the kitchen where the picture was hanging and looked at the picture. The girls were in the niche behind the picture. I stood nearby with my cat in my arms. I was very scared. If the girls sneezed or coughed or made a noise, the German would discover them. The German officer continued to inspect the picture.

Because I was so scared, I must have squeezed the cat. It reacted by scratch-

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German amoured trucks in Radzyn Podlaski during the war

ing my hand and I cried out from pain.

This broke the attention of the German officer away from the picture and he turned around and left. Later I told my parents what happened. Pesa and Sima hugged and kissed me for saving them.

Pesa liked cooking and often prepared food for us.

Nobody knew about these Jewish girls except my father’s sister. Once Sima took me in her arms and said that I must not tell anyone that they are here because the Germans will kill us all if they find out. I promised that I would not tell anyone and I never told anybody about them. After the war, my mother’s sister said what a good girl I was.

Another dangerous situation occurred. Sima’s wound got infected and had pus. We did not have medicine.

There was a danger of gangrene. My father’s sister was living in Warsaw with her boyfriend. He was Jewish and was shot by the Germans. So she returned to Radzyn Podlaski. She was very beautiful. The Germans took her to work in the hospital. It was surrounded by a double fence with barbed wire. There were guards there. Sometimes the guards gave us lollies. I also went there because my aunt gave us dry bread.

When we told her we needed medicine

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

she said she would hide some medicine in a bread roll and give it to me when she gave me the dry bread. The German guard saw the bread and the roll and inspected my pockets but ignored the bread and the roll. My mother was standing 100 metres away from this inspection watching me. When I survived the inspection, my mother burst out crying. Later she told me that she had cried from nerves and tension. Imagine if the guard had taken the roll and discovered the medicine. My aunt never married, because she had loved her Jewish boyfriend so much.

On 22 July 1944, Radzyn Podlaski was liberated by the Russians. There was a Polish Jewish soldier who was with the Russians. He learnt about Sima and Pesa living at our house. In 1945 Sima and he emigrated to the USA. Pesa and another Jewish army boy also went to the USA. Later the girls married these men. When Sima left, she hugged me and said she would bring me to the USA. We wrote letters to each other and when I was 18 years old, she offered to bring me to America, but I declined her invitation. I studied and became a teacher, got married and had 3 children (all of whom graduated). My husband died 10 years ago. I invited Sima and Pesa to

come to Poland but they have not returned. Pesa had 2 sons and Sima had 3 children. Whenever Sima wrote to me, she always ended her letters with the words “your sister, Saba”. We had slept in the same bed and eaten at the same table. Her married name is Saba (Sima) Kuperschmidt.

My mother’s youngest brother also hid a Jewish girl and saved her. He dated a Jewish girl as a young man.

My father and mother were declared Righteous Gentiles. Sima tried to have me also declared a Righteous Gentile, but Yad Vashem refused.

My daughter, Edita, was demoted at work for, among other reasons, wearing a Jewish Star of David pin.”

Venetia, Kevin and I were beyond moved by the bravery and heroism shown by Marianna and her family. We were so privileged to have met her and hear this remarkable story. So much so, that Kevin and I have decided to make it our mission to try and ensure that not only Marianna’s parents were named Righteous Gentiles, but that Marianna herself also be given the title for her acts of bravery.

We are busy working with Yad Vashem to try and see if a new category of children of righteous gentiles could also qualify and be honoured. It is ongoing, but we are all very proud to have been able to be a part of Marianna, her family and their amazing story!.

Stankley Kalino and Marianna

25

VOICES

KLAL YISRAEL

A YOUNG, INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

BY LEIGH GOLOMBICK

S

itting overlooking the Kinneret at the Ohalo Manor in Israel, I reflected on the 8 days just passed. My journey began as I hopped off the plane, after no less than 35 hours of travel, and was immediately welcomed by several Nahum Goldmann Fellows at the airport in Tel Aviv.

After many introductions in several languages I realised that I was about to embark on an international journey with fellow Jews from every corner of the globe. Belgrade, Poland, London, Montenegro, Argentina just to name a few. The Nahum Goldmann Fellowship has been going for well over 70 years and its global reach is unprecedented.

After having applied and been accepted, I was uncertain as to what exactly the program was about. Any information available was very vague at best. In time I would learn this was all for good reason.

The program was split into two parts. The first was lecture based, the second was group discussion based. And of course, 3 delicious meals in between.

The lectures were given by esteemed professors and Rabbis from all over the world. Topics such as ‘Restoring an Endangered Jewish Value System’, ‘Replenishing Jewish Identity in Secular Society’, ‘Reconsidering Israel-Diaspora Relations’ and ‘Leadership without Easy Answers’ were explored at length. The group discussions were an amalgamated mix of local Jewish politics, Zionist 26

affairs and growing communal concerns.

Emotions soared, intellectual dialogue buzzed until the early hours of the morning and strong friendships were formed.

Shabbat rolled around in no time and before I knew it, I was sitting on the rooftop of the hotel with 40 new global Jewish friends singing Lecha Dodi. To my right was a reformed Jewish Israeli living in Miami, to my left was a Polish Jew having her first Shabbat and behind me sat my new Jewish friend from India in her Sari. It felt as if every moment in our people’s history, every type of Jew walking this earth and all our cultural backgrounds had amalgamated on that rooftop in the Kinneret. We sang in the same tune, the same language and the same song generations and generations of Jews sang before us.

It hit me then, what this program was all about, and why such mystery surrounded it. This program, this moment in all our lives, was unique to each of us. What we learnt, experienced and walked away with would differ as immensely as the different backgrounds we all came from. No information booklet or online write-up could ever

quite capture this experience, as no experience was the same. The program is specifically designed to allow your background to shape the experience and allow you to take what you need from it.

For me, I learnt the following. Firstly, to be a Jew means the sum of 5 things: 1. Jewish Knowledge: All human communities are founded on specific sharing of information and knowledge, my Jewish identity is the sum of all this knowledge passed to me by my parents, my teachers, my rabbi and my friends.

2. Rituals – the Mitzvot: How I put into practice this priceless knowledge I am passed in my everyday life.

3. Jewish Communal and National Identity 4. Humility: That there are a multiplicity of opinions and approaches to

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Judaism, like all things, its knowing how to work and operate in this environment of multiple opinions and respecting one another’s viewpoints.

5. Empowerment: Taking initiative and engaging all of the above.

Secondly, I came to realise how fortunate a community the Australian Jewry are. How united we are, irrespective of our occasional differences.

Comparing our infrastructure, communal engagement, organisational support and external pressures compared to other countries the world over, we are very blessed to be able to stand strong and engaged in all areas.

Finally and most importantly, I learnt about the concept of Klal Yisrael. A word that prior to this Fellowship I was not familiar with. Whilst no definite definition was ever presented, and heated discussion ensued for several hours about this concept, one thing was

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

certain ‌ Klal Yisrael is comprised of all the Jewry the world over.

Sitting in the Ohalo conference centre were 40 individuals who grew up in different cultures, across several continents amongst very mixed cultural communities, but every single one of us stood proud of our own unique Jewish identity and we felt empowered to continue this identity for many years to come. Most importantly that each and every single one of us were a part of Israel. Whether we were born there, had made Aaliyah, visited every year or were on our first visit, Israel was engrained in our soul. That we ARE KLAL YISRAEL.

I walked away with a stronger sense of Jewish Identity, a new global network of Jewish friends and an understanding of my very important place in Klal Yisrael.

I wish you and your families a Shana Tova and well over the fast and I hope that you continue your journey of knowledge, mitzvot, empowerment and contribution to Klal Yisrael into 5776!

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A TRIBUTE

OLIVER SACKS:

SABBATH

BY OLIVER SACKS

M

y mother and her 17 brothers and sisters had an Orthodox upbringing — all photographs of their father show him wearing a yarmulke, and I was told that he woke up if it fell off during the night. My father, too, came from an Orthodox background. Both my parents were very conscious of the Fourth Commandment (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”), and the Sabbath (Shabbos, as we called it in our Litvak way) was entirely different from the rest of the week. No work was allowed, no driving, no use of the telephone; it was forbidden to switch on a light or a stove. Being physicians, my parents made exceptions. They could not take the phone off the hook or completely avoid driving; they had to be available, if necessary, to see patients, or operate, or deliver babies.

We lived in a fairly Orthodox Jewish community in Cricklewood, in Northwest London — the butcher, the baker, the grocer, the greengrocer, the fishmonger, all closed their shops in good time for the Shabbos, and did not open their shutters till Sunday morning. All

of them, and all our neighbours, we imagined, were celebrating Shabbos in much the same fashion as we did.

Around midday on Friday, my mother doffed her surgical identity and attire and devoted herself to making gefilte fish and other delicacies for

EXTRACTED FROM AN OP-ED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, AUG. 14, 2015.

Dr Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and acclaimed author who explored some of the brain’s strangest pathways in best-selling case histories like “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” using his patients’ disorders as starting points for eloquent meditations on consciousness and the human condition, died on Sunday, 30 August, 2015 at his home in Manhattan, just two weeks after he penned this last essay. He was 82.

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Shabbos. Just before evening fell, she would light the ritual candles, cupping their flames with her hands, and murmuring a prayer. We would all put on clean, fresh Shabbos clothes, and gather for the first meal of the Sabbath, the evening meal. My father would lift his silver wine cup and chant the blessings and the Kiddush, and after the meal, he would lead us all in chanting the grace.

On Saturday mornings, my three brothers and I trailed our parents to Cricklewood Synagogue on Walm Lane, a huge shul built in the 1930s to accommodate part of the exodus of Jews from the East End to Cricklewood at that time. The shul was always full during my boyhood, and we all had our assigned seats, the men downstairs, the women — my mother, various aunts and cousins — upstairs; as a little boy, I sometimes waved to them during the service. Though I could not understand the Hebrew in the prayer book, I loved its sound and especially hearing the old medieval prayers sung, led by our wonderfully musical Chazzan.

All of us met and mingled outside the synagogue after the service — and we would usually walk to the house of my Auntie Florrie and her three children to say a Kiddush, accompanied by sweet

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

Illustrations by Aidan Koch, nytimes

red wine and honey cakes, just enough to stimulate our appetites for lunch. After a cold lunch at home — gefilte fish, poached salmon, beetroot jelly — Saturday afternoons, if not interrupted by emergency medical calls for my parents, would be devoted to family visits. Uncles and aunts and cousins would visit us for tea, or we them; we all lived within walking distance of one another.

The Second World War decimated our Jewish community in Cricklewood, and the Jewish community in England as a whole was to lose thousands of people in the post-war years. Many Jews, including cousins of mine, immigrated to Israel; others went to Australia, Canada or the States; my eldest brother, Marcus, went to Australia in 1950. Many of those who stayed assimilated and adopted diluted, attenuated forms of Judaism. Our synagogue, which would be packed to capacity when I was a child, grew emptier by the year.

I chanted my bar mitzvah portion in 1946 to a relatively full synagogue, including several dozen of my relatives, but this, for me, was the end of formal Jewish practice. I did not embrace the ritual duties of a Jewish adult — praying every day, putting on tefillin before prayer each weekday morning — and I gradually became more indifferent to the beliefs and habits of my parents, though there was no particular point of rupture until I was 18. It was then that my father, inquiring into my sexual feelings, compelled me to admit that I liked boys.

“I haven’t done anything,” I said, “it’s just a feeling — but don’t tell Ma, she won’t be able to take it.”

He did tell her, and the next morning she came down with a look of horror on her face, and shrieked at me: “You are an abomination. I wish you had never been born.” (She was no doubt thinking of the verse in Leviticus that read, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: They shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”)

The matter was never mentioned again, but her harsh words made me hate religion’s capacity for bigotry and cruelty.

After I qualified as a doctor in 1960, I removed myself abruptly from Eng-

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

land and what family and community I had there, and went to the New World, where I knew nobody. When I moved to Los Angeles, I found a sort of community among the weight lifters on Muscle Beach, and with my fellow neurology residents at U.C.L.A., but I craved some deeper connection — “meaning” — in my life, and it was the absence of this, I think, that drew me into near-suicidal addiction to amphetamines in the 1960s.

Recovery started, slowly, as I found meaningful work in New York, in a chronic care hospital in the Bronx (the “Mount Carmel” I wrote about in “Awakenings”). I was fascinated by my patients there, cared for them deeply, and felt something of a mission to tell their stories — stories of situations virtually unknown, almost unimaginable, to the general public and, indeed, to many of my colleagues. I had discovered my vocation, and this I pursued doggedly, single-mindedly, with little encouragement from my colleagues.

Almost unconsciously, I became a storyteller at a time when medical narrative was almost extinct. This did not dissuade me, for I felt my roots lay in the

great neurological case histories of the 19th century (and I was encouraged here by the great Russian neuropsychologist A. R. Luria). It was a lonely but deeply satisfying, almost monkish existence that I was to lead for many years.

During the 1990s, I came to know a cousin and contemporary of mine, Robert John Aumann, a man of remarkable appearance with his robust, athletic build and long white beard that made him, even at 60, look like an ancient sage. He is a man of great intellectual power but also of great human warmth and tenderness, and deep religious commitment — “commitment,” indeed, is one of his favorite words. Although, in his work, he stands for rationality in economics and human affairs, there is no conflict for him between reason and faith.

He insisted I have a mezuza on my door, and brought me one from Israel.

“I know you don’t believe,” he said, “but you should have one anyhow.” I didn’t argue.

In a remarkable 2004 interview, Robert John spoke of his lifelong work in mathematics and game theory, but also

AFTER A COLD LUNCH AT HOME — GEFILTE FISH, POACHED SALMON, BEETROOT JELLY — SATURDAY AFTERNOONS, IF NOT INTERRUPTED

BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL CALLS FOR MY PARENTS, WOULD BE DEVOTED TO FAMILY VISITS.

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HOW PROFOUNDLY ATTITUDES HAD CHANGED, EVEN AMONG THE ORTHODOX, WAS MADE CLEAR BY ROBERT JOHN WHEN HE INVITED BILLY AND ME TO JOIN HIM AND HIS FAMILY AT THEIR OPENING SABBATH MEAL... of his family — how he would go skiing and mountaineering with some of his nearly 30 children and grandchildren (a kosher cook, carrying saucepans, would accompany them), and the importance of the Sabbath to him.

“The observance of the Sabbath is extremely beautiful,” he said, “and is impossible without being religious. It is not even a question of improving society — it is about improving one’s own quality of life.”

In December of 2005, Robert John received a Nobel Prize for his 50 years of fundamental work in economics. He was not entirely an easy guest for the Nobel Committee, for he went to Stockholm with his family, including many of those children and grandchildren, and all had to have special kosher plates, utensils and food, and special formal clothes, with no biblically forbidden admixture of wool and linen.

THAT same month, I was found to have cancer in one eye, and while I was in the hospital for treatment the following month, Robert John visited. He was full of entertaining stories about the Nobel Prize and the ceremony in Stockholm, but made a point of saying that, had he been compelled to travel 30

to Stockholm on a Saturday, he would have refused the prize. His commitment to the Sabbath, its utter peacefulness and remoteness from worldly concerns, would have trumped even a Nobel.

In 1955, as a 22-year-old, I went to Israel for several months to work on a kibbutz, and though I enjoyed it, I decided not to go again. Even though so many of my cousins had moved there, the politics of the Middle East disturbed me, and I suspected I would be out of place in a deeply religious society. But in the spring of 2014, hearing that my cousin Marjorie — a physician who had been a protégée of my mother’s and had worked in the field of medicine till the age of 98 — was nearing death, I phoned her in Jerusalem to say farewell. Her voice was unexpectedly strong and resonant, with an accent very much like my mother’s. “I don’t intend to die now,” she said, “I will be having my 100th birthday on June 18th.

Will you come?”

I said, “Yes, of course!” When I hung up, I realised that in a few seconds I had reversed a decision of almost 60 years.

It was purely a family visit. I celebrated Marjorie’s 100th with her and extended family. I saw two other cousins dear

to me in my London days, innumerable second and removed cousins, and, of course, Robert John. I felt embraced by my family in a way I had not known since childhood.

I had felt a little fearful visiting my Orthodox family with my lover, Billy — my mother’s words still echoed in my mind — but Billy, too, was warmly received. How profoundly attitudes had changed, even among the Orthodox, was made clear by Robert John when he invited Billy and me to join him and his family at their opening Sabbath meal.

The peace of the Sabbath, of a stopped world, a time outside time, was palpable, infused everything, and I found myself drenched with a wistfulness, something akin to nostalgia, wondering what if: What if A and B and C had been different? What sort of person might I have been? What sort of a life might I have lived?

In December 2014, I completed my memoir, “On the Move,” and gave the manuscript to my publisher, not dreaming that days later I would learn I had metastatic cancer, coming from the melanoma I had in my eye nine years earlier. I am glad I was able to complete my memoir without knowing this, and that I had been able, for the first time in my life, to make a full and frank declaration of my sexuality, facing the world openly, with no more guilty secrets locked up inside me.

In February, I felt I had to be equally open about my cancer — and facing death. I was, in fact, in the hospital when my essay on this, “My Own Life,” was published in this newspaper. In July I wrote another piece for the paper, “My Periodic Table,” in which the physical cosmos, and the elements I loved, took on lives of their own.

And now, weak, short of breath, my once-firm muscles melted away by cancer, I find my thoughts, increasingly, not on the supernatural or spiritual, but on what is meant by living a good and worthwhile life — achieving a sense of peace within oneself. I find my thoughts drifting to the Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day of the week, and perhaps the seventh day of one’s life as well, when one can feel that one’s work is done, and one may, in good conscience, rest.

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

VOICES

MATTHEW

OUR LONG LOST BROTHER …

D

uring the winter months, we offer two evening Minyans at Central.

Occasionally we may struggle to make a minyan. However, over the last 14 years, there was not a time that we did not get a full morning minyan at 6:30am.

Until the other day!

It was close to 7:00am and we still only had 9 men…we were short just one!

Our daily minyan has regulars who are reciting Kaddish for loved ones and this was going to be very disappointing.

At one point, one of our regulars went out towards the street and waited for a passer-by, when someone finally walked by the front of the Shul, he ran towards him and asked “Excuse me are you Jewish”? but the response was a loud…No! Then something totally un-expected unfolded, our very own security guard Matthew, who has been with us for some years turned around and said, “you know, I am a Jew”.

“Matthew your Jewish, we never thought that”…. !

This is what Mathew replied, “I was raised in a very Catholic family, my father is from an Italian background and we grew up living in Malta. My mother would often light candles to herself on Friday evenings. I once asked her why, she told me she was born in Jerusalem and was part of the Jewish faith, and

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

Jewish women light the candles on Friday at sunset” “She even asked me to carry around a scull cap (a Kippah) – not on my head, but in my back pocket”.

Who knows, maybe that’s why our 10th man didn’t show up that day…it

was finally time for Matthew to tell us he was a Jew. Needless to say, the mourners recited Kaddish and I even put Tefflin on Matthew for the very first time!

Mazel tov Matthew and welcome home!

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HINENI UPDATE WELCOME!

MEET OUR NEW SHALIACH:

ALON BAR DAVID Alon joins us from Rehovot, Israel where he has spent the last several years organising, facilitating and leading large international summer camps.

Most recently he has been the unit head of Big Idea International Summer Camps in Tel Aviv. Alon studied a Bachelor of Communications in Tel Aviv and has lived in several countries around the world. Alon will join the team in December 2015 and we are looking so forward to working with him!

UPCOMING EVENT:

S

hana Tova! We are Nicole Flax and Orli Winton, the roshim (presidents) of Hineni Sydney 2015. Hineni Youth and Welfare Australia is the official Youth Movement of The Central Synagogue.

We are a Modern Orthodox, Politically Active and Zionist youth movement that utilises informal education to foster critical thinking and tolerance amongst our chanichim. Hineni is an inclusive environment that invites Jewish children from all different backgrounds to come together to learn and laugh. We have had an incredible year so far, and we are looking forward to continuing to provide fun and educational programs to Jewish children through camps, social action activities and community events.

WINTER CAMP RECAP

Hineni’s Winter Camp, Machane Shel Ha’atid — Camp of the Future, was an unbelievable success! With over 140 chanichim (participants) from grades 3-12 coming together from NSW and ACT, this camp was our biggest in recent memory! Highlights included muck-up day, arts and crafts, singing and dancing, Ruach, pita making, skit night, and an extremely spiritual Shabbat. Our fantastic Madrichim created fun and thought-provoking peulot (programs) about Judaism, Israel and socio-political issues. Kol Ha’Kavod to the camp roshim, Guy Sussman, Orli Winton, and Sasha Aronson, for their hard work and enthusiasm!

HINENI’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Hineni is turning 40! Stay tuned for details about a massive event for current participants, alumni and community members!

Date: October 11th 2015 Email 40hineni@gmail.com for more information.

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES AT HINENI

Hineni doesn’t stop when camp ends! You can see all of your Hineni friends and Madrichim throughout the school term!

WEEKLY SUNDAY MEETINGS

What better way to spend your Sunday afternoon than by hanging out with all your Hineni friends and madrichim? Also a great place to meet new people!

GRADES 3-6 We have fun, educational programs every week!

SUNDAYS, 2:30 - 4:30PM, CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE

32

FOR GRADES 7-12, madrichim plan regular programs, activities and excursions for their chanichim. Email sydney@hineni.org.au for information about the next activity!

YOUTH MINYAN

Join us for a Hineni Kabbalat Shabbat service and Kiddush with all your favourite madrichim.

You’ll love our Shabbos Ruach and Carlebach Style Singing!

EVERY FRIDAY AT 5:45PM Lowy Beit Midrash at The Central Synagogue.

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

UPCOMING: SUMMER CAMPS SENIOR Machane Shichrur Haneshama (Camp Release of the Soul) is Hineni’s massive federal summer camp, where grades 7-12 come together from all around Australia to make new friends, explore new ideas and have lots of fun!

GRADES 7-11: 5-13 JAN. 2016 GRADE 12: 8-13 JAN. 2016 For more information or to register, go to www.hinenifedcamp.com For any questions contact Mikayla on 0466 881 073

JUNIOR Hineni’s Junior Summer Camp is a great opportunity for kids in grades 3-6 to learn about Judaism and Israel while having fun with kids from all over NSW and ACT! GRADES 3-6: 21-25 DEC. 2015 For more information contact Bec on 0413 853 815, or David on 0424 796 786

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE

VISIT WWW.HINENI.ORG.AU

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

33

S.P.A.R.C.S. REPORT 2015

“SPECIAL PROGRAMME OF ARTS RECREATION AND CULTURE FOR SENIORS”

W

OUR WEEKLY SPEAKERS AND DISCUSSIONS PROVIDE US WITH A WIDE RANGE OF KNOWLEDGE AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

E ARE STILL GOING STRONG AFTER TWENTY SEVEN YEARS, PROVIDING FRIENDSHIP AND STIMULATION TO THE SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE AND THE WIDER JEWISH COMMUNITY.

Our weekly speakers and discussions provide us with a wide range of knowledge and food for thought.

Over the past months we have enjoyed speakers such a Gina Strauss an aged care social worker whose topic was “The Gift of Life” giving us positive thoughts and suggestions how to keep active both in mind and body. SNR Constable Nic Rutgers from the Bondi Police Station gave us information on safety in the home and while out shopping always be conscious of your hand bag as seniors are targets for pick pockets. In memory of the Shoah Ari Lander, historian from the Jewish Museum did a power point presentation talking and walking us through the museum as we sat comfortably watching the screen.

On Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut our Shaliach Aaron came dressed in his IDF uniform. He spoke of the “Lone Soldiers” they are soldiers who come to serve in the IDF and have no relatives in Israel. Aaron showed us DVD clips of some of these special soldiers.

UPCOMING EVENT

To coincide with ANZAC day Christine Yeats did a power point presentation on” Remembering the WW1 Nurses,” they were the most amazing women working under the such primitive conditions.

Invitation

S.P.A.R.C.S SUCCOT PARTY Wednesday, 30th September 2015 11am-1:15pm $12:00 Welcome by Rabbi Levi Wolff Entertainment by our favourite group “The Singing Treats”

For catering purposes lease book by 24 September 2015 by calling Anne-Louise on 9363-0456 or mobile 0425 212 842

A change of topics, Peter Sage took us on a trip to Argentina showing us the amazing nature of waterfalls, lakes country and cities. I was able to show the movie “The Prime Ministers, The Pioneers” this was a wonderful look at Israel’s history.

Apart from speakers we enjoyed musical mornings with La’pid Friendship Group.

This is just a short over view of our Monday mornings at S.P.A.R.C.S. If you are free on Monday mornings and would like some company, interesting conversation and a light lunch, feel free to join us in the Lowy Beit Midrash from10:30am to 12:45pm.

Wishing you all Shana Tova U’Matukah.

ANNE-LOUISE OYSTRAGH OAM Co-ordinator

34

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

PESACH ROSH HASHANA 5774 / 2014 5776 / 2015

35

BIRTHS

DAVID AND DANA LEWIS on the

birth of a son, and the grandparents, Shlomi and Ilana Zeloof & Stuart & Cheryl Lewis, and great grandmothers, Rina Baron & Zea Lewis.

ELANA AND DANIEL LOWY on

DAVID AND VICKY ABESHOUSE

on the birth of a great grandson.

MARTIN AND ADY FRIEDGUT

on the birth of a grandson.

JOANNE SMALLER & MADOX FOSTER on the birth of a daughter, and

DEAN AND ALI MILNER on the birth of a son. Grandparents, Issy and Sandra Milner and Keith and Sarah Shilkin.

Great grandmother Micky Kaplan.

grandparents, Peter and Elaine Smaller and great grandmother Sylvia Smaller.

@

The Central Synagogue

the birth of a son, and to the proud grandparents, Margo Lowy and David Lowy AM & Claire and Dr Henry Nogid, and great grandparents, Pearl Adams, Shirley Lowy AM and Frank Lowy AC.

ADRIAN AND GITTEL MUELLER

STEVEN AND LIORA KEMPLER on

the birth of a daughter and to the grandparents, Ron and Rose Grunstein & John and Judy Kempler, and great grandparents, Evie Lewin, Barbara Grunstein & Michael and Sandra Cohen.

on the birth of a son and to the grandparents, Jeffrey and Stephanie Mueller & Sharon Skovron, and great grandfather Hans Mueller OAM.

ALEX AND LINDY KLEIN on the birth of a son. Grandfather, Jake Harry Klein and Great grandmother Mrs Katalin Klein.

DANNY LEVINE on the birth of a grand-daughter and RAE (ROCHEL) LEVINE great-granddaughter.

CASSY AND GREG NATHAN on the birth of a daughter, and to the grandparents, Michael and Marilynne Atlas & Ydele Nathan and Jeff Nathan.

!‫מזל טוב‬ 36

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

JONATHAN AND TAHNYA SEIFMAN on the birth of a daughter

and to the grandparents, Harold and Lynne Seifman & Violet Rudzyn and David Rudzyn.

MR AND MRS BEN NINYO on

birth of a great grandson.

LEON AND JUDY SIMONS

on the birth of a grandson.

BENY AND ZIVA SHARON-ZIPSER on the birth of a grandson and Mrs Clara Zipser on the birth of a great grandson.

CARYN AND DAN O’SULLIVAN

on the birth of a daughter and grandparents, Manfred Holzman & great grandmother Betty Etkin.

SUZIE AND GEORGE REALE on the

birth of a daughter, Grandparents Luda & Rocky Reale & Judy & Steve Westheimer. Great grandparents, Sarolta and Ervin Nadel & Lana Alter.

JOEL AND JULIA SPIRO on the birth of a son, and to the grandparents, Michelle Spiro & Dov and Desi Spiro & Roberto and Silvina Frenkel and great grandparents, Mr Joseph Brender AO and Mrs Gerda Brender.

CAROLINE TAIT AND GARY SLEZAK on the birth of a son,

and grandparents: Julie and Peter Slezak & Ron and Bronnie Tait, and Great-grandmothers, Eva Domony, Augusta Slezak & Mine Elbaume.

GINA AND JAMES STRAUSS on the birth of a daughter and grandparents Les and Heather Melamed & Eric and Maureen Strauss.

LARA AND ANTONY RITCH

on the birth of a daughter and grandparents, Jack and Diana Ritch.

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

NAVA TURNER on the birth of a grand-daughter.

37

BaR Mitzvah’s

Alex Basserabie

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE

2015

Rafael Ginges

MAZEL TOV TO OUR RECENT BAR MITZVAH BOYS: ALEX BASSERABIE

Ariel Eisner

Jake Sperber

DANIEL BERMAN ARIEL EISNER RAFAEL GINGES SEAN KAGAN Levi Niasoff

LEVI NIASOFF JOSHUA NOVICK BECK ROSEN JACOB SOLSKY JAKE SPERBER RYAN TAIBEL

T

he age of Bar/Bat Mitzvah marks a very defining and significant time in the lives of our children. It is the corner stone where every young Jew/ Jewess enters into adulthood. To capture this moment and to truly learn its Jewish meaning The Central Synagogue offers a very engaging, spiritual and educational Bar and Bat Mitzvah program.

38

Daniel Berman

Joshua Novick

CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE BAR MITZVAH CLUB Bar Mitzvah literally means ‘Son of Mitzvah’ and describes a young man who has reached the age of 13 and is now able to fulfil all the Torah’s commandments. It marks a defining moment in a young man’s life as he stands before his family and friends and enters into the world of Jewish manhood. At The Central Synagogue we regard this milestone as one of utmost importance and offer a Bar Mitzvah academy that teaches all its significance and meaning. Our program runs for eight weeks and is designed to generate a love of our history and our faith.

We explore topics such as the meaning of a Bar Mitzvah, the meaning of G-d, keeping Kosher, the Jewish Soul and much much more.

TO FIND OUT MORE PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE ON (02) 9355-4000.

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

Bat Mitzvah’s THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE

Allie Goldman

Jemma Cohen

Emma Cass

Emma Burger

Kelly Cohen

Lara Kopelowitz

Jessica Waldman

Lexi Fleischer

2015

MAZEL TOV TO OUR RECENT BAT MITZVAH GIRLS: EMMA BURGER EMMA CASS JEMMA COHEN KELLY COHEN LEXI FLEISHER ALLIE GOLDMAN LARA KOPELOWITZ JEMA ROOZENDALE JESSICA WALDMAN

CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE BAT MITZVAH CLUB Bat Mitzvah, meaning ‘daughter of the commandments,’ is said to be the time when a women’s soul comes of age. It marks a defining moment when a young woman is entrusted to bring the joys, values and traditions of Judaism to life for herself and for her generations to come.

At The Central Synagogue we work with our Bat Mitzvah girls to truly understand the meaning of a Bat Mitzvah and all the associated Jewish traditions. Our program runs for 8 weeks and covers exciting topics such as Mitzvot, Shabbat, Friendships, Jewish Life Cycle, Israel and more. We include many exciting guests and outings such as Challah making, visiting the Mikvah, making Mezuzah’s and plenty more.

TO FIND OUT MORE PLEASE CONTACT THE OFFICE ON (02) 9355-4000.

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

39

ENGAGEMENTS & WEDDINGS

ENGAGEMENTS

We wish a HUGE Mazel Tov to all our happily engaged couples:

LORI HOFFMAN & RICHARD FRIEND EMMA REDELMAN & ALEX LEVIN LAUREN BRENDER & GARY SPERO ANNE SELIKOWITZ & DANIEL GIESSER DANIEL NEUMANN & SHARONNE SYMONDS Lori Hoffman & Richard Friend

Stephanie Wolff & Joel Weiner

GETTING MARRIED AT THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE

STEPHANIE WOLFF & JOEL WEINER

Emma Redelman & Alex Levin

A JEWISH WEDDING

is much more than a “ceremony” or a symbolic ritual. It is a spiritual process which creates the soul connection between the bride and groom. Beneath the Chuppah, there occurs a fusion of souls; two souls which were separated before birth joyfully reunite. Jewish rituals and customs derive from a rich blend of historical and spiritual underpinnings.

Rites of passage in one’s personal life are inextricably linked to events in the history of the Jewish people. In this way, a traditional Jewish wedding is a tapestry woven

from biblical and historical threads. These threads are carried from one generation to the next in an effort to link our contemporary lives to our past, forming a chain of Jewish continuity which goes back more than 3,800 years.

OUR GOAL at The Central Synagogue is to help you understand the meaningful and spiritual significance of each part of the wedding celebration and the exciting path to follow.

We will demonstrate how our traditions constitute the body and soul of the wedding and consummate

Anne Selikowitz & Daniel Giesser

Lauren Brender & Gary Spero

the start of a strong and united partnership.

RUN BY both Rabbi and Chanie Wolff, our wedding program is a four part series which covers a variety of topics. These topics include wedding day traditions and their meanings, discovering more about the pillars of a Jewish home, a practical guide on marriage do’s and don’ts and an interactive and informative session with a regarded marriage counsellor. We also look at effective communication skills, marriage responsibilities and the laws of purity.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HAVING YOUR WEDDING AT THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE ON (02) 9355-4000

40

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

WEDDINGS

Karen Touri & Dov Hershkovits

We wish a HUGE Mazel Tov to all our newly married couples:

Hanna Foxman & Wayne Goldberg

KAREN TOURI & DOV HERSHKOVITS HANNA FOXMAN & WAYNE GOLDBERG ANGELA DENG & DORON KALINKO SIMONE PHILLIPS & JAMES NATHAN REBECCA BUTNARO & BENJAMIN SEIDMAN

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

Angela Deng & Doron Kalinko

SIMON EFRON & KIM SOLOMON

Simon Efron & Kim Solomon

Simone Phillips & James Nathan

41

PAST AND UPCOMING EVENTS @ CENTRAL

ABOUT AINYC Rabbi Levi Wolff and The Central Synagogue Team are excited to launch a new initiative called AINYC, Australian’s in NYC. With so many young adults moving abroad to New York, AINYC aims to provide an immediate support network of fellow young Jewish Aussie’s who are working, studying or visiting the big apple. Whether its accommodation assistance, Shabbat meals or just a friendly face - AINYC is there to help!

Rabbi Wolff launched the group on the 25 June in New York with over 60 attendees at a private rooftop gathering. Many old friends connected and many new friendships were formed.

AINYC will be run on the ground by local young Australian expats in conjunction with The Central Synagogue and a number of great NYC Young Adult groups. The next event will be a Shabbat meal at a Synagogue in Chelsea for all young Aussie Jews, so stay tuned!

FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL LEIGH ON LEIGH@CENTRALSYNAGOGUE.COM.AU.

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THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

WINTER 2015

UPCOMING EVENT

UPCOMING EVENT

Hebrew Learn to read in one day!

This unique and proven method as taught by Rabbi Lampert for more than 50 years will have you reading Hebrew in as little as one day. Even if you have never read Hebrew before, or if your Hebrew reading is a 'bit rusty', it will have you back in peak form in no time!

Join Yael Rottanburg as she guides you in your journey through the Hebrew alphabet using Rabbi Lampert’s unique method.

Where?

?

When

15 Bon Acc ord Bondi Junctio Avenue n, NSW

Sunday

15

NOV

Day

How much?

$150 per person !

at 9.00am Registration y 4.30pm approximatel concludes at

Includes a light kosher lunch, morning & afternoon tea

Book now: www.easylearnhebrew.com/central Yael 0424 266 480 yael@easylearnhebrew.com Final booking date is Sunday 8 November

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

43

DELICIOUS

RECIPES B Y J U DY P H I L L I P S Judy Phillips is a home cook, mother of five and fitness fanatic. Her debut cookbook is Good Life Great Food: Recipes for Loving and Sharing.

MAIN DISH

CHICKEN WITH POMEGRANATE AND WALNUTS INGREDIENTS

METHOD

2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil

• Preheat the oven to 180c (350 F)

8 chicken marylands (thigh quarters) 2 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground turmeric 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 125 ml (4 fl oz/ ½ cup) pomegranate molasses 80 ml (2 ½ fl oz / 1/3 cup) pomegranate juice 90 g (3 ¼ fl oz / ¼ cup) honey 1 large pinch of saffron threads 125 g (4 ½ oz / 1 cup) walnut pieces, toasted seeds from ½ pomegranate 44

• Using a large, sharp knife, cut each chicken Maryland through the thigh and leg joint, then trim any excess bone from the side of each thigh piece. Combine the chicken pieces in a large bowl then sprinkle over the cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper. Using your hands, rub the mixture over the chicken pieces.

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large flameproof baking dish over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the dish, in batches if necessary, and cook, turning often, for 7-8 minutes, or until browned all over. Add the pomegranate molasses, pomegranate juice and honey and scatter over the saffron threads.

• Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake the chicken for 20 minutes. Remove the foil then bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is very thick and syrupy.

Scatter the walnuts and pomegranate seeds over and serve.

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE JOURNAL

SOMETHING TO START

KALE, ALMOND AND AVOCADO SALAD INGREDIENTS

500g (1 lb 2 oz) kale or cavolo nero

2 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

1 firm, ripe avocado

2 sheets nori seaweed

1 tsp sea salt 1 garlic clove, crushed 60 ml (2 fl oz / ¼ cup) olive oil 1 carrot 1 small pink lady apple 2 spring onions (scallions)

DRESSING

125 ml (4 fl oz / ½ cup) extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

METHOD

• For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

• Trim and coarsely chop the kale. Halve and seed the avocado, then cut the flesh into 5 mm (1/4 in) pieces.

• Combine the kale in a large bowl with half the avocado.

Add the salt, garlic and olive oil then, using your hands, gently massage the mixture into the kale; the kale should darken and become pliable and the avocado with break up.

• Using a wide vegetable peeler, cut the carrot lengthways into long, fine ribbons. Halve, core and very thinly slice the apple. Trim and finely slice the spring onions. Add the carrot, apple, spring onions, almonds and the remaining avocado to the kale and toss to combine well. Transfer to a serving platter or bowl.

• Turn on a gas burner to medium heat. Using a pair of tongs, pass each sheet of nori quickly through the flame 3 or 4 times, or until it is crisp and fragrant. Cool. Scatter the remaining avocado over the salad and drizzle with the dressing. Using your hands, tear the nori into large pieces, scatter it over the salad, then serve.

TRADITIONAL FOOD

ROSH HASHANAH HONEY CAKE INGREDIENTS

METHOD

2 tsp ground mixed spice

• Preheat the oven to 180c (350 F).

Lightly grease and flour 2 x 23 cm (9 in) square cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.

3 tsp cocoa, sifted 300 g (10 ½ oz / 2 cups) plain flour 300 g (10 ½ oz / 2 cups) self-raising flour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 4 eggs 440 g (15 ½ oz / 2 cups) sugar 250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup) vegetable oil 450 g honey 500 ml (17 fl oz / 2 cups) hot strong tea

ROSH HASHANA 5776 / 2015

• Sift together the spice, cocoa, flours and soda into a bowl.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl then, using electric beaters, whisk until thick and pale.

Beating constantly, add the oil, honey and tea, then add the sifted mixture. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth.

• Spoon the mixture into the tins.

Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the tins then turn out. Serve in slices. The cakes improve with age – they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 2 months Makes two 23 cm (9 in) square cakes 45

mrs

j

Awards

È

Henrietta Hardy oam For service to the community through volunteer roles with Jewish organisations

È

To two of our outstanding members on their recent Queens birthday Awards:

mr

È

Tom Dery ao

For distinguished service to the not-for-profit sector, particularly to cancer research, through the development of corporate governance structures and major fundraising initiatives, to the performing arts, and to business.

The Central Synagogue proudly presents

Save the Date:

4 NOVEMBER 2015 | 22 CHESHVAN 5776 THE SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL ORCHESTRA

CANTOR YITZCHAK MEIR HELFGOT

CANTOR SHIMON FARKAS OAM

Details to follow.

CANTOR YEHUDA NIASOFF

THE CENTRAL SYNAGOGUE CHOIR

‫ם‬

‫וי‬

‫אתכם בתוך שאר א‬ ‫חם‬ ‫ינ‬

‫ום‬

‫מק‬ ‫ה‬

‫י‬

‫של‬

‫רו‬

‫בילי‬ ‫צ‬ ‫י‬ ‫ון‬

CONDOLENCES The Central Synagogue community extends sincere condolences to our members who have lost loved ones:

Dr Hyam Emder

Mr George Miller

Mr Harry Freedman

Mrs Rachel Moses

Mrs Marina Grunstein

Mrs Pepa Rosenman

Dr Tessa Horowitz

Mrs Ruth Shell

Mr Naftali Kirsch

Rev Ben Skolnick

Mrs Bonita Levy

Mrs Gertie Smith

Mrs Aviva Magid

Mr Frederick Tritsch

Mr Samuel Mane

Mrs Elisabeth Varnai

Mr Phillip Michael

Mrs Katherine Vernon

May G-d comfort the families among all mourners of Zion and Jerusalem Due to timing of publication any names not mentioned above will be included in the Rosh Hashanah journal

Meet the

Director of

Directors

Join The Central Synagogue on the High Holy Days for a magical experience with The Director. A unique time and opportunity to come closer to G-d: The Director, The Writer & Producer of our lives.

With blessing to being inscribed for a year filled with a happiness.

Any queries please call the office on (02) 9355-4000

15 Bon Accord Avenue Bondi Junction, NSW 2022, Australia phone: +61 (02) 9355-4000 fax: +61 (02) 9355-4099 email: central@centralsynagogue.com.au WWW.CENTRALSYNAGOGUE.COM.AU