Shabbat Sukkot
Rabbi’s Drosh
This year the Rabbi’s online Yom Kippur Drosh focused on the upcoming referendum about end of life choices.
The Drosh explored end of life choices and the upcoming New Zealand referendum from a Jewish perspective, and included amazing true stories from our community, the recording is followed by a Zoom Yizkor, 13 Attributes and Shofar. To hear more about the Jewish perspective on this, you can watch the Drosh by following the link below.
An Emotional Yizkor
We had a very emotional online Yizkor. For some members it was their only chance to have Yizkor as they were not able to attend Shul. Each time we do online services we try to find creative ways to ensure we follow Halachic requirements and still have the service be as meaningful as possible. For example, You’ll notice we could not have Kaddish without a minyan, so we read the English translation. Watch the Yizkor Zoom service below.
Building Bridges with Brett
We were fortunate to connect with St Kilda Shule’s chazzan Brett Kaye during the Night to Unite and when we invited him to join us for our Yizkor he was excited to reconnect with the community. The last time he was here was in Rabbi Lawrence’s time! He does have another special NZ connection. He sings in the choir with Helen Stone’s grandson!
Remembering Our Loved Ones
Many of you have been talking to us about your loved ones this week. It is a time of year when we are especially aware of the holes in our lives which our loved ones have left behind. Lesley and I took a moment to stand under her late husband’s plaque to honour his memory in the lead up to Yom Kippur.
Putting the ‘Asia’ in Australasia
What an honour to present alongside Rabbis and Community Leaders from throughout Australia. It was fantastic to see so many community members attend the panel as well. One of the highlights of the evening (apart from Deb’s drosh, of course!) was a special message from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. To see the video, click below.
High Holy Day Services
It was very special to be back in the big Shul with many of us able to pray together over the High Holy Day Services. There was a huge amount of work behind the scenes as we worked out how best to safely accommodate as many people as possible.
We are really grateful to the AHC staff and volunteers for all the time and energy they put in during a very uncertain time and to all of those who attended for being so flexible and respectful of the limitations and restrictions.
If you missed the service, or just want to hear them again, hear the Rabbi recite the 13 Attributes and blow the Shofar via the link below.
Building the Sukkah
One of the wonderful parts of being the Rabbi at AHC is helping Claudio and the team build the community Sukkah. Every year I swap my white kittle for a high-vis vest and we get to work with the build. We can’t wait to have a lechaiim with you in our big AHC Sukkah.
The Four Species Have Arrived!
We were thrilled this week when our Lulav and Etrog sets arrived after their long journey from Australia via Wellington. A big thank you to Rabbi Tal for packing them so beautifully for us. Please join us on Sukkot to shake the four species and take part in this beautiful mitzvah.