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From The President
David P Lewis
e: president@greatsynagogue.org.au
Dear Friends,
Another terrific week of events at The Great and we have so much more planned.
Purim Celebrations
The celebrations were amazing and in case you missed them, the photos are HERE! By far the largest gathering we have had for Purim for a very long time. It is so gratifying for our Rabbis and staff to achieve these results. Thank you to Rabbi Feldman for his wonderful organisation of this event.
Communal Dinner – Friday 21st March
Our Communal Dinner on Friday night 21 March is now oversubscribed so unfortunately, we cannot take any more bookings. Of course, you may still attend the Choral Kabbalat Shabbat Service which commences at 5.30pm with The Great Synagogue Choir.
Final Summer Schmooze – Shabbat 22nd March
On Shabbat 22nd March in the evening, we will have the last summer shmooze of the season. Dr Jason Schulman, Fullbright scholar at the Sydney Jewish Museum, will be giving a talk on antisemitism on American college campuses.
Communal Lunch – Shabbat 29th March
On Shabbat 29 March (Saturday) , join us for our first communal lunch for 2025. This Lunch is sponsored by Joe and Jacki Gluck and held in the memory of Joe’s parents, Chazzan & Mrs Gluck z”l. The guest speaker will be Senator Dave Sharma, Former Australian Ambassador to Israel and Chair of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee.
Pesach – Commencing Shabbat 12th April
As Erev Pesach takes place on a Shabbat this year, 12 April, there will be special arrangements for that Shabbat morning service. Erev Passover on Shabbat is a unique occurrence because, typically, the preparation for Passover involves activities like burning chametz, cleaning for Passover, and other preparations that are usually done in advance. However, since Shabbat prohibits work, these preparations must be handled in a way that respects the sanctity of Shabbat.
Rabbi Elton will advise us of his plans in the next couple of weeks so please ensure you watch for our announcements.
Bookings will open soon for first night Pesach at our rabbis’ homes on Saturday night 12 April and then The Great Communal Pesach dinner at the Shul on Sunday night 13 April. All of these events are booked out each year so please ensure you book early.
To all those in our community who are suffering an illness, we wish you a Refu’ah Shleima — a complete and speedy recovery; and to all those commemorating a Yahrzeit, or who have recently suffered a loss, we wish you a long and good life, full of Simchas.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns.
Shabbat Shalom
From The Rabbi
Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton
e: admin@greatsynagogue.org.au
DVAR TORAH – VAYAKHEL 5785
We are looking back on the most successful Purim at The Great for many years, with 90 attending Megillah and cocktails on Thursday night and 120 adults and kids joining our Friday afternoon party and Shabbat service. We have received wonderful feedback and I want to thank everyone who organised and ran the events so well.
This Shabbat is happily very busy, with a choral Friday night service followed by a community Friday night dinner for those who have booked. I want to thank Sharon Schach and her team for this initiative and all their hard work. There will be cupcakes at the Shabbat morning Kiddush to celebrate Salo’s fourth birthday and the last summer schmooze of the season at my home at 6:15pm with Dr Jason Schulman talking about antisemitism on American college campuses.
Pesach starts in three weeks, and we will have a full range of events and activities, including first Seder at the Rabbis’ homes, second Seder in the Shule, a choral service on the seventh night for Counting the Omer and more. As Pesach begins on a Saturday night this year I will share guidelines for preparing for Pesach when it falls immediately after Shabbat. A major change is that the Shabbat morning service will begin on 12 April at 7am and end at 8:30am, so people can eat challah for the last time before chametz becomes forbidden.
In Vayakhel we read more about the construction of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, and the name of the man who led the efforts, Bezalel. The Torah makes an unexpected remark about Betzalel, and his assistant Oholiav, that God gave them the ability to teach others. Normally we would praise an architect or an artist by referring to their creative ability, not their teaching talents. Who knows if Leonardo da Vinci or Michaelangelo were good teachers? It is largely irrelevant. They are remembered because they were geniuses whose works continue to inspire and delight hundreds of years after they were completed.
A sacred undertaking, guided by the values of the Torah is different. There has to be an ethical component. Bezalel and Oholiav were indeed outstanding designers and craftsmen, and that is noteworthy in its own right, but as role models for generations to come they should be remembered also for their interpersonal qualities. They were good teachers, they cared about passing on their abilities and skills to others, they wanted to nurture the talent in other people so there would be more great achievements after they had completed their own work. This generosity of spirit deserves special mention in the Torah and is of enduring value to succeeding generations.
The Mishkan is long-gone. It was replaced by King Solomon with the Temple in Jerusalem. The vessels that Bezalel made were lost towards the end of the First Temple Period and at the point of destruction. There is therefore nothing left of Bezalel’s actual handiwork, but his moral example lives on. If all of the vessels made subsequently, and the Temple which replaced the Tabernacle, were made in the same spirit, with senior craftsmen patiently teaching younger colleagues, then not only would their productions be beautiful, but also the ethical spirit that pervaded them would be worthy.
Whatever we do, make, craft or produce, the same can be true of our work. The results can be of the highest quality in themselves and they can also be infused with an ideal spirit, which will make them truly eternal.
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