Events and Programs

President’s Report Melbourne Hebrew Congregation,

Annual General Meeting 2024 / 5784

As we gather at this our 183rd Annual General Meeting it is important to reflect on the past year – a year simultaneously marked by profound sadness and unwavering hope. The events following the tragic attack on October 7 in Israel have deeply affected our community, evoking fear and uncertainty. Many of us have felt the weight of loss and burden of the ongoing conflict, in addition to the exponential rise in anti semitism that we have all witnessed in Australia.

Yet, amid this sorrow, we also find resilience. Our community has come together, demonstrating strength and solidarity. We have supported one another through difficult times, fostering connections that remind us of our shared values and history. This year has shown us the power of hope, and the importance of spirituality, history and connection – 3 key pillars of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation over 183 years. We pray for the return of the 101 hostages held in Gaza and peace in Israel.

Serving our membership and the broader community over the past 12 months has been front of mind for the Board, Rabbi and Rebbetzin and staff. We have continued to focus on 2 key strategic objectives: 1. To be the “shule of shules” where major events are held whether they be religious, communal, educational or cultural; and 2. To service our members and their families in their life-cycle events – to always be there for them. Of course, this entails holding weekly Shabbat services on Friday evening and Saturday morning, as well as all the Chaggim.

We have also been mindful that in order to best maximise our human and financial resources, we are often best to collaborate with other organisations to present events to our community. Over the past 12 months we have collaborated with a multitude of local community organisations including the JCCV, Maccabi, WIZO, ZFA, Live at Yours, Bnei Akiva, Hineni, Holocaust Museum, C Care and many other shules. Many more collaborations are planned over the coming 12 months. Some highlights of the events from the past 12 months are as follows: The year kicked off last September with a vibrant High Holiday season where Chazzans Dudu Fisher and Aaron Max, together with our MHC choir, energised us with their melodies. We enjoyed meaningful and impactful speeches from Rabbi Shlomo, as well as former Governor of Victoria The Honourable Linda Dessau AC CVO, who became the first female ever to address our congregation from the pulpit on the High Holidays. She encouraged us to seek the “right balance between traditions and modernity”.

1 Also in September, whilst Dudu Fisher was here, we held a Klezmer concert at the shule – dubbed “Klezmer, Cantors and Chutzpah”. We held a special Channukah function on Erev Shabbat at the shule in December. Plenty of Canapes and Cocktails that night. In conjunction with Maccabi we held a Purim party catered towards young families. This Chag was followed by Pesach, when the shule hosted 2 seders for the community. We held an Anzac Day Memorial at the shule where retired Major General and former Surgeon General of the ADF Jeffrey Rosenfeld AC OBE gave a keynote address. We continued the “Live at Toorak” series of concerts at the shule in conjunction with renowned promoter Vladamir Fanshil. Whilst numbers have been lower this year due to the events following October 7, the partnership is working well and continues to bring new people through the shule both from the Jewish and broader communities. In November renowned jazz musician James Morrison will be performing. We are expecting a full house for that concert. We have been fortunate to establish a collaboration with historian and scholar David Solomon. During the year David ran sessions at the shule on “the Whole of Jewish History in One Hour”. These were very well attended, particularly by the under 30’s.

More educational sessions including Hebrew conversation classes are planned with David for the coming 12 months. The last 12 months also saw the shule host a number of Shabbatons with youth groups including Bnei Akiva and Hineni. Two major community events were held at the shule in August. First in conjunction with the JCCV, Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism, Jillian Segal AO addressed the community. This was her first public address since being appointed by the Australian Government in July. Jillian outlined her ambitious plan to seek to combat anti-semitism. Shortly after this, in conjunction with WIZO, we were fortunate to have actor and social media influencer Nate Buzz addressed the young adult community. Nate is a passionate advocate for the Jewish people and Israel and as he describes himself, a Zionist. Nate shared with us the story of how he came to have such a strong connection with our community and with Israel and how he has used his social media platform to speak out against mis information and anti-semitism. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking a number of people, without whom none of this would have been possible.

First and most importantly to our spiritual and religious leader Rabbi Shlomo Nathanson. Everybody loves Shlomo – from the young to the elderly. We are very fortunate to have Shlomo as our senior Rabbi. He juggles lots and I thank him for all his hard work, commitment and passion. On a personal note, I have learnt so much 2 from Shlomo and looking forward to working with him in the future as we continue to grow the membership and programs. We are also blessed that Shlomo comes as a package with his talented partner, Rebbetzin Rivki. Together, they create a warm and inviting atmosphere for our community, welcoming us each Shabbat with open arms. Not to mention the cholent! Their dedication to fostering connections within our congregation is truly inspiring. We also love having their five wonderful children around and it is a pleasure watching them grow up. We were delighted that Shlomo and Rivki had the opportunity to travel to Israel recently on a Solidarity Mission with other Rabbonim and Rebbetzim from Melbourne. Next to our Administration Manager Sharon Abrahamov, and caretaker David Greich. Sharon, thank you once again for all your unwavering dedication and hard work. I know it is not always easy juggling so many tasks, but you do it so well and we are grateful for being the day to day front of house for us with our members and the broader community. David, thank you for taking so much care and giving so much love to our synagogue. It is looking magnificent and we have you to thank for maintaining it for us so diligently. We were fortunate during the year to be able to gain the services of Zoe Fein and Cara Susskind from C Care.

Consistent with our objective to leverage resources between C Care and MHC, Zoe has assisted in managing the Rabbi’s diary and project managing a number of our key events, whilst Cara has been an integral resource for our marketing and social media strategy and execution. Thank you Zoe and Cara. The Board has worked well together over the past 12 months and has continued to evolve. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Vice President Emi Slade and Treasurer Paul Givoni. The 3 of us form the Executive of the Board, speak almost daily and have formed a very strong working relationship. I am looking forward to working with Emi and Paul for many years to come. I would also like to thank my other fellow Board members for their time, contributions and passion. To Mark Maller for overseeing the building and maintenance and putting in so many tireless hours for us. Of particular note, on the building front the leak in the roof is now fixed and we have a fully compliant ramp for access to the shule.

Thank you to Simon T Morris for helping us to collaborate with the broader community (I mentioned all the collaborations earlier) and helping to profile and shule and to Jonathan Isaacs for inputting into our marketing efforts. Last month we co-opted Bianca Burd onto the Board. The Burd family goes back decades with the shule and we are looking forward to Bianca making a positive contribution for many years to come. We will hear more from Bianca shortly. 3 Thanks also to our Life Governors Graham Smorgon and Norman Faifer. Always there for sage advice. They are outstanding custodians for us and we are fortunate to have them. During the year, Richard Shaw resigned from the Board. Richard joined the Board in 2018. During this time Richard served as both Treasurer and Vice President. Richard joined at a time of deep challenges for the shule and was a magnificent support for me as we sought to turn things around. Richard, thank you for your friendship and for making such a meaningful contribution. In addition, Norman Diamond advised of his intention to resign from the Board effective from the AGM. Normy also joined the Board in 2018. During his tenure, Normy led the security function for the shule and was instrumental in us obtaining significant Government grants which have been used to enhance the security of the shule. Normy, thank you for making a lasting impact on our shule. Our community has much to thank you for.

The past year has brought profound sadness to our community with the loss of two long standing Board members and giants of our congregation. Leonard Yaffe OAM (Aria Yhuda ben Zev) or Mr Shule as he became affectionately known passed away on 7 October 2023. Leonard was a major identity and pillar of the shule for over 50 years. When he started in official roles with the shule top hats and tails were the go and Leonard revelled in it. Leonard served 2 separate terms as President and served as Gabbai and Life Governor for decades. He dedicated his life to the shule. In 2017 Leonard was awarded an OAM for services to the Jewish community of Melbourne.

On a personal note, I learnt so much from Leonard about the shule’s traditions and minhagim and he was a great mentor. We miss the weekly banter in shule but constantly feel his presence. A plaque in Leonard’s honour will be dedicated in the foyer of the shule shortly. We wish Ruth, Sharona, Jeremy and the family a long life. May Leaonrd’s memory be a blessing. Davd Jaffee (David Eliezer ben Zvi Hershel) passed away suddenly just a few weeks ago. For those of you who attended last year’s AGM, you would have heard me pay tribute to David who was stepping down from the Treasurer position. David devoted decades of service to the shule.

In addition to his family connection to the shule spanning back to 1925 and holding major simchas here, David was a former Board member, Treasurer, Vice President and President. He was brought out of “shule Board retirement” in 2018 during a challenging period for us and stepped in and up as Treasurer when we needed him most. We wish Roselyn, Anna and the family a long life. May David’s memory be a blessing. Thank you to our Honoury Solicitor Steven Amendola from Kingston Reid who has provided pro bono legal advice to us over the past 12 months. And to Eli Solomon and Ian Solomon (not related) from King and Wood Mallesons who have provided pro bono advice in relation to our proposed Rule changes. We will discuss this further later.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our donors, without whom we would not be able to organize events, run programs, and plan for the future. Your generosity is the lifeblood of our community. A special thank you 4 goes to The Gandel Foundation and the Gandel Family, the Geminder, Waislitz, and Pratt families and the Krongold Family, for your ongoing and invaluable support. Thank you for being such an integral part of our community. Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our members and their families.

It is your unwavering support and loyalty, spanning multiple generations, that sustains our iconic shule throughout its history. We do not take this for granted and are deeply appreciative of your commitment. As we move forward, we are dedicated to meeting your needs, interests, and requirements, and we look forward to continuing to serve and enrich our community together. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey.

And now, as we head into the New Year, we pray for peace and look forward to seeing our members and their families over the High Holidays and associated events. These High Holidays are a cherished time for reflection, connection, and renewal, and we hope to share in meaningful moments together as we embrace the year ahead. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a Shana Tova Umetukah.

Quentin Miller

President

24 September 2024