Canberra growth exceeding expectations
When I took the position of Rabbi of the ACT Jewish Community, I was assuming the role of a rabbi of a small community that had a desire to grow and build upon its rich history.
However, I sincerely doubt anyone could have assumed how quickly and how strong our community could have grown.
In the past 10 months we have seen numbers double, events rarely have attendance of less than 100 people and the level of engagement in both services and classes has been staggering.
We have 50 adults attending classes each week, and our Sunday cheder has nearly doubled in numbers.
Over Shavuot, we hosted the inaugural Canberra Limmud Shavuot, which resulted in 154 participants, equating to over 700 visits through the National Jewish Memorial Centre for the various weekend’s components.
Starting off with a women’s Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night, alongside our regular services, we quickly saw how popular the weekend was going to be. Limmud Shavuot was about bringing together different minds, to educate and engage the full spectrum of demographics that define our membership.
We tackled big questions, including women’s roles in the Orthodox Community, the inclusion of members of the LGBT community within Orthodoxy, and the history and future projections of interfaith dialogue. We shared stories, met knew people, and ate together, but most importantly we learnt with and from each other, in a collaborative manner not yet seen in our nation’s capital.
President of the ACT Jewish Community, Mr Robert Cussel said the following prior to Limmud Shavuot, “the weekend will be full of exploration and wonder as we learn or revisit new concepts and understandings. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of this experience will be that we do it together as one community.”
The ability to stand together a strong community, which is growing beyond expectations, is the goal of our family’s being here in Canberra. To host the Catholic Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Michael Danby MP, visiting scholars and professors at such an event is one that reflects well on not only our community, but also Australian Jewry.
A strong Jewish community, actively engaging in, and disseminating such a high level of Jewish education, in our nation’s Capital, ensures that our wider community – our political representatives and the movers and shakers of this country, know that we are a committed people; to our own values and history, but also the enhancement of our general society.
Rabbi Alon Meltzer
Rabbi Alon Meltzer is rabbi of the ACT Jewish Community.
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