STOP PRESS: Tonight in Shule
Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon - Dean and Rosh Yeshiva of Machon Lev - Jerusalem College of Technology 
STOP PRESS: Advance Notice: Monday, August 29th: ONLY PUBLIC APPEARANCE in conjunction with AIJAC
Simon Henderson, Israel and the House of Saud - See below

Rabbi's Message
Did Julian Assange go to Synagogue?

Dear [first_name],

We are told that a Synagogue is called a Mikdash Me’at - a Minor Temple (Ezekiel 11:15, Sanhedrin 17b)

It therefore stands to reason that the function of a Synagogue is similar to that of the Temple.

So what is the function of the Temple?

According to Maimonides, the Temple’s primary purpose is as an established centre for Divine Service. This is replicated in the Synagogue, the central place for communal prayers.

However, according to the Nachmanides, the Temple’s primary purpose is to be a place where G-d’s Presence is manifest. G-d appeared to Moses in the Temple; the High Priest prophesied while wearing the Breastplate in the Temple; many miracles regularly occurred in the Temple as elaborated in Pirkei Avot.

That’s all very good for the Temple. But how is G-d’s Presence manifested in our Synagogues - our Minor Temples - today?

For a possible answer, let’s examine the words of Rabbi Meir Shapiro (the famed founder of the Daf HaYomi).

In the Talmud (Brachot 8a) a question is asked:

How could there possibly be old people in Babylon? Don’t we recite at the end of the second paragraph of Shema every day, “so that your days, and the days of your children, will be lengthened on the Land that G-d has promised your forefathers to give to you”? Doesn’t this imply that only in the Promised Land - in Israel - we will live a long life, but not outside the Land?

The Talmud answers:

They merit long life because they attend synagogue in the morning and evening.

A cute response. Who wouldn’t agree that going to shule every day is a great mitzvah and should be encouraged with all the blessings in the world? But how, asks Rabbi Meir Shapiro, does this answer the Talmud’s query that only those who live in Israel should merit a long life? A synagogue may be a wonderful place, but Israel is Israel!

A great question!

Now listen to the Rabbi’s incisive answer:

Every nation has embassies in other countries. These embassies are the sovereign territory of the nation that they represent. Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for years - out of reach of the British Government which cannot enter to arrest him.

So too, every Synagogue, explains Rabbi Shapiro, is the spiritual sovereign territory of the Land of Israel. When you enter a Synagogue, you are entering the Land of Israel!

When you come to shule every day, you enter Israel every day. This, explains Rabbi Shapiro, is why even a Babylonian can merit long life!

With this in mind we can understand another enigmatic Talmudic statement. The Talmud (Megillah 29a) says that all the synagogues and all the yeshivas will somehow miraculously fly to Israel when Moshiach comes where they will become part of the Third Temple. Once again, that’s really cute. But what is the Talmud trying to tell us?

Hidden in these words is the mystical idea that every Synagogue is part of Israel, part of the Temple - to which it is yearning to reunite!

So yes, in every Synagogue there is, as in the Temple of old, a manifestation of Israel, a manifestation of the Holy Temple, indeed a manifestation of G-d Himself!

May we merit to attend Synagogue as often as we possibly can so that upon Moshiach’s arrival - which we anticipate during this period of the year more than at any other time - we too will join our Synagogue as it miraculously reunites with its source - the Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

With best wishes from the Rebbetzen and all of us at South Head

Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM  

President's Message

One of the harder theological doctrines is that of free will: we believe that God is all-knowing and that nothing happens by chance yet at the same time we believe that we have free will, indeed, that we are responsible for all our actions. There is a similar conundrum with the concept of “bashert,” the Yiddish word that means “destiny.” It is most frequently used in the context of a person’s divinely foreordained spouse or soulmate – especially when one talks of matches made in heaven.

The word comes from the German “bescheren,” but that term itself can have two different meanings. (1) It can mean “to give, to bestow – usually as a gift” – for example, “beschert” is often used to mean Christmas and New Year gifts, thought to be divine gifts; in English this is like your “share” or portion. (2) It can also mean “cut, clip” (similar to the English word “shear” – think about the “shears of fate”) – and indicating something determined and predestined. Read More

This weeks Friday night Kiddush has been kindly sponsored by Chazzan Yehoshua & Nissa Niasoff in honour of the Chazzan's 50th birthday.

If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush in honour of a Simcha or a Yahrtzeit please contact Shmuly on 0401 558 223 or shmuly@southhead.org.

We would like to extend a very Happy Jewish Birthday to all the youth who celebrated their Jewish birthday's this week. We had lots of fun visiting the homes of many of our youth and celebrating their birthday's together with them and their families!

If you would like to have us prepare a Jewish birthday party for your child and visit your home on your child's Jewish birthday, please call us on 9371 7300 ext 3 or 0412 482 770.

We would also like to extend our farewell wishes to our dynamic youth director Yeruchem Lipszyc. We wish you much success in all your endeavours.

Wishing you and your family Shabbat Shalom,
Tzemach & Roli

For all information on upcoming youth events please contact us on 9371 7300 ext 3 or 0412 482 770 or youth@southhead.org

Wednesday evening saw the South Head Kollel continue, with a great turn out! Participants learnt topics of their choice with our Kollel instructors and there was a group shiur on effective resolution making. We were privileged to have members of the Addass community joining us who are looking for people to learn with.

The Kollel is a weekly event from 7:30-8:30pm Wednesday evenings. All are invited to attend and participate in learning that is of interest to them with our Kollel instructors. For more information, please be in contact with Shmuly Kleiner on 0401 558 223.

"In his letter, my father told the Rebbe that his heart was so weak he couldn’t climb stairs anymore. At this time he was teaching chemistry in a secondary school that was about to be rebuilt; in the new building, in which no elevator was planned, the chemistry laboratory would be on the fourth floor, and my father was fretting about what he would do. He knew for certain that he could not climb four flights of stairs, so how could he earn a living? Of course, he could look for a job in another school, but nobody wanted to hire a sick man who was already in his 50s. What did the Rebbe advise under the circumstances?” Read More

Q. What is the function of Torah and Mitzvot?

​A. The Torah has numerous facets. It may be a means to gain a reward and avoid punishment, or a guide to good living.

​The world has been created and therefore can have nothing in Common with its Creator. The world consist of a variety of creatures which are generally classified into four categories; minerals, vegetation, animals and mankind. Even if we consider the highest of these groups: man, and the highest individual within this group: a great Torah sage, there can still be nothing in common between him and G-d our Creator. This is because man is a created, limited being, while G-d is infinite. Read More