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the sydney jewish report | july 2021
AROUND
T H E
COMMUNITY
Jewish Life thrives at Mandelbaum
MANDELBAUM HOUSE Jewish life is flourishing at Mandelbaum House this year with celebrations for Purim, Pesach, and Shavuot, as well as commemorating Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, alongside a weekly observance of Shabbat. Our multicultural college community creates space for residents of all backgrounds to meaningfully be involved in an inclusive way. Our Jewish residents hail from Israel, Brisbane, Newcastle, Terrigal, Wagga Wagga and different parts of Sydney. Every Shabbat residents come together to welcome in the weekend. When there are no COVID-19 restrictions, Mandelbaum has instituted a new practice whereby everyone puts their hands on the challah (a Mandelbaum favourite) during the hamotzi. This creates a “hands in” environment of inclusivity and enables all to be active participants. Inclusivity is important for Mandelbaum at each celebration and observance. Purim was the first festival this year. Together, we packaged mishloach manot with hamantaschen and other lollies for all residents and staff. This was a fun bonding activity early in the semester as residents were still getting
to know each other. There was also an opportunity to attend Newtown Shul to hear the Megillah, which included a magic show. Next we celebrated Pesach. We held a Seder. Most residents attended and got involved. We developed a Haggadah from scratch with a transliteration pronunciation guide, as well as having various people sign up for various roles, including opening the door for Elijah, or being one of the four sons. Dayenu was definitely the highlight of the night,
with many residents continuing to sing it afterwards. For our final festival of the semester, Shavuot, we really went all out. The “Shavuot Crew” designed a brilliant program to cover the entirety of Shavuot, starting with cheesecake making. It was then onto Mandelbaum “Ted Talks” for Tikkun Leil Shavuot, with topics ranging from The Music of God to What is a Chad?: An Historical & Memetic Analysis to The Similarities & Differences between People in Pompeii & the Modern Man.
This enabled any resident who wanted to speak to educate us about something they were passionate or knowledgeable about. The evening was capped off with Israeli dancing. We also organised charity baskets and throughout Shavuot hung up posters with facts about the environment and how to improve it. For the Yamim, we lit a Yahrzeit candle for Yom HaShoah, and for Yom Ha’Atzma’ut we had an Israeli dinner feast, along with a huge cake for Israel’s birthday. Last semester, we also celebrated the diverse backgrounds of our other residents including a Greek Odyssey themed dinner, Tamil and Sinhalese New Year, and NAIDOC week activities. Mandelbaum has been a great facilitator for creating an inclusive Jewish life for all residents and we have learnt about different religions and cultures too. We look forward to more celebrations for semester two. About Mandelbaum House Mandelbaum is the Jewish residential college at the University of Sydney. It is a kosher “home away from home” for 34 Australian and international student residents. The mix of religious and cultural backgrounds and fields of study amongst the residents provide valuable inter-cultural connections.
Senior Living Feature
The Sydney Jewish Report will be publishing a Senior Living Feature in its next edition – deadline for submission, 3rd August. The supplement will cover important aspects related to aging, including how to make the most of life as our senior years beckon any opportunities availble to us. We are offering all businesses associated with senior living the opportunity to promote their services, which could include articles, adverts, photos and interviews. To register your interest in appearing in the supplement or for more information on rates please contact Alex on 0418 660 660 or advertising@thejewishreport.com.au
