Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations

Life returning to “normal”

We hope you are enjoying special times with family and friends in your home and theirs, now that the latest NSW Health rulings allow such gatherings for double vaccinated adults and children over the age of 12.

Don’t forget our weekly online Kabbalat Shabbat continue at 4.00 pm each Friday afternoon and we encourage you and your family, along with grandparents to join us.

For the latest COVID rulings updates.

What an incredible night!

Emanuel B’yachad – Emanuel Together last Sunday evening was truly amazing. Not only did hundreds of human members of our wonderful School community come together to enjoy the event and support our amazing School, but so did their pets in preparation for the formalities as you can see in the many wonderful photos of Emanuel pets in colourful sunglasses. There is still time to donate to the Capital Appeal – together we can create our bright future.

June Again – cast

Samuel Goldwyn Films Buys Australian Indie Hit ‘June Again’ for release to North American audiences

This is fabulous news for everyone involved in the making of this wonderful film which was released here in Australia in May this year. “June Again” was co-produced by alumnus Jamie Hilton (Class of 1997) and stars well-known Australian actors Noni Hazelhurst, Claudia Karvan and Stephen Curry. During a fleeting bout of lucidity from her dementia, June Wilton has precious time to bring together her estranged children, save the family business and rekindle an old flame. The film also won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Sonoma International Film Festival 2021. If you have not seen the film, I encourage you to do so – it treats dementia with great sensitivity, this film is classified as a drama/comedy. See the trailer

Head On Photo Festival 2021

Emanuel parent Moshe Rosenzveig OAM is the founder and director of Head On Photo Festival and his wife Anita Schwartz is Festival Advisory Board. This year’s event starts on 19 November and goes for 9 days, through to 28 November. Head On Foundation was established in 2008, dedicated to promoting the work of photographers at all stages of their career. This year’s festival includes a jam-packed online program and spectacular outdoor locations across Sydney, including Paddington Reservoir Gardens and Bondi Beach, all of which will be in line with COVID-safety. There will be exhibitions from over 700 contributing artists, workshops, panel discussions and artist live talks.

The Shabbat Project 2021 – this weekend – together, whoever, whatever, wherever 

Unlike in years gone by, when The Shabbat Project was lit up with giant spectacles – challah bakes, Shabbat dinners and Havdalah concerts that brought together thousands of people, this year the pandemic has taught us that life’s better together, big or small.

Whatever activities you have planned as part of this weekend’s event, we hope you have a good Shabbat experience as part of this project.

Who doesn’t love Paddington Bear?

Paddington Bear – photo credit – Felicity McCabe

What you may not know however, is how this famous bear came to be. Just over 63 years ago, on 13 October 1958, Paddington Bear first appeared in the children’s book: A Bear Called Paddington. This beloved character was inspired by Jewish children who escaped the Holocaust on the Kindertransport. Creator Michael Bond (1926-2017) was motivated by his memories of children arriving at London’s Reading station during WWII. These young refugees each carried a small suitcase and wore labels around their necks to identify them. It’s no coincidence that in the book, the little bear is found sitting on his suitcase in Paddington Station in London with a note around his neck that reads, “Please take care of this bear. Thank you.” He is discovered and adopted by the Brown family, thus the name Paddington Bear. In the story, Paddington’s best friend is Mr. Samuel Gruber, an elderly Jew from Hungary who escaped the Nazis. And guess what!? When “Paddington 2” hit the big screen in Israel in 2018, the voice of one of the characters was played by none other than Nechama Rivlin, the late wife of Reuven Ruvi Rivlin – ראובן רובי ריבלין. Like so many others around the world, Nechama loved Paddington, the little bear with a big heart.

Photograph: Felicity McCabe
Source: American Society for Yad Vashem

Kristallnacht Commemoration – Tuesday 9 November 

Nearly 10,000 young Jewish children mainly from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia were sent alone to England as Kindertransport Children just after Kristallnacht, including my mother who turns 95 next month and another past Emanuel grandparent Alice Hubbers who is now 98 – they were suddenly separated from their parents, many of whom were murdered by the Nazi’s in their horrendous concentration camps. Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass 9/10 November 1938, marked the start of World War 2.

This year’s Kristallnacht Commemoration here in Sydney on Tuesday 9 November will also be a tribute to the late Eddie Jaku OAM, holocaust survivor and witness to Kristallnacht, who passed away last week aged 101. Bookings for this free online event are essential.

Grandparents – we want you!

Ma Nishma is a great way to stay connected with our School and with our community no matter where in the world you live. Unfortunately, we are still missing up-to-date email contact details for many of our grandparents, so please send through grandparent contact details so they too can read Ma Nishma to find out what is happening at School, albeit it only online for now.  They will also receive our Grandparents and Friends newsletter.  You can see past issues of this newsletter along with our alumni newsletters online. Living interstate and/or overseas, means some of “our” grandparents never have an opportunity to come to School, so connecting electronically can be really meaningful and a great way for them to see what their grandchildren are doing at School in spite of the distance apart.  

Jewish Changemaker Awards 2021 

last chance to nominate

Nominations close this coming Monday 25 October and with so many of our current High School students and past students in the Jewish community making the world a better place through their amazing volunteering efforts, they deserve to be nominated for these awards. If your children or grandchildren fit this brief, please nominate them to win. Through the Jewish Changemaker Awards, JNF Australia, B’nai B’rith NSW and The Australian Jewish News are honouring individuals in our community who have made a difference. Seven incredible young adults aged 14 to 36 from around Australia will be recognised for their outstanding contributions to Jewish Community, Australian Society and to Israel. We would love to see more of our students and alumni recognised for their wonderful volunteering efforts, so please send through their nominations. This year there is a new award “The Joshua Levi Young Professional Award.

Australian Jewish Fertility Network (AJFN) 

Major event Monday 8 November at 8.00 pm

There is still time to join AJFN online for their major event on Monday 8 November at 8:00 pm, an inspirational evening where you’ll see what an incredible impact AJFN – fuelled by community support – has and continues to have, creating miracles together and building the next generation, in the documentary One in Six , which tells the story of AJFN couple Janine and Shimon Davidowitz.

Book your free tickets now and you also have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for some fabulous prizes at checkout.

All funds raised from this appeal will go towards helping 29 couples in our community experiencing infertility who need support of AJFN.

Challah and sweet treats

Shoshi Blackman

Friendship Bakery at Mark Moran Vaucluse (2 Laguna Street Vaucluse), a social enterprise initiative of the Friendship Circle engaging young adults with disabilities, continues to thrive and expand their yummy treats menu each week. You can order your weekly challah and sweet treats online with orders closing on Thursdays for “click and collect” pickup on Fridays between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm. Alumna Shoshi Blackman (Class of 2017) volunteers at the bakery every week, so don’t forget to say “hi” to her when you are there.

We look forward to sharing our news and yours, so if you have photos or news you would like to share with us, please send to Sonia Newell        

Shabbat shalom, stay safe and have a great weekend.