Local heroes
Sonia Newell – Development Officer – Alumni & Community Relations
‘Freedom Day’ and beyond
How exciting that tonight many of our School Community households will share their Shabbat meal with family and friends sitting around the dining table at home for the first time in months. As we embrace our new-found freedom after 106 days in lockdown, we urge everyone to do so with caution and care, with the hope that as we reach 80% double vaccinations (very soon according to current statistics), we will continue to enjoy a more normal life in the real world instead of just on Zoom and Facetime. Don’t forget our weekly online Kabbalat Shabbat continues at 4.00 pm each Friday afternoon. We encourage you and your family, along with grandparents, to join us.
Check this link for the latest COVID rulings updates.
A long and wonderful life – the Happiest Man on Earth
We extend our condolences to the whole Jaku family on the passing this week of Emanuel great grandparent Eddie Jaku OAM, aged 101, and we wish them all long life. Eddie, Holocaust survivor and peace campaigner, Sydney Jewish Museum volunteer guide, author of the bestseller The Happiest Man on Earth and TED EX presenter, just to name a few of the things he is best-known for, was a true mensch. He was an amazing human being who touched the lives of many thousands of people with his positivity for life and the meaning of kindness and tolerance. Tributes to Eddie and his passing were acknowledged by media and politicians not just around Australia but also world-wide, including BBC News, The Guardian and Hawaii Public Radio. May his memory be a blessing.
Local Heroes
Many of our readers are familiar with the annual Westfield Local Heroes Awards, and perhaps you voted for some of the worthy candidates over the years. This year’s awards have just been announced and we are very excited that two of the three Bondi Junction winners are Chana Kavka, founder of Friendship Circle, an organisation for which many of our families past and present volunteer to help children and young adults with disabilities, and past parent Lisa Saunders, co-founder of Arnie’s Recon, a social enterprise that organises free pickup and recycling of electronic waste. Well done to both Chana and Lisa – their worthy causes benefit from the $10,000 prizes they receive!
Finding historic connections in our community – the Bondi Story Room
Alumnus and current parent Ari Shammay (Class of 2002) recently shared a post on his Facebook page about his maternal grandparents. Benek and Frieda Jacobs. Ari’s Mum Ros was interviewed as part of the research and recording of stories for the Bondi Story Room. Escaping the horrors of Europe in WW2, Benek and Frieda arrived in Bondi and after some hard saving, purchased the Terminus Fruiter. The Terminus was a fruit and general store at the North Bondi Tram Terminal, which operated for seven years from 1952. As new migrants, the Jacobs’ found their customers to be very patient with them while they learned the local language – even when customers would ask for onions, only to be given potatoes by mistake! Frieda and Benek would establish and sell numerous businesses across the Bondi basin but the Terminus Fruiter remains a special part of their story.
As part of the Bondi Pavilion Restoration & Conservation Project, Waverley Council is working with TZG Architects and Grumpy Sailor to implement a digital heritage interpretation space which will collect and share the amazing stories of Bondi. To share your story or to find out more, head to the Bondi Story Room page on the Waverley Council’s website.
Grandparents – where are 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 missing up-to-date email contact details for many of our grandparents, so please send through grandparent contact details so they too can read about 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. We are excited to know that many of our grandparents will join us for our biggest and brightest event, Emanuel B’yachad – Emanuel Together this Sunday 17 October 2021 at 7.30 pm.
Jewish Changemaker Awards 2021
nominations close Monday 25 October
There is still time to get nominations in 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“.
The Shabbat Project 2021 – Friday 22 October 2021 – Saturday 23 October 2021
together, whoever, whatever, wherever
In years gone by, The Shabbat Project was lit up with giant spectacles – challah bakes, Shabbat dinners and Havdalah concerts that brought together thousands of people. This year however, the pandemic has taught us that life’s better together, big or small.
Australian Jewish Fertility Network (AJFN)
Major event 8 November 2021 at 8.00 pm
Did you know one in 20 Australian babies are born as a result of IVF – that is one child in every classroom. Most of us know a couple who has been touched by the struggles of infertility. We seem to be able to find Emanuel connections in so much of our community life and AJFN is no different, where we find the team of this amazing organisation includes current parents Gabbie Budai, Leigh Goldberg and Amy Friedlander, as well as past students Loren Finger, Leanne Kawalsky, Kate Samowitz and Sarah Robuck who is also a current parent.
Join AJFN online for their major event on Monday 8 November 2021, 8.00 pm – 8.45 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. Another Emanuel connection here is Janine’s late mother Betty Levy – she was an Emanuel staff member for around 10 years, in a variety of roles including Head of HSIE and Careers Advisor.
Book your free ticket 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 the support of the AJFN.
Head On Photo Festival 2021
Emanuel parent Moshe Rosenzveig OAM is the founder and director of Head On Photo Festival. with this year’s event starting on Friday 19 November 2021 – Sunday 28 November 2021. 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, all of which will be in line with COVID-safety rules.
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.