Volume 30 Issue 17 11 Jun 2021 1 Tammuz 5781

Year 7 Synagogue Day

A day of diversity and pluralism – Tiyul Ani Tefillati (“I Am My Prayer” excursion)

This week I was blessed with being able to go to four separate synagogues in Sydney, all being unique, beautiful and lively. These synagogues were: The Great Synagogue, Sephardi Synagogue, Coogee Synagogue and Emanuel Synagogue. Our first synagogue was The Great Synagogue, this synagogue fell into the branch of Orthodox Judaism, had an absolutely stunning atmosphere and there were many things to learn about there. We then went to Sephardi Synagogue, Coogee Synagogue and Emanuel Synagogue, it was amazing, but I can’t even fit everything I learnt about them into this! It’s just that fascinating. Sadly, due to misinformation online, many synagogues around the world have been attacked, but luckily the Synagogues we went to were still in great condition, this I am eternally grateful for. Going on this trip was an experience of a lifetime and I’m so very grateful for the opportunity to go. It has brought me even closer to my Jewish heritage and I simply could not ask for more.
By Jacob Fidler 

On the Synagogue excursion, we learnt new things about Judaism that we didn’t really know about before, such as Renewal or Sephardi Judaism. We learnt that the different streams practise Judaism differently and that they have different things that they do in shul, like separating men and women and praying in different ways. For example, Renewal Judaism uses more music, yoga, meditation and dance in prayer, but in others the prayers are read or sung more traditionally.

I learnt a bit about the difference between being Sephardi and Ashkenazi. The Sephardi Torah is really special because it was so easy to use, standing up and having a brake to control the turning of the scroll, and the case was so pretty.

All the synagogues were nice in different ways and taught us different things, but my favourite was the Masorti one because it’s my shul and I feel most comfortable in it.
By Kira Levin-Kahn