The long-awaited inauguration of a new Jewish community center and the installation of a new Sefer Torah scroll marked a highly anticipated moment for the 5,000-member-strong Russian Jewish community in Sydney, Australia.
The Bondi Beach Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe (F.R.E.E.), also known as Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi Center, opened its doors on Sept. 22 after many trials and tribulations, including a zoning battle with the city and then court challenges that stretched over a 12-year period of time.
The $30 million, 5,700-square-foot Chabad center took three years to build. The land was donated by a group of philanthropists—Sydney real estate is among the most expensive in the world—who developed a portion of the block, and then financed the construction of the Jewish center’s exterior structure. Chabad of Bondi leaders then launched a capital campaign to raise the $11 million to fund the interior construction. Another $4.5 million is still needed.
“It’s like a dream come true,” said community member Gabriel Pinchuk. “It’s something that we’ve been planning for a very long time as our community was growing. After 15 long years, by having the center finally completed, it feels like our community is a lot more complete than before.”
‘New Chapter for Jewish Life in Sydney’
At the grand opening, the new Sefer Torah was paraded under a chuppah from the old Chabad Center a few blocks away, all the way to the grand new center. It was joined by the three Torah scrolls already in use by the community.
Some 1,500 people came to the event, including politicians, dignitaries, members of the Chabad center, curious neighbors, and people from the wider Sydney Jewish community.
Among the dignitaries in attendance was Phillip Ruddock, who formerly served as attorney general of Australia and minister for immigration. His presence was especially noteworthy as he was instrumental in securing visas for Jews fleeing the Soviet Union, many of whom are members at the Chabad or are descendants of those refugees.
In an example of hashgacha pratis (Divine Providence), former Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau had the unique privilege of both beginning and completing the Torah. Rabbi Lau inscribed its first letter in 2017, and seven years later, on an otherwise unrelated trip, he was there to pen its final letter.
“This is not just the opening of a building,” Lau remarked at the ceremony, “it is the opening of a new chapter for Jewish life in Sydney, a center that will serve as a beacon of Torah, unity, and Jewish pride for generations to come.”
Rabbi Yehoram Ulman is the rabbi and director of Chabad of Bondi and a friend of Lau. He inscribed the second letter and the second to last letter of the hand-scribed Torah.
“We completed the Torah at the old synagogue which is around the corner,” said the center’s assistant rabbi, Rabbi Eli Schlanger. “It was very inspiring to see all the neighbors come out to their porches and wave.”
‘This Made Us Feel Reconnected’
Chabad of Bondi primarily serves the Russian Jewish community although tourists and members of the Sydney Jewish community also attend. The new center features gold detailing throughout and a striking sandstone facade. A downstairs area can hold as many as 300 people.
“This is a product of many, many years of hard work, the toil of many dedicated individuals,” Ulman said.
The center features a library, young-adult lounge, children’s space, and a wedding and function hall with a commercial kitchen. It is also the location of the new headquarters and court room for the Sydney Beth Din, of which Ulman is senior dayan (rabbinical judge.) Additionally, the sofer (scribe) of Sydney has his own office and workshop in the center.
In the entranceway, visitors are greeted by a glass showcase of historic Soviet-Jewish family artifacts, photographs, and biographies. The featured family changes each week focusing on a different family from the community and tells the story of their journey from the former Soviet Union to Sydney.
“The purpose is for the community to learn about each other in a very meaningful and spiritual way. It brings people together in a Jewish way,” Schlanger said. “Families from the community are often so excited to bring a yarmulke that their father or grandfather wore, or family heirlooms like Shabbat candlesticks that they may have brought over in their travels that have been lost and then found.”
For many families seeking refuge in Australia after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1993, the Chabad Center was their first place to truly feel at home following their journeys.
“As soon as my family arrived in Australia from the Soviet Union, they were introduced to Rabbi Ulman,” Pinchuk said. “Ever since, we have been a part of this warm and pleasant community. We initially found it really tough to keep our Judaism in Sydney, but Chabad let us feel reconnected.”
‘Something for Every Jew’
Of the Torah ceremony and grand opening, community member Vivienne Toltsan remarked, “It was pretty incredible, the unity; the community all gathered and were very supportive.”
The old center was long overdue for a replacement with event attendance often exceeding its relatively limited capacity.
“We had a very small shul, so it was very hard to congregate together,” Tolstan said. “The community is very happy and very excited to finally have a home where we can all come together to celebrate.”
Toltsan assists with Women’s Circle events offered by Chabad and regularly attends services. “I don’t know many communities that have had two such significant events pulled into one occasion. I was personally very honored to have been able to be a part of something so big and monumental,” she said.
The new center is geared for all ages. For younger members, Chabad of Bondi has created an interactive children’s space, complete with a miniature synagogue, kosher shop and performance stage.
The upstairs holds a wood-paneled library housing more than 8,000 books, which has already started hosting Chabad’s Monday night adult-learning program for men. The program, which is popular among the young-adult demographic, averages 30 attendees per week. Schlanger expects the new space to allow the program to expand in frequency, and plans are already underway to begin a parallel program for women. The assistant rabbi also notes that on average 40 young adults come for Shabbat meals each week.
A seniors club called ‘Bis 120’ or ‘May You Live Until 120 ... ’—a Yiddish adage traditionally said to older people blessing them to live 120 years, the age of Moses—is also growing. Russian-speaking senior citizens come from all over Sydney once a week, where Chabad organizes transport for those who wish to attend. The program encourages conversation, discussions and entertainment for attendees, during which lunch is served.
As testament to this wide sphere of engagement, the center is constantly busy with life cycle occasions. In the month since the new center has opened, five brit milah (circumcision) ceremonies, three baby namings, four funerals and a pidyon haben (redemption of the first-born son) have already been hosted.
“There is something for every Jew,” Schlanger said. “Everyone that walks in immediately feels something. It’s a sense of relief, a sense of comfort, a sense of family, and more than anything else, a sense of home.”
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