The Yeshiva Centre

The Yeshiva Centre is the headquarters of Chabad in New South Wales

YESHIVA CENTRE NEWS

Chaim Dovid gets the Yeshiva Bouncing

Popular Israeli vocalist Chaim Dovid was the star attraction at the Sydney Yeshiva Centre Lag BaOmer celebrations.

An audience of more than 350 packed the shule at which the South African born singer/guitarist performed.

Chaim Dovid brought the audience to its feet as the catchy music set the scene for spontaneous dancing.

During the evening, a special award was made to Eli Toledano, the owner of local Kosher restaurant Savion. Chabad Young Adult Director, Rabbi Eli Feldman told J-Wire: “Every Friday night we hold a special Shabbat dinner for members of the community aged between 18 and 35. We usually have arund 30-40 people and Savion always donates and delivers to us the unsold food at the end of the week. It has proved to be a wonderful way of bringing young people together and in many we do help make shidduchs.”

Rabbi Feldman,together with his father Rabbi Pinchus Feldman and  Young Adult Chabad manager Rabbi Danny Yaffe made the award presentation during the show.

May-01 Sydney: Lag BaOmer concert

Young Chabad present Carlebach star Chaim Dovid.

Posthumous awards for Polish mother and son

The Jewish Community Council of Victoria will present a Righteous Amongst the Nations Award to a Bunbury brother and sister whose father and grandmother  saved the life of one of their father’s schoolmates.

A still to be named representative of the Fedreal Government will present the awards in the names of  Leonarda Paszkudska and her son August (both deceased).

The Reward will be received on their behalf by August’s son George and daughter Leonarda, both of whom now live in Bunbury, Western Australia.

When August realised that his schoolmate, a young Jewish woman named Renata Stam, was to be deported to the camps he convinced Nazi officials that she was required for housekeeping duties.  Mrs Paszkudska and August then hid Renata in their home in Lebov, Poland from 1942 to 1944.

Renata lived in the Paszkudska’s home, registered as their housekeeper under a different name. Leonarda treated her as a family member without receiving anything in exchange. August used to inform Renata’s father, who had stayed in the ghetto, about her situation until Mr Stam was sent to the concentration camps.  This story had a fairy-tale ending when August and Renata married following the liberation of Poland in late 1944.

In 2004 the Righteous Amongst the Nations committee decided to posthumously award Leonarda and August.  Following August’s death, Renata had migrated to Western Australia in 1989 and died here in 2006.

The award will be presented during the Yom HaShoah commemoration next month.

Travelling Matzah Bakery

The Traveling Matzah Bakery has toured Sydney extensively teaching the community the skills of matzah-making. 

The Bakery has given over 50 shows and reached 1500 children, adults and senior citizens =.

The scheme was initiated by Chabad Youth NSW

3 Legends rock for Yeshiva

Sydney’s community was treated to a night of Chassidic entertainment with a dose of Aussie country and western thrown in for good measure.

A theatre audience of over 2,000 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre gave a resounding welcome to all the performers following the video shown above featuring Yeshiva students, staff and patrons. The program brought messages of support for the Sydney Yeshiva Centre from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Israel’s ambassador Yuval Rotem, leader of the NSW Opposition Barry O’Farrell, and local Federal and State members Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Debnam.

The gala concert began with a quartet of local well known voices belonging to Yehoshua Niasoff, chazan at South Head Synagogue, his brother Yehuda, associate chazan at Central Synagogue, simcha maestro Hylton Chilchik and the ever popular Joel Scheftz.

In complete contrast, the audience was treated to songs sung by Australian Country and Western legend Lee Kernaghan followed on stage by the sensational multi-instrumentalist Yehuda Glantz.

The South American played a series of stringed instruments before following up with performances on the Andes flutes, piano and harmonica.

Charlie Westhoff is a 13-yr-old violist with huge talent currently under tutelage at the Sydney Conservatorium of music. He enchanted the audience with his musicianship and received  tumultuous applause for his efforts.

The Chassidic legend Avraham Fried closed the show.  Fried made a unique appeal to the audience. Instead of the from the heart plea for funds, the Chassid star asked the audience to look in the bags which had been placed under each seat. Inside was a printed “Mitzvah card” listing a whole array of good deeds each audience member could choose from. With the boxes of choice on the cards ticked, it was on with the show. The Brooklyn-based Chabadnik has 26 recordings to his credit and his performance was a clear indication as to why he is regarded to have rock star status with the Chabad community.

Pictures by Henry Benjamin…..

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