Australia’s oldest rabbi passes away

Perth’s Rabbi Dr Shalom Coleman has died at the age of 106.

Perth blogger Andrew Blitz has posted: “I first met Rabbi Coleman in the mid-1980s when he arrived as a locum Rabbi in New Zealand.  He established post-Bar Mitzvah classes and taught a range of subjects, from Talmud to Zmirot.  He opened an entire new world to me.  Over the following decades, Rabbi Coleman officiated at lifecycle events that spanned four generations of my family.  He connected to all of my children.  In recent years my son regularly tended to his garden.  I would visit him often, and on many occasions when I arrived he would be sitting in his home with a Talmud in front of him learning the daf yomi.

A few weeks ago, Rabbi Coleman asked me to come to the hospital and read Megilla Ester to him for the festival of Purim.  As we read together, he gradually worked up the strength, and he continued to complete reading the text alone.

Just two weeks ago, Rabbi Coleman received an Aliyah on Shabbat at Dianella Shule Mizrachi Perth.  He had returned to Shule for one last Shabbat, with remarkable strength, and shared his blessing with us one last time.

Last Thursday night, as I was visiting the Maurice Zeffert Home, an ambulance arrived to take Rabbi Coleman to hospital.  I realised at that moment I would see him for the last time.

Much of the Perth Jewish community, and beyond, shared a special bond with Rabbi Coleman.  He had a remarkable memory with a penchant not to forget anybody’s name or his connection to them.

Two years ago, on the occasion of his 104^th birthday, I was asked to write an article for the occasion.  I have adapted this text as a tribute.”

Rabbi Dr Shalom Coleman

Rabbi Dr Shalom Coleman CBE., AM, MA.B.Lit. Ph.D.Hon.LLD(UWA). JP, has left us a legacy that spans generations.

The Rabbi is Zeideh to three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  Rabbi Coleman also proudly noted he was a great, great, great uncle twice over, thus spanning five generations of extended family.

Reflecting on Rabbi Coleman’s achievements is a difficult task to condense into an article, but can be read in his many published historical and autobiographical works.  The most notable of these is his book “Life is a Corridor”.

With awe, the autobiographical accounts of Rabbi Coleman immerse his readers in modern history.  His personal encounters interface with history itself, and connect the reader to great leaders, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother.  Rabbi Coleman shared personal audiences with many of the great leaders who have shaped our era.

A student activist at a young age, Rabbi Coleman supported the evolution of Zionism.   His dedication to the Zionist movement entailed first-hand encounters with some of the great Zionist pioneers such as David Ben Gurion, Menachem Begin, Zeev Jabotinsky, Sir Israel Brodie, Chaim Weizmann, Edmund de Rothschild, Moshe Dayan, and Rabbi General Shlomo Goren.

In short, Rabbi Coleman was a student of history, a recorder of history, a commentator of history, a participant in history, and a creator of history.

Rabbi Coleman has influenced the lives of so many congregants and friends.  Professionally, Rabbi Coleman’s career traversed four Rabbinic postings in Potchefstroom and Bloemfontein (South Africa), Sydney and Perth (Australia).

It is his service to the Perth Jewish Community from February 1966 that laid the foundation for the religious renaissance and sustained growth of Australia’s third largest Jewish community.  Rabbi Coleman transformed Perth Jewry by delivering revolutionary educational initiatives and critical infrastructure, including the suburban relocation of the Perth Hebrew Congregation.  After 20 years of service, he then enjoyed the merit of retiring into a flourishing community and continued to witness the success of his efforts for just shy of a further four decades.

In a distinguished military career, Rabbi Coleman served in wartime with the Royal Air Force.  He served as a wireless operator/air gunner on missions in France and Western Europe, and in 1944, he was a recruiting officer in England for the Jewish Brigade Group.  He was decorated with the 1939-1945 Star Medal and War Medal.  He then maintained his service as a military chaplain in both South Africa and to the 5^th Military District of the Australian Army.  He took pride of place each year in the ANZAC day veteran’s parade.

Rabbi Shalom Coleman’s civic contribution also extended far beyond the Rabbinate.  His leadership included tenures as President and District Governor of Rotary, and vice President of the Save the Children Fund.   He was a District Secretary of Probus Centre, South Pacific.  Added to this list is a Grand Master to the Freemasons, a Member of the Murdoch University Senate, a Justice of the Peace, Patron to the Family Association of Australia, Chairman of the Perth Dental Hospital Board, and member of the Karrakatta and Pinarroo Valley Cemetery Boards.  In 2024, Rabbi Coleman was awarded a certificate in the Roll of Honour of the Royal Australian Justices Association of Western Australia.

Rabbi Coleman until his passing was Australia’s most senior Rabbi.  As honorary Rabbi and Life Governor to the Maurice Zeffert Home, Rabbi Coleman took his indefatigable energy into his very senior years.  The Rabbi remained an active daily attendee at Perth shules, and continued to exude great cantorial koach.  He imparted his wisdom at weekly Talmud shiurim that ran unabated for decades until very recently.

Our Rabbi is best described in this paraphrased quote by his contemporary, the late Rabbi Raymond Apple Z”L, Emeritus Rabbi of the Great Synagogue, Sydney.  “Small in stature, Rabbi Coleman is a giant in energy, enterprise and enthusiasm, and became one of Australia’s best known Rabbinic figures. Largely thanks to him, Judaism became strong in Perth, with the evolution of new synagogues, a Jewish school, kosher certification, and enduring educational activity.  No longer is it a struggle to be Jewish in Western Australia.”

Rabbi Colman’s passing marks the end of an era.  Not only have we lost an intellectual giant and a leader of great stature, we have lost a friend who always gave great counsel.  Rabbi Coleman always expressed his joy for Judaism and always imparted a positive energy.  That is his greatest legacy that we should all carry forward in his merit.

Dr Colin Rubenstein, executive director of The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, said: “Rabbi Coleman gave extensive and enduring commitment to the Perth Jewish community and countless organisations from Rotary to the Murdoch University Senate, was a Justice of The Peace and an exemplary chaplain of the ADF.

He was a man of letters and a man of the people. A diminutive man with a giant stature and indefatigable spirit who will be sorely missed.

Our thoughts are with his family during this sad time.”

Rabbi Coleman was born in Liverpool, UK. He was an Honorary Life President of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia, today known as the Rabbinical Association of Australasia which stated: “It is with profound sorrow and deep respect that the Rabbinical Association of Australasia (RAA) joins with you in mourning the passing of your beloved Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Shalom Coleman, at the remarkable age of 106. Rabbi Coleman’s life was a testament to dedication, wisdom, and unwavering devotion to his community and to the Jewish people.