Brighton Shule welcomes new rabbi
Brighton Hebrew Congregation has appointed Rabbi Gershom Baraza as its Congregational Rabbi, starting today.
Rabbi Gershom and Grace Baraza
Brighton is one of the major synagogues in Melbourne, with the current site dating back nearly 60 years. Rabbi Baraza joins the Brighton community with his family, his wife Rebbetzin Grace and their four children.
Rabbi Baraza has a diverse background. He was born in Barcelona, brought up in the Canary Islands and spent the last 15 years in London and Hong Kong before moving to Melbourne 12 months ago. He is proficient in many languages, including English, Chinese, Hebrew and Spanish. Rabbi Baraza has been extensively involved in kosher supervision in Hong Kong and mainland China, working with the major kosher certification agencies such as the OU, the OK, and CRC, among others, and he will continue his kashrut activities in a part-time role. He has also been deeply involved in the Hong Kong Chabad community and the Modern Orthodox Ohel Leah Synagogue.
Brighton Shule President, David Wittenberg, said, “We are very much looking forward to welcoming the Baraza family to Brighton. Rabbi Gershom has wide experience in Jewish communal activities as well as experience in commercial marketing, which will invigorate Brighton shule in these testing times for Australia’s Jewish community – a time when we need to build and demonstrate our communal strength.”
Rabbi Baraza said, “I am very excited to become the Rabbi at Brighton, a well-established shule with a range of needs for its many members. I was immediately impressed by the welcome my family received from this kehillah, which already has the reputation as ‘the friendly shule’. I know that together we will develop that theme even further.”
