Exploring Chabad’s history in Victoria

Mottel Feiglin’s role as Executive Producer of a 2-part film tracing his family history has created a digital comprehensive document of the origins and life’s work of Mottel’s grandfather who, with a few other Chabad families established the Yeshivah Centre in Hotham Street East StKilda. Henry Greener talks with him.

Beforehand Reb Moshe Zalman Feiglin planted the seeds in Shepparton, where he made an impact on the agricultural, sawmilling and financial affairs of the area whilst creating Australia’s first Chabad community, with the blessing of The Frierdike Rebbe in New York.

His journey from Russia before coming to Australia took him and his family to Palestine, where he was involved in some difficult situations, but he still achieved so much.

“The Life and Legacy of Reb Moshe Zalman Feiglin z’l” Parts 1 & 2 was directed and edited by Chaim Mehlman with Project Co-ordinator and Researcher Isabella Rothman, narrator Alan Freeman and many others.

It took two years of collating the fascinating, authentic, diverse material from all over the world, but especially film footage and photographs taken by Mottel’s father Reb Shmuel Feiglin, who was also involved in the book by Uri Kaploun Ävraham Avinu in Australia”, which a lot of the film is based on.

The involvement of the Rabbinic Dynasties of the Groner and Gutnick families is discussed, with the direct effect of the establishment of numerous Chabad Houses in strategic sites in Melbourne and other parts of Australia.