Facelift for South Head Shul

SOUTH Head Synagogue will have an extra reason to celebrate this Rosh Hashanah, with the majority of the shul’s building works expected to be completed in time for the High Holy Days.

The works include a new youth synagogue and library, new milk and meat kitchens, a bigger succah area, an already operational Shabbat lift, an extension to the shul’s hall, a new mikvah, new toilets and a new fire panel.

New front doors are yet to be installed, while a special memorial garden to Israeli soldiers still needs to be landscaped.

President Ian Charif said the aim of the renovations was to create a “community complex”.

“I see it as a tremendous opportunity for South Head shul to provide a modern complex for the benefit and use of its membership,” he said, “so that we can actually provide facilities for all members, all age groups, from the youth in our shul to the elderly, to allow them to participate, and have in-house facilities to increase Yiddishkeit”.

A big focus of the renovations was to improve facilities for the youth, in particular the beit midrash, which doubles as a library and learning ­centre.

“Our youth … post-bar mitzvah and university ages, have their own services on a Friday night and a Saturday with a tremendous ruach [spirit],” Charif said.

“So they’ve got their own space, they can create their own vibe. And they do it.”

The beit midrash will also be stocked with books and fitted with the necessary media equipment to be used as a learning centre to conduct shiurim.

Rooms and facilities for children aged three to 12 and their associated programs have also been upgraded.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the new Shabbat lift makes the shul more accessible for those less mobile, providing direct access to new wheelchair areas in both the men’s and women’s levels of the main sanctuary.

The fully-funded mikvah will be predominantly for the use of congregants, but still available to the wider community.

“The aim is to increase the awareness of mikvah use, it’s a cornerstone of Jewish family life,” Charif said.

All works have been funded by donations from the congregation and the wider community.

“The board is indebted to all those that have donated to the vision of this complex,” Charif said.

“The idea was to have something for everybody and we’re glad that a number of people have taken up the opportunity to participate and to leave their impression, make their mark, on the vision of the future.”

GARETH NARUNSKY

From left: Chief operating officer Brian Rosmarin and president Ian Charif show off the new succah area and facade.