Intermarriage and shechitah on the agenda
SHECHITAH, fertility and intermarriage were among the key topics under the spotlight at the annual Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia conference.
YOSSI ARON
SHECHITAH, fertility and intermarriage were among the key topics under the spotlight at the annual Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia (ORA) conference.
The conference was held at St Kilda Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne earlier this month and attracted participants from across the country and featured a number of presentations, as well as a discussion regarding the body’s new constitution.
Designed to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of ORA, it was resolved that at the next conference seven newly-elected board members will be empowered to take all the necessary steps to set up a new company to be called the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia Limited.
Among various papers presented, Rabbi Zalman Kastel spoke on “Improving the Rabbinic Image (Without Shaving!)”, Rabbi Moshe Gutnick addressed the issue of prenuptial agreements with regards to getts, and Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence asked whether members of the rabbinate should be bound by an ethical code.
Rabbi Tzvi Telsner, meanwhile, analysed what rabbis can divulge to the authorities within the framework of halachah regarding matters such as domestic violence, and Rabbi Yoram Ulman of the NSW Beth Din led a discussion on fertility issues, such as IVF, and their impact on Jewish status (yuchsen).
Participants were also apprised of recent high-level negotiations to secure the future of shechitah in Australia.
In a bid to combat intermarriage, ORA president Rabbi Dovid Freilich called on his colleagues to get involved in a project whereby eligible men and women of marriageable age, from various synagogues around Australia and New Zealand, would be put on a central database from which marriage partners might be found.
Rabbi Freilich stressed that rabbis can’t just talk about intermarriage, but must take practical steps to prevent it.
The conference concluded with presentations to the most senior members of the organisation -— Rabbi Dr Shalom Coleman and Rabbi Tuvya Silberman.
Each received a menorah bearing the inscription: “Presented from ORA in recognition of the outstanding contribution to Australian Jewry in spreading the light of Torah.”
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