South Caulfield Shule family reunites in Israel

A recent South Caulfield Hebrew Congregation volunteer mission to Israel brought together current congregants with former members of the community who have made aliyah and now live in Israel. The group, led by South Caulfield Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Mendy Ajzenszmidt and Rebbetzin Lifshy Ajzenszmidt, travelled to Israel for a week of volunteering and touring.

A gathering in Jerusalem brought the visiting group together with members of the extended South Caulfield Shule community living in Israel, including some who had grown up in the community, long-time former members and others who had made aliyah more recently.

The evening was also attended by Rabbi Alan Kimche and Rebbetzin Vera Kimche, who previously served the Mizrachi community in Melbourne and now live in Efrat. The Kimches spoke at the gathering, sharing their reflections on life in Israel.

“It was incredibly special to see people from so many different periods of our shule’s history come together in Jerusalem,” Rabbi Ajzenszmidt said.

“It reminded us that a shule is so much more than a building. People move suburbs, cities and countries, but the relationships remain. To see people who now live in Israel still feeling part of the South Caulfield family was very moving.”

Participants in the mission ranged in age from 18 to 95 and included regular and occasional shule-goers, and both first-time and repeat visitors to Israel.

Rebbetzin Miriam Chava Weinstein, who joined the mission with her husband and daughter, said differences in background and observance among participants became secondary to the shared experience.

“We came from different backgrounds, with different life experiences and different levels of observance, but we were beating with one heart,” Weinstein said.

“My greatest takeaway from this mission wasn’t just what we gave to Israel – it was what Israel gave to us. It reminded us that beneath all the labels and all the differences, we are one family.”

Over the course of the week, the group packed produce for families in need, worked in agriculture, visited hospital patients and assisted an organisation providing employment for people with disabilities.

In southern Israel, the group prepared meals and cleaned facilities used by soldiers, and visited Sderot, Kibbutz Be’eri and the Nova festival site, where they heard about the events of October 7 and their continuing impact on Israeli communities.

The mission was run jointly with Chabad of St Kilda, whose participants joined the South Caulfield group for the week.

The group also visited the Knesset and the City of David, and spent Shabbat in Jerusalem, davening at the Kotel and sharing Shabbat meals in the Old City.

“To be able to lead a group from our community through Israel, to volunteer together, to experience Shabbat in Jerusalem together and to share so many extraordinary moments was a real privilege,” Ajzenszmidt said. “We laughed together, worked together, walked together and experienced some very emotional moments together. You come home having shared something that is very difficult to recreate in everyday life.”