We're very excited to be joined by Rabbi Benny and Rivka Winterfeld for the next five weeks.
Hailing from Montreal and France respectively, they've come over to Australia to spend a meaningful winter here.
They'll be travelling through Gippsland and up the NSW South Coast to visit and bring connection in the region.
Benny and Rivka have already been visiting today just outside of Melbourne, and can't wait to keep exploring further.
Be sure to say hello if you see them on the road!
There are some mitzvos that people wait years to fulfil.
For this woman in regional Western Australia, having a mezuzah on her front door was one of them.
Living further away from the Jewish community, it wasn't something she could simply buy or arrange herself. It remained a dream until our volunteers arrived at her home.
Together, they carefully affixed the mezuzah, recited the blessing, and marked a moment that she had been waiting for for a very long time.
Last week at our Smile on Seniors Hub event, we shared a truly special intergenerational afternoon — bringing together our seniors, students with their parents as well as the community for inspiration, music, connection and plenty of smiles.
We were privileged to hear from Rabbi Menachem Aron, who shared fascinating, uplifting and very funny stories from his work with Chabad of RARA — finding and connecting with Jewish people across regional and rural Australia.
A special thank you to Rabbi Stern for the amazing Dvar Torah and for inspiring us all.
We were also thrilled to welcome the talented Mount Scopus Musical Ensemble, whose beautiful music brought such warmth, energy and joy to the room. Thank you as well to all the parents who came along and helped make the afternoon so meaningful.
It was a beautiful reminder of the power of intergenerational connection — seniors, students and families coming together for a wonderful afternoon of inspiration, music, yummy food and a good schmooze!
#SmileOnSeniors #SmilesHub #JewishCommunity #JewishMelbourne #ChabadOfRARA #RARA #MountScopus #IntergenerationalConnection #JewishSeniors #CommunityConnection #Chesed #MusicAndMeaning #SOS
We're visiting Geraldton, WA tomorrow. 400km north of Perth.
We'll be connecting with the 4 Jewish people that we know in the area.
Let us know if you'd like us to say hello!
It's always incredible to experience a meeting of souls that have never met before.
Having never seen each other, you'd think things might be awkward, and short lived.
But time and time again, our volunteers have a knack of forming instant bonds with the people that they are fortunate enough to encounter.
This picture captures one such meeting.
3,500 kilometres on the road on five days.
Departed Melbourne on Sunday, arriving in Perth today.
That's what Ari and Mendel have done this week.
Next week they'll begin their outreach work all over regional WA.
On the door of our motorhome there is an image of a rabbi with a black hat and neat, square beard that is almost white. This is a picture of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson.
On this day, in 1994, 32 years ago, he passed away, after leading the Chabad movement from their headquarters in New York for almost 45 years.
Today is the Rebbe's Yahrtzeit, or anniversary of passing.
It was his vision that enabled Judaism in a post-Holocaust world to be revived, and for Jewish communities to appear and be strengthened in places all over the world.
In Australia, Chabad has been present for well over 100 years, with the first Chabad Chassidim arriving on fundraising trips in the late 1800's.
Since then, Chabad has opened Synagogues and Chabad Houses, guided by the Rebbe's love for every Jew, all over the country.
26 years ago, Chabad of RARA got going with their inaugural road trip, which actually departed on the day of Rebbe's 6th Yahrtzeit.
We are still here today, millions of kilometers later, continuing the vision of the Rebbe to spread the wellsprings and teachings of Judaism far and wide. These efforts continue on, growing more and more each year.
Please use this day to do another Mitzva. Or if you've already done a Mitzva today, do another one, and make the world a better place. This was something that the Rebbe was so ever passionate about, and shared this theme in almost every interaction that he had.
Meet Mendel from Vienna and Ari from California.
This week they set off on a 12,000km journey across Western Australia, visiting Jewish people in rural and regional communities who are often far from established Jewish infrastructure.
Over the coming weeks they'll be travelling thousands of kilometres, hosting Shabbat meals, delivering Jewish resources, offering support, and helping strengthen connections to Jewish life in some of Australia's most remote locations.
Every kilometre travelled is a reminder that no Jew is ever too far away. Follow along as they take RARA's mission across WA.
Have you seen Tasmania? Our volunteers certainly have.
For the past four weeks, the RARA team has been criss-crossing the island state, travelling more than 4,000 kilometres and visiting 160+ locations from coast to coast, city to countryside, and everywhere in between.
Along the way they've met with individuals and families, delivered support and resources, shared meaningful conversations, and helped strengthen connections across Tasmania's Jewish community.
Tomorrow marks the final day of the journey before the RARA Mitzva Tank and our volunteers board the Spirit of Tasmania and heading back to Victoria.
Thank you to everyone who welcomed our volunteers, shared a cup of tea, opened their homes, and helped make this trip so special. Tasmania, you've been incredible.
Keeping our Jewish identity is times like this is so important.
For many of us that grew up in a larger Jewish area, we have this for ourselves.
But the younger generation so desperately needs this.
Enter RARA Kids, our online Jewish learning program for children aged 2 through 14.
This program opened four years ago, and has recently expanded to a much greater capacity.
If you have children, or grandchildren that are in need of connecting with their heritage, I encourage you to have a look at the program overview, below. Here's a really quick overview:
Children aged 5 through 10 years old learn about Jewish identity and Jewish holidays, the land of Israel, and basic Hebrew reading and prayers. Our younger 2-4 year old group does a fun sing along, together with Jewish stories and crafts.
The program is taught live, online via Zoom, in 50 minute sessions, once per week. The classes are taught live from Melbourne by Menachem and Sheina Sufrin, Sterna Raskin, and a team of experienced assistants.
With flexible learning times and an understanding fee structure, we want to ensure that every Jewish child is able to participate and learn more.
Here's what parents are saying:
"My kids love connecting live with the teacher and other kids from around Australia. They love the hands on learning, and how everything is taught in a fun way!"
"We are so thankful we are able to receive Jewish learning where there is no community where we live."
Sounds like it might be a fit? We're here to help.
Tasmania is nearly done.
Over the past few weeks we've been travelling around the state, catching up with people in Hobart, Launceston, Queenstown and a number of places in between. It's been a privilege to spend time with people, hear their stories and strengthen connections.
Next up are three more trips already on the calendar, taking place over the next three months:
1. Melbourne to Sydney via the NSW South Coast.
2. Toowoomba, outer Brisbane and all the way up the coast to Rockhampton.
3. This is a big trip: Melbourne to Perth via Kalgoorlie, with some visits in South Australia along the way. Then down the coast towards Margaret River, as well as the WA South Coast all the way to Norseman.
A lot of people see a map and a few coloured lines. We see the people behind them.
Someone who hasn't had a Jewish visitor in years. Someone celebrating a simcha. Someone doing it tough. Someone who just wants to sit down for a coffee and a chat.
Over the coming months we'll be covering thousands more kilometres to visit communities across the country.
If you're in one of these areas, or know someone we'd love to connect with, please get in touch.
We're hosting the Friday night Shabbat meal in Launceston, Tasmania this week. Are you around?
Rabbi Shmueli Feldman on the left oversees Chabad outreach to the nation's capital in the ACT.
Rabbi Menachem Aron center, tends to the needs of Jewish people living in Rural and Regional Australia.
Rabbi Shalom White has been running Chabad activities in Western Australia for more than 20 years.
Today, the three rabbis came together in Melbourne (along with many other people) to celebrate Rabbi White's son's first time wearing the Tefillin, as he prepares for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah.
Mazal Tov!
Throwback to the Goulburn Post newspaper from Monday, 30 January 2006 where they ran an article on a RARA trip that took place some 20 years ago, with rabbis Eli Gescheit and Yosef Muchnik.
20 years later, we're still at it, in fact some of the people that were visited on that trip two decades ago are still visited until this day!
Rabbis go 'rara'
Jewish re-connect heritage
Two young rabbis, Yosef Muchnik from New York and Eli Gescheit from Sydney, will be in Goulburn this week to make contact with Jewish men, women and children living in the district.
The two rabbis volunteered for the five-week tour of inland and coastal NSW to make contact and share their faith during a break in their studies.
The outreach program has come from a tour more than 30 years ago when three young rabbis drove around Australia in a "Mitzvah Tank" caravan, finding Jewish people and reconnecting them with their heritage.
This trip laid the foundation and in July 2000, Chabad of RARA (Rural and Regional Australia) was established as a non-profit organisation to care for the spiritual and general needs of Jewish men, women and children outside the main cities.
"One of the cardinal tenets of Judaism is that all Jews are united, regardless of physical distance," Rabbi Yosef Muchnik said.
"All Jews, irrespective of their background, standard of observance or location, have the right to know more about their unique heritage.
"It is our purpose to bring knowledge of that heritage within reach and help Jews to reclaim their birthright by providing information and services."
The rabbis visit Jews living in rural and regional Australia, including prison inmates and soldiers in the Australian Army.
They provide Jewish books, tapes, software programs, mezuzahs, tefillin, Shabbos candles and other Jewish items.
Other services that can be arranged include seminars and lecture series in regional locations, communication via internet, phone and letters, circumcisions, Bar Mitzvahs, weddings and funerals.
They can also provide information on the mobile lending library, educational resources for children and adults, information and arrangements for kosher food, summer and winter camps for youth, counselling and family services.
Photo caption:
REACHING OUT: Rabbis Yosef Muchnik and Eli Gescheit beside the colourful van which they are using for their outreach tour in Montague St on Friday. Photo: Darryl Fernance.
Today we mailed out Hebrew reading Aleph Bet books, as well as some fun prizes to some of the 40 Jewish children enrolled in our online learning program.
They may be regional and they may be far away, but by starting young, these families are keeping their connection to heritage very close!
