Flashback to our visit through the north of Brisbane and Moreton Bay earlier this year in March.
Our volunteers, Mendel and Mendel, met up with Marcus on a Friday afternoon and had a great chat together, and also managed to study a little from the daily Tanya quota. A power visit!
Shabbat Shalom!
We've got teams on the road in the South Coast and Mid North Coast of NSW right now.
Tomorrow night, they will be hosting a Shabbat meal in Merimbula, as well as a Shabbat meal in Coffs Harbour.
Somewhere between Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in New South Wales, two souls, enclothed in bodies from opposite sides of the world, meet, and an instant connection is made.
One hundred and sixty-seven years.
That was the gap between the two graves, that lay next to each other in the Jewish section of the Old Ballarat Cemetery in regional Victoria. One was filled in 1857, by a young man that died suddenly. The other was filled yesterday, in 2024. A Jewish resident from nearby Clunes, that recently passed, and so adamantly wanted to be buried in the Jewish way. Spanning more than a century and a half, Jewish people have been active and living in this area. And keeping to the traditions of their ancestors. The size of the local community in the area may have dwindled, but the spirit has only grown.
Wow what a day we had at the Lag B'omer event in Melbourne. Thank you to all those that stopped by our stand and picked up some fantastic RARA merch, or just stopped to say hello.
It's so nice to connect with people in Melbourne as well.
Well done to Moshe Kahn and the whole Chabad Youth team for an incredible event for Melbourne Jewry!
Tonight and tomorrow is Lag B'omer, a very auspicious day on the Jewish calendar which corresponds to the day of the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, over 1800 years ago. It is a day that is observed until today with communal bonfires, celebrations and gatherings, as per the request of Rabbi Shimon, to mark this day as such. Be sure to utilise the special energy of this day in your personal life!
It's all happening THIS SUNDAY!
Lag B'omer parade and fair at the Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. If you are nearby you definitely want to make it to this day of Jewish pride and fun.
See you there!
Rabbi Menachem and Chaya have been on the road for 2 weeks in regional Victoria. Yesterday, they met up with David in Bendigo. Sometimes it can be difficult to portray a visit with just a single picture. But this one does it. The meeting was a few hours of pure joy, connection, and meaning.
Bombala, New South Wales.
This sleepy town in the Snowy Mountains region has just 1,800 residents. In the early 1900's, Bombala almost became the Canberra of Australia, as it is half way between Melbourne and Sydney. That, however, did not eventuate.
But what did eventuate is that a number of Jewish people came to live in this town, including a Hyam Moses Joseph, or Reb Chaim the son of Reb Moshe.
He became the first mayor of the town, and is interred in a small Jewish section in the local cemetery. He died at age 76.
Recently, a close friend was in the area, and sent us this photo of his grave. Of note is the next grave over, that of Joseph Louis, who, according to the inscription, died at the young age of 22 after being thrown from his horse. Notwithstanding the 50 year gap between these two people, and what was likely a difference in stature as well, in death the equality of all becomes very apparent.
May their memories be a blessing
Gooooood morning! Have you seen the latest RARA car driving around town? In the past 6 months it has already travelled 11,000 kilometres, and made it to Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Having a reliable mode of transport is essential for our volunteers to be able to get around and provide great connections to people further away. And with a little more room inside, and the latest safety features, our volunteers can focus more on the people they meet, knowing that they will get there safely and securely.
Rabbi Menachem and Chaya are cruising around Castlemaine and Bendigo for the next few days.
Do you think they will find any gold?
Look out for them in the bright yellow car!
Rabbi Menachem and Chaya hosted a lovely Shabbat in Ballarat this weekend. Five locals from varied backgrounds came together for a scrumptious meal, that began with some home made Challa! While today that night have been a bit of a novelty, winding the clock back 100 years or so would have seen such scenes all over the Goldfields, when the Jewish population there was enough to sustain at least two major Synagogues and a host of other Jewish businesses. But even today, in 2024, Jewish life continues in the area. We might not be finding too much gold underground these days, but the Jewish spirit was certainly glittering at that Shabbat table on Friday night! (Photo taken before Shabbat!) 
Are you in Ballarat VIC for Shabbat? Please come and join Rabbi Menachem and Chaya for shabbat!
Well the day has certainly warmed up in many different ways. Our favourite way for now being that our latest team has just departed Melbourne! Rabbi Menachem and Chaya Deray will be visiting the Goldfields region, stopping in Ballarat and Daylesford over the next few days. Look out for them on the road, and be sure to say hi!
Passover has now passed over us. Rosh Hashana is a few months away. But there are also a few significant dates in between! The RARA print calendar is just what you and your wall needs to stay up to DATE. I'll post one to you tomorrow, provided you live anywhere in Australia.
David recently moved to Toowoomba, Queensland. A new chapter, a new city. But as anyone that has moved knows, there's lots of packing, shlepping, and unpacking involved in a move. And sometimes, a thing or two can go missing. Well, for David, that "thing or two" happened to be a very prized pair of Tefillin and a Tallit. Arriving in Toowoomba, David was devastated that his regularly used Tefillin were nowhere to be seen. So he got in touch with RARA. This past Pesach, as Rabbi Menachem Aron and family were in the area to conduct the community Seder, they paid a visit to David after Yom Tov. David couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Rabbi Menachem had brought him a brand new set of Tefillin, just like the ones he used to have. "This is AMAZING!" said David. "I can't wait to put them on again every day." Things that we own may come and go, but for David, his connection is here to stay.
