First stop for visiting rabbis Moshe Loebenstein and Sholom Klein is Toowoomba in an eight-week trek visiting Jews in rural and regional Australia.
TWO visiting Jewish rabbis baulked at the human contact of a handshake, but departed leaving a universal message: "Through acts of goodness and kindness, we can make the world a much better place." Moshe (Moses) Loebenstein is retracking part of a journey his father Yosef undertook 30 years ago. Yesterday, two young Jewish rabbis, Moshe and his colleague Sholom (which means peace or hello) Klein parked their camper van in Ruthven Street. Little did they realise Toowoomba is believed to have been the home of the first synagogue in Queensland. Beth Ysrael Jewish Synagogue was built in 1875 in Neil Street and was demolished in 1928. A Lutheran Church was built on the site in 1928. The Winnebago camper, signed Chabad of RARA (Rural and Regional Australia), has a portrait of the late Chief Rabbi Schneerson on the rear. The pair had driven 19 hours from Melbourne to Brisbane and lobbed in Toowoomba where they believe there could be up to 30 Jewish families. They will spend 10 days searching for people seeking to re-connect with the Jewish faith. "We're not doorknocking or trying to convert anyone," Sholom said. "We want to provide the opportunity for any Jew to learn more and appreciate religion more," Moshe said. They intend visiting the Jewish section of the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery and may peruse the telephone book in search of traditional Jewish names like Cohan, Goldberg or Klein. Yosef Loebenstein was one of three young rabbis who drove around Australia in a Mitzvah Tank caravan finding Jewish people and reconnecting them with their heritage all those years ago. The trip laid the foundation for the largest Jewish Outrach organisation to be formed in July 2000. Chabad of RARA was set up as a non-profit organisation to care for the spiritual and general needs of Jewish men, women and children outside major cities. People wishing to meet up with the rabbis can call them on 0425 788 870 or find more information via [email protected]