Thanks to My Heritage, here are my two new colorized business cards.
Old
New
email: eli@elirab.com
New Colorized Business Cards
Article in the CJC
Witnessing Holocaust History – In The Press
Stories From Plungyan 1 – Jankelis Simonas Bloch
Keturios plungiškio Jankelio Simono Blocho kartos
Keturios plungiškio Jankelio Simono Blocho kartos
Jankelis Simonas Blochas
By Eugenijus Bunka
eugenijusbunka@gmail.com
1898 metų gegužės keturioliktą Plungėje, dažytojo bei kurpininko Leizerio ir Chajos Blochų šeimoje gimė Jankelis Simonas. Nieko nuostabaus, kad jis taip pat tapo kurpininku, bet prieš tai nuo vienuolikos iki penkiolikos metų mokėsi šokti.
Iki šiol neteko girdėti, kad Plungėje dar iki Pirmo pasaulinio karo buvo šokių mokykla, bet tą faktą reikia pripažinti, nes Jankelio Simono gyvenime ji suvaidino itin svarbų vaidmenį.
Bet tai bus vėliau, o tada, 1913-aisiais, būdamas vos penkiolikos, išvažiavo į Varnius dirbti batsiuviu, o po šešerių metų ir vesti vietinio batsiuvio dukrą Zisę Sandler.
Jankelis Simonas Blochas su žmona Zise, regis, dar Varniuose
Porai sekėsi neblogai, be kasdienio darbo jie abu dar ir vaidino vietiniame teatre, ir sukosi žydiškų tautinių šokių ratelyje. Ką gali žinoti, gal šoko ir žemaitiškus, nes tokių pavyzdžių bent jau Plungėje yra. Dalia Vaitkutė, draugavusi su bendraklase, malūnininko ir pirmos Plungės elektrinės savininko Hackelio Zakso dukra Haika, pasakojo, kad draugė apsirėdydavo žemaitiškais tautiniais rūbais ir šokdavo gimnazijos ar miesto šventėse.
O Varniuose Jankeliui Simonui ir Zisei gimė penki vaikai. Deja, du mirė dar mažyčiai.
Didžiojon Britanijon nutekėjusi Zisės sesuo Poli, 1920 metais persikėlė gyventi į Australiją, kvietė atvažiuoti ir varniškius, atsiuntė visus imigruoti į šalį reikalingus dokumentus.
Bet 1930 metais Australijon išplaukė vienas Jankelis Simonas. Kaip ir daugelis žydų emigrantų iš Lietuvos, iš pradžių susirado darbo, paruošė buitį visai šeimai. Nebuvo lengva, bet po trejų metų visi vėl buvo kartu.
Australijoje tapęs Džeku Blochu ir ieškodamas darbo pagal specialybę, vienoje parduotuvėje išvydęs baleto batelius, jis nutarė, jog tai – jam: batsiuviui, šokėjui, aktoriui, muzikantui.
Sidnėjaus Padingtono rajone, Oksfordo gatvėje jis išsinuomojo nedideles dirbtuves ir Sidnėjaus baleto mokyklos mokiniams pagal užsakymus siuvo jiems reikalingus batelius, vėliau – batus rusų, airių, škotų šokių šokėjams.
Užsakovai buvo patenkinti, verslas sekėsi. 1936 metais Jankelis Simonas dirbtuves perkėlė arčiau Sidnėjaus centro, į didesnes patalpas Darlingharste, Teiloro aikštėje.
Trisdešimtaisiais praėjusio amžiaus metais Australijoje virė kultūrinis gyvenimas, baleto trupės iš viso pasaulio važiavo atrasti naujo žemyno ir naujų žiūrovų. Andre Levitovo trupėje, pulkininko de Bazilio rusų balete iš Monte Karlo Jankelio Simono siūtus batelius avėjo garsiausi to meto šokėjai.
Taigi. Pirmoji „BLOCH“ baleto batų pora buvo sukurta žvakių šviesoje 1932 metais, o šiandien jau trys kartos tęsia plungiškio Jankelio Simono pradėtą darbą ir neapleidžia vienų geriausių pasaulyje baleto batelių gamintojų pjedestalo.
Beti Bloch-Vilkenfeld
Jankelio Simono dukra Bracha gimė Varniuose, į Australiją atvažiavo 1933 metais, mirė sulaukusi aštuoniasdešimt septynerių.
Beti Bloch-Vilkenfeld
Kai rusų baleto šokėjai atvažiuodavo į Sidnėjų, jos tėvas pasisiūlydavo jiems vertėjauti, bet kartu ir rinkdavo užsakymus puantams, kuriuos girdavo kaip stiprius ir ilgaamžius. Su juo dažnai būdavo ir Brachos vardą į Beti pakeitusi duktė. Kol tėvas bendraudavo su šokėjais ir jų vadovais, ji spindinčiomis akimis stebėdavo spektaklius iš užkulisių.
1953 metais ištekėjusi už Geršono Vilkenfeldo, ji dirbo žydų švietimo taryboje, dėstytojavo Morijos koledže, bet netrukus prisijungė prie tėvo ir brolių verslo, tačiau visą gyvenimą tęsė švietėjišką darbą ne tik asmeniškai, bet ir dosniai ji remdama, buvo Montefiore švietimo sistemos pradininke Australijoje.
Iki šiol ji prisimenama kaip „labai gerbiama visuomenės atrama“, „ori ir žavi“, Australijos žydų bendruomenėje palikusi gilų pėdsaką.
Džudi Vilkenfeld
Varniškės Brachos-Beti dukra ir Jankelio Simono anūkė Džudi viename interviu pasakojo, kad ji nuo mažens jautėsi esanti menininkė, bet pasirinko pedagogines studijas. Tačiau kai gimė jos pirmasis sūnus, sumanė sukurti jam „interaktyvią knygą“. Ją pamačiusios, kitos mamos irgi užsinorėjo kažko panašaus.
Antrojo sūnaus tryliktam gimtadieniui Džudi vėl padarė meno kūrinį-knygą, o po jos atsiradimo – ir save kaip menininkę.
Žodžiais jos kūrinius sunku apibūdinti, juos reikia pamatyti. Džudi apie pasaulį, gyvenimą pasakoja ne potėpiais, o daiktais, kalbančiais apie žmones, jų santykius, įvykius – visą pasaulį ir jame verdantį aistrų, gėrio ir blogio, grožio ir juodulių, šviesos ir šešėlių katilą.
Džudi Vilkenfeld ir jos kūriniai
Prieš atvažiuodama aplankyti senelio gimtinę, Jakovui Bunkai ji parašė laišką, papasakojo apie savo giminę, o pabaigoje vienu trumpu sakiniu kukliai užsiminė „Aš taip pat esu menininkė“.
Tuo tarpu Google paieškos sistemoje apie ją yra beveik šimtas tūkstančių įrašų. Jos darbų paroda garbę darytų ne tik Žemaičių dailės muziejui, tačiau ir bet kuriai Europos galerijai.
Tal Vilkenfeld
Trisdešimt ketverių metų Džudi dukra ir Jankelio Simono proanūkė Tal savo mamą pagal įrašus Google paieškos sistemoje lenkia dvigubai. Bet muzikantė ir dainininkė šiame garsiai rėkančiame ir gaivališkai šėlstančiame pasaulyje primena su karštakošiu italų lyginamą žemaitį.
Tačiau sėkmes muzikos padangėje ji raško vieną po kitos. Kaip teigia apžvalgininkai, jai gali pavydėti ir keturiasdešimt metų už ją vyresnės muzikos legendos, su kuriomis ji ne tik kartu groja, bet ir bendrauja.
Tal Vilkenfeld (Tal Wilkenfeld)
Tal sako, jog mėgsta panirti į save, kitaip tariant, medituoti, mokėsi to ir bendraudama su Leonardu Koenu (Leonard Kohen). Tikriausiai – nežinodama, kad ir ši legenda giminystės ryšiais susijusi su Plunge.
Su savo pirmu 2007 metų albumu „Transformacija“ („Transfomation“), beatodairiška drąsa ir sunkiu darbu įsiveržusi į pramogų pasaulį, Tal gali pasigirti ne tik populiarumu, bet ir bendrais koncertais su jos talentą įvertinusiais to pasaulio lyderiais Čiku Corea (Chik Corea), Herbu Hankoku (Herbie Hancock), Rajanu Adamsu (Ryan Adams), Džonu Majeriu (John Mayer), Princu, gitaros virtuozu Džefu Beku (Jeff Beck).
Kai žvelgi į šėlstančią pilnutėlės arenos sceną išeinančią Tal, vaidenasi, jog matai tik savimi pasikliaujantį iš Plungės per Varnius į Australiją žemaitiškai ramiai išlipantį jos prosenelį Jankelį Simoną Blochą.
O tuo tarpu tarptautinis moterų muzikos susivienijimas su pasididžiavimu pranešė, kad „She Rocks“ apdovanojimuose pagerbta dainininkė, dainų autorė ir bosinės gitaros virtuozė Tal Vilkenfeld, kurios albumas „Love Remains“ 2019 m. pradžioje buvo geriausias.
Rabbi Shalom Coleman Celebrating 102!
12 December 2020
Rabbi Shalom Coleman – 102 – Mazeltov!
In the Maccabean:
Dianella Shul was packed today to celebrate Rabbi Coleman’s birthday.
As always, Rabbi impressed us with his amazing and flawless and rendition of the Maftir and Haftorah of Parashat Vayeishev
Here are photos and items from my previous posts
The People’s Rabbi
Coleman
Source: elirab.com/Coleman.html
SHALOM COLEMAN – RABBINIC DYNAMO
by Raymond Apple, emeritus rabbi of the Great Synagogue, Sydney
Bio about 10 years ago
Small in size but a giant in stature – that describes Rabbi Shalom Coleman, who changed the face of Judaism in Western Australia. Thanks to his refusal to give up or give in, a sleepy, distant community was set on the path to becoming a lively centre of orthodoxy. Rabbi Coleman is now over 90, hopefully with three more decades of work ahead until the proverbial 120.
Born into an orthodox family in Liverpool on 5 December, 1918, he was both a student and a man of action from his youth. At the University of Liverpool he gained a BA degree with honours, plus a Bachelor of Letters in Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages and Egyptology. His education was interrupted by World War II when he served with the Royal Air Force as a wireless operator/air gunner on missions in France and Western Europe, and in 1944 he was recruiting officer in England for the Jewish Brigade Group. He returned to university in 1945 as tutor, review writer and librarian. At Jews’ College, he gained rabbinic ordination in 1955. He also undertook postgraduate studies in Semitic languages at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
In 1947, at the suggestion of the then Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Dr Louis Rabinowitz, he went to the Potchefstroom Hebrew Congregation in the Transvaal and then served the Bloemfontein Hebrew Congregation in the Orange Free State from 1949-1960. Whilst in South Africa, he gained an MA at the University of Pretoria and a PhD at the University of the Orange Free State for a thesis entitled “Hosea Concepts in Midrash and Talmud”.
He was chairman of the Adult Education Council (English Section) of the Orange Free State and vice-president of the Victoria League, and introduced essay and oratory contests for schools. As a military chaplain he was active in the ex-service movement and was awarded the Certificate of Comradeship, the highest award of the MOTHS (Memorable Order of Tin Hats). He edited a Jewish community journal called “HaShomer” and an anniversary volume for the 150th anniversary of the Orange Free State.
In 1961 he came to Sydney as rabbi of the South Head Synagogue. He was a member of the Sydney Beth Din, vice-president of the NSW Board of Jewish Education and director of the David J. Benjamin Institute of Jewish Studies, for whom he edited three volumes of proceedings. He established a seminary for the training of Hebrew teachers. He lectured at the University of Sydney and wrote a thesis entitled “Malachi in Midrashic Analysis” for a DLitt.
In 1964 he received the Robert Waley Cohen Scholarship of the Jewish Memorial Council, using it for research into adult education in South-East Asia, Israel and the USA. In 1965 he became rabbi of the Perth Hebrew Congregation in Western Australia. He held office until retirement in 1985.
He determined to turn Perth into a Makom Torah. He obtained land as a gift in trust from the State Government for a new synagogue, youth centre and minister’s residence in an area where the Jewish community lived in Mount Lawley, replacing the original downtown Shule. At that time few members were Shom’rei Shabbat. Further initiatives led to a kosher food centre in the Synagogue grounds; a mikveh; a genizah for the burial of outworn holy books and appurtenances; a Hebrew Academy where high school students met daily, and extra classes four days a week at a nearby state school.
He taught for the Department of Adult Education of the University of WA and served on the Senate of Murdoch University. He was an honorary professor at Maimonides College in Canada, led educational tours to Israel for non-Jewish clergy and teachers, lectured to religious groups, schools and service organisations, and wrote booklets so people of all faiths could understand Jews and Judaism. Talks with the Minister of Education led to a Committee of National Consciousness in Schools, which he chaired; the Minister called his work “invaluable”.
Known as “the rabbi who never stops”, he was a member of the Karrakatta and Pinarroo Valley Cemetery Boards and wrote two histories for them to mark the State’s 150th anniversary in 1979 and the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. He was a member of the Perth Dental Hospital Board and chaired the Senior Appointments Committee and then the Board. The North Perth Dental Clinic is now known as the Shalom Coleman Dental Clinic.
A Rotarian since 1962, first in Sydney and then in Perth, he was President 1985/86 and Governor 1993/9, representative of the World President in 1995, and representative of WA Rotary at the UN Presidential Conference in San Francisco in 1995. He was co-ordinator of the District Ethics and Community Service Committees and chaired the Bangladesh Cyclone Warning Project, which saved the lives of 40,000 residents of the chief fishing port of Bangladesh. He received a certificate of appreciation as District Secretary of Probus Centre, South Pacific. He has spoken at conferences all over the world and is a patron of the Family Association of WA. He has been a vice-president of Save the Children Fund since 1967.
He was a foundation member of the Perth Round Table and their first lecturer. He is still an honorary military chaplain and was on the executive of the Returned Services League and edited their “Listening Post” from 1989-91. He holds high rank in Freemasonry. He is honorary rabbi at the Maurice Zeffertt Centre for the Aged and was made a Governor of the Perth Aged Home Society in 2004. After several years as president of the Australian and New Zealand rabbinate his colleagues made him honorary life president. Several times he went to NZ as interim rabbi for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. He shines in the pulpit, and is a fine chazzan. He has received awards from the Queen and the Australian Government. The University of WA gave him an honorary LLD in April 2000. He is still, despite his age, a prolific speaker and writer; travels widely and his services are in constant demand.
In 1942 he married Bessie Anna Daviat, who died in 1982. He has a son in Melbourne, a daughter in the USA, grandchildren and great- grandchildren. He married Elena Doktorovich in 1987; she died in 1997.
Small in stature, Rabbi Coleman is a giant in energy, enterprise and enthusiasm, and is one of Australia’s best known figures. Largely thanks to him, Judaism is strong in Perth, with five synagogues, a Chabad House, a Jewish school, a fine kashrut system, and many shi’urim; his own Talmud shi’ur is legendary. No longer is it a struggle to be Jewish in Western Australia.
The Community Rabbi
http://elirab.me/spiritual-treasure-book-launch-at-the-perth-hebrew-congregation/
Source: elirab.me/spiritual-treasure-book-launch-at-the-perth-hebrew-congregation/
Rabbi Coleman and The Bloemfontein Reunion
Rabbi Coleman and Bloemfontein Reunion
Rabbi Coleman reminisces about his time in Bloemfontein as Jewish Spiritual Leader – 1949 to 1959. Perth, Australia 3 February 2016
Watch Video:
Source: youtu.be/GVUN1PtPD0g
Oxi Day at St. Andrew’s Grammar
2 November 2020
Final OXI Day Assembly Programme 2020OXi Day – Wikipedia
Ohi Day – Wikipedia
Ohi Day or Oxi Day (Greek: Επέτειος του Όχι, Epéteios tou Óchi [eˈpetios tu ˈoçi]; “Anniversary of the No”) is celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world on 28 October each year. Ohi Day commemorates the rejection by Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on 28 October 1940, the Hellenic counterattack against the invading Italian forces at the mountains of Pindus during the Greco-Italian War, and the Greek Resistance during the Axis occupation.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohi_Day
Ohi Day Dance
Thanks to photographer Jess at The Pink Tank Creative for sharing her photos:
The Metropolitan Chrysostomos Award – The Washington OXI Day Foundation
The Metropolitan Chrysostomos Award – The Washington OXI Day Foundation
Many know that Greece created democracy, but few know that it also saved it⦠Until now. The Washington Oxi Day Foundationâs events and ongoing activities will resurrect the incredible Oxi Day story and assure it becomes part of the collective public memory.
Source: oxidayfoundation.org/annual-celebration/the-metropolitan-chrysostomos-award/
City of Stirling Tree-Trail
Tree Trail Activity Book
Tree Trail – City of Stirling
Tree Trail – City of Stirling
Each weekday over the April School Holidays at Dianella Open Space
Inspiring Services Held In Perth Australia
One of the advantages of living in Perth, Western Australia, is that, in the times of the world-wide covet-19 pandemic, where the majority of shuls around the world were closed, one could still attend full Rosh Hashanah services, hear an excellent choir, and listen to an outstanding performance from our young Jewish kids! Perth is rated as one of the most isolated Jewish communities on the globe!
Bibi Shapiro, 6, sang with Yehuda White, son of Rabbi White, and Shakaed Friedl-Mishali, at services on first and second day of Rosh Hashanah. They sang with the CHABAD choir, led by Anthony Gordon. Of the 13 man choir, 10 had sung in shul choirs in South Africa, before migrating to Perth. The choir was established around 1986.
The boys also sang Adon Olam with the choir.
Contrary to a few reports, Bibi, his brother and mother, Nina Shapiro, attend CHABAD of Noranda in Perth, Australia.
Bibi is a student at Carmel School, Perth.
I first heard about the media interest in this story from friends in Toronto, Canada!
The CHABAD WA choir at practice before Yom Tov.
Rabbi White blowing the shofar earlier in the week.
This kid went viral with his rendition of ‘Avinu Malkeinu.’ We talked to his mom.
CHABAD held two services on each of the first two days – a full service at 7:30 – 11am, and a highlights service at 11am – 1:15pm. Delicious cholent was served between the two services.
The choir performed at the second service and the torah was read at both.
I sang the haftorah twice on the First Day, a bit like Groundhog Day!
For me, this certainly matched the special occasion when I repeated my barmitzvah Maftir and Haftorah at the Nozyk Synagogue in Warsaw in 2018:
Eli Rabinowitz
CHABAD WA Choir on for Rosh Hashana
One of the advantages of living in Perth, Western Australia, is that one can still attend shul services for Rosh Hashanah and hear an excellent choir.
Here in an example of what the CHABAD WA choir will sing on Rosh Hashanah, this weekend.
Best,
Eli Rabinowitz & the CHABAD Choir
Rabbi Shalom White’s 40th
