MY SITE
Coming to Adelaide3/8/2023 Birmingham and Adelaide are similar and different. At first glance, they couldn’t be more different. Birmingham is a ‘super-diverse’ city, miles away from the sea, with an industrial past. Adelaide is a beautifully laid out green city which is predominantly white and has beaches of its own. But there are similarities which make me feel at home. Both are seen by outsiders as ‘provincial’, either industrial or boring or both. People who live there see them differently. They are comfortable places to be, with no pretensions but a lot too offer. I have come to Adelaide at festival time, and everything I was told by the people here is true. There is a Fringe comparable to the Edinburgh Fringe and an International Festival and Writers festival starting this week. We have already seen three Fringe shows, with ‘Black is the Colour of My Voice’, a one-woman show based on the life of Nina Simone, being outstanding. And this week we have a Palestinian drama about space travel and a performance by the pianist Cedric Thibergien to look forward to. Not to mention the wonderful performance we saw last night, which I’ll come to. The Jewish community feels similar too. Although Birmingham’s is slightly larger, both are small. Both liberal congregations are diverse, too, in age, occupation, background and gender and sexuality. And most importantly, both are warm and welcoming. My first entry to the congregation was sadly through conducting prayers for a much-loved member. I met his family, including his stoical and determined widow, at the funeral for the first time. As I often feel at funerals, I wish I had known him. To lighten the day, I had a delicious meal before the prayers with the Board (Council in Britain) and discovered the barramundi, a delicious Australian fish. I got to know some of the members, including a Professor of Aboriginal music. A couple of days later I met the Synagogue’s wonderful administrator, Amanda. Her ‘real’ job is in the arts, so she has a wealth of experience, but she clearly loves the congregation and cares about its members. She gave me my rabbi’s phone and set me up on the computer, showed me useful places to go for lunch and took me for a drive in what was to be my new car. This came as a bit of shock after my second-hand small Volkswagen Up - a brand new Toyota Corolla hybrid. I am adapting to driving it and beginning to find my way around the city, which has a much more logical lay out than Birmingham. The congregation’s President, Ruth, thoughtfully led the Friday night service to take the load off me, although I gave the ‘sermon’ by talking about myself - as I said at the time, both easy and difficult. I realised I would have to get to know the Minhag, and especially some new tunes, which I will enjoy as they have some lovely melodies. Shabbat morning was more tricky, as I had to learn about the Bimah choreography as well as navigating the new tunes. I also took the plunge and talked about the rampage and arson in the Palestinian village of Harawa, linking it with Shabbat Zachor. The Cheder at Beit Shalom is a similar size to BPS. They meet on a Sunday, and I do notice the difference and feel again what a good thing it was that we changed our Cheder to Shabbat. Both children and teachers are great, though, and I am beginning to get to know them, especially the more lively children.
And so to the evening performance…. It was a wonderful Purim spiel based on Broadway. There were some great performers who could have been professional, including a sixteen-year old dancer who played Esther and an singer with a beautiful voice who played Vashti. Ron, our gentle host, was a villainous and unsettling antisemitic Haman. So that was my first week in Adelaide - busy and interesting and fun. I think I will enjoy it here! Margaret
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Leave a Reply.Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky has been the rabbi of Beit Shalom in Adelaide, South Australia for the last sixteen years. She's very happy to be serving Birmingham Progressive Synagogue for the next three months.
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