, native_name_lang = , image = , image_upright = 1.2 , alt = , caption = , map_type = Australia Melbourne , map_size = 250 , map_alt = , map_relief = 1 , map_caption = Location in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , religious_affiliation =

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

, locale = , location = 39 Dickens Street, ,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, rite = , tradition = , country = Australia , administration = , consecration_year = , organisational_status = Active , functional_status = Synagogue , heritage_designation = , ownership = , governing_body = , leadership =

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Mordechai Gutnick Rabbi Mordechai Zev Gutnick ( he, מרדכי זאב הכהן גוטניק) is a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi in Australia. Gutnick has served as a member of rabbinical courts in Melbourne and Sydney and various Australian rabbinical associa ...

, bhattaraka = , patron = , religious_features_label = , religious_features = , architect = , architecture_type = , architecture_style = , founded_by = , creator = , funded_by = , general_contractor = , established = , groundbreaking = , year_completed = , construction_cost = , date_demolished = , facade_direction = , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , interior_area = , height_max = , site_area = , temple_quantity = , monument_quantity = , shrine_quantity = , inscriptions = , materials = , elevation_m = , elevation_footnotes = , nrhp = , added = , refnum = , footnotes = , website = The Elwood Talmud Torah Hebrew Congregation ( he, ק"ק בית אברהם), also known as Elwood Synagogue or Elwood Shule, is a historically significant

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

synagogue located in the

suburb of Elwood,

, Australia. The congregation played an important role in accommodating Melbourne's large population of Jewish

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Overview

The congregation was formed around 1931 or 1932 as a prayer service in a private home. In 1938 the congregation moved to 40 Mitford Street where a part-time

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educ ...

was established in addition to regular prayer services. Prior to World War II the congregation grew with the arrival of Jewish European immigrants. In 1939-40 several members broke away and formed their own congregation, later known as the Adass Israel Congregation. Elwood Shule flourished during and especially following World War II, as a large number of Jewish Holocaust survivors settled in the area. Services took place in halls in Acland Street, St Kilda, and Hennessy Avenue, Elwood during peak periods, before larger premises were acquired at 26 Avoca Avenue in 1942. The synagogue's current site, at 39 Dickens Street, was purchased in the early 1950s by synagogue President Abe Sicree. A new synagogue building was constructed and dedicated at the site in 1957, in time for the High Holidays of that year. The following year Rabbi

Chaim Gutnick Shneur Chaim (HaKohen) Gutnick (1921 – 25 October 2003) ( Heb.: שניאור-חיים הכהן גוטניק), was a prominent Orthodox Jewish Chabad rabbi in Australia. Early life Gutnick was born in Zolotonosha, Ukraine; soon afterwards his f ...

was appointed Chief Minister of the synagogue, a position he held for some forty-five years until his retirement in 2003. A new school campus was constructed on synagogue premises by Moriah College of Elwood in the early 1960s. Following Moriah College's demise the campus was occupied by

Mt Scopus Memorial College , motto_translation = , location = 245 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Melbourne, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , pushpin_ ...

and later Yesodei HaTorah College. In 1973 the synagogue building was renovated and expanded to a seating capacity of 1068. In 2003 Rabbi

succeeded his father Chaim as Chief Minister of the congregation. In 2008 the Elwood Talmud Torah Hebrew Congregation celebrated its 75th anniversary. Federal member for

Melbourne Ports The Division of Melbourne Ports was an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was located to the south of Melbourne's central business district and covered an area of appro ...

Michael Danby Michael David Danby (born 16 February 1955) is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 until 2019, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports, Victoria. Danby was b ...

, an Elwood resident, marked the occasion by paying tribute to the congregation in a speech before

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...

on 16 October 2008, saying,

"It is very fortuitous, when viewed in retrospect, that this congregation was formed by central and east European migrants prior to the Second World War. These were the very people who were able to look after the refugees and the displaced persons who came off the ships after the Second World War and who, subsequently, filled the pews at this very special Shule."

A similar tribute was delivered before

Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...

Martin Foley Martin "The Viper" Foley (born 24 November 1952) is a well-known Irish criminal. He rose from a street drug dealer to become an associate of Martin Cahill. Foley has 40 convictions, and is considered a key figure in the McCormack-Foley crime fam ...

References

External links

Elwood Talmud Torah Hebrew Congregation website
{{Jews and Judaism in Australia, state=autocollapse Orthodox synagogues in Australia Synagogues in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Port Phillip 1930s establishments in Australia

Overview

See also

References

External links