It’s now some 14 months since Rabbi Sprung was for all intents and
purposes sent packing from Mizrachi. Yes, there were elections, and yes his
contract was up, but the fact remains that Mizrachi did something that shocked
frum Australian Jewry.
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| Source: jewishnews.net.au |
While generally speaking
frum Jews do not sack their Rabbis or “let them go”, indeed a position
of “Mara D'atra” of a community is a job for life - there are many halachic responsa
to this effect – Mizrachi decided to go about things their own way.
No one is suggesting that Mizrachi did anything illegal as
far as secular laws is concerned, but it left a bitter taste in the mouths of
many in the frum Jewish community of Melbourne. Even some longstanding members
of Mizrachi decided to leave in protest.
Strangely enough Rabbi Sprung does not appear on Mizrachi's "History then and now" page...
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| Source; Mizrachi website |
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A question that is being asked by many in Mizrachi now, is, “why
hasn’t a new candidate for Rav been sourced yet?”. Mizrachi is the only Orthodox (let alone frum)
shul in Melbourne without a Rabbi (other than “Katanga” which apparently voted against
ever having a Rabbi – we’ll leave that issue for another day… ). If they don’t
make a serious move soon they will get used to not having a Rabbi on their
heads and will probably never want one again.
FrumInMelbourne understands that there have been a
number of suitable candidates put forward to the board, one outstanding
individual in particular who has demonstrated excellent youth outreach success. We cannot and
do not confirm that this is the case. Have the Shul members been informed?
Rabbi Sprung is sorely missed.
What’s your opinion? Who do you think Mizrachi should
appoint? Do you think Mizrachi should appoint a Rabbi at all?
Are you a current
Mizrachi member? Please weigh in in the comment section below.
