After F.I.M. Pressure - New Mara D'Atra at Mizrachi!

It is exactly one month - to the day - that we posted about Mizrachi's lack of a Mara D'Atra.

Our post caused a huge uproar in Mizrachi, and rightly so. A congregation needs to have a leader. We received a huge amount of "Thank You" emails from members of Mizrachi, who had had enough of the situation. We are proud to have been a major part of the decision to finally act.

Following is a copy of the letter sent out to Mizrachi congregants today:

Rabbi Danny Mirvis - new Mara D'Atra at Mizrachi

The team at FrumInMelbourne wish a hearty congratulations to the new Rabbi, Danny Mirvis! We wish you much success. We hope you do well, especially because of our fundamental role in you getting the gig!

Still No Mara D'atra at Mizrachi

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.

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...

 

Source; Mizrachi website

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.

Stabbing in Melbourne Shul

A shocking thing happened in a Melbourne shul yesterday (Shabbos Parshas Metzorah).

A yid stabbed another yid!

Did you hear that?



A yid stabbed another yid!

Who could ever believe such a thing would ever happen in  Melbourne Shul, especially on a Shabbos???

And the alleged cause of the stabbing? A fight over the herring. The herring! Or was it cake? Depends on which report you choose to believe.

But either way, Yiddish blood was spilt, by a fellow Yid.

From Arutz Sheva:

Stabbed in synagogue - over a piece of cake

A violent altercation erupted over Shabbat in an Australian synagogue, ended in a stabbing. Witnesses say scuffle began over cake.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

Knife attack Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

A trivial dispute over a dessert dish nearly turned fatal in an Australian synagogue on Saturday.

After an argument broke out between two of the congregants, one attempted to stab the other, only to wound someone else entirely, witnesses told BeHadrei Haredim.

The incident occurred Saturday morning at the Rambam Sephardic synagogue in Melbourne. A groom hosted the synagogue’s Kiddush Rabba after morning prayers, bringing desserts and refreshments in honor of his wedding.

According to witnesses, an argument suddenly erupted between the groom and a congregant known for having a short temper. The dispute apparently concerned one of the cakes brought by the groom.

“We made Kiddush,” recalled one of the witnesses, “then a verbal confrontation broke out between the two over one of the cakes, to the point where one of [the two] lost control of himself and lost his head, bringing a knife in and stabbing a fellow [congregant] a centimeter from his heart and two centimeters from his lungs.”

Worshippers who saw the man brandishing a knife tried to block him from reaching the groom. In the course of the incident, however, the man stabbed one of the congregants attempting to hold him back.

“The congregant went back to his home to bring a knife; when he came back to the synagogue with the knife, we understood that he intended to stab the groom, so we tried to separate them. In the end, however, the congregant stabbed one of the people trying to separate between the stabber and the groom”.

“It was really a miracle that he [the stabbing victim] survived, he was really saved. I know the people [involved], both the stabber and the victim. We were in total shock; it’s a shame that this happened over food.”

The victim of the stabbing was treated by emergency first responders and transferred to a local hospital.

Police were called to the scene, but were unable to capture the attacker, who fled the synagogue immediately after the incident.

“The stabber is known as a person with a short temper. He has a short fuse. The people have been searching for him ever since he fled the scene of the incident. Even his wife and children don’t know where he is.”

More links:

Jewish Press

The Age

Herald Sun

Channel 7 News

We even made the Israeli Press: