LIFECYCLES
A Synagogue is an extension of your family, and not just to celebrate the Sabbath. You’re part of our family, and we’re part of yours. Whether it’s the joyous celebration of a birth, an engagement, a marriage, an anniversary, or to be there for you in times of your grief, you are never alone when you’re part of our community.
We’ll celebrate with you when you bring your newborn baby to shul for the first time in it’s young life; we’ll shower you with sweets when the husband-to-be is called up to say a prayer to bless your forthcoming marriage; and we’ll sit with you and support you in those times if you are facing a challenge or personal tragedy. Any shul is part of its community’s lifecycle; but there’s something unexpectedly close and loyal about the family of Cremorne Shul which makes us different, and special.
Few moments in our lives are more joyous than the birth of a baby, and welcoming him or her into the community. The whole of the k’hilah comes together to celebrate the arrival.
For a boy, there’s the Brit Milah to organise, either in your home or in the shul and our Rabbi and Rebbitzen will be more than happy to advise you on what Jewish requirements there are, how they should be performed and to help you make the necessary arrangements for the occasion. And if your son is a first-born, there’s a delightful tradition, called a Pidyon HaBen, going back thousands of years to the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, where the baby boy is redeemed thirty days after his birth by the father from a Cohen. Again, our Rabbi is an expert in these matters.
And if your baby is a little girl, she’s named on the first occasion that her father is called up after her birth to say blessings over the Torah in Shul.
When a Jewish girl reaches the age of 12, and a boy becomes 13, they’re ready to ascend into the adult community of Jews. This is one of the most memorable and important moments of their lives, as well as one of the central and most significant times for our community. To prepare your son or daughter for their coming-of-Jewish-age, our Rabbi and Rebbitzen are there for you. They are your teachers, guides, and mentors in what it means for a Jewish boy and girl to become part of the community, and what the community will mean for the boy and girl. Lessons, practice, customs, traditions and heritage are all combined in the wonders of a bar- and bat-Mitzvah, even to what the young man or woman can expect to gain from their community.
We’re your community ….that’s what we’re here for.
Cremorne Shul has been the central point for many joyous weddings in our history, and the brides and grooms have stayed within our community, often celebrating the weddings of their offspring. We pride ourselves on the homely, warm and loving celebrations of this, one of the most important moments in a young person’s life.
But a wedding at Cremorne is a lot more than standing under the Chuppah and breaking the glass. We begin months and months before when our Rabbi and Rebbitzen get to know the young couple, find out their hopes and aspirations for their lives together, what they’d like their wedding to be, and guide them in the formalities and traditions of a Jewish wedding. Our Rabbi will give guidance and lessons to the groom, and our Rebbitzen will teach the bride. The Shabbat one week before the wedding, the groom will be called to the reading of the Torah. And don’t plan to have lunch at home after the service, because our legendary celebratory kiddushim are….well, you’ll just have to experience them yourself.
On the day of the ceremony, you will find the shul has been decorated to accommodate a beautiful Chupa ceremony and the entire service, modern yet thoroughly traditional, will be totally stress-free, bringing joyously unforgettable moments for the young couple.
Not every event in our shul is joyous. When you bid farewell to a loved-one, our entire community shares in your sense of loss. You can count on us for assistance with the arrangements for burial and the Shiva House and recital of the kaddish. And if you are not comfortable reciting the Kaddish, Rabbi Chaim will be glad to advise you, as well as providing emotional support and guidance through this difficult time. And every year which follows the passing, we will help you remember the happiness you experienced when your loved-one was with us. Memorial prayers – Yahrzeit – during our religious services are our Jewish way on focussing not on death, but on the future, on hope and on peace. The Yahzeit prayer is a moment of grounding for the mourner and greatly assists in the process of grieving. It is comforting and reassuring. And while you recite the Yahrzeit, the entire community will be standing beside you as support.
