Bochurim Find New Zealand Shul

Two young rabbis are travelling around New Zealand, making contact with local Jewish communities.

Rabbi Menachem Spielman (21), of Australia, and Rabbi Sruly Myhill (20), of New York, were in Dunedin this week as part of a two and a-half week visit.

They have visited several towns and cities, including Dunedin, which once boasted a large Jewish community, where they met the president of the current progressive congregation and visited the shul, which houses centuries-old Torahs and other artifacts.

This includes a fascinating inscribed and carved Shofar, which they blew for the congregation, along with their own afterward due to the Shofar’s questionable halachic status.

For the past year, the two bochurim have been in Singapore learning for their Semicha certification.

As Lubavitchers, their goal is “to positively influence the world around us in every way possible,” they said.

“One major way we do this is by searching for ‘far-flung’ Jews wherever we travel, providing them with a connection to their roots and religion,” Rabbi Spielman said.

From Dunedin, the two are travelling through North Otago, the West Coast and across to Christchurch before heading to Hanmer Springs, Picton and Nelson.

On a trip around New Zealand, making contact with local Jewish communities, Rabbi Menachem Spielman, of Australia, and Rabbi Sruly Myhill, of New York, were in Dunedin where they met the president of the current progressive congregation and visited the shul, which houses centuries-old Torahs and other artifacts – including a fascinating inscribed and carved Shofar, which they blew for the congregation (along with their own afterward due to the Shofar’s questionable halachic status).

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