The beauty of the Live Stories movement is that it takes enormous, ethereal topics and meets them on an accessible, personal level. Through the stories of my peers, I’ve developed a far deeper understanding and appreciation of the diversity of experience people have in the contexts of themes such as identity, interfaith, gen 3 and anti-Semitism. Live Stories is personal; Live Stories is intimate; Live Stories is compelling.

Shalom Baby has been a great place to meet other Jewish mums and babies of all ages. I really enjoy the weekly coffee and chat while my baby interacts with the other babies, enjoys Hebrew songs and listens to a story. It’s really nice to have a local Jewish playgroup to attend every week…and the best part is that my baby usually falls asleep in the car on the way home as he’s exhausted from all the fun!

North Shore Jewish Playgroup is so grateful for the small grant we received from Shalom. We aim to make the playgroup accessible to all who wish to come. We pride ourselves on offering an inclusive Jewish space, and don’t want a high admission price to stand in the way! The small grant really helps us achieve our desired pricing model, and ensure we can still hire a great Playgroup coordinator.

Our Young Dayenu Channukah celebration was a wonderful success; attracting several new faces and reuniting our now strong cohort of members. Network’s generous ‘Small Grants’ initiative provides us with invaluable support to build our community by supporting our various events and programs. It is particularly uplifting to know that Network is such a loyal and warm friend of our Jewish LGBTI community! Thank you Shalom!!

I was the first of my friends to be pregnant so didn’t really have any one to ask the important questions to or complain about sore backs and stretch marks with. That’s why it was so refreshing to go to shalom preggy and meet up with other mums-to-be! Some are still some of my closest friends to this day and we have been in each other’s lives since that first night. That’s why when I was asked to talk as a professional at shalom preggy 6 years later, I jumped at the chance. I know how invaluable that night would be for those mothers.

I have been attending Shalom baby ever since my daughter was 8 weeks old. She is now almost 6 months old and we both look forward to our time at the weekly get togethers. My eldest daughter was not born in Australia so we never got to have a Jewish group where we could do to once a week, meet other Jewish mothers and learn ‘Jewishkeit’ through the eyes of our bubs. With the weekly songs and stories, the babies have a ball and learn so much. This has been very beneficial and extremely special for both of us. Shalom baby not only allows this special bonding but also lets mothers meet and discuss problems and concerns that they have as well as sharing their knowledge of the community. I highly recommend Shalom baby for any mum that wants that special ‘Jewish touch’ to their mothers group.’

Your events are so well thought out, the guests are absolutely top tier and you and the team create a space in which people (audience and guests) can actually listen and exchange big ideas on topics that are important. I love being part of it and look forward to many more events working with you.…I’ve now had a chance to work with a number of community, public and corporate organisations and [your events] are some of the best. Makes me proud to be a member of our community. 

The Darfuri homework club is going so well, and now runs every week from Blacktown. We have over 20 regular volunteers, and get approximately 25 kids each week.

Attending my first Shalom Preggy event was fun, informative and a great way to meet other women expecting babies in the Jewish community. The speakers were interesting and it was great to be able to connect with new people in a relaxed environment, discuss all the wonderful and scary things that are about to happen to all of us, and most importantly have a good laugh! Kudos and thanks to Shalom College and Nicole for continuing to organise such lovely and welcomed events. An excellent community initiative that all expectant mothers should attend if they have the chance”.

After the birth of my son I started to think about how I could use my skill set and experience to give back to the community. That’s when I discovered PJ Library. When I think about my legacy and imagine my family in the future, I want my son to understand the meaning and importance of community. What is special about PJ Library is the way it brings Jewish values into our everyday lives.
PJ Library focuses on fostering the next generation and providing a foundation for young children to understand Jewish values. For us PJ Library books provide a special link between myself, my husband and son. We read one book every night before bed – it’s a really special time as a family. I got involved in PJ Library thinking it was to give back to the community, but I’ve been surprised by the reward I’ve received, the connections I’ve made and the amazing people I’ve met.

 It is not an understatement to say that Limmud changed the course of my life by connecting me with people, ideas and movements from the global Jewish community. My main exposure to the Jewish world had been to the Sydney Jewish community, specifically to my extensive involvement with Jewish student activism during university, having never attended a Jewish school and having grown up outside of the Jewish ‘bubble’. I thought I had seen a lot of what the Jewish community in Sydney and beyond had to offer – until I attended Limmud-Oz in 2015. Hearing from both international and local presenters on a range of topics concerning Judaism, Israel, politics, literature and more, opened my eyes to the amazing things happening in the global Jewish community. Limmud encouraged me to think more deeply about Judaism and issues affecting the Jewish world, and helped me build strong ties to the international Jewish community. I have now seen Limmud from all angles – as a presenter and participant at Limmud-Oz 2015, and as a member of the volunteer team and Shalom staff organiser for Yom Limmud Sydney 2016. Through each of those experiences, I have come to appreciate the profound effect that Limmud can have on an individual and why we are so fortunate to have this global learning movement in Australia.

The words on our Limmud “t shirts” say it all – Limmud Oz, Learn, Laugh, Live. As regular attendees of many Limmud events (Limmud-Oz, Limmud Fest and Yom Limmud Sydney) over more than a decade, we have attended sessions and been stimulated by wonderful presentations on a vast range of topics, frequently laughed with friends at light hearted comments and have incorporated into our lives many of the things we have heard. We have met interesting people and exchanged ideas with them on a wide variety of subjects. We have loved both the serious and the light-hearted sessions and have also enjoyed the social side of the events. Limmud is a great community event and everyone who has attended is the richer for the experience. We hope that an ever increasing number of people in our community will come and join us at future Limmuds.

Having never been to a Live Stories event, I wasn’t entirely sure what I had got myself into. I’d come from a small town in the state’s north, where not much was known about Judaism and the idea of having Jewish friends was an entirely new and foreign concept. It’s hard to explain how I felt that night leaving work to go to Live Stories. I started doubting myself – questioning why anyone would want to hear my story and on more than one occasion thought would anyone really notice if I didn’t turn up. I’m so glad I decided to go! From the moment I arrived, I knew that I was a part of something truly special. The energy in the room was both comfortable and electric. To have the opportunity to share my story growing up and learning to accept my Judaism as well as my family’s cultural heritage meant the world. The friends that I have made from that night are now some of my closest and most trusted bringing a smile to my face with every message and meeting.
It is no exaggeration when I say Live Stories has changed my life – I truly feel that I am a much stronger person because of it!”

My family recently moved to Sydney from overseas. My 10-month-old son and I joined Shalom Baby to meet other like-minded Jewish mothers and become involved with the community. We were welcomed with nothing but warmth and kindness by everyone we met and everyone made us feel included and comfortable as we transitioned to living in a new city. Shalom Baby has now become part of our weekly routine and we look forward to attending every Monday. My son and I both enjoy the social time and community that Shalom Baby provides and we are so lucky that we have found such a great group in our new home. Thank you, Shalom Baby!

Live Stories by Shalom dwells elegantly at the juncture between renaissance salon and shtetl yeshiva. From its inception, there has been a sense of genuine intellectualism in the room: the marvellous frisson of artists and writers and thinkers speaking from the heart to a room of enthusiasts. The interludes between performances are full of that same atmosphere, the same excitement and passion for the cerebral and the transcendent. At Live Stories, I felt for the first time in my adult life the great potential that dwells in the Jewish community of Sydney – the potential to grapple and laugh and sing together, the potential for us to shape for ourselves a shared place in the world of which we may be proud. My gratitude to organiser Shailee Mendelevich is inexpressible. She is the consummate salon madame. Every single time she hosts an event like this, she manages to make one plus one plus one equal magic. At the Shalom Live Stories, I discovered new friends, a new joyful pride in the Sydney Jewish community, and a new voice I didn’t know I had. These Live Stories dwell on the very edge of history, and I am eager indeed to see what wondrous fruit so sweet a tree shall bear next.