Introduction
A Standard for the People: The 150th Anniversary of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation 1843-1993 has been praised for its lavish presentation, fascinating content and design features by newspapers and magazines in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Described as a 'huge and handsome volume' by the New Zealand Historic Places magazine and as a work which 'a Jewish library would be incomplete without' (the U.S. Jewish newspaper, The National Jewish Post and Opinion), the book celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Jewish service in New Zealand.
Published in 1995, in a limited edition which has scarcely circulated outside of New Zealand (as neither the publisher, Hazard Press, nor the Wellington Hebrew Congregation have international publishing distribution networks), the book provides a remarkable record of a Jewish community which, though small and remote, has had its own distinctive impact both within New Zealand and the wider Jewish world.
The story it tells of Jewish life in Wellington from colonial times to the contemporary period reflects the age-old quest of Jews everywhere for freedom, security and dignity, for themselves and their families. Wellington Jewry is shown to be a microcosm of the worldwide Jewish experience, its members coming to the country from pogroms in Czarist Russia through to more recent escapes from the crumbling ex-communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The experiences of community members in the Nazi Holocaust are recounted vividly, contributing to that permanent testimony to cruelties whose effects indelibly mark us all.
The book offers insights into the character of a committed Jewish community anywhere in the world. The book's several sections are a blend of communal history, sketches of synagogue life and family reminiscence, providing an at times poignant and inspiring legacy from one of the most far-flung segments of the Diaspora.
There are historic paintings of the city of Wellington in the 1840s as well as contemporary portraits of prominent members of Wellington Jewry - its rabbis, presidents and congregational personalities. These document some of the contributions made by Wellington Jews to New Zealand society - a Wellington Mayor, a New Zealand Chief Justice, a Race Relations Conciliator. Their stories, of achievement and service, are balanced by accounts of extraordinary journeys: of families saved from the Germans by a Japanese consul, of others finding shelter in Shanghai, of a young woman expelled from Russian-occupied Poland in 1939 and shipped to Arctic Siberia - all of them eventually finding a home, and a new life, in New Zealand.
Anyone with an interest in Jewish communal experience - the establishment of congregations, the building of synagogues, the setting up of organisations for Zionist, educational, social, political and philanthropic purposes - will find these first-hand accounts of great value. And, of course, anyone with a link to Wellington or New Zealand Jewry, and to Jewish traditions generally, will be intrigued by this kaleidoscopic work.
Written for Jews and non-Jews alike, 'A Standard for the People' serves as an introduction to Jewish ideas and values, with rabbinical commentaries as well as distinctive blessings introducing each of the book's seven sections.
The index to the book lists over 3000 names - suggesting something of the book's scope and its reach, the names extending from the Patriarchs, through Moses, to King David, the prophet Isaiah, on through to New Zealand and Israeli prime ministers, and encompassing many of the Jews who have been connected with the Wellington Hebrew Congregation and other communal groups.
Those wishing to learn - and celebrate - the continuity, growth and survival of a far-off Jewish community will be interested to hear about the existence of this book. From the color photographs of the synagogue interior (both in 'ordinary' times and in preparation for High Holy Days) - with Torah scrolls and even a special Scroll of Esther presented as a gift to the congregation - through to the many other photographs of buildings, events and people, including the 1993 anniversary celebrations themselves, it is possible to see something of the nature and texture of Jewish life.
The book is introduced by the Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth and by past and present Wellington rabbis. It is available in a limited edition and, as a massive and heavy hardcover work, is being shipped out (economy airmail) in a cardboard box especially designed and ordered for this purpose.
It is fortunate that we can now advise many people, community groups and libraries about a beautiful book - 'when it arrived we were almost shocked it was so large and the postage alone was in the tens of dollars; it is well worth the price and the photographs were reproduced as good as the originals' (National Jewish Post and Opinion) - whose existence might otherwise be completely unknown: a missed opportunity for a coffee table book (providing a strong table) with a beautiful Jewish message.
Described as a 'huge and handsome volume' by the New Zealand Historic Places magazine and as a work which 'a Jewish library would be incomplete without' (the U.S. Jewish newspaper, The National Jewish Post and Opinion), the book celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Jewish service in New Zealand.
Published in 1995, in a limited edition which has scarcely circulated outside of New Zealand (as neither the publisher, Hazard Press, nor the Wellington Hebrew Congregation have international publishing distribution networks), the book provides a remarkable record of a Jewish community which, though small and remote, has had its own distinctive impact both within New Zealand and the wider Jewish world.
The story it tells of Jewish life in Wellington from colonial times to the contemporary period reflects the age-old quest of Jews everywhere for freedom, security and dignity, for themselves and their families. Wellington Jewry is shown to be a microcosm of the worldwide Jewish experience, its members coming to the country from pogroms in Czarist Russia through to more recent escapes from the crumbling ex-communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The experiences of community members in the Nazi Holocaust are recounted vividly, contributing to that permanent testimony to cruelties whose effects indelibly mark us all.
The book offers insights into the character of a committed Jewish community anywhere in the world. The book's several sections are a blend of communal history, sketches of synagogue life and family reminiscence, providing an at times poignant and inspiring legacy from one of the most far-flung segments of the Diaspora.
There are historic paintings of the city of Wellington in the 1840s as well as contemporary portraits of prominent members of Wellington Jewry - its rabbis, presidents and congregational personalities. These document some of the contributions made by Wellington Jews to New Zealand society - a Wellington Mayor, a New Zealand Chief Justice, a Race Relations Conciliator. Their stories, of achievement and service, are balanced by accounts of extraordinary journeys: of families saved from the Germans by a Japanese consul, of others finding shelter in Shanghai, of a young woman expelled from Russian-occupied Poland in 1939 and shipped to Arctic Siberia - all of them eventually finding a home, and a new life, in New Zealand.
Anyone with an interest in Jewish communal experience - the establishment of congregations, the building of synagogues, the setting up of organisations for Zionist, educational, social, political and philanthropic purposes - will find these first-hand accounts of great value. And, of course, anyone with a link to Wellington or New Zealand Jewry, and to Jewish traditions generally, will be intrigued by this kaleidoscopic work.
Written for Jews and non-Jews alike, 'A Standard for the People' serves as an introduction to Jewish ideas and values, with rabbinical commentaries as well as distinctive blessings introducing each of the book's seven sections.
The index to the book lists over 3000 names - suggesting something of the book's scope and its reach, the names extending from the Patriarchs, through Moses, to King David, the prophet Isaiah, on through to New Zealand and Israeli prime ministers, and encompassing many of the Jews who have been connected with the Wellington Hebrew Congregation and other communal groups.
Those wishing to learn - and celebrate - the continuity, growth and survival of a far-off Jewish community will be interested to hear about the existence of this book. From the color photographs of the synagogue interior (both in 'ordinary' times and in preparation for High Holy Days) - with Torah scrolls and even a special Scroll of Esther presented as a gift to the congregation - through to the many other photographs of buildings, events and people, including the 1993 anniversary celebrations themselves, it is possible to see something of the nature and texture of Jewish life.
The book is introduced by the Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth and by past and present Wellington rabbis. It is available in a limited edition and, as a massive and heavy hardcover work, is being shipped out (economy airmail) in a cardboard box especially designed and ordered for this purpose.
It is fortunate that we can now advise many people, community groups and libraries about a beautiful book - 'when it arrived we were almost shocked it was so large and the postage alone was in the tens of dollars; it is well worth the price and the photographs were reproduced as good as the originals' (National Jewish Post and Opinion) - whose existence might otherwise be completely unknown: a missed opportunity for a coffee table book (providing a strong table) with a beautiful Jewish message.