Reverend Phillip Berliner

Pinkhas (Phillip Berliner)

(Written by his son-in-law Chaim Freedman in “The Pen and the Blade, Super Family” 1992).

Pinkhas (Phillip) Berliner was born in London, England in 1916, the youngest son of immigrants from Lodz, Poland. He attended Yeshivah Etz Chaim in London where he learned under the prominent Lithuanian leaders of English ultra-orthodoxy at the time, Rabbis Eliya Lopian and Eliyahu-Eliezer Dessler. He was such an excellent student that his teachers selected him to join a group which went to study at the recently established Gateshead Yeshiva in 1931 under Rabbi N.D.Landinsky.

In the mid 1930’s a proposal was made by the rabbis of Etz Chaim and Gateshead to further the higher religious education of English Yeshiva students at prominent eastern European Yeshivot. Pinkhas Berliner was selected to join a group of about ten students who went to Mir Yeshiva in Poland (now Belarus) and to Telz (Telsiai) Yeshivah in Poland. The group included Rabbi Nakhum-Zev (Velvel) Dessler, Josh Chinn, Rabbi Shlomo Davis, Rabbi Koppul Rosen, Rabbi Chaim Gutnik, Montie Moore, Rabbi Shmuel Bloch, Rabbi Dovber Silver and others who became leading orthodox rabbis and scholars, mainly in the United states. Details are to be found at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rkimble/Mirweb/YeshivaStudents.html .

Pinkhas Berliner studied in Mir under the renowned Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Eliezer-Yehudah Finkel and the Mashgiakh Rabbi Yekhezkel Levinstein. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the foreign students fled Poland, by order of the Rosh Yeshivah, the day before the Germans invaded Poland. For several months the group wandered backwards and forwards through Latvia and Estonia since they had inadequate papers. During this period of extreme physical deprivation and exposure. Pinkhas’s health suffered irreparably. Eventually visas were obtained through a Jewish member of the Latvian parliament, Rabbi Mordekhai Dubin, and the group settled in Lithuania at Telz Yeshivah under the soon to be martyred Rabbi Avraham-Yitskhak Bloch.

After nine months in Telz, in February 1940 Pinkhas rejoined Mir Yeshiva which had been relocated in Keidan, Lithuania. There he was finalizing his studies to qualify for Semikhah (rabbinical ordination) when the Soviet Army invaded the Baltic States. The Yeshivot were constantly harassed by the Communist regime and as the Germany army hovered in nearby Poland, the future looked ominous.

The British Government finally arranged a means of evacuating British and other foreign nationals. Travelling on visas issued by the famous Japanese consul in Kovno (Kaunas) Sugiharo, the group was sent eastwards via the Trans Siberian Railway to Vladivostok. From there they went to Hong Kong but were unable to continue to America due to hostilities at sea. Instead the group travelled to Brisbane, Australia. After several months of futile attempts to establish a Yeshivah in Melbourne, most of the group made their way to America and were amongst the founders of Mir, Telz and Lakewood Yeshivot. Some returned to England after the war.

Those remaining in Australia were Rabbi Dovber Silver, Rabbi Chaim Gutnik and Pinkhas (now Phillip) Berliner. Although he had a visa for America and had been accepted to Yeshiva Mesifta Torah Vadaat in New York, Phillip remained in Australia. He taught briefly in Sydney until he went to Melbourne in 1941 to marry Edna, daughter of Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov and Lena Super. They had three daughters Mirel-Shulamit (Muriel) Kleerekoper, Leah-Nekhama (Lena) Pose and Sheindel (Jane) Freedman.

In order to support his family Phillip learnt Shekhitah and joined his father-in-law at this arduous vocation. He also taught religious classes for the United Jewish Education Board and was assistant Chazan at the St.Kilda Hebrew Congregation. In 1946 he was granted the title “Reverend” by Rabbi Jacob Danglow in recognition of his services to the congregation.

Phillip Berliner was widely respected throughout the community. He approached his vocation with a deep sense of dedication and his sincere enthusiasm for Judaism inspired his students, in particular a small group that studied with him. One of these, Professor Louis Waller wrote to Phillip’s daughter Jane Freedman:

“Your father was a generous teacher in terms of time and energy. He drilled us rigorously in formal Hebrew grammar, introducing me to the patterns and paradigms which became ingrained. Though he was not a scientific linguist, he was very knowledgeable and very determined that our foundations in structure would be well laid. He invited Max Jotkovitz, Sonja Black and me to your home in Crimea Street on Saturday afternoons in the latter part of 1948 and 1949 for revision of the set books and lightening like parsing, declension and conjunction. Your mother would give us tea and cake to sustain us, and your grandfather viewed us with a bemused but benevolent eye. In addition to the biblical set books, grammar and history, we also studied a tractate of Mishnah, Baba Batra.”

Berliner’s work as a Shokhet was very taxing, both from the long work hours and the nature of the work. As recalled by Waller: “I asked your father about his work as a Shochet. He showed me his Khalef (blade) which he carried in a case in his breast pocket. I have an impression, but not a strong one, that he found his work in the slaughter house not only physically but also mentally very demanding.”

Reverend Berliner had regular duties to perform for the St.Kilda synagogue. Aside from services, in particular reading the Torah and teaching, he had to attend weddings, funerals and other occasions in the life of the congregants. In this way he built up a wide circle of people who held him in respect for his mild manner and friendly disposition. Professor Waller, in a memorial to Rabbi Danglow (St.Kilda Hebrew Congregation Chronicle, March 1981), mentions Berliner both as his teacher and paints a picture of the Bimah at the St.Kilda synagogue whilst Rabbi Danglow conducted the Neilah service:

“It is Neilah. On the Almemar stand Reverend Kowadlo and Mr. Berliner – as always. Each is enveloped in white Kittel and woolen Tallit. But both are at the back of the Almemor, in their respective corners. At the desk stands the Rabbi. He is davening Neilah.”

Berliner’s communal duties were not without considerable aggravation, as was common among the Melbourne synagogues, internal politics often claimed innocent victims, in this case Phillip Berliner. His health was never the best, he suffered severely from asthma, and the machinations of several members of the Board of his synagogue wounded him deeply.

On Shabbat, 20th Kheshavn 5720, November 21, 1959 Phillip Berliner died suddenly following a severe asthma attack. The entire community was shocked that this man, beloved by so many, had been struck down in his prime at the age at the age of forty-three.

Phillip’s widow Edna was faced with the awesome task of bringing up their three daughters.




Phillip Berliner C.V. (click to enlarge)






















Novoyelna summer camp about 1938





Reference from Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir













Reference from Rabbi Avraham Yitskhak Bloch, Rosh Yeshiva Telz.
















Visa from Japanese Consul Sugihara, Kovno 1940




Phillip Berliner married in 1941 Edna, the daughter of Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super of Melbourne. Berliner served the Melbourne community as Shokhel, Chazan and teacher until his premature death in 1959.








An archive of his papers is to be donated to the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov (Isaac Jacob) Super


(Written by his granddaughter Jane Berliner’s husband Chaim Freedman on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1981. Published in the Australian Jewish News, August 7, 1981)

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super served the Melbourne Jewish community for half a century of its religious life. Many passed through his hands from Brit Milah through Cheder to Barmitzvah and benefitted from his meticulous and relenting supervision of Kashrut.

Son of Shmuel (son of Yosef-Yehoash) Super and Khaya-Minna (daughter of Avraham) Dobrin, Yitskhak-Yaakov was born in 1881 in Lutzin (Ludza) Latvia, a community known as “Jerusalem of Latvia”. The Super family were merchants, scribes, and butchers. He grew up in Karsava (Korsovka). Rabbi Super was educated at local Yeshivot in Rezekne (Rezhitza), Daugavpils (Dvinsk) and Vilnius (Vilna) and then received certification as a Shokhet at the young age of seventeen. He served in that capacity in several small towns in Latvia including Rofe, Sloboad and Lipne.

In 1901 he was obliged to flee from the threat of military conscription which, in Tsarist Russia, was the scene of violent anti-Semitic persecution of Jewish recruits. He arrived in London in 1899 where his services were eagerly sought by the United Synagogue which appointed him as minister to several congregations including Yarmouth and Croydon.

In 1906 Rabbi Super married Lena (Leah) a daughter of Reb Mordekhai Zev (Marks) Bull, one of the first Chabad Chassidim in England. The Bull family was from Karsava (Korsovka), Daugavpils (Dvinsk) and originally from Livani (Lewwnhoff). See separate article.

In 1911 he gave up ministerial duty to serve the London United Shechitah Board in the village of Evercreech, Somerset.

In 1914 Super was sought out by Rabbi Jacob Danglow who had been sent on a mission by the Melbourne community to find a Chief Shokhet for the Melbourne United Shechitah Board. The candidate recommended by Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz was Yitskhak Yaakov Super.

Arriving in Melbourne on August 17th, 1914, Super immediately acquainted himself with the then inadequate Kashrut facilities. The early years were not without conflict and turmoil as he strove to provide strict control over the standard of meat. Many anecdotes are related of his zeal in raiding butcher shops which he suspected of evading the regulations.

Yitskhak Yaakov Super is remembered by numerous families for his services as Mohel which often took him to provincial communities. Likewise he served as a Hebrew teacher and his soundly based European learning enabled him to raise the standard of Jewish knowledge which he imparted to a generation of Australian children. He was also responsible for the training of Shochtim interstate and in New Zealand. At the Chief Rabbi’s request he wrote a report on the state of Kashrut in New Zealand.

In 1929 he was appointed a member of the Melbourne Beth Din under Rabbi Israel Brodie (later Chief Rabbi of the British Empire). Super continued to serve as one of the Dayanim (judges) of the Beth Din for the duration of his life under Rabbis H. Freedman, H. Stransky, and I. Rapaport. He participated in the conferences of the Australian Rabbinical Council and submitted a paper on Kashrut.

He was often vocal through the Jewish press when he felt the need to raise his voice to condemn lapses in religious observance. He was an active and enthusiastic supporter of the Zionist cause and visited the State of Israel in 1956.

In 1944 Super completed thirty years of service to the community and British Chief Rabbi J. Hertz conferred upon him Semikhah (rabbinical ordination) in recognition of his learning and contribution to the community.

In 1949 Rabbi Super retired from active service and was presented with a testimonial by the community. But his drive to serve Kashrut would not let him rest and he soon came out of retirement to accept the appointment in 1950 of Mashgiakh Rashi (Chief Supervisor) for the Kashrus Commission of Victoria, a body he fought for many years to have established, even to the extent of personal financial support.

This position gave him ultimate authority over the State’s kosher meat supply, Matzah production and all catering establishments carrying the Kashrut Commission license. In this capacity he often resorted to seeking the support of Chief Rabbi Brodie in England on contentious issues.

In his later years Rabbi Super was associated closely with the St.Kilda Hebrew Congregation. At his nearby home in Crimea Street he and his wife Lena Super (until her untimely death in 1945) held open house to the congregation. Hardly a Shabbat passed when he did not bring home a guest for Kiddush. There he held a regular Shiur on a Shabbat afternoon.

Super continued to function as a Shokhet until his last days, despite failing health, assisted by his son-in-law Rev. Phillip Berliner, husband of his daughter Edna.

He passed away on June 28, 1961 (Tamuz 14th 5721).

Rabbi Isaac Jacob and Lena Super were the parents of seven children:

Susaman-David (Cecil), Nakhum (Newton) Melbourne solicitor, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Saul Super of South Africa and Israel, Adolf (died a small child), Shlomo-Meir (Montie), Edna-Yenta (Edna) married to the Reverend Pinkhas (Phillip) Berliner, and Zalman-Ber (Albert).

Below are some documements reflecting his life including an article published in the Ausralian Jewish News marking the 100th anniversary of his birth.


Click to enlarge



An archive of Super's personal and communal papers is to be donated to the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.



Rabbi Super and family, Evercreech, England 1914



Rabbi Super's parents Shmuel and Khaya Minna Super with his sister Fruma, Korsovka (now Karsava) Latvia, about 1905





Mohel certificate Chief rabbi Adler 1910


Semikha (rabbinical) ordination by Chief Rabbi Hertz 1944.



Congratulations to Rabbi Super's son Newton on his father's ordination, from Sir Isaac Isaacs, later Governor General of Austalia.



Appointment to Melbourne Beit Din 1931



L-R: Rabbis J.L. Gurewicz, J. Danglow, I.J. Super, I. Brodie
Inspection of Melbourne abbatoirs 1930's


















Super Family tree showing selected relationships

Kremer - the Vilna Gaon had no surname

Kremer – the Vilna Gaon had no Surname

October 2007.

(Portrait courtesy of Yeshayahu Winograd, Jerusalem)

Despite a common misconception, the Gaon had no surname and "Kremer" or “Kramer” was a nickname applied to his ancestor Rabbi Moshe "Kremer" of Vilna because he had a stall in the market.

The term "Kremer" means a shopkeeper.
None of the primary sources or documents contemporaneous with the Gaon and the generation after him include a surname, although several biographies in modern times have erroneously used it.

There are many, many Kremers/Kramers who have nothing to do with the Gaon.
However the name was adopted by the descendants of one of the Gaon’s brothers Rabbi Moshe of Podzelva. They lived mainly in Dokshitz, Belarus, and in Israel.

Another family descended is from a female connection to the Gaon, a daughter of his grandson Rabbi Tuviah Yurbarsky and wife of Rabbi Yitskhak Kremer of Volkovisk (there are descendants in the USA).

Unless a family has a specific tradition of descent from the Gaon, the surname Kremer alone is probably not sufficient evidence of a relationship with the Gaon.

Tribal Affiliation

“Tribal” affiliation – Kohanim, Levi’im and Yisraelim

Chaim Freedman, March 27, 2006.

Postings to Jewishgen over the years show that there is misunderstanding about the divison of Jews according to tribal affiliation as Kohanim, Levi’im or Yisraelim.

Jews were once divided into twelve tribes according to the sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Due to the visicitudes of Jewish history, knowledge of tribal affiliation for most Jews has been forgotten over time. Over the last 2,000 or so years, most Jews are considered to belong to one amorphous tribe called Yisrael (Israel), plural Yisraelim. The only Jews who retained knowledge of their tribal descent were the Kohanim (priests) and Levi’im (Levites). While both descend from the patriarch Jacob’s son Levi, the Kohanim descend specifically from Levi’s great-grandson Aharon (Aaron), the founder of the Priesthood. The Levi’im descend from Levi’s other descendants. Some think that Leviim descend from Aharon’s brother Moshe (Moses), but although he was a Levi, there are no known descendants beyond his two sons.

For genealogists, knowledge of tribal affiliation is useful as it may help distinguish theoretical relatives from each other. Practically speaking, if two supposed relatives believe they share male descent from a common ancestor, should one of the relatives be a Kohen or Levi and the other not, then it can be said with reasonable certainty that they do not descend from a common male ancestor.

In the technical Halakhic sense no person can be a Kohen unless his father was a Kohen. No person can be a Levi unless his father was a Levi. Some postings to Jewishgen have suggested that a woman who is the daughter of a Kohen may pass that status to her sons. That is not the case. The son inherits his status from his father. Only one aspect of the mother’s tribal affiliation effects the son. The firstborn son of the daughter of a Kohen or Levi is exemp from the ceremony of Pidyon Haben (redemption of the firstborn).

Members of the ancient family of Rapaport were Kohanim. Similarly old rabbinical families such as Horowitz, Landau and Epstein were Leviim. Yet there are families which bear these names and are not Kohanim or Leviim.

It should be noted that the surnames Cohen or Levi do not necessarily indicate tribal affiliation.

There are several explanations for the situation where a supposedly Kohanic family name is carried by non-Kohanim.

i) Certain families, unrelated to the above "old" lines of these families, adopted the same surnames randomly when legislation required Jews to adopt surnames.

ii) There was an actual relationship between the Kohanic and non-Kohanic families which arose when a son-in-law adopted the surname of his wife's family. Even if these sons-in-law were not Kohanim or Leviim, in this particular situation, their subsequent descendants are in fact descended from the old families, although through a female line.

Care should also be taken when a woman marries twice, once to a Kohen or Levi and has children by him who are therefore Kohanim or Levi’im respectively, then secondly to a Yisrael. Children of the second marriage are Yisraelim. Descendants of half brothers may become confused as to their tribal affiliation, particularly if it is not known from which husband they descend.

It should be noted that Israeli civil registration does not include Kohen, Levi or Yisrael status. That appears on religious documents such as Ketubah (marriage certificate), synagogue membership lists, and tombstones.

A word of caution: families which became assimilated may have forgotten their tribal status, such that the absence of such, even on religious certification or tombstones, in modern times, does not necessarily negate the possibility of Kohen or Levi ancestry in the male line.Once one could depend on such information being recorded on tombstones. Indeed the absence or presence of Kohen or Levi designation on a tombstone often helped genealogists to clarify relationships. Now, unfortunately, some families have forgotten this aspect of their ancient descent and have failed to record it on their tombstones.

This situation highlights the need for Jews to preserve knowledge of their families' Kohanic or Levitical descent, so that it not be forgotten with the passage of time.

Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams, Melbourne. Article

Biography of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams (1855-1938)

Av Beit Din and Chief Minister of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation from 1883-1919.

Lecture by Chaim (Keith) Freedman to the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Melbourne 1977 and published in the society's journal in 1979, Volume VIII Part 7.


Rabbi Abrahams, in his retirement, lived with the family of Rabbi Isaac Jacob Super, the grandfather of Freedman's wife. An archive of Abraham's personal and communal papers is to be donated to the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.


Semikha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, Rabbinical Seminary Berlin 1882




















Abrahams' father Rabbi Barnett Abrahams was the first Principal of Jews College London.



The following is his Semikha (rabbinical ordination) granted by Rabbi Jacob Oettingen, Berlin 1858.




















My Grandparents, Zalman and Chana Reizel Kaye (Komesaroff)

My Grandparents:

Zalman (1886-1958) and Chanah Raizel (1887-1955)
Kaye (Komesaroff)



Born Ukraine, immigrated to Melbourne, Australia 1913.


Written by Chaim (Keith) Freedman in 1960, aged 13.
Edited 2003
Most of the photos were taken between 1950 and 1955.







“Rozalia” 72 Princess street, Kew, Melbourne, Australia

Although I didn’t know my grandparents for very long before they died, my memories of them are still very vivid. The main picture of my grandmother (whom I called Nanna) that seems to remain fixed in my mind, is that of her in the place she loved best: in the kitchen at 72 Princess Street Kew. She always seemed to be cooking the favourite dishes of one or other of her children or grandchildren. My favourite dish was `Piroshkes’, a Russian potato pastry. I can see Nanna standing at the head of the kitchen table, sleeves rolled up , flour in her hair, pounding and twisting a large lump of dough with her muscular arms. I can almost taste the mixture of potatoes and onions from which I used to sneak a nibble, although I didn’t really have to do this secretly as Nanna never really minded. Anyone who came through that famous kitchen, with its inviting smells, was tempted to open the refrigerator or peek into saucepans to see what was cooking.

Keith and Neville in garden in front entrance to house.

Nanna was never lonely in her kitchen as it was always a hive of activity. People continually walked in and out, and although Nanna sometimes grumbled about the interruptions, I don’t think she was ever happier than when someone was there to watch eagerly as she worked.

I remember my grandfather (whom I called Pappa) coming home from work. He would come through the back door, almost hidden behind a pile of parcels. He rarely came home empty handed, but would bring home all sorts of things including cakes, fish, drinks or anything that he had seen during the day which he thought his family might like.

Pappa always appeared very tall to me and I would eagerly await the time when his large figure came through the door. He used to call me `Keithi’ or more often Chaim Kopel, my Hebrew name. I remember how he used to ruffle my curly hair and I would follow him outside to help him unload the car. I think I was more of a hindrance than a help , but Pappa never let me know this. He would load me up with parcels and I would stagger across the back lawn into the back porch and finally deposit my load in the little storeroom at the back of the house.

Keith and Pappa in front of rose bed in back garden.

This room was a source of mystery to me. It contained all sorts of suitcases, boxes and parcels of varying shape and size and always seemed to be dark and dusty. I used to often wonder what treasures these cases contained.

This storeroom also contained pickling and fruit preserving apparatus. Each year, at the appropriate seasons, Nanna and Pappa would each set to work, Pappa to pickle cucumbers and Nanna to preserve fruit which came from the numerous trees in the back yard. I can see Pappa on the back porch, sleeves rolled up. Wearing one of Nanna’s aprons, surrounded by basins containing cucumbers and a number of earthenware crocks. No one ever really knew his recipe for pickling cucumbers and many, including my father, have tried in vain to copy it.

I used to love watching both Nanna and Pappa at work and I would run in and out from the back porch and the kitchen where Nanna was up to her neck in fruit and large bottles. Eventually I think I tried even their great patience and would be sent outside to play.

Nanna making preserves in the kitchen.

The backyard was huge. On the left side was the gravel drive which led up to the big double wooden garage. This garage was full of `junk’: boxes, tools and goodness knows what else were piled around the walls and rested on top of a sort of loft formed by the rafters in the roof.

Neville and Keith playing cricket in from of garage.

At the side of the garage was a narrow woodshed. This was a source of terror for me, and I rarely entered is as it seemed to be teeming with thousands of insects. It was always full of various types of wood from thick logs to broken up fruit boxes. I can remember standing and watching, awe-inspired, as the gardener Mr. Wheatley swung the huge axe to split heavy logs. I remember how occasionally, when he wasn’t looking, I would pick up the axe and try my hand at chopping wood. However, after nearly losing my legs a few times, I gave this practice up.

Back garden – Tessie, John, Keith, Nanna and Pappa

The wood was used to feed the `Wonderheat’ fire in the breakfast room. I used to enjoy sitting on the floor watching, enraptured as the flames danced before me and I used to see all sorts of pictures, and imagine myself involved in many adventures, in the bright yellow flames of that fire.

Departure for Queensland – Nanna, Tessie, Keith, Pappa, Neville.

I can remember my grandparents’ house far more clearly than our own for we seemed to spend most of out time there. It was an enormous house, over thirty five squares[1] in area.



Plan of Rozalia drawn by Neville Freedman

The house was almost hidden from Princess Street by a thick hedge. On the left was the long gravel drive which led to the garage at the back. The garden was full of bushes, trees and colourful flowers. A short path led to the wide veranda which stretched right across the front of the house and a third of the way up each side. To the right the veranda led to a part of the house which had been divided off and let to an old lady, Mrs. Oakey.

Keith, Nanna, John, Pappa, Tessie – around the swing in the back garden

To the left the veranda ran alongside the drive to a French window which lifted upwards to open into the drawing room. In about the middle of the front of the house was the large, wooden paneled front door, surrounded on each side by a fine opaque glass panel. This door opened onto a short passage from which Nanna’s and Pappa’s bedroom led off. This was a large room containing a big double bed; a wardrobe facing it; a low ottoman under the bay window; and a dressing table with a marble top on the wall opposite the window.

Diana (Dina Burgess), Nanna and Pappa

On the opposite side of the passage was the spare room[2]. There against the passage wall was the cot which I spent countless nights in. I remember lying in that cot staring up at the high ceiling, from the middle of which hung a light supported by a white chain. Around the start of the chain was a circular pattern in relief on the roof, as there was in each room around the light sockets. I used to spend long periods after waking in the morning staring up at this ornamentation on the ceiling which never failed to hold my interest.

The end of the passage was marked by two curtains which were gathered at the wall. Here the passage widened out and became the lounge. This was a long gallery with various chairs and couches lining the walls. At the far end was the radiogram. This was a very old fashioned type which just looked like any cupboard from the outside. The gramophone was towards the top and under it were about a half a dozen drawers containing countless records ranging from Enrico Caruso and cantor Joseph Rosenblatt to `The House That Jack Built’ and other children’s records.

Lounge without gramophone – note rocking horse

On entering the lounge from the passage there was an opening on the right wall. Here, in an alcove, was a linen cupboard and other storage cupboards. I remember standing there while Nanna got out the fresh bed linen and towels and helping her carry them to the bedrooms.

Leading off this alcove were two doors: one which connected with the tenant’s flat and was always bolted; and the other which opened into the bathroom. The bathroom contained a bath; separate shower recess which has Nanna’s initials `A.R.’ in the terrazzo[3]; and basin. The toilet led off from the bathroom and was enclosed on two sides by walls which were frosted glass from halfway up.

Opposite the alcove, on the other side of the lounge, a door opened into the drawing room. This was the most beautiful room imaginable. The walls were painted blue; around the room were numerous richly upholstered chairs and on one wall an immense black floral couch. It was so big that when I sat on it I almost disappeared as I sank into the soft upholstery.

Drawing room (before mirror installed)

In the middle of the wall against the drive was a bay window which had a high semicircular couch around it. On the wall opposite this was the crystal cabinet which contained all sorts of fascinating articles. Under this was a green inkpot in the shape of a beetle and a bronze alligator nutcracker, both of which I used to enjoy lying on the carpet and playing with.

Against the front wall of the drawing room was an upright piano. Although I had no idea how to play it properly, I loved to spend hours sitting at it, banging away pretending I was a famous concert pianist, and composing all sorts of marvelous musical pieces; at least I thought they were marvelous. I can remember one particular day, not long before Nanna died, I was sitting at that piano playing, when my mother came in and told me to stop as I was disturbing Nanna who was sick in bed. I hadn’t been stopped for more than a few minutes when Nanna called out. She wanted to know why I had stopped. Before Mummy could finish explaining the reason to her, Nanna insisted that I resume playing. She said: “It doesn’t disturb me; as long as he is happy.”

At the other end of the room, on the wall opposite the piano, was a marble fireplace and a mirror over the mantelpiece. The mirror had two blue side panels to match the blue walls[4]. In the center of the room was a high round table. In the center of this was an article which aroused my curiosity. It was a spherical green glass ball. I often wondered how the myriads of tiny bubbles happened to get into the middle of it[5].

At the far end of the drawing room a door led into a small hall which connected with the lounge, dining room, and breakfast room. There was also a door which led to the pantry; another of my favourite nooks. In this room shelves lined the three walls right up to the high ceiling and were always filled to the point of overflowing with all sorts of food. I used to love coming into the pantry with Nanna to fetch some particular food; sometimes climbing up on a chair or ladder to bring something down from a high shelf which Nanna could not reach.

Grandkids: Moura with Melanie (?), Pappa with Wendy (?), Nanna, Neville, Tessie with Keith. On Pappa’s right – Jennifer.

The door next to the pantry led into the dining room, a very long room with a big extending table down the centre and a large black leather couch at one end. There was also a sideboard, and several desks and armchairs. I can remember often sitting at the table while Pappa and Daddy were engaged in business bookwork. I used to collect the many different rubber stamps and would imagine myself a big business executive as I stamped away on the business letter-heads. Around the dining room walls and on various cupboards were many photographs of relatives who I never knew: my great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, old photos taken many years ago in Russia.

The happiest time of the year was always Yomtov, when all the family gathered at Princess Street. We would get up early in the morning and go to Shule (the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Toorak Road). There Pappa sat in the middle of the male members of his family: my uncles Myer and Bill on his right and myself, Daddy and Neville on his left, Neville and I often exchanging seats to sit next to Pappa[6]. But on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when the Shule was crowded, I had to sit on Pappa’s and Daddy’s knee, being swapped from one to the other. When we stood up at different times during the service, I would stand up on the seat behind Daddy and Pappa, holding on to their shoulders and often looking up to the balcony on the right to where Nanna and Mummy sat. I was never bored in Shule, even though I could not follow the service properly. But I tried to, often asking Neville, Daddy or Pappa to show me the place. Sometimes Pappa brought one of his old books that he had brought from Russia (one had belonged to his grandfather). This was a big book which had a Yiddish commentary, and at times during the service he would turn around to discuss various explanations of prayers with two old men[7] who sat behind us, and they would hold lengthy discussions, reminiscing about the old days in Europe.

Even during the sermon I was rarely bored, especially when Rabbi Goldman gave the sermon, because he never failed to include quaint stories and parables.

Keith, Nanna and Pappa – front of house in the drive

After the service we would all go back to Princess Street where Nanna prepared lunch for us. I can remember many of these occasions, sitting at the table in the breakfast room. Pappa would make Kiddush and then Nanna would bring on the meal, after which Pappa `benched’[8], all of us joining in at the parts that were sung. Pappa’s favourite part was the last sentence נער הייתי .. “once I was young, now I am old” and he seemed to have a faraway nostalgic look in his eye as he sang this. After a while I was able to sing עשה שלום..” off by heart and gave an impromptu concert at lunch one day.

Neville’s Barmitzvah

Of all the Yom Tovim my favourite was Pesach. In fact Pesach was the highlight of the year for me. Preparations commenced a week before Pesach when Mummy spring cleaned Tanner Avenue[9] and made all her preparations and then went to help Nanna at Princess street. The cleaning of Princess street was an enormous task, but Nanna was not satisfied till every corner had been cleaned. Then came Erev Pesach. I would wake up early in the morning eager to get to work to help Nanna and Mummy in the task of bringing the Pesach dishes out from the cupboards where they had been stored since the previous Pesach and then putting the Khometzdiker dishes back into those cupboards. When all this had taken place the entire house had an atmosphere of cleanliness about, and all was ready for Nanna and Mummy to commence cooking for the Seders which were to take place that night and the following night.


I spent the day running from room to room watching the various activities and helping whenever I could. In the afternoon the preparations reached fever pitch: Nanna and Mummy rushed around anxious to have everything ready in time. Soon Daddy and Pappa would arrive home from work and Neville from school. The time had come for the preparation of the ritual items necessary for the Seder. The horseradish had to be grated; this was usually done by Daddy or Neville. The egg, the salt water, the onion, the chicken’s neck and other items for the Seder plate had to be prepared. But most important of all was the making of the Kharoset. This task belonged solely to Pappa. He alone knew the recipe which imparted the flavour which never varied from year to year[10]. He would sit down at the table with all the ingredients: apples, almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, wine, and would spend hours chopping all them up into as fine pieces as he possibly could. Finally when he had finished and the Kharoset appeared to be the right colour and texture, one of us would be given the honour of sampling it.

By late afternoon all the preparations were nearing completion and Mummy, Daddy, Neville and I would return home to wash and dress ready for the Seder. Then we would return to Princess Street and pick up Pappa to go to Shule. Mummy remained to help Nanna add the finishing touches.

When the male members of the family returned home there was an air of serenity and holiness about the house. The hustle and bustle that had existed all day had subsided. Nanna had miraculously found time to prepare herself and was dressed ready for the Seder. In the dining room the table was set up, the old brass candlesticks which were over 100 years old and had been in the family for five generations before Nanna, were lit in the middle of the table. In everyone’s place was a Haggadah. The table had extra leaves added to it to make room for all the family. Soon my uncles, aunts and cousins arrived and all was ready for the commencement of the Seder. The climax of the day had arrived. Everyone seated themselves at the table, Nanna and Pappa at one end on the big sofa which had been draped in sheets and numerous cushions. Pappa was wearing a big white Yarmulka[11] and slippers. Then when everyone’s cup was filled with wine, Pappa commenced the Kiddush.


Pappa making Kiddush in the dining room, with Nanna, Tessie and Moura, c.1950.

Throughout the Seder I followed in my own Haggadah. No one could possibly lose interest in a Seder conducted by Pappa. Everything he did he explained, telling us the reasons behind the ritual, often accompanied by amusing anecdotes. Every now and then Pappa would say a short prayer, `Hineni’ which did not appear in anyone’s Haggadah but which Pappa believed was essential. This was always a mystery to us but we never questioned Pappa as his word on such matters was sacred.


Neville, Tessie and Keith - next to the garage


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I retain additional memories of my grandparents which I did not include in my original memoir.

When we attended Shule together, it was understood that I would go up to the balcony where the women sat to visit my mother and Nanna. This was quite acceptable as I was only a little boy. It was a very special experience for me and I looked forward to it. I climbed the many wide marble stairs for three flights and quietly pushed aside the curtains which hung on the inside of the double doors to the gallery. The gallery was tiered and I found descending the steps of the rows quite precarious. Nanna and my mother sat in the second row on the right about three or four seats in. I sat either next to them or between them, I don’t recall exactly.

I was “shown off’ to their nearest neighbours, such as Mrs.Goldman, the wife of the much beloved Rabbi Goldman, who with her daughter Nina, sat in front of Nanna. The children’s services were held in the Minor Synagogue and Rabbis Goldman and Rapoport alternated in taken these services. I only went when Rabbi Goldman led the service as he had such an understanding rapport with the children. It was only years later that I developed a respect and friendship for Rabbi Rapoport and was invited to his home on several occasions for lunch after Shule. On one of these occasions another visitor was the British Chief rabbi Sir Israel Brodie, who had been rabbi of Toorak Shule until he returned to England in 1937. My grandparents were particularly close to Rabbi Brodie and I recall attending a function at the Melbourne Town Hall to welcome Rabbi Brodie on one of his return visits to Melbourne as Chief Rabbi.

My grandfather was a staunch supporter of Rabbi Goldman when controversy broke out between him and the Board of management. Pappa was a member of an ad hoc committee which included Nanna’s brothers Uncle Pinnie and Uncle Louis who sought to protect Rabbi Goldman’s interests. But the rabbi was obliged to leave the Shule and died not long after on Kol Nidrei night in Adelaide. When Jane and I were traveling in England in 1973 we visited Mrs. Goldman and Nina who had returned to live there.

I sat for a while upstairs until the appropriate point in the service when I was told to return to the men. Also attending that Shule was my grandmother’s sister who we called by various names which I always found hard to pronounce and only as an adult realized what the differences were. Her Hebrew name was Tsipora, pronounced in the Litvak fashion as “Tsipeyre”. Her Russian name was Cecilia, pronounced “Tsetsilya”. Her nieces and nephews used the shorter form Tsilya confined with the Russian for aunt “Tyotya” so she was “Tyotya Tsilya” – a real mouthful ! She sat towards the back of the womens’ section with her daughter Tybel Nathan, who always wore severe masculine clothes. She was unmarried.

Occasionally we would visit with Tsetsilya at her flat. I think it was somewhere like Armadale. It was rather old fashioned even in those days in the early 1950’s. We were entertained in the dark dining room, overshadowed by two portraits hanging on the wall over the sideboard: Lenin and Trotsky. Tybel was a staunch Communist, a Trotskyite; I don’t know whether Aunt Tsetsilya was also. Despite this they always came to Shule on Yom Tovim. I have vague memories of being very bored during these visits and would sit on the floor tracing the carved pattern in the dining chairs. After the great Breigus which broke out after Nanna died, we had no further contact with Tsetsilya, although we still used to see her at Shule with Tybel.

Although I described the drawing room at Rozalia I did not mention the many family gatherings that took place there. These usually included quite a crowd of people, in particular Nanna’s brothers Uncle Pinnie and Aunty Sarah with Uncle Louis and Aunty Fanny. I was quite fond of them all and they gave a lot of attention to the children present. Both Uncle Pinnie and Uncle Louis were great story tellers and I remember sitting on the floor at their knees listing to their yarns. Some of Uncle Pinnie’s stories were about his service in the Australian army during the First World War. Funny, but I don’t recall visiting them at their homes. Like Aunty Tsetsilya, after the Breigus we had no further contact with the great-uncles, although we used to meet Uncle Louis of all places in the men’s toilet at Toorak Shule and we exchanged polite greetings. But publicly, in the Shule foyer, we all ignored each other, and even if we came face to face with Tsetsilya, an occurrence we tried to avoid, no signs of recognition were made. It was all very sad and uncomfortable for a youngster like me to understand.

I don’t recall Pappa’s side of the family during Nanna and Pappa’s lifetime. Our close friendship with Pappa’s youngest brother Uncle Willie and Aunty Margaret and their children seemed to start after Pappa died. I do recall that Uncle Willie and his brother Uncle Pinkhas came to our house in South Caulfield to visit Pappa several times when he was ill, and they came there to sit Shiva for him. I think it was only for one day as he died during Khol Hamoed Pesakh which cancelled most of the Shiva. I recall that the rabbis told my mother she did not have to sit Shivah because of this but she insisted on having a Sheloshim Service at the Minor Synagogue.

When Nanna became seriously ill my mother insisted that she be cared for at home and would not hear of hospitalizing her. As her condition deteriorated, private nurses were required day and night. I was spoiled by the nurses and thought it all a game. I used to help by taking things to Nanna who was bedridden. I still bear the trauma of the only time Pappa lost his temper with me. I had gone to collect an empty bed tray after Nanna had finished eating in her room. I held the tray by both hands and skipped up the long lounge in the direction of the kitchen. As I skipped I bounced the tray on alternate knees. Then suddenly I noticed a strange jigsaw like pattern on the surface of the tray. It had a glass inlay which had shattered. I shamefacedly took it to the kitchen but met Pappa enroute in the breakfast room. He saw what had happened and began screaming at me – the Komesaroff temper was notorious. He certainly did not hit me, but I crouched on the floor and hid behind an armchair. It was ages until I came out and I spent the time tracing the pattern in the carpet. I don’t recall how it ended, but Pappa and I soon patched things up.

I related above how Pappa used to love shopping for all sorts of goodies, particular food. I recall certain items such as the soft drink “Creamy Soda” which was no longer available when I was older. There was also a selection of small goods “pressed meat” we called them, and I slyly used to tear off small pieces, particularly of tongue, when no one was looking. Strange that in later years and until this day I cannot stand tongue in any form.

Sometimes I went with Pappa to the Village Bell in Elwood where most of the Jewish shops provided our Kosher food needs. The women clamoured around the counter of the Greek fishmonger “George”. When Pappa visited the Kosher butcher he was apparently not satisfied to buy the merchandise on display in the shop and I would accompany him behind scenes, I suppose to select his particular prime cuts. I was terrified by the group of apron and headscarf clad women sitting on the floor out the back of the shop plucking the feathers out of the chicken carcasses.

We often went for Sunday drives with Nanna and Pappa. The favourite places of interest were up “in the hills”, that is the Dandenong ranges outside of Melbourne. There were holiday resorts surrounded by beautiful “Gum tree” (Eucalyptus) forests. It was a special treat to but “fresh laid” eggs and honey from the farmers in the mountains. In later years I recall going with Uncle Willie to visit his farm in the country (I don’t recall where) and seeing the egg packing and stamping process.

To be continued. September 2007



[1] A `square’ was a measurement of house size equal to 10 x 10 feet.
[2] The spare room had been my mother’s room before she was married.
[3] The initials `A.R.’ stood for Anna Roza, her Russian name, rather than her Yiddish name Chanah Raizel.
[4] This mirror was reinstalled at my parents’ new home in South Caulfield, but the blue panels were changed to orange.
[5] The glass ball is preserved by my cousin Diana Burgess.
[6] After Pappa died my father retained his seat.
[7] Mr. Seegan and Mr. Bennet.
[8] Grace After Meals.
[9] Where we lived.
[10] After Pappa died, the task became Neville’s and later mine.
[11] After Pappa died, my father used that Yarmulka and now I have it.