A place to eulogise
The Metaher House at Melbourne’s Springvale Cemetery has been restored giving mourners a place to hear eulogies immediately prior to the burial of loved ones.
Rabbi Yaakov Glasman at the rededication Photo: Paul Topol
A ceremony was held at the site organised by the St Kilda Shule together with Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (SMCT) at the Jewish section of the Springvale Botanical Cemetery.
Rabbi Yaakov Glasman and Rabbi Phillip Heilbrunn officiated.
The original construction of the Metaher House was completed in 1940 and was made possible by the generosity of Raymond Ellinson, a stalwart of St Kilda Shule who became its President in 1946. in memory of his parents.
Among the speakers were three of Ellinson’s grandchildren, Gad Ellinson, Dina Burgess and Jeremy Rapke QC with many of his descendants present at the ceremony.
This construction was completed after St Kilda shule purchased multiple Jewish plots for five pounds from the cemetery in 1939. The extensive refurbishment of the Metaher House was a joint effort between the SMCT and Melbourne Chevra Kadisha.
The ceremony was deeply moving and will play a central role in the history and future of many Jewish families in Melbourne whose loved ones are buried in Springvale.
Phillip Dalidakis MLC represented Premier Dan Andrews who sent a message in which he said: “For families in Victoria’s Jewish community, this is an important spiritual milestone that honours those who have come before us.
May the newly-rededicated Metaher House stand for generations more, as a space of sacred memories and a monument to lives well lived.”
Also attending were JCCV President Jennifer Huppert, St Kilda Shule Emeritus Rabbi Phillip Heilbrunn, Shule President Anton Block and Shule CEO Rabbi Ronnie Figdor Director of Finance & Business Services of the SMCT Vince Salvatore and MCK General Manager Fred Grossman
Family members of those buried in the Jewish section of the Springvale Botanical Cemetery also attended.
Oops! did that include woman? Last article I read woman were not permitted to attend funerals because they were tooooo emotional. Sorry Rabbi Apple but I cried for what seemed forever and a day when my Bloodhound died. Lord have pity on your sensative servant.