Our Big Hero
Rabbi Dovid Slavin, the founder of Our Big Kitchen situated in the basement of the Sydney Yeshiva Centre in Bondi, has been named Waverley’s Local Hero of the Year.
Rabbi Dov Slavin introduces NSW Governor Marie Bashir to his son Shlomo Pic: Henry Benjamin
The kitchen, which has been visited by celebrities ranging from the Governor-General Quentin Bryce to boxer Mike Tyson, has been the focal point of a service catering for not just the Jewish community but for all communities in urgent need of food.
The kitchen has hosted Muslim groups amongst other faiths and has sent biscuits to Afghanistan for the Australian troops serving there. It has also been certified as a place that those receiving sentences in the court system to carry out community service can utilise.
Rabbis Slavin has others feathers in his cap which attracted the judges at Waverley Council. He is a chaplain of the NSW ambulance service, a member of the Ethics Committee and the Cancer Institute of NSW and a co-founder of the Gift of Life, an organisation that seeks out bone marrow matches for those facing certain death unless one can be found.
Rabbi Slavin, a father of four boys and three girls, told J-Wire: “I am humbled to receive this award but it would not have been possible without the enormous input of my wife Laya and the dedicated staff who run the kitchen on a day to day basis. I am also deeply indebted to the friendship and encouragement I have received over the years from the Yeshiva’s spiritual head, Rabbi Pinchas Feldman.”
Rabbi Slavin will receive his 2013 Local Hero Award on February 5
Dovid Slavin deserves many awards and accolades for his good deeds together with his much loved wife. I hope you are continued to be recognised not only in our community but within Australia. Maybe, Australian of the Year is in the wings! Mazeltov – you deserve it!
Yes he does Odile as does Laya. I have used the kitchen and would do so again if I could get people to help.
I think the word ‘hero’ is a misnomer
Hero?
hero (ˈhɪərəʊ Pronunciation for hero )
Definitions
noun
(plural) -roes
a man distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, etc
a man who is idealized for possessing superior qualities in any field
(classical mythology) a being of extraordinary strength and courage, often the offspring of a mortal and a god, who is celebrated for his exploits
the principal male character in a novel, play, etc