Chief Minister
: Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn
Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn BA LLB, our Chief Minister, was invited
to become the spiritual leader of our Congregation in 1988 upon
the retirement, of Rabbi Ronald Lubofsky AM. Building on the
foundations laid by his long serving predecessors, Rabbi Heilbrunn
has brought his own talents and warm welcoming style to St Kilda
Shule. He has motivated our Ministers, Board, the Shule administration
and all our members to focus on furthering St Kilda Synagogue's
reputation as an inclusive congregation where all Jews feel
at home. He reaches out to all without judging them or their
level of observance and warmly offers them opportunities to
enrich the Jewishness of their lives. He has endeared himself
to the entire community and his great empathy with people brings
joy to the many Simchas celebrated at our Shule while his caring
compassionate approach are a great source of comfort in times
of suffering and sadness.
Rabbi Heilbrunn is also an outstanding Chazan with an International
reputation, a role which complements his Rabbinic accomplishments.
Together with our Choir, Rabbi's renditions create an unsurpassed
atmosphere of beauty and inspiration in our services. Rabbi
Heilbrunn's Cantorial talents are widely sought and freely
put at the disposal of the Jewish community. He regularly
appears on the Concert stage or in our Synagogue's celebrated
Chazanut Concerts with other Chazanim, artists and choirs
from around the world to share his beautiful tenor voice with
his appreciative audiences.
Rabbi Heilbrunn is widely sought after as a speaker and lecturer
on Jewish subjects and often writes and commentates for the
media. Recently, Rabbi Heilbrunn completed a long and successful
term as President of the Association of Rabbis of Australia
and New Zealand and the official spokesman for the Australian
Rabbinate. In Melbourne and the wider Victorian and Australian
Jewish Community, Rabbi Heilbrunn stands out as one of our
most senior and respected Rabbinic leaders and spokesmen.
He serves on many committees, especially in relation to Jewish
education and communal affairs. His advice and counsel is
widely sought by our members and throughout the Jewish community
as well as the broader Australian community.
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Born in South Africa, Rabbi Heilbrunn was educated at the
King David Schools, Linksfield Johannesburg, the South African
Rabbis Training College, where he received Smicha (Rabbinical
ordination), and Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand
where he graduated with a B.A. in Legal Studies, Sociology
and Industrial Sociology and went on to complete an LLB. He
served as a Rabbi and lecturer in Jewish Studies in the Jewish
Students University Programme in South Africa for several
years.
Our Rabbi emigrated to Australia and Sydney's North Shore
Synagogue in 1979, together with his wife, Pnina, and daughters
Gita and Talya. Their daughters Estee and Adina are "Aussies"
having been born in Sydney and Adelaide respectively.
Rabbi Heilbrunn was for six years the Chief Minister of the
Adelaide Hebrew Congregation where he achieved great distinction
in reactivating South Australia's Jewish Community. He represented
the Jewish community in the wider South Australian community
at many levels.
Taking the lead from Rabbi and Pnina, the entire Heilbrunn
extended family are wholeheartedly involved in the life and
activities of our Congregation.
Rabbi's door is always open to all for advice, counselling
or just a chat.
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