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In 2012, in the hundred year jubilee edition of the publication of the Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library ‘Kadimah’, Melburner Bleter (Melbourne Chronicle), co-editor Arnold Zable recounted his experiences as a young Jew through his involvement at the Kadimah. Zable had, like many other Jewish children during the 1950s, grown up in Carlton, where the Kadimah, which at this time was situated in Lygon Street, became a centre of cultural Jewish life. Zable wrote:
“Many times I embarked on the four-block walk from my Canning Street home to Lygon Street to attend the [Yiddish] theatre on a Saturday night and Sunday afternoon gatherings, or to borrow a book from the library”.[1]
There are many stories like Zable’s; stories of children and teenagers spending their weekends both with their parents and without them at this Yiddish-oriented, secular-cultural organization. This website will explore the history of the involvement of youth at the Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library ‘Kadimah’ in Melbourne from its establishment in 1911 to 1990. This project will aim to uncover how young Jewish members involved themselves in Kadimah activities and will reflect more widely upon how the Kadimah was able to ensure its future in light of such activity.
The Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library ‘Kadimah’ was originally founded in Melbourne in 1911. It became Australia’s first cultural and secular Jewish organization.[2] Whilst it spent most of its early existence in Carlton, the Kadimah has since made its way to Elsternwick, following the centralised movement of the Melbourne Jewish community, which has gradually moved from Carlton to the St Kilda and Caulfield areas. [3] Particularly from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Kadimah became a centre for Yiddish life in Melbourne. It published the first Yiddish book in Australia the Oystralish-Yidisher Almanakh (Australian Jewish Almanac) in 1937, it was home to the Melbourne Yiddish theatre group, the Dovid Herman Teater (David Herman Theatre) and held concerts and lectures in Yiddish. The history of the organization is filled with groups and activities that were well-attended by Jewish youth.
As this history is being written about Jewish youth at the Kadimah, it is appropriate to present this history in a format that is most accessible for such youth. As such, I have chosen to tell this history through this website. My thanks goes to the Kadimah for their cooperation in this project. It is my hope that providing various photos on this website, that have been previously publicly published, will ensure that the history of youth at the Kadimah does not remain a faceless story.
Reyzl Zylberman
October, 2012
“Many times I embarked on the four-block walk from my Canning Street home to Lygon Street to attend the [Yiddish] theatre on a Saturday night and Sunday afternoon gatherings, or to borrow a book from the library”.[1]
There are many stories like Zable’s; stories of children and teenagers spending their weekends both with their parents and without them at this Yiddish-oriented, secular-cultural organization. This website will explore the history of the involvement of youth at the Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library ‘Kadimah’ in Melbourne from its establishment in 1911 to 1990. This project will aim to uncover how young Jewish members involved themselves in Kadimah activities and will reflect more widely upon how the Kadimah was able to ensure its future in light of such activity.
The Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library ‘Kadimah’ was originally founded in Melbourne in 1911. It became Australia’s first cultural and secular Jewish organization.[2] Whilst it spent most of its early existence in Carlton, the Kadimah has since made its way to Elsternwick, following the centralised movement of the Melbourne Jewish community, which has gradually moved from Carlton to the St Kilda and Caulfield areas. [3] Particularly from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Kadimah became a centre for Yiddish life in Melbourne. It published the first Yiddish book in Australia the Oystralish-Yidisher Almanakh (Australian Jewish Almanac) in 1937, it was home to the Melbourne Yiddish theatre group, the Dovid Herman Teater (David Herman Theatre) and held concerts and lectures in Yiddish. The history of the organization is filled with groups and activities that were well-attended by Jewish youth.
As this history is being written about Jewish youth at the Kadimah, it is appropriate to present this history in a format that is most accessible for such youth. As such, I have chosen to tell this history through this website. My thanks goes to the Kadimah for their cooperation in this project. It is my hope that providing various photos on this website, that have been previously publicly published, will ensure that the history of youth at the Kadimah does not remain a faceless story.
Reyzl Zylberman
October, 2012