As a diehard footy fan, David reminisces in an interview the year when the AFL Finals fell the same day as Yom Kippur. [Plus61J Media, The Age].
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After judges from the Sydney Beth Din are found in contempt of court by the NSW Supreme Court, David considers the wider implications of this precedent, and how Beth Dins need to adapt to their role when embedded in secular society [Times of Israel and J-Wire]
Writing for the Times of Israel, David discusses the Haredi culture he and his wife had observed and what he believes are crucial to successful dating and marriage. He states that while not everybody wishes to be set up by their parents, it’s important to note that shared cultures and several other factors in this system are important for a successful relationship.
The drawn out process of governance reform at Yeshivah over the last few years has not concluded, rather has reached an important step. If it were a construction project, we could say that we’ve done our share of demolition and excavation, and the foundation is largely complete. Now it begins in earnest. With a new organisational structure, broad membership, and boards with elected representatives, we have the basis for a fresh start – a new…
With the passing of a new Jewish year and the fresh spiritual energy this brings to the world, there is a palpable buzz around the Yeshivah as we approach something that has never happened here before: democratic elections. The intersection between democracy and Orthodox Judaism is a complex one that is still developing, and after a baptism of fire over the last few years, our community is likely breaking new ground in its transformation from closed to…
As the restructure process at Yeshivah Centre inches forward, and we draw closer to elections, the big question is: who will nominate to hold board positions on the new legal entities that will operate the school, shule, and other business units of the Centre? Three new legal entities will require over twenty people to put their hands up. There are a few challenges in taking the leap from where we are now to where we need to be. 1. Despite…
A wise friend of mine adapted the Harvard-developed negotiation model (seven elements, getting to yes) to articulate a hierarchy of three ways a dispute can be resolved: power, rights and interests. Power is a very effective way to resolve a dispute. For example, a child says “I want to do X”, and their parent says “no”. The dispute is very quickly resolved through the use of power. It works well because of the power imbalance…
Following the Royal Commission hearing into the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne, David Werdiger has written several articles. With a lot of the focus on the Jewish law of “mesirah”, David points out that criticism of the AFP’s handling of the Bali Nine is actually the asserting the very same legal principle. “Knowing that a citizen would be subject to a legal system far more severe than our own, the AFP would not hand someone over to that jurisdiction”….
Many posts and comments on these pages have had a go at some of the Orthodox Jewish institutions in Melbourne, such as those associated with kashrut certification and the Beth Din, for a variety of reasons. There is a recurring theme of people complaining that these organisations are maintaining standards that are unnecessarily stringent, and not consistent with those the people want (well, at least those people who choose to engage in the discussion). Whether…
The “kosher wars” have been reignited recently with the release by Rabbi Moshe Gutnick of The Kashrut Authority (I will refer to them as KA(Syd) to avoid ambiguity) of a statement regarding the standard of kashrut of Rabbi Rabi’s Kosher veYosher (KVY) at an establishment in Sydney. It should be noted that KVY is Melbourne-based, and KA(syd) has the closest thing to a monopoly on kashrut in Sydney. Indeed, the statement states that “[t]he appearance…
