Rabbinical Council of Victoria

26 Tammuz 5771
28 July 2011

RCV Programs Ensure No Rest for Rabbis or Rebbetzins

The Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) is continuing to offer professional training to both rabbis and rebbetzins in an increasingly wide range of fields as part of its efforts to provide an excellent level of spiritual support and pastoral care to members of the community.

In the past jam-packed fortnight of activities, a number of the RCV’s ‘rising stars’ completed an intense and lengthy clinical pastoral education course; rebbetzins attended a seminar on conflict resolution and shalom bayit (peace in the home); the RCV’s Community Reference Group met to plan a new project concerning mental health and poverty; and both rabbis and rebbetzins received training in the area of ‘cyber safety’.

One of the RCV’s key advisory boards is the Community Reference Group (CRG), which consists of faith and community leaders from across the Victorian community and meets regularly to assist the RCV in the running of current programs and to advise on appropriate future projects. The CRG provides the RCV with a broader perspective and assists in planning and implementing projects that benefit both the Jewish community and the wider Victorian community. At its most recent meeting, the CRG recommended that the RCV embark on programs to raise awareness of the issues of poverty and mental health in the Jewish community, in a bid to destigmatise such matters and to normalise discussion of those issues.

Understanding that behind every rabbi is a rebbetzin who provides an abundance of spiritual guidance in her own right, the RCV has continued to provide professional training to rebbetzins in the context of the Rebbetzins’ Support Group. Following on from the previous seminar dealing with domestic violence, rebbetzins explored ways of pre-empting family abuse in a session focused on the promotion and management of shalom bayit and also received basic training in the area of conflict resolution and mediation.

Finally, a lecture tailored for religious leaders on the dangers posed by the internet to young people was presented by visiting ‘cyber safety’ expert, Philip Rosenthal. The well attended talk provided rabbis and rebbetzins with a comprehensive understanding of the child-related risks associated with the internet and the tools to counter such risks, including exposure to inappropriate material, vulnerability to targeting by predators and peer pressure generated by social networking sites.

With the High Holy Days just around the corner, the RCV’s hectic schedule does not show any signs of letting up any time soon.