Porush, Israel Rabbi
Personal Papers Archives
Rabbi Dr Israel PORUSH (OBE)
Housing: 6 boxes plus scrapbook Period: 1943-1988
Rabbi Porush became rabbi of the Great Synagogue in Sydney in 1940. One of the best known Jewish landmarks in Sydney, it is modelled on the tradition of the London Great Synagogue, and has been described as a Cathedral Synagogue, being built to accommodate over 1000 worshippers.
Rabbi Porush was born in Jerusalem, in 1907, of a family which stemmed originally from Lithuania, which can trace its family tree back to the sixteenth century. His thesis on higher algebra gained him a doctorate from Marburg University, Germany, before he went on to serve as a minister at Finchley, London between 1934-1940, during which time he married Bertha Link, a member of a family whose members included a long line of rabbis. On migrating to Australia, he took over the pulpit of the Great Synagogue, Sydney from Rabbi E.M. Levy, a supporter of Zionism, whose views were not all accepted by the 'establishment" who went to a Canadian congregation as his contract was not renewed. Rabbi Levy's predecessor was the controversial Rabbi F.L Cohen, once described as "the most intelligent Jew in the colony," and was also a musician, and was minister for more than thirty years.
In 1942, at the height of the World War II, when antisemitism was rife in Europe, Rabbi Porush was instrumental in founding Sydney's Council of Christians and Jews, which remained active from 1942 till about 1948, ceasing operation through lack of support from the Christian churches, but was refounded in 1988. From 1948, Rabbi Porush became president of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, which had been founded by Percy Marks in 1939. He continued as rabbi of the Great Synagogue till 1972, with the arrival of Rabbi Raymond Apple. The latter retired at the end of 2004 and was succeeded in 2005 by Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence. During his time in Sydney, Rabbi Porush also was a lecturer in the Semitic Studies Department of Sydney University. After retirement, he went to live in Melbourne where his advice continued to be highly valued. His papers were donated to the archive by his widow, Mrs Bertha Porush, who lived to celebrate her one hundred and fifth birthday on October 17th (2009) and died in 2010.
Papers: Council of Christians and Jews (1942 -1948); correspondence and articles plus memorabilia, World Conference of Synagogues, Jerusalem, 1968, Russian Jewry, historical notes for an autobiography and contributions to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, notes of sermons at Finchley and in Sydney, newspaper clippings and a scrapbook. the collection includes some letters to E.C.B. Maclaurin, first head of the Semitic Studies Department at Sydney University.
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