Due to the Melbourne lockdown, synagogues were unable to host services in-person for Rosh Hashanah. Temple Beth Israel livestreamed their services instead.

Due to Melbourne's lockdown, people were unable to attend services in-person for Yom Kippur in 2020. Instead, Temple Beth Israel livestreamed their N'ilah service.

Melbourne was in lockdown over Yom Kippur and so Temple Beth Israel organised a video of their Kol Nidre Family Service

Sukkot took place during lockdown in 2020, and so Temple Beth Israel organised a booking system to visit their Sukkah: "Following the ancient ritual of Ushpizin, we invite you to bring your decorations, leave a note, shake the Lulav and smell the Etrog. Help us make our sukkah beautiful and filled with community spirit."

This is a video produced by Temple Beth Israel for Shabbat in the Sukkah

"Mazal tov to Craig Levin and Sue Silberberg, our Chatan and Kallat Torah for 2020! To celebrate their incredible contributions to our community, we took Torah to their homes. During our a Simchat Torah services each also shared some thoughts about the past and future of our community. Watch our video here: https://youtu.be/4mALluYXlis"

"JEWISH MEDICAL ETHICS TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER AT 12PM Commencing tomorrow, Rabbi Ettlinger will be hosting a 4 part series on Medical Ethics. This 1-hour lunchtime session promises to be fascinating! "What is permissible, what is not, how far can we stretch our understanding of science for the better good? As science develops, it creates ethical dilemmas, which we could never have contemplated 10 or even 20 years ago, never mind 100 or two." Over the next 4 weeks, topics will include: Prenatal intervention, genetic identity, pain and drugs and heroic measures in dying."

During the lockdown Melton School turned to online programming in order to continue classes. This is one example of a course which they ran.

We had a beautiful celebration for my daughter's Batmitzvah that was not how we imagined or planned it to be. Despite the restrictions, we were blessed with a simcha that was overflowing with yiddishkeit, connection, Jewish history, music, family, love and tradition.

Temple Beth Israel is hosting their 2020 AGM online

Sunday through Thursday, Temple Beth Israel hosts a 'virtual daily daven' online at 6.15pm.

" We join together with the youngest members of our community for music and engaging interactions designed to help families get ready for Shabbat. Join us at 10.30am every Friday Morning or if you prefer, you can view past episodes via our YouTube channel"

During the year, Cantor David Laloum at Temple Beth Israel hosted a Thursday Lunch and Learn on zoom, for people to learn Amidah together

Throughout the year, Temple Beth Israel hosted a weekly "Coffee and Conversation" on Wednesday afternoons, via zoom, with one of their rabbis.

This post advertises a webinar that took place, providing a link to the recording on youtube, of a 'Leadership in a Crisis' conversation with Ronni Kahn AO and Josh Burns MP, facilitated by Stand Up CEO Gideon Reisner

"In March, Stand Up founded the Jewish response | Coronavirus (VIC) group, a place to connect people who needed help because of COVID-19 to those who could offer it. After just a few days, hundreds of incredible volunteers sprung into action, helping coordinate food deliveries, delivering care packages, assisting other charities and so much more. One highlight was the creation of an informal 'buddy' system, pairing up people who were feeling isolated because of COVID-19 with volunteers who they could just have a chat and shoot the breeze with." This facebook post provides feedback from the program from people who participated in it.

"Yesterday, students at Mount Scopus Memorial College had the first of two opportunities to meet with (over zoom, of course) Hosna Hamouda and hear her story. Hosna was born in Sudan, her family fled when she was just one and arrived in Australia at the age of 5 after being in transit in Egypt. Hosna spoke to students about the challenges of beginning school without any knowledge of English and her experiences growing up in Melbourne coming from a Sudanese background. In the next session, kids learn more about the Sudanese community in Melbourne and will brainstorm ways to make a contribution! #StandUpStandOut"

"Yesterday we zoomed with Year 5 students at King David, exploring the connections between social justice challenges and Rosh Hashana. 🙏 What an inspiring way to bring in 5781! Here's hoping we can run this program again next year, but in real life this time! Shana Tova!"

Stand Up coordinated a community response to Covid in Victoria and NSW, connecting people and working to try to ensure that people had the assistance they needed, and that people were identified who could provide support.

"Last Friday, the Grade 6s welcomed Bronia Koperszmidt as their latest ‘Gast Oyf Shabes’. Bronia, who is a former Sholem Aleichem College parent and current SACCEC student, taught the children how to make the traditional Sholem Aleichem College honey cake recipe in Yiddish. This recipe, which Bronia has been using since her children attending the school, is the recipe of Mira Zylberman (the former directress of the Sholem Aleichem Preschool and bobe of Lererin Reyzl Zylberman and Lererin Dvora Zylberman). The students were also taken on a photographic trip down memory lane to see how Bronia’s family connections to the College related back to the students themselves and their own journeys. We hope this will instill in them the understanding that our Sholem Aleichem College families remain a part of our community well-after leaving our college."

"Last Friday, the Grade 6s welcomed vegan chef Michal Dawid Lachur all the way from Warsaw, Poland as their latest ‘Gast Oyf Shabes’. Michal taught the Grade 6s about vegetarian chef, Fania Lewando (1887-1941). Lewando ran a vegetarian restaurant in pre-WWII Vilna. The restaurant attracted figures such as Marc Chagall and Itzik Manger. She also had a cookery school, where she taught about vegetarian nutrition. Fania Lewando published the Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook (Vegetarish-Dietisher Kokhbukh) in 1938 in Yiddish. Many years later, it was translated into English and is available online. Michal led our students in a cooking workshop, where they learned to make a rice kugl and a prune tsimes. The students had a great time cooking with Michal and enjoyed learning to make Lewando’s take on these traditional dishes. A sheynem dank to Michal for joining us in the early hours of the morning to work with our students."

The staff at Sholem Aleichem College recorded a video celebrating Rosh Hashone

"This week our students have been busy preparing for Rosh Hashone! Our Grade 4 students enjoyed learning how to braid a khale through an amazing baking session, while our Grade 1 students loved baking delicious honey oat slice!"

This is a photo album of screenshots of Mt Scopus students doing Kabbalat Shabbat at home, over zoom, together

This is a short video of students blowing to shofar, to encourage the community to "‪Get excited because there’s only one week till..... ROSH HA’SHANA!!!"

This is a photo album of screenshots of students celebrating Rosh Hashanah together on zoom

"Our Primary Students have also been learning about Chag #Sukkot From a virtual Sukkah to LEGO demonstrations, this year’s #Sukkot5781 has certainly had a point of difference! #JewishIdentity #Gettingthroughthistogether"

"What does Purim have to do with Yom Kippur? In this week’s ScopusTorah@Home Mrs Adina Bankier-Karp will explain why channeling our inner Esther is key this Yom Kippur. #JewishIdentity #Gettingthroughthistogether"

"Rabbi Kennard passed on his Rosh HaShana greetings to staff, students and the whole #ScopusFamily at the conclusion of the virtual Student Leadership Induction Ceremony on Tuesday 15 September, 2020."

"Despite our community’s difficult circumstances Principal Rabbi Kennard is still able to provide an end of term message detailing Mount Scopus Memorial College Highlights for Term 3, 2020."

The second lockdown was an extraordinarily difficult time for Victorian citizens. Our social media feeds were filled with Australians and the international community celebrating their newfound freedom, whilst we were stuck at home, demoralised, and overwhelmed with the rising cases and deaths in our hometown. This article struck me because it was the only publication I saw in this time which accurately captured the loneliness and hopelessness that was felt throughout the state.

This is a post by Community Security Group (CSG), encouraging people to look out for each other: "Humans are social animals. We crave connection. As we spend more time in our homes, cut off from friends and family in a bid to stop the spread of the virus, the lack of physical touch can be mentally challenging. For people who live alone especially, this extended lack of contact may be particularly tough. But just because we’re physically distant from each other doesn’t mean we can’t still be emotionally close. Maintaining regular human connection is more important than ever as we navigate these difficult times."

"Introducing Rivkah Yurkowicz from Chabad Malvern presenting a simple step by step guide to braiding your holiday challah"

This is a video by Sassoon Yehuda Sephardi Synagogue of a "2020/5781 Pre-Yom Kippur inspiring message from Rav and Rabbanit Hassan, for our community."

This is a video of the 2020-5781 Rosh Hashana message from Rabbi Ben Hassan and Rabbanit Sharona Hassan for the Sassoon Yehuda Sephardi Synagogue: "We were delighted to have Rabbi Hassan deliver a drasha and inspire us for for the year ahead"

This is a weekly video message from Chabad on Carlisle to their congregation. This one is for Sukkot and encouraging people to donate to their charity appeal.

Chabad on Carlisle 'Cookoff August 2020': "A great team of very hard working volunteers cooked up delicious Shabbos packages today which will be delivered to isolated seniors. (Covid-safe protocols were followed). We may be physically distant but the love and care is always there! A big thank you to the awesome volunteers!"

On Tuesday 15 September Chabad on Carlisle held an online Q&A with their Rabbis, along with musical entertainment, for Rosh Hashanah

In this photo Rabbi Chaim Herzog of Chabad of Melbourne is delivering shmura matzah to Claude Schwarz. In the period before Passover the custom is to receive hand baked shmura matza for the seder night.

HIST30060 I have chosen to upload this article because I distinctly remember when the public fights about toilet paper begun to surface on social media. Initially, I found it hilarious. And then scary. And then kinda sad. And then eventually some combination of all three, alongside a healthy dose of embarassment at the fact Australians would behave in such a way. While I personally never felt the panic that led to hoarding goods, I know many people who did, and I also remember my housemates and I resorting to using paper towels as toilet paper for a short while because it was impossible to find in the shops near our house.

HIST30060 This is a meme saved several months ago (approximately some time during late Semester One) about the transition to online University. What social media platform it came from, and who the original author is remains a mystery. I have chosen to upload this meme because I believe it serves as an example (albeit a satirical one) of how the transition to online Uni has effected students. As a person who struggles with learning difficulties even during the best of times, this meme was a relatable representation of how I felt about University this year, and how challenging the transition to online classes was.

HIST30060 This is a photograph of myself and three other final year Undergraduate students at Ormond College, The University of Melbourne, taking a socially distanced group photo before "Club Dinner." During non-COVID times, this is normally a major event for students and is one of the most anticipated events of the year. Given COVID restrictions, the dinner was not able to run as normal, but students still took the opportunity to dress up in formal clothing and share socially distanced dinner and drinks. Personally, this photo is one of my favourite to come from this year featuring my friends and I, because it shows an adaptation to abnormal times. It is, I suppose, an attempt to find normalcy.

HIST30060 This is a very rough demo of a song I wrote and recorded on the 18th of March 2020, right near the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. Moreso than anything else, this song expresses my emotions about COVID come March 2020, namely the fear, insecurity, and dread. The first verse draws on the imagery of the empty University campus, and of the two-week quarantine period. The second verse includes a reference to an image I remember seeing from Wuhan, where a dying COVID patient was wheeled out of the hospital to view a final sunrise, as well as the videos from Italy of people in quarantine singing together from their balconies. The chorus is about the paradox of wanting physical contact but being afraid of breaching social distancing. The bridge references St Jude, the patron saint of lost causes and hospitals, drawing on those feelings of hopelessness about the rapidly degrading pandemic situation.

HIST30060: The Northcote Public Golf Course was reclaimed during Melbourne’s second lockdown as the #PeoplesPark. Members of the community had repeatedly broken into the course by cutting through the wire fence and bending it back. When I visited, the hole had been turned into a semi-permanent doorway and was covered in signs and notices such as this. The #PeoplesPark was a vibrant community space, with an abundance of picnicking families, groups of friends, dog walkers, and frisbee throwers. My friend described the space as a ‘slice of heaven’ – it was a blissful and joyous break from the stress of lockdown.

HIST30060: My suburb, Brunswick West, was marked as a ‘COVID-19 hotspot’ in late June. This image shows a line of people waiting to be tested at Dunstan Oval during the subsequent ‘Testing Blitz’. I saw several doorknockers distributing pamphlets and directing residents to the testing site. The Blitz aimed to test the majority of residents, and we had to supply permits at police checkpoints to leave the postcode.

HIST30060: Anzac Day was commemorated in a COVID-safe fashion. Some rose at dawn to stand at the end of their driveway, with many leaving messages or objects around the streets. I went for a walk and spotted several commemorative pieces in my area, including this ute with an electric candle and mat reading ‘Lest We Forget’.

HIST30060: A ‘Customer Notice’ at Woolworths in mid-March, explaining their new returns policy alongside a list of affected products. With half the shelves bare due to ‘panic buying’, grocery stores implemented new rules to avoid having to give refunds to people who changed their mind. I took this photo at a suburban Woolworths, packed with frantic shoppers and overflowing carts.

HIST30060: A ‘COVID-19 Productivity Plan’ in the making. In the early days of the pandemic, my girlfriend and I were excited about entering lockdown. An eventual lockdown felt inevitable in mid-March, so we sat down at our local café to plan all the things we hoped to achieve. The plan reflects the sense of novelty and strange excitement many experienced in the beginning.

HIST30060 This is an email from March 2020, describing the introduction of strict new COVID restrictions at Ormond College, the largest residential College at UniMelb. As the document describes, this meant that any students who remained on campus went into full "lock-in" -- they were not allowed to leave at all, not even for essential shopping as per the rest of the state. This caused many students to flee campus and end up in unstable short-term accomodation, rentals, and sublet's (myself included). This email goes some way to demonstrate the impact of COVID on specific communities such as residential colleges, and on students more broadly. Beyond this, it's personally impactful to me because this email signalled that I had less than a day to make the decision between being homeless and remaining locked-in at College. Like many, I chose homelessness and eventually ended up in a sublet with friends-of-friends.

HIST30060, this is a personal text reflection on my experience in the pandemic complemented by internet memes