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Yossi Friedman
Rabbi Yossi's Story
Rabbi Yossi Friedman had no desire to be a rabbi. In fact, his grandmother actively discouraged him from doing so.
“A Rabbi is not a job for a good Jewish boy, and certainly not for my grandson!”
Nonetheless, after graduating from Sydney Boys’ High School and completing a Commerce degree at the University of NSW, he went on to study and receive Rabbinic ordination before serving for the next 15 years at some of Sydney’s largest and most well-known Synagogues.
Rabbi Yossi’s love of Judaism and community was cultivated from an early age. At just 6 years of age he was the leading child soloist at Sydney’s South Head Synagogue during the High Holidays. As he grew, he frequently led both youth and adult services over Shabbat and the High Holidays and in his late teens, was hired as Ba’al Koreh (weekly Torah reader) at the Central Synagogue.
With his grandmother’s advice resounding in his ears, Rabbi Yossi embarked upon a 3 year Commerce degree. But it was a chance meeting with a Bali Jew in Sydney in need of a Passover meal, that would eventually change the course of his life.
Realising that many Jews in Bali were without the basic Passover needs, Rabbi Yossi and a colleague decided to travel to Bali in order to provide them with an authentic Passover experience. With only a week to prepare, they arrived, set themselves up, and set out (via moped!) in search of every Jew to invite to their pop-up Passover event. After a week of nonstop husstle, they witnessed over a hundred people come to celebrate in an unforgettable experience that lasted until the early hours of the morning.
This experience inspired Rabbi Yossi to pursue Rabbinic ordination and seek to provide joyful, authentic Jewish experiences to the masses. He has since served as a rabbi in Sydney’s The Central Synagogue, Cremorne Synagogue, and in the Maroubra Synagogue and Mount Sinai College communities.
Together with his wife Chana Raizel and their family, they successfully energized and grew all of the communities in which they served, transforming them into welcoming, non-judgmental, and inclusive spaces for all. Yet, after 15 years of traditional community service, Rabbi Yossi is seeking to pioneer something entirely new to try and strengthen Jewish identity, boost the Jewish community and ensure Jewish continuity.
With many (especially young) Jews not engaging with traditional structures and methods of engagement, Rabbi Yossi is convinced that a more portable model for Rabbinic service needs to be tried in which Jewish ceremonies and experiences are made simple, relevant, personalised, and delivered directly to those who need them.
He has conducted:
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