Rabbis recognised with local hero awards
RABBIS Dovid Slavin and Mendel Kastel have been recognised for their long-time community work, both taking home coveted Local Hero Awards from Waverley Council.
RABBIS Dovid Slavin and Mendel Kastel have been recognised for their long-time community work, both taking home coveted Local Hero Awards from Waverley Council.
At a special presentation, Rabbi Slavin, of Bondi’s Our Big Kitchen and Yeshiva College, was named the winner of the inaugural Waverley Local Hero Best of the Best Award (2011-15), which is handed out every four years, with a bronze plaque installed within the beach promenade, known as the “Recognising Our Community Leaders’ Walk”.
Speaking to The AJN this week, Rabbi Slavin said the award came “out of the blue” and was “very welcome”.
“It fills me with great pride of the contribution the Jewish community make to Waverley and that’s been recognised,” he said.
Rabbi Slavin, whose other volunteer roles include being chaplain of the NSW Ambulance Service and co-founder of Gift of Life Australia, said there are moments where “it’s pretty full on”.
“It could be seen as quite overwhelming,” he admitted. “I thank the Almighty that so far we’ve done well, and I hope he continues to give me the good sense and the good health and good counsel to continue to be there for other people, and to continue making the community proud.
“This is not something you do for the financial reward; this is something you do for the purpose and for the cause,” he said.
His inspiration and influences, he added, were the Lubavitcher Rebbe, his parents and his wife Laya, “the most giving person that I’ve ever met”.
Rabbi Kastel, meanwhile, won the annual Waverley Local Hero Award for his work in the community.
“It was very humbling to receive the award,” the CEO of Jewish House said. “We don’t do it for awards, we do it to make a difference, but at the same time it’s nice to be recognised for the work we do.”
Rabbi Kastel said he was inspired as a small child to do community work.
“Whether it’s hospital visitations since the age of 12 to organising events at 14 … it’s been part of my DNA from a young age,” he said.
Rabbi Kastel said the award is a team effort, and paid tribute to those around him.
“The success of any of my work has always been working with others,” he said. “Whether it’s our board of staff or my family or lots of different organisations that we partner with – together we can help people and make a difference.”
Speaking about Rabbi Slavin, Rabbi Kastel said: “I think he’s a wonderful man. He does a lot of great work in the community. We are grateful to Our Big Kitchen for a lot of the food they supply to Jewish House; it’s a great relationship.”
The rabbis grew up together in New York and settled in Sydney within weeks of each other in 1992.
Describing Rabbi Kastel as “a very close friend”, Rabbi Slavin said: “He’s got a very, very good head, a good heart, he understands communal matters very well. He’s a very hard worker, extremely well-networked.
“Well-networked is misunderstood very often. It doesn’t mean you know a lot of people, it means you’ve done the right thing by a lot of people. In this game, it’s how many people have you helped or been prepared to help genuinely. Mendel has excelled in that. He’s helped people during very difficult times in their lives.”
EVAN ZLATKIS
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