This week we enjoyed the most wonderful Presentation Evening which proved to be a beautiful celebration of the Magid Campus in 2025. I would like to share an excerpt of the speech I delivered.

Hineni

Here I am. This simple one word Hebrew statement is rich in layered meaning and importance. It is an affirmation, a commitment, a statement of belief and philosophy. 

This sentence is a through point in the Torah. It is expressed by Avraham, Yaakov, Moshe and Shmuel.

It is used in times of challenge, in times of awe and on the rare occasions when God speaks directly to humankind.

When I thought of what message I could offer to our graduating class of 2025 this evening, I thought that this phrase offers a clue to how to achieve your potential by living a meaningful, contented and fulfilling life.

Hineni is an answer to a call to fulfil your promise. Hineni is a statement of presence and purposeful existence. 

I wish to break it down into the three words that comprise the English translation ‘Here I am’.

“Here”
What does it mean to be here?

“I” 
Who am I really? How do I hold on to my sense of self in a world that tries to shape me to be like everyone else?

“Am”
What does it mean to be? How do I live my life authentically?

Hine – Here

The founders of the School chose a school symbol of Kinor David, David’s harp sitting on a bed of golden wattle. This was to emphasise that our school is devoted to both a celebration of our Jewish identity and a deep commitment to our Australian heritage.

So what does it mean to be here? I take this as an opportunity to consider the blessings of being in Australia. Of course over the past few years the goldene medina has been tarnished by hostility towards our people. 

Earlier this year, many of you were privileged to hear from Eytan Chitayat of “I am that Jew” fame. Eytan talked to us about taking pride in who we are, in our values and connections and in what our community has uniquely contributed to our country.

At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, JCCV President, Philip Zajac recounted an anecdote that at an event put on in honour of General Sir John Monash – who is rightly regarded as amongst Australia’s most accomplished contributors, no reference was made to the fact that he was Jewish.

This is a glaring omission. Monash’s Jewish and zionist identity was central to his character and contributed enormously to the range of talents and values that paved the way for his incredible contributions to Australia in both times of war and of peace.

Students, your community has helped to build the best of contemporary Australia – we are the innovators, visionaries and philanthropists who have constantly worked to lift others up.

While Neo Nazis flexing on the steps of Parliament try to intimidate us and extremists will try to paint our contributions as self-serving “blue-washing”, the reality is that Australia would not be the beacon of democracy, freedom and mateship that it is without the contribution of our community.

You should be so proud of where you are from. Your country needs you to take your turn in the tradition of giving back and constantly building the home that you want to live in.

Please remember that wherever you tread the golden wattle will be beneath you. 

I – Ani

As Polonius says in Shakespeare’s Hamlet – “To thine own self be true.”

Tonight is about celebrating you. One of the things that I have always been so proud of at King David, is that our students repeatedly state that this is where “I can be myself.”

One of my chief hopes for you as you move beyond your school days is that you hold strongly on to this notion of who you are.

This is no easy task in a world that has commodified image and interests in a way that is unprecedented in human history.

We are subjected to somewhere between five and ten thousand advertisements on any given day. We are constantly being positioned to dress in certain ways, to change our voices and tone. To reject some beliefs and adopt others. 

You face a world where so much is presented in binaries and where nuance and true diversity of thought are sacrificed for group think.

Another contemporary affliction is the propensity to promote irony and scorn at the expense of beauty and wonder. Media messaging encourages us to dismiss emotion with a witty one-liner or meme.

This might be one of the contributors to a decrease in trust of others. In 2020 the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 62% of adult Australians reported having trust in others. However in 2024, in a Social Cohesion Report only 46% found others to be trustworthy.   

I know that you have heard Rabbi Hillel’s famous quote many times:  

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”. 

My hope is that you will hold on to the unique characteristics, ideas and values that make you your lovable selves. That you will continue to recognise that a full life is one that involves connecting with and building up others. 

Am 

The last part of the phrase “Here I am” is an instruction as to how we should live our lives.

It is an invitation to live with purpose, conviction and meaning. Last year, I quoted the late David Foster Wallace who gave a bleak vision of someone going about their day facing the banality of daily existence. However, Foster-Wallace showed us that finding the human moments in our daily lives is where we find meaning in life. He also suggested that we really must see learning as our life purpose.

You are graduating from a school that has encouraged you to put your hand up – to try new things and to be prepared to sometimes stumble. As you move on into this next life phase, I hope that you will continue to make positive choices about trying new things. Mostly I hope that you choose to live with authenticity – that you act in a way that aligns with your values. This is the basis of integrity. 

So there it is – Here I am – Hineni.

Carry your wattle and your harp. Be yourself as everyone else is taken, and live with authenticity and own your choices. If you do these you are bound for a fulfilling, individual and wonderful future.”  

Shabbat Shalom,
Marc Light