Rabbi Emeritus John Levi, the author of this revised edition, is one of the notable Australians of his generation. The first Australian to be ordained a rabbi, he served Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne from 1960 to 1997. He was founder and past-president of the Council of Christians and Jews, a member of the governing body of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, President of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, an acclaimed scholar, holder of advanced degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity from Hebrew Union College, and is a Member of the Order of Australia. Levi also has a passion for history – for documenting in the most meticulous detail the first Jewish communities of Australia. It comes as no surprise that he has deep roots in this land. His great-great-grandfather helped to arrange the first Jewish services in Melbourne in 1839; his great-grandfather, Nathaniel Levi, was the first Jew to be elected to the Victorian parliament, in 1860.