The Sukkot - a traditional Jewish celebration held in October - saw the first sukkah built in the town since the gold rush and gave guests the chance to make traditional blessings. 

Guests came from Phillip Island and Upwey, Melbourne and nearby regional centres, with a rabbi and his wife also making the journey from East St Kilda to take part. 

Organiser Jackie Rozenfeld said during Sukkot, Jews spent as much time as possible in a booth known as a sukkah, with a roof made of palm fronds or other tree branches.

"The festival, also known as The Festival of Tabernacles by Christians, recalls the biblical story of the Jews wandering in the desert for 40 years and having only temporary dwellings, after leaving slavery in ancient Egypt," she said. 

"It also relates to the harvest festival in ancient Israel when people slept in huts to be close to their fields and thus maximise on daylight hours." 

She said during the festival it was also traditional to recite blessings over four distinct species collectively called the lulav and etrog.

“I feel very privileged to have hosted an event that brought together people from such a vast range of places and backgrounds," Ms Rozenfeld said. 

“This is also probably the first time since the gold rush that a sukkah has been built in Clunes." 

She said the Goldfields region had an interesting Jewish history, with Ballarat and Bendigo both having strong Jewish communities back in that era.

"Ballarat built its first synagogue in 1853 and for decades it was the country’s largest Jewish congregation," she said. 

"The current building, is the oldest continuously used synagogue on the Australian mainland and holds annual High Holiday services."

Ms Rozenfeld plans to make the sukkah celebration an annual event.

Monthly speakers, classes and activities are also being organised to connect Jews in the region. 

To be added to the database, write to jackie@shoesforfish.com or call 0418 526 146.