The community, which is based at the National Jewish Memorial Centre off Canberra Avenue, was formally constituted in 1951 and opened the centre which serves as a hub for commemoration, worship, education and pastoral care, in 1971.

Rabbi Meltzer said that until his appointment, volunteers from within the ACT Jewish Community fulfilled the role.

"The ACT Jewish Community is unique in that it serves both orthodox and progressive jewry," he said.

"They have joined together as one community and although I only serve the spiritual needs of the orthodox community, both groups work together in the social, educational and community welfare areas."

Although Canberra's Jewish population is relatively small, with about 1000 people of whom 200 are registered with the ACT Jewish Community, it is an active and articulate group that takes a keen interest in broader community affairs and embraces Canberra's strong interfaith and ecumenical tradition.

Rabbi Meltzer arrived in Canberra at the beginning of August with his wife Linsay and their two daughters. The youngest child was just two weeks old having been born in New Zealand during an extended layover on the trip from New York.

"Linsay is amazing," Rabbi Meltzer said. "She took classes in New York on how to be a Rebbetzin (or Rabbi's wife). It is a recognised role in the community."

While a Rabbi does not have to be married, it is recommended.

"I would find it hard to be a Rabbi if I was not married and with my own family. It would be hard to discuss gender issues and people's marriages and children (as a single man)."

The support of a partner and family is particularly valuable given the high demands of being a Rabbi, like any form of ministry, places on the individual.

"My responsibility is to my community and I am expected to be a public face as well as to be responsible for education, the provision of pastoral care, ministry and the organisation and administration of programs. You are in this role 24/7."

Despite its many challenges, the role is one Rabbi Meltzer has always wanted to fulfil.

"I first wanted to become a Rabbi when I was three years old; I used to go to the synagogue (in Auckland, New Zealand) with my parents and saw the work they were doing and, over time, came to realise the difference Rabbis could make in people's lives.

"I then realised I wanted that type of engagement with God, with other people and with the community."

Brought up in a devout family, Rabbi Meltzer became very active in his local synagogue at an early age. By his mid-teens the members of Auckland's Jewish community realised the depth of his commitment and a fundraising drive was launched to make it possible for him to go to America to study.

"I am only the fourth Rabbi to come out of New Zealand," he said. "Things definitely happen for a reason and there is a reason we are here right now. This [Canberra] fell into place at the end of our job search. It all happened with a month study overseas

Rabbi Meltzer said his congregation represented a remarkable range of interests and accomplishments.

"The community I serve is highly educated and includes senior public servants, former heads of departments and highly regarded academics," he said.

Education has always been highly prized in the Jewish community for two reasons. One is that as an intellectual attainment rather than a material possession, it cannot be taken away. The other is that it is the only thing an individual can leave behind them by giving it to another person.

Rabbi Meltzer is the first to acknowledge that as a relatively young man who stands between a 3000-year-old religious tradition and a rapidly changing world dominated by new media, new attitudes and new values, he faces some remarkable challenges.

"We call it Torah Umadda," he said. "It is a synthesis between the old traditions of Jewish learning and new science and academia. You are always looking back but it is with the purpose of going forward."

Torah Umadda is actually the official motto of New York's Yeshiva University, the 128-year-old institution Rabbi Meltzer has studied at for the past four years.

It has produced thousands of gifted Rabbis and teachers including the acclaimed novelist Chaim Potok, the author of The Chosen and The Promise.

Marrying ancient traditions with the demands of the modern world is not the only challenge Rabbi Meltzer faces.

Another, and possibly even greater one, is being the public and highly identifiable face of a religion that is strongly linked with Israel, a nation whose actions in the Gaza strip are attracting criticism around the globe.

"Israel is the Jewish homeland," he said. "It is the place we have been pining for [over] 2000 years in exile. However, while we can support Israel, we should not automatically be associated with Israel.

"Australia has a long history of Jewish settlement and the Jewish community has contributed to Australia in many different ways."

Rabbi Meltzer said this was the context in which people should make judgements about Australia's Jewish community; not what was happening in the Middle East.

"Both sides [Jews and Palestinians] have lost an incredible amount," he said. "There are no winners."

Correction: An earlier version of this story had a headline that incorrectly said Rabbi Alon Meltzer was the ACT's first Rabbi. He is the first Rabbi of ACT Jewish Community Inc.