Familyshul.org OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2 0 1 4 TISHREI/CHESHVAN/KISLEV 5 7 7 5 BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ‫בס" ד‬ ‫בס"ד‬ “This community seems to fall on the shoulders of three or four people,” Jack said to me in exasperation. “Why can’t others step up and do their part? It seems that whenever we need something done, it’s the same people who are called upon! How can we expect them to do everything?” The Mishnah states “Those on a mission to do a mitzvah are exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah.” Rashi gives examples of people who are journeying to learn Torah or to visit their rebbe (Torah teacher) or en route to redeem captives. Tosfos asks where we draw the line with this exemption that would seem to imply that one who is involved with one mitzvah is absolved from carrying out other mitzvos. For example, is someone who is wearing tzitzis (or tefillin) not obligated to do any other good deeds? Or how about if I find a lost object and I’m in the process of trying to locate its owner, can I turn away a poor person who comes to my door asking for assistance? Tosfos concludes that the exemption only applies when the two mitzvos would be in conflict with one another. For example, if stopping on my journey to build a sukkah would thereby delay my arrival to learn torah, then I would be absolved from the mitzvah of sukkah. We are often called upon to take on communal responsibilities and we excuse ourselves on the grounds that we are already doing so much for the community. ‘Shouldn’t other people be stepping up to the plate? I’m already doing my part!’ Tosfos teaches that we are only off the hook if this new mitzvah would conflict with my current commitments. If not, then I should volunteer my services. After all, isn’t that what we are here on earth for? Some people are always going to be takers. They will always find an excuse not to contribute time, money and effort. Others are always dependable – you can count on them to volunteer and lead and contribute, time and time again. The Almighty provides the strength and resources when you are working to fulfill His mission. You can make this world a better place! Just keep raising your hand every time something needs to be done and G-d will help you make it happen! You can be that guy! BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ www.familyshul.or g 1 The President Presents Gabbai’s Gab Dear fellow congregants As I write this message, the memories of our gala dinner remain strong and reminds me of what an amazing Synagogue we are privileged to belong to. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, it was an evening of “the right”: evening, honorees, guest speaker, dinner chairs, caterer and all of you. We were all proud the way we highlighted our Shul, the hall and our congregation. Mazal Tov again to the honorees Esther & Howard Starkman, Jodi & Michael Zabludowski. To our dinner chairs Elaine & Ram Romanovsky, Mazal Tov again also, we are all in awe of what you and your committees achieved. Everything ran as per plan, speeches were all entertaining, amusing and on time. Eddie and Susan catered another tasty and beautifully presented dinner. The vibe was amazingly positive and upbeat. We will know the financial success of the dinner over the next few weeks. Thank you also to all the donors and advertisers for your generosity. Over the past year Beth Israel has been at the forefront of the Jewish Community. We have hosted many special programs, Shabbatons & speakers. As the High Holidays are almost here, this is the time to give thanks to all our staff and volunteers who have been working hard and giving of their time to make all these events possible. I am truly grateful for all your efforts. The bar is set high, so we can only get better each year! Some of you may be wondering what is happening with the JCC. I can say some discussion has continued, no decisions have been made. There are plans for a town hall meeting in October if there is positive progress in the next few weeks. We still have ongoing issues to deal with; membership is the key to our success. We are always trying to find ways to attract and maintain new members. Unfortunately a few families have relocated but we still remain positive and continue to attract new members. Volunteers are always needed. If each person/family helps with 1 event a year, we will prevent volunteer fatigue and keep our programs vibrant and “attendance worthy”. On behalf of my wife Rosemary, children Marc & Andrea, Andy & Sam, and Nikki, I wish each one of you a Shana Tovah U’metukah. May you and your families be inscribed for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year. Sincerely, Stan Kitay September, 2014 I am taking this opportunity to give a few reminders. When the Kohanim duchen, the chant is for them to do alone. Please listen to them as they bless us but do not join in the chant. It is customary to not wear leather shoes on Yom Kippur or Tisha B’Av. We are to afflict ourselves and this is a way of marking the difference between those days and the rest of the year. Everyone and particularly the men who come to the bimah on Yom Kippur are urged to observe this custom. I am always looking for men to do haftorahs. If you would like to do one please enter your name on the haftorah chart in the small sanctuary or contact me to discuss it. Men should have an Aliyah on the Shabbat preceding yahrzeit. Please contact me when you wish to have an Aliyah. I wish the congregation a shana tova and an easy fast. Lewis Wasel We have a mohel in town for the first time in 50 years! BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ www.familyshul.or g 2 Director’s Diary The last two months have really been so disjointed for me with having had knee surgery, it has really been quite difficult to catch up and get back into the swing of things – what with the Gala now Yom Tov all the wonderful functions in between, August and September have truly been crazy busy months!! Lillia, Keren and Yuri worked very hard to keep everything up to date – as I was only a phone call away, hopefully everything has gone smoothly! To those of you that were at the Gala must admit it was a night to remember – Ram and Elaine Romanovsky together with their team did the most remarkable job to bring the night together – Kol Hakavod to all of you !! We are still waiting to do final figures, but certainly know that it was a great success financially as a lot of work was done behind the scenes and so many of you supported the great event!! Then this last Sunday the 14th September our hall was transformed into a meeting place for Christians United for Israel. After seeing at least 650 people stand up when our Rabbi Friedman went up to the podium to speak, and what a delivery he made and then Pastor Scott Thomas spoke…… Well I doubt there was a dry eye in the hall after that!! Never have I felt more proud to be a Jew!! What a pity that there not more of us there – Sylvia Benjamin thank you so much for taking over the reins and helping with the Yarzeit book whilst Beryl Nahornick recuperated from her knee replacement surgery. Sylvia with no complaints and eager to help, got the team together and they all started updating the Yarzeit book. Now Beryl is finishing off whilst Sylvia is back at school!! What would we do without this wonderful group of volunteers!! While I am doing this letter, Pnina Staav, on her own is doing all the seating letters, quietly and systematically she gets them all done, Thank You so much Pnina!! Yes we have wonderful volunteers, no shul can survive without you, so please come forward if you would like to help us during the month. We send out a bulletin every 2nd month and would love you to come and help us in the office to stuff envelopes etc. Maybe you would like to help in the kitchen when we have to prepare for a big Kiddush, so yes “Come Forward” we always need volunteers….. Lori Forbes and her lovely daughter together with Chanit Stocker are helping us with the bulletin this month – Todah Rabah!! It is going to be sad not to see some of our old familiar families in shul this Yom Tov as they have moved on to other cities – but we will see some new faces !!! So welcome to all our new members….. Shana Tova U’Metuka Luba. On my United flight back to Edmonton I skimmed through the Inflight magazine and fell on an article on how the growing market of professional education can improve the workplace. The dean from one of the advertised business school says, “In life and business you’re either going forwards or you’re going backwards. There is no staying where you are, because everything else is moving forwards”. He’s not the first (or last) person to say this. We hear it over and over again. As we begin our new year we reflect on the past year and we ask ourselves have we moved forwards or have we moved backwards? We are about to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the new year, the beginning of creation of the world. In actuality, Rosh Hashanah is the sixth day of creation when Hashem created Adam and Eve. “And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis, 1:31). On all the other days of creation it simply states which day it was, “a first day, a second day, a third day...yom echad, yom sheni, yom shlishi...” and not “the first day, the second day, the third day...”, however on the sixth day the Torah states, “THE sixth day,” Yom Hashishi”. We know every word and even letter in the Torah is there for a reason. Rashi explains that all the other creations were brought into existence on condition that the Jewish people accept the Torah, which was given on the sixth of Sivan representing the sixth day of creation. Everything which has been prepared up until the sixth day is for the giving of the Torah. All of the days of creation were completed for the sake of the Torah. Were all of our days of this past year completed for the sake of the Torah? Have we made an improvement in our spiritual workplace by moving forward? Was there an increase in Torah in our lives? As we take out all the Torahs for kol nidrei, we should be asking ourselves do we know a little more of it than we did last year? What have we done to increase, to move forward in our Torah learning or practice of it? B”H, here at Beth Israel Synagogue we have plenty of opportunity to increase in our Torah study for all! I can attest that each one of you who have attended any program or any shiur throughout the year has moved forward. Yasher koach! And we can continue to move forward this year at even greater pace with our exciting educational programs. We continue to have daily and weekly shiurim from the Rabbi. We have an exciting new program geared to young women led by Rebbetzin Sarah Yeamans. We have Shabbat afternoon learning with some cholent for young men with Rabbi Will Yeamans. We have our Matan Program for mothers and daughters to prepare for their Bat Mitzvah on what it means to become a Jewish woman. We have our BMW (Beit Medrash for Women) different topics by different Rebbetzins which will continue after the holidays. There is ample opportunity for you to grab on and move forward in your spiritual and intellectual growth. Will you improve in your own spiritual workplace or will you be left behind on the ladder? On behalf of the Rabbi and the Beth Israel family we wish you all a shana tova, a healthy, sweet, and happy year filled with much meaning! Rabbanit Batya BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ www.familyshul.or g 3 October Kim Rabinovich Nina Hardin Ethan Richter Shana Fefferman Margaret Frohlich Mark Stillman Ed Lazar Eileen Cooper Nate Bernstein Miriam Siderson Zachary Tankel Yehudit Arnold Zev Macklin Laurie Mozeson Esta Karpulis Isaac Bushewsky Gabriella Kaplan Frida Pesin Itay Bavly Richard Winston Lawrence Rodnunsky Sam Galante October Jerry & Miriam Cooper Dmitry & Irene Kaplan Andrew Gergely & Aliya Spigelman Gary & Brenda Nahornick Avi & Sara Habinski Dave & Ivy Broesky November Clive Edel Allen Ken Soroka Navit Allouche Miriam Lieberman Faith Greenspan Rudi Shlomovitch Daniella Asbell Gabriella Tankel Gail Buck Sharon Macklin Nina Bernstein Murray Cooper Hinda Lipshitz Erica Solomon Cintia Kezerle Rabbi Daniel Friedman Hanna Pollack Ivy Broesky Sherrie Banks November Murray & Miriam Cooper Ram & Elaine Romanovsky Thomas & Nina Hardin To all our wonderful Friends who helped take Clive to and from Dialysis during the six weeks that I was unable to drive a very big “Thank you”- and as for the wonderful donation “Get well” cards sent to me during my knee surgery Toda Rabah. What would one do without friends like you - Clive and I are very blessed Thanks a million! Clive & Luba Allen BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ www.familyshul.or g 4 ….. BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ www.familyshul.or g 5 BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ www.familyshul.or g 6