Familyshul. org בס "ד JUNE JULY 2014/SIVAN/TAMMUZ/AV 5774 BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE בס"ד

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1 Familyshul. org בס "ד JUNE JULY 2014/SIVAN/TAMMUZ/AV 5774 BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE בס"ד

2 Walking outside with a handkerchief in my pocket on Shabbos is not WORK! Beitzah 33 My neighbour Mendy has a ritual every 2 nd night Yom Tov. At around 10pm, he comes over to ask for a light. Mendy, you really ought to quit smoking! I jibe him. Nah, mate, he responds, I really ought to remember to light the yortzeit candle before Yom Tov. The Mishnah states: [On Yom Tov] we may not produce fire from wood, nor from stone, nor from earth, nor from tiles, nor from water. What is the reason? asks the Talmud. After all, we are allowed to prepare food on Yom Tov including Shabbosproscribed activities such as carrying and cooking. Why can t we kindle a fire? The Talmud answers: Because we are creating. On Yom Tov, we are allowed to transfer a fire from a preexisting flame, hence why Mendy comes over to get a light for his Yom Tov candles. But we may not kindle a flame because that is creatingsomething anew. This piece in the Talmud resolves the common misconception regarding abstaining from work on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Rabbi, it s really no work for me to carry my tallis to shul. Why would G-d care? The answer is that it is not about work at all. I can schlep a table up from my basement when I realize that my regular dining table won t suffice for the extra Shabbos guests. But I may not flick on a light switch on Shabbos. It s not about work; it s about creative activity. G-d created the world in six days. On the seventh, He rested. What s up with that does G-d get tired?!? Of course not! On the seventh day, He continued His task of sustaining and maintaining the world, but He rested from creation. And therefore, on Shabbos, we too refrain from creative activity. Thus, creating an electric current by flicking on the light is prohibited, while schlepping a table is totally fine. The Almighty wants you to be creative! He created you in His image to maximize your creative potential six days a week. But one day a week, you must stop and reflect on who you are, why you are here and ensuring that you are not neglecting your spirituality. Shabbos! It s the most incredible gift the Holy One blessed be He has ever given any of His creations! Rest on it! Enjoy it! Savor it! And connect to your Source on it! June Sam Friedman Olga Levner Ilan Abramov Jack Feldman Darlene Bushewsky Gordon Bushewsky Iliya Oratovsky Irene Vinsky Leor Benjamin Jacob Yedgarova David Woolfson Millie Friedman Daphne Wornovitzky Irene Kaplan Joshua Segal Luba Allen Eytan Wine Howard Starkman Michaela Liora Friedland Joey Soifer Norman Wasel Michelle Marcushamer June Richard & Rhonda Winston Moy & Claire Wornovitzky Hymie & Miriam Lieberman Jeff Winterstein & Erica Solomon Lewis & Freya Wasel Shalamo & Liza Muradov Mark & Lorraine Stillman Mark & Miriam Siderson Leor & Melissa Benjamin Solly & Robert Pokroy Marvin & Freda Abugov Shmulik & Rebeccah Rosenblum July Aliza Asbell Amir Lehrer Roslyn Pokroy Marvin Soroka Frieda Bugis Barbra Clark Miriam Cooper Magen Stocker Carla Bushewsky Miriam Adler Tanya Kaplan Avital Wornovitzky Yuri Abramov Shane Asbell Sara Habinski Marlene Warhaft Nathan Kahn Joyce Galante Howard Goldford Toby Vickar Julien Feinstein Margaret Pokroy July David & Tanya Kaplan Alan & Orna Richter Gord & Darlene Bushewsky Rabbi & Rabbanit Friedman Sam & Michelle Marcushamer Brian & Fay Leigh Ralph & Nancy Hechter Garry & Marina Marcus The congregation is invited to the dedication of The Ron Bercov Torah Learning Centre Thursday, 3 rd July, 12:00pm (unveiling for Ron z l at 11:00am at the cemetery) BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 1

3 The President Presents Dear congregants. I want to dedicate most of my message to you in this bulletin to deal with the subject that has caused some angst among many of you. Your passion and loyalty to our Shul is appreciated. Yes it is about my recent letter about the new JCC moving to our site. I firstly want to apologize about my choice of words; in retrospect they did not portray what I really wanted to say. What we are proposing to JFed is an idea, a concept. Ours is one of at least 2 others JFed are considering, nothing has been signed or agreed upon. I believe that locating the new JCC on our site has a number of advantages; the major one being our location in the west end where a large number of Jewish families including children of all ages reside and would benefit from having a JCC in their neighborhood. We have a beautiful modern building that with some renovations would provide our Jewish community with what they need, a new identity, a gathering place for social events and many programs. This would enhance our city and community to entice new families and individuals to relocate to Edmonton. A major source of concern has also been the use of the word tenant in my letter. I will assure you that we will not sell out our building and congregation. It is imperative that Beth Israel maintains equity and ownership in this venture. Many of past and present members have been and still are generous donors to build and maintain our Synagogues. This cannot be ignored or forgotten. There are many details to work out. The first is for JFed to agree to our proposal and start negotiations. If another site is chosen, this all becomes a moot point. On another subject, I am appealing to all congregants for help. We need more volunteers for programs. We have a number of members who always answer the call when needed. They give generously of their time and effort and to those who attend programs, you can see their amazing contributions to the Shul. But many are beginning to burn out. We need new volunteers. We cannot provide programming without you. Hiring extra staff is way to expensive. A few hours by more members would be fabulous. Please come forward and be someone we can count on and appreciate. You will make a difference. Please don t wait and expect someone else to do it all. It is the key to success and survival. Thank you for your time. Stan Kitay Gabbai s Gab High Holiday Honours It is that time of year again. Although Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur may be several months away, planning has begun. The Ritual Committee is responsible for organizing the honours that are assigned during the services. This year, we are asking members who are requesting a specific honour to complete a request form and return it to the shule office. It will then be forwarded to the Gabbai for review by the Ritual Committee. A request form is enclosed with this bulletin. Please return it by July 31. Any member who is not requesting a specific honour need not complete the form. Although I encourage members to accept the honour assigned to them, I recognize the fact that some members decline. It would be of great assistance to the Gabbai and Ritual Committee if those members would return the request form and indicate on it that they are declining an honour. Of course, a donation would still be appreciated. After reviewing the request forms the Ritual Committee will make the decisions on assignment of the honours. Members need not wait for Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur to receive honours. There are aliyot to be given every Shabbat and Yom Tov. I look forward to seeing our members on all of these occasions and I wish the congregation a very pleasant summer. Lewis Wasel Rob and I want to express our sincere appreciation for all of the lovingkindness coming our way from our Beth Israel family during my recent surgery and recovery. We thank everyone for their well wishes, cards and donations, hugs and offers of food and assistance. We feel very held, comforted and blessed with your presence. We will keep you posted. Much Love... Sherrie Banks and Rob Wood BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 2

4 Director s Diary Hi All, If you weren t at our wonderful Beth Israel/Beth Shalom Lag B Omer BBQ, you really missed out on something special!! It was wonderful to see the two groups of congregants serving, eating, playing kickball and above all sitting with Rabbi Friedman and Rabbi Rose singing and clapping together!! Thank goodness the mosquitoes kept away until the end, although there was plenty of bug spray around!! Thank you so much to all the wonderful volunteers Everyone came to the table in the end, I must say at one stage we were pulling teeth for volunteers but you were there when we needed you! Todah Rabah!! I even got Rebecca Zabludowski cutting the hamburger and hotdog buns while Michael was pre BBQ-ing! By now many of you have received yarzeit letters I am so thrilled that we are able to get that going Many of you have still not given us all your yarzeit dates, so please please do so, we really would appreciate it. Another office improvement that has been made is that we are doing tax receipts on a monthly basis, and will be sending them out once at the end of the year. This will take the pressure off all at the end of the year when there is a mad rush to get them out it will be ready to go, and everyone will have them in time. Talking about tax receipts, as you can see we have sent out statements with your bulletin. Please could you settle your account where possible, or make arrangements with the office as to how you would like to pay. We are finding that where we are having a function and have to pay for catering/food in advance, we are carrying the bill and it is putting pressure on our cash flow. All discussions and arrangements with you are done privately and in confidence. Shavuot and the Lou & Edith Zabludowski shabbaton are around the corner. Please reserve early so that we know how many to cater for. Have a wonderful summer. Luba. BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 3

5 The Edmonton Hebrew Association Edmonton s JCC then and now In 1906, organized Jewish communal life in our city began with the incorporation of the Edmonton Hebrew Association. The EHA was Edmonton s centre for everything Jewish prayer, community gatherings, and celebrations. But the most important function it served was as focal point for the Jews of Edmonton. For many decades, the Edmonton Hebrew Association was recognized as the roof body and unifying force of the community. Somewhere along the line, however, we lost our way. We changed our name to Beth Israel Synagogue and began to view ourselves as parochially representing one segment of the Jewish community. Instead of being the focus, we opted to be just one Jewish organization in the sea of Edmonton Jewish institutions. Not only did we stop seeing ourselves as the mothership of the community, others began to also see us as representing a Judaism that was not theirs. Sadly, what began as friendly competition evolved over time to a disdain for our beloved institution and what we represent. The time has come to return to our roots and reestablish the Edmonton Hebrew Association as the focal point of Jewish life in Edmonton. We are standing at an important juncture in the story of our community. The old JCC has been demolished and the communal leaders are now looking to partner with an organization in town to create a new JCC. We believe that this is a chance to bring back our congregation to play the pivotal role it once played. We are not seeking to impose our approach to Jewish practice on the wider Jewish community, but we do see this as an important opportunity to create a feeling of unity and break down the barriers that currently exist in our community. For years, unfortunately our congregation has been relegated to the fringes of Jewish communal activity in Edmonton it s time we became an equal partner once again. Rest assured, Beth Israel Synagogue will continue to function with the same continuity and commitment to which you are all accustomed and expect. We value deeply the contributions of the builders and investors in our dear synagogue over the years. But we also recognize that community members beyond our walls have given generously towards our building and we would like to think of our building as belonging to and here to serve the entire Jewish community of Edmonton. This is far from a fait accompli. We have presented an idea to the Federation/JCC committee and have yet to hear back from them whether or not they d like to discuss the matter seriously. If they do decide to proceed, then we will have to come to an agreement that is fair and equitable to both parties. We need them and they need us. No, we re not doing this because we can t afford to keep the lights on (although the partnership would certainly help maintain our bottom line). We re standing at the dawning of a new era in Edmonton and we want to ensure a vibrant unified Jewish life and a sustainable Orthodoxy for generations to come. We believe that this is one way to guarantee these two objectives. Of course we wouldn t do anything without the agreement of the congregation. We have made a number of major decisions over the years. Collectively, we decided to move from 95 th street, and then once again to the west end. Democratically, we decided not to build a seniors home with the Lutsky money. This too will be a pivotal decision that the congregation will make together. We believe that the idea should be seriously entertained by the congregation but at the end of the day, it will be each of you who will get to decide if it is the right decision or not. Daniel Friedman Rabbi Dr. Stan Kitay President BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 4

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