January/February/March 2017 Tevet/Shevat/Adar/Nissan 5777

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1 January/February/March 2017 Tevet/Shevat/Adar/Nissan

2 The President Presents Shalom Aleichem Owners and Friends! We re here to tell you about a couple of exciting new initiatives taking place at the shul. First, we have BITES Beth Israel Tanach Epic Study. It s time we became more fluent in our Bible! The way it works is like this: Find a group of 8-10 friends, give or take. If you need help finding a group, please let us know. Each week, we will send out the chapter readings of the week. You can get together at a private home, or at a Starbucks, or at the shul, wherever! All you need to do is go around the room and read through the chapters in the English. And then take a few minutes (up to you how long!) to discuss. On Shabbat, I (Rabbi) will offer an inspirational message based on the Tanach reading of the week. We will begin the first week of January with Shmuel Aleph: Chapters 7-9. We (Rabbi & Rabbanit) plan to visit and join a different group each week. Second, our chesed committee launched a few projects in last couple of months. Yasher koach to everyone who contributed and did chesed in the general community! January s chesed is Coats for Kids for United Way. Please bring in your gently used kids coats to the shul during business or minyan hours. You can now record your good deeds and join the Jersualem 50 Torah Project. What is the Jerusalem 50 Torah Project? The Afikim Foundation and the Government of Israel are writing a Sefer Torah to celebrate 50 years of the reunification of Jerusalem. They want you to buy a letter, but not with money. You reserve a letter with an act of Chesed! We have reserved a block of 180 letters in the book of Bamidbar which is the parsha that corresponds to the week of Yom Yerushalayim. Here s the link to reserve your letter. You just choose a letter and write which mitzvah you did or will do. It s that simple! jerusalem50.com/gd/ eyj0exaioijkv1qilcjhbgcioi- JIUzI1NiJ9.eyJfaWQiOiI1ODQwZjgyOWUzMTkyY2M1MTYzYTQ2Z TkiLCJpYXQiOjE0ODA2NTI4NDR9.27J7Z60bLJDtJ4fe0MtUByt1v0N -gzsomyrcpwut07m There are also two new Torah classes that will be held at the shul: Dear fellow congregants Despite the time of year when many members take holidays, some a week or two, others a month or two, our Shul continues to be as active as ever. Our programs also remain vibrant. Channukah is approaching in a few weeks, please check the bulletins and notices for details on our Channukah party. Rabbi Friedman is on his semi sabbatical; please join me in wishing him all success in the completion of his PhD. Invoices are being mailed for 2017 membership dues. Please remember to remit your dues if you wish to receive a tax receipt for this year. The board has elected to maintain our dues as per the 2016 amount. The Shul has an unusually high accounts receivable. This can have significant repercussions on our operations if these monies are not remitted. I urge those whose accounts are in arrears to pay in full or arrange with the office to pay monthly so we can continue to function efficiently. This includes membership dues as well as pledges/donations from our recent gala dinner. On behalf of my family as well as our board, I wish you all a happy and freilich Channukah. To our travelers, have a great time away and come back safe and in good health. Stan Kitay Beth Israel President. 1. BMW Beit Midrash for Women is back with a bang! Want to make history? Come join women of all ages learning together in chavruta style learning! In an historic Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon earlier this year, BBC added 400 women to the site. Let s join together to make history for Jewish women. There will be parsha learning as well! 8pm see flyer for dates Torah Class en Français - Do you want to practice your French? Every third Tuesday at 8pm join the Edmonton s Francophone community to learn Torah and practice your French at the same time. Men and women welcome! Also, January 27 th is International Holocaust Day this year we are partnering with Intercultural Dialogue Institute Edmonton to present the screening of The Turkish Passport a documentary on how the Turkish diplomats saved Jews of France during the shoah on Thursday Jan 7pm sharp, reception is at 6:30pm at the shul. We continue to have our regular classes going on, check out the flyers and website for more information on Pomegranate Women, Mishmar, NCSY and youth programs. And of course we have our annual Purim celebration coming up Superheroes and Princesses theme! Can t wait to see who the REAL Superheroes and Princesses are!warmest wishes, Rabbi & Rabbanit Friedman

3 Gabbai s Gab December, 2016 Director s Diary When I was listening to Rabbi Friedman s sermon last Shabbat, he informed us of something that really touched me and I felt it is worthy of some comment. He and Rabbanit Batya are taking a brief vacation to France to see some of Batya s relatives. Their flight plan includes a day in Reykavik, Iceland. Rabbi Friedman has made contact with the Jewish community in Reykavik whose numbers are in the range of 50 to 100. They do not have a resident Rabbi but they do receive a visit from a Rabbi twice a year. Our Rabbi and Rabbanit are using this opportunity to reach out and bring some Judaism to these people who are probably quite isolated from the rest of the Jewish world. The largest Icelandic community in the world outside of Iceland is in Manitoba. They are good Canadian citizens who take pride in preserving their culture and heritage. Some of the Icelandic Canadians were my clients and friends. However, I never met a Jewish Icelander. I am so proud of our Rabbi and Rabbanit for taking this initiative and I am looking forward to hear what they tell us of their visit upon their return. Congregants sometimes ask what they should do with siddurim and chumashim that have missing or torn pages or that are in damaged condition. Please bring them to me and will put them in a storage place pending a decision on whether or not they can be repaired has started and many of you have not filled in the consent forms we sent out with your previous statement Please do so as this makes our office work much more efficient and we will be able to keep your accounts up to date. To those who have Thank You! We have had many problems with our heating and computers - so this month we are sending out a MINI BULLETIN, as much more of the information that we have is in a computer that is under repair. Please bear with us! There is much happening in the next few weeks, mark your calendars and try and support the event that appeals to you.. We have had different Cholent makers over the last few weeks, Wow, each one so delicious, Thank You! If you feel you would like to come forward and make a cholent, just phone me. I would like to thank all the wonderful volunteers who have come forward to help in various ways the shul needs you, as we cannot run without your wonderful dedication. It is team work that keeps a Shul going! Todah Rabah! Luba. Lewis Wasel

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