BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

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1 Familyshul.org בס"ד OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 TISHREI/CHESHVAN/KISLEV 5777 BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE בס"ד

2 Shalom Aleichem Owners and Friends! Welcome once again to our quarterly Family Shul bulletin. What a wonderful gala dinner! Mazaltov again to the honourees, Gord & Darlene, Karen & Steve! And a huge yasher koach to Mike & Jodi for an outstanding job! Honestly, who knows where we would be as a shul without you guys! Rosh Hashanah is right around the corner. As we all know, it s customary to greet one another with the blessing Shana tova u metuka! May you have a good and sweet year! Good is self-understood, but what do we mean by sweet? The Pardes Yosef explains the greeting in light of the words of the Gemara (Berachos 48), Everything Hashem does is for the good. In other words, we might not always appreciate the Almighty s goodness, but we must have faith that even when things look bleak and challenging, everything is part of the good Divine plan. Nevertheless, says the Pardes Yosef, on Rosh Hashanah we ask Hashem to bless us and our family and friends with a good and sweet year. Not only should it be good given that everything He does for us is good but it should also be sweet. We should recognize and enjoy the goodness. It should be very clear how good and sweet things are! And so let us take this opportunity to wish everyone a Shana tova u metukah a good and abundantly sweet year!! From the Rabbi: I want to take a moment to mention that after Yom Tov I will be taking a part-time sabbatical. I ll still be here for daily minyanim (you re not off the hook from seeing those texts!) and still layning on Shabbos. But I won t necessarily be giving my daily morning and evening Divrei Torah, nor my weekly class. Shabbos sermons will be brief and more of a D var Torah. Certainly, if any emergencies arise, please do not hesitate to call. But otherwise, most other administrative duties will be on hold until after Purim. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers as well as Luba and Keren for holding the fort! The President Presents Dear fellow members Let us reflect on the morning after the night before. Our Gala 110 year anniversary and tribute dinner Sunday evening was spectacular. The décor, food, atmosphere, speeches and of course the comedians were all amazing. From my own personal experience and comments from guests including honorees and dignitaries were not only positive but exuberant and beyond. Funds raised will be directed to our Youth program which we continue to enhance and grow to ensure the future of our Shul. We heard personally from a Youth participant Shoshana Bernstein of her positive and wonderful experience in the different facets of the program. We also learned some interesting facts about our honorees Gordon and Darlene Bushewsky including Gord s dry and witty sense of humor as well as Karen Leibovici and Stephen Zepp. It was wonderful to meet their friends and family who celebrated with us. Never to forget or omit our dinner chairs Mike and Jodi Zabludowski. They worked tirelessly along with their volunteers to ensure the evening was as great as it was. Never complaining, always a positive attitude; the results are there for all of to enjoy. A huge shout out, Yasher Koach to you both. The High Holidays are fast approaching. Aliyot are being prepared and will be sent out shortly. Please confirm your acceptance with Gabbi Lewis. He puts in a lot of thought and effort to these honors so if you cannot be there, please let him know well in advance so he can organize a replacement and ensure smooth running of services. Service times and topics of Rabbi Friedman s sermons are available in our bulletins and on our website. We have had several simchas lately in our social hall and foyer. Our function rooms can be transformed into the perfect venue. We have lots of space, of course kosher kitchens and ample free parking to help you celebrate a memorable event. The Shul is always there for you, we would love to host your special events. On behalf of the Board of Directors, my family and myself I wish all our members and their families a healthy, happy new year filled with simchas and prosperity. Shana Tova U metukah G mar Chatima Tova. Well over the fast. President. Stan Kitay Shana tova u metuka, Rabbi & Rabbanit Friedman BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 1

3 Gabbai s Gab September, 2016 We are now in the month of Elul. It is a time to reflect on the year that is coming to an end and ponder the future as we usher in the new year Our personal lives are not the only focus of our thoughts at this spiritual time. We also reflect on the communal life and the state of our synagogue. In reflecting back, we have so much to be grateful for at Beth Israel. We have a beautiful synagogue with committed, active members although I wish there were more of them. The programs throughout the year are inspiring and well attended. The Gala a few days ago was a spectacular celebration of our 110 years. We still struggle to get enough men to attend our daily minyanim. Rabbi Friedman has been continually contacting members by text, phone and to make the minyan happen. It would be great to have the men of the congregation volunteer to attend at least one minyan per week. I would be pleased to hear from members volunteering or renewing their commitment to do that. In addition, the Ritual Committee is planning to appoint minyan captains who hopefully will secure greater attendance. There is much to look forward to in the months ahead. The spirituality of Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur, the joy of Sukkot culminating with Simchat Torah, the celebration of freedom at Chanukah are all in our sights. The serenity and peacefulness of Shabbat is an experience that we enjoy every week at Beth Israel. The Youth Program under the new leadership of Esther Segal is gearing up for a great year. The pews in our small sanctuary have preserved some history from the shul s previous building but are in deteriorating condition. In my opinion, they should either be repaired or replaced. Cost will be a factor in deciding what to do. The views of members about the aesthetics and practicality of the sanctuary décor should also be considered. I would be pleased to hear from members about volunteering for minyans and also about the furniture in the small sanctuary. My address is I close with a couple of reminders. When the Kohanim give the priestly blessing (duchen) on Yom Tov, please do not chant with them. The appropriate thing to do is to be silent and listen to them. The other reminder is that part of the observance of Yom Kippur is not to wear leather shoes. I wish the entire congregation Shana Tova Umetukah. May we all be sealed in the book of life and have a good year in 5777 Lewis Wasel BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 2

4 Director s Diary Hi everyone, You received your last bulletin at the end of June and here we are again the end of September, you cannot believe how much has happened in the 3 months. First of all as you know we have a new board under the guidance of Stan Kitay with a few new young faces with fresh ideas. If you are not aware of who is on the board, please go to our WEB site where it tells you everything or give me a call and I ll fill you in with all the information. We ended June/July with two weddings thus having two wonderful auf rufs at the shul how wonderful it is to celebrate these wonderful simchas. In August/September we had so many Birthday Kiddush s, Barmitzvahs, Simchat Bat, Brises etc. It is wonderful to celebrate with the congregation We look forward to sponsored Kiddush s. We started a Kiddush fund to help enhance Kiddush s that have not been sponsored. Please call the office with any life cycle event, we will announce this in the weekly . A donation could then be given to the Kiddush fund, for which a tax receipt would be issued. How good are you at making Cholent? We would like to have a competition in December & January. So please phone me to arrange for your date people will not know who made the cholent as everyone will be given a number and the congregation will vote. This will really add excitement into the cold winter Shabbat Kiddush s. So come on and join in the fun!! Yuri as you know is our All Stop Man but we do need volunteers to help him at the Kiddush s. Naomi Beck and Barb Mandel what would we do without the two of you always there to help out. I would like to start a roster of helpers for a Shabbat morning, this would be for when we have a sponsored Kiddush Please tell me if you would be available to help occasionally. Then of course there is the pizza making for Talmud Torah, where Freya Wasel is always on hand, otherwise Barb Mandel. Thank You ladies! Beth Israel is so thrilled to welcome some new comers into our family shul. The newlyweds Aleks & Crystal Aronov, Mitchell & Kelly Goldford, Nathan & Sara Light from Montreal, Michael & Karen Sadovnick from Vancouver, Adina Mincer from Toronto, Omer & Yaara Shabtai, Jonah & Jamie Mozeson. It is so wonderful to have you be part of our family! Our youth program JAM is well on the way Please get your children to be part of it! Take a good look at the insert and see all the amazing happenings Mrs Esther Segal our Youth Director is doing with your children, not only on a Tuesday but we are very busy on Shabbat mornings for all ages. The BITS program so ably run by Tsipora Reboh and a team of volunteers is amazing, you should see the little ones learning and playing on the mat. We do not mind if you drop the kids off as long as you let us know. The most wonderful successful Gala is over and WOW it was a great success, Thanks Michael and Jodi Zabludowski together with your team for getting it to run so smoothly, the shul looked like a concert hall, the social hall looked like a banquet hall and the food as usual was delicious thanks to Catering by Ed. The majority of you have paid but I must say there are some that have put us on the back burner. We have sent out statements so please if you could settle your accounts we really would appreciate it. Come in and see me if there is a problem, so that we can sort it out in confidence. All dues should be paid by now or at least an arrangement made to be paid, and the same with outstanding accounts. Please phone me before I give you a call if you have a problem it certainly helps the office to keep on top of everything. Yom Tov is nearly here. Thank you to Elaine Romanovsky and her team for putting together the yahrzeit book this year they have done a wonderful job, and thank you to all that responded and placed insertions. A special Todah Rabah to Pnina Staav for helping with the seating, it is not an easy job as it changes constantly. To you and yours Shana Tova U MeTuka Luba. BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE ~ 3

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