From the Rabbi’s Desk

Mishpatim

February 13, 2023 by • Tags: •

Snowdrops and forsythia and crisp morning breezes…Spring is coming. Mishpatim brings its own verses of hope and a big dose of that everyday pragmatism we call Judaism. Again, Judaism is not a religion per se, but a code of conduct. Religion can be found in all realms, from family life and our homes, to how we conduct our business deals. Religion is not separate from our lives, it is our lives, and Mishpatim makes this clear in abundance.

We are one. Ehad. Our souls are not separate from our bodies until we die. In life we turn to our teachings to guide us towards honesty, wisdom and gratitude. Torah teaches us – in relentless detail – to put a sensibility of all that is sacred front and centre. For this, I am very grateful.

Those first flowers blooming in spring, bulbs pushing their green spears into the ever increasing light, anticipation in the air reminds us we too live in cycles – daily, weekly and annually. May we be blessed with hope and with diligence as we do the work of our tradition.

Love,

Rabbi Lynn

Yitro

February 6, 2023 by • Tags: •

Yitro, the man of many names. Yitro (in English, Jethro) had seven names: Re’uel, Yeter, Yitro, Chovov, Chever, Keini, Putiel. Revenue Canada might have had something to say about all those names!

Most of us have our English names and our Jewish names, but we may also have pet-names, or titles (Bubbe, Zeyde, Rabbi, Savta (Hebrew, grandmother), Sabba (Hebrew, grandfather), Shver (Yiddish, father-in-law) and Shvigger (Yiddish, mother-in-law). We may also be known to particular people with a particular name, perhaps from our childhood, or a time living in another country. Noah, our Bar Mitzvah this week, will be teaching us about who Yitro was, and how we deeply honour his memory. Yitro in many ways was the father of democracy! Yes, even back then, thousands of years ago, Yitro held an ideal that we utilize to this day.More

B’shallach

January 30, 2023 by • Tags: , , •

I love Shabbat B’shallach, also known as Shabbat Shirah (Shabbat of Song) and Shabbat of the birds – and yes, I will be bringing my little birds to decorate the Bimah! Who can better sing than the birds in our midst?More

Bo

January 24, 2023 by • Tags: •

This coming Shabbat – Shabbat Bo – we will welcome Yardenne Katz into our kehilla officially – it will be her Bat Mitzvah. Bo – come – seems such an appropriate parashah for such a ceremony. Just as God begins the process of leading us to freedom, to redemption, so too will this daughter of covenant find her way, God willing, to come into and build her potential for leadership into our collective body.More

Va-eira

January 16, 2023 by •

With Tu B’Shevat coming up we look forward to our Spring festivals, Purim, Pesach and Shavuot not far behind.  Special readings, special customs and, of course, special foods accompany each celebration. I’m looking forward to that taste of dried fruits, that first hamantaschen, that sharp bite of a Hillel sandwich. Our taste buds are our storehouses of memories.More

Shemot

January 9, 2023 by •

We had a wonderful Shabbat morning service last week – and welcomed many of our students back from holidays and arduous work schedules.  Thank you to our volunteers who help with setting up, and helping in the kitchen – you are very much welcomed and appreciated.

We are now in the Book of Shemot. The Book of Names, but more commonly known as the Book of Exodus; that book that documents the people Israel leaving Mitzrayim, Egypt, and beginning that long journey towards the land of Israel. This book is the origin of that infamous question: Are we there yet?More

Vayechi

January 4, 2023 by • Tags: •

Vayechi – Jacob lived, we read these words as Jacob prepares for his death. Similarly, we read earlier in Bereshit, Chaye Sarah, the life of Sarah, and we then immediately read of her death. Our cemeteries are often called a Beit Chayim – a House of Life. What is going on here? More

Vayigash

December 27, 2022 by • Tags: •

This week we read Vayigash… and he approached.  Yehudah is approaching Yosef, his long-lost brother, who is now unrecognizable, as he stands in the garments of governor of Egypt. The clothes can indeed make, and disguise, both the “man” and his intentions.

Over the course of Vayigash we read about the negotiations of the brothers and Yosef to ensure their family members will be fed.  We read frequent references to the land the Israelites will inhabit – a gift from Pharaoh, the land of Goshen. Goshen will become a place of plenty after these years of famine. It will also be a place that is home, but not home. A displacement for years to come.More

Miketz

December 20, 2022 by • Tags: , •

This week – Miketz, Hannukah and a Simcha Bat – we are so blessed with joy this week.

As we light our candles this week I want to honour R. Lawrence Hoffman with a nod to an article I read last week. He wrote about the holiness of lighting Hannukah candles. I wanted to title this piece “the Uselessness of Holiness”, which of course could most readily be misinterpreted.
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Vayeshev

December 11, 2022 by •

The lights and music of Hannukah approach – here is the link we played at our Kabbalat Shabbat service last Friday evening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7MXDlPg_LI

This week we are in Vayeshev – Jacob settled, dwelled, in the land of his ancestors.  In the Biblical canon, the word לָשֶׁבֶת (lah-SHEH-vet) means primarily to settle down, though it can also mean, very literally, to sit down. Another word meaning to settle down permanently is לְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ(leh-heesh-tah-KEH-ah), of the root שׁ.ק.ע (sh.k.a) meaning sinking or setting. This word has the connotation of putting down roots somewhere. Sinking into the ground.For example:הָעוֹלִים הַחֳדָשִׁים בָּאוּ עִם הַכַּוָּנָה לְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ.More

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