From the Rabbi’s Desk

What a wonderful Shabbat service we had this past week. Jessica Havens and Joel Laventure were called to Torah for the first time, which is always a moving and momentous occasion for them – and for us. Again, mazal tov.

At our most recent Religious Services meeting we discussed making a few changes to our Shabbat services to make services (hopefully) more inclusive for our members. Some of these changes will be on a trial basis (September through December) and we invite your ongoing comments and feedback.

Friday nights: Once a month we will have a Kabbalat Shabbat service with a modified Torah service – one Aliyah. One Friday a month we will hold a Kolot Mayim Friday night dinner, where we will be reciting the Blessings together, sharing a meal and some stories. We see these efforts as building community ties.

Torah: Want to read Torah but feel a whole Aliyah (minimum of three verses is too much? We are inviting you to learn one verse and then another reader will complete the remaining verses.

Haftarah: From Bereshit in October we will be including an abbreviated Haftarah (reading from the Prophets). We will be inviting congregation members to learn the Blessings Before and After by singing along with us. If you wish to learn to chant a Haftarah in Hebrew speak to Rabbi Lynn – and if you would like to read the Haftarah in English, we invite you to also speak with Rabbi Lynn.

Welcoming, Buddy system: We are looking for people to offer to be at the door to welcome people as they arrive, and also to act as a ‘buddy’, particularly for those new to services.

D’var: Have you an occasion where you would like to give the d’var? Want to choose a particular Torah reading, perhaps to honour a loved one, and give a d’var that day? Call Rabbi Lynn.

These are a few of our thoughts as we move forward into the coming year. Team Kolot Mayim – we are all learners, all have capacity to share what we are learning.

With love,
Rabbi Lynn

This Friday evening we will be holding our final Kabbalat Shabbat service until August. I will be on holiday during the month of July. I will be in town, mostly, and am certainly available in case of emergencies. Hopefully all will be well.

This week in our parasha, B’ha’alotecha, we read about the lighting of the Menorah. As the light from the seven lamps cast light so too are we commanded to cast our light. This morning (Monday) I opened my texts to read a message from a dear friend in England. Avielah told me that a Chevrah Kadisha colleague had died. Melvyn Hartog headed up the United Synagogues Chevra Kadisha for many years – we met at a CK conference. He was a haimishe man, very warm and utterly committed to the work we both loved. Melvyn truly brought light into his work. Apparently, he frequently gave talks entitled, “Talking About Death Won’t Kill You.” May his memory be a blessing.

These days can appear very disheartening, as we read about more and more occasions when Jewish presence is being erased – from Pride parades to faculty associations, from University academic journals to concert settings. Kol hakavod to two of our members, Anita and Sari who have written letters to our local paper highlighting this ongoing and worsening situation. May we all be lights unto our nation, and may we each hold the presence of one other with love and with light.

With love,
Rabbi Lynn

As we think about Naso, our Torah portion this week, we cannot help but be utterly grateful for the courage, endurance and stamina of the IDF forces who were able to rescue, redeem and bring home four hostages. Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and 40-year-old Shlomi Ziv were all kidnapped at the Nova music festival, and were all rescued from a camp in central Gaza.More

This coming Shabbat is the first of June, and our Torah reading, Bechukotai, seems to reflect the optimism I feel when I say the word June.

We read in the opening of this parashah a section of blessings that hold deep reassurance for us, particularly in what may feel like such perilous times. We spoke at services last week about holding hope, about holding a sense of family with our people in Israel, and surely this hope is also found throughout our Torah.

On Sunday Joshua Torontow and his bride Marika Rathfelder were married; this coming Sunday, Ohad Rafeli and his bride Katja Chorna will be married. May their joy increase our own, may their joy increase our own joy. Here is a clip of such hope and blessing from David Zelller,z”l, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZoGKitZDA

With love,
Rabbi Lynn

I hope everyone had meaningful and joyous Sedarim – we all enjoyed our Seder here at the JCC. Many thanks again to everyone who helped. My kitchen will be back to usual on Wednesday – I always miss the bright green tablecloth that says Pesach to me every year when I unpack it from its box.

This year putting boxes in the attic was a little easier for two reasons. I had some help from a younger member, and we were also able to pass on several carpets that we had inherited from a dear friend who died years ago. Pets have precluded their use in our home, and recently two dear and much younger friends bought a new home – and hence with acquired more space for some of our treasures~

Letting go and acquiring treasured paintings, furniture and dishes may seem materialistic – but those treasure are full of memories. How meaningful to pass on those memories and stories to the next generation. So too, our Torah is full of memories and stories, our Haggadah commanding us to tell our story to our children and children’s children. Our stories come in many shapes, many sizes. We make these stories our own Torah to add to those of our ancestors.

With love,
Rabbi Lynn