Yom HaShoah
This past Kabbalat Shabbat our beloved Arlette Baker spoke to us about her experiences surviving the war, in particular, surviving the loss of her parents at age four.
This past Kabbalat Shabbat our beloved Arlette Baker spoke to us about her experiences surviving the war, in particular, surviving the loss of her parents at age four.
Good morning dear friends. Every day we are finding new opportunities and new challenges. On Thursday evening we held a Yizkor service (which we do four times a year – Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot and Yom Kippur). Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon we were able to gather in a shiva minyan (of 52) to provide comfort and consolation to Marilyn Wolovick and her family members who had just buried their beloved mother Sarah. Our friend Rabbi Allan Finkel conducted the funeral which was live streamed, albeit over the wind, and then he joined us here in Victoria for shiva. Jewish geography meets technological advances! We will continue to meet on-line for classes and services.
Yom HaShoah
April 16, 2023 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: arlette baker, yom hashoah •
The last few weeks we have been struggling to have a minyan at our services, Friday night and Saturday morning. We need an in-person minyan to enable certain prayers to be recited, Torah to be read, and very importantly Kaddish to be recited. Please come and join us, as you are able, for our sakes, and hopefully for yours.
Yom HaShoah was observed this past Sunday with a very moving ceremony that also involved our beloved Arlette Baker. Yom HaShoah will also be observed this week at the Legislature. I will be there along with a number of other local Jewish representatives.
Even as Arlette spoke on Sunday, most of the memories we will hear in the future will be from second, third and now even fourth generations removed from survivors. We are, as Arlette put it so movingly, in each other’s DNA; we hold each other’s stories in our own. Even Torah embeds itself in our DNA, whether we come to our Judaism by birth or choice. What we learn becomes us; what we do becomes us. We are one.
Kol tuv,
Rabbi Lynn