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Because
we come from a place of wholeness and closeness to the
Source of our Being, the yearning is indeed a yearning to
return. It is not something new and unknown that we reach
for, but is something familiar, something deep within our
innermost memories. And so, it is Teshuva -- return -- to
where we once have been, to home where we belong.
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Illustration by Jackie Olenick (www.cybershuk.com) |
The afternoon of Oct. 10 will be a youth/elder environmental workshop partnered among the Baha'i and Mennonite Youth Organizations and Leadership Initiative for Earth (LIFE).
SUNDAY, OCT. 11: An innovative workshop for environmental activists. Involving the contemplative practices, wisdom and insight of the world's spiritual traditions, the focus will be on sustainability: maintaining inner balance while struggling for change in the world. Can we heal the world without healing the soul? Some Or Shalomniks are busy planning a dinner for environmental leaders and people of other faiths, as well as ourselves, to be held in the Sukkah on Sunday Oct. 11 as part of Visions for the Earth.
MONDAY, OCT. 12: Faith groups, congregations, community groups and other organizations will be encouraged to undertake an environmental action within their own community -- adopt a stream, clean up a park, do an environmental audit of a congregational building, begin a recycling program, or plant trees. This activity is partly sponsored by the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
For further information, call Visions for the Earth at 880-0606.
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Organic Service Supports Our Environmental Work
You are probably concerned about improving the quality of the food you eat. Even halachically, there are current debates about whether meat can be considered kosher if the animal has been injected with hormones or antibiotics, fed artificial food, and kept in confined quarters.
Or
Shalom can help, and in the process you can help Or Shalom
and the environment. Urban Organics is a company in
Vancouver that delivers a box of fresh organic produce to
your door once a week. There are individual boxes for $30
and regular boxes for $40. And now, Urban Organics will
donate $2 of the price of every order to Or Shalom. These
funds are, in turn, earmarked within Or Shalom to support
our involvement in environmental projects, through the
Shomrei Adamah committee.
A recent regular box contained 1 bag baby lettuces, 1 pint cherries, 3 kiwi fruit, 1 lb. Simka purple plums, 4 Valencia oranges, 2 lbs. white potatoes , 1 field cucumber, 3/4 lb. snow peas, 1/2 pint blueberries, 1 bunch baby carrots, 2 field tomatoes, 1 bunch of spinach, 3/4 lb. green bell peppers, 1 lb. apricots, 1 package sprouts and 1 canteloupe.
When you subscribe to the Urban Organics service, you will be taking a big step toward improving the quality of the food you eat. And, if 10 people get a box per week, then Or Shalom's environmental work is supported at the rate of $20 per week, or almost $1,000 for the year! More than 10 people have already subscribed. Have you?
For more information or to register, contact Lysa Smythe at 879-9332 or: smythes4@smartt.com.
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Hoshana Rabba at Sukkot This Year
By Alan Morinis
Or Shalom will take a different approach to the celebration of Sukkot this year. Details are still being worked out as Keren Or goes to press, but planning is taking shape.
Sunday, Oct. 11, is the festival of Hoshana Rabba. We have never celebrated this festival with any vigour, until this year, when a number of influences have made us see how appropriate it is to the time and place where we live.
Hoshana Rabba involves the traditional synagogue ritual of hakafot (processions) with lulav and etrog, using the willow branches to bring ourselves and our neshama energy into the cycle of rain and water for the earth. Traditionally, we marched in a procession around and around the bima (which used to be in the centre of the shul until nineteenth century Jews started seeing what the insides of churches look like and decided to move their bimas to the front), with a sefer Torah and all the lulavim and etrogim and brushing the floor and the bima with willow branches, all the while chanting verses written centuries ago especially for the occasion. These verses are all about asking for the Creator of All to bless all manner of creatures and beings and the water and the earth itself. Then, on the next day, which is the yomtov of Shemini Atzeret, we bring this awareness and concern for water into our on-going ritual by beginning for the first time in the new year to say the prayer for rain in the Amida.
Reb David's vision is to take the Hoshana Rabba ritual outside to an open grassy creekside or a place where a fresh water river runs into the tidal saltwater, and to use a combination of traditional Hebrew and contemporary English verse that we would create or find. The lulavim and etrogim (four species from four different bio-regions representing the four corners of the earth and, by extension, all life) would be used to honour and join our energies to the six directions, and then we would all join together in the hakafot (ritual processions).
At heart what we are talking about is reinvigorating our connection to the land and its cycles by enacting the earth/water rituals our Jewish tradition has provided to us. For more information, contact Reb David or the Or Shalom office.
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Garage Sale Was So Hot, We Raised $3,500
We prayed for a sunny day so that we could remove the hundreds of items from the basement in preparation for the Garage Sale on Sunday, June 21. And, yes, we had a hot sunny day.
Despite the heat, Father's Day, Dragon Boat Festival and many other events happening that day in Vancouver, we still succeeded in netting $3,500.
The 6 a.m. set up crew was beginning to fade by midday (Solly's cinammon buns had long since disappeared), but they were revived just in time by Kreplakh and the Japanese drumming of Tokidoki Taiko. John and Martha Barker and their crew of four to five kids served delicious hot dogs at and snacks at their stand. Hebrew School parents baked and sold tasty baked goods, which I think many of us ended up buying.
There's definitely a future for Avi Dolgin in auctioneering. Avi not only gave a fine shpiel on the items to be auctioned, but also modelled them for us all.
Many thanks to everyone who helped to make this event successful, including the early crew, the schleppers, the performers, the chefs, the food donors and the sellers, (many of who had to sit in direct sun for several hours), and Or Shalom administration.
-- Jenny Wright and the Garage Sale Committee
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Al Pasternak, right, makes another
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Jenny Wright with BBQmeister John Barker. |
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'Say Something That Never Yet Was' |
By Nadav Goelman
PARASHAT VAYIKRA: MARCH 28, 1998
Today is a very special Shabbat and not just because it happens to be my Bar Mitzvah and English birthday. This week we read from more than one Sefer Torah. There are three names for this Shabbat. First, it is Shabbat VaYikra on the weekly cycle meaning that this is parashat VaYikra and the beginning of the book of VaYikra. It can be called Shabbat Rosh Hodesh Nisan because this is Rosh Hodesh or new moon, which is the beginning of the Hebrew month of Nisan. It can also be called Shabbat Ha-Hodesh, which is the parasha that commands us to remember and celebrate Rosh Hodesh every month of the year. This portion is a small part of Parashat Bo and is read from a second Sefer Torah.
Because
it is Rosh Hodesh we say a special set of prayers, the
Hallel. The word Hallel means praise. Praise to G-d. Praise
to all G-d's power and all G-d has done for us and all G-d
shall do for us. And also my father's name Hillel comes from
the same root as Hallel.
In Parashat Vayikrah, one of the main points is the sacrifices or korbanot. I would now like to summarize the many different types of sacrifices: Burnt offerings, food offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings.
In the time of both the First and Second Temple, Jews used sacrifices for several purposes such as repentance. It was common on Yom Kippur and other days to sacrifice a sheep or goat to start with a clean slate and not have any grudges with G-d. Others would be used in the Temple for peace, thanksgiving and such. Also, several different offerings were used such as wine, incense, animals and birds. But after the temples were destroyed, we no longer received prophesy and no longer could do the korbanot, which had been the way of coming close to G-d. Then I realized that the word for coming close to G-d, karov, and korban had the same root, which means that the korbanot were just the primary method of worshipping G-d but not necessarily the only or the best.
I e-mailed Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi to ask this question: "When the Messiah comes and we rebuild the temple, will we do the animal sacrifices in the future?"
And he replied: "Well, in the future I believe that we will become close to G-d as we were with the temples before but not through animal sacrifice. We will most likely find a more divine way of thanking G-d."
I had a question for my father as I wrote this, which was, "How do we come close to G-d today," and he helped me to answer my own question. We go to shul, we visit Israel, we have a mezuzah on our doors and many other ways.
In the first line of my maftir from parashat Bo, it says, "This month will be the first of the all the months, the first month of the year . . . ." As you can hear, it clearly states that it is the first month twice, and after looking at the lunar calendar, I believe the reason for this repetition is that the people most likely counted time by something that had bearing on their lives. They knew the seasons in the year, when to farm and when to get warm clothes and so forth, but now they realized that there was a lunar repetitive cycle to follow. They were now told to follow the new moons on the monthly cycle and the journey of the sun on the solar calendar. This shows that we use both lunar and solar rather than just one or the other.
I would like to close with a few quotes from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach on this parasha. He makes a play on the word Rosh Hodesh, which means new month. Reb Shlomo calls it instead Rosh Hadash or "new head", meaning that every month we can become a new person. I would like to read a short teaching by Reb Shlomo which is also found in your booklets: "We, Am Yisrael, have so much strength. God tells us "Ha-Hodesh hazeh lachem -- This month is for you . . ." This means God gave time into our hands. We have power over the past and we have power over the future and we have power over the present. Time is in our hands. The secret of Am Yisrael is to know exactly when to talk about the past, when to talk about the future, and when to talk about the present. Unfortunately, in the past few years, instead of talking about the present and the future, we are always talking about the past. I know myself why we still have not been able to really penetrate the Torah into Am Yisrael. Because we, who are supposed to be little Torah scholars, are always talking about the past. The people who are not so religious are fed up already. They want to hear something new."
"Bar Mitzvah boy, this hour should mamash be "Ha HIDUSH hazeh -- this NEWNESS is for you." That you should mamash say to Am Yisrael what we have never yet heard . . . to say something that never yet was."
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Give Blessings Whenever Possible |
By Elisha Bandel
PARASHAT BALAK: JULY 11, 1998
In this parsha, Balak was the king of Moav when the Israelites were camped on its border. Balak had seen and heard how strong the Israelites were and he became frightened of them. Therefore, he sent messengers to Bilaam, who was a known magician and seer, inviting him to come and curse the Israelites so that his soldiers could beat them in a war.
The messengers returned to Balak and reported that Bilaam refused to go. Balak tried to flatter Bilaam by sending messengers who were higher in rank and more powerful. They were willing to give him great honours. Bilaam said, "Even if Balak would give me his whole palace full of gold and silver, I could not go against the word of G-d." He invited them to stay the night and in the morning he would give them his answer. That night, G-d said to Bilaam, "Go with them but speak only the words that I put in your mouth."
While
he was travelling, Bilaam's she-donkey suddenly stopped
because only she could see an angel with a sword standing in
the road. Bilaam whipped the donkey but she refused to move.
This happened two more times. On the third time, Hashem gave
the donkey the gift of speech and she said, "Why did you hit
me these three times?" Finally, Hashem gave Bilaam the
ability to really see the angel, who said that if the donkey
hadn't stopped, Bilaam would have been killed.
When Bilaam arrived at Balak's palace, they had a great feast. The next day, they went to the Israelites on the border of Moav. Bilaam told Balak to build seven altars and sacrifice a bull and a ram on each altar. "I will go away and wait to see what G-d will tell me." When Bilaam returned, he opened his mouth to curse the Israelites and instead he blessed them. Balak was furious and insisted they try once more. The next day, Bilaam opened his mouth to curse and again a blessing came out. Balak insisted on one more try. After a third blessing, Balak gave up and Bilaam went home.
This parsha seems to be a lot about curses and blessings. So I asked myself, what's the big deal about curses and blessings. They are just words and they can't really physically hurt you. But I guess they might hurt you mentally. Then I realized that words can be very powerful and can even make you feel that those words can come true.
A curse is when you wish harm will come to someone, such as "May you die a horrible and bloody death." A blessing is when you wish good things will happen to someone, such as "May you live a long and fruitful life."
It's not so much what the words are but rather the feelings behind the words. A world in which everyone was cursing would be filled with hate and anger. But a world in which everyone was blessing each other would be filled with love and happiness. So that's why it's important to give blessings to each other whenever possible.
Bilaam was actually an interesting man. He came from the East and was well known for doing magic and sorcery. Being a magician, Bilaam knew how to create illusions and could visually deceive people. I've known some of that through the card tricks that I've done.
So,how did this man, who lived in a world that believed in magic and sorcery and got rewarded for it, wind up blessing the Israelites? Bilaam must have had some kind of conscience because each time the messengers from Balak came, Bilaam said he couldn't do anything unless he first talked to G-d. "Even if Balak offers me all the gold and silver in his palace, I can only speak the words that G-d tells me." After several attempts of trying to curse the Israelites and those attempts turned into blessings, he finally felt the spirit of G-d. He was able to feel like he was a good person, kind, liking people, making people happy. He saw the beauty of the Israelites living side by side in peace and harmony. And that's when he says "Mah Tovu, Ohalecha Yaakov, Mishkenotecha, Yisrael" -- How good are your tents Jacob, your dwelling places Israel.
Bilaam was a prophet during those few moments when he blessed Israel. He saw and spoke truth and realized that magic and sorcery was not a good life. But he couldn't hold on to it. Later in his own land, he returned to practising magic. Most of the interpreters of parshat Balak describe Bilaam as a bad person. But I feel that he was both good and bad.
Bilaam was a lot like people I know. I really don't know anybody who is either all bad or all good. Sometimes I foul up. But sometimes I'm nice to people. The key is to try to be more nice than to foul up. I think that is the main thing to remember when trying to be a good person. Shabbat Shalom.
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Safta's Lesson: Being a Jew is How You Live Your Life
By Geoffrey Katz
Excerpts from a Hesped (Eulogy) for Roizeh bat Reyzel vYehuda Mordecai (Rose Gottlieb) on May 8 in Ottawa.
My grandparents, Roizeh and Dovid, whom their "modern" friends called Rose and Dave, and whom I called Safta and Saba (grandmother and grandfather), arrived in Montreal in 1936 from Berlin. After they managed to establish themselves, they opened a kosher butcher shop in Montreal and ran it for years.
When she filled orders for poor clients, Safta would say to Saba, "This one asked for a quarter-pound but she meant a half-pound." And Saba would say, "How can you have soup without a soupbone?" And they would add these things into the order.
In the days before holidays (the high holidays, Passover, etc.), Safta would work 36 or 48 hours without sleep filling orders -- then go home and prepare for her own holiday. And that preparation typically included five meat dishes, four vegetable dishes, cakes and pies, and more.
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It happened once, during the early 1930s while my grandparents were still living in Berlin, that Safta got wind of a planned attack on all Jewish businesses in the district where they had their butcher shop. There was to be a military parade just before the time of the attack. Jews were not allowed to watch these parades; those who were caught watching would "disappear." Safta knew that the official with the power to stop the attack would be in that parade. She had no other access to him but at that time. What did she do? She went to the parade. When the high military official on a high prancing horse was about level with her in the procession, Safta dashed out to him, grabbed the reins of the horse -- before any of the guards were able to catch her -- and said to the official in impeccable German, "This attack is going to happen. You have the power to stop it. Please don't let it happen."
The official was amazed. He yelled, "What are you, crazy?! You stupid woman, you could be killed running out like this to me here." But as he yanked his horse free and the guards came running up, he said to her, "Come to my office tomorrow." Well, she was there at the appointed hour and because of her action the attack did not happen. That was the character of Roizeh. Utterly determined, fearless when necessary even in the valley of the shadow of death.
When she was in her teens, still living in Poland, Roizeh used to smuggle sugar over the Czechoslovak-Polish border with her brothers Leo and Hymik. The unrefined sugar was prepared in four kilogram cones. There was a bridge they had to run across carrying these heavy unwieldy blocks. One time, they were challenged by Polish border guards. Leo was frightened and dropped a block of this sugar over the side of the bridge. The block hit a rock with a bang that sounded like a gunshot. The border guards took off like terrified mice. Roizeh laughed and laughed. And laughed at the memory as she told it to me.
Safta always lived in the present. She always faced the challenges of the day in the moment. Memories were dead.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: Judaism is not in books. It is in the living, it is what and how we live that is Judaism. He writes, "Judaism is not only the adherence to particular doctrines and observances but primarily the living in the spiritual order of the Jewish people, the living in the Jews of the past and with the Jews of the present . . ." And this is what being a Jew was for Safta: it was not some old stories and fearful memories; being a Jew was alive and present, it was how you lived your life as you bought your groceries, cleaned and kept your house. It was in the keeping of the festivals and the Sabbath.
So this is Safta's teaching to me, to all of us. Many Jews today have a tendency to misery; we stand in continuous judgement of each other. These are perfectly understandable for a people that only 50 years ago lost one-third of our population to mass murder, among them most of the scholars and teachers. But Safta says to us, she would say now I think if she could put it into words: "It's done. It's history. We have grieved and mourned. But now: You live! Be happy, be healthy. Be strong. Be morally upright. Open, always open to what life brings you."
We who are alive, we are the Children of Israel. There isn't anyone we can point to and say "It's them, they're the Jews." How we live is how Judaism is and how it will be. This is what Safta lived and what she would want us to be. The light of Safta's living is her final gift to us, a gift at once precious and robust.
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Guidelines for Shabbat Morning Childcare
By Kymn Ryant and Michal Mivasair
We are presenting guidelines for the Shabbat morning childcare program that will be shown to families when they drop off their children into the childcare providers' care. In this way, everyone will have a sense of the program with clear expectations of what it presently does and does not provide. For example, the program is now play-based with two childcare providers present every Shabat. It has minimal Jewish content. In the future, it would be great if there was more Jewish content. We are both open to more involvement by others in the community to both shape the program and to change its present format and focus. Feel free to give us a call to discuss the guidelines, concerns, ideas and ways for you to participate in the program.
Welcome to Or Shalom's Shabbat Childcare Program
Our aim is for all the children (and their family, guardians, or adult friends) to be happy with our Shabbat Childcare Program. In order for this program to be successful, we want you to have a clear understanding of the program's goals and guidelines.
Please read the following goals and guidelines before returning to the davvening space. If you have question or concerns, feel free to discuss them with our childcare providers or with Kymn Ryant or Michal Mivasair.
OUR GOALS: We want to provide a welcoming, fun, joyful environment for children every Shabbat. Every child should feel welcomed and appreciated at Or Shalom. In addition, we want to maintain a physically safe environment for the children.
GUIDELINES & EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PROGRAM:
1. The program is designed for children three years
old and older. We wish we had more staff to take care of
younger children, but at the present moment we do not. We
apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
2. The program runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
3. Please inform the childcare staff of any health
condition, such as allergies, which may affect your child's
care in the Shabbat program.
4. We provide a snack at 11:30 a.m.
5. We encourage children to leave the childcare
program to join their families and friends in the davvening.
We expect the children to go unescorted to and from the
davvening space from the childcare staff's care. If you feel
the child you brought to shul needs to be escorted to your
care, please inform the childcare providers of this and the
childcare staff or an older child will take your child to
you. Similarly, please escort the child you are with to the
childcare staff if you feel that the child may not make the
trip down the stairs to the childcare staff safely
alone.
6. All children must stay on Or Shalom's grounds.
Weather permitting, we will have one staff member outside
and one in the basement supervising the children.
7. The childcare staff can supervise only the
basement area and the outside grounds. All other areas of
the building are beyond the ability of our staff to
supervise.
8. Because it is Shabbat, our fun activities will not
include any writing, drawing, gluing or cutting.
Notes From the Kiddush Woman
For all people providing a kiddush, here is an important reminder -- don't forget the children. The kids downstairs need a snack plate because they can't hold out 'till we actually get to eat (I can barely hold out). For example, you could cut up some fruit, vegetables and bagels.
For anyone who is new at sponsoring a kiddush, I now have a draft of a checklist, thanks to Jane Heyman. I am hoping to turn it into "the definitive kiddush checklist" or "all you need to know about sponsoring a kiddush" by the next issue of Keren Or.
Sign up now for those lovely September-October openings.
Here's the situation for the next few months:
Aug. 1 Myriam & Peter Bayerthal
Aug. 8 Leah Owen Shore Bat Mitzvah
Aug. 15 Barry Goodman
Aug. 22 Yoni Rabinowitz Bar Mitzvah
Aug. 29 Danielle Ritch Bat Mitzvah
Sept. 5 Zoe Hassall Bat Mitzvah
Sept. 12 OPEN
Sept. 19 OPEN
Sept. 26 Azima Buell
Oct. 3 OPEN
Oct. 10 Nomi Fenson
Oct. 17 Daniel Wosk Bar Mitzvah
Oct. 24 OPEN
Oct. 31 OPEN
Nov. 7 Anna Paperny Bat Mitzvah
Nov. 14 Elisha Moussadji Bat Mitzvah
Nov. 21 OPEN
Nov. 28 OPEN
Please call me at 253-4641 or e-mail me at efrank@sfu.ca to sponsor one of the open days.
-- Ellen Frank
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Hebrew School Starts September 15
By Nurit Fox, School Principal
Preparations for the coming school year are underway with new ideas and materials being incorporated to our current exciting curriculum.
Our school welcomes children from kindergarten up to grade 7, with or without prior Jewish education. To register or to inquire regarding the 1998-1999 school year. please call the office at 872-1614 and leave your name and telephone number. I will be contacting you. Classes start again on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
In keeping with our school policy, to enable every child who seeks Jewish education to join our school, we have set up a bursary fund for parents who need financial assistance in meeting the school fees. If you would like to help a student in attending our school, please make a donation to the bursary fund. It would be highly appreciated. You could do so by writing a cheque payable to Or Shalom School and mailing it to the office at 710 E. 10th Ave., Vancouver, V5T 2A7.
If you have a VCR and a screen in working order, or a guitar you no longer use, please consider donating these items to the school.
Best wishes for an enjoyable summer and I am looking forward to seeing you in September.
Yeshiva Meditation Program Ongoing
Or Shalom's Yeshivah Meditation program is ongoing. Led by Leonard Yehudah Angel, meditation sessions are scheduled for Sundays 9 a.m. to noon, Mondays and Thursdays 7:30 to 9 p.m.; Saturday-Shabbat 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They are at Leonard's house, 865 Durward Avenue (near 33rd and Fraser). All are welcome. For further information, call Leonard Yehudah, 876-6925.
Hebrew Classes for Adults
If you are interested in improving your Hebrew for conversation, reading and prayer, then make note that Rahel Halabe, our wonderful teacher, will again teach adult Hebrew language classes at Or Shalom in the fall.
Although the first meeting of the Hebrew class will be Thursday, Sept. 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., all subsequent classes will be on Tuesdays at that time.
This class is at a level for people who already know the Hebrew alphabet, and so can read (even if they cannot understand much). The class focuses on reading and speaking skill, with a section devoted to understanding liturgical Hebrew. Costs will be minimal, but will be finalized in the fall when we see how many students there are. We will work from a textbook in this session.
If there is enough interest, Rahel is willing to do a beginner's class as well.
Call me at 732-0822 or e-mail to amorinis@istar.ca if you have any thoughts or questions, but feel very welcome to come to the first class to check it out.
-- Alan Morinis
Adult Bnei Mitzvah Program in Fall
There is a growing group of Or Shalom adults interested in studying together toward some sort of "adult Bar or Bat Mitzvah" (for lack of a better name). A first meeting was held in mid-July where we began defining the vision for the program and creating a course outline. The program will include learning to read and understand Hebrew, to leyn from the Torah, to understand and lead parts of the Shabbat morning davvening, and to deepen ourselves in the weekly Torah portions.
We will continue clarify our plans for the program at the next meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 8 p.m. at Or Shalom. All interested are invited to attend. For more information, please contact Reb David at 872-1614 or Reena Lazar at 222-0417.
-- Reena Lazar
Mussar Study Group Continues
Our group has enjoyed over a year of intense study and companionship delving into some of the profound works in the Jewish tradition of ethics ("mussar"), especially the works of Rabbi Israel Salanter and then the book "Duties of the Heart", written by Bachya ibn Pakuda in the 11th century. We have explored a vein in our tradition that has been extraordinarily rich with insights and helpful guidance for the path of life.
The seven people in this group are continuing to probe our Jewish tradition for further guidance and deeper wisdom that will help us understand how to live our lives better, with fuller spirituality. This has been the impact of our work together to this point, and we want to continue.
As we begin a new session in the fall, we invite other interested members of Or Shalom to join with us. Ours is a serious group that will continue to work on seminal ethical texts and teachings, but also to seek wisdom through explorations like meditation, art and chanting. If you are interested in meeting with others at a deep authentic place, and engaging in Jewish learning that uproots conventional or conditioned patterns of life, then we welcome you.
-- Alan Morinis
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MILESTONES
* Jane Heyman's beloved mother, Marta,died on Sunday, July 20. The funeral was held at the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery on July 22.
Mazal Tov to:
* Frank and Bat-Ami Segal on the birth of their
granddaughter, Jody Rebecca Elaine (Rivka Esther)
Schwarzfeld.
* Moshe Renert and Lisa Tomlinson on their marriage.
* Seth Klein and Erica Johnson on their marriage.
* Joi Carlin and Stan Garrod on their marriage.
* Sharna Searle on her graduation from law school.
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NEWS AND SCHMOOZE
Thank You: I want to thank all our friends at Or Shalom for the love, support and condolensces offered us since my father passed away. I feel very blessed to be part of such a caring community. With Love and Appreciation, Myrna Rabinowitz.
1999 Kallah in Oregon: The 1999 ALEPH Kallah, "Dancing Between the Lines: Text, Midrash and Beyond," will be held from Monday, July 19, to Sunday, July 25, at Oregon State University in Corvallis Ore., south of Portland. Teaching and other program proposal packets will be ready Aug. 15. Program brochures will be sent in March 1999. To request a proposal packet, contact the Kallah office: e-mail Kallahajr@aol.com; phone 970-221-0327, or fax 970-221-0235
Lillith Magazine: Thanks to new-old member Dodie Katzenstein, who recently re-joined Or Shalom along with her husband Martin after a long absence, Or Shalom now has its own subscription to "Lillith", the independent Jewish women's magazine. You will find "Lillith" on the literature rack in the entryway. After you borrow it, please bring it back for the next person to borrow.
New Tzimmes Album: The new Tzimmes album "Klezmyriad" is now out hot off the press, available in record stores and from me directly in CD and tape. The reviews so far are super. This is probably the best one yet. Yes we are excited! Not only is the cover beautiful (original art by Linda Frimer and photo by Rhonda Fogel) but the music is great. To get your very own, just call or e-mail me. Direct price from me is $15 for CD and $10 for tape -- definitely a metziah (Yiddish for a great deal). And don't forget to ask about a CD and tape combo. Myrna Rabinowitz: 873-8936 or email: mrabinow@vcc.bc.ca.
Housing Needed: My name is Maita Bird and I am a single parent with a 13-year-old son. We need a place to live in Vancouver from this September. While a self-contained unit in a home would be nice, I am open to sharing housoing space with another single parent family. While I am at Elat Chayyim, you can reach me through my e-mail maitabird@yahoo.com or messages can be left with Susan Landau-Chark at 263-1710.
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PERFECTLY FRANK
Alarming Developments
On Sunday July 12, I was called by the company that monitors the security system of our synagogue. This was the second time in three weeks and about the 25th time in three years. It seems to be evidence of a lack of taking seriously the nature of the security of the shul, to say nothing of the cost.
Readers of Keren Or who are given the responsibility of seeing that the building is secure after any event should also realize that to date approximately $2,000 in fines have been contributed to the municipal coffers because of excess false alarms. Think of it; 25 times at least, someone with responsibility to see that all the doors are closed and locked has been negligent. Another consequence is the fact that in many cases the police have been summoned.
There are at least two ways to deal with this matter; one, to hire someone to open and close the building for EVERY event at Or Shalom at a cost equivalent to what we are paying in fines or to engage in a campaign to raise the consciousness and responsibility of those entrusted with keys with regard to security.
While many members of Or Shalom give freely of their time and energy, there are many others that do not appear to take any personal responsibility for the community and its instruments. There is nothing wrong in hiring staff to do the work that was previously handled by volunteers and if the trend continues we may see more and more responsibilities delegated to hired help. This, of course, requires that members must then bear the additional financial burden.
However, the immediate problem is still with us. I strongly request that all of us take responsibility for seeing that the building is left locked and alarmed after every activity. A concise instruction sheet will be prepared to assist with this.
I would like to wish all the readers of Keren Or a sweet, prosperous and secure New Year.
-- Frank Segal, Administrator
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POETRY
Out, out, the Truth is Out, like a candle willfully extinguished by the wind
In the Name of God Almighty I have witnessed the most
terrible birth, the breaking of the shell of silence in
spring, shoots bursting forth, cracking crusts, delicate
fingers carving messages into the entirely untouchable
air
"It used to be easy," they nodded.
"Piercing the earth was nothing."
"You had an enemy to conquer."
They concurred, each and every one of them, jointly issued the Announcement, the Invitation, the Engagement Party with dates fixed for Divine Embrace.
I lit the flame, using a nifty restaurant matchbook, a souvenir from the days when smoking was still allowed in public. I burnt the picture postcard of the coming days, charred hopes of fragrant blossoms. I eradicated all traces of snowfalls and of leaf-falls past.
In the Name of God Everlasting
I have forgotten everything
I have forgotten what I was about to say
Warm me in the chilling breeze
Keep me fixed in the naked Chamber . . .
Where is it, now, in the pitch, the hushing Sound of Darkness, the Nameless Song that sings whenever any song is singing?
Shivering at the edge of the pounding ocean I will put my ear to the seashell and listen for the surf
-- Leonard Yehudah Angel, Long Beach, Tammuz,
5758
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RECENT
DONATIONS
* In honour of the marriage of Joi & Stan
* In honour of Sharna Searle's graduation from law school
* Building Fund in honour of the 25th wedding anniversary of Avi and Ruth
* General Fund with thanks for prayers of healing
* General Fund in honour of Yoni Rabinowitz's Bar Mitzvah
* In honour of the birth of granddaughter
to Bat-Ami and Frank Segal
* In honour of Gloria Levi
* In honour of Danielle Ritch's Bat Mitzvah
* In honour of Nadav Goelman's graduation from Talmud Torah
* In honour of Sandy Wheller's completion of practicum in Palliative Nursing
* To the Lisa Nemetz Fund
Acknowledge a birthday, graduation, any auspicious occasion. Celebrate a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, anniversary, marriage, birth, etc. Honour a Yahrtzeit by donating to any of the following Or Shalom funds:
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Book Fund |
Lisa Nemetz Fund |
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Building Fund |
Len Ryant Children's Fund |
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East Side Food Fund |
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund |
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Education Fund |
Torah Fund |
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General Fund |
Tzedaka Fund |
While donors' names will not be published, the name of the person being honoured will be acknowledged.
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BIKKUR HOLIM
Some members of Or Shalom are able to help you during a difficult time. We could walk the dog, do the laundry, shop for food, bring you a meal, drive you where you need to go or just visit. We are here for you when you need us. Please call. Micha: 877-1208 Alina: 732-6631. E-mail: orshalom@bc.sympatico.ca
KEREN OR (A Beam of Light)
Published six times a year by the Or Shalom Jewish Spiritual Community, 710 East 10th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5T 2A7. Tel: (604) 872-1614. Fax: 872-4406. E-mail: orshalom@bc.sympatico.ca. Website: http://orshalom.bc.ca. October/November issue deadline 3 p.m., Monday, Sept. 14, 1998. © The authors, 1998.
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EDITOR: |
PROOFREADER: |
CONTRIBUTORS
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Leonard Yehuda Angel |
Ellen Frank |
David Mivasair |
Pam Ratner |
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Elisha Bandel |
Nadav Goelman |
Michal Mivasair |
Kymn Ryant |
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Gerry Cuttler |
Geoffrey Katz |
Alan Morinis |
Frank Segal |
|
Avi Dolgin |
Susan Landau-Chark |
Evelyn Neaman |
Sandy Wheller |
|
Nurit Fox |
Reena Lazar |
Myrna Rabinowitz |
Jenny Wright |
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