Rabbinic Reflection: Rabbi Bill S. Tepper
Open Hands, Open Hearts: The Coldest Night of the Year
...there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy… [Deuteronomy 15:11]
During my years serving a congregation in Tennessee, a woman came to our Temple door almost every day asking for a meal. She was homeless and experiencing severe deprivation. It was understood among our Temple staff and me that irrespective of how busy we might be, one of us would always pause in our task, head to our Temple’s kitchen, and put together a food package for her. Her visits became frequent to the point that we often prepared her meal in advance. No matter what else was occurring at the Temple, she was never turned away.
Homeless persons are everywhere: on our city of Toronto streets, highway off-ramps, in parks and beneath underpasses. Despairingly, they are woven into the fabric of our community. They are men and women, and those whom I’ve observed to be adolescents.
On Saturday, February 26 at 7:00 pm, Holy Blossom members have the opportunity of responding to the anguish of homelessness. We will not eradicate it, but we will help to make a difference. On that evening, we will gather – at the Loblaws store at St Clair Avenue West and Bathurst Street with Ve’ahavta – meaning ‘and you shall love’ in Hebrew – the Toronto organization devoted to providing a Jewish Response to Homelessness, for an event known as the Coldest Night of the Year. We will listen to a Ve’ahavta speaker and see the Ve’ahavta mobile unit – a van that journeys through the city on winter nights distributing meals, clothing, and toiletries. We will then engage in a 2KM or 5KM walk together north on Bathurst Street.
The event is a fundraiser for Ve’ahavta; all that is donated shall be put towards alleviating the conditions of those who are homeless. Just as importantly, the event is an expression of our compassion; it is our response to the words from Torah with which this Rabbinic Reflection opens, and what is incumbent on us as it pertains to the eternal issue of those in need: opening our hands and our hearts.
I will be there on February 26. It’s my sincere hope that you will, too.
Please see the attached links about Ve’ahavta and Coldest Night of the Year, and/or reach out to me, Rabbi Bill S. Tepper, for additional information.
Ve’ahavta A Jewish Humanitarian Organization – Ve’ahavta (veahavta.org)
Coldest Night of the Year 2022 – Toronto North York (cnoy.org)
Hi….hope all well as possible with you.. I grew up in Montréal in an area that was mostly inhabited my non Jews in the 1940s .. I was called a dirty Jew every day walking down the street to school.. we were 4 Jewish kids in a class of 30.. I befriended some of the non Jews , but as a Jew, i was never allowed in their homes for play dates… I will never forget, one day one close non- Jewish friend told me with great excitement that even though I was Jewish, I was allowed to attend her birthday party… this memory has haunted me my entire life.. please G-d , our children and grandchildren and on and on never experience the nightmare
of antisemitism .. L’ Chaim, Gloria May
I personally want to take this opportunity to welcome you to a great congregation. I joined HBT after several years of retirement and for the first time in many years we have found a a wonderful spiritual home. Our Clergy team is one that cares not only about the congregants but they care about and support one another. We look forward to meeting you and promise to take it easy on you for at least the first week.