A Return to Bond Street: Sisterhood and the Women of Holy Blossom

I often view my theatre-directing days as an era of my past, with their many memorable rehearsal periods, productions and individual performances. But in the past, all the same.  Imagine then my excitement and instantaneous ‘Yes!’ when invited by the Women of Holy Blossom to direct a dramatic re-creation of a defining moment in the history of our Temple.

On an October evening in 1921, at the Holy Blossom synagogue on Bond Street in Toronto, Rebecca Brickner – spouse of new spiritual leader Rabbi Barnet Brickner – arranged the first meeting of the congregation’s Sisterhood.  A new page in the history of our Temple was about to be written.  Since that initial gathering, the Holy Blossom Sisterhood has assumed a place of enormous pride and esteem.  Few areas of congregational life – over a period of more than one hundred years – have not been affected – and in the most positive of ways – by Sisterhood.

On Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 pm, our Holy Blossom sanctuary will become the time and place of that fabled October meeting on Bond Street for a few precious moments.  Rebecca Brickner and those who joined her in establishing our Temple Sisterhood will return to life. Our dramatic rendering is part of a larger program celebrating Sisterhood’s one-hundredth anniversary.

In re-imagining our first Sisterhood gathering, I am privileged to be collaborating with an excellent company of actors drawn from our Temple community, the outstanding talent of the Temple ukulele players, the gifted skills of our Temple staff, and the generous support of the Women of Holy Blossom leadership.

In 1956, as part of Holy Blossom’s centennial celebration, Sisterhood President Rae Newman wrote:

Sisterhood plays an important role in Temple family life participating fully with the congregation in its religious, educational and cultural programs.  It has accepted the responsibility for weaving closely the bonds between home and synagogue, so that our religion becomes a vibrant, living force for us and our children – a dynamic Judaism.

[Holy Blossom Temple: 1856-1956, p. 57].

May the vibrant, living force of Rebecca Brickner and her founding partners of the Holy Blossom Sisterhood – and their enduring passion for Jewish living – continue to make a difference in the life of our congregation, and for persons beyond the walls of our Temple building, everywhere.

Founts of Inspiration

 

Serving as a rabbi at Holy Blossom implies partnering with a range of Temple constituencies, each in a different way: the Youth Education Center, Interfaith Committee, and the Women of Reform Judaism, among others.  At this moment, I am with pride able to look both back and ahead on the unfolding of projects that have brought and will continue to bring further esteem to our remarkable congregation.  Each venture is – in its own special way – a fount of inspiration, for me and all who are invested in them.

 

As a member of our Temple clergy, my portfolio includes being present for shacharit on Monday mornings in our Herman Chapel. Over the course of forty-five minutes, I participate in worship, teach Torah and – most importantly of all – connect with the many congregants who attend this service virtually or in person.  What a wonderful way to begin the day.

 

Within the Youth Education Center, I am a resource person for all grades, guide to the Confirmation class, and co-leader of our Sunday morning t’filah experience. How rewarding and uplifting are the sights and sounds of youth learning together in our beautiful Temple building!

 

Last month, the Interfaith Committee organized an excellent online Passover seder, within which sixty persons – besides myself, and representing an array of our community’s faith groups – participated.   As well, both Interfaith Committee representatives and Youth Education Center students were guests of the Imdadul Islamic Center – a valued friend of Holy Blossom – at the conclusion of Ramadan for a dynamic evening of learning, socializing, and feasting.

 

On June 2 the Women of Holy Blossom will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of our Temple Sisterhood, an event that transpired under the wise and determined guidance of Rebecca Brickner, spouse of our congregation’s first Reform spiritual leader Rabbi Barnet Brickner.  In addition to an array of speakers and visual presentations, the program will include – with my guidance – a dramatic re-creation of the first Sisterhood gathering in October of 1921 at the Temple on Bond Street. Actors, musicians, tech persons, and Women of Holy Blossom leaders have all begun this exciting work!

 

Founts of inspiration: they sustain and enrich our Temple life. How fortunate I am for the opportunity to contribute to their achievements.  And how blessed are we all for the abundance of skills, gifts, and devotion that our members bring to Holy Blossom in their entirety.  Our cup runs over! As the words of our sages remind us: Hazak, Hazak V’Nithazek.  Strong, strong…and let us continue to be strong.