Shalom from Camp George, Holy Blossom!

I’m writing to you from up at the gorgeous Maple Lake, about 2.5 hours north of Toronto and 20 minutes from the town of Parry Sound.

I’m here on my Faculty week, where I, and a number of colleagues (including our Holy Blossom Temple Brotherhood co-President and Jewish educator Dan Abramson) are here to support the Jewish life team and lead the educational programming for all the campers.

Some highlights so far include:

• Jumping right in with an Israel Fair for the Mini Mensch campers almost as soon as I arrived at camp. Mini Mensch are the 6 and 7 year olds who were here for the August long weekend for a taste of camp. They were here over “Yom Yisrael”, so they too got to experience writing notes for the Kotel, making rocks out of Dead Sea salt, milking cows on a kibbutz, making jewellery at the market in Tel Aviv, and creating tile art in Tsfat. Metaphorically speaking, of course – but they were adorable while they were at it! They even got a treat of chocolate milk and a chocolate bun at the end, to end their Israel experience in sweetness, and in true Israeli camp fashion.
• The most beautiful, magical sunset on the first night here (picture below).
• As a result of how much fun they had at Mini Mensch, there were so many children who wanted to extend that camp had to hire more staff to take care of everyone.
• Walking into one of the Nitzotzot (8-9 year old) cabins for a lights-out program, and one of the girls excitedly exclaiming “oh hey, that’s my rabbi!”, which made me smile.
• Writing a skit with an enthusiastic group of 11-12 year old girls as we discussed what it meant when Noah was called by God to build the Ark and save the animals, thereby preserving life on Earth.
• Learning about the verse from Pirkei Avot of “lo alecha hamlacha ligmor … it is not upon you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it” with the 12/13 year old girls, and how it relates to our Jewish value of Tikkun Olam. They did agree that it gave us as Jews an extra responsibility for how we move about the world – such as not being a bystander when encountering antisemitism – but wanted to keep it in the circle when it came time to choosing a project that would improve our camp community,
• Working with the Barak (Grade 9) girls to create collages based on the work of Israeli artist Chanoch Piven, to tell their Jewish stories and what is important to them in their Jewish identities (some answers included: family, Camp George, holidays, and Israel).
• A meaningful car ride back from town with some of the staff where we talked about how they could bring the leadership skills they are developing at camp into opportunities later in life, whether at school or in their burgeoning careers.

It’s been a busy but wonderful week here at camp, and there’s much more on the horizon.

Shabbat preparation is in full swing by the time you read this; the Barak campers have more elective sessions to complete their projects, Nitzotzot will be making mezuzot, and we are expecting the Camp George Council (of which I am a part) for Community Shabbat, which will include a special Staff Appreciation event.

At the halfway mark of being here at Maple Lake, I can’t wait to see how the rest of the week unfolds, and to be able to share more stories and experiences with you all once I’m back.

Our Talmud teaches us that the world is sustained by the breath of schoolchildren.

Being here lets me know that the Jewish future is bright, through the spirit, energy, fun, friendships and magic that happens when we’re together, in a community intentionally formed by young people for other young people, for the summer.

Wishing you all a wonderful rest of the week, and see you all at home soon!

L’shalom,

Rabbi McCarroll

There is a quote from our Proverbs (22:6), which states:

חֲנֹ֣ךְ לַ֭נַּעַר עַל־פִּ֣י דַרְכּ֑וֹ גַּ֥ם כִּי־יַ֝זְקִ֗ין לֹא־יָס֥וּר מִמֶּֽנָּה׃
Educate children in the way they each ought to go;
They will not swerve from it even in old age.

Excellence in Education, and particularly our value of Lifelong Learning, was one of the major reasons that I was so eager to join the team at Holy Blossom back in 2022.

I knew that we had a reputation for deep learning, for engaged students, for high-level scholarship, and prestigious guest teachers, and I couldn’t wait to be a part of it all.

I have been proven right since, with one of the most rewarding pieces of my role being when I get to be part of those educational moments: whether it’s on the occasions I get to teach Torah study or a class series, or when I’m with our students on Sunday morning, or when a scholar-in-residence comes to town.

With our rich history in, and valuing of, Jewish education, it feels so special and appropriate that on the evening of May 11, as we mark 170 years of Holy Blossom Temple, education will be our key focus.

As we enjoy our magnificent “North of Broadway” event, we will celebrate our community, leadership, and resilience, and dedicate this night to Excellence in Education with a red carpet and spectacular musical performances!

Join us also for some very exciting announcements about the future of Education at Holy Blossom Temple, as we both honour our history and invest in the next generation of our vibrant congregation.

Beginning with a VIP cocktail reception at 6:30 pm, the doors for general admission will open at 7:30 pm, and all are welcome to join for a delicious dessert following the concert.

For more information and to buy your tickets, click HERE.

Tell your family, tell your friends, bring them along, spread the word, and we can’t wait to see you there!

At all ages and stages, and in every generation, may our reputation for educational excellence precede us.

To the next 170 years!

May All The Trees Be Like You

 In the depths of the cold and snowy Toronto winter, it can be hard to believe that we celebrate the cycle of nature, with Tu BiShvat taking place next Sunday evening. 

My favourite Tu BiShvat text comes from the Talmud, from Taanit 5b. It relates that when taking leave of one another, Rav Nahman would ask his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak, for a blessing. “Let me tell you a parable,” Rabbi Yitzchak replied. “It is like one who was walking through a desert, hungry, tired, and thirsty, and came upon a tree with sweet fruit, beautiful shade, and a stream of water beneath it. He ate from the fruit, drank from its water, and sat in the shade of the tree. When he got up to depart, he said: ‘Tree, Tree, with what shall I bless you? If I say to you that your fruits should be sweet, your fruits are already sweet; if I say that your shade should be pleasant, your shade is already pleasant; if I say that a stream of water should flow beneath you, a stream of water already flows beneath you! Rather, I will bless you as follows: May it be God’s will that all saplings which they plant from you be like you.’” Rabbi Yitzchak turned to his disciple and said, “So it is with you. With what shall I bless you? If I bless you with Torah, you already have Torah; if I bless you with wealth, you already have wealth; if I bless you with children, you already have children. Rather, may it be God’s will that your children shall be like you.” 

In other words, perhaps Tu BiShvat is not really, or is only partly, about the trees! 

What it might really be, in accordance with our prayer, is about the potential to blossom with goodness that a tree represents. 

So, as we anticipate Tu BiShvat, there is so much goodness on the horizon, whether it is joining with our local Israeli community for Kabbalat Shabbat, joining our Young Families for camp-style Tu BiShvat activities with our friends at URJ Camp George, or joining for our celebration of Shabbat Shira that same weekend with our partners at Opera Atelier. 

All of the details for Tu BiShvat and Shabbat Shira can be found HERE. 

May these meaningful opportunities to gather bring you, and all of us, nothing but blessings. 

In Psalm 126, it is written: b’shuv Adonai et shivat Tzion, hayinu k’cholmim – “when the Eternal restores the returnees to Zion, we are like dreamers”. 

Indeed, these last few days have felt like a dream, as, thank God, we have seen our hostages returned home, to the Land of Israel. 

Yet, the Psalm continues: hazor’im b’dima, b’rina yiktzoru – those who sow in tears, will reap in joy.  

We experienced the purest form of unbridled joy, reaching this moment of our prayers being answered after such an extended time of heaviness. 

We have been elated at the miraculous release of all twenty remaining living hostages. Seeing the photos and videos of their reunions with loved ones has allowed us to feel like we can breathe again for the first time in two years. We are delighted in this new day arising, and this opportunity for the hostages to heal, embraced in the arms of their families and their nation. 

We celebrated with wholehearted happiness last night at Simchat Torah, where we danced with our scrolls in the hakafot, and danced around an enormous maypole that Rabbi Splansky envisioned, which she made of yellow, blue, and white ribbons. 

This alludes to the other side of the coin, the rollercoaster of emotions that still exists within us. 

We have also been saddened at the news of the 24 remaining slain hostages, not all who have been returned for a dignified burial. A piece of our hearts are with their families as the cloud of uncertainty still hangs. What about their families? Has the war truly ended? What next? 

We commemorated these souls during the Yizkor piece of our Shemini Atzeret services. 

Precisely because we are Jews, we held the complexity of the moment, tears in one eye and the crinkle of smiles in the other.  

Precisely because we are Jews, we held this complexity through ritual. 

At Shemini Atzeret services we took down the chair on our bimah, the one with a yellow ribbon on it, the one we have been saving for the hostages. We moved it to be the chair on which our Torah sat, and tied the yellow ribbon around the podium, from where Torah would be read. It looked like a larger version of the yellow pins we have all been wearing since Shemini Atzeret two years previously. We also recited an extra “El Malei” to remember those who had fallen since October 7, including the slain hostages who remain in Gaza. 

At Simchat Torah, we used the large yellow cloth that we had set on top of the piano in our Atrium, in honour of Alon Ohel (now, thank God, freed) as the chuppah under which we read Torah, to end the Book of Deuteronomy and begin the Book of Genesis. Alon is a cousin of our previous Shinshinit, Noa Ron, and a piano virtuoso. One circle closed, another opened, in a way that we felt would honour Alon, and honour this time: with words of Torah, and with incredible music and energy. 

Psalm 126 concludes: 

Haloch yelech u’va’cho, noseh meshech hazar’a, bo yavo v’rina, nosea alumotav 

Though he goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seeds, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves. 

 

As we carry it all with us, we know that, in the journey ahead, we will continue to turn our sorrow into joy, and our mourning into dancing. 

It felt so good to dance again. 

“What could the heart and tongue compose,  
or spirit’s strength within me to suit You?” 
(Solomon ibn Gabirol, 11th century Spain)  

From biblical passages to medieval piyyutim, to modern Israeli ballads, the medium has long been the message as we have continually sought creative ways to express that which we and our ancestors have been unable to convey in conversation alone. 

As seen by this short line from the Middle Ages alone, it has been employed to explore the issues most pertinent to our hearts and minds, whether that’s connection to God, our Jewish identity, the human condition, or specific holidays and historical events. 

When we welcome in Shabbat, we usher it in first with psalms and then Lecha Dodi, a 16th-century acrostic. 

When we elevate our chaggim, including Pesach as it inches closer, we will do so with Hallel, verses of praise to the ultimate Author that express our joy and gratitude at the opportunity to celebrate. 

Conversely, just this last week, at our Reform Rabbis of Greater Toronto table, we studied with Israeli colleagues who brought us a number of examples of how their friends and colleagues had processed their grief, shock and trauma through what else, but poetry. 

It is with this storied tradition in mind that we encourage you to come and join in, and learn more, as we welcome guest poets Adam Sol, Alisha Kaplan, and Deborah Leipziger in the first Toronto Jewish Poetry Exchange – first with Wine & Cheese before Kabbalat Shabbat, then with Saturday morning Torah study in honour of the decades of Reform Jewish leadership of Carole Sterling and Elliot Jacobson, Saturday evening at the Koffler Centre, and Sunday morning with our Young Families. 

“What could the heart and tongue compose …” – we might not be sure just yet, but I’m certainly looking forward to finding out, as we gather in community, in prayer, and in poetry!