1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561
There is a recently published article called What Will “Jew” Be, by the French Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur, which can be found in a new book entitled “Communities of Meaning”, a collection of essays in honour of Rabbi Larry Hoffman and his extraordinary contributions to Jewish thought and life over his many decades of teaching.
In it, she recounts a game she played in her liturgy class with Rabbi Hoffman, in which he wrote the letters “P-A-I-N” on the board, and he asked them to play charades to convey its meaning. Her English-speaking classmates, naturally, made contorted faces as they mimed being hurt. When it was her turn, however, Rabbi Horvilleur mimed eating, with the word “pain” in French, of course, meaning, “bread”. Knowing exactly what he was doing, Horvilleur was happy to play along with this moment of being “lost in translation”.
So it is with prayer, that Rabbi Hoffman was aiming to demonstrate. Whilst we have the words of the liturgy on the page, our interpretation of prayer is also informed by language, time, history, and the minds and bodies that express them.
So it is with Judaism, too, Rabbi Horvilleur expands. Whilst there are certain aspects of our Jewish identities that are baked into our DNA – we have our texts, our holidays, our rituals – it is equally comprised of our own life experiences and the encounters we are exposed to. As she says in summary, “Just as we never precisely know what a text meant originally, we never know for sure what being a Jew meant at the beginning nor what it will mean one day in the future”.
As we grapple with what our Judaism will look like in the wake of October 7, we decide how to shape our own future.
To that end, we understand and acknowledge the fear, the anxiety, the grief, and the sadness that all of us have felt following the tragedy, and the resultant rise of antisemitism here at home in Canada.
That being said, there is a silver lining, too – for those who previously felt that their Judaism was adjacent to who they were, there is a renewed attachment to being Jewish as a core facet of their being, and we are seeing it here at Holy Blossom. This is evidenced in the increase in attendance at worship services, where you, our congregants, come together in prayer as you seek sacred space and sacred community.
I would propose that we have two options as a result.
One is to feel a sense of resentment that being Jewish is no longer an “opt-in” affair. Whether we want to or not, there is no avoiding our Jewishness. It is at the centre of who we are whether we want it to be or not, whether it’s our own internal pressure or whether it’s coming from external forces, and that might feel uncomfortable.
The other is to embrace the opportunity that this brings, and, perhaps unexpectedly, to find the joy in reconnecting with our roots, in reconnecting with our congregation – and to give ourselves permission to feel that spark of contentedness among our people, to find that anchor at a time when our world is so unstable.
We encourage you to keep choosing and finding joy.
It might be through our meaningful and musical Kabbalat Shabbat Services (6 pm every Friday!).
It might be through the sweetness and song of Family Services (our next one being this Shabbat, February 10) or Tot Shabbat (next one March 1).
It might be through the fullness of our educational offerings, such as our Youth Education Centre.
It might be through the absurdity and hilarity of our upcoming Purim festivities.
So, I will conclude with the question with which Rabbi Horvilleur ends her essay: “What Will Jew Be?”, when faced with this crossroads, and the choices we can make as a result, and as we shape this new future together.
Dear Holy Blossom Temple,
I write to you in transit on my way home after spending a much-needed few weeks visiting my family in Australia.
It gave me a chance to reset and reflect on how fortunate I am to have a community I love to come back to, after the chance to relax with the people I love most.
Turning back to work and this new year, our Torah too has entered a new phase, with Aaron and Moses confronting the Pharaoh in this week’s parashah, Vaera, to, as the famous phrase says, “let our people go”, following God’s promise that the People of Israel will subsequently be returned to their homeland, the one that the Divine swore to their ancestors.
This confrontation marks the beginning of the many events to follow, from the Ten Plagues to the crossing of the Red Sea to the eventual reception of the Ten Commandments. One thing leads to another, and, with a combination of miracle, might, and marvel, our nation is born, one in which each of us is necessary and needed to make Jewish life happen joyfully in our own time.
As we enter our own new phase of the calendar cycle, I wanted to highlight two upcoming opportunities for us to come together in community as we celebrate our 2024 iteration of Jewish peoplehood and culture.
The first is this Shabbat morning, Saturday 13 January, is a Family Service. It is the perfect chance to bring the whole crew along for an informal and inviting atmosphere in the Youth Chapel where we celebrate Shabbat in song and community.
The next is on Tuesday, January 30, at 11:30 am for our Wisdom Generation, where I will present an “armchair travel” experience to my home country following my recent visit, focusing on the Australian Jewish community and a few pieces of advice from the different generations of my own family. The hope is to bring a bit of the warm summer Down Under to our Canadian winter! You can find out more and register here.
Truly, the start of 2024 is shaping up to be a beautiful mix of home (Toronto), homeland (Israel), and hometown (Sydney, Australia) – and we look forward to welcoming you to any or all of these opportunities opening up before us!
L’shalom,
Rabbi McCarroll
With all the difficult news currently emerging from Israel, I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on what comfort means, and how it is manifesting for myself and for all of us at the moment.
It hasn’t been easy, but I’ll admit that the two conclusions I have come to are as follows: turning to words of our tradition, and to hope for the future.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the combination of tefillah and in seeing our children continue to make their spiritual homes here at Holy Blossom.
For me, this is on Sunday mornings in our Youth Chapel with our YEC. Did you know that we are now starting with worship, and inviting our parents to stay to model the values of Jewish prayer and community by participating?
There is something so deeply powerful about seeing children and parents sitting and singing in the pews, the words of the Shema leaving their lips and filling the space with their sweet sounds, their sweet voices.
There feels like no more poignant scene than to have our families together, affirming our collective faith as one People under one God, and sharing that chain of tradition from generation to generation. At a time when it is so easy to be afraid, it is truly impactful to see them joyously living Jewishly, and defiantly declaring: Hinenu, we are here, and we are proud.
We invite not just our YEC families (though they are included, too), but all of our families, to take advantage of not one, but two opportunities to create such memories in these coming weeks with our upcoming Family Services. Taking place on both November 11th and November 18th at 10:30 am, we welcome the whole family unit to bring their ruach (spirit) and enjoy the relaxed, interactive, camp-like environment. Joyful noise is encouraged, and we always have a wonderful time with snacks, stories, music and more! Further details can be found here.
These moments to bring our congregation together are what bring me comfort at this time, and are the way to ensure that we have the confidence and courage to ensure a bright future, whatever it may bring – proudly, joyfully, and Jewishly.
Welcome back to school, Holy Blossom parents, grandparents, and any teachers or carers of children among our congregation!
Whether summer felt long or short to you, we hope it has been fun and full of meaning, whether at camp, up at the cottage, here at home in Toronto, on vacation to somewhere exotic, or any combination of all of the above.
We know that this time of transition, is not easy, as our children start their new routines (new teachers, new schedule, new friends, new grade level), with so much to process and consider and adapt to.
It’s a good thing, then, that our tradition has wisdom for exactly this moment, teaching us in Proverbs 22:6:
Chanoch la’na’ar al pi darko, gam ki yazkin lo yasur mimenah
“Teach your child according to the way they ought to go, and even as they age they will not turn away from it”.
It’s an even better thing, then, that is also precisely the right time of year on the Jewish calendar, with Rosh Hashana on the horizon, to learn and create good Jewish values, habits, and memories, that will stay with them for a lifetime.
This Shabbat morning, September 9, at 10:30 am is our first Family Service for the season. Our Head Songleader Avishai Sol and I can’t wait to be with our youngest friends in the Youth Chapel
We are delighted to be welcoming back our YEC students on Sunday, September 9 and Monday, September 10. Come by on Sunday from 9:30 am for our Open House, where current students will have their Orientation, parents and prospective families can check out our incredible YEC, and all are invited to join in some Rosh Hashanah fun and games.
As we begin this new school year, at Holy Blossom, we know it takes a village to raise a Jewish child, and we are here to be your village.
We wish courage, success, happiness, strength and joy to our children and their families, and know they are in for a fantastic 5784. May their learning always be sweet as honey, and may they know that their Holy Blossom village always has their back.
We look forward to seeing you at any or all of these amazing upcoming opportunities for community connection, as we navigate the New Year together!
L’shalom and an early Shanah Tovah,
Rabbi Eliza McCarroll
As a camper of many years myself, and after having returned from visiting our HBT children up at URJ Camp George this past week, I’ve been thinking about how the magic of camp lies in those deep moments of connection, both big and small.
Whether it’s overlooking the stunning Maple Lake for a Pride Shabbat Service, working on prayer readings with a group of eight-year-olds, swimming in the lake, making pottery, riding bikes, sitting in the hallway preparing for the next program, chanting and singing loudly at mealtime, or simply hanging out in the cabins, each of these functions as an entry point to strong Jewish identity and Jewish friendships.
In turn, our campers are encouraged and enabled to live up to the injunction that is the namesake of this week’s parashah, Re’eh, which means “to see”.
They can see and discover who they are as their true and fullest selves, for all of their talents, their virtues and their potential.
They can see a Jewish way of life that is informal yet authentic, and learn through fun and lived experiences in an intensive and intentional community.
They can, as our parashah states, see habracha v’hak’lalah, “the blessing and the curse” (Deut 11:26), understand themselves and those around them at their highest and lowest points and choose for themselves the path of blessing.
It was a blessing to be at camp, and we are so fortunate that we have a number of ways to carry that spirit of blessing forward this coming year at Holy Blossom for our children and families, with that little bit of camp magic being found here on Bathurst Street as well, in deep connection to Jewish life, Jewish identity, and Jewish friends.
We start with Tot Shabbat this Friday evening, 11 August, at 5:30 pm.
We continue with our First Family Service of the season, Shabbat morning September 9, at 10:30 am.
Our YEC begins on Sunday morning 10 September (JK-Grade 5), and Monday night 11 September (Grade 6-Bagrut) respectively, and registration can be found here.
Then, of course, we have our many varied offerings for our families and for everyone over the High Holy Days of 5784, the details of which can be explored here.
May it be a year of magic, and may it be a year of connection, for our children and for all of us.
We are so fortunate to be part of a tradition which places emphasis on the value of wisdom.
As our Psalmist teaches, “from all who have taught me, I have gained understanding” (Psalm 119:99), which indicates to us that that wisdom is both a teaching and a learning process.
We embody this philosophy at Holy Blossom, through our honouring of our Wisdom Generation, as we believe that, particularly in later life stages, we acknowledge all that we have to learn from them, but also recognize that we are each active, thriving, creative lifelong learners at the same time, with much to discover and explore.
Our Rabbis, in Mishna Chagigah, outline their own unique way of discovering and exploring the wisdom of our texts, through their “PaRDeS” method of studying the Pardes, the rich and fruitful orchard, that is Torah.
פ (pey) stands for pshat, the simple interpretation, which indicates the literal meaning of the scriptural text. ר (reish) stands for remez, or hint, connoting that which is gleaned from allusions within the text. ד (daled) equals drash, the exposition, or the homiletic meaning of the text. Finally, ס (samech) is translated to sod, or secret, in which the mystical meaning of the text that leads us to God is illuminated.
In our valuing of wisdom, and of our Wisdom Generation, we hope that you will join us this Shabbat morning, 15 July, from 10:30 am, as Dorot presents their annual Summer Gathering It is an opportunity for all of us to gather for a special service and enhanced kiddush luncheon, with good food, good music, and, most of all, good company spanning all generations to learn from and be taught in turn. We look forward to welcoming you there!
Being currently in the biblical Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, I was recently reflecting on a well-known Midrashic adage inspired by its tales: shiv’im panim baTorah, “there are seventy faces to expound on Torah” (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15).
In other words, the ways that Torah, in the broadest sense – wisdom, learning, teaching, relationships, worship, and so on – is manifested in a community, is multi-faceted, because it can unfold in so many different, wonderful ways.
We can extend this to our outlook on Jewish life, as well, as we revel in its joys, it’s complexities, and it’s diversity, at all ages and stages.
If we look within our own sacred community, there is such a variety of ways coming up, even as the summer descends upon us, that we can glean Torah from one another.
Before that, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our spectacular Pride Shabbat this past Friday evening. The phenomenal community spirit of inclusion was deeply meaningful, and a sight to behold. We thank all who made it happen, particularly co-chairs Andrew Cohen and Daniel Penciner, our Director of Development Shira Lester, and Director of Membership and Community Engagement Abigail Nemzer. Check out all the fun postings on our Facebook page
On the horizon, we will be honouring our Shinshinit Ella Payorski, who has taught us so much about Israel and developed close bonds, particularly with our YEC children, over her time with us this past year in Canada. We are celebrating with her a Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat, a symbol of her own Jewish growth and learning, at our Family Service, and look forward to her being with us in the Main Sanctuary on June 24, before she heads to Camp George for part of the summer and returns to Israel to begin her army service in an elite intelligence unit. Truly remarkable.
Speaking of Camp George … we are looking forward to holding a fun Pop-Up Shabbat for our Holy Blossom Camp George families on June 23 before sending them off to Maple Lake.
Finally – our last major Dorot program for the 2022-2023 year, is taking place on June 20 and is a special collaboration with Gillian Helfield’s “What I’m Watching” film group. We’re so excited to explore the multiple iterations of the movie “A Star Is Born”, and to focus on its intergenerational appeal and unique Jewish flavour.
At Holy Blossom, Torah is always being taught, and always being learned, whether it’s from our youngest to our oldest, whether it’s through our relationships with each other and the values we espouse, or through the myriad of creative and dynamic opportunities on offer.
To seventy more faces, and to a wonderful summer!
L’chol z’man va’eit, l’chol chefetz tachat hashamayim …
“To everything there is a season, a time for every matter under the sun …”
These words from Kohelet have been on my mind in a different way lately, as the sun shines through and spring slowly but surely settles itself upon us, and this coming week leaves me filled with anticipation and emotion in thinking about the passage of time and all that comes with it.
It’s admittedly hitting me quite powerfully, for this Sunday, May 21, is the one-year anniversary of my rabbinic ordination. It is a day that will be forever cherished, in part because of the ceremony but mostly because of how I felt that morning: an overwhelming sense of joy and relief at finally reaching that milestone and at having my family there to celebrate.
Just a few days later, on June 4, I moved to Canada, which was Erev Shavuot. This festival always had a fond place in my heart because of the connection to Torah and learning, but even more so now that Shavuot was the first chag that Rabbi Kaye and I were lucky enough to join our sacred congregation as rabbis of Holy Blossom.
In other words, this festival of revelation is revealing to me the level and depth of change that has occurred since this time last year, when I went up to the bimah at Plum Street Temple as one person and came down the other side, then moved north of the border, as another.
Put differently, it is a season of renewal and reflection, and we have much to celebrate as a congregation, as look ahead to Shavuot next week, and shortly thereafter turn our minds to the summer, and to the next happy year.
We can reflect on all we’ve achieved. We can reflect on all we’ve learned. We can reflect on all we’ve become. We can reflect, in Rabbi Splansky’s words, to all we are becoming.
One of these elements is the ordination of another rabbi of Holy Blossom, Rabbi Taylor Baruchel, who just this past weekend was ordained in LA, and who we are so lucky to welcome to our professional staff as our new Director of Outreach and Next Generation Engagement. Mazal tov to her, and to all of us, and we know you will treat her kindly.
The second is to join our community for all of our wonderful Shavuot offerings, from Confirmation to a congregational dinner to Yom Tov services, which will include children’s breakout activities. Details can be found here.
May we always have milestones to celebrate together, and an early Chag Shavuot Sameach!
1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561