Shalom, Holy Blossom. I write to you from a much-needed family vacation.
Yesterday I was invited to speak with the Prime Minister. I believe the invitation came in response to the op-ed piece I recently wrote for the Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/my-prayer-for-2024/article_29cc81bc-a5ae-11ee-98de-e36d2799d250.html
I understand many congregants have shared it with non-Jewish friends and colleagues as well as with family in Israel. I’m glad for that and hope it is received well by all.
I am grateful for this morning’s call with Prime Minister Trudeau and for the opportunity to reinforce the messages coming from you and the Canadian Jewish community. We touched on many points from antisemitism to policing, to the role of faith leaders, to yesterday’s proposal from Gallant, to Canadian values, and Canada’s role on the world stage – past and present.
Here is the thank you note I sent after this morning’s call.
Dear Prime Minister,
I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak with you earlier today. I hope it is evident that my personal comments come from my deep love for Canada and my deep love for Israel. I am very proud to be a Canadian and although I am not a citizen of Israel, I am attached to the Land of Israel and to the People of Israel by an eternal and sacred bond.
In Holy Blossom Temple’s Bloomberg Centre for Jewish Leadership hangs an original painting by celebrated Canadian artist, Charles Pachter. I asked Charles to create the piece, entitled “Side by Side,” in memory of his parents, who were great Zionists. The two flags of Canada and Israel stand proudly together and help to guide the decisions we make around the Board Room table of Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto’s first synagogue. I’ve attached the image here for you to enjoy. I hope it will similarly inspire your allyship with Israel, your protection of Canadian Jewry, and the direction you set for all Canadians to follow.
We spoke today about our shared Canadian values. I remember well when you came to Holy Blossom to honour The Tailor Project. The very moving occasion told the story of how our Past President, Max Enkin, of blessed memory, went to the DP camps in the aftermath of the Holocaust and, in partnership with Canadian Immigration officials, brought many “tailors” to Canada. You may recall that evening’s program ended with a tailor, a newcomer from Syria, presenting you with an expertly stitched dress shirt. This is how the Jewish People teaches our history. We hold up our ordinary heroes, lift up their guiding principles, and commit to living by them in the here and now. As I write to you, many of my congregants continue their steadfast support of Muslim, Yazidi, and Christian newcomers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, and Nicaragua. The news of the day could very easily cause the Jewish community to “circle the wagons” and turn inward, but that is not who we are. We believe we must take care of our own people and others simultaneously. If we turn away from one commitment or the other, we risk losing ourselves. We know who we are. We know where we come from. And we do our utmost to live according to the sacred values enshrined in our Torah.
We must clearly discern between those who are innocently caught in conflicts and are, therefore, deserving of our empathy and support, and those who perpetuate and perpetrate conflicts and must, therefore, be confronted. I believe Canada, home to the world’s fourth-largest Jewish population, has a very important role to play now. I pray you will use your voice to amplify the call for moral clarity on the world stage.
You are always welcome at Holy Blossom Temple. If you should ever want to address our congregation — in person or online – we would welcome the chance to hear directly from you. And while it is not my invitation to extend, I am confident that a trip to Israel would go a long way to reassure the Canadian Jewish community that Canada and Israel really do stand “side by side.”
With prayers for a more peaceful world in 2024,
L’Shalom,
Yael.
And here is our treasured “Side by Side” by Charles Pachter. May its strength be a comfort to you now.
Shabbat Shalom.
Yael.
Since Canada’s UN vote, Jewish Canadians are reeling. Here are two recent letters in response – one from ARZA Canada, the Reform Zionist organization and one from the Reform Rabbis of Canada. And here is CIJA’s recent press release in response to the vote.
I urge you to draw inspiration from these resources, to use your own voice, and to write to elected leadership to express your concerns.
This week our Torah scroll is set to the Joseph story. He was a lone and lowly Israelite in Egypt, a slave who through hard work and with God’s blessing became second-in-command to Pharoah and was responsible for successfully and ethically guiding Egypt out of years of famine. When he is reunited with his brothers who come down from Israel, “Joseph’s cries were so loud, all of Egypt could hear; his cries were heard in Pharoah’s Palace.” (Genesis 45:2)
Like Joseph, we live in the Jewish Diaspora, contributing steadfastly to the country we are proud to call home. And like Joseph, we never forget our strong ties to Israel, our homeland, and to our brothers and sisters who live there. We are bound to them by the unbreakable bonds of a shared history and a shared future.
Write to our elected leadership now so that our cries can be heard by all of Canada and even in the Palace of Parliament. Here is the link to reach them: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/search?province=ON&fbclid=IwAR34DM1d6-KELrzc_BhsaEGvzdKTIWrw4s9QQVSZ9rfxwCNG6sCox3GOsAM
Dear Congregants,
The year 5783 is coming to conclusion. It has been a year of restoration and complexity, of joy and sorrow, of courage and renewed commitments. I am very proud of how our congregation has grown stronger and has found its rhythm again. I can’t wait for us to gather and greet one another in songful prayer as we greet the new year.
The candles we light tonight stand for so much. With light, we welcome in Shabbat and usher in 5784. I urge you to pause before you strike the match at your table. That moment before lighting should not be rushed. That last moment of the year now ending begs for acknowledgement and gratitude and goodbye. It begs to be named and known as the transition from what was to what will be. It is the inflection point, the launching pad to all that is possible. So notice it and give that moment its due. Offer a private prayer. Cover your eyes or clasp hands with the dear ones at your table or hum a melody of deepest desire. Linger for one more moment, watch it slip into history. And then begin again… with light and blessing. Amen.
Before lighting your candles, you may wish to share your own words of reflection or you may wish to read this poem by the great American Zionist, Jessie E. Sampter (1883-1938).
“The Jewish Year”
Our year begins with burnished leaves,
That flame in frost and rime,
With purple grapes and golden sheaves
In harvest time.
…When others say the year has died,
We say the year is new,
And we arise with power and pride
To prove it true.
For we begin where others end,
And fight where others yield;
And all the year we work and tend
Our harvest field.
And after days of stormy rain
And days of drought and heat,
When those that toiled have reaped their grain,
And all’s complete.
Oh then, when God has kept His word,
In peace we end our year.
Our fruit is certain from the Lord.
We shall not fear.
Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah.
May you be blessed with all that is good.
May your name be written and sealed into the Book of Life.
Amen.
Shalom from Jerusalem! I’m lucky enough to be studying here at the Hartman Institute for two weeks. I’ll have more to say about this four-year Rabbinic Fellowship when I graduate next week, but today I want to call attention to Moreinu HaRav, our Rabbi and Teacher, Rabbi Dow Marmur, of blessed memory. Today, the 18th Day of Tammuz brings us full circle to complete a year since he was lovingly laid to rest in the hills of Jerusalem.
I visited with three generations of Marmurs yesterday in Fredzia’s apartment. She continues to be simultaneously strong and gentle, as she always has been. Tomorrow I’ll go for Shabbat Morning services at Kol HaNeshamah, where Rabbi-Professor Michael Marmur will give the sermon in his father’s memory and the Kiddush-lunch will be for congregants to remember Dow together.
Rabbi Marmur was a proud Reform Jew, who devoted himself to the entirety of the Jewish People. Rabbi Marmur was a proud Zionist, who could make a home for himself just about anywhere. (If you’d like a gift copy of his fascinating memoir, Six Lives, which reflects on his life in six countries, just call the Temple office.) He could teach a single verse of text in light of its greater context. He could observe a single event in light of all of Jewish history. He called our attention to the forest and the individual trees.
De-mo-crat-ia!
When I attended a spontaneous demonstration in Jerusalem this week, I couldn’t help but wonder what Rabbi Marmur would have to say about what I witnessed there. How would he interpret the array of t-shirt slogans and flags? Would he see the scene as glorious evidence of Israel’s strength? Or as worrisome evidence of Israel’s vulnerability?
Every Saturday evening for six months, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been demonstrating for Israel’s democracy. But this was Wednesday evening. Why? The Chief of Police of Tel Aviv was forced to resign because he was not being tough enough on the demonstrators.
That night began the 17th of Tammuz when we commemorate how the walls of Jerusalem were breached two thousand years ago. No one referenced it through the chants over the megaphones, but it was in the air. This day is a delicate day, as it has been throughout Jewish time. According to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6), the 17th of Tammuz marks a series of calamities, of breakages, and ruptures in Jewish history — the burning of a Torah scroll in public by Apostemos, the placement of an idol in the Temple, the banning of the daily sacrifice by the Roman authorities, and the shattering of the two stone tablets by Moses.
Two Stones
With effort, stones can be broken. With effort, stones can also mend what has been broken.
I picked up these two stones from the new National Library of Israel, a place Rabbi Marmur would have loved, and asked one of my classmates, who is also a sofer (a scribe) to write “Pirchei Kodesh” on them. One of the stones will come home with me. One of them will be set at Rabbi Marmur’s grave by his family, so they can feel the presence of all of us, the congregation he served and led so well for so many years.
May Rabbi Marmur’s memory continue to be a blessing for all who learned from him and for all who were cared for by him. To revisit the extraordinary study and remembrances we enjoyed last Selichot in Rabbi Marmur’s honour, click here.
Shabbat Shalom from Yerushalayim, City of Peace.
Dear Holy Blossom Families,
We can’t wait to welcome your children back to Holy Blossom Temple. We have a wonderful year of growth and discovery ahead of us.
As you prepare to return to school, we want you to know we are thinking of you and wishing you well. We share this prayer with you to mark the milestone in the life of your family.
A Back-to-School Prayer
Our God and God of our Ancestors:
Protect, guide, and uplift our children as they return to their schools.
May they know good health and the joy of discovery.
May they know the warmth of good friends, the laughter of unstructured play,
the strength of teammates, and the comfort of community.
May they witness the inspiration of dedicated teachers,
the influence of thoughtful role models,
and the vision of how to create a better world for their generation
and the generations to come.
May they know that they are loved and supported.
May they know the blessings of their people, the safety of their land,
and the strength of their faith.
May they know peace and also resilience, hope and also hard work,
dreams and also practical skills.
May they grow in mind, body, and spirit.
May they know kindness and compassion — receiving it and offering it –
each and every day.
And let us say, Amen!
We wish you and those you love a L’Shanah Tovah!
| Rabbi Yael Splansky | Cantor David Rosen |
| Rabbi Samuel Kaye | Cantorial Soloist Lindi Rivers |
| Rabbi Eliza McCarroll |
How to Elevate your High Holy Day Experience
The current month of Ellul is a gift to help us prepare more deeply, so we can greet the New Year with curiosity, courage, and compassion.
Asking the BIG Questions
This is the time to hold up the mirror and see our life, our character, our dreams more clearly. The pandemic has forced us to ask small questions. It’s time to turn to the bigger questions once again. Let’s find the confidence to do so by turning towards God, who is the Source of All Life.
Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah!
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Founded in 1856, Holy Blossom Temple is Toronto’s first synagogue with a rich history of tradition and modernity in our religious and spiritual expression.