By Megan Stephens
On Thursday, May 4, as many in Toronto were settling in to watch the Leafs take on the Florida Panthers in round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, seven members of the HBT Board set out for an evening on the Ve’ahavta vans, following the lead of our clergy who had gone out together to help the neediest in our community back in April. It was truly a meaningful volunteer experience – and one I recommend you all consider doing.
The Board members were paired off into two vans with Marla, Phyllis and Diana heading off to Scarborough, and Jeff, the “Erics”, and I on the van destined for downtown Toronto.
Our Toronto Ve’ahavta van stopped in three different locations where we gave out food and hot coffee to those who both clearly needed it, and clearly appreciated it. Many also requested clothing and other supplies (like toiletries, sleeping bags, shoes, etc.) that are stocked on the vans. The cold rainy spring has brought a lot of us down – but the reality for those living on the street is that staying warm and dry has been a real challenge. Who’d have thought that in May, we would be asked for toques and mittens?
We also did a few stops to “regulars” that the Ve’ahavta staff know are “rough-housed”(sleeping on the streets – not staying in shelters) and would need food and supplies. The staff’s connections with the people we met were really inspiring. They don’t see these unhoused or rough-housed folks as frightening, untouchable, or someone to avoid. They see them for who they are: survivors who have had very tough lives – with traumas, mental health challenges, and addictions that have left them on the margins of our society.
Spending the evening helping to give these members of our community a meal, sharing a smile and a laugh over whether this hoodie or those pants were the right ones for them was meaningful – and honestly, fun. All in all, I think our van would agree that it was a much more rewarding evening than it would have been if we’d been watching the Leafs game!
We often talk about the importance of tikkun olam and tzedakah. It really felt good to not just “talk the talk” but to also engage directly in the work of helping others with my fellow board members.
The Holy Blossom Community has committed to help staff the two Ve’ahavta vans every other Thursday. Please sign up for an evening – whether on your own, with friends, or with family. It’s really the most meaningful and rewarding thing I have done in a while. The form to register to sign up is here:
Serving our Neighbours: Staffing the Ve’Ahavta Van as a Community (tfaforms.net)
Thanks again to Phyllis, Diana, Marla, Eric R and Eric K, and Jeff for answering my call to action from the Board – and joining me on the Ve’ahavta van. It really was a community-building experience, in so many ways.
Megan Stephens
Please join Holy Blossom’s ongoing efforts in the important mitzvah of welcoming the stranger as newcomers arrive in Canada every day. At this time, we are seeking support for four specific families as well as for the critical work of JIAS.
For an Afghan family who arrived this past fall, we are seeking:
Winter and Spring/Summer clothes for the children
Girl – sizes 6/9 months (winter) or 9/12 months (summer)
Boy – 4T or 5T
Support completing taxes and planning for the future
The family needs some support completing their taxes. They also have questions about how to plan for their future. If someone is interested in helping them with their current tax return and spend a bit of time working through questions related to future housing, education, and retirement planning that would be very appreciated.
Connections to help with family sponsorship
The wife’s family had fled Afghanistan in recent months, to Türkiye. With the recent events in Türkiye, they would like to apply to sponsor her parents to be able to come to Canada. If anyone is willing/able to help them know what the best way to do this is, that would be great.
For an Iranian woman who arrived in January 2022, we are seeking a bike (she is not very tall) and a two-seat sofa.
For an Iranian woman and her almost three-year-old daughter (and dog) who arrived last month, we are seeking help in finding housing. They are observant Jews and looking for a home where they can readily live a rich Jewish life (with easy walking access to stores with Kosher food, synagogues, daycare, etc.). Once they find housing, we will need furniture and household goods. An umbrella stroller would also be valuable.
For a Ukrainian woman who arrived in the fall of 2022, we are seeking volunteers to help her learn English. She is working full time and taking care of her grandchild after school and thus unable to enroll in typical ESL programs. We are looking for volunteers who can assist (which can be by zoom) on weekends or evenings.
Finally, we are sharing news from an email that we just received from JIAS. In the coming months, JIAS will be responsible for the support of dozens of refugee families. JIAS volunteers are essential in supporting these vulnerable newcomers and they urgently need help. They have issued time-sensitive volunteer support in two areas:
JIAS is hosting an online information session on Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 PM. To register, click here.
For more information about any of these opportunities, please contact Jacqueline Friedland at [email protected].
By Jacque Friedland, Chair, Holy Blossom Refugee Task Force
In the fall of 2015, more than 100 Holy Blossom members gathered in the Philip Smith auditorium to do what Holy Blossom members have done for decades – to make plans to welcome the stranger. At that time, the discussions were about Syrian refugees. The conversations were not that different from 40 years earlier when Holy Blossom members came together to plan for welcoming Vietnamese immigrants. Now, it is time to join together once more and plan for the arrival of new Canadians from Afghanistan in addition to planning for the support that will be needed to welcome the nine people for whom we already have signed documents and are awaiting final permissions to travel to Canada. These include an Iranian Jewish woman currently held as a refugee in Australia, a Yazidi family in Syria, and two men currently in Israel – one from Eritrea and one from Darfur.
We are able to build on the tremendous success of the past six years during which time we have partnered with JIAS [Jewish Immigrant Aid Services] to support multiple families – Syrian, Yazidi, Rwandan, Eritrean, and most recently Nicaraguan. Our volunteers help find new homes; donate furniture, household goods, and clothing; arrange for phones and internet service; drive our families to school, medical, and other appointments; visit on a regular basis; assist with learning English; and so much more.
At this time, we want to connect with all those who are interested in assisting. Assistance could include the sponsorship of an Afghan family (or families) – either through financial support, front-line support in resettlement, or both – as well as support for the families we have already committed to. There are numerous ways for you to be involved in addition to acting as a sponsor. And there is an immediate need to support the family from Nicaragua, particularly with winter clothing (see detailed list at the end of this message).
The primary purpose of this communication is to collect names and information from those who are interested in participating in a wide range of activities as we once again extend ourselves to assist newcomers to Canada. Please reach out to Jacqueline Friedland, Chair of the Holy Blossom Refugee Task Force, through Rabbi Helfman, at [email protected] or call (416) 789 3291 ext. 277.
Specific Requests for Nicaraguan family
Two Children (boy and girl, twins, 3-years old)
Two Adults (1 female size “M” & 1 male size “XXL”)
Health-related need – dentist for children in Toronto
Elliott Jacobson and Judy Malkin joined Holy Blossom Temple in 1983, and immediately were asked to join the New Leadership group that fall. Elliott first joined the Board of Directors in 1989 and became President in 1995. Under his leadership, the Out of the Cold program was established and he was also instrumental in the launch of the Temple Foundation. He has also served as the Chair of the Canadian Council of Reform Judaism (CCRJ) Board. Until the Covid lockdown, Elliott and Judy volunteered for Out of the Cold every Thursday afternoon from November through March in the Holy Blossom kitchen, where Elliott became known as “Mr. Potato Man.”
Elliott and Judy continue to be active and leading members of our congregation. Now they are asking for our help. Please read the following note they have circulated to a number of networks. The Holy Blossom community hopes to identify the special someone who can take up the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh, and extend Elliott’s lifetime, may he live to 120!
Dear Friends,
We have some difficult news to share with you.
My beloved husband, Elliott Jacobson, has been living with kidney disease for several years. He will likely need a kidney transplant sometime within the next 12 to 18 months.
Unfortunately, neither our daughters nor I are eligible donors. We are asking for your help in publicizing the need for a living kidney donor and hope you can spread the word among your contacts, especially via social media. Elliott is not on dialysis and we are hoping to avoid the need for it. A deceased donor transplant is available only to those already on dialysis, and the current wait time is over two years, hence the search for a living donor.
Julie Cissell is the clinical coordinator for the Donor Transplant team. She will be happy to answer any questions about the donor process. She can be reached at [email protected], or by phone at 416-340-4577.
In addition, information is available on the University Health Network website: https://www.uhn.ca/transplant. Please scroll down to see the links for donor information; there is a donor package you can download, as well as information for potential donors. There is a lengthy health history questionnaire and you need to submit a document showing your blood type. The donor information package asks if there is an intended recipient and, if so, the name, so feel free to put Elliott Jacobson’s name in anything you post. That’s the only way the donor team will know.
We have also reached out to Renewal.org, which tries to find matches for Jewish recipients from within the Jewish community. More information on living donor donations can be found on their main page.
Thank you for reading this far. We appreciate your love and support.
Judy and Elliott
1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561
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.