Rabbinic Reflection: Rabbi Samuel Kaye

My previous experience with TIFF was limited to pictures of celebrities in the news. When the bruhaha began with the film “The Road Between Us,” it didn’t even occur to me that attending the film had been an option. You can do that?  

Right before Rosh Hashanah, I shared my experience about how I ended up going to TIFF to see “The Road Between Us,” a film whose story of cancellation and restoration, and then award-winning recognition, is well-known to many of us. That morning, I shared multiple points, and I also made a promise. 

The first of these points was that the film was good, worthy of your time, important, and meaningful. I still believe that to be true. Noam Tibon’s efforts to save his son, his daughter-in-law, and his grandchildren on October 7th, recreated in real time, is harrowing and emotional. How we, the Jewish community and the world, speak about October 7th going forward must be influenced by stories like this one.   

The second was that the protest outside was small and vicious. Today, now that our living hostages are returned to us, and the ceasefire is in place, this point is even more apt. While the remaining protests that we are seeing in our city are truly a minority of Canadian voices, their hateful rhetoric has grown even more transparent. The ‘quiet part’ is being spoken aloud in the streets of Toronto.  

The promise that I made was that we would be showing the film here at Holy Blossom Temple. I’m excited to announce that we will have a community screening of “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” on December 3rd.  

You can register here.  

My hope is that you will join us. On December 3rd, our Toronto Jewish community will have the opportunity to see this film together here at Holy Blossom and talk about its ongoing relevance and message.  

If you saw the movie in theatres, I hope that you will join us again.  

If you missed it, this is a chance to watch with your friends and family in the comfort of our synagogue.  

And for those of you who held off on seeing it, waiting for this opportunity, thank you for your patience and faith. We can’t wait to share this moment with you.  

Am Yisrael Chai.