shaar, issue 2

Shaar | Shaarei Tefillah 1

SHAAR Shaarei Tefillah CongregationShavuot 5771 | 2011

2 Shaar | Shaarei Tefillah

L E A D E R S H I P

HaRavMoshe Stern

RabbiRafi Lipner

PresidentHarvey Mincer

S H A A R S T A F F EditorYehezkel Lipinsky

Creative Consultant Rae Szereszewski

Editing ManagerJessica Gilbert

PhotographersShmueli Wolfe Jonathan Weinbaum

Editorial Assistant Chaim Lax

PrintingKwik Kopy Dufferin

On the cover: Gabrielle Fisher (photograph by Jonathan Weinbaum)

Special thanks to: Lisa Frankel, Emily Klemensberg, Arlene Greenberg

Shaar is the magazine of the Shaarei Tefillah community. It is distributed to over 300 people and works to inspire our members and friends.

RetrospectiveThis issue of Shaar magazine has the theme of ‘retrospective’. In this issue we look back. We dwell on the recent past and engage in a discussion with history, memories and emotions.

{Looking Back: December 10: Our very own Rabbi and Rebbitzen Stern visit Prime Minster Stephen Harper and his wife, Laureen at 24 Sussex Dr. to light Chanukah candles.

members and friends.


BEHIND THE S C E N E S

From left to right: Jonathan Weinbaum (Photographer), Rae Szereszewski (Creative Consultant) and Yehezkel Lipinsky (Editor)

Incredible people work behind the scenes at Shaar. I would not be able to create such a successful publication without them. So many people have kindly stepped up to help out since the first issue. A few months ago, when we were celebrating the holiday of Sukkot, Jessica Gilbert spoke to me down at Ryerson University asking if she could edit the next issue since she enjoys editing. I am proud to say that Jessica assumed the role of Editing Manager of this issue. Chaim Lax wanted something to keep busy with this summer so he volunteered to retype key elements of this issue that were given to me in a scanned format. That was an incredible help. Baruch Lipinsky

is a behind the scenes hero who has carefully scanned some of the dated pictures you see in this issue. Rae Szereszewski is not only a friend with a big heart, but also one of the most incredible people behind issue two. She organized the photoshoot, spending two hours envisioning pictures and shaping the event. She created a props list and a most impressive timeline that was carried out to the minute. Jonathan Weinbaum was a last minute photographer for the photoshoot. He took wonderful photos. His work has graced the shul before, but this time, it is even more inspiring. I am just so pleased that he could take the job on such short notice. Shmueli Wolfe has

been a spectacular. He took quite a few incredible photos in this issue and gave me great technical advice. One of Shaar’s greatest allies is Kwik Kopy Dufferin’s manager David Quail, who graciously creates an affordable way to publish a full colour magazine. I cannot thank everyone enough for their time, effort and devotion. I am truly touched. Together, we have created something spectacular.

Sincerely, Yehezkel Editor of Shaar


Musings andThe True Essense of Judaism BY RABBI MOSHE STERN

It is a common place of most versions of “modern” Judaism, though its ultimate source is liberal protestant Christianity, that Judaism’s highest expression is in the domain of the ethical – a domain, thanks to the Hebrew prophets, that supplanted the element of ritual (Tefilin, Mezuzzah, kashrut, Sukkah, Mikveh, etc.). The main thrust of the prophets, so it is claimed, was directed against the ritual practices that clustered around the Temple and its sacrificial service. Their teaching was that the religious demand could only be met by justice, compassion and loving-kindness, not by ritual and sacrifice. To support and buttress this position, many biblical passages are cited. This historical interpretation aside, there is here implied that the ethical and ritual are in intrinsic opposition, and that, of course, the heart of Judaism is the ethical sphere. It can be demonstrated as, indeed, it has been by a variety of Jewish scholars, that this historical interpretation is utterly false. The prophets could no more conceive of a religion without ritual than they could conceive of a religion without G-d. To them, ritual and G-dliness were mutually dependent. Did they not foresee in the Messianic days, a rebuilt Temple in which sacrifices would be brought and to which the people would stream? What the prophets did thunder against was the cutting off of the ritual from the ethical, and the exaltation of the former

as the sole religious demand. That is to say, they would not tolerate the concept that a mechanical performance of the ritual was an end in itself, and that thereby a man fulfilled his religious duty. Now, I readily grant that there are those who in our own time look upon Jewish ritual in precisely that way - namely, as an end in itself, with no relation whatever to the ethical aspect of life. That, I maintain, is a perversion of authentic Judaism, something in contravention of its most profound and now essential teaching. Anything, including Judaism, deserves to be judged by its truest exponents, not its worst (would we condemn medicine because of the quacks that may be found in the profession?). But what is the relationship between the ritual and the ethical in Judaism? Chassidism teaches that ritual’s first function is to generate and sustain in man the sense of the holy. It takes ordinary objects and acts and invests them with sacredness. Specifically, in our context, certain life experiences as we have seen are endowed with this character: birth, marriage, death. Thus, man too is susceptible to holiness and must be regarded and treated as inviolable. To treat man as one would any ordinary object, is to be guilty of a violation of the holy (sacrilege). It can be demonstrated on purely anthropological grounds (continued on page 6)


Musings andMeanings

A Shavuot message from both our Rabbis

Renewing our Vows! BY RABBI RAFI LIPNER

Shavuot has many different themes that can be touched upon – the historic moment of our na-tional Revelation, the remarkable achievement of the Jewish people to come together as one, (something we often wish for in our days), or perhaps the lesson of humility that can be learned from the small moun-tain upon which Hashem chose to give the Torah. However, as we enter the holiday of Shavuot, I want to address the biggest and most obvious theme that surrounds Shavuot: the Torah. Any way you slice it, Shavuot is about our an-cestors receiving the Torah and the fact that every year we renew that vow and commitment to the book that has done more to transform the world than any other book in history. We must keep in mind though, that just as with all of our holidays, Shavuot is not only a time to think about the past, but rather we must look at ourselves in the present and make a renewal for the future. Every Jewish holiday brings with it some of its original power and potential for us to utilize in our time and therefore, each holiday becomes an oppor-tunity to grow and actualize that potential. On Pesach we don’t simply think about the freedom acquired by our forefathers in the ancient past, but rather we are meant to explore our present day lives, remembering that we too are freer than we think and must express that freedom through our choices and actions in the

coming year. On Sukkot, while we commemorate G-d’s protection over us in the desert, we should also challenge ourselves to feel that watchfulness in our day-to-day lives. On Chanukah, as we celebrate the Maccabees who stood up to the rampant Greek as-similation of the day, we are also reminded that in ev-ery generation we must be prepared for this struggle as well, and have the ability to succeed. On Shavuot we don’t just remember the two million people who received the Torah at Har Sinai, but we are urged to think about what our personal Kabalat Hatorah is! Each year we receive the Torah anew, so to speak, staying up all night learning in or-der to prepare ourselves and to show Hashem our willingness to reaccept the Torah with love. What a tremendous opportunity! We, as Jewish people, believe that there is al-ways room for spiritual growth, no matter how far re-moved it may seem from one’s current situation. The rabbis teach that the Jewish people came out of Mitz-rayim on the 49th level of “Tumah” (spiritual impu-rity), that they would literally have been “unsalvage-able” had they sunk one level lower! Yet they were still able to muster the courage to say “Na’aseh V’nishma” – “we will do and we will understand”- a short time after their exodus, and so merited to receive the To-rah. “Akiva”, a direct descendent of Amalek, didn’t even know (continued on page 6)


that man’s ethical sense originally arose out of the more primary sense of the holy. However, crude and rude ancient man’s expression of ethical ideas and feelings, these stemmed, in the origins, out of the taboos which surrounded holy objects, including man himself. In our time, we speak of the dignity of the individual. Behind that term, there lurks the notion that a man should not be treated as a tool, valuable only in utilitarian terms; that there is something about him, no matter what his status, which we dare not trample upon for our own purpose, profit, or pleasure. All that I have attempted to express here is to be found in concrete terms in the 19th chapter of the Book of Leviticus, the chapter the Rabbis of the Talmud described as the very essence of the Torah. The chapter opens with the words: “You shall be holy for I the L-rd your G-d am holy.” It includes the golden rule: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” And revealingly enough, side by side, with this moral command, a number of ritual commands. In the view of the Torah then, there is an intimate positive correlation between the ethical and the ritual. Reverence for life is engendered by the experience of sanctifying life’s processes and activities. If there be no realm of the holy anywhere (and things must be regarded with awe and reverence, but never as an object), how can there suddenly come into being a reverence for life: G-d and man are in

the same co-ordinate: ”Ye shall be holy, for I the L-rd you G-d am holy.” The great achievement of the prophets was to establish the ethical dimension as supreme in Judaism. “The holy G-d is sanctified by righteousness,” declares the Prophet Isaiah. Though there is no inherent antagonism between the two dimensions, such however, are life’s unforeseen complexities, that on occasions the two do conflict. Then, of course, Judaism’s answer is that the ethical must take precedence. Thus, there is no ritual command that ought not be disregarded in order to save a life. But to argue from this that the ritual is unimportant, or even in general opposition to the moral command, is to be guilty of mis-representation. I may sometimes have to make a choice between reading a book or visiting a sick friend. Yet, obviously, the two are not inherently opposed to each other, nor is the former unimportant. In fact, it may make me a more interesting visitor. The really great Jewish spirits were those men, and they were innumerable, for whom the ritual and ethical aspects of Judaism formed a single, integrated whole and reinforcing the other.

The True Essense of Judaism BY RABBI MOSHE STERN continued

the aleph bet at the age of 40 when he sat down to learn with the preschool children. He grew up to be the famed Rabbi Akiva, who not only grew in his own Torah knowl-edge, but was also responsible for teaching thousands of students and rebuilt the Torah world in his days. We, too, can grow and build our own Torah world by recognizing and actualizing the potential of the holiday of Shavuot. Each person must ask him/herself: “How am I currently taking ownership of the Torah and making it my own? What do I want my Torah commitment to look like over the next 12 months?” At the same time, we have a communal responsi-bility to accept the Torah as well. The strength of a com-munity is not simply to come together, but to grow togeth-er. Our bond to each other should carry along with it a positive peer pressure to encourage each and every one of us to take one step forward in our personal renewal of our commitment to Torah study. There is no behind or ahead, and no ones step is better or worse than anyone else’s…as long as it is a step forward. As long is there is a little per-sonal na’aseh v’nishma. Get a study partner, read a “sefer” (Jewish book), attend a class, or suggest a class that you want to see happen and let’s make that happen.

When the Second Temple was on the verge of be-ing destroyed, Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai was granted a request (in fact 3) from Vespasian the Roman Emperor. While the obvious choice would have been “don’t destroy the temple,” that was not his choice. Rather, he beseeched him to leave “Yavne V’chachomeha” – the city of Yavne and its scholars –because he realized that the Jewish people can survive even without the Beit Hamikdash, but if the Jewish people were to lose their Torah, then that would be the end. So, this Chag, spend a little time remembering the vow we all made at Har Sinai, to do and to understand, and reflect on the best way to renew your vow, whether it be through personal learning, and/or increasing your chil-dren’s and grandchildren’s learning. May we all merit to grow and learn together as in-dividuals, a community, and a people. On behalf of my entire family, I wish you and your family a Chag Sameach!

Renewing Our Vows! BY RABBI RAFI LIPNER continued


Shavuot Connectionsat Shaarei Tefillah

Shaarei Tefillah Congregation continues to be a hub of activities. It is not only religious events, but also adult education, youth programs and even mixed martial arts continue to attract larger crowds than ever before. Yasher Koach to Rabbi Moshe Stern and Rabbi Rafi Lipner on their exemplary leadership. In addition, we must acknowledge and thank a number of key community leaders for their help and support over this past year. Rabbi Avraham Bartfeld, Rabbi Nachum Berlat and Rabbi Michael Skobac have helped to make Shaarei Tefillah feel like a true community synagogue. Their involvement and support is highly valued and appreciated. This is yet another reason why I value my association with our shul. There is an interesting teaching in the Talmud that says, “He who responds with all his strength, Amen, may His great Name be blessed, nullifies any punishment which Heaven may have issued against him” (T.B. Shabbath 119b). “With all his strength” probably does not mean at the top of one’s lungs’ what is required is that it is said with all of a person’s devotion. We might interpret “with all his strength” to mean when a person is at the peak of his mental and physical faculties. God welcomes us at all ages and in all conditions. It is clear that when the octogenarian turns to observance it is one thing, and when a youth of eighteen, a newlywed, a family man, or a busy executive commits to Torah observance it is quite different. He who resolves to sanctify the name of God in the “peak” of life can indeed change his entire fate and future (Bunim, Ethics from Sinai, 1:14). If we chose to serve God for the sake of serving and not for any external reward as discussed in Pirkei

Avot we can change ourselves and even others. This can apply to an organization too. In order to affect change, effort and energy must be expended and we need your devotion in one of two ways. We invite you to contribute your time to help organize or coordinate one of the many active committees we have. An alternative is for you to contribute financially in order for the leadership to plan and carry out the mission of the synagogue.

“If not now, when?” Hillel –Pirkei Avot 1:14

On behalf of the Executive Officers and Board of Governors’ of Shaarei Tefillah Congregation and on behalf of Maggie, Shiffy, Adina, Zack and Effie

Chag Sameach! Wishing everyone a healthy and safe summer!

A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT HARVEY MINCER

{ “If not now, when?”

Hillel –Pirkei Avot 1:14

{


Executiveat work

Here at Shaar, we asked our Executive to recount stories and reasons about why they volunteer. Here are some responses we got.

(and the 1960’s look? Why not? It’s a ‘Retropective’ issue). ).

HARVEY MINCER| PRESIDENT “I attend Shaarei Tefillah because I like all the Rabbis who teach and the Torah I have learned from them. The people warmly welcomed me when I first started to attend, especially Mr. Howard Wolfe. My wife Maggie and my four children have also found it to be a comfortable and welcoming place. I feel it is impor-tant to contribute to my Modern Orthodox shul because I get back more than I give. I feel connected to the community and to the people who also feel connected the shul. I am working to help Shaarei Tefillah achieve its mission.”

Special Executive Focus: Mark Greenberg, 2nd Vice President

Mark Greenberg has recently joined our shul as a member and has already stepped up to the plate of being on the Executive. Let’s see what motivates him.:

“Shaaarei Tefillah is very reminiscent to shul to which our family belonged in Ottawa, and in which I grew up.It is a shul committed to Traditional Judaism, religious practice and commitment to Medinat Yisrael. I have become invigorated by the addition of young families, and am committed to see Shaarei Tefillah grow and thrive. It is a great honour to have been elected to the Board, as Vice President and Parnos. It is a role that I take seriously and I hope that I can live up to the expectations of the office to which I have been elected.


MAGGIE MINCER |SISTERHOOD PRESIDENT“My years at Shaarei Tefillah have been memorable and rewarding. I enjoy the comfortable environment, learning experiences and socializing opportunities for me, Harvey and my children. Over the years I have joined many different committees in order to improve my childrens’ shul, Shabbat and holiday experiences. As part of my involvement, I have had the opportunity to create programs and run events bringing people together for joyous occasions. I look forward to making many more memories with the ST family in the future.”

MICHAEL ROSENBLITT| 1ST VICE PRESIDENT “Shaarei Tefillah feels like home to me. I am deeply committed to seeing the shul grow and flourish and continue to serve the community for future generations. I admire the people who make up the congregation at Shaarei Tefillah, I like and respect my co-workers on the executive and the committees who volunteer so much of their time to make the shul a success. I find the spiri-tual leadership very inspiring. Shaarei Tefillah helps our family to express our yiddishkeit, and strive to be better Jews and human beings”.

LORNE KATZ |SECRETARY “My volunteering at the Shul began when Roy and Mickey Alkin (aleha haShalom) asked me to be on the Gala Dinner committee.Under their guidance, I learned what could be done when strong leadership directs a group of shul members to produce results and the satisfaction that was felt by being part of a group involved in a common cause. Even though Mr. Alkin could be tough and temperamental, he taught me that even volunteers had to treat their responsibilities like they were running their own business.”

Introducing the new Board of Governers Jake Anhang • Henry Anzarouth • Syd Broer • Sy Baltman • Jack Cornfield • Harry Figov

• Moishe Fishbaum • Joel Friedman • Mark Greenberg • Horace Jatwes • Lorne Katz • Miriam Kleiman • Frank Kormendi • David Louis • Harvey Mincer • Maggie Mincer • Lynda Ostroff • Howie Paskowitz • Issy Polakow • Michael Pomerantz • Michael Rosenblitt • Victor

Safirstein • Saul Schwartz • Mena Shupak • Jerry Silverberg • Jack Slome • Marshall Train • Tova Train • Howard Wolfe

u

TOVA TRAIN |SISTERHOOD PRESIDENT “When my husband and I were married at Shaarei Tefillah synagogue in 1987, I could not have anticipated that I would have one day become sisterhood president. Shortly after we were married, my father in law passed away and my husband began to say Kaddish at the shul. He was so enthusiastic about the warm reception he received, that he convinced me to give Shaarei Tefillah a try. One baby naming, three brisses, and three bar and bat mitzvahs later, I feel like Shaarei Tefillah is a second home. I volun-teer at Shaarei Tefillah because I believe in building community and I know that my community will support me and my family in all our endeavors.”

HOWIE WOLFE | IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT “About 15 years ago, the Kiddush club was downstairs. We had a short head table , with two rows extending from it. We also had two round tables set up opposite the head table. Rabbi Stern was speaking , and I was sitting next to him . A small boy went up to his father at one of the round tables , cup in hand. The bottles of pop were empty. The boy insisted. His father noticed a full bottle in front of the Rabbi. The little boy walked the whole length of the tables, and stood in front of the Rabbi with his cup. Without missing a beat, the Rabbi reached over the table and filled the boy’s cup. And that is what is so great about Shaarei Tefillah.”


On October 28, 2010, Rabbi & Rebbitzen Stern were honoured on the occasion of 30 “Years of Devotion”- 30 years of service to Shaarei Tefillah and to the community at large. Amidst a packed hall, we listened to inspiring words from many guests and Rabbonim including Israel Consul General Amir Gissin, Rabbi Meir Rosenberg, Rabbi Hoschander on behalf of the Toronto Vaád,

Kurt Rothschild- World Chairman Mizrachi, and Tova Train and Maggie Mincer. Our featured speaker Rabbi Sydney Shoham, Rabbi Emeritus of the Beth Zion Congregation in Cote St. Luc and long time friend of our honourees, brought a beautiful finish to the evening with warm words that could only remind us how privileged we have been to have had both the Rabbi and Rebbitzen serve our shul. A lovely video was shown that was sent from the Stern children and grandchildren. One could see the love and devotion the family holds for their Aba, Ema, Saba and Savta. It was my privilege to be Chair of a wonderful committee that made the evening a huge success. May we only be together to celebrate Simchas.

Lorne KatzChair, Dinner Committee

Reflecting on the tribute dinner honouring

For 30 years of

Passion, Commitment and Friendship

PHOTOS BY SHMUELI WOLFE.


Learning. Shavuot

Shavuot is the holiday on which we celebrate the giving of the Torah to the Nation of Israel. Upon examination, one would find that the Torah usually lists exactly what day a holiday begins. For example, on Pesach the Torah tells us that “On the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos (Vayikra 23:6).” However, come Shavuot we find something different. The Torah writes “and you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Shabbat...you shall count 50 days and you shall bring a new Mincha offering to Hashem... and you shall convoke on this very day- there shall be a holy convocation for yourselves (Vayikra 23:15).” Why does the Torah not tell us the day of Shavuot? Why does the Torah force us to calculate 50 days from the start of our counting of the Omer to figure out when Shavuot is? The Torah is compose of two parts: The written law, the Torah as we see it written in Tanach, and the Oral law, the elaborations, explanations and clarifications of that found in the Tanach, which we

have nowadays as the Talmud. G-d gave both the Oral and the Written law to the nation of Israel at Sinai. The Oral law was transmitted from generation to generation until the point where the Sages were worried that we would forget it. They preserved it first as the Mishna, which was a concise, systematic compilation that was to serve as a memory device for later generations. However, later generations began to forget even more, and the Sages determined that writing down even more was necessary. Today, we have this as the Gemora. Hashem gave these two parts of the Torah, as mentioned, to us at Sinai. That we acknowledge and believe that G-d gave the Torah in its entirety to us at Sinai is essential. It is to illustrate how central a role the Oral law plays that the Torah does not mention the date of Shavuot. The Torah terms the starting date for the count of the 50 days “macharat HaShabbat,” “the day after the Shabbos.” The Oral law tells us that this is the second day of Pesach, the “Shabbat” referred

A Lesson from a Date- Shavuot

PHOTOS BY SHMUELI WOLFE.


to in the verse being the first day of Pesach. The Tzedukim, Sadducees, who did not give credence to the Oral law, explained this verse differently. They explained it to mean literally the day after Shabbat. So, they began counting from the first Sunday after Pesach. When we celebrate Shavuot on the day that we do, we are simultaneously affirming our belief in the Oral law. After all, it is only with the clarification that the Oral law provides that we know when Shavuot falls. Shavuot, the holiday on which we celebrate the fact that we have the Torah, is the day on which we acknowledge that we received all of the Torah, both oral and written. To be sure that we recognize the entirety of the Torah G-d omitted the exact date on which we celebrate from the written Torah. Only by relying

upon the Oral law can we celebrate Shavuot in its proper time. This Shavuot, we should all merit inspiration by the realization that G-d entrusted us with an amazing gift: the Torah.

Shavuot NamesThe holiday of Shavuot is known by various names which indicate is nature and importance, such as follows:

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). The holiday occurs exactly 7 weeks following Pesach, directly after the Omer or Sefirah period, the counting of which begins on the 2nd night of Pesach.

Zemon Mattan Toratenu (Season of the Giving of our Torah). The festival commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai by the L-rd.

Chag Habikurim (Festival of the First Fruits). On this day, the season of the offering of the “first fruits,” began which were brought to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Chag Hakatsir (Festival of the Harvest). This was the season of the harvest, and the first offer-ing of the new harvest was brought in the form of two loaves of bread.

Atzeret (Solomon Assembly). In the Mishna and Talmud, Shavuot is called Atzeret, Assembly or Closing Festival. The festival concludes Pesach and is also called Atzeret Shel Pesach (Closing season of Passover) to distinguish it from the 7th day of Pesach and from the closing day of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).


The TorahThe words of the Torah are like water:

As the water surrounds the earth, so does the Torah encompass the whole world.As the water is the life of the world, so is the Torah.As the water is given free, so is the Torah given free.

As the water (rain) comes from Heaven, so does the Torah.As the water (rain) comes down amid thunder and lightning, so was the Torah given amid thunder and

lighting.As the water refreshes the soul, so does the Torah.

As the water comes down in drops and turns into streams of torrents, so does the Torah: You learn a few Laws today, a few tomorrow, until it becomes a flowing river of knowledge to you.

As water leaves high places and flows down to low places, so the Torah leaves those who are proud, and stays among those who are humble of spirit.

As the water will not keep fresh in vessels of gold and silver, but only in an earthen pitcher, so the Torah will not stay except in one who regards himself to be as humble as an earthen vessel.

Finally, as in the case of water, the great man will not be ashamed to say to a smaller man, “Give me some water to drink,” so the great Torah scholar will not be ashamed to learn from a lesser one.

Laws and Customs of Shavuot1) Shavuot takes place on the sixth and seventh of the Hebrew month of Sivan.2) On each of the two nights of Shavuot, the blessing “She’He’Che’Yonu” is recited when the holiday candles are lit and when the Kiddush is recited.3) Yizkor- Memorial Service- is recited the second day of Shavuot.4) It is a custom to decorate the synagogue with greenery as a reminder to pray to G-d that the Almighty provide mankind with a bumper crop.5) Before the reading of the Torah on Shavuot, the beautiful poem “Akdamut” is recited. This poem, which was writ - ten by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzhchak in the eleventh century, narrates the glory of G-d during the giving of the Torah. 6) There are many reasons why the Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot. These are three of them: A. It discusses the season of reaping and cutting, which is the time of Shavuot. B. Our ancestors became converts to the Torah at the giving of the Ten Commandments. Therefore, we read Ruth, who also became a convert. C. King David is descended from Ruth, and David was born on Shavuot, and he died on Shavuot.7) The Shavuot menu usually consists of “Milchigs”- dairy meals- because: A. The Torah is compared to honey and milk, and on this day when we received the Torah, we eat milk dishes. B. The Torah was given on Saturday, and as soon as the Jews heard the Torah, they were prohibited to eat “Treifa” (non-kosher) food. Therefore, when they reached their homes, they couldn’t slaughter on Shabbat, and their pots and pans were “Treif,” so they were forced to eat dairy meals. In remembrance of it, we eat dairy meals on Shavuot.8) On Shavuot night, many Jews stay up all night and study Torah. Tradition relates that on the night we were to receive to the Torah, the Israelites felt drowsy and began to fall asleep, and Moses had to awaken them. By staying up the entire night studying the Torah, we show that we appreciate the wonderful, G-d given treasure.9) Other than cooking and carrying from the private to the public domain, (and vice versa), the laws of Shabbat and the Festival are the same.


the

SimchaDouble When Tony Reich proposed to Zelda Raskin, and Sol Werb proposed to Marcia Raskin, both young couples had no idea that they would be having a double wedding. “Zelda and Tony became engaged first and were living in England and a few months later Sol and I became engaged as well” Marcia Werb explained. Her parents had quite the dilemma: ‘two weddings?” After numerous phone calls to England and to Edmonton(where Sol’s parents lived) and consultations with Rabbi Berglas (the Rabbi of Shaarei Tefillah at the time), it was decided that they would have a double wedding on August 18, 1974. Her father also maintained a close friendship with Rabbi Rosensweig and he agreed to officiate at one of the chuppas and Rabbi Berglas would officiate at the other. Halacha (Jewish Law) states that two sisters cannot marry on the same day. So Zelda and Tony got married before Mincha and Marcia and Sol got married after Maariv since the Jewish day begins at night. Marcia’s mother, Mary Raskin even designed the invitations. One reception followed both weddings. That weekend, the air conditioning broke in the Social Hall and there was a TTC strike. Tony and Sol’s parents as well as the out of town guests had a most difficult time m a n o e u v r i n g a r o u n d

Toronto. Sol’s

best man was suppose to meet Ben Raskin (Marcia and Zelda’s father) on Spadina to go to the Shabbat dinner at the Raskin house. However, he did not exactly end up meeting him. He got into the wrong car (as everyone helped car pool strangers at that time) and never showed up to the dinner! Sol’s friend showed up at the oufruf (and yes, there were two!) and explained that he got into the wrong car, asked if the man who was driving was Mr. Raskin (not knowing him) and ended up at Bathurst and Eglinton, not at the Raskins’ dinner. The wedding had two colour schemes. Both brides knew that having a double wedding honoured their parent’s wishes and committed themselves to make it a great success. Unfortunately, Marcia and Zelda were not at each other’s chuppah. Marcia sat at the top row of the balcony sanctuary during Zelda’s ceremony, because she could not be seen before her bedecking and chuppah. The Raskin/Werb/Reich families have always been active and strong supporters of Shaarei Tefillah.Ben z’l, and Mary Raskin were always in the fore front volunteering and being outstanding members of Shaarei Tefillah.”We honour their committment”, Marcia said .Creating the only double wedding Shaarei Tefillah has seen, naming their children and having a recent Werb oufruf shows the families great devotion to the shul.

BY YEHEZKEL LIPINSKY


Inspired Programming

There has been amazing programming for the women of Shaarei Tefillah. We have hosted Indian Chai, a celebration of the Jews of India; we have learned about plastic surgery, in all its glory; and seen so many entertaining films. We have hosted 5 Mazel Bingo evenings, raising close to $10,000, and planned so many hilarious Purim parties. Perhaps our favourite of those was our Country-Western night. Just watching everyone learn to square dance was a spectacle- especially watching the men try to master the steps was priceless. We have made a point of asking our members to share some of their special knowledge with us as Sunday morning guest speakers. To our doctors, lawyers, Rabbis, Rebbitzens and cooks we say a special thanks! What a talented and engaging membership we have! We have also invited professional organizers, artists, singers, antiquities experts and cooks into our shul. It is always fascinating to hear about the interests and accomplishments of our neighbours and friends. The Sisterhood has spent considerable energy working to create beautiful and comfortable spaces in our shul. We have added bookshelves and seating to the Ladies’ foyer and plants and stands to the sanctuary. We have helped to refurbish the kitchen

and redecorate the Bride’s Room, and eve fix the roof! We decorate the shul and lobby for the chaggim and make an effort to have doughnuts and hamentaschen as needed! It seems we always need pastries! Most importantly, the Sisterhood has taken on the important initiative of offering scholarships to our members’ children. We believe that the youth hold the future of our community in their hands and we want to help them achieve their goals in Jewish learning. We work hard to raise money for this very important part of our agenda and we thank you for helping us. Our fundraisers, whether they are for the youth or the shul are always fun. Thank you for buying our notecards, flowers, bingo cards and bookmarks. Our Shavuot flower sale is underway right now! And, as a matter of fact, look out for our new notecards! They should be available for sale soon! Next year we are moving into brand new territory! Look out for our announcement of new programs and plans in the Fall. We have ideas, BIG ideas! We hope you will join us on the exciting new journey!

Chag Sameach,Tova Train and Maggie Mincer

Shaarei Tefillah Sisterhood has had an amazing run the last few years! We have had the privilege, and

fun of planning so many programs with our fearless executive. BY TOVA TRAIN

BY YEHEZKEL LIPINSKY


Unsuspected Artist Looking Back: the artistic past of Julius Ciss

For members at Shaarei Tefillah, Julius Ciss is known as a tall man, looming in his long talit, davening from a small, worn Birnenbaum siddur. When praying the Amidah (silent prayer), his talit is over his head. He looks deep in spiritual thought. He is known as a warm man with a big smile and resonant voice. To the greater Jewish community, Julius is known as the Director of Jews for Judaism, the counter-missionary organization that helps Jews fight the effects of Christian missionary movements. He is a perfect candidate for this role as he was once a Jew for Jesus member himself. However, few know about another career Julius held. For almost thirty years, Julius was an artist. He was a commercial illustrator, painting covers and editorial drawings for magazines like

Chatelaine, Maclean’s and Toronto Life. He created advertisements for bestselling products like Cadbury and Ritz crackers. Few know Julius as the famous and prolific commercial artist. Julius’ first recollection of drawing was on the second day of kindergarten: “My older brother took me to kindergarten... I was scared... I was crying. I didn’t want to be left alone. So my brother Joe said, ‘why don’t you draw me a boat?’.” Ciss chuckles a little. “And I drew this gevulteke ‘titanic’ boat with big steams stacks coming up in it. That was the first drawing I remember drawing.” Julius developed his techniques through the years, later drawing Superman and Batman comics. He learned his anatomy from those by drawing biceps and body parts.


In grade seven and eight he rigourously drew in his notebooks, illustrating them beautifully. His history and geography notebooks were full of creative drawings made with colour pencils. He still has some of them. He continued drawing as he took art throughout high school. Julius’ first serious illustration work was as art director for his high school yearbook. Even though art was so important in his life, Julius applied i to the University of Toronto in his hope of one day becoming a doctor. “I didn’t want to become a doctor”, Julius says, “my parents wanted me to become a doctor. And I figured well I got to do my parents proud”. Making art his path in life fell into his lap. Julius’ high school art teacher encouraged him to apply for an art scholarship. Julius agreed. After he read the conditions, he came back to his teacher and said he couldn’t apply for the scholarship because he did not apply to an art school. His art teacher couldn’t believe it. He said, “Why aren’t you?”. Julius applied to an art college and submitted the form for the scholarship. He ended up getting the scholarship. “I got the scholarship”, Julius remarks, “it was tuition for the first year.” Since the rest of Julius’ grades were average, he went to art college, attending the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University). His parents were disappointed; “I remember more seriously, one of my parents’ friends from across the road really gave me a lecture. ‘How can you do this? [they asked],

What kind of life is this going to be? You’re going to be a starving artist. You’re not going to make a living...’” Julius continues “I felt a strong sense of following my personal choice of my destiny. I wanted to do what I wanted to do. Now the funny thing is that I fell into it by accident. Remember, that is I didn’t know what I wanted to do, until I got that scholarship. Until I applied for that scholarship then got it, for me that was an awakening. First of all it was saying, ‘hey Julius, you’re capable at doing this particular thing. So much so that of above all people in Southern Ontario, we’re going to give this to you.” In his last year at the Ontario

College of Art, Julius won the oppourtunity to study anywhere in the world for one year. He chose New

York’s School of Visual Arts. After a bit of time, Julius found that he really didn’t like it. “One of the counsellors at the School of Visual Arts advised me to maybe try getting a work-study program with one of the design firms or illustration studios in New York.

Cover illustration for “The Rosh HaShanah - Yom Kippur Survival Kit”. Illustration entitled, “Will the Congregation Please Rise”

Kraft ad entitled: “Bear Crossing”


So I ended up getting a work-study arrangement.” He ended up working in Herb Lubalin’s firm. He learnt an immense amount in Lubalin’s company. When he came back to Toronto, he called up one of his friends from the Ontario College of Art to catch up. He was invited to a baseball game. His friend, Steve Costello was the Assistant Art Director of Quest Magazine. Steve had told the Art Director of Quest that Julius was an illustrator. From that baseball game, Julius got his first job: designing the cover for Quest Magazine. From that moment, his career jump started. Julius rose to the top, being known as one of the top illustrators in Canada from 1975-1990. He did multiple covers for Maclean’s drawing portraits of President Ronald Reagen and other political figures. He worked on advertisements for Cadbury

and Ritz Crackers. Studio Magazine has described Julius’ technique:“He also likes thesurrealistic, like to arouse emotion, to jar the viewer and leave him thinking”. Julius explained his artistic style: “For me the challenge was to get reaction from the viewer. It was not enough just to make a picture. I wanted to say something that solved the editorial challenge but at the same time gave me the vehicle to express myself as the artist that I wasn’t so that there was a sense of purpose in accomplishing an image that no one had ever seen before. In other words, I could easily do a painting of flowers or a

landscape. But I couldn’t do that. I wanted to try to find stuff that combined things surrealistically... it was coming up with those ideas and then executing them.” Gord Sibley, once art director of Chatelaine and the Canadian said: “To use Julius as a decorative artist I think is a waste of time... but to use him as a visual and creative problem-solver- that’s where he really shines”. Once, Julius had to pictorially showcase how food sweeteners have evolved from honey to corn. He used the upper half of a bee and made the bee’s lower half the end of a corn cob. It is ingenious work, telling of his creative problem solving skills. In 1982, Julius began working to help combat Jews for Jesus. By 1989, Jews for Judaism America heard about Julius’ work and asked him to be an official representative in Canada. By that time, Julius was also teaching at the Ontario College of Art, which he had been doing since 1977. He would work hard with his students, understand that they were not reaching their full potential and worked hard to assist them in creating multiple ideas for each project and execute them artistically. He wouldn’t accept sloppy work. He forced the students to excel beyond their dreams. By 1994, Julius applied to UJA’s Burman Fund which was offering grants to nonprofit start-ups. Jews for Judaism received one. Julius was stretching himself thin. He was working three jobs at once: being a full time commercial artist, director at Jews for Judaism and teacher at the Ontario College of Art. By 2004, things were getting uneasy. “I was running into a problem with the Ontario College of Art. By 2004, the internet

One of Julius’ favorite pieces: an editorial illustration for an article about friendship for

Madame Au Foyer Magazine


was beginning to really taking off. And students in my art class were going online to see what I was all about. They would go online and all they would see is Jews for Judaism. And they go ‘huh?’ That can’t be the same Julius Ciss... by that time, after the year 2000, I was really diminishing the promotion of my career [as a commercial artist] so I had nothing online... by that time, the students would go online and see all this anti-missionary stuff... I was really giving them mixed messages. I realized though, that I was giving myself a mixed message and I was burning the candle at both ends: my art career and my career devoted to the Jewish community. I had to give one of them up... it was all consuming... I guess the combination of the working, not stopping and my getting older, I had to make a decision. The problem was, I didn’t know how to decide... what do I do? Give up a G-d given talent? That doesn’t make sense... So I tried to find an answer and couldn’t. And there was one Rabbi who I trusted his opinion amazingly, Rabbi Michel Twersky of Miluakee... I consulted with him and he said to me... he said, ‘you know Julius, I can’t tell you what to do. All I can do is make your decision more difficult’. I said ‘what do you mean?’ He said ‘I am just going to throw you another question and maybe that question will help direct you’... he said ‘which choice will be better for the Jewish people?’. For me it was as if a light went off. That’s it... that conversation resolved it and closed the books on my

career as an illustrator and decided to go for tilt in the counter-missionary work. So it’s a sad ending on one hand to an interesting artistic career but it’s a happy continuation to my commitment to the counter-missionary work. There’s one other thing I have to add though because people don’t understand how I could give up. People don’t understand: ‘You’re an artist. Don’t you have to express yourself?’... I have no interest in painting whatsoever. Not at all... The reality is that for whatever peculiar reason... my impetus was parnosoh (work). When asked if he felt fulfilled, Julius answered: “I feel fulfilled in what I am doing now... because I know that what I am doing now is going beyond expressing myself and helping others.”

Discover Julius’ work at Jews for Judaism at www.jewsforjudaism.ca and see more of his artwork at www.juliusciss.com.

Julius’ wife, Claire is also an artist. She is a prolific portrait-landscape and ketubah artist.

All of Julius’ work is hand done using acrylics.

Sources: Studio Magazine June 1986 Vol. 4 No 3.

Cadbury ad entitled: “The Thick of the Crop”


Peopleof the Book

הדגבא

Shavuot is the anniversary of the giving of the Holy Torah to the Jewish people. The Torah is

what separates us from the rest of the world. It is what makes us different from all other people. It is our heritage. The Torah has been handed down for generations and is now in our hands. Will we live up to the expectations of the great leaders that preceded us? As “the people of the book” we are well known for our constant learning. The only way we can unlock the hidden treasures of the Torah is through education. Without education our entire heritage is in peril. Each and every Jew is responsible to learn the truth of our holy teachings.

The Adult Education Committee has been busy bringing you amazing events. As a recap, here is what we offered in our Spring Program:• Prayer with Gord Lindsay • The Secret Path to Serenity with Devora Chana

Weisswasser• Classes with Rabbi Moshe Stern • Halachik Analysis of Contemporary Issues• Pirkay Avot (Jewish Ethics)• Talmud with Rabbi Stern • Ladies Weekly Study & Discussion Group• The Mystical Meaning of the Hebrew Alphabet

with Rabbi Michael Skobac, Educational Director of Jews for Judaism

• Daf Yomi with Rabbi Avraham Bartfeld, Rav of Cong. Bais Dov Yosef

• Prophets with Rabbi Tzvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher (COR)

• Deepening your Spiritual Practice using Jewish Meditation with Chashi Skobac

• Triumph of Spirit with Chaya Malka Abramson

We are currently working on the Fall Program. Our planning includes a series for women by Rebbetzin Stern on Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) and Rabbi Shlomo Jakobovits for Holocaust Education Week. Discussions regarding both a medical series and a history series are in progress as well as other programming. Rabbi Stern always has thought provoking programs and Rabbi Heber is continuing his Prophets series. We are also working on bringing in dynamic internationally known speakers for special events. The Shaarei Tefillah Adult Education Committee is serious about education. We attempt to offer programs for the illumination of everyone from beginner to advanced student. However, we need your help. Classes will only benefit those who are committed to attending them. If we are to grow as a vibrant, knowledgeable and exciting community we need to be committed to continuous learning. We need your participation in the programs. We are always open to suggestions and recommendations. Please provide your insights to one of our dedicated committee members.

Rabbi Skobac, an inspirational speaker

A MESSAGE FROM THE ADULT EDUCATION COMMITTEE By Miriam Kleiman, Chair


Rabbi Stern teaches the Women’s Rosh Chodesh class

Introducing the Shaarei Tefillah Adult Education Committee:

Miriam Kleiman, Chair

Lisa Frankel

Victor Safirstein

Dr. Morty Silverberg

Shiffy Mincer

David Kleiman

We pray that you reach new levels of understanding and continuously strive for self-improvement. May Hashem provide you with illumination to guide you on the true path that was paved by your ancestors.

The Adult Education Committee wishes you a C h a g S a m e a c h !


YOUTH!

Hey! I hope everyone has had a great school year and is getting ready for the summer! As the weather becomes beautiful, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a really fun year. As we come into our final few weeks of the program, I hope everyone’s expectations stay high! We have had some wonderful events, including the highly successful Chocolate Seder, and a wonderful Purim party! We are looking forward to our upcoming Shavuot Ice Cream Party, so keep your appetites big because there will be so much ice cream! The other staff members, as well as myself, have some really fun programs ready to go on a weekly basis, so get ready! Our final Shabbat for the year will be June 25, 2011, and so, in these last 7 weeks, we hope everyone comes with a smile, and we look forward to spending the next few weeks with you!

Sincerely,Ben Wine

Members of the Youth team enjoy some summertime sundaes. From left to right: Ben Wine (Youth Director), Zack Mincer (Youth Leader) and Elliot Wine (Youth Leader).


Kidding Around: Making Shavuot Kid-Friendly

Shavuot heralds in the summer months. Flowers adorn the shul and the weather is often warm and sunny (a direct contradiction to when I write this: in the middle of a May rainstorm). Shavuot is also a holi-day that serves itself well to educating kids on many levels, and, happily, as a springboard into Jewish learn-ing and growth! I hope to provide you your own springboard into creating Jewish learning experiences for your children.

Little Ones (3-5)Concept: Simple Har SinaiSmall children can relate to the excitement in which Matan Torah took place. The Mishnah states that Hashem “auditioned” various mountains but Sinai stood out for being plain, simple and modest. There are several songs and stories about this, but how about using the concept of “plain and simple Har Sinai´ to teach the very real lessons of unique qualities that all children posses? Take It Home: Make it a puppet show! Using construction paper (brown or gray), cut three different mountain shapes: tall, wide and in between. Let your children decorate the mountains with flower drawings and even place stick-ers of animals on them to mimic the scene at Sinai. (According to the Mishnah, animals and birds stood silently throughout Matan Torah!) Then, attach each mountain to a popsicle stick and allow your children to assume the characters of the mountains! Remember not to focus on which mountain is “better” than the others. Rather, choose to emphasize the unique qualities of each and how Sinai’s qualities were best for the task at hand!

Older Ones (6-9)Concept: We Are FamilyMegilat Ruth is read on Shavuot . One of the main themes of the story is the strength of Ruth’s ties to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. When Ruth’s husband died, she could have gone back to her own family. Yet, she chose to stay with Naomi and her selfless nature led to her being the ancestor of King David! Use this beautiful story to honour and strengthen the bonds of your own family lead by your children! Take It Home:Make a family tree! Using websites like Ancestry.com or even good old library books, research your family tree! Draw it out and get creative: use pencil crayons, markers or how about real branches? Simply hot-glue them (with an adult’s helping hand!) to a piece of cotton fabric. Then, use fabric paint or a permanent mark-er to write names of family members along the branches. Once complete, you have a lovely wall hanging to cherish for years to come!

YOUTH!


Oldest Ones (10-13+ )Concept: Taking it On!Older children love to assume responsibility (or at least, so they think!) When B’nei Yisrael said “N’aseh V’Nishma—we will do and we will listen” when Hashem presented the Torah to them, they took possession of the mitzvahs to heart. Why not use this concept to reinforce communal responsibility in your children?Take It Home:Communal responsibility comes in many forms. Perhaps make a chore wheel so everyone in the family is responsible for one task per day. To make the wheel, take a paper plate and divide it with marker into 6-8 sections with different chores. Next, cut out a circular piece of construction paper with all your family mem-ber’s names and attach it to the plate using a butterfly clip. Each day, rotate the wheel so that everyone has a new job! For another form of taking it on, why not spend one day a week (or even one day a month) volunteering in and around the community? You can grow food Jewishly in the Kavanah Gardens in Vaughan, deliver food to the homeless with Veahavta, or even offer to play cards with residents at Baycrest.

I wish you and your family a wonderful Shavuot and a warm, safe and adventurous summer! Don’t forget one important aspect of the holiday—ice cream!!

By Yoelit Lipinsky

Yoelit Lipinsky has been Youth Director at Shaarei Tefillah Congregation for 10 years. She has consulted on youth projects with other synagogues around Toronto and is one of UJA’s Top 20 Under 40.

PURIM PHOTOS!


A Short History of the Future of

Cemeteries

Did you hear the story about the lady who passed away after receiving the gift of 107 years of healthy living? She had been born in the shtetl of Birkenstock in Europe and immigrated to America with most of her family. The others managed to go on foot to settle in the town of Naot in Israel. In a town in America, her father, along with 20 others from the shtetl rented a store space and started a shul. After a few years the shul joined with three other similar shuls to buy some land and to build a building to include them all. The builder was a friend of the vice-president of the new shul. The vice-president told him to build a shul for a hundred people but maybe because, the builder claimed, the vice-president stuttered, he heard him ask that a shul for four hundred people be built. The builder was told by the treasurer to keep the project light, which meant that he should keep the costs down, but he understood that he was to build the shul with very many bright lighting fixtures. The original shul had joined together with other shuls and societies in the area to buy some land for cemeteries. Each organization had a section and the cemetery formed an executive committee to operate the cemetery. Each organization paid to keep the cemetery running. They paid according to a formula which was based on the space available, the number of lots used, the number of lots reserved and the number of hours of labour that members in each

organization contributed to cutting the grass. Some sections of the cemetery were at the bottom of the hill and, to reduce wetness in the spring, drainage was installed. The secretary of the executive committee had a brother-in-law who owned a plumbing company so they bought the drainage pipe from him. Since the government was changing the standard length dimensions from Imperial units to metric units, too much drainage pipe was purchased. As well, the brother-in-law mistakenly ordered the wrong type of piping for the particular soil. The executive didn’t sue the treasurer’s brother-in-law because he was also a cousin of five Presidents of the member organizations and the poor man, nebech, had six children in Jewish day schools. The additional costs had to be covered by an increase in the annual assessment to be paid by the member organizations. Back at the shul, some members were leaving to join other shuls in order to be close to their children and grandchildren who had moved away to buy homes in more affordable, newly established areas. Since many had paid to have plots at the cemetery allocated for their use they were upset that they couldn’t get a refund or have the reservation transferred to a lot in their new shul’s cemetery. The costs of lighting the shul and paying the increased assessment at the cemetery forced the treasurer to raise the annual membership contribution. Also, the roof of the shul was beginning to leak because, in

BY: SEYMOUR BALTMAN, CEMETARY COMMITTEE CHAIR


spite of its impressiveness in appearance, the massive Magen David on the roof had fallen over and severely damaged the waterproofing. A fundraiser was needed to keep everyone dry. Some of the members leaving the shul were replaced by new people moving into the area as a result of the diligent recruitment efforts by the membership chairman. This was not an easy task because the dues at another shul nearby were more slightly lower and the Rabbi’s sermons were shorter. For a while it seemed that the shul had a secure future. That was until the cemetery chairman pointed out to the executive that the cemetery plots were filling up and more would be needed. A significant amount of funds would have to be raised to buy new cemetery land, or to buy plots in the community cemetery. That was when the idea of yiddishe synergy arose. The problem of dwindling membership and lack of cemetery plots could be solved by merging with a shul which, for demographic reasons (a fancy word for everybody was moving westward) needed a new location and also had an excess of cemetery plots. The arrangements were made with the best of

intentions. They only meant well. It seemed like a good idea at the time. In fact it solved the problems so quickly that arrangements were made to have a few more amalgamations. Now there were lots of plots, lots of members and lots of good times. But unknown factors are present in every combination whose purpose is to achieve synergy. In this case social factors and demographic change factors could not be predicted. In short, things change. The inevitable change at this shul was that cemetery plots would continue to be used and eventually need to be replaced. In choosing the allocation of the resources of the shul, when revenue started to decrease, the focus was on keeping the doors open. The replacement of cemetery locations was secondary and would be downloaded to the next generation of members. It was very hard to even get a member to volunteer to manage the cemetery operations. Modern times brought more government regulations and oversight over the management of cemeteries and that responsibility was not one that anyone wanted to bear. The amalgamations had resulted in the shul having to manage thousands of

plots in ten sections at five different cemeteries. Some sections were completely full and so they were now only a burden on the shul’s resources for regular upkeep and a contingent liability. Besides, it just wasn’t a fun or spiritually uplifting activity, in spite of it being very important. Could the members who started in the rented shul expect to have their cemetery plots in their time of need, or would they be let down? Another change was for the better. At some point more qualified volunteers attempted to organize the member records and the record of plots and reservations. However, to ease the work of dealing with the


volume of cemetery locations it became necessary to computerize the information and the resources of funds, but the resources were not available. Capable volunteers were unavailable and funds for outsourcing the task could not be obtained. At this point in these comments, it is important to state that no full member of Shaarei Tefillah Congregation who is currently, and continues to be, in good standing needs to have concern about access to a cemetery plot at the time of need. Also, no shamas was hurt in the preparation of this article, although his supply of kugel was depleted to provide the author with the energy to write it.To continue: At what is considered the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe it was common practice to bring in extra soil to enable further burials. This is a practice that, although legally permissible, would not now be tolerated today in the Jewish community. That cemetery in Prague, used between 1487 and 1787, contains 100,000 burials and 12,000 tombstones packed in very tight rows. It may be up to twelve layers deep. The crowding resulted in a maze of stones collapsed upon one another. That is not a landscape that would be accepted or, for that matter permitted in North America today. So the old practices won’t help us today and funds for land must continually be found to replace full cemeteries. New volunteers must be found to replace the old ones. Young professional individuals can only participate in the governance of the organization when they are assured that fiduciary propriety is the standard for all functions. All aspects of shul operations must be streamlined for cost saving, whether in volunteers’ time or paid employees. A shul’s strategies to meet the objective of attracting and involving new members must be realistic. They must be continually reviewed and altered to suit the current environment. The landscape can be beautiful but it won’t be the same. The lady from Birkenstock passed away in 2007. Her husband had already been buried twenty-seven years before, in one of the shul’s cemeteries and a reservation had been made for her in the plot next to his. However, shortly after her spouse’s death, her only child, a son, obtained a prestigious position at a university a thousand miles away. She didn’t want to be far from the grandchildren and, of course, wanted to bask in the light of her son’s new stature, so she

moved away with him. It was understood by her that, when her time came, she would join her late husband at the cemetery. When the shul cemetery committee was notified that the plot next to her spouse needed to be opened, they checked and found that she wasn’t a member anymore. They couldn’t even find any prior membership records of her because there was a change in computer systems and changes in staff at the shul office. They did have a notation in the records that the reservation was made, but that would only apply if she remained a member in good standing. Further, the son was able to demonstrate that he had paid her membership contribution only until 1985, when she was 85 years old. He had stopped paying because his mother told him that the wife of the President of the shul had told her that membership was free after the age of eighty-five. The shul had paid for, and set aside a significant capital asset, her reserved lot. The Cemetery Committee had maintained the cemetery for her in spite of the lack of any compensating annual contribution, by her, to the upkeep of the shul and the cemetery. It was clear in the Cemetery by-laws that members in good standing would receive plots. Now it was already six hours since she had passed away and the family wanted her buried within the requisite 24 hours for Jewish persons. Should the shul refuse the family everything on the basis of her not being a member in good standing? Should the shul ask for the contributions in the period not paid? Should the shul turn down the heat to offset the costs related to her plot? Should any payment settled on be accepted only by certified cheque? Should it be required before the plot is opened? Should the Cemetery Committee person dealing with the family take 10 Tylenols? Here’s what happened. The son, at first demanded that any rules in place should be overlooked because his father had been a founding member and he had always donated the ‘nothings’ for the childrens’ Chanukah party. He then offered one-quarter of the amount which the shul expected. A brother-in-law paid one-half of the amount requested, and the shul’s President found a donor to contribute the final quarter. The funeral proceeded. The lady from Birkenstock was lucky that someone with a sense of ‘rachmanut’, which her son didn’t have, came forward to ensure that the lady’s wishes would be fulfilled. As an institution, the shul cannot be perceived as an endless source of funds for


‘rachmanut’. The shul executive had the obligation, above all, to ensure the survival of the ‘kehillah’. In a matter as sensitive as her last resting place in this world she did not take full care and personal responsibility to ensure her status and the fulfillment of her most important wishes. When Sarah Imenu died in Kiriath-arba, Avraham Avinu went to the children of Heth to purchase the Cave of Machpelah for her burial place. It appears, at first, that Ephron wanted to give him the field and cave of Machpelah even though Avraham wanted only the cave. It also appeared that it was being offered as a gift, for free. In the end Avraham bought both the field and burial cave for nothing less than full price, and possibly paid more than it was worth. Avraham didn’t care. He wanted it to be absolutely certain, without question, that the property was his to be used to fulfill his wishes. The Cave of Machpelah, the site of the Temple, and the Tomb of Joseph were all purchased without bargaining and paid for with unquestionable legal tender. As residents in the land of others or in our own shuls and homes, we should strive to transact all of our affairs in a manner which will not pass our errors down to the coming Jewish generations.

Cemetery Committee Notices1. The Shaarei Tefillah Congregation Cemetery Committee asks any member who is uncertain of their status, with regard to funeral and cemetery privileges, to contact them for clarification. The time of need is a very difficult occasion to be learning about the details, the costs and the services involved. 2. Codifying cemetery matters is now in process by way of the preparation of a comprehensive set of by-laws in order to bring our organization to the level of government standards.3. We are seeking a volunteer from the Apter Congregation to serve on the Cemetery Committee. This position is open and must be filled, as required by the amalgamation agreement with that organization. Please contact the office.


Chessed

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Giving tzedakah to the Shaarei Tefillah Charity Fund allows us to truly help our fellow Jews.

Call to donate: 416.787.1631


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Thank you for the miracles.

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Wishing Rabbi and Rebbitzen Stern, Rabbi and Mrs. Lipner, the entire Executive, Board and

congregation a Chag Sameach.

Michael and Leanda Rosenblitt and family

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From the Canadian Jewish News- July 23, 1987 (from the Canadian Jewish Archives)

Wolfe-rospective

See if you can spot Howie and Shmueli Wolfe in the following two pictures!

New Service Times: Shabbat Morning Services will now begin at 9:00 am in both the Main Sanctuary and the

Social Hall Minyan.

Holiday and Sunday morning services will now take place at 8:15 am.


A Julius Ciss illustration for Canadian Business Magazine for an article entitled “Winging It”

Mission Statement:Shaarei Tefillah aims to be the hub for individuals and families from diverse Jewish backgrounds who share a common desire for a warm community, relevant inspiration, strong Jewish values, and personal growth.Shaarei Tefillah Congregation

3600 Bathurst Street • t: 416.787.1631 e: [email protected] • www.shaareitefillah.com

shaar, issue 2

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shaar shaarei tefillahl

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