Outdoor service will be led by Rabbi Glickman
followed by an al fresco picnic dinner
Dessert provided by Stephen Sperling
R.S.V.P. 705-792-3949
ARZA Canada has arranged for a Canadian Reform Birthright trip to leave from Toronto in the last half of July. This is a great opportunity to have young adults, 18-26 participate in a free Kesher trip to Israel without having to travel to New York. Registration day for summer trips is Feb 13 ( Feb 11 for those who applied in previous years) Right now anyone can register by going to www.gokesher.org and selecting the Community trip- Canada.
June 30 – July 11, 2013
Join your fellow congregants and members of other small reform congregations in the GTA for a fantastic trip to Israel this summer.
Brochures, maps of Israel and reservation forms can be picked up at the synagogue office during regular business hours. Please feel free to contact Rabbi Glickman directly with all of your questions. Make this summer one to remember!
Announcing the formation of a new vocal ensemble!
Do you love to sing? Would you like to learn Jewish music and sing with others?Am Shalom’s vocal ensemble will meet on Thursday evenings at the synagogue from 7 – 9 p.m. and will run weekly under the direction of Marilyn Reesor. The first rehearsal will be on Thursday Oct. 4. There is no fee to join the ensemble for members of Am Shalom.
To register or if you have any questions, please e-mail Liz Levine: lizlevine@rogers.com. Continue reading »
Being Jewish is a proud part of Judy Liss’ life.
Finding a community and family at Am Shalom, Barrie’s Reform Jewish Synagogue, has enriched that life.
That’s why she wants to see her Jewish brothers and sisters come to the synagogue and find a place of common ground and faith.
“We have a lot of Jewish people living in Barrie that aren’t connected to us in anyway,” said Liss, president of Am Shalom, located at 767 Huronia Rd. “If they don’t know there’s a synagogue in Barrie, we want people to know we’re here and they have a place to come and join us.”
And, with two high holidays coming up in the Jewish calendar — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — Liss, invites all Jewish families to come join in these special celebrations.
“We get the most people out for these two holidays,” she said. “But the Jewish holidays aren’t very well known to the Barrie community. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are very special holidays, and held higher than the others.”
“There are people who come for these two holiday services and that’s it all year,” said Stephen Sperling, past-president of Am Shalom, and chairman of brotherhood at the synagogue. “These are much more religious holidays which make them more special because of what they represent.”
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, which dates back to the year 5,773 BC.
The first day of Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sept. 16, and the holiday continues for 10 days, ending right before Yom Kippur.
“During the course of the year, we read portions each week from the Torah (Jewish bible). For the new year, we start reading the Torah all over again, from the beginning,” Sperling said, holding an authentic ram’s horn which is also used in Rosh Hashanah. “The ram’s horn is blown at the end of every (new year) service to let everyone know we’re completing the service and we’re honoring the start of a new year. For Yom Kippur, it says you’re clean and you’ve been forgiven.”
Another sweet ritual is carried out, as well. “We have apples and honey to bring the sweetness of the new year into our lives,” Liss said.
Yom Kippur follows the new year, a 24-hour ritual from Sept. 25-26, and often involves fasting and intensive prayer.
“It’s not a happy holiday, but it’s an important one,” Sperling said. “It’s our one time a year when we can ask to cleanse ourselves from sin.”
“It’s another special holiday. We have a special song we sing, and a canter to chant it during service,” Liss said. “If you’ve hurt someone’s feelings, you can apologize personally to them.”
At both holiday times, Am Shalom will see upwards of 250 to 300 people in attendance.
“We just want to reach out to the Jewish community and invite them here to be part of the services, and part of our community,” Liss said, adding those who aren’t yet members are welcome.
For details, call 705-792-3949, or visit www.amshalom.ca.
nichole.cruickshank@sunmedia.ca
In 2006 when Gilad Shalit was 19 years old, he was abducted by Hamas terrorists and taken to Gaza, where he has remained in captivity ever since. For five years, Hamas has kept Gilad in total isolation. Hamas has repeatedly denied Gilad even one visit by a humanitarian group, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to provide him with proper medical attention.
This is in direct violation of the Third Geneva Convention. Continue reading »
Gavin Silberman, president, presents a cheque from proceeds of the annual golf tournament to Gilda's Club
On August 25, 2011 Am Shalom held its monthly board meeting at Gilda’s Club and Gavin Silberman presented a cheque to Gilda’s Club from the proceeds raised at the Annual Golf Tournament held earlier in the spring.
My dear friends, we are all shocked and horrified by the news of the brutal killing of Leiby Kletzky, an 8-year old boy from Borough Park. For this blog post, I offer a reflection piece written by my dear friend and colleague, Rabbi Marci N. Bellows:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/reform_really/tears_heaven
Reflecting on the Murder of Leiby Kletzky
How can we even begin to process this? A beautiful 8 year-old boy, Leiby Kletzky, was simply on his way home from his local yeshiva day camp in Borough Park. He was to meet his mother at their appointed location, but failed to show up. A search was begun by law enforcement and members of the community, and all remained hopeful that Leiby would be found, safe and sound.
And, yet, on Wednesday morning, we all learned that Leiby had been murdered, and parts of his body were found in multiple locations. A precious child, living in a presumably secure and trusted neighborhood, was brutally murdered, and no one seems able to discern any possible connection between the suspects and the victim. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to this tragedy. All we can possibly ask is, why?
In the midst of heartbreak and tears, we find ourselves with many questions: Why do these things happen? Why do bad thing happen to good people? Why do tragedies, challenges, crimes, and illness strike us?
As a rabbi, I am asked similar questions at least once a week. Part of the mystery of human existence lays in the answer to “Why do bad things happen to good people?” And, boy, do I wish I had that answer. I wish I had the answer for a young father in my congregation who doesn’t understand why he has been stricken with worsening lung cancer. I wish I had the answer for a mother whose son inexplicably committed suicide a few months ago. I wish I had the answer for the religious school student who refuses to believe in God because the Holocaust took place. I wish…
Other traditions in Judaism seek answers in a “Cause and Effect” kind of way – what did I do to cause this? Is this (illness, loss, divorce, pain) somehow my fault? If it is, and if we decide to look at life this way, it helps us regain a sense of control. Ah, so, if I did something to bring this suffering upon myself, then I MUST be able to do something to avoid it in the future. The belief about the destruction of the Second Temple being brought upon us by “sinat chinam,” baseless hatred, within the Jewish community, is an example of this way of thinking. There are even those who try to find reasons within the Jewish community for somehow being to blame for the Holocaust (a truly despicable way of thinking).
And then, there are those who, despite all other possibilities, recognize that sometimes terrible things happen, and there is no reason. How could I ever try to understand that, somehow, God decided that beautiful Lieby needed to die, and in such a brutal manner? And, worse, how could I possibly even consider, for a split second, that Lieby or his family are somehow to blame for bringing this tragedy upon them?
As uncomfortable as it is for us, sometimes we may just have to acknowledge that bad things happen, and we are sometimes powerless to stop them. Whether we like it or not, God gave us free will: “See, I set before you today life and good, and death and evil” (Deut. 30:15). God, by giving us choice, must have understood that there would be those who would choose incorrectly. Death and evil exist, and we all must work hard to choose goodness and life-giving acts in our lives. I like to think that, when a human being chooses evil, God is just as saddened as we are, and cries with us in our grief. God holds our hand, mourns with us, and continues to hope for a day when humanity will choose “good” and “life.”
Let us begin to choose “good” now, by surrounding the Kletzky family with prayers of comfort, strength, and love. To paraphrase Psalm 130, God, we are crying out to you from the depths, and we pray that you hear our voices. God, take care of all those who experience loss, pain, injury, heartbreak, and struggle, and please provide them with the strength and courage necessary to see the beauty, goodness, and blessings of Your world. HaMakom y’nachem etchem b’toch sh’ar avalei Tziyon v’Yerushalayim. May the Kletzky family find comfort among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. And may Lieby’s memory be for a blessing.
Bernice Grant has been honoured with two awards. The first from the Ontario Multi-faith Council in a ceremony held in Toronto on June 22, and the second award, a 2011 Ontario Volunteer Service Award for her volunteer work at Central North Correctional Centre. Bernice was presented with the award at a recognition ceremony held by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration on June 23 in Orillia.
On Tuesday night – June 7th – the holiday of Shavuot begins. It bears five different names (more than any other festival!):
1. Chag Ha-Katzir (Feast of the Harvest): “And the Fest of the Harvest, of the firstfruits of your work, of what you sow in the field” (Shmot 23:16).
2. Chag Ha-Shavuot (Feast of Weeks): “You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest” (Shmot 34:22); “You shall count off seven weeks…then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for Adonai your God” (Devarim 16:9-10).
3. Yom Ha-Bikkurim (Day of the Firstfruits): “On the day of the firstfruits, your Feast of Weeks, when you bring an offering of new grain to Adonai, you shall observe a sacred occasion” (Bamidbar 28:26).
4. Atzeret (Concluding Festival): Cited in the Talmud. The rabbis deduced that just as the concluding day of Sukkot is named Shmini Atzeret, so Shavuot should be considered the concluding day of Passover.
5. Z’man Matan Torateinu (Season of the Giving of the Torah): Also post-Biblical in nature.
The first four names of the holiday are related to the agricultural aspects of Shavuot (Shavuot is one of the “Shalosh Regalim” along with Sukkot and Pesach). Once the second Temple was destroyed and firstfruits were no longer brought to Jerusalem, Shavuot became idetified with the experience of Revelation (receiving Torah at Sinai).
So, where does that leave us now? Our liturgy and Torah readings on this day reflect this double identity. It is traditional to decorate our synagogues and homes with flowers, trees, and other floral decorations; but it is also a day when many congregations and communities recite the 10 Commandments, read the Book of Ruth, stay up all night studying Torah, and eat dairy.
Whatever you choose to do on Shavuot, make it an enjoyable holiday. Get outside and enjoy the natural world, study a few words of Torah, and hey, eat a blintz or two. And please join us at Am Shalom on June 7th at 7:30pm, as we celebrate Shavuot as a community.
What a creative mitzvah! Volunteers of the My Israel movement (with the help of the Foreign Ministry) are sending Israeli chametz to earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan. Chametz, leavened food products not eaten during Pesach, is traditionally sold to non-Jews and later bought back. This year, Israelis will be given the opportunity to “sell” (donate) their chametz to those in need in Japan. The chametz crates will bear flags of Israel with the caption “From Israel with Love”.
You can read the entire article here.
