For the greater part of my life I have been wrestling with a question that has irritated the Jewish people for as long as we have been on the stage of world history: What is the cause of anti-Semitism? Why have nations been fixated on throwing the Jewish people onto the rubbish heap of history? In particular, since Israel's establishment there has been a steady refusal by most of the...

Rabbis Adam Cutler and Baruch Frydman-KohlAt the recently concluded annual United Synagogue Youth (USY) International Convention attended by 750 high school students in Atlanta, amendments were made to the standards of behaviour expected of a select group of international and regional officers. Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl and Rabbi Adam Cutler discussed the changes and the media debate about the...

I was outraged by the news today about the hostage-taking and shoot-out in the kosher supermarket in Paris’ 12th arrondissement. I was already reeling from the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine earlier in the week. As someone who has shopped in Hypercacher Alimentation Générale near Porte-de-Vincennes in Paris and lived not far from the offices of the magazine, I was particularly...

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you prosper.May there be peace within your walls, security within your towers.The bloody and brutal attack this week on Jerusalem synagogue worshippers has left in its wake death and despair, anger and anxiety. Our hearts and prayers of condolence go out from our congregation to the families of the five people killed in this terror...

Welcome to Beth Tzedec. We are honoured to again host the closing event of Holocaust Education Week. It is a sombre night, as we recall the recent killings on Canadian soil of two soldiers, note the 100th anniversary of the “war to end all wars”, anticipate Remembrance Day and mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht 1938. The gathering and program this evening is sponsored by ScotiaBank;...

Sukkahville 2014 ~ 5775 Good afternoon. Welcome to Sukkahville. Our thanks to Kehillah Residential Program, which gave this sukkah design competition a home and a mission—to make people more aware about the need for affordable housing and sustainable development. We thank Nancy Singer, the Board and staff of Kehillah, our volunteers and sponsors who enabled Sukkahville to go forward. We...

Memorial Service Congregation Shaarei Shomayim 7 July 2014 ~ 9 Tammuz 5774 With the reshut—authorization of Rabbi Strauchler and this community: Take a moment to remember where you were when you first heard of the kidnapping of the three boys.  Now try to recall what you were doing when you heard of their deaths. Bila hamavet lanetzah: “May God destroy death forever, and...

Uri Grossman was on active duty as his father was writing אשה בורחת מבשורה, published in English as “To the End of the Land.” Uri was killed in combat in July 2006. As a representative of the IDF came to the family home in the middle of the night, the author told himself, “That’s it, our life is over”. But that was not so. Later, David Grossman said, “We...

May 2014Six hundred years ago, the Disputation of Tortosa pitted a team of Jewish scholars against leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, including the anti-pope, Benedict XIII. The intent of that encounter, and there were many others, was to compel the Jews to accept the arguments of their adversaries. We have come a long way in the relationship between the Jewish people and the...

In the midst of this challenging time, we all want to know how we can help Israel.I'll be travelling to Israel on Monday with a number of Canadian Parliamentarians for special briefings and visits to affected areas in the south of Israel. The mission is organized by CIJA. I am pleased to join with our congregant, former Senator Jerry Grafstein, who has worked with CIJA and JNF to organize a...

The values of Beth Tzedec have always been congruent with the culture of Conservative Judaism. Rejoining United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is a reaffirmation of our commitment to the institutional structure of our Movement and a recognition that USCJ has made significant improvements to its operation. We are confident that USCJ now brings value to our synagogue. From our beginnings...

Kiddush Hahayyim – The Sanctification of Life Congregation Shaarei Shomayim7 July 2014 ~ 9 Tammuz 5774 With the reshut- authorization of Rabbi Strauchler and this community: Take a moment to remember where you were when you first heard of the kidnapping of the three boys. Now try to recall what you were doing when you heard of their deaths. Bila hamavet lanetzah: "May God...

Our last day. My morning prayers were in my hotel room facing the Old City and the Temple Mount, overlooking the street scene of East Jerusalem. For me, it is strange to be in a non-kosher hotel in Israel. I find some yogurt to eat. The food products here and in Bethlehem are overwhelmingly Israeli. No boycott of food from the Territories. There is much more of an integrated economy than...

I began the day with morning prayers on a balcony overlooking Kibbutz Lavi. It was damp, lush and inspiring. After a quick breakfast, we headed to Nazareth, the largest Arab city in the Galilee, with a population of 60,000, once split nearly evenly between Christians and Muslims, but now nearly two-thirds Muslim. The place of Israeli Arab Christians is complex. They are...

In the morning, we walked to St George’s Anglican Cathedral. The neighborhood is adjacent to the seam line, which marked the division of Jerusalem after the1948 war, and the old Mandelbaum Gate, which was the location for Israel-Jordan Armistice Committee meetings. A substantial number of hotels were erected in this area which is on the east side of the light rail line and close to...