Aviv Celebrating Spring 2015

Aviv

Celebrating Spring

2015

PASSOVER 5775 Beth Torah Congregation

Aviv

FIRST EVER

BETH TORAH’S

PASSOVER SEDER

COME JOIN RABBI YOSSI SAPIRMAN FOR A UNIQUE INTERPRETATION OF THE AGE OLD PASSOVER TRADITION

URNEY O J E FE H T A

I

SHA RE

SONGS... FOOD and FAMILY

Where

When

FRIDAY APRIL 3, 2015

BETH TORAH CONGREGATION 47 Glenbrook Ave.

G RIN TU

T U O D L O S N STORYTELLING...

The Journey Begins AT 6:00 pm

Cost

ALL INCLUSIVE PRICE PER PERSON $90 for Adults $45 for Children under 12

SP

15% ECIAL for fDiscoun ull t ab t b ook

(minim ings um 1 0)

le

rsvp@bethtorah.ca or call 416.782.4495 ext 27 FOR A MAGICAL AND UNFORGETTABLE PASSOVER EXPERIENCE! 2

Passover

Aviv

Beth Torah Congregation

What’s inside!

Yossi Sapirman Senior Rabbi Eli Courante Associate Rabbi David Young Cantor Samuel Frankel ob”m Cantor Emeritus Ephraim Fiksel President Candace Vogel 1st Vice President Michael Goldberg 2nd Vice President Andrew Weisberg Treasurer Mitchell Abbey Secretary

Pre-Passover Shabbat Dinner President’s Message Rabbi’s Message Cantor’s Message Passover Primer Passover Schedule Sale of Chametz Form 5775 Cookbook flyer Delectable Dishes for Passover Thank You Sponsors & Donors Thank You Memory Fund Donors Thank You Yarhzeit Fund Contributors Thank You Prayer Book Donors Thank You Simcha Fund Sunday Minyan Siyyum for the Fast of the First Born Director’s of Education Message Hebrews’ Cool Past Beth Torah Events Upcoming Beth Torah and Community Magnificent Minds ad Keystone Security Systems ad

2 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 17 17 18 19 20 22 23 23

Mark Krantzberg Gabbai Irving Mueller Gabbai Emeritus Allen Gerskup Immediate Past President Board of Trustees Jeremy Alter Deborah Anschell Peter Farkas Haley Field Gillian Glazer Stephen Klein David Lewis Toni Silberman Jean Sutkiewicz Jordan Turk Marvyn Turk Mark Tytel

Photography courtesy of Rabbi Yossi Sapirman

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Aviv President’s Message We are in the process of turning our back on a very harsh winter; extraordinarily cold and seemingly long. Our community expends a lot of energy to herald in spring, both in their homes and in their attitudes. As North America sets its clock ahead an hour, we notice suddenly the days are longer, giving us more time and energy for shaking off winter.

Passover is a holiday that helps us greet the new season; a season that promises renewal and rewards.

Looking at the Seder plate, we can see the promises laid out very carefully, with both tradition and charm. The plate contains vestiges of renewal by virtue of the Karpis or root vegetable and the Chazeret or bitter herb. The root vegetable and the green herb or lettuce bring spring right out of the garden and on to our table; both the earthy colour of the beds, hoed and ready to grow our vegetables, and the green of the first sprigs of growth from the once dormant ground. Even the Maror usually horseradish root, reminds us of the history of our enslavement and our ability to endure, a symbol of the promise of a future. These symbols of renewal are eaten eagerly with the accompaniment of salt

Ephraim Fiksel

water, its own potent symbol.

The Seder plate hosts many other items. The Beitzah, a hard-boiled egg reminds us of the festival offering which was brought to the Holy Temple on Passover. Nevertheless, one would be denying the more overt symbol of renewal in this facet of the Seder plate.

Passover means an end to all the darkness and cold of winter and that spring is upon us, as family and friends gather to share our stories, explore our history and plan for the warmer days ahead. All the preparations for Passover, a form of Spring-cleaning, have readied our homes for new things of all kinds. The reward of the hard work is seeing our homes take on a new freshness and makes us see our lives with new eyes. Despite the difficulties and hard work of readying our home for Passover, the rewards have obviously helped sustain this tradition for a very long time.

The last item on the Seder plate is the Zeroah, a roasted bone, a reminder of the tenth plague in Egypt when all the firstborn Egyptians were killed. The whole story of the Exodus is replete with the themes of loss and renewal, struggle and reward. The final plague made possible the actual Exodus, leaving behind a sad but a long inured way of life and the turning to the uncertainty of reestablishing life elsewhere. It is the retelling of the story of the Exodus that defines struggles, not just in the harshness of enslavement but the struggle to restart life in a new place; a story that Jews know all too well. The tradition of reading through all the elements of the Haggadah during the service of our Seders can be considered a bit of a struggle as the delicious aromas of our favourite holiday fare lures our thoughts away from the Exodus. However, with our elders’ encouragement and the excitement of a delicious meal, the issues of renewal, as depicted on the Seder plate, along with the reward of comforted and sated appetites make the Seder a event that merits its celebrating.; a splendid way to welcome spring.

Here at Beth Torah we are beginning a new tradition by holding the first Seder at our synagogue. I am thrilled to be a president for the inaugural dinner. With Rabbi Yossi, along with his young family, being the evening’s leader of the Seder, I look forward to beginning a new tradition with my family and I will be happy to see that Penny can really enjoy a Seder along side me instead of heading up all the kitchen activities. I wish all of you a healthy and happy Pesach and a mazel tov to new traditions at Beth Torah.

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Aviv Rabbi’s Message It’s hard to believe that I am writing this two weeks before Passover and it is still winter with no sign of Spring.

I often feel that winter is fair analogy to enslavement, we are at the mercy of the weather and only when spring truly arrives do we experience the exodus to the freedom weather.

Many of our community have the opportunity to travel away for the winter, often to places that are warm and far from the frigid cold of Toronto. We welcome their return as a sure sign of Pesach even if not Spring! Despite the annual evidence we are always skeptical about the “good” weather.

I am so pleased that this year we will be having a Seder at the synagogue, for the very first time in recent memory, we will celebrate as a community and as family.

The first Seder in Egypt was also a communal event, the Torah teaches that the Israelites were to invite their friends and neighbors to a Seder at which they were to celebrate the impending Exodus despite their understandable skepticism.

One of my favourite moments as Beth Torah’s Rabbi is also an annual event, and its inevitably both a sad and uplifting time.

Rabbi Yossi Sapirman

I am referring to the delivery of Passover boxes to indigent families that we do as part of our YLJ program. Significantly, the Year of Living Jewishly program for Bnai Mitzvah at Beth Torah is now in its 15th year! The YLJ seeks to engage our Bnai Mitzvah in an applied values based year of living with Jewish ideas as their first year of adult Jewish education, not the last year of their childhood learning.

This year 30 of our students in a big yellow school bus and a cargo van pulled up to a huge building in North Toronto and unloaded 90 boxes and 90 chickens which we then delivered to 90 families to ensure they would have Passover food for their Seder.

The lesson of the day was relevant not only to young men and women about to become young adults, but to each and everyone of us.

The opening statement of the Haggadah is bold and bombastic, “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt, let all who are hungry come and eat”.

Really? And how will we make it happen, now that the Seder has already started, our tables are set and all the guests are in place, at this late hour how will be fulfill the magnanimous statement with which we open the ancient story?

On a long yellow school bus, a most amazing group of young people participated in the answer, they were exhausted and weary from schlepping boxes up and down the stairs and elevators, greeting strangers with “Happy Passover!” and rushing back to the cargo van for more boxes. Along with their team leaders they moved throughout the 14 storey building like the angels of mercy, undoing a little bit of the hardship and brokenness that plague so many families in our community. The YLJ students were living their commitment to make sure that “all who are hungry let them come and eat”, except we weren’t waiting, we were bringing our values to those who may not be able to ask.

I hope for all of us that this is the year we commit ourselves to emulate the inspiration of our young people, and take their values and beliefs to the streets, so to speak, and make a difference in our larger community and in the world.

When the Seder actually arrives, and we say those seemingly out of place words, let us all be certain that we have done our part to make sure that no one in our community goes hungry on this most important of nights, the night in which we remember the first communal Seder from which none were left out as we prepared for the unknown future that was waiting for us as we left the ghetto of Egypt to the freedom of our dreams.

Happy Spring, Chag Kasher v’Sameach, Rabbi Yossi

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Aviv Cantor’s Message Passover and Purim – What’s the Connection?

The holiday of Passover begins with the first Seder on the eve of the 14th of Nissan “And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the L-RD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17” At the time of writing my piece for this year’s Passover bulletin, there are hints of spring around us. The daylight hours are getting longer, the snow is beginning to melt, and of course, we are pre-occupied with the arrival of Passover only a short few weeks away following a most joyous and fun-filled Purim.

Achashverosh is described as a stupid man: “His stupidity made him the laughing stock of the world” (Esther Rabbah 4:12). But how could a stupid man control an empire that spanned 127 provinces? Some sages interpret the term who reigned (1:1) “as a slur, Cantor David Young because it implies that he was not really fit to be king, but that he paid a great deal of money, and thereby rose to power” (Megillah 11b). (see www.jewishtreats.org) Achashverosh was also been as a foolish man, best described: “He was arbitrary. He put his wife to death because of his friend and put his friend to death because of his wife.” The subtle understanding that one gets of Achashverosh from the text is that he believed that every suggestion made to him was a good one. A good ruler however, listens to his advisors, assesses their opinions and makes a decision based on logic and fact. Achashverosh on the other hand, immediately acted upon advice without considering the consequences (www.jewishtreats.org).

Haman seeks to exterminate the Jews – it is a simple matter of making this request to the King who grants him permission. Yet we see that by the end of the Megillah everything is reversed. Esther holds a banquet. Haman is revealed as villain. Mordechai takes Haman’s place as Prime Minister. The evil decree against the Jews is averted as easily as it was first begun. From mourning to joy, from danger to safety, from death’s door to a better life.

As we switch to Passover, we find that Pharaoh is a far more serious figure than Achashverosh. He doesn’t act on a whim, as Achashverosh does. When he is first challenged by Moses, Pharaoh does not give in but rather demands that the Hebrew slaves gather their own straw in addition to making bricks. Pharaoh is absolutely in control, and it takes all of Moses’ determination and G-d’s intervention to finally free the Hebrews from slavery.

The unlikely turn of events takes place as it did in the Megillah. Pharaoh and his entire army are destroyed in the Red Sea. The once mighty Pharaoh falls in ruins, where Moses stands tall in freedom. The Haggadah says, “We have traveled from slavery to freedom, from degradation to celebration, from the rule of evil to the rule of G-d.”

Elie Wiesel wrote in his first novel, Night, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my G-d and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.” In so many instances in our history, Purim and Passover included, we Jews reversed the trend. We did the exact opposite - we turned dust into dreams!

At the Seder, we eat vegetables dipped in salt water and marror to remember the tears of agony and despair, and the bitterness of slavery.

Yet we also eat sweet charoset , drink wine, and sing next year in Jerusalem.

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Aviv At weddings, the groom breaks the glass under the chupah as a reminder of the sadness in the destruction of the temples. Yet right afterwards, we sing in joyous celebration.

For all of this, we learn that we must be patient for what we wish for. In time, our lives can turn around for a better future. It is our belief in G-d, and our belief in ourselves with our heart, with our soul, and with our might that helps us through this journey.

May we all be blessed as we celebrate Passover that tears of sadness turn into tears of joy; that bitterness turns into sweetness; that we as a Jewish people and Jewish community continue on a path to ultimate peace, freedom, and joy.

Chag Kasher V’sameach.

Teen Choir If your mother thinks you have the voice of an angel, and your Bubbie thinks you should be on the stage,

BETH TORAH WANTS YOU! Join the Beth Torah Teen Choir Learn to sing. Meet weekly for lessons.

Sing at services and special occasions.

Contact YLJ@bethtorah.ca

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Aviv A Passover Primer

by Rabbi Eli Courante

Ten facts about Passover.

Last year, we included in the bulletin some general information about

celebration of future redemption, and traditionally not used for any

the holiday. This time, we will try to offer you less known facts and

other purpose. During the Seder, the door of the house is opened,

trivia; things you may have never heard, or long since forgotten.

and Eliyahu is invited in.

8 The word Haggadah means ‘tale’ or ‘telling’. It is the text that sets

1 Passover, which celebrates the Israelites’ freedom from slavery in

the entire order of the Passover Seder. Telling the story of Exodus is

Egypt, begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. Jewish

fulfillment of the Torah commandment to “tell your son” of the Jew-

months are based on the lunar cycle, Passover always starts on the

ish liberation from slavery in Egypt.

full moon.

9 The days between the first and last festive days of Passover are

2 The Hebrew word Seder means ‘order’. It is directly related to the

known as “Chol ha-Mo’ed”, lit. ‘the non-holy part of the celebra-

word we use for our prayerbooks, Sidur. The Seder is celebrated in

tion’. These days (second through sixth day of Passover in Israel, and

very much the same way by the Jews all around the world, following

third through sixth in the Diaspora) combine features of the week-

the same steps in a prescribed order. (Hint: the festive meal is only

days (Chol) and festivals (Mo’ed).

one of the 15 steps – or 14, as some prefer to count steps 7 and 8

10 In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, the focal point of Passover

as one.)

celebrations was the sacrificial paschal lamb, also know as Passover

3 In Israel, Passover is celebrated for seven days. Everywhere else, it

(Pesach). It is commemorated at the Seder table today by a roasted

lasts for 8 days. The reason for that goes back to the times preceding

shank bone (or another bone). Traditionally, no other roasted meat is

a set Jewish calendar. When the length of a month varied between

served on the Seder night, to emphasise that the Jews can no longer

29 and 30 days, the new month was defined by the sightings of the

bring sacrificial offerings.

moon and proclaimed by the Sanhedrin (the supreme body of Rabbis). Since Sanhedrin found no reliable way of informing the Jews abroad of the correct date in time for the festival, they would celebrate both days in the middle of Nissan, “just in case” either would turn out later to be the 15th. For the same reason, the Israeli Jews have only one Seder. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews usually do not follow the tradition of keeping the extra day.

4 The biblical prohibition of eating or even owing Chametz – leaven – on Passover only applies to the products of wheat, rye, barley, spelt, or oats prepared in prolonged (over 18 minutes) combination with water. However, multiple additional strictures have been, and still are being introduced by the rabbis, especially those of Ashkenazi persuasion.

5 On the night before Passover, a traditional “search” for leaven is customarily performed in Jewish homes, with a candle to throw light in dark corners and a symbolic feather for sweeping the crumbs.

6 There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine or grape juice during the Seder. Rabbinic authors have compared the four cups to four worlds, four expressions of Divine deliverance in the Torah, four redemptions of the Jewish people, and even the four matriarchs (according to that last opinion, the 3 matzos represent the three patriarchs).

7 An additional symbolic cup is filled “for the prophet Elijah” (Eliyahu). In the Talmudic teachings, Eliyahu is said to come at the end of the days with explanation and answers to all the Jewish questions that the Rabbis could not resolve on their own. The cup is filled as a

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Aviv Passover Schedule – Nissan 5775 Thursday, April 2 Last opportunity to sell Chametz form www.bethtorah.ca

5:00 p.m.

Friday, April 3 Fast of the First Born Services 7:30 a.m.

Chapel End Eating Chametz Before 11:00 a.m.

Remove Chametz Before 12:00 p.m.

Erev Pesach Evening Services 5:30-6:00 p.m.

Lastest Candle Lighting 7:29 p.m.

SOLD

First Seder at Beth Torah 6:00 p.m.

OUT

Sanctuary

Saturday, April 4 Morning Services 8:45 a.m. Sanctuary Pesach I Candle Lighting 8:30 p.m.

Second Seder Sunday, April 5 Morning Services 8:45 a.m Sanctuary Pesach II Observance Ends 8:35 p.m.

Monday, April 6 Chol Hamoed I (Pesach III) Tuesday, April 7

Chol Hamoed II (Pesach IV) Wednesday, April 8 Chol Hamoed III (Pesach V) Thursday, April 9 Erev Yom Tov Chol Hamoed (Pesach VI) Candle Lighting

7:36 p.m.

Friday, April 10 Pesach VII Morning Services Candle Lighting

8:45 a.m.

7:37 p.m.

Saturday, April 11 Pesach VIII Morning Services 8:45 a.m.

Yizkor 10:00 a.m.

Holiday Ends 8:42 p.m.

Sanctuary

Sanctuary Sanctuary

Passover

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Aviv

ow You can n r u o y send in tz e Cham ne. form onli .ca h ra to beth

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To place an order, or for more information, contact bethtorahcookbook@gmail.com

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Aviv Delectable Dishes for Passover Recipes excerpted from of the Generation to Generation Cookbook 10th Anniversary Edition

Auntie Pauline’s Matzo Farfel by Donna Goldenberg Ingredients:

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Full box of matzo farfel

Sauté cooking onion in very hot oil. Then add peppers, then

1 cooking onion, dices

mushrooms. Salt and pepper while frying. Add some garlic

1 red pepper, diced

powder now as well. This can be prepared ahead of time and

1 green pepper, diced

set aside.

1 package of mushrooms, diced

Whisk eggs with salt and pepper. Dump farfel in egg mixture

½ bunch green onions, chopped (green part only)

and stir. In a frying pan with deep sides heat a little canola

8 eggs

oil. Fry mixture just until eggs are done. Add a little gravy

Canola oil

from the meat you are serving – roast or turkey.

Auntie Rose’s Strawberry Freeze by Arna Beloff Ingredients:

Mash strawberries.

10-12 ounces of frozen strawberries, thawed

Mix egg yolks and banana together.

3 egg yolks

Make a stiff meringue with the egg whites and sugar in a

1 banana, mashed

Mix master.

3 eggs whites

Fold half of the meringue into the strawberries and the other

¾ cup of sugar

half into the egg yolk/banana mixture.

Fold both mixtures together. Pour into an 8 x 8 metal pan and place in freezer. Take out of freezer twice and stir. (Leave it for 3 hours between each stir.)

Then leave it in freezer for at least 12 hours or overnight.

Store in freezer.

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Aviv THANK YOU! Sponsors & Donors

From July 1st 2014 to February 28th 2015

Kiddush Sponsors Mitchell and Nancy Abbey in memory of Stanley Abbey Martin and Betty Baranek in honour of their 61st wedding anniversary Bruce Brymer and Margo Newman in memory of Harry Newman Allen Charney and Angela Sosnow in memory of Michael and Ruth Charney Joshua Chitiz and Stacey Struhl in honour of their upcoming wedding Faye Dorfman in honour of the War Veteran’s Tribute in memory of Jeff Dorfman George and Ellen Fantus in honour of the aufruf for Claire Fantus and Mike Grime Ephraim and Penny Fiksel in memory of Rose Chikofsky and in honour of the new Board.

Allen and Maida Gerskup in memory of Mary Gerskup David and Marilyn Glick in memory of Michael & Ruth Charney Eddie and Susan Glick in honour of the aufrufs of Matthew and Daniel Glick.

Toni Silberman in memory of Sam Filer and Jack and Fanny Silberman The Solomons Family in honour of Halle Solomons 4th Bat Mitzvah Anniversary Torah Reading Jean Sutkiewicz and Stephanie Shlagbaum in memory of Ruth and Israel Morris Wagner Marvyn and Debby Turk, Stephen Turk and Maura Levine in memory of Golda Silverberg Saul Unterman and Karen Fenwick in memory of Florence Fenwick Jack and Susan Waserman in honour of the aufruf of Daniel Waserman and Naomi Howorth Andrew and Fay Weisberg in memory of Eddie Weisberg and Rita Weisberg Andrew and Fay Weisberg in memory of Claretta Leinburd Michael and Dianne Yanofsky in memory of Albert Yanofsky Aaron and Helen Yermus in honour of their 62nd Wedding Anniversary Sam and Helen Yermus in honour of their 61st Wedding Anniversary

Warren Ikeman and Jill Wagman in memory of Sam Wagman Thomas and Karen Kofman in memory of Jules Kofman Zelda Korenblum in memory of David Korenblum Clair Krantzberg in memory of Julius Krantzberg Saul and Annalea Libstug in memory of Entza Libstug and Miriam Posner Marla and Fern Lukofsky and Elaine Goldberg in memory of Ruth and Lou Lukofsky Gary Newton and Jean Wang in memory of Maureen Newton Shinder Joseph and Ann Rastin in memory of the fallen rabbis and policeman in Israel Marty Schmertz in memory of Simon Schmerz

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Aviv THANK YOU! Memory Fund Donors From July 1st 2014 to February 28th 2015

Memory Fund Howard Adler and Marla Eisen in memory of Harry Adler Jeremy and Mindy Alter in memory of Isak Fiksel

Yury and Natalya Vol in memory of Isak Fiksel

Mark and Esther Goldenberg in memory of Isak Fiksel and in memory of Marty Epstein

Jack and Susan Waserman in memory of Celia Genesove Harold and Shelley Wolkin in memory of Morris Glick

Martin and Betty Baranek in memory of Mrs. Codis

Steven and Donna Goldenberg in memory of Joseph Rothman

Michael and Naomi Cohen in memory of Albert Yanofsky and in memory of Joseph Burk

Jack and Tolsa Greenberg in memory of Isak Fiksel

Michael and Dianne Yanofsky in memory of Teresa Crawford and in memory of Joseph Burk

Barbara Gross in memory of Marty Epstein and in memory of Celia Genesov

Sam and Helen Yermus with sympathy to the Springer Family, and in memory of Harvey Lowe

Isaac and Linda Lallouz in memory of Zwi Waserman

Seymour Zweig in memory of Marty Epstein and in memory of Jack Douglas

Marvin and Irene Davis in memory of Sam Bloom Michael Devon and Caroline Freedman-Devon in memory of Joseph Burk and in memory of Albert Yanofsky Sydney Dreksler in memory of Isak Fiksel Max and Sharron Elkouby in memory of Daniel Margolin Florence Fenwick in memory of Isak Fiksel and in memory of Marty Epstein Ephraim and Penny Fiksel in memory of Florence Fenwick, Celia Genesove, and Zwi Waserman Paul Gleitman, in memory of Dr. Marvin Stock David and Marilyn Glick in memory of Isak Fiksel, Rachel Waserman, Albert Yanofsky, and Zwi Waserman

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Robbie and Elaine Goldberg in memory of Celia Genesove

Passover

Roseanne Mason in memory of Isak Fiksel Irving and Helen Mueller in memory of Isak Fiksel, Rachel Waserman and Zwi Waserman Pearl Rosen in memory of Jack Douglas Mollie Rothman in memory of Dan Margolin, Marty Epstein, Jack Douglas and Florence Fenwick Marty Schmerz in memory of Milton Klayman, Hania Sporer, and Jack Weinbaum Hope Springman in memory of Dan Margolin Faithe Sversky in memory of Ella Radomski

Aviv THANK YOU! Yahrzeit Fund Contributors

From July 1st 2014 to February 28th 2015

Yarzheit Lenny Baranek and Ita Kleiner in memory of Morry Baranek in memory of of Sam Kleiner Carol Bloom in memory of Lily Davis in memory of Ben Davis Stephen and Celia Bobkin in memory of Robert Bobkin in memory of Manny Bobkin in memory of Lucy Picov in memory of Michael Picov Fran Brodt in memory of Saul Hauer Jennie Cass in memory of Irwin Cass Henry and Layah Cohen in memory of Julius Long Michael and Naomi Cohen in memory of Lorne Abramowitz Max and Sharron Elkouby in memory of Ruth Pereles in memory of Max Pereles Lawrence Federman and Lynne Feingold in memory of Al Feingold Florence Fenwick in memory of Shloime Fenik in memory of Dora Fenik Sugarman Joel and Gail Fenwick in memory of Charlotte Gottlieb in memory of Elliott Gottlieb Paul and Debbie Fenwick in memory of Peter Bakonyi in memory of Roza Janger Sally Gallinger in memory of Harry Gallinger

Steven and Donna Goldenberg in memory of Irving Wolfrman Barbara Gross in memory of Sarah Everett Eila Kates in memory of Jack Kates Marlene Kaufman in memory of Morry Baranek Irving Kirsh and Jennifer Pulis in memory of Anne Kirshenbaum in memory of Hyman Kirshenbaum Zelda Korenblum in memory of Devorah Korenbl Faye Kushnir in memory of Lee Shulman Isaac and Linda Lallouz in memory of Aziza and Sellam Lallouz Marvin and Merilyn Lean in memory of Anne Lean Joseph Leinburd in memory of Leah Leinburd Marla Lukofsky, Fern Lukofsky, Elaine Goldberg in memory of: Phyllis Klein Chaika Margulies Hersh Margulies Ruth Lukofsky Meyer Lukofsky Howard and Gloria Moscoe in memory of Hilda Green Betty Moscoe Sally Caplan Louis and Nannette Mostyn in memory of Joseph Grader

Irving and Helen Mueller in memory of Molly Muschkies Cyrla Mueller Abraham Mueller Carl and Ruth Rosen in memory of Pauline Rosen Harry Shapero and Teresa Goldenberg in memory of Max Shapero Dave and Anne Shapiro in memory of Yetta Rendall Mark and Marla Shoom in memory of Ben Shoom Hope Springman in memory of Maurice Jeroff Tom Springman Frieda Traub in memory of Moses Goldenberg Victoria Traub Ronald and Sandra Traub in memory of Helen Fine Izzie Fine Alina Turk in memory of Michael Turk Leib and Sarah Unger Mania Turkienicz Norman and Sandra Turk in memory of Debbie Turk Schwartz Mike Turk Mania Turkienich Bella Holland Jonah Turkienicz Eli and Ellen Turkienicz in memory of Milton Turkienicz Yury and Natalya Vol in memory of Alexander Berlyavsky Sophya Berlyavsky Yury Berlyavsky

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Aviv THANK YOU! Prayerbook Donors From July 1st 2014 to February 28th 2015 Mark and Esther Goldenberg In memory of Florence Fenwick Shawn and Lori Goldenberg In memory of Florence Fenwick Steven and Donna Goldenberg In memory of Florence Fenwick Jeffrey and Thea Greenspan Mazel Tov to Joseph & Hertha Devenyi Prayer Book Fund Paul Bain and Shawna Perlin In memory of Isak Fiksel Ephraim and Penny Fiksel In memory of Rachel Waserman In memory of Celia Genesove

John and Margie Levitt In memory of Isak Fiksel Barry and Carol Presement In memory of Sally Presement In memory of Toby Lipton In memory of Albert Presement

THANK YOU! Simcha Fund

From July 1st 2014 to February 28th 2015

Simcha Fund Martin and Betty Baranek Speedy Recovery to Tolsa Greenberg Get Well to Irving Mueller Benny and Marsha Domb In honour of Howie Rothman Peter and Barbara Farkas In honour of Jackie Chenkin David Goodbaum and Candace Vogel Get Well to Tolsa Greenberg Marlene Kaufman Mazel Tov to Sheldon Freeman Mazel Tov to Warren Ikeman Irving and Helen Mueller Mazel Tov to Susan and Jack Waserman Get Well to Tolsa Greenberg

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Barry and Carol Presement Get Well to Tolsa Greenberg Ivan and Lynda Silver Mazel Tov to Barbara Miller Schwartz

Hope Springman Happy Birthday to Leo Weiss

Sam and Helen Yermus Mazel Tov to Helen and Aaron Yermus Mazel Tov to Daniel Waserman and Naomi Howorth Get Well to Tolsa Greenberg

Aviv Sunday Minyan

All are welcome!

Sunday Morning Minyan takes place at 8:45 a.m. every week Tefillin wrap/schmoozing 9:00—9:20 a.m. services.

Great buffet breakfast following To sponsor a breakfast, please call Polina at 416 782 4495 ext. 27, Email: Admin@bethtorah.ca

Service and Siyyum for the Fast of the First Born

Friday, April 3, 2015 7:30 a.m., with Breakfast Following Rabbi, what is this all about? Ok, follow the logic.....

Siyyum A festive meal connected to a mitzvah such as the meal following a bris or baby naming, or a significant accomplishment or occasion.

Fast of the First Born The ancient custom of firstborn Jewish males fasting in gratitude for being spared and in sympathy for the loss of life during the Egyptian Exodus.

The Work Around A firstborn child can participate in a meal of mitzvah rather than fasting and, having broken their fast, may continue to eat for the rest of the day. Completing a substantial amount of Torah study is deemed a celebration and hence is followed by a meal of mitzvah!

Nice....gotta eat, it’s a mitzvah!

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Aviv From the Director of Education Another year, another seder, another time we prove that we’re here to stay!

What can I say, I’m a sucker for Pesach; and it’s not just because I get to dust off my spring shoes (pumps, glorious pumps) or just because it’s the time of year I feel like I am in the land of plenty, when my allergies are the most catered to. No, it’s not the abundance of gluten-free dishes, or the even spring fashion—it’s the rituals. The presence of family and traditions that have become so routine (without becoming mundane), and that have existed long before touch screens, hashtags and One Direction. With all the political turmoil going on worldwide, it’s the traditions that keep us unified as Jewish people.

My family is very traditional, even old-school in our rituals. My husband’s family is very traditional, but more new-school in their rituals. It wasn’t until I spent my first Pesach with his family (all 30 of them—yes, that’s immediate family and yes, we’re basically a

Alley Dezenhouse-Kelner

shtetl) that I realized that traditions are not one-size-fits-all. There is a stark contrast between a seder of 8-10 somewhat rowdy kin, faithfully following the traditional Hag-

gadah and a seder of 30+ highly rambunctious kin, singing and joke-telling their way through a colourful retelling of the Passover story.

In my husband’s family, Pesach is about pleasing the crowd—and with siblings ranging from 20 years his senior to 4 ½ years his junior, there is no shortage of offspring to engage (unlike in my family, where my youngest cousin [in first year university] has been reluctantly singing Manishtana for 15+ years). From using a Kid’s Haggadah (which for the record has some pretty catchy tunes about frogs, boils and slavery) to considering the meaning of the story from the perspective of my father-in-law, the proud Zaidie to 13 grandchildren (almost 14, coming to dinner tables near you April 2015) there is truly never a dull moment. The rituals that have developed are colourful, energetic and knowing my father in law, usually have a punchline.

Despite the difference in delivery, the rituals happen like clockwork in both families…it’s all in the details. Through the retelling of the story of Passover, we remember the journey of our ancestors, we vow to continue the tradition of remembering and always promise ‘next year in Jerusalem’. There’s always a loving joke about who reads on behalf of the simple son, the wise son, you get the idea…

Through the retelling of the story of Passover, and through the rituals we have created as a family, we celebrate the emancipation from slavery; we rejoice in the freedoms of today, and demonstrate gratitude for our continued existence as Jewish people. Remembering the plight is a big part of the tradition, but so is the celebration.

One tradition I borrow from my husband’s family, which I invite you to share, is the celebration of the small victories which have occurred since the last seder; the consideration of the obstacles we have overcome as individuals. When we’re all together remembering, what better time is there to remember our own victories? Making the honour roll, finishing the first year in university, getting a first part-time job, or scoring the winning goal at her hockey play-offs; we can remember our struggles, but so too should we remember our successes.

Maybe it’s the four cups of wine, or maybe it’s the maror, but seders have a way of making me feel warm (and bloated). Through the ritual of coming together as Jews, as our forefathers did and as our brothers and sisters in Israel do—we uphold the most important tradition of all. Yes, the Exodus was a trying time, but resiliency is a mark of character. Given the political turmoil ongoing globally, this year holds special value, allowing each of us to infuse our seders with new meaning, and new rituals (old-school or new-school) based on ideals that have carried our people through barbaric times Yes, it’s true that on Pesach we remember the struggles but we should also remember to celebrate the victories, be it personal or global. Another year, another seder, another time we prove—we’re here to stay.

CHAG SAMEACH,

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Alley Dezenhouse-Kelner

Aviv

Hebrews' Cool

Beth Torah’ Hebrew school

is a dynamic, one-day-a-week program for students in grades 1 to 6. Through teaching music, Torah, Hebrew, Israel and holidays, and of course food, our students learn what it really means to live Jewishly.

Alley Dezenhouse-Kelner Director of Education 416.782.4495 ext. 25 hebrewschool@bethtorah.ca Bar-Bat Mitzvah year Join Rabbi Yossi as he explores the values of living Jewishly and answers all the questions you never got to ask in Hebrew school.

A combination of open discussions, field trips and exploring the arts, we prepare B’nai Mitzvah to live Jewishly long after their party is over.

“Adventure Judaism: Education for kids Who Want to Stay That Way” teaches a living

A YEAR F LIVING JEWISHLY

BAR/BAT MITZVAH PROGRAM

Judaism for the 21st Century.

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Past

Events!

ZIMRIYAH - Sunday, March 15 2015 We are so proud of our Zimriyah choir! The kids are truly marvelous and talented. Thank you Bryna, our wonderful choir leader, for contributing your talent and raising a group of young artists who bring so much joy, pride and love into our hearts through music‌

PURIM - Sunday, March 1 2015 Achashverosh has given up his place to Willy Wonka this year for the Annual Beth Torah Purim celebrations. The highlight of the event were amazing costumes, volumes of candy, games and the jumping castle of course. Congratulations to all the prize winners. Great many thanks to all the donors and contributors. Truly it was a joyful day of pure imagination!

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Past

Events!

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JAZZ HAVDALLAH - Saturday, March 7 2015 A merge of the two best up-lifters of the soul – music and fine art were celebrated for the 3rd time at Beth Torah and it has been an enormous success! Great response from our talented member artists who kindly contributed their time and brush strokes! We were delighted to enjoy marvelous entertainers Steve Koven and duo: Singer, David Wall and pianist, Marilyn Lerner. Their jazzy tunes are buzzing in our ears to this day‌

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Upcoming

and Community Events Lori Palatnik on April 13th This year, Hadassah added Toronto-born Lori Palatnik, founder of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project, to the list of “Most Outstanding Jewish American Women of Our Time”. Now, she’s coming to Beth Torah! Join us to hear her discuss why she donated her kidney to a woman she’d never met.

A limited number of tickets are available at $18 per person.

Email communications@bethtorah.ca BT Baseball It’s that time of year again! We’re looking for returning as well as new players to join us for Sunday mornings of fun, friends and fitness. Interested? Contact Len at libman@gmail.com

Stay Tuned for Upcoming Programming Stratford Trip Prisoner of Her Past Constanze Beckmann and Atis Bankas in Concert

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Aviv Private School and Therapeutic Services Cultivating Magnificent Minds and Inspiring Personal Greatness

Magnificent Minds is a comfortable, pressure-free learning environment where academic, social and emotional growth is constantly pursued. Our students thrive under our holistic, (whole body, whole mind) framework. We cater to visual and hands-on learners whose needs are currently not being met in larger scale school environments; we pursue academic excellence, and individual greatness using a multi modal approach. Low-ratio classes, a sense of unity and community, creative and engaging teachers and individualization are just a few fundamental aspects of our educational and therapeutic programs. We provide educational and therapeutic services which are tailor made in each application. With a client-centered approach, we respect the uniqueness of each individual we service.

We operate out of the lower level of the Beth Torah Congregation Monday to Friday from 8:30 - 6:00, and Sunday afternoons from 2:00-5:00. Our private school program runs from September to June, and Summer Camp runs for 8 weeks in July and August. We are open 12 months per year to provide short or long term educational and therapeutic programs. Our list of services includes classroom learning, ABA/IBI Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Emotion Regulation Training, Social Skill Groups, and Summer Camp. We service boys and girls from pre-kindergarten to grade 6. Using principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis, we motivate our students to achieve personal greatness.

For more information please call our Principal and Children’s Therapist For more information please call our Principal Children’s Therapist Alley DezenhouseKelner ABS MA and 647-404-6349 Mrs. Alexandra Dezenhouse-Kelner ABS MA

For additional information, please visit647-404-6349 our website at www.magnificentminds.ca For additional information, please visit our website at www.magnificentminds.ca

Jack Shore

Keystone Security Systems Inc. (416) 226-1161 Work (416)669-6940 Mobile jshore@keystonesecurity.ca www.keystonesecurity.ca

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