Inside this issue:
Happy Dedication Days!
By Rabbi Mark Glickman
The Talmud’s story of Chanukah is familiar to most of us. The Greek-influenced Seleucid empire wanted to Hellenize the ancient Jewish Temple — to make it a temple to Zeus. Some Jews wanted to cooperate with that demand; others wanted to resist. War ensued, and when the Jewish resistance forces led by the Maccabees went to light the Temple’s fire to rededicate it as a Jewish house of worship, they found the sanctuary in shambles. They had only one small jar of oil — enough for one day — but a great miracle occurred, and the oil lasted for the eight days needed to replenish their supplies. Hence: Chanukah, an eight-day winter festival whose very name means “dedication.”
The real events might not have unfolded that way, but the story has come to be part of Jewish memory almost as much as those of Sinai and the Red Sea. Why do we celebrate Chanukah for eight days? It’s because of the jar of oil, of course.
If you think about it, however, there’s a problem with that understanding. If Chanukah is a celebration of God’s miracles, then shouldn’t the holiday be just seven days long? After all, on the first day, all you had was one day’s-worth of oil lasting for one day. Big deal! The miracle didn’t begin until the second day, and it lasted through day eight. If my math is right, that’s a seven-day miracle. Accordingly, shouldn’t Chanukah be just seven days long?
I suggested this last year to the students in our Shabbat School, but for some reason, they didn’t see it this way. They insisted on all eight days of the festival. “But why?” I asked. “Why Chanukah for eight days, when the miracle only lasted for a week?”
The kids thought about it, and suggested lots of answers. Eventually, however, a 7-year-old named David raised his hand. “I think there was a different miracle on the first day than there was on the other seven,” David said.
“Oh?” I asked. “What was the miracle on that first day?”
“Well,” David continued, “when the Maccabees went into the Temple and found that there was only enough oil for one day, many of them might have wanted to give up and leave. But they lit the oil, anyway. Isn’t that a miracle, too?”
David’s suggestion — that maintaining hope in the face of despair is itself a miracle — is one that our sages have offered as well. The Maccabees, after all, had good reason to lose their faith and their commitment to do what they knew they should. But they lit that oil anyway, confident that, somehow, they would be able to sustain it.
My friends, these days are days of despair for many of us. Our economy is struggling, division is growing, ugliness of all kinds rears its head every day. In times such as this, it’s easy to despair. It’s easy to give up.
Don’t.
If Chanukah is to serve its role for us this year, let it remind us that we must look to the future with hope, confident that tomorrow can be better. Let it remind us that the candles we light today can somehow remain burning, even in this world of growing darkness. Let it remind us that despite our present-day challenges, we must forever dedicate ourselves to the good and the holy, even when doing so is difficult.
Chanukah, after all, means dedication. And it is to this that we devote this glorious, eight-day-long celebration.
Chag Sameach!
Save the Date: Temple's Chanukah Party
On Friday December 27th, there will be a short Family Service beginning at 7:00 PM (instead of the usual 7:30 pm start time), followed by a Shabbat Shiraz Chanukah Party with music, wine, latkes and dreidel games. Fun for all ages!
Recognition for Ongoing Meal Service at the Drop-In Centre
The Calgary Drop-In Centre recognized the work of Temple B'nai Tikvah volunteers recently, thanking us for our ongoing commitment to their organization by presenting us with a meaningful plaque. It is beautifully framed and we will likely have it on display somewhere at Temple.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have helped out, whether it be just once or (as I'm glad to say is the case) the many 'Tikvahlunteers' who have offered up their time and energy dozens of times, altogether serving well over 75,000 meals!
Speaking on behalf of all our volunteers, I wrote a thank you message to the Executive Director and Volunteer Coordinators there, stating that it is both a privilege and honour to work with a thoughtful, caring organization such as theirs. Every time we offer our services, it is OUR WAY of thanking the staff of the D-I for all they do on a daily basis for so many.
—Paul Finkleman
Founder's Corner
Shabbat Friday Evening December 13
Rabbi David Meyer
Please consider attending Friday evening Shabbat services on December 13 at 7:30 pm. Services will be led by Rabbi David Meyer together with Norm Yanofsky in the absence of our Rabbi Glickman who will be away. So why the invitation?
Many years ago when Temple was young, we used to invite student rabbis from Los Angeles to come to Calgary for the weekend to lead services, teach our kids about Judaism and party! Rabbi David Meyer was our third student rabbi and came to Calgary for 2 years. He would come for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and was billeted in members' homes. I remember Rabbi Meyer singing and playing his guitar during services and holidays (you can check out his music here). One time we went hiking in Larch Valley near Lake Louise and I managed to get us lost!
Rabbi Meyer has kept in touch with some of our Temple members over these many years, so it will be a pleasure to have him back on Friday the 13th. For more information, you may Google: Rabbi David J. Meyer, Temple Emanu-El, Marblehead, MA, USA.
—Ron Bing
Life & Legacy
As reported previously, the support for this new program has been amazing across the Calgary Jewish Community. In Temple alone, almost $1 million has been committed for future bequests.
The immediate result of having reached 18 LOIs in the first year of the program (see list here) is that the sponsor, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, will send several thousand dollars to Temple. This is incentive money for us to work hard on the program, and we should be proud of having met the first goal.
Now it is time to aim for the second goal. If we increase our current 19 LOIs to 25 by January 31, several thousand more dollars will be awarded to Temple by the Grinspoon Foundation. Will just six families help us meet this goal?
What does submitting an LOI mean? Signing an LOI does not mean that you have met with a lawyer, that you have established your legacy, or that you are going to disclose any personal financial information. It does mean that your family recognizes the importance of ensuring Temple’s future financial stability and that sometime in 2020 you will formalize a bequest.
You should have received a congregational letter a few weeks ago with further information about the LIFE & LEGACY program. Please contact Bonnie Kaplan [bonniejoykaplan@gmail.com, or 403-245-0568] or any of the other members of Temple’s LIFE & LEGACY team: Ron Bing, Gertrude Cohos, Mark Paidra, and Cheryl Shore.
SOCIAL ACTION UPDATES
—Nadine Drexler and Ayala Roudstein, Social Action Committee
'Tis Always the Season at the Calgary Drop-In Centre
Our Sandwich Brigade provides upwards of 500 sandwiches to be distributed as lunches for the homeless. We gather on the second Thursday of each month from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. With great thanks to Gruman’s Deli, Britannia, we are able to add chicken salad sandwiches on rye to our regular menu of PB&J. The Calgary Italian Bakery generously donates 50 loaves of bread which we supplement with a Sobeys bread donation. Please join us on December 12 and January 9 in the Temple kitchen for some serious schmearing and schmoozing.
Help Bring Christmas Dinner Joy
Once again, Temple volunteers will be preparing and serving two Christmas dinners on December 25th.
The team going to the Awo Taan Healing Lodge will require about three hours in the afternoon from 1:30 p.m. – 5:00ish p.m. If you are interested, please contact Susan Rubin at sbrubin@shaw.ca or Nadine Waldman at nadiejw@shaw.ca
The team volunteering for Murray House will do prep work ahead of time at the Temple before serving the dinner at Murray House from 5:30 p.m. –6:30 p.m. If you are interested, please contact Paul Leney at leney@shaw.ca
We already have the turkeys on board; all we need is you.
CACG
The Power of You
About 20 members of Temple B’nai Tikvah were part of a huge assembly on October 18 at Knox United Church. The 400 in attendance represent over 30,000 Calgarians from all backgrounds – religious organizations, NGOs and unions – working together as the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good – to make our community more caring and compassionate.
The Calgary Alliance is a grassroots organization: It actively seeks community input, organizes into research groups, and then decides a course of action.
There is room for YOU in this organization. Currently the Calgary Alliance has the following research action teams:
- Mental health issues
- Social isolation
- Environment (climate change)
- Truth and Reconciliation.
If you want to join one of these teams or want to learn more about the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, please join us for an informal information evening - check upcoming e-blasts for details.
Temple B’nai Tikvah is one of the founding members of the Calgary Alliance.
CACG Comes to Temple
Temple members interested in learning about the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good are invited for Discussion and Dessert at Temple in the library, on Tuesday Dec. 3, 7:30 – 9:00.
Some topics for discussion are:
How can we address issues identified by the CACG — social isolation, mental health, environment, reconciliation — within our Temple? Can we use the Alliance organizing principles to make Temple a stronger, more cohesive community? How does CACG get from general topics to focused, winnable actions? What are research action groups? Is there a role in this for me?
If you’re intrigued by 29 diverse organizations working together to make Calgary a more just and kind place to live, come and have a nosh with us.
President's Message
By Cynthia Simmons
This month’s President’s message is brought to you by a guest author, Josh Hesslein – our First Vice-President. Josh is spearheading a URJ developed survey of our congregation members. The plan is for the survey to occur in January. The Executive and Board have reviewed the idea and are excited about learning more about your views and practices and how we compare to other congregations in North America.
Now to Josh:
"Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from all men..."—Pirkei Avot, 4:1
An exciting new project is coming soon for Temple B’nai Tikvah; an opportunity to share your values with Temple leadership, learn about our community, plan for the future, and share what we’ve learned with other congregations around North America.
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), of which Temple B’nai Tikvah is a member, has developed a system of congregational assessment tools which is being implemented at member congregations. Over 100 congregations of various sizes have utilized the URJ’s program tools since the pilot in 2016.
Through a congregational survey, our congregation can take an inward look at itself every few years and use this information to assess our strengths, values and opportunities for development. The data we collect can help us set our communal agenda and priorities for future years.
Even better, as a participant in the URJ survey our data will (anonymously) be shared with the broader URJ to help represent our Calgarian flavour of Judaism alongside congregations throughout Canada and the United States. And congregations who participate in this assessment will be matched with other similar congregations to share insights, challenges and solutions.
In early January, you will receive an email from the URJ with a link to an online questionnaire. The survey should only take a few minutes of your time. You’ll be asked questions about what kinds of Temple Services you use, how you experience Judaism in and outside the home, and your experience with Temple B’nai Tikvah overall. All data collected will be anonymous; your name and personally identifiable information will not be shared with other congregants and will not land you on a URJ mailing list. All emails we send to the URJ for the survey will be deleted afterward.
We hope you’ll take a few moments to help fill out this survey. It will help us deliver the services and support our congregants’ needs today and in the future.
New Member Baskets
Tracey Rumig and Marlene Yanofsky
On the fourteenth of November, a group of wonderful volunteers met at the Finkleman’s home to create and pick up beautiful Shabbat baskets for all our new Temple B’nai Tikvah members. This year’s creative team was made up of Jay Barsky, Elaine Harris, Tracey Rumig, Shauna Switzer, and Marlene & Norm Yanofsky. Helping with deliveries to all four corners of the city and beyond, were Jay Barsky, Carol Feldman, Caron Glickman, Marsha Levy, Jane Paterson, Tracey Rumig, Kathy Schachar, and Judith & Jerry Spevakow. Working out the routes, keeping everything organized and running smoothly was Paul Finkleman.
Many thanks go out to all the volunteers! A big round of thanks also goes out to our anonymous family who donates the lovely travel prayer books that we are able to add to the baskets each year! Thanks this year also goes to Ron Plucer who donated a case of wine for the baskets, and to the Glenmore Landing COBS Bakery, who generously discounted the delicious, fresh Challahs for us. We constantly hear stories from those delivering baskets that this is their favourite project to work on, as the recipients are always so pleased to meet them and receive such a lovely gift from our Membership Committee just in time for Shabbat.
If you are interested in helping out with this project next year, please contact Deb Finkleman (dfinkleman@shaw.ca).
THE KOL TIKVAH TEAM
Rabbi Mark Glickman - rabbiglickman@bnaitikvah.ca
President Cynthia Simmons - president@bnaitikvah.ca
Executive Director Danny Oppenheim - ed@bnaitikvah.ca
Office Administrator Lana Melnyk - office@bnaitikvah.ca
Bookkeeper Connie Harding - bookkeeper@bnaitikvah.ca
Kol Tikvah Editors Monica Lis, Marsha Levy - monica.lis.temple@gmail.com Layout Katherine Pickering
Temple B’nai Tikvah Communications Team Josh Hesslein, Marsha Levy, Monica Lis, Jay Palter, Susan Rubin
Volunteer Kol Tikvah Proofreaders Allan Bell, Marcia Bell, Elaine Hashman, Jane Paterson, Myron Podlog, Alex Zisman
