Dear Members,
כי-הנה הסתיו, עבר; הגשם, חלף הלך לו.
הניצנים נראו בארץ, עת הזמיר הגיע; וקול התור, נשמע בארצנו הגשם חלף הלך לו
“…the long wet months are past,
the rains have fed the earth
and left it bright with blossoms
Birds wing in the low sky,
dove and songbird singing
in the open air above”
~ Marcia Falk, Poem 9 (Song of Songs 2:8-13)
It does seem as though winter is gone, or at least on its way out. Crocuses and tulips are poking through the earth and it is Pesach. We may have had our seders on Zoom. It’s challenging because, as Marge Piercy notes in her book, Pesach for the Rest of Us, Judaism is a religion of a people and the Seder is a communal experience. She continues to say: “The seder is a night to examine self and community…to question the tradition and rituals…to question what it means to be a Jew and what we want it to mean. How are we to be free? How are we to free ourselves and others? There are far more than four questions…”
We are challenged again this year to find meaning when we can’t gather physically in community. Many of us are finding innovative and creative ways to celebrate and to gather, to honour our history and to think about the kind of future we want. Chag Pesach Sameach.
There are many people to thank this month.
Thanks to Rabbi Lithwick, Paula Wolfson, Helen Bauer, Penny Winestock, Lorne Gould, Zev Frishman, Eden Nameri and Jamie Flagal for our wonderful March 6 Shabbat service.
Thanks to Cantor Cheryl Wunch, Daniela Geshundeit, Paula Wolfson, Alice Newman and the members of the board for the special Shabbat service on March 20.
Thanks to Jenny Issacs, Director of Heart to Heart, for her presentation on March 22, and Eden Nameri for organizing our Speaker Series.
Finally, thank you to Cantor Wunch and everyone who participated in her study session on March 23 to learn more about Song of Songs and translation as interpretation.
A reminder that tomorrow, Monday, March 29, is the last day to fill out the survey if you attended one or both of Cantor Wunch’s Shabbat service and study session and wish to provide feedback.
Please join us on April 3 for our next Shabbat service led by Rabbi Lithwick and Paula Wolfson. On April 18, we will celebrate Earth Day (a few days early) with a speaker from the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
We are, as always, grateful to the work of our volunteers who make these services and events possible.
Happy Pesach and stay well.
Board of Directors
