bulletin Beth Tzedec Bulletin volume 63, no. 2 | kislev 5774 • november 2013 | www.beth-tzedec.org Wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah ˙ From the Heart Gala Event with HOMELAND’s Gideon Raff and the Hon. Irwin Cotler —November 21—p.2 Jews in Sports Series —Wednesday nights in November and December—p.26 Hanukkah and Havdalah Family Dinner and Trivia Night —November 30—p.6 ˙ 8 Days of Tikkun Olam —Contribute much-needed items throughout Hanukkah to support a fabulous Beth Tzedec Youth Project—p.18 ˙ Annual December 25 th Family Fun Day —p.24 2 commentary Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl Demographics, Decision and Destiny The Pew Report gives us the metrics for what we already knew. the recently released Pew Report on Jewish Identity Avraham was different. Unlike Noah, Avraham did described a statistical disaster engulfing America Jewry not retreat into the protection of the Ark. Like us, he like the waters of Noah. Canadian Jewry faces comparable had a tent open to the world. From the beginning, challenges; looking at American trends gives us a lens to Avraham was counting descendants, concerned with see what is ahead. In reflecting on the Flood, it is important carrying on the Covenant. Professor Jon Levenson of to recall that Abraham was a source of hope, despite Harvard writes that Avraham is “the realization of the demography. hoped-for reversal of the curses on Adam. The man The Pew Report suggests that secular or cultural without a country will inherit a whole land; the man Jews are less connected to Jewish organizations and less with a barren wife will have plenteous offspring; and likely to be raising children as Jews. The study shows the man who has cut himself off from kith and kin will that the rate of intermarriage remains very high, particularly be pronounced blessed by all the families of the earth” among younger Jews, those with little connection to (Inheriting Abraham, p. 20). The saga of Avraham is Jewish life, and those who live away from strong centres about a revolution of hope, about going against of Jewish population. common expectations. Most of the others who identify as Jews say that Avraham is not only a noble warrior who stands being Jewish is primarily a matter of ancestry and against the high culture of Mesopotamia; he is deeply culture. Beyond ethnicity, markers of Jewish identity are concerned with building a people, a covenantal community, remembering the Holocaust, leading an ethical life, from his own family in the Land of Promise. working for justice, having a Jewish sense of humour In a similar way, the Pew Report points to pride in and religious practice. Jewish identity and attachment to the Land of Israel. The study shows that the modern Orthodox, While Jews tend to be less religious than the American Conservative and Reform Jewish communities are public, 80 percent say being Jewish is important to experiencing losses, with higher retention among the them. Even though the content of that pride is thin, we fervently Orthodox. About three-in-ten say they are are challenged to galvanize that pride to construct a “just Jewish”. The revival of Jewish observance seems to more substantive identity from it. take place within the various movements, not between Jews in the Pew Report said that leading an ethical them, which indicates that outreach efforts are retentive and moral life is essential to being Jewish. These are rather than transformational. The Conservative movement central values to Judaism, but are not unique to Jews. In is aging, but Conservative and Reform Jews with day the century before 1492, teachers and scholars emphasized school and Jewish camp experiences have higher rates of the singularity of traditional Jewish practice to with - commitment than others within the same movements. stand the pressures of the Spanish Inquisition. Can we The Pew Report gives us the metrics for what we strengthen the core of home and synagogue, school and already knew. Young Jews are marrying later, deferring camp to enable us to face social integration? Jewish families, having fewer children and connecting We are working very hard at Beth Tzedec, using less to Jewish institutions and Israel. They are choosing many models for Jewish engagement. Meditation a “sovereign self” filled with pride, but with only partial services, outreach to interfaith families, Mishpacha engagement in community. This picture of Jewish life programs for young children and parents, youth has been developing for some time, just as Noah built activities and the active involvement of shinshinim , teen the Ark over many years. trips for service learning, sports and cultural initiatives 3 beth tzedec bulletin Winter continued Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl Volume 63, Number 2 for young professionals and much more. We are constantly trying new Kislev 5774 • November 2013 approaches for outreach and engagement. Our Adult Skills and Knowledge Editorial Council Carolyn Kolers, Dena Libman, Debbie Rothstein, Ted Zittell (ASK) program offers opportunities for adults to become bat or bar mitzvah or to upgrade their early Jewish education. We are limited not by our imagination, but by our budget. The metrics of intermarriage can’t be ignored, but those who connect to community and tradition are more likely to raise Jewish children. Can we develop programs for single Jews to meet each other, actively encourage Beth Tzedec Congregation conversion and support mixed families as they raise Jewish children? 1700 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario The Pew Report seems to indicate that this is an area of opportunity. That Canada M5P 3K3 Tel 416-781-3511 / Fax 416-781-0150 is why Rav Adam and I work with so many potential Jews-by-Choice and www.beth-tzedec.org why Beth Tzedec has sponsored The Mother’s Circle for non-Jewish moms. President Carolyn Kolers At Hanukkah, we think of the successful efforts of the Hasmoneans to [email protected] ˙ secure independence, restore national identity and revive religious practice. Chair of the Board Dena Libman Hanukkah is a festival that celebrates the victory “of the few over the [email protected] m˙ any”, creating a model of “great deliverance and redemption for Your klei kodesh & educational leadership people Israel to this very day”. In the midst of the dark of winter, we kindle Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Anne and small lights of hope, harbingers of the future light. Judaism was transformed Max Tanenbaum Senior Rabbinic Chair in the period from the Maccabees to the Mishnah and spread out to the ext. 228, [email protected] world. The determination of the few created a new destiny for the many. Rabbi Adam Cutler Following the 1964 Look Magazine article, “The Vanishing American ext. 219, [email protected] Jew,” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel declared, “Our community is in Cantor Simon Spiro spiritual distress and our organizations are too concerned with digits. ext. 223, [email protected] The significance of Judaism does not lie in being conducive to mere Cantor Sidney Ezer survival but in being a source of spiritual wealth and source of meaning to ext. 296, [email protected] all peoples.” Can we draw on Jewish wisdom to bring meaning to a wide Ritual Director Lorne Hanick swath of our society? ext. 240, [email protected] Professor Jonathan Sarna, who spoke last year at Beth Tzedec, has Director of Education and Family pointed to many creative reversals, unexpected developments in Jewish life Programming / Congregational School in earlier generations. There are many possibilities for innovation to build Principal Daniel Silverman a Jewish future. Jewish life is built on the past, but pointed forward. Past ext. 231, d silverman @beth-tzedec.org trends are not necessarily indicators of the future. What can we do to Youth Director Aily Leibtag influence the yet to come? ext. 239, [email protected] Avraham and Sarah represent hope despite demographics . Hanukkah administrative & program support ˙ symbolizes pride in who we are and the possibility for creative flourishing. Executive Director Randy E. Spiegel On a micro-level, each of us is challenged to intensify Jewish living and ext. 211, [email protected] learning and to have the faith that others might also find meaning and Receptionist Avital Narvey fulfillment in what we love. After all, the miracles were in “those days and 416-781-3511, [email protected] in our time”. Events Coordinator Florence Bendelac ext. 213, [email protected] Communications Coordinator Terri Humphries ext. 212, thumphries @beth-tzedec.org Membership Coordinator Sheri Federman ext. 220, [email protected] Librarian Zina Glassman Would you be interested in joining Rav Baruch ext. 225, [email protected] Frydman-Kohl for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah Family Tour Museum Curator Dorion Liebgott to Israel in December 2014? ext. 232, [email protected] TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR news, congratulations, To learn more, contact Lynn Levy at 416-781-3514 member updates or other listings, send an email ext. 227 or [email protected]. to [email protected], call 416-781-3514, ext. 212 or fax 416-781-0150. 4 from the president Carolyn Kolers Building Community We’re listening; we’re planning; we’re doing! share your thoughts U with Carolyn about the High Holy Days at Beth Tzedec at [email protected]. i’m not sure where the month of october went, In addition, the Hon. Linda Frum will be presenting the but I hope yours was a good and productive one! Like inaugural Kurt and Edith Rothschild Humanitarian many of you I expect, I spent the start of October Award to the Hon. Irwin Cotler. recovering from the earliest-possible High Holy Days, Please order your tickets today for this exceptional before delving back into “normalcy”.