Fredericton News

BY IVAN LEVINE, PRESIDENT, SGOOLAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

GREETINGS AND UPDATE

On behalf of the Board and myself, I want to wish you all a Healthy 2021, being an important year for Self-Learning, Acceptance, Harmony and Contentment.

We are all joyous to learn that we are back in the Yellow COVID stage. The stress level lowers as well. I always said for decades, the Maritimes is G-D’s Country in our world. How fortunate we are!

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Our Shabbat short COVID services have resumed for Friday night only. We sign the COVID attendance sheet on the front table, use the hand sanitizer and as always respect social distance. I always like to see faces at services that give me confi dence that we are well and honouring each other’s presence while abiding to Covert guidelines.

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We are so overwhelmed by the response that we are receiving from all over North America for our virtual Fredericton Jewish Museum that will be seen from everywhere latter in the year. Research has dated back to the genealogy of the Ser-Charlap Family 1800’s in Eastern Europe/The Pale. Cary Grobe is working diligently on entering all the photos and even putting music to the several categories e.g., History including pictures from 1890, Events from the 1920s, Holocaust programs, Documents, Hadassah, Sisterhood, B’nai Brith, Hebrew School, Immigration program, Rabbis, Children, Educational, old Board/ Executive, videos, etc. We had to expand north, south and east Provincial borders to Fredericton, as so many small communities’ members attended our Synagogue.

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The Museum committee also consist of Robert Brown, Daniel Chippin, Leon Gimelshtein and myself with special thanks to Sydell Grove, Doris Rauch, Edye Besner, Melvin Brown, Marilyn Kaufmann, and Shelley Stephen. Research include The NB Provincial Archive and www.findagrave.com/cemetry.

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Also, of interest, we had a Zoom Channukah candle lighting by our Rabbi Josef. The Rabbi and I have had 3 requests of people who recently moved here for menorahs and kosher food due to COVID. We had a very successful Kol Nidre appeal, one of the largest thanks to Arnold and Ruth Chippin. Also, our UIA Appeal was revigorated by Arnold and Judy Budovitch plus Marilyn Kaufman.

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Best Health and Thank you to all for making my task enjoyable and invigorating.

SPECIAL AJC MEETING

I had the good fortune to attend the critical Special AJC meeting at the Halifax Lord Nelson September 13, 2020, which had the potential to threaten the viability of our AJC.

First, I want to personally and as President of Fredericton Community, congratulate the Chair, Board, Executive and our profi cient Executive Director on the outstanding service to Atlantic Canada Jewry, which I might say is predominately Volunteers. Yacha Koyac!

The Atlantic Jewish Council, is only effective, with a give-and-take philosophy. The issue presented by a minority voice, as to what they can receive from the AJC, should be a mutual agreement, including how they can give of their time and resources to make the council more responsive and effective in fulfi lling their desires.

With more than 30 years of involvement, with the AJC, including as past president, my view is that it’s vital to our future, that we maintain our democratic and inclusive philosophy. This approach has served the Atlantic Jewish Council well, and it will continue to serve us well.

Faced with this unprecedented publichealth crisis, which profoundly affects how we operate, deliver services and move forward, change must come about through the evolution of constructive ideas.

In these challenging times, a dramatic, radical approach would be counterproductive and not in our organization’s best interests. A special thank you to Darrel Pink on his presentation of By Laws to strengthen our AJC.—Ivan Levine