AROUND OUR REGION : CAPE BRETON & NEWFOUNDLAND
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BETH EL SYNAGOGUE NEWS
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BY DR. MICHAEL PAUL, PRESIDENT, HEBREW CONGREGATION OF NL
6 PHOTOS: (1-3) 99th birthday for Bella Shore (4-8) WE’RE BACK!!!
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Transaction Office. All very within the new laws. One moment they were citizens; the next, homeless with no legal course of action. Have Jews survived because of their adaptability or their tenacity to follow the ways of Torah? Whatever the secret combination, we now also have DIY Judaism- Do It Yourself Judaism, new adaptations for the future. So what does flourishing Jewish life look like? Religious, non-religious; synagogue affiliation or non-affiliation; cultural engagement of diversity, Antisemitism, politics; Connections through family and friends, food. “What am I getting?” versus just Belonging… What makes us a tribe? How does one identify as a Jew? What is your Judaism? Sounds like a cafeteria! But these are the popular questions being raised… Apparently, you do not have to be a Talmudic scholar to discover how to configure yourself as a Jew.
FINALLY, RECENT NEWS FROM CAPE BRETON—THE MAZEL TOV CORNER Mazel Tov to Inez Goldman Schwartz who celebrated being 83 years young. On July 5, Leon Dubinsky rose again to achieve an 80-year milestone. Bella Shore will reach 99 years of age on July 15th. These are wonderful birthdays, not only to have achieved such longevity, but to be back to blowing out one or two ceremonial candles on one’s cake!
Barrie Carnat’s grandson and Uri and Kelly Carnat’s son, Benjamin Charles celebrated his Bar Mitzvah! 13 candles?
UPDATE ON THE GLACE BAY CEMETERY: When the congregations of New Waterford and Whitney Pier dispersed to places far afield, the Sydney congregation was asked to manage their vestigial functions such as burials. So it has come to pass, (as they say in the Bible) that Glace Bay which has no standing synagogue and only a handful of former members residing in the area, must discuss its future arrangements. Procedures for discussion are underway should any former members wish burial services in the Glace Bay Jewish cemetery. Interestingly, there have been inquiries.
Greetings from The Hebrew Congregation. As COVID restrictions were lightened, we began to arrange for Oneg Shabbat services for the Jewish Community. These events were very well attended, with more than 20 people in attendance at each service. These services were led by Elizabeth Siegel-Loder and her father, Arthur Siegel, who with his wife Suzanne, were spending time here from the US. The services were recited in a most melodious manner. Services were followed by refreshments in the community hall. Every Friday evening, we have Kabbalat Shabbat services, where the children go up to the Bimah to recite the Shema. Every Shabbat morning there are between 4-6 attendees who spend at least an hour discussing and dissecting the weekly Parsha. We are well underway with the preparations for the High Holiday services which will once again be combined onesHebrew Congregation and Havura—at the Synagogue. A combination of texts will be used. The members of the Synagogue wish all members of the Jewish community a very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous Shana Tova for 5782. S
TWO THOUGHTS TO MUSE OVER One is a truncated quote from Sid Caesar: be aware of your moments… How fast “a now” becomes “a was”…so, never use the word “if” anymore. An “if” is a “never was”… To keep it even simpler: Caffeine makes one see amazing possibilities… “Happiness is just a good cup of Joe!”
NEWS JUST IN- WE ARE BACK! The Sydney synagogue has resumed services! From the photos, you can see us Masked, then, an Unmasked L’Chaim and finally, a lovely Kiddish Lunch for 15 of us! Zei Gezunt! S theAJC .ca
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Shalom Please contact the AJC info@theajc.ca FALL 2021
Shalom
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