Shabbat Services begin at 8:45 AM.

Bar Mitzvah of Jaclyn Kahansky today in the  

Rose and Morris Glick Family Sanctuary.

After Services:

The Kahansky family & guests are invited to the Milton Turkienicz Social Hall.  

The rest of the congregation is invited to The Wolkin Family Chapel. 

Kiddush Donors: 

Many thanks to our Kiddush Donors this week - to the Kahansky family in honour of Jaclyn and to the Redinger family in honour of Iris.

Babysitting Services:

Babysitting services are available today in the lower level from 9:30 AM until services end.

Sunday Minyan:

Sunday Minyan service at 8:45 AM in The Wolkin Family Chapel - light breakfast to follow. 

Mazal Tov

Mazal Tov to Jaclyn Kahansky who is celebrating her Bat Mitzvah this morning; to her parents Steve & Karen Kahansky; to her siblings, Nicole & Jonah; to her grandparents, Malca Kahansky and Lou & Honey Mostyn.

Mazal Tov to Iris Redinger who is celebrating her Bat Mitzvah on Monday morning May 30^th; to her parents, Bob & Brenda Redinger; to her siblings, Eric, Alex and Oren; to her grandparents, David & Josephine Redinger and Simon & Erna Fridlander.

Wedding Anniversaries   

Joel & Gail Fenwick                                                   May 28

Len & Debbie Libman                                               May 28

Ian & Carole Gliklich                                                  May 29

Marc & Marlene Solomon                                        May 29

Michael & Hyla Davis                                                  May 30

Robert & Judy Greenwald                                        May 30

Harold & Shelley Wolkin                                            May 30

Marc & Alison Lean                                                    May 31

Mr. Simon Gitalis & Ms. Sharyn Adler-Gitalis       June 2

David & Sally Laren                                                    June 2

Mr. Stephen Turk & Ms. Maura Levine                  June 2

Mr. Dani Frodis & Ms. Alana Silverman                  June 3

We extend our sincere condolences to Larry Sheldon & family and to Ben Lemberg & family on the loss of their beloved mother and sister, Clare Sheldon.

We offer our sincere condolences to Ellen Cohen, Paul Bain and Gary Bain and their families on the loss of their beloved father and grandfather and to the Mostyn family on the loss of their uncle and great uncle, Harry Bain.

May you know no more sorrow.

Yahrzeit List

From May 28 - June 3, 2011 (Iyar 24 - Sivan 1, 5771)

 

Name                                               Observed on

Isaac Abramovitch                     Monday, May 30      

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mr. Maurice Abrams                 father

Sally Bobkin                                 Tuesday, May 31     

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mr. Stephen Bobkin                  grandmother

Frank Douglas                             Thursday, June 2    

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mr. Irwin Douglas                      brother

      Mr. Jack Douglas                      brother

Jack Fish                                       Saturday, May 28    

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mr. Simon Fish                          uncle

Howard Gitter                               Wednesday, June 1   

      Observing this yahrzeit             Relationship

      Mrs. Helen Silverstein               father

Bronislawa Hoffnung                  Friday, June 3          

      Observing this yahrzeit             Relationship

      Mrs. Deborah Rubinger             mother

Jack Jacobs                                  Saturday, May 28    

      Observing this yahrzeit             Relationship

      Mrs. Carole Zerker                    father

Ralph Kendall                               Saturday, May 28    

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mrs. Ricki Fenwick                   uncle

      Mrs. Claire Wagman                 brother

Haim Kroutinskaia                       Monday, May 30      

      Observing this yahrzeit             Relationship

      Mrs. Sonia Kroutinskaia            father

Chava Mandelbaum                    Saturday, May 28    

      Observing this yahrzeit             Relationship

      Mrs. Zelda Korenblum               niece

Percy Segal                                  Monday, May 30      

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mrs. Alison Sheriff                    father

Louis Soberman                         Saturday, May 28    

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Connie Kussner                        husband

Carolyn Solomons                      Thursday, June 2    

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mr. Hayden Solomons               mother

      Mr. Syd Solomons                     wife

      Mrs. Lori Goldenberg                mother

Samuel Traub                              Sunday, May 29       

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Mrs. Frieda Traub                     father-in-law

Joel Zeldin                                   Saturday, May 28    

      Observing this yahrzeit            Relationship

      Connie Kussner                        husband

Beth Torah's Israel Action Committee invites you to watch the following video:  

 Why Israel mustn't withdraw to its pre '67 borders line

 2011 Inter-Synagogue Softball League 

 Rebecca Goldberg's D'var Torah at her Bat Mitzvah, May 26, 2011 

Good Morning everyone,

To start off my D'var Torah, I am going to brief everyone on a little history of the Jews, around the time of my portion, Bamidbar. Bamidbar means "in the desert" and it refers to the 40 year period that the Jews wandered in the desert after leaving Egypt. During that period G-D instructed Moses to count the Jews (take a census) three times. The first time he counted them was when they first left Egypt to enter the desert. The second time was around the time of the sin of the golden calf. And the third time, which was approximately two years into the Jews' time in the wilderness, was Bamidbar, the time of my portion.

Why did G-d ask Moses to count all the Jews? Was it because he loved them? Was it because he wanted to see how many Jews there were for him to start an army? This is a question many people have pondered, but there is really no answer set in stone.

I think it would be very interesting if everyone in the room who has Facebook took a census of all their Facebook friends. How many of them would actually be real friends? I think there are three main types of quote 'friends'. There are those who are your acquaintances, those who are your good buddies, and those who are your real and special friends. In life, especially as a teenage girl, it becomes very foggy and unclear about who are your real friends, and who are not.  Sometimes, it really depends on actions, not just words, to have a bond of mutual trust between two people.

The same thing is true in my portion. When G-d took a census of the Jews, there were 12 tribes. 11 of those tribes were devoted to G-d in every superficial way possible. In fact, all of the tribe leaders used G-d's name, in their names. The most religious of those 11 tribe leaders used G-d's name four times. The name of this tribe leader was SHLOMI EL BEN TZURI SHADI. Shalom is a name of G-d, as is Tzur, as is El, as is Shadai.  The 12^th leader was completely the opposite of all of the previous ones. His tribe was not superficial at all, and his name was NASHON ben AMINADAV, which derives from nahash, which translates to snake.

When the Israelites stood at the edge of the Red Sea, the 11 pious tribes were very cowardly, but Snake had the courage to jump into the Red Sea before it split, and saved all the Jews. I think this proves that actions speak louder than words. Even though the 11 superficial tribes sounded very trustworthy and credible, they actually weren't. Snake, the one who sounded and seemed very untrustworthy, turned out to be very brave. 'Actions can speak louder than words' is a very good life lesson, which can apply to so many things, and it is a philosophy that I will strive to live by. Sometimes it can be used to save the Jews; sometimes it can be used to save a friendship.

Another possible reason why G-d took a census of the Jews, was because maybe G-d wanted to see how many Jews there were then, compared to 100 years later. Maybe G-d counted the Jews just for the sake of counting them. Think of what we might have learned if someone had taken a census of all the Jews of Europe just before the Holocaust, and compared it to the current Jewish European population.

This leads me into a very sad topic. During the holocaust, six million Jews were murdered. It is shocking to think that one and a half million of those victims were children, children who never had the chance to grow up and live a happy life.

I have chosen to participate in the Holocaust Education Center's Bar/Bat Mitzvah of Remembrance (Twinning) Program, a program that allowed me to dedicate my bat mitzvah to a child who died in the Holocaust and never had the chance for a bar/bat mitzvah of their own. Today, I honour the memory of the two children that were murdered in the holocaust: Fraida Sztul and Tybee Buchalter. They were first cousins to my Grandma, Mira Spivak (nee Steele). Mira came to Canada in May of 1939, a few months before the war started, with her father Sam, mother Manye and brother Maurice. Sam's brother Moishe stayed in Poland with his wife Eita, and five-year-old daughter Fraida, my 'twin'. Sam's sister Golda also remained in Poland with her husband, and young daughter Tybee, my other 'twin'.

Both Tybee and Fraida were murdered at a very young age, and it is so horrible to think that this was the case for so many other young Jewish children. Fraide's father Moishe survived the war hiding with the Partisans in the forest. He went on to remarry my great aunt Sonya and to live a full life. But he never forgot the tragic loss of his first wife and his daughter. 

Today, I stand here in front of a family that has prospered and grown very much over the years. Moishe and Sonya had two children, Sam and Freda. His brother Sam (my great-grandfather) had three children: my grandma Mira and my great uncles Maurice and Bobby Steele. And on both my mom and my dad's side, I have lots and lots of uncles and aunts and cousins. We are a big family!

Few Jews survived the Holocaust, but in the midst of disaster, they created families, and from that more and more Jewish people are with us today. Just like my family. Even though the Holocaust turned Moishe's life upside down, he went on to create a wonderful family.

And now I have a few thanks: First to Rabbi Yossi for leading a wonderful service today and also to my Hebrew teacher Leah Krawitz for teaching me my portion, and being such a great teacher.

I would also like to thank Sam and Freda for sharing memories of Fraida and Tybee with me. Lastly I want to thank my parents and brothers for being so amazing and supportive to me.