A message from Rabbi Adam Rubin
Dear members of the Shaare Zion Beth-El community,
As we prepare for the High Holidays and approach the one-year anniversary of Oct. 7th, it is imperative for as many members of the Montreal Jewish community as possible to gather together. Still in mourning over what happened in Israel on that unspeakable day, our sense of comfort and security in this country undermined, faith in the media, political, cultural, and humanitarian institutions of all types deeply shaken -- our people yearn for the feeling of unity, comfort and renewal nurtured by the fall chagim. We will come together on Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur to pray, sing, celebrate, mourn, and remember a year unlike any other, even as we mobilize our strength to greet the new one with strength, resiliency and hope.
I join several of my rabbinic colleagues here in Montreal in urging members of the Jewish community to be especially alert this year to those who may need a place to pray but don’t feel connected, to those who need a Rosh Ha-Shanah meal but are alone. All are welcome at Shaare Zion Beth-El! We are committed to making it possible for anyone who wants to come to our shul to do so. If you know of someone who is a bit nervous about coming to SZBE for financial or any other reason, please urge them to contact me personally, or if you feel comfortable, do so yourself. If you know of someone who would like an invitation for a Rosh Ha-Shanah meal, please do the same! Even if SZBE isn’t the right fit, every Jew in this city should feel welcome at a synagogue, and have “a place at the table,” both metaphorically and literally! Cantor Stotland, Reverend Tannenbaum and I will do everything in our power, with the help of our shul’s remarkable staff, to ensure that no one feels excluded. Now more than ever, we must come together as one inclusive, warm, and inviting community.
It has been widely reported that in the wake of October 7th, many Jews throughout the Diaspora who have been on margins of the Jewish community, unaffiliated and uninvolved, have found their way back to the Jewish people. We can draw inspiration from the ancient mitzvah of Hakhel, of communal assembly, to strengthen and intensify this impulse to come together. When the Temple still existed, men, women and children would gather in Jerusalem during Sukkot at the end of every seven-year cycle to hear the king of Israel read parts of the Torah (Deut. 31:10-12). Hakhel et Ha-Am/“Gather the people!”
My hope and blessing for all of us is that the sound of the Shofar and of our voices raised in song and prayer will not only return us to our best, most authentic selves, but also bring us closer together as a community and a people, nurturing a sense of unity, solidarity and mutual concern – and closeness to the Holy One of Blessing, Source of Compassion.
Le-shanah tovah u-metukah tikatevu – may we all be inscribed for a sweet new year!
Bi-yedidut rabbah/with great affection,
Rabbi Adam Rubin
