Articles

Opening Our Palms: The Week's End, October 11, 2024
By: Rabbi Lara Rodin
Oct 11th 2024
Tomorrow, on Yom Kippur, we will knock on our hearts and admit to ourselves: chamasnu! We have engaged in evil this past year. We have hated. We have acted violently. We have caused harm. What purpose would this admonition of regret, this recognition of harm, serve if not to encourage and move us to take action, to do better? To act with love, with compassion? Every day...
Judaism is About Love: The Week's End, September 27, 2024
By: Rabbi Steve Wernick
Sep 27th 2024
This Shabbat we are pleased to welcome Rabbi Shai Held, one of the founders of Yeshivat Hadar, a traditional egalitarian yeshiva in New York. Rabbi Held has a new book out titled Judaism is About Love. In it he deftly argues that we Jews need to reclaim Judaism’s essential commitment to love. Yes, we are committed to Halakhah, to Jewish Law, but Jewish Law does not negate nor...
The Simchat Torah Project
By: Beth Tzedec
Sep 27th 2024
Beth Tzedec Congregation is proud to participate in the Simchat Torah Project, a global initiative that unites the Jewish world and honours and remembers all of those we lost on October 7, and the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for Israel. In early September, Rabbi Fryer Bodzin flew to Israel to bring home a Torah mantle, one that is nearly identical to over 1000 Torah mantles that...
Find the Blessing and the Joy: The Week's End, September 20, 2024
By: Yacov Fruchter
Sep 20th 2024
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ And you shall enjoy and rejoice in, together with the [family of the] Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that...
Congregant’s Herzl Collection Hits the Big Time at Prestigious NYC Institute
By: Jonathan (Jonny) Ain
Sep 18th 2024
David Matlow’s assembly of Herzl memorabilia and artifacts exhibited at Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker CenterDavid Matlow, Beth Tzedec member and curator of the world's largest collection of Theodor Herzl memorabilia, says that the notion of displaying his collection first occurred at Beth Tzedec. “It was my mother’s idea,” Matlow recalls. “She suggested that I do an exhibit at...
Generations Member “pays it forward” to Beth Tzedec
By: Jonathan (Jonny) Ain
Sep 18th 2024
Generations Member “pays it forward” to Beth Tzedec Jonathan (Jonny) Ain For Mitchell Rattner, a lawyer, husband, and father of two young daughters, donating to Beth Tzedec is more than just a way to give back—it’s an  investment in the future of a community that has become an important part of his family’s life. “The Generations Membership Program has opened the...
Philanthropy Holds the Key to Beth Tzedec’s Future
By: Jonathan (Jonny) Ain
Sep 18th 2024
Congregants often wonder why, if they already pay their regular membership dues, Beth Tzedec requests additional philanthropic contributions through the Annual High Holy Day Appeal. The answer lies in the evolving needs of our community and the limitations of the traditional "dues-based" funding model, which was designed for a much simpler synagogue experience of the 1970s. But today, Beth...
Annual High Holy Day Appeal exceeds $400,000
By: Jonathan (Jonny) Ain
Sep 18th 2024
This year's Appeal goal set at $650,000Beth Tzedec is on the verge of something extraordinary. Our Annual High Holy Day Appeal has already seen remarkable generosity from our community, pushing results beyond the $400,00 mark. Thanks to the unwavering support of the Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation, our lead donors who are matching contributions up to $150,000, we are well...
Free Membership Entitles Hillel Students to High Holy Day Tickets
By: Beth Tzedec
Sep 16th 2024
HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS?Beth Tzedec Congregation is continuing its no-fee membership program for those under 40.Click here>> to confirm your no-fee membership now. Or keep reading below for more details about this breakthrough initiative in Toronto’s Jewish community. What’s the Catch? There isn’t one. Beth Tzedec's mission is to inspire members to live meaningful...
We've Got the Playbook: The Week's End, September 13, 2024
By: Daniel Silverman
Sep 13th 2024
This week’s Torah reading, Ki Teitzei, contains the most Mitzvot (Commandments) of any weekly Torah reading. According to the traditional count of there being 613 Mitzvot in the Torah, 74 of them (12%) appear in this week’s reading. The subjects of these Mitzvot are all over the place, ranging from how to treat captives in war to rules about forbidden mixtures, from property law to...
Beth Tzedec Bulletin - Fall/High Holy Days Edition
By: Beth Tzedec
Sep 6th 2024
Beth Tzedec Bulletin - Fall/High Holy Days EditionThe latest edition of the Beth Tzedec Bulletin is available for download. Let's celebrate, learn, pray and connect as a community with the many opportunities offered throughout our quarterly catalogue of programs, events and articles.Don't miss any of the news and excitement, including:Celebrating Selichot with Rabbi Shai Held (page...
Of Castles, Light and Darkness: The Week's End, September 6, 2024
By: Rev. Lorne Hanick
Sep 6th 2024
This coming Sunday and Monday, September 8 and 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Beth Tzedec invites you to add to your Judaica collection. The remaining pieces of our museum collection will be available for sale including unique artwork and ritual objects. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to own a piece of our history. Well, not every remaining piece. Some things are not to be sold. One...
Beth Tzedec Grieves for the Six Murdered Hostages
By: Beth Tzedec
Sep 2nd 2024
We express our profound sorrow and sadness in learning of the murders of six hostages – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi. We join with Israelis and the Jewish people globally in expressing our condolences, love, and support to the families amidst the horror of Hamas' ongoing brutality and violation of...
It Ain’t Heavy…It’s My Mitzvah, Brother: The Week's End, August 30, 2024
By: Cantor Sidney Ezer
Aug 29th 2024
“The road is long with many a winding turn that leads us to who knows where. But I’m strong, strong enough to carry him. He ain’t heavy; he’s my brother.” These lyrics, from a 1969 song by the English rock and pop band The Hollies, are based on a story from a Boys Town orphanage in 1918. Back then, a boy named Howard Loomis was abandoned by his mother at Father Edward J....
Something Too Wonderful: The Week's End, August 23, 2024
By: Cantor Audrey Klein
Aug 23rd 2024
Although we are in Canada, I am sure that many of you have been keeping tabs on the upcoming U.S. election, perhaps even watching the televised national conventions. As an American citizen living abroad, I can’t help but turn some of my focus home, thinking about the future of my country and its impact on the world.Aside from my love of the show The West Wing, I would not consider myself a...