Monday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m., Beth Tzedec's own Cantor Simon Spiro will perform with the legendary Neil Sedaka at Roy Thomson Hall as part of the Sing for the Children concert presented by Chai Lifeline. The event will be hosted by comedian Elon Gold. Tickets are available from chaiconcert.com, and Beth Tzedec members will receive a ten percent discount. (Just enter "bethtzedec" in the...

Yellow Candle Design Contestfor teens ages 13 to 18 years!Are you a budding graphic artist? Do you have a talent for creating and designing? The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) is looking for design submissions for their 2015 Yellow Candle campaign. This contest provides the chance to have your artwork exhibited on tens of thousands of Yom Hashoah candles distributed around the world...

This year,when you send Purim greetings to family and friends, choose Treasures of Beth Tzedec tribute cards.Our beautiful Purim card features a greggar from the Beth Tzedec Reuben and Helene Dennis Museum collection, and are available in two ways:Pick up cards from the Synagogue office to personalize and send yourself. Cards are available in packages of 12 for $54 or $5 for...

Enhance your family's holiday experience while honouring the Purim obligationsThere are four things we are obligated to do on Purim. Using the four mitzvot as a guide, here are some suggestions for making this year’s Purim more meaningful for your family. Mitzvah #1: Hear the Megillah Watch a DVD of one of Beth Tzedec’s past Purim plays before you hear the Megillah. You will...

This has been an incredibly exciting year for me and my family. My wife Rachel and I welcomed our wonderful daughter Mira into the world the day after Pesaẖ, and after the fall ẖagim, we moved into our first home. As we mark all the significant moments in Mira’s first year—rolling over, sitting up, her first tooth, and soon (but not too soon I hope) crawling—we are finding that...

Windows provide distance, the ability to see events from a removed, safe vantage point.I am blessed in my office with three large southern exposure windows. Rare is the day that I don’t rotate my chair 90 degrees, taking a short break from whatever I am doing, and stare out onto Warwick Avenue. I can watch the Robbins Hebrew Academy students head home from school or our shul’s...

Last month, Rav Baruch and I spent four glorious(read—FREEZING) days at the ReNEWed Jewish Leaders Conference. Seventy-three executive directors and rabbis representing nearly 250,000 Jews affiliated through our synagogues were invited to learn, share practice issues and problem-solve with academics and business leaders. In its fifth year, the program has presented professional Jewish...

Cuisine, in addition to text and melody, is important in the survival of Judaism.Particularly during the winter, I enjoy comfort food, a good book and music to stir the soul. Each makes claims on my identity. In The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, the late Gil Marks points to adaptation and transmission as essential to Jewish cuisine. In Jews and Words, Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Saltzberger make...

Monday Morning Mishpacha ProgramDue to overwhelming demand, a Monday session of the popular Mishpacha: Toddlers, Tunes and Treats program for children ages 1 to 3 with a parent, grandparent or caregiver is now being offered, beginning Monday, January 12. Spaces are limited; register early to avoid disappointment. For more information, contact Jo Swartz at 416-781-3514 ext. 230.

A chance for singers of all ages and musical backgrounds to join together and have fun singing with the ever-entertaining Cantor Simon Spiro. Broadway, Pop, Hebrew, Yiddish and more...If it's on vinyl, we'll be singing it! Regular rehearsals throughout the year will culminate in a 2015 performance with a professional band. Contact Marlene Laba at 416-781-3514 ext. 234.

The 16th season of Out of the Cold resumes on Tuesday nights beginning January 6, 2015 and is run jointly with Beth Sholom Synagogue out of their premises. It provides a hot meal, clothing, entertainment and an art program for 175 of Toronto’s homeless and needy, and offers sleeping accommodations, a hot breakfast, bagged lunch and a subway token for the 55 overnight guests each week....

Thank you to so many of you who spoke to me over the High Holidays wishing me well and encouraging many of our initiatives. Beth Tzedec continues to be at the forefront of Conservative Judaism. On October 6, we hosted The Future of Jewish Life in the Diaspora with Chancellor Arnold Eisen of the Jewish Theological Seminary in dialogue with writer and film-maker David Bezmozgis and moderated...

Take the opportunity to study and reflect on what we—as Conservative Jews—uniquely do.A hallmark of Conservative Judaism has been a fidelity to Jewish law and observance combined with an awareness of the historic development of Judaism. In mid-19th century Europe, the forerunner of what came to be Conservative Judaism called itself Positive-Historical Judaism. “Positive” meant...

There are eight qualities of leadership we find in the BibleThe recent election of Kathleen Wynne as Premier of Ontario and the race for Mayor of Toronto have focused attention on the nature and quality of leadership.Decisions by Prime Minister Harper, President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu draw attention to different dimensions of leadership in times of national stability,...

I want Beth Tzedec to transform the way our members experience their lives Jewishly.My connection to Beth Tzedec Congregation began with my maternal great-grandparents who were members of Goel Tzedec, one of our two predecessor synagogues. My parents joined Beth Tzedec in 1955 when they moved with their then two young sons into Cedarvale. I attended Beth Tzedec Day School (which would later...