Beth Israel

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Max Eisen Lecture on Holocaust Studies

You and yours are warmly invited to attend Trent University’s inaugural Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies, on Monday, September 23 at 7 p.m. at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough). The Shattering of the Assumptive World: A Family Story will be presented by Dr. Peter Suedfeld, Dean and Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia. This event is free and open to the public, but you are asked to pre-register here to attend. More information on Dr. Suedfeld and a lecture abstract can be found here. 

Lecture Abstract:

Two families, joined in marriage, lived as ordinary Hungarian citizens for several centuries. Their accustomed way of life changed drastically when in the 1940s the Holocaust focused on the Jews of Hungary. Over the next few years, they lost all rights, possessions, and protection from the state. Eventually, all younger men became slave labourers for the army; other family members were deported to concentration camps, mostly to Auschwitz, where many were murdered; and most of the rest were crammed into the ghetto. Peter, the sole child in both families, was hidden in an orphanage. The talk describes the diverse nature of their experiences and of how the survivors rebuilt their lives, with new homes, new work, and in some cases new families.

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High Holy Days Service Times for 5785 (2024)

High Hoy Days services at Beth Israel are led by Cantor Leon Litvack, and are open to all (tickets are not required). If you would like to become a member, or make a donation in support of the congregation, please click here. Thank you!

Erev Rosh HaShanah – Wednesday, October 2nd from 7 – 8:30 p.m. add to your calendar.

Rosh Hashanah I morning service – Thursday, October 3rd, 9:30am – 1pm add to your calendar. Followed by Tashlich at Jackson Creek and a Rosh Hashanah pot luck afternoon event

Rosh Hashanah II Meditative Shacharit, Torah & Musaf – Friday, October 4th from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. add to your calendar.

Erev Yom Kippur: Kol Nidrei – Friday, October 11th from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. add to your calendar. 

Yom Kippur morning service inc. Yizkor – Saturday, October 12th from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. add to your calendar; Cantor’s Minchah-time discussion.

Ne’ilah 4:30 – 7:15 p.m. add to your calendar, followed by community potluck breaking of the fast

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You Are Invited to the 21st Annual Abraham Festival!

Of which Beth Israel is a part. Festival events include Jummah prayers and refreshments at the Oasis (at St. James Church, 221 Romaine St., Peterborough) on Friday, September 13 at 1pm, and Christian Worship at the same location, Sunday September 15 at 10:30am, followed by a vegetarian potluck lunch at 1pm, music, and a chance to learn about the work of Kirk Dunn, the Knitting Pilgrim beginning at 2pm. Beth Israel’s Festival Oneg Shabbat is Friday, September 13 at 6 pm. Come help us welcome guests from Christian and Muslim faiths to our shul! For more information, click here:  https://abrahamfestival.org/ 

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As a Beth Israel member you are considered to be very special.  Find out more:

Why wait until September to become – or renew – your Membership in Beth Israel Congregation? All of the programming, communications, beautiful space, religious leadership, holocaust and anti-semitism education, community outreach, and security that Beth Israel provides as an expression of our vibrant, growing unique regional Jewish community are made possible by members. Members also get special rates for booking space at the shul, and a discount on community cemetery plots? For more information or to apply for membership in Beth Israel Congregation, click here (beta). Join now and receive an invitation to a special members-only conversation about our community on September 5.

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Torah Study Mini-Series NOW During June: Will You Come? 

The Torah Study pilot series will NOT begin May 25th as previously planned, but will now run Saturdays, during June. Are you with us? RSVP here (so we know to expect you), and click here to add it to your calendar. Participants will take turns reading the Parsha in English and discuss questions as they arise, with the goal of bringing more meaning/relevance/joy to the study of Torah. No advance study or preparation needed. Chumashim will be provided, or bring your own to add to the perspectives.

Lag B’Omer Celebration

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Beth Israel is hosting a Lag B’Omer, celebration on Saturday, May 25th from 5pm on, with a bonfire, kosher wiener roast and potluck.  Hot dogs and buns to be provided.  For your culinary preferences bring potluck contributions (no un-kosher meat or shellfish, please) and BYO lawn chair, if possible. RSVP so organizers can know numbers for food. RSVP here so we’ll know to expect you.  For more details regarding location etc. please contact:  contact@jccpeterborough.com

Thank you!

Panel on Judaism & Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) via Zoom

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Join our very own Cantor Leon Litvack and Dr. Dan Houpt on Sunday 19 May, 2 pm via Zoom for a fascinating online discussion on Judaism & Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), which for Judaism presents challenges: how does it relate to the sanctity of life, and to our being created in God’s image, and how does it sit with the concept of pikuach nefesh, the obligation to preserve life? Alternatively, shouldn’t we be guided by rachamim (compassion), and end unbearable suffering for those who are in constant pain and distress?
 
Please register here to receive the Zoom link.
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Annual Meeting & Dessert Party

In accordance with Beth Israel’s By Laws, notice is hereby given for the 2024 Annual General Meeting to be held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 7 pm at Beth Israel, 775 Weller Street, Peterborough, Ontario. Voting members and guests will have the opportunity to receive updates on activities at the synagogue, receive the 2023-2024 Financial Statements and elect the Board of Directors for the coming year. The program will also include a presentation and discussion on the synagogue’s new Mission, Vision and Values Statement.
 
To add to the celebrations the Board is throwing a dessert party for attendees. All individuals who have paid their 2024 dues by June 25 shall be entitled to vote at the AGM. Nominations for Director positions close on June 11, 2024. Nominees/nominators must be voting members of Beth Israel. For details on the positions open and the nomination process, click here.
 
Come out and join in the celebration for another successful synagogue year!
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Nominations Now Open for Beth Israel Board of Directors

 
The Beth Israel Board of Directors Nominating Committee is now accepting Nominations from interested Voting Members (current members in good standing) to join the Beth Israel Board of Directors for the 2024-2026 term. There are 4 positions available for election – 3 directors (Mike Fox, Heather Pollock and Sandra Grainger) are seeking renewal for an additional 2 year term and there is 1 vacant director’s position. This is an excellent opportunity to help shape and guide the future direction of Beth Israel. The Board meets once a month and all Board members are expected to serve on at least one committee.
 

In accordance with Beth Israel’s By Law 6.2, 6.3 and 6.5, the Nominating Committee is now accepting Nominations from interested Voting Members (current paid members) to join the Beth Israel Board of Directors for the year 2024-2026. Nominations close on June 11. Nominations are not permitted from the floor of the AGM.

Criteria for Nominees

Nominees must be a Voting Member in good standing, not be an employee of the Congregation, not have an undischarged bankruptcy and be legally competent under the laws of Canada and its Provinces to conduct business and enter into contract.

About the Beth Israel Board

The Beth Israel Board of Directors is composed of 8 directors. They are responsible for holding regular meetings to deal with the business of Beth Israel Congregation, and appointing its executive officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary). Board meetings may include governance and financial issues, oversight of committees and programming, and much more! The Board helps shape the future of our synagogue.

To Nominate Someone

Any two members may submit the name of a Voting Member for nomination to the Board. The nomination may be made via email to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Mark Siegel president@jccpeterborough.com or by mail to: 775 Weller St., P.O. Box 144 Peterborough ON K9J 6Y7.

For information on the Annual General Meeting and Dessert Party, click here.

 
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Yom HaShoah Events

Learning about the Holocaust and Its Meaning Today

Below are a set of links to Yom HaShoah events of note for our local community. 

Online participation is possible. 

Click on the links below to reach the event or learning materials.Yom HaShoah Candles

Yizkor:  Our Commitment to Remember

6 million worlds extinguished.

6 million pairs of hands that could no longer be held

6 million lifetimes of stories that could no longer be told

We cannot undo these horrors

What we can do is honour

We honour 6 million worlds in our candle lighting

We honour 6 million worlds in our remembering

We honour 6 million worlds by saying Never Again

We honour by bearing witness, by teaching this difficult history to our children. We honour by asking:

Where is the seed of this hate?

How was it made to blossom?

How was this hate elected?

Who is feeding it today?

To every soul that perished in the Nazi Holocaust, Jewish, Roma, disabled, gay, trans, to the millions of universes we can no longer explore,

To each of you, we pledge: We will keep learning, we will keep teaching, we will keep speaking, we will keep thinking, we will keep loving, we will keep building relationships across difference

We refuse to believe that we are powerless against hate, we refuse to abandon faith in humanity, we refuse to take anything for granted. In your memory, in the shadow of 6 million worlds, We will do everything we can to make never again mean never again.