BIC Newsletter Posts

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Family / All Welcome Shabbat Potluck 

Join us Friday, March 21st to welcome Shabbat together. Doors open at 5 pm; kiddush at 5:30; potluck dinner 5:30-6:30, followed by Birkat HaMazon, songs and games. This is an all-ages, family-friendly evening, and all are welcome to bring a challah and their own candles/candlesticks if they have. RSVP here (new options!).

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Exploring Judaism Peer Learning Group –

SIGN UP NOW

Would you like to build connection, knowledge and confidence in the traditions? On behalf of the community, Jennifer L. and other BIC members will facilitate a peer-study group to explore what we know, what we don’t know, and what we want to know, together (ex: holidays/the year cycle, ritual & rites of passage, history, synagogue, spirituality, and/or other topics of interest). This introductory offering will run Tuesdays, March 11th – 25th from 6-8pm at the synagogue (775 Weller St., Peterborough). It is open to all and there is no cost to attend. Donations are gratefully accepted. To sign up, click here.

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PURIM – Come for the Play, Stay for the Hamantaschen!

The Beth Israel Children’s Circle invites everyone to join them Saturday, March 8 from noon-1 p.m. downstairs in Beth Israel Social Hall for a short play (skit) and fresh-baked hamantaschen. Guests are invited to bring donations of money or food to fulfill the mitzvah of matanot l’evyonim (gifts of money or food for two poor people at Purim). Proceeds will be donated to Kawartha Food Share. If your child is not already signed up and would like to take part, kindly Register Here.

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Cantor’s Message
Tu Bishvat 5785/2025

Dearest friends,
Recently we experienced a violent storm that blew down many trees. Luckily our own
garden was spared; but almost everywhere I looked I saw branches, trunks, and
sometimes whole trees blocking paths, and even roads. I though about the meaning
of all this — particularly in the context of Tu Bishvat, which fall this Thursday.

This holiday is known as the New Year of the Trees. We mark it by planting
saplings (often in memory of loved ones), holding special Tu Bishvat seders (which
resemble the Pesach ritual meals, and have their roots in Jewish mysticism), and
raising awareness about the environment. This year, for me, the holiday is about the
significance of trees as metaphors for our faith and our relationships with one
another — especially since I’ve seen so many toppled over in a storm.

In the service for returning the Torah to the Ark, we sing ‘Etz chaim hi’ (‘It is a
tree of life’). The words in English run as follows:

I have given you a precious inheritance:
do not forsake My teaching.
It is a tree of life for those who grasp it,
and all who hold onto it are blessed.
Its ways are pleasant, and all its paths are peace.
Turn us toward You, Adonai, and we will return to You;
make our days seem fresh, as they once were.

The lines are taken from some passages in the Book of Proverbs. They’re
appropriate to the liturgy, because the Torah is identified as the Tree of Life; it
symbolizes the relationship between God and human beings. In Kabbalah, the Tree
of Life is represented as a diagram illustrating the ten divine spheres, or sefirot; they
include attributes like righteousness, justice, beauty, endurance, and understanding.
The branches are interconnected, in order to show how these traits are linked to
each other, and to God. In Jewish mystical teaching, by accessing the spheres we
not only come closer to God; we also engage in tikkum olam, repairing our broken
world (where the divine is increasingly absent), and mending our relationships with
one another.

If we ponder these ideas, while appreciating the trees are all around us, we
come to a greater understanding of the intimate ties that bind us all together as one
human family, and also connect us to the divine. With so many broken trees around,
and the imperative to repair the damage done, the healing of the world is, for me, the
profound lesson of this Tu Bishvat.

I wish you all a Chag Sameach.

With love from Cantor Leon

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Upcoming Children’s Circle Dates

Zoe and Team are pleased to let us know that they will be offering programs for children aged 5-12 (younger kids welcome with a parent) on upcoming Saturday mornings during  February and March at Beth Israel Synagogue.  For specific dates, times and details please inquire at: contact@jccpeterborough.com .   Each gathering includes story time, learning activities, crafts, and baking. Mark your calendars! And stay tuned for more details.

*NEW*

Families with children aged 5-12 (younger kids welcome with a parent) are invited to join Zoe and team in early March.  We will get prepared for Purim by making hamantaschen, noisemakers, and putting on a short Purim play. All gatherings take place at Beth Israel Synagogue, downstairs in the social hall. To sign up for any or all of these dates, kindly REGISTER HERE.

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Beth Israel Applies for Holocaust Education Funding

With support from the Beth Israel Board of Directors, Ralph Baehre and the BIC Holocaust Education Committee and grant writer and BIC member Ziysah von Bieberstein have applied for $419,467 in funding over five years from the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program-National Holocaust Remembrance Program to build Beth Israel’s capacity to provide Holocaust and antisemitism education in the Peterborough, Northumberland, and Kawartha Lakes regions. We hope to hear an affirmative response soon. For more information, to make a donation in support or in honour of this work, or to get involved, email the BIC Holocaust Education Committee. 

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Beth Israel Board Welcomes New Directors

With two vacancies and three applicants (how lucky!) the Beth Israel Board wasn’t sure how best to proceed. However, at their December meeting Len Lifchus graciously offered to move up the end of his term, stepping down to become the Board’s Governance Advisor. Thank you Len for your service; we appreciate that you will continue to lead the Ritual Committee for the term. This made openings for the Beth Israel Board of Directors to appoint Alexandra (Alex) Rawek, Gabriele Zeh-Abramsky and Jennifer (Jenny) Katz to the Board.

Welcome! 

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Cantor’s Message for Chanukah 5785/2024

Dearest friends,
Most of us will know the origins of the holiday of Chanukah: in the 2nd century BCE, at the time of the Maccabean Revolt, the Seleucid Greeks sacked and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. When the fighting stopped on the 25 th day of the month of Kislev, the Temple was rededicated; but it was discovered that there was only one day’s supply of pure oil with which to light the Menorah. By a miracle (according to the Talmud), this oil lasted for eight days, which gave enough time to produce a new
supply.
 
I’ve been at the Rambam again (still my go-to Jewish scholar), and have been studying his interpretation of the importance of Chanukah. In his text Mishneh Torah, chapters 3 and 4, he confirms that lighting the Chanukiah is precious, and that the mitzvah is more essential than many others. But he then says something rather surprising: if a poor person has to choose between oil for a house lamp on Shabbat and a Chanukah lamp, or between oil for a house lamp on Shabbat and wine for Kiddush, the house lamp should have priority, for the sake of peace in the household. The Rambam then adds: ‘Great indeed is peace, forasmuch as the purpose for which the whole Torah was given is to bring peace upon the world, as it is said in Proverbs, Its ways are the ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.
 
It’s a strange way to end a discussion, by using the Chanukah candles as a foil to highlight the importance of keeping the house lights burning on Shabbat, so that the inhabitants can see; but the point is that a dark dwelling would disrupt the peace, and cause strife within a family. So to avoid such discord, we do all that’s in our power to maintain peace. It’s customary on Chanukah to have gatherings of family and friends; it’s a time to lay aside friction, quarrels, dissent and recriminations, and come together to share the miraculous festival of light, in order to reconcile whatever differences we may have had during the year.
 
For me this is the profound meaning of Chanukah which I share with you: while its origins in the 2nd century BCE may lie in a revolt against our enemies, we should, as a matter of urgency — especially given all the strife both at home and abroad — strive for peace and reconciliation.
I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Chanukah.
With love from Cantor Leon
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Children’s Program for Chanukah

Join us on Saturday, December 14 for the Beth Israel Children’s Circle! Children ages 5-12 learn the prayers over the candles, bake donuts and make beeswax candles! Younger children are welcome with a parent. RSVP here to help us ensure enough supplies. Note: this program is designed for children ages 5-12, younger children can attend with a parent.