“Personal reflections from a member of the Sons of Jacob Congregation, Belleville, ON.”
I am a member of the Belleville Sons Of Jacob Synagogue, and I was there on the evening of Yom Kippur when the shooting occurred.
The moments we went through are very traumatic, very challenging to live with, almost impossible to describe; we are not the same people we used to be. We were together at the attack on Yom Kippur evening, and the presence of our synagogue leadership was encouraging and comforting. The three of us hid at a point behind the curtain where we usually keep the cleaning stuff; close against each other, waiting for the terrorists to kill us every moment, but we were together.
Since the night of the attack, I couldn’t sleep for even a couple of hours per night; I’m positive the same for many others. So, again, thank you so much! Speaking about safety routines, our very unique President, Mr. Norm Weddum, managed to do exactly what you described above and beyond. The only difference is that he closed the doors between the lobby and the main room, but he couldn’t lock these doors because they are only for separation and not for security, so there is no a lock. At this point, I wish to mention our rabbi and honourable guest from Israel, Oded Peles, who was of great help by keeping up his composure, and after the shooting stopped, he gathered us in the middle of the room, far away from the windows and started to sing, holding our hands: Hine ma tov u manaiim, Hivenu Shalom elechem…we were crying, shaking, but slowly started singing. This Rabbi didn’t give up on his mission and on us, with the most important prayer of Kol Nidre. Shima brought something to eat, and water to drink, bc we all were fasting. Our brave president, Norm, had to meet the Mayor at the marketplace for a speech and to receive the Mayor’s thoughts on what had happened, allowing us to listen to Kol Nidre and the Izkor.
The next evening, we gathered in a small room at a hotel and enjoyed the prayer and the Yizkor as well. B’H! Little did we know that Mary and Michael Cohen would come with all the books and a big package, carefully packed, with… our Torah! They took the initiative by going to the shul that was completely closed in the area, supervised by the police. The police, understanding what was about to happen, not only permitted them, but they helped them to accomplish this unusual project. Such a big surprise! At the door of our shul were left many bouquets of beautiful flowers, cards, and a basket of fruit, with many cards showing love and friendship for us.
We all were sitting around the rabbi and the Torah in a circle and were deeply touched by the most unique service that could possibly be. At the end we felt something unique that connected us in such a very warm way. It was like Hashem was there with us as well.
The rabbi had the flight to Israel in a few hours; however, we still had time to hug and thank him as he so much deserved.
On this occasion, I’d like to thank you for the privilege we all had of receiving help from the most qualified therapists and counsellors, psychologists, doctors and Jewish community professionals who came to our rescue. Most important is our deep gratitude to Constable Jeff Smith, may he have a full and speedy recovery and Constable Mike McCurdy for putting themselves in harm’s way and protecting us. We are indebted to the Police Services of Belleville for their dedication and bravery. Their help is valuable and much appreciated. And thank you for helping our community become safe and protected. We appreciate it with our entire being.
And in the chapter of mentioning the brave and most unique and dedicated people who are the heart and soul of SOJ Synagogue, please, help us to show our gratitude and appreciation for the ones who deserve the existence of our shul; they do absolutely everything for this place and for us. I’m convinced you know them already. Norm, Shima and Mary. I strongly believe that they do deserve an acknowledgment, a symbol of appreciation that they will receive and keep for years to come.
Please help us to properly thank everyone and show our infinite gratitude and pure feelings of joy and blessings to all. Now, before the end, a huge thank you and much gratitude go to you for your acknowledgement and support during these very painful and scary times.
With many blessings for you, your team and your family,
Anonymous grateful member of the Sons of Jacob Congregation.
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CONNECTIONS
Zoom Meeting with CIJA -Tuesday, October 13 @7:30 PM (EDT)
Josh Landau, Senior Director, Government Relations (Ontario) at CIJA, will provide an overview of CIJA’s current advocacy work at the provincial and municipal levels, including key priorities related to public safety and fighting antisemitism in the K-12 and post-secondary sectors. Josh will also discuss the upcoming municipal elections on October 26, opportunities for local engagement with candidates and elected officials, and how CIJA can work with and support smaller Jewish communities in advancing their local advocacy priorities. The session will also highlight opportunities for collaboration, resources available to communities, and ways local leaders can engage with CIJA throughout the year.
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IDEAS
October 7: What I wrote then, and what I know now
Three years later, I look back at Kfar Aza and Be’eri, the soldiers beside me, and what this war has taught me about courage, loss and who we are
PALMAR rescue in the rain. (Photo ©️ Tuvia Book, 2026)
This week marks three years since the “hell on earth” of October 7. In those first weeks, I wrote three short pieces from inside the war. I have just reread them, and I barely recognize the man who wrote them. He was angry, grieving, and certain of very little except that he had to be in uniform.
Hell on earth The first piece was actually a message from my friend Ralph Lewinsohn, a fellow tour guide who came to Israel from Namibia and raised his children and grandchildren on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a few hundred meters from the Gaza border. (I spent my years as a “Lone Soldier” in Givati at the Kibbutz over the road, Kibbutz Sa’ad.) Thirty-six hours after the massacre began, he described what he had survived. Terrorists ran past his house, shooting without pause. His emergency response team was nearly wiped out. For hours he had no idea whether his daughter was alive. Soldiers finally broke in through his window, and in the seconds before they spoke, he did not know whether they were rescuers or killers. He then described the moment the IDF evacuated him from his house:
They collected us in small groups, and under heavy guard, led us to buses, which eventually evacuated us out of the war zone. There was constant heavy fire around us, and we had to take cover in a bunker for a while. On the way to the buses, we passed tens of burnt-out vehicles, bodies lying in the street, RPG launchers, AK47 rifles, grenades etc.
One detail has never left me. A friend’s grandchildren hid in a cupboard in a room with the bodies of their family, while a social worker stayed on the phone with them for hours until soldiers arrived. Ralph ended with a lesson from his African childhood: a wounded animal is the most dangerous of all.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/three-years-after-october-7-what-i-wrote-then-and-what-i-know-now/
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The Black-Jewish alliance isn’t nostalgia. We need it to defend democracy.
The fight for voting rights and against discrimination gives the partnership new urgency, writes a Reform Jewish leader.
Attendees at the 2026 Atlanta Summit of Black Pastors and Rabbis, Aug. 29, 2026. (Spillthehoney.org)
At the recent 2026 Atlanta Summit for Black Pastors and Rabbis, I joined 100 rabbis, Black American clergy, Black Jewish leaders, scholars, activists and community leaders in signing a Sacred Covenant affirming a renewed national commitment to unite against antisemitism and racism.
I was honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with Georgia Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, Amb. Andrew Young, journalist Van Jones, Rabbis Rick Jacobs, David Saperstein and Heather Miller, Rev. Mariama White-Hammond of the New Roots African Methodist Episcopal Church and many other leaders to discuss how to further our alliance.
Amid surging antisemitism and discrimination, conversations were heavy, but I was reminded that this partnership isn’t nostalgia; it’s a living commitment each generation must choose. I was also struck by the particular weight carried by my Black Jewish colleagues, whose experiences can show the complexity of navigating both Black and Jewish spaces. The Black-Jewish alliance is not simply a partnership between two distinct communities; it is lived every day by Black Jews whose experiences remind us that neither community is a monolith.
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Parashat Bereshit: Being Like God
The banishing of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden marks the beginning of humanity’s path to fulfilling its destiny.
Parashat Bereshit, the very first portion of the Torah, features what is arguably the foundational story of Western culture. Adam and Eve, the progenitors of humankind, are created by God and ordained as the masters of all of creation. God plants a garden, fills it with fruit-bearing trees, and places Adam and Eve within it with one rule to follow: Don’t eat from the Tree of Knowledge.
As we know, that was too much for Adam and Eve, who ate from the tree and were banished from Eden. In Christian thought, this incident is known as the fall, the act of original sin from which mankind must spend all of eternity trying to recover — in the words of Joni Mitchell, to “get ourselves back to the garden.”
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/parashat-bereshit-being-like-god/
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Registration for Together in Music is now open! Use this form to register for livestream and on-demand access, as well as gain advance access to special content and other updates.
Program:
Neal Hefti: “Two Franks” (arr. Jörg A. Keller)
Itamar Gross: “Variations on the Land”
Charlie Chaplin: “Smile” (arr. Lahav Shani)
George Gershwin: Excerpt from “Rhapsody in Blue”
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Excerpts from “The Nutcracker
Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn: Excerpts from “The Nutcracker”
Count Basie: “The Kid from Red Bank” (arr. Lahav Shani)
The Music Director position is generously endowed by The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation.
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COMMUNITY OF THE WEEK
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Perry
Perry Romberg
Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA
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