With Chanukah less than a week away, I’ve been reflecting how the eight candles have shone brightly and, at times, diminished this year, for our community and around the world. This week a few candles dimmed because of antisemitic incidents that have taken place in communities across Canada. Gunfire struck the Bais Chaya Mushka School in Toronto for the third time in recent months. Thankfully, the all-girls school was empty, and no one was injured. In Montreal, someone firebombed Congregation Beth Tikvah, and also broke a window at the Federation CJA, across the street from the synagogue. Our community stands with Toronto and Montreal as they grapple with these continued attacks.
How our first candle has shined this year is we have strong working relationships with Edmonton Police Service and law enforcement partners. If we ever have a security concern, they are quick to respond and understand our perspectives.
Speaking of working relationships, the second candle shines for our Jewish organizations in Edmonton and how we collaborate. For example, our new temporary office space doesn’t have large meeting rooms, so Beth Shalom Synagogue has stepped into provide a room where our board can convene for monthly meetings. They will also host the Shine a Light on Antisemitism mosaic for the next year. Another collaboration that we hope you will take part in is an upcoming Havdalah on Saturday, January 11 with our Partnership2Gether committee and Temple Beth Ora. There will be a fireside chat with Rabbi Orit Rozenblit from Kiryat Shmona/Metullah. Save the date on your calendar for this special evening. Finally, we appreciate the counselling and supports that Jewish Family Services continues to offer.
The third candle burns brightly for all our volunteers who have stepped up to show their support this year. From delivering Shabbat of Love packages to welcoming visitors to our Israel Pavilion at the Heritage Festival, we could not have brought programs and events to fruition without volunteers. Canvassers also work hard reaching out to donors for our United Jewish Appeal (UJA) campaign and they deserve much appreciation.
Leadership is an important cornerstone to our community, and here’s where the fifth candle shines. We have been nurturing young adults to step up as leaders and there’s also those in the community who provide their insight, experience, and wisdom behind the scenes to guide our community accordingly in their roles as board members, committee chairs, and advocacy representatives. They all deserve appreciation, but this week, I want to wish a yasher koach to Ellery Lew, newly appointed Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta.
As I look back, we’ve had many strong community gatherings in 2024. The fifth candle goes to you as you have not shied away from attending despite fear of antisemitism. You have been resilient and filled our spaces when we have held PJ Library play dates, hosted speakers such as Sarah Mali, Jonathan Elkhoury, Yonah Bob, and held commemorative events like the Shabbat Empty Table and marking the first anniversary of October 7. I look forward to seeing you at many more events in 2025.
Our donors for the UJA campaign are the sixth candle that brighten the way to a thriving community. The campaign has been progressing well, and we thank you for your support. Financial backing sustains our Federation and our Jewish community. There’s still time to make a gift before December 31 if you want a tax receipt for 2024.
The seventh candle shines for the Federation staff’s dedication to their work. I want to thank them for stepping up to the plate time and time again. We have a strong team, and I am grateful for their support.
I want to give hope to our eighth candle as it burns brightly for the October 7 hostages. Hamas has held the 100 remaining hostages captive for 441 days as of today. We must remember the hostages as we light our menorahs during Chanukah and keep talking about them until they come home to their loved ones.
I’ll be spending time with my family during Chanukah and will miss seeing familiar faces at our community events. If you are still deciding how to celebrate this holiday, we have curated a timeline of events to help. Please note that our Shabbat leadership message will be on a break until the new year. I wish you the best of the holiday season, no matter how you celebrate.
Shabbat shalom,
Stacey