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Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

September 14, 2018 | 5 Tishrei 5779 | Candlelighting at 7:09 p.m.

This message has 788 words and will take about 3 minutes to read.

Even as the sweet greetings we exchange at Rosh Hashanah remain in our hearts, we find ourselves in this period of reflection and of making amends. As we turn our energy toward making things right, both individually and collectively, we look to the wisdom of leaders in our community for inspiration and for a clear path to follow.

It’s fitting, then, that FEDtalks falls during this time. Four individuals, with various backgrounds and experiences that have shaped their wisdom, will share their stories with us on Sunday evening. It’s sure to be inspiring for everyone in the audience, and it’s the perfect way for our community to come together to recognize the responsibility we have to each other, and to support the Federation Annual Campaign so that our partner organizations can continue their vital work. There are still tickets available. Please join us.

This time of year, with Jews congregating for High Holiday services and at events like FEDtalks, we are used to seeing security guards and we take comfort in knowing that they are trained to keep us safe. A new effort has been launched to involve individuals in bolstering our community security. Learn more about the Greater Vancouver Jewish Community Security Volunteer Team, and please consider applying to join.

We’re very excited that the CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, Jerry Silverman, will be joining our community this weekend. Jerry was kind enough to prepare a Shabbat Message for us:

This Shabbat, known as Shabbat Shuva - the Shabbat of Return - falls during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is a time of great introspection - not only for us as individuals, but also as a community. We take an accounting of our actions - or failures to act - throughout the year that has passed; we make attempts to turn over a new leaf by addressing those whom we may have wronged and seek their forgiveness. We are not ready to ask God for forgiveness, until we have completed this process with our fellow human beings.

How, then, does a community make expiation for its missteps? How are we collectively responsible, and can a community “repent” as a whole? It is often not even possible to gain consensus on easy questions!

Part of the answer is to be found in our Torah portion for this week, Vayelech. Always read on this special Shabbat every year, Vayelech is actually the shortest parasha in the Torah, but is one of the most dramatic. Moses tells the people he will not be entering the land with them, and publicly invests leadership in Joshua. The themes of teshuvah - repentance - play an essential part in these final passages of the Torah. As Moses instructs Joshua, he is reminded that we are a sometimes “challenging” people, and he will need strength and courage. In fact, no fewer than three times is the phrase Chazak V’Ematz - “Be strong and resolute” - pronounced by Moses to Joshua and to the people.

It’s not that we are an impossible people. Our communal actions and behavior sometimes fall short of our communal aspirations. This is the inflection point where teshuvah comes in. Our community is strong enough and deeply committed enough to be able to close the gap between what we aspire to and how we actually act in the world. This is how a community engages in teshuvah. And nowhere is this more evident than in the work of our Federations.

Federation, itself, is a gap-closer. We act in the world to close the gap between those who have in abundance and those who are needy and destitute. We close the gap between those who have lost hope of a better life and the ingathering of our exiles to freedom. We close the gap between those who are searching for meaning and community, by providing meaning and community. We live teshuvah in both of its meanings: seeking to correct where we have missed the mark, but also turning ourselves toward each other, because nothing is quite as strong and resolute as the collective Jewish community when it achieves unity.

My wish for you - and for all of us - for the New Year, is that we merit the blessing of seeing our aspirations come to fruition by being our truer selves as individuals and as a unified community. I wish for us all Chazak V’Ematz - strength and courage to see it through, and the health, happiness and peace that we seek for our own loved ones and for all of our people.

Shabbat Shalom and G’Mar Chatima Tova!

Jerry Silverman
CEO, Jewish Federations of North America

P.S. We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Florence as it lashes the East Coast of the United States, and we will keep you posted in future messages.

Shabbat Shalom and G’Mar Chatimah Tova.

Ezra S. Shanken
CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

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