Shabbat Candlelighting 4:20 p.m.                                             Friday, November 9, 2012/24 Heshvan 5773
 

This message has 745 words, and will take about two to three minutes to read.

A 17 Year Old Powerhouse
This past Tuesday, more than 460 women were inspired by the message and example of Talia Leman, the featured speaker for our Federation Annual Campaign’s Choices event. Choices seeks to inspire women to greater participation in our campaign and community life by showcasing a person who exemplifies inspiring choices. Talia Leman, who initiated a $10 million fundraising drive to help victims of Hurricane Katrina when she was 10 years old, went on to found RandomKid, a worldwide organization that empowers youth to help make the world a better place. Poised and articulate, Talia demonstrated extraordinary insight into the factors that led her efforts to be successful. Her message is one of inclusion and empowerment, pointing to life lessons that anyone, child or adult, can incorporate into their life.

The evening closed on a reflective note, as the 460+ adults contemplated the example set by this extraordinary young woman. By sharing her story, she held up a mirror to each of us, so we could take stock of what we are each doing to make a difference, and to think about how we are raising our children and grandchildren.

One of the most compelling moments of the evening came in brief remarks by Kara Mintzberg, a member of our community and an extraordinary young woman in her own right. Kara described the many agencies and institutions of Jewish life in our community that have touched and shaped her life and that of her family – most of them funded through our Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. School, synagogue, camp, Israel experiences, Hillel – Kara is a great example of what can happen when a family takes advantage of all the many resources available in our community to help raise engaged and committed Jewish adults.

Many thanks to our committed and talented event chairs Sigal Mathews, Shawna Merkur, and Natalie Rosengarten, for their inspired choice of speaker, for building a great committee, and recruiting a large group of table captains who filled the hall. And a very special thanks to Aritzia, Core Bioinformatics, and Vancouver Podiatry for their corporate sponsorship of the event. Their corporate support not only keeps this great event affordable and accessible to all women in our community, it also helps offset the expenses of the evening, enabling us to direct more funds to the community through the Annual Campaign.

Another Four Years for Obama
While our 460+ Choices participants were clearly excited to be gathered together for our event, they also had one eye on cellphone screens for updates on the US election. Before our guest speaker was introduced for her remarks, the election result had been projected by CNN. Within a day of the election, the focus had already shifted to an analysis of the political gridlock that has characterized the past four years in the US, with speculation about whether anything had really changed as a result of this election. After all, the same president still faces a divided Congress.

A few months ago, I shared my own reflections after 10 years here in Canada, and noted that the political polarization we have seen in the US is part of a larger trend playing itself out in all western democracies. The shrinking middle ground and unwillingness to compromise opens the pathway to high stakes games with potentially catastrophic results. Within the next 60 days, the US must face serious financial issues, and a failure to do so will do severe damage not only to the US economy, but also to Canada and the global economy.

Hopefully the reelected president and the newly elected Congress will recognize in the country’s split decision a mandate for greater political compromise.

Parashat Chaye Sarah
This week’s parasha describes the aftermath of the death of our matriarch, Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Her death leads Abraham to negotiate to purchase a burial site for her. And with this act, the life and history of the Jewish people is firmly and permanently planted in the Land of Israel. From that time forward, for all the years in which Jews lived in the land, and for the many centuries during which most Jews were exiled, the Land of Israel becomes the central geographic focal point of our people.

In our time, thousands of young Canadian Jews are discovering and claiming that connection for themselves each year through Taglit-Birthright Israel and the myriad of other Israel experiences managed by the Canada Israel Experience, supported through our Federation Annual Campaign. During the past decade more than 1,100 young adults have accessed the Birthright Israel experience through our Vancouver Jewish Federation. They have walked in Abraham and Sarah’s footsteps, while experiencing the vibrant reality of Israel today.

Shabbat shalom!


 
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