GALA DINNER TO PESACH – A LESSON FOR ALL TIMES
issue 5 : updated  6 Nisan 5766 (April 7 2006)

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Dear Friends,

I will begin this Shabbos by telling you about the most amazing evening that I was blessed to be part of; the Founders Dinner. I had to keep pinching myself to make sure that I wasn’t having a dream! There were 180 people at this year’s dinner, which is twice the number that attended last year. The positive and loving ambience in the room was truly uplifting. And the feedback that I have received is fantastic. There are many highlights of the event:

1. We raised almost $1,000,000 for the new building and had positive articles published in the Canadian Jewish News last week and the Forest Hill Town Crier this week,

2. Jonathan Gross, Matt Simmons and Larry Gitnick produced a fabulous video that showed part of our Centre’s history. There were some serious moments and some great funny lines. If anyone who was unable to attend would like a copy of this video, please note that there will be a nominal charge, but it is worth every penny! Please call the office after Pesach to arrange for the purchase of the video, and

3. Richard Wesfield made a beautiful speech in honour of Rabbi Schiller.

Our guest entertainer was the renowned pianist and composer, Abie Rottenberg, who graced us with a song that related to our theme of the beautiful synagogue in Jaslo, Poland. The song was about two survivors who traveled back to their hometown of Vilna to discover that the Torahs that were kept in their Synagogue no longer existed. They were deeply saddened by this loss, but when they saw two young children who had survived, they celebrated by dancing with the children because they represented the future of our heritage.

This brings me to the Pesach part of this communication. Historically, we have been wronged in so many circumstances. In Egypt, we were forced into slavery by Pharoh. Our ancestors were beaten over and over again but we did not stray from our beliefs and and immerse ourselves in Egyptian life. Hashem was watching us and ultimately freed us from this bondage.

My message today is to remember all of the past hardships that have befallen the Jewish people. A mere 60 years ago, many of our parents and grandparents suffered during the Holocaust. But today we see that we have been blessed with freedom and the opportunity for a good life where we are allowed to practice our faith without fear of persecution. While we may have been physically beaten by our enemies, we have never been broken spiritually. This is why today we are building a replica Synagogue that will reflect our belief in Judaism and our everlasting love of Hashem.

Good Shabbos and Chag Kasher v’Somayach.

Rabbi Elie