Each year our Sanctuary is transformed to mark the High Holidays and this is made possible through the contributions and efforts of members of our community.
Lindy and Stan Short arrange to have the Parochet changed and the Torah and Shulchan covers cleaned. Barbara Humphreys polishes all the silver. The beautiful flowers came to us from Barbara and Tim Humphreys, Jill Swartz and Michael Goldstein, Janna Ginsberg-Bleviss and Morris Bleviss, and Leah and Uri Levi.
Many thanks to you all. It has been wonderful to be able to meet again and this care of our Sanctuary is always a beautiful part of everyone’s experience.
For the month of October, Charlotte Sutker is sponsoring the Shabbat Gift Bag Program to honour and thank all her family and relatives, past and present.
Shabbat Gift Bags are being delivered to community members every month. This warm-hearted project is the work of the Outreach Committee– a gift to all Emanu-El members. The Shabbat Gift Bag project hopes to reach every member who lives within Greater Victoria. It is important that we all feel appreciated and connected. If you would like to volunteer or support Outreach in their many projects, please contact the shul office, 250 382-0615.
Saturday 15 October – The CEE Refugee Family project is a joint effort of members of Congregation Emanu-El and the Lutheran Church of the Cross to sponsor a Syrian refugee family in their move to Victoria. Our Lutheran partners invite you for a fun evening of food, drink, bowling, and exciting silent auction items at The Canadian Brewhouse (#117, 3500 Uptown Blvd) on Saturday, October 15, 2022 from 8:00pm to late.
Your $25 ticket to this event gives you a choice of meal (including a vegetarian option) and your first beer of the evening. There will be bowling lanes available as well as a roof-top batting cage if the weather is cooperative into October. Throughout the night there will be the opportunity to bid on the wide variety of lovely silent auction items.
Our sponsorship team is working through the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) to sponsor this family of six Syrian refugees to start their life anew in Victoria, and while we have met the minimum requirements set by the federal government to move forward with the sponsorship, we still need to raise more funds to support the family during their first year transitioning to life in Canada.
It would be our great pleasure to spend the evening with you, however if you are unable to attend the event but still wish to contribute, we are looking for more items for the silent auction (tax receipts are available for donated items), or you can contribute directly to the family’s support fund through the DONATE button on this webpage: congregationemanuel.ca/donations/refugee-family/
All funds raised will go towards refugee sponsorship, in collaboration with the ICA. If you would like to attend the event, or have an item to donate to the silent auction, please contact Kaitlin at dr.mcdonalddvm@gmail.com
Summary of event details
Date: October 15, 2022
Time: 8:00 p.m. to late
Where: The Canadian Brewhouse (#117, 3500 Uptown Boulevard)
Sunday, 2 October – Please join us for another exciting event at the Saanich Green Market, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Live music, fresh local produce at affordable prices, Kosher BBQ, fresh pastries, socializing and more… Everyone is welcome!
Please join us at the Jewish Cemetery at1:30 p.m. Sunday 2 October, the Sunday between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, for a prayerful, connecting and spiritual experience as we visit the graves of our loved ones, enter into memorial prayers and dedicate our new and beautiful Zachor Wall, our wall of remembrance that anchors memories of loved ones for many of us whose family members and loved ones are buried in other cities. This will be the second dedication of names on the Zachor Remembrance Wall, which has been formed by beautiful large stones excavated from our historic grounds.
Kever Avot is the ancient custom of visiting the graves of ancestors and loved ones around the time of the Days of Awe. One of the core themes of the High Holy Days is clearing our lives of unkept promises and burdens so we can begin our New Year unencumbered by the past. We do this in order to work towards changing our Mazal, our fortune and karma, towards goodness and positivity. The liturgy for Kever Avot reflects aspects of Yizkor; we remember our loved ones and pray to support their souls’ journey after life and we ask them to support us on our journey in this world towards greater Tikkun, repair and enlightenment.
It is also my hope that we can do a powerful ritual of using wicks to measure the graves of those who died this year and to use those wicks to make candles that can be used for Shabbat and Havdalah as a ritual means of supporting the souls of our family and friends who have recently died.
Saturday, 17 September, 8:30 p.m. (Zoom only) – Join Rabbi Harry and a panel of congregants to discuss Jewish/Torah/Biblical Origins of Colonialism. What is our role in reconciliation? What do we do when we encounter shadow Torah? What role does collective teshuvah play in our individual soul accounting?
There will be select Slihot prayers directly after our dialogue. Slihot are poems and prayers of forgiveness that our ancestors offered during the time leading up to the High Holy Days/Days of Awe. In the Ashkenazi tradition, we begin offering these prayers on Motzei Shabbat, Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah.
Congregation Emanu-El News 