Shabbat Message - October 15, 2021

 

This message has 560 words and will take a little more than 2.5 minutes to read.

 

Affordable housing is one of the primary challenges across the entire region, including in our community. So, it was with tremendous pride that I attended the official opening of the new rental homes at Arbutus Centre which is named xwƛ̓əpicən, meaning “the hollow” in the Musqueam language.
 
Three organizations manage units within the new complex: Tikva Housing Society, YWCA Metro Vancouver, and the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of British Columbia. One of Tikva’s tenants had been living in his car, and it was incredibly moving to see the transformation in his life that is possible now that he has somewhere  safe and stable to live. We hope to bring you a video featuring him next week.
 
The fact that Tikva Housing was selected by The City of Vancouver to be part of this project is a testament to the incredibly high quality work that they do and the important role they play in our community. We are proud to have played a role in their establishment, along with a number of very generous donors, and to partner with them now. They are one of the many organizations whose work you support through your Annual Campaign gift.
 
When some people think of home, they think of Israel.
 
Each year, we work with our partner, the Jewish Agency for Israel, to help people who wish to make Aliyah. To celebrate Aliyah and Integration Week, Pnina Tamano-Shata, Israel’s Minister of Absorption, sent us this short and snappy video that will make you feel proud to be part of the journey that more than 80,000 people have made in the past three years alone.
 
You may not be making Aliyah, but a trip to Israel always feels like a homecoming.
 
If you’re like me, the post-COVID travel destination that tops your list is Israel. We have joined with Beth Israel, Schara Tzedeck and Temple Sholom in planning a community mission to Israel, and the first information session was held via Zoom on Wednesday evening. There are still a lot of pieces that need to fall into place, but if we don’t start planning it now, we won’t be ready when the time to travel internationally comes. Getting excited? Register here and think about joining us. 
 
Stars are meant to shine, especially in the darkness of antisemitism.”
 
Combatting antisemitism is an issue that every Canadian should care about, and so we join our advocacy agent, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, in applauding the government of Canada’s decision to make permanent the role of Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, a role currently held by The Honourable Irwin Cotler. Find out more here
 
While we are on the topic, Hillel International has launched a campaign to support Jewish university students who have been impacted by antisemitism, and to express our individual and collective Jewish pride around the worldHillel reports that while 83% of students say that they are proud to be Jewish, just 62% are willing to say so publicly. Through this campaign, students are encouraged to share on social media all the ways in which they express Jewish pride and to tag their posts with #OwnYourStar. They created an amazing launch video that I hope you will watch and share so we can help students lead the way.

 

Shabbat shalom. 

 

Ezra S. Shanken
Chief Executive Officer