As I enter my Bat Mitzvah year with you, 13 years, I am thrilled to accept your offer to extend my commitment to Temple Shalom for another two years. I may physically live in Toronto, but my spiritual self resides in Waterloo with you!
Here’s my 13 reasons why I want to stay with Temple Shalom…
We have amazing musicians who breathe life into all our services with their expertise and passion. We have pianists, violinists, guitar players and flutists as well as so many beautiful voices!
We have many lay leaders who bring their own minhagim which gives us varied and interesting Shabbat services.
We have a religious school that children want to attend with dedicated teachers. Our students learn as much in 3 hours a week as many children in bigger centres learn in 3 days a week.
We celebrate our B’nei Mitzvah with each of them comfortably standing on the bimah and leading most of the service.
We have a young and committed Board that is able to check egos at the door and truly work for the benefit of the whole congregation.
We have a diverse congregation of people of different ages, races and genders and all are made to feel welcome.
As part of the Cedars and sharing our building with Westminster United Church, we are able to live and model how faith communities can truly work together for the benefit of all.
We have a congregation of academic people who bring expertise in so many areas of scholarship that our discussions and study groups are always stimulating and challenging.
We have warm and inviting High Holy Day services where many people can participate and get involved.
We are flexible and are able to cope with the challenges of the pandemic by many people stepping up to participate in and lead Zoom services, meetings and classes.
We have amazing Shabbat and holiday dinners as a community.
We are “hamish”….no one is afraid to roll up their sleeves to do the dishes, move furniture and create a warm atmosphere for all.
We practice and live a Judaism that is thoughtful, inclusive, academic and ethical.
I can’t wait to back with you again in person. Thank you for putting your faith in me!
Rabbi Lori
