Dear Bernard Betel Centre Community,
As Passover rapidly approaches, on April 1, Jewish communities across Canada and the world will celebrate by retelling the story of our people. It is a story of struggle, resilience and freedom from oppression. When we read from the Haggadah, the story reminds us that freedom requires strength, community and intentionality.
This year as we prepare for Passover, many of us are experiencing a myriad of feelings whether it be fear, frustration, or despair. These feelings are real and frightening.
In the last few years, and specifically the last few months and weeks, our community has had to grapple with the reality of a significant rise in Antisemitism. As a social worker, language is very important to me. Naming the experience and occurrence of these frightening acts as Antisemitism in my opinion sanitizes our experience. Perhaps it is semantics whether we call it Antisemitisms or Jew-Hatred? Whatever word we personally want to use, it takes all of us to stand up and be proud of our heritage, customs, and community.
This year will be our 53rd Passover Seder celebrated with members of the community at The Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living. We are extremely grateful for the very generous donation from the Anne Tanenbaum z’l Passover Seder Fund that has assisted once again in making the Seder financially accessible for our community. We look forward to seeing you at this memorable tradition.
The last few weeks has brought significant change at the Centre. I would like to acknowledge the recent passing of one of our Board Members Jules Lewy z’l, Chair of the Betel Governance and Nominating Committee. Jules’ passing leaves a huge hole on our Board of Directors. He will be remembered fondly for his intelligence, warmth, dedication, generosity, and for being an incredible “Mensche’! May his family and friends be comforted among all the mourners of Zion.
On March 27, Katie Mohr, Betel’s Director of Communication/VP Fundraising will be resigning her position at the Centre after almost 15 years of dedicated service. Thank you Katie for all you have done for our community. We wish you luck in your new position and the journey that lies ahead.
To our wonderful members, volunteers, instructors, community participants and staff, whether you celebrate Passover or Easter, we wish you a healthy, happy and peaceful holiday.
Chag Pesach Sameach! Happy Holidays!
Fondly,
Gail Gould
Executive Director
