Grateful for a Tremendous Holy Day Season

Throughout the High Holydays we held a total of 33 services!

We thank Jill Hertzman and her team of 26 Gabbaim.

We thank our Head Usher, Gerry Prendergast, together with Larry Babins, Abe Neufeld, Gary Posen, and their corps of 64 ushers and greeters.

32 Temple Singers and 11 Shofar Blowers rang in the New Year in joyous chorus.

Special thanks to Michael Cole, Jeff Denaburg, David Gershon, Dr. David Greenberg, Jack Kugelmass, Mira Lyon, Mike Morgulis, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Weinstock, fellow congregants who joined our Rabbis and Cantors on the bima to lead us all in prayer.

And 46 teens and adults brought honour to our sacred texts by chanting Torah and Haftarah on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.  They are:  Alexa Coleman, Arly Abramson, Mike Morgulis, Taiga Lipson, Raisa Berkowitz, Jonathan Gordon-Chow, Brenda Saunders, William Klein, Julia Duckman, Sophie Sklar, Josh Berger, Audrey Shiner, Robert Sniderman, Lindsay Lyons, Lesley Shiner, Emily Weizel, Mark Goodman, Benji McLean, Nathan McLean, Susan Speigel, Susan Baskin, Adam Sol, Jill Kamin, Marc Levy, Jordana Lyons, Jane Herman, Judy Malkin, Gail Kerbel, Levi Cassidy, Eden Manly, Caroline Ingvaldsen, Isaac Quiroz, Pavle Levkovic, Jordan Nisenbaum, Grace Valihora, Liam Vrooman, Jeff Denaburg, Jonathan Kirsh, Clare Radnoff, Lisa Isen Baumal, David Friedland, Brian Lidsky, Avishai Sol, Alyson Oaknine, Ted Shafran, Adrienne Klein, Beth Denaburg and Ari Burkes.

Three generations: Karen Abells took the lead with her mother, Mary Seldon, Warden of HBT, and with her daughter, Alana Steen, to ensure that our Sukkah and three bimas were beautiful and festive.  We thank our Religious School students and teachers for decorating our Courtyard Sukkah.

Thanks, too, to Jackie Mamott and 15 teen leaders for wrapping up the festival season with our Simchat Torah celebration.   Our 40 Consecration Students, their parents, and 77 more Torah carriers danced our 11 precious Torah Scrolls throughout the sanctuary for a total of 7 Hakafot.  And Judy and David Gershon’s Klezmer band with a guest appearance from Rabbi Noam Katz had us dancing the night away.

Our Maintenance staff led by Jim Westcott and our Administrative Staff led by Shelly Berenbaum, together with our Executive Director, Russ Joseph, ensure all goes smoothly.

Yes, these numbers are impressive, but we cannot quantify the impact these holydays has on our people.   How many prayers were prayed, how many loved ones remembered, how many memories were made – these are what we are really after and these are beyond measure.