Tag: Beth Shalom Synagogue

Successful trip to Cuba 

Cantor Eric Moses led a delegation from his synagogue to Havana, Cuba, this month. (photo from Beth Sholom)

Earlier this month, I traveled to Havana with a delegation from Beth Sholom, the Toronto synagogue where I serve as cantor. Together, we represented the first Canadian Jewish group to visit the island since 2019. Travel to Cuba has been complex and unpredictable for some, but our mission was simple – to support the Jewish community in Cuba and remind them that they are neither forgotten nor alone. 

The island nation continues to face an unprecedented and protracted crisis. There is a shortage of nearly everything, most notably fuel. Gas stations, if open at all, have hours-long lineups. Illicit WhatsApp groups gouge desperate consumers for the little gasoline that remains. Electricity is out for 12 to 14 hours each day. Medical supplies are scarce to nonexistent. Surgeries have been canceled, public transportation suspended and schools closed. Along the highways, people stand with wads of Cuban pesos, hoping someone will stop and offer a ride. And yet, despite these hardships, the small but remarkably resilient Jewish community has not lost hope. 

On Friday evening, we arrived at Beth Shalom Synagogue, locally known as the Patronato, before Shabbat for a briefing with the community’s vice-president. Moments into her remarks, the lights went out. There was no panic, no drama. She calmly pulled out a few flashlights and continued speaking, as though nothing unusual had happened. She then guided us through the synagogue’s modest pharmacy, where scarce medical supplies are distributed not only to Jewish families but to the broader community as well. We were proud to have brought generously donated supplies from pharmaceutical distributor Kohl & Frisch and members of our congregation – though we knew it would not be enough. 

As I entered the sanctuary for services, my contact, William Miller, pulled me aside. “Eric, we have enough generator power for about 20 more minutes.” That meant the Shabbat dinner we had sponsored would likely be served in the dark and with cold food. Again, there was no panic, just another fact of life in today’s Havana. (Our group had helped purchase that very generator during a visit in 2008.) 

Our time on the island was filled with meaningful encounters. We visited all three synagogues – Orthodox, Conservative and Sephardi – participated in hands-on volunteer activities and spent time connecting with community members. We toured the Jewish cemetery, the Holocaust memorial and museum, and visited shut-in seniors during a power outage. We visited the Canadian embassy and heard from the ambassador and her team about Cuba’s precarious future. We found brief moments to experience Havana’s incredible charm, including a ride in a classic car, the taste of a mojito and the sounds of Cuban music. 

By the end of the trip, our group of 16 left Havana feeling enriched, united and deeply humbled. On Friday night, the entire service was led by the youth at the Patronato – a powerful testament to the community’s commitment. I was honoured to address the congregation and shared a simple reflection: in Canada, we have almost everything, while they have almost nothing; yet they possess something we can learn from, a profound sense of pride, spirit and the determination not merely to survive, but to thrive again. One taxi driver summed up the mood of the country when he told me, “We are in a dark tunnel without a way out.” But we were welcomed with open arms and open hearts. 

We departed on Sunday evening on what felt like the last fumes of jet fuel, just hours before Air Canada and WestJet announced the suspension of flights. Those who remain behind do not have the option to leave. They continue to live with constant uncertainty, navigating daily hardships while carrying the weight of more than six decades of a revolution that has failed to deliver on its promises. And yet, the Jews of Havana remain determined, resilient and passionate about their heritage and their future. 

Eric Moses is the cantor at Beth Sholom Synagogue in Toronto.

Okanagan Jewish community small, close-knit

The sanctuary of Kelowna’s Beth Shalom Synagogue, which was founded in 1990. (photo from OJCA)

Kelowna boasts a small but tight-knit Jewish community, with its synagogue, Beth Shalom, located in the Okanagan Jewish Community Centre (OJCC). Although it’s estimated that more than 1,000 Jews live in this region and the surrounding area, only about 60 families are actively involved in communal life, which offers some unique benefits – and challenges.

“We’re not affiliated with anyone, so we cover the entire Jewish spectrum of Jewish identities and religious views, and we all respect each other’s differences,” said David Spevakow, president of the Okanagan Jewish Community Association.

photo - David Spevakow, president of the Okanagan Jewish Community Association. (photo from OJCA)
David Spevakow, president of the Okanagan Jewish Community Association. (photo from OJCA)

Spevakow and his wife moved to Kelowna in 2002 and have been very active in the community, which offers Sunday Hebrew school classes, holiday celebrations, a community Passover seder and more.

“It helps that it’s a smaller community,” he said. “When we see each other, everyone knows each other. We’re all friends and family.”

To help attract and keep rabbinic leadership in smaller Jewish communities, there is a new pilot project, called Bridging Mountains, between Beth Tzedec in Calgary and the OJCC, on either side of the Rockies. It offers the OJC community rabbinic leadership, consultation and guidance on religious practices and questions. As part of the project, Beth Tzedec’s Rabbi Shaul Osadchey serves as a mentor to the community, answering questions and visiting the region.

“The rabbi gives us a feeling like we have leadership in a spiritual and rabbinical aspect,” said Spevakow.

A small community

Being part of the close-knit community afforded Jeremy Finkleman, who was born and grew up in Kelowna, with an opportunity to really develop his own Judaism without the outside pressures of strict religious infrastructure.

“I really found who I am as a Jew growing up in that community,” said Finkleman, 31, who now works as a transportation planner in Vancouver. “I was able to forge a Jewish identity for myself completely independent of what people were telling me Jews are supposed to behave like or think like. It really gives you an opportunity to take charge of your own Judaism and take leadership roles, whereas in other communities, you’d sit more on the sidelines.”

Since the community has no Jewish day school, Finkleman’s father taught him Hebrew and Judaic studies for more than 12 years.

“I can’t think of a better way of learning. It’s a lasting bonding experience,” he said. “Just like the commandment says, you should teach it to your sons – he took that very literally. We’d get together twice a week for two hours in the evening and we learned everything from Hebrew language to Jewish history to ritual practice to politics.”

With no Jewish day school, Kelowna Jews like Finkleman were exposed to a variety of different cultures, and were taught from an early age to respect others’ religions and differences.

“Everyone kind of shares in each other’s cultures there. Being part of such a small community, I would go with my best friend to Christmas Eve mass every year and then I would go over for Christmas dinner,” said Finkleman. “It was a cultural sharing experience, and he would come to OJC for the annual Chanukah party. Everybody shares in each other’s experiences and it was all very positive and open-minded.”

Challenges to face

A “tourist hub,” Kelowna’s population almost doubles in the summer, as out-of-towners come to visit the area’s sandy beaches, taste its fresh fruit, tour the wineries and play the golf courses. The city, however, faces many challenges similar to those faced by other small Jewish communities. Although Finkleman noted he probably wouldn’t be as observant as he is today had he not grown up in Kelowna, he said life for an observant Jew is not easy there.

“If you want to have any type of regular observance of things, even regular Shabbat services, there just isn’t the interest to have services once a week,” he said. He noted there isn’t much Jewish infrastructure in Kelowna and so, for example, you can’t purchase kosher meat there either.

“If you were an observant Jew who wanted to live an observant Jewish lifestyle, it is challenging in Kelowna,” he said.

The synagogue, founded in 1990, does have a Torah and does hold services, although not regularly. It was built by families in the community who spent a lot of time and money to acquire the land and build the structure, including Finkleman’s parents. He said his parents held many community events at their house before the synagogue was built and that his father has been involved in leading services at the synagogue for many years.

“We’re very, very proud of it,” said Finkleman. “There was a lot of energy around the building of the synagogue and leading up to it, and immediately following it. After a number of years, however, it started to wane and people started to come and go.”

As the city expands, thanks, in part, to developments at the airport and the new University of British Columbia campus, the city’s demographics have shifted as well, with younger families moving into the region, attracted to the opportunities and searching for a more affordable life than Vancouver can provide. As more professionals and young families move into the region, Spevakow said he is hopeful the community will expand and develop.

“We’re committed to building a growing and evolving Jewish community while enriching Jewish life by providing opportunities for social, cultural and educational development. We’ve got the same problems other small communities have, but I’m optimistic about the direction we’re going in.”

Vicky Tobianah is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto. Connect with her on Twitter, @vicktob, or at [email protected].