Question of the Week:
Why are there so many different synagogues in our community? I know of six within a one kilometre radius of my house! Wouldn't it be more economical if we pool our resources into one big shul rather than so many smaller ones?
Answer:
I was just thinking a similar question: Why are there so many restaurants in our neighbourhood? Shouldn't there just be one place to go eat? I have counted a dozen on one street!
Would we be better off with just one big restaurant? I don't think foodies would agree. Some love Thai, others prefer Italian. The formal dining experience in one place suits some, while others seek a casual night out. Family-friendly fast food joints will not attract the fine diners, and fancy plates with a tiny little gourmet morsel in the middle will not go down well with hungry adolescents. Vegans don't seem to enjoy steak houses. Carnivores don't always go for quinoa burgers.
The wide choice of restaurants caters to all the varied tastes and moods. Imagine if there was only one restaurant in town, and you didn't like it. There can't be a one-size-fits-all eatery.
It's the same with synagogues. Each one presents Yiddishkeit with a different taste and unique angle. There are Sephardi and Ashkenazi variants, shuls that sing and shuls that don't, informal and intimate communal synagogues and grand pompous ones, kid friendly and mature audience only. Long sermon, short sermon, no sermon. Hebrew speaking, Russian speaking, no speaking. Every community style fills a niche and attracts different souls. Each custom has its customers. This is not factionalism or doubling resources. It is opening doors and giving options.
The Jewish people are made up of twelve tribes. Each had their own slightly different way of praying, and yet were all one people with one common Torah. Even the Temple in Jerusalem had twelve different gates for each tribe to enter in their own way. But everyone ended up in the same Holy Temple. Every shul, with its unique style, is a gateway to that Temple.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss
PS. The discussion above applies to sizable communities with a critical mass that can sustain many shuls. Smaller communities may not have that luxury. When we are committed to Torah observance and Jewish unity, not politics, we can pray all together or in our own communities and remain one people.
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Friday 15 January – 2 Shevat
Candle lighting .................. 7:51pm (after 6:44pm)
Mincha.............................. 6:15pm
Evening Service.................. 6:30-7:20pm
Followed by Kiddush
Saturday 16 January – 3 Shevat
Morning Service ............... 10:00am-12:20pm
Kids Program.................... 10:30am
Kiddush sponsored by Danny Meguideche & Jesse Meguideche in honour of Aviel Meguideche's 11th birthday- Mazal Tov!
Shiur with Rabbi Sufrin................ 6:50pm
Mincha...................................... 7:50pm
Shabbos ends & Maariv .............. 8:51pm
Latest Shema this week.............. 9:30am
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
David Tobin.................. 5 Shevat/Monday 18 January
Naomi Ziv.................... 6 Shevat/Tuesday 19 January
Golda Moss.................. 6 Shevat/Tuesday 19 January
Linda Lenn................... 6 Shevat/Tuesday 19 January
Evelyn Tobin................ 6 Shevat/Tuesday 19 January
Natalie Dabscheck........ 7 Shevat /Wednesday 20 January
Alessia Rachel Maksimovich.... 8 Shevat/Thur 21 January
Jeremy Kinstlinger........ 9 Shevat/Friday 22 January
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Debbie & Jeremy Parker........ 7 Shevat/Wed 20 January
Nikki & Eyal Kirshner............ 9 Shevat/Friday 22 January
Dani & Adam Goldwater........ 9 Shevat/Friday 22 January
LONG LIFE FOR THE FOLLOWING YORTZHEITS
Tina Moddel for her late brother Juan Carlos
Yonatan ben Arye... 4 Shevat/Sunday 17 January
Harry Kornfeld for his late mother Regina Kornfeld
Rivka bas Alexander... 5 Shevat/Monday 18 January
Malka Kurta for her late father Alexander Rees
Shlomo Ben David HaLevi ... 7 Shevat/Wednesday 20 January
Jonathan Isdale for his late father Nathan Israel
Natan Ben Avraham... 9 Shevat/Friday 22 January
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