From Strength to Strength

by Joel Brown, December 2, 2015

On Shabbat morning, November 21, 2015 over 200 Solelniks and special guests took part in the service marking the official installation of Rabbi Audrey Pollack as our new rabbi. This service featured no fewer than five rabbis, including our own Rabbi Emeritus, Larry Englander, our dear friend Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, as well as very important people in the Reform Movement including Rabbi Jackie Koch-Ellenson, Director Emeritus of the Women’s Rabbinic Network (WRN-CCAR) and even the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, himself, Rabbi Rick Jacobs.

Rabbi Jacobs spoke to us about how the community we have built at Solel is a blessing and an example of what caring and dedication can create. He encouraged us not to take what we’ve created together for granted. He also encouraged us not to focus on merely preserving what we have now, but rather on building on the strength and imagination and love of our past, applying the vision and energy of our new rabbi to bring the blessings of our community to the next and future generations. As Rabbi Jacobs pointed out, with Rabbi Pollack, Solel is moving from strength to strength; from blessing to blessing.

As we move forward, it’s fitting that we reflect not only on all of the things that we value about Solel, but also on our aspirations for Solel’s future. Solel is not merely a synagogue, nor is it merely a Jewish school, or any of the other programs and facilities that we provide. It is all of these things, of course, but more importantly, Solel is a community of people who care for each other, for the welfare of the neighbourhoods in which we live, and for that of the wider world. Solel is our shared Jewish home and a beacon of progressive Jewish traditions and values in the western GTA. We’re on a mission to be a light – to each other, and to those around us.

I hope you’ll take a few moments to think about what makes Solel important to you, your family and your friends. Let’s all continue working together under the guidance of our wonderful new Rabbi, Audrey Pollack, building on our proud past to make a brilliant future!

Filed under: President's Message

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