Temple Shalom
1077 Grant Avenue R3M 1Y6 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Rabbi Allan’s Message, Friday, November 20, 2020 I was talking with two close friends on Zoom yesterday (our first three-way get-together in many months), as that is the only way we can really see each other these days. As we closed, we realized how different these conversations were from our live get-togethers but how nice they were. We missed each other and realized how much we cherished what we have. And so, we committed to a recurring Zoom meeting every Thursday, be...cause this is likely to be our life for the next 6+ months. It brought to mind how much we are being changed by this COVID-19 thing life experience -- and it created one of those weird segues (jumps) in my brain to this week’s Torah stories about Jacob and Esau and and how their early dysfunctional experiences and their journeys brought them somehow to a surprisingly peaceful place (something I will explore more deeply tonight in my sermon). Two average human beings went through all sorts adversity and both came out as better people because of those experiences. We are where we are. We too learn from our experiences, and we don’t have to wait until COVID-19 is over to figure it out. Here are some things we might consider: What am I grateful for today? What do I really miss? Maybe more importantly, who do I miss? What have I learned about what is more (and less) important to me? And what can I do about all of these things now? Shabbat is a great time for personal contemplation. Use it well. Shabbat shalom.

November 13th Kabbalat Shabbat Zoom service

Rabbi Allan’s Message, Friday, November 13, 2020 COVID-19 got a lot worse here in Manitoba this week, the restrictions got a lot deeper and the entire Jewish community together with all of Manitoba’s faith communities got hit hard, for all the right reasons. No more live services for at least four weeks, just virtual livestreams. Funerals and marriages will be limited to exactly 5 people plus 1 clergy. Period. No exceptions. No family pallbearers. Nada. But there is alwa...ys a silver lining in the clouds, this time at a broader Jewish community level. We, the five rabbis representing the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements on the Winnipeg Council of Rabbis, worked quickly to find common community practices that we could all support. Within an hour, we developed a common front for a conference call with the provincial government and all the faith communities, got the information we needed. Then, within minutes after, it seems, we figured out how to initiate huge changes in our funeral protocols that would respect the different halakha (paths) of all three movements as well as the health regulations that we intend to honour. We found a new path, not alone but again by stepping into the broader Jewish community, with the incredible help and creativity of the Chesed Shel Emes, our Jewish burial society. Our silver lining is not about the specific issue we faced, but in seeing Jewish pluralism not just talked about but done, in real time. I/we witnessed something far beyond tolerance amongst Winnipeg’s various Jewish denominations and its spiritual leaders, but also cooperation, respect and trust. We found a way to rise to yet another level, something frankly rare in other Jewish communities and something we can and should cherish. May this always be our path forward. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Allan

Rabbi Allan’s Message Friday, November 6, 2020 This has been quite the upside-down week. Friends and family are reaching out. Jumping at shadows. Wondering about how this could happen? Or What is wrong with them? Or Don’t they get it?... I feel the pain myself. On Tuesday at 10:40 pm, I shut off the TV, saying I think I’ll let other people do the vote counting. And in the days since, I’ve limited myself to check-ins every 2-3 hours.... As bad as we are feeling (after all, we do live in their orbit, so it does matter), I am also relieved that we are feeling this, that we are angry and emotional. It’s a reminder that we have clear values that are really important to us. We need a good world, not just for us but for everyone in it. And in the greatest of our Jewish traditions, we see our place in the world: We have an internal drive to change and repair the world but the world isn’t cooperating. We are taught again and again in our tradition that everyone, not just us, has free choice and that we can’t control what others do, just what we can do. So, we do our part. We get angry and frustrated. And we commit to double down, never to give up the good fight. In a variant of the words of Hillel, we press forward into the headwinds. For if we don’t, who will? Shabbat Shalom.

Humour me here... How many people check out our website at http://templeshalomwinnipeg.ca for updates that may not make it to our Facebook page? A better question yet might be do you need a reminder that we have a website? -- Sid

Rabbi Allan’s Message, Friday, October 30, 2020 We are living in times of adversity in these days of COVID-19, and I have certainly been dealing with some added adversities in my personal life as well. Yet, even in the midst of all these losses, I have to say that I am finding myself charmed by so many gains that are showing up around me. My Intro to Judaism course has 12 students with incredibly different backgrounds, but Zoom means that a couple from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan... can join in. And Zoom means no babysitters and both parents can attend, and for many, winter conditions will not affect attendance. Len Udow calls me today, with joy in his voice, to propose that he, Janet and I should put together a Taste of Friday Night Live service on November 20live in this instance being on Zoom and Facebook Live but open to the world. Zoom let my family participate in a funeral service for my mom that we could not have otherwise attended, and we had almost 300 friends and family from all around the world attending the service, live or recorded. And our Zoom shivas were so incredibly meaningful, as everyone slowed down and shared stories, simply and thoughtfully, while everyone else, I mean everyone, listened silently and reflectively. And again, a worldwide event, the kinds of shivas that were simply unimaginable a year ago. The reality is that there is a silver lining in these dark clouds. Distant congregants and distant friends and families now live next door again. We are establishing new ideas of communities. And I am absolutely convinced that so many of these innovations by necessity will be with us forever, showing us yet again that adversity is sometimes our best teacher. This has always been our way. But like you, I’m wishing for better times sooner than later. Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Allan