The Heat is On

As I write this I am listening to the soundtrack to my favourite musical, Fiddler on the Roof; we are coming out of quite a heat wave, and since my office is over the garage and seems to sit in its own climate zone from the rest of the house, I’m thankful for this cooling period as I type.

My son graduated from high school this week and my step-daughter graduated from University last week. I’ve had the opportunity to drink cocktails on bar patios with friends and chat like it’s a totally normal thing to do.

I’ve had some sadness over the last few weeks but as we come into summer, rather than dwell on the negative, I’ve taken the opportunity to count my blessings. It is sunny and beautiful but when it rains, it’s well needed. I feel a sense of renewal, growth and optimism as I watch my garden bloom in the summer storm.

We as a congregation are in the same position. The last year or so has been full of challenges, but we have met them and grown. I’m so happy that we have had a dedicated group of volunteers along with our staff, Rabbi Pollack and our educator, Arliene Botnick, to bring us fully into the 21st century and the age of internet prayer and learning. We have members who are so happy to be able to study and worship without rushing around to make it through traffic on time.

Joel Brown especially has made sure Solel’s web presence, Zoom and livestream broadcast abilities, are technologically sound and secure. Thank you, Joel for freely offering our congregation your many talents. May you and Sandy take time to relax this summer and renew in preparation for the holidays. We are so fortunate to have you.

Soon we will all return to the building when and as we feel comfortable, and I look forward to meeting with you all in person, even if I can only see half your face above a mask. I look forward to sitting and chatting in the newly renovated lobby and even to using our new, modern, gender neutral and accessible washrooms.

What I have realized over the past weeks and year is that we find challenges, we meet them and then we rest, grow and renew. I feel that we are in that reinvigorating period of the year, of the pandemic and of my life.

This is the last year of my Presidency of Solel. I am very fortunate to have John Lewsen following me as first VP, as I was fortunate to follow Robbin Botnick. I obviously was not able to accomplish everything I wished because of the pandemic, but despite it we have maintained and renewed our fundraising efforts in a time of economic uncertainty, our gardens are beautiful and our building has had a partial face lift and security improvements, and our very own Torah is on its way.

Solel’s Board of Directors is reinvigorated and I’m positive our new members will build on the momentum we have coming out of COVID19 and into a newly vaccinated world in 5782. May we all have a summer of rest, renewal and optimism.

Filed under: President's Message

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