Belonging: We Have Much to Celebrate at Solel

Over the past few weeks, three e-mails landed in my inbox that capture the essence of belonging to our caring Solel community. As each one strongly affirms my personal appreciation of Solel, I am pleased to share these with you.

The first came from Iqra Khalid, Member of Parliament for Mississauga—Erin Mills, who copied me on a brief email notifying Rabbi Audrey Pollack that she had been selected to receive a King Charles III Coronation Medal.

By way of background, The King’s Coronation Medals were designed to recognize individuals who “have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.” Rabbi Pollack’s award was given in recognition of her “service and contribution in the community and to our country”. The award was presented at a special ceremony held in Mississauga on March 16, and I was delighted that Phil Subeck was the proud guest who joined Rabbi Pollack at this event. Congratulations to both of you. As our Senior Rabbi, Audrey has done our community proud, and we are so pleased that your work on our behalf has been recognized in this way.

A second e-mail came from Susanne, a member who is no longer able to physically be at Solel, who commented: “A big shining light in my life has been the wonder of being able to STILL be ‘with Solel’ and ‘with my Tribe’ through the Live Streams, Zooms, excellent Shammas, and various other communication tactics. …. I have new acquaintances and friends I have not ever met in person, but through the magic of Live Streams and Zoom learning opportunities, ‘met’ newer members of Solel, reached out to them and became ‘pen pals’!” Susanne also expressed great appreciation for a delicious meal recently prepared and delivered by the Women of Solel (WOS). WOS and their leaders have “made a real difference for me. Somehow, someway, that team of folks, with all they deal with in the ‘real world’, with all the pressing priorities, came together and, amongst other significant activities, decided to; ‘visit the sick’, ‘welcome the stranger’, ‘heal the world’.”

The third e-mail was a heartfelt response from Lily, a member who had received a note from the Solel Mitzvah Committee for a milestone birthday. She stated: “…From those early years of my membership, I remember, particularly one of Rabbi Englander’s sermons. It was about Belonging. Belonging somewhere…. a place, where everybody knows your name. …I felt this wonderful feeling of belonging when I opened the envelope and realized that it was from you. Thank you. I am very happy and proud to be a member of the Solel community…I am also very honoured by having a tree dedicated to my name in the Toronto Community Forest in Israel.”

My thanks go to the two members quoted above for sharing your feelings about our community and to MP Iqra Khalid for recognizing and honouring the work of our Rabbi in the community. Hearing directly from each of you is so meaningful and affirms my belief in the values of Solel. My great appreciation also goes to Women of Solel, the Mitzvah Committee, our small, dedicated team of professional staff, and the cadre of unsung Solel heroes whose efforts impact so many people’s lives that we often don’t know or hear about. This truly is about “Belonging”.

John

Filed under: President's Message

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