Feb 22, 2015 | Rabbi Perton's Blog
I arrived to Jerusalem several hours before Shabbat on the tail end of what is being referred to as the Blizzard of the Century. While Montrealers would sneer at such a classification, Jerusalemites who never deal with weather below 10 degrees were in a state of panic. “Jerusalem of Gold,” was turned to “Jerusalem of White,” and they didn’t know what to do. One large building, thinking they found a solution to clearing the snow, used their fire hose to melt it. They learned the hard way that water freezes and they had themselves an even bigger problem.
Shabbat came, the snow melted and I had the opportunity to visit with my children, pray at the Western Wall and enjoy the peace that a Shabbat in the Holy City brings.
Today began the “business,” part of my trip. As our members are aware, I will be leading a trip to Israel in July of 2016 for boys and girls and their families who celebrate their Bar & Bat Mitzva (B’not Mitzva) at Beth Zion. The B’not Mitzva’s trip will more or less be free and the family’s trip will be subsidized. This is all thanks to a generous anonymous donor who has made this possible. In addition to continuing the “Bridge-Building,” activities from my trip in November, I will be spending a significant amount of time planning and meeting with people who will be assisting in the B’not Mitzva trip. Today I had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the JNF – the Jewish National Fund who will be helping with the Bar & Bat Mitzva trip. They have so many exciting ideas to make the trip, the once-in-a-lifetime event it will certainly be. I also took the opportunity to enjoy the spring-like weather (I had to get that in) and rent a bike and explore Tel Aviv (who says rabbis can’t do normal things?).
Tomorrow will be a very exciting day. I will be visiting the Yad-B’Yad – Hand-in-Hand School in Jerusalem. They are the school system that seeks to break down barriers by having Jews and Arabs go to school together. I am interested in finding out of it works or if it’s just a token-gesture at peace. I also want to see what ideas I can take back with me to Montreal. I look forward to writing about the visit tomorrow night.
Till then, Lila Tov – Good night from Israel.
Rabbi P.
Nov 29, 2014 | Rabbi Perton's Blog
Shavua Tov. I hope everyone in Montreal had a wonderful Shabbat. After spending Shabbat in Jerusalem, I would like to echo the famous words of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.” Jerusalem being home. This morning I had the privilege of Davening the Shabbat morning services at the Kotel. What a beautiful Minyan made up from Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Hasidic, Unaffiliated and Secular Jews, all joining together at the Western Wall to pray together in a spirit of Jewish Unity.
Unfortunately Shabbat ends and the real world returns. I would like to reflect on a tragic event that took place in Jerusalem tonight. There was an arson attack on a bilingual school in the Pat neghbourhood. By “bilingual,” I mean Hebrew and Arabic. Scrawled on the building was graffiti stating, “Death to Arabs,” Kahana was right” and “There is no coexistence with cancer.” Our nation has been on the receiving end of anti-Semitism for as long as we have existed as a people. How dare we ever become racists! It is offensive to every man, woman or child who perished in the holocaust that we should use the same words that Nazis used towards us. Yes there are serious issues of peace and coexistence at this moment. But let us never ever become the perpetrators of racist violence or intimidation.
Tomorrow I will be traveling to Acre (Akko) and meeting with Sheikh Samir Assi, the Imam of the al-Jazaar mosque in the city. I hope to ask him for his thoughts on what we can do to begin building bridges instead of tearing them down. I look forward to returning to Montreal with a mission and a vison for our community as to how we can play a role in bringing much needed peace between the Jewish and Islamic communities.
Nov 28, 2014 | Rabbi Perton's Blog
It is now close to Shabbat in Jerusalem and there is a calm descending upon the city. Stores are closing and there are only a handful of cars on the road. Today I visited Shaar Yafo – The Jaffa Gate. Last week two Yeshiva students were attacked and stabbed at this location. Today it was hub of activity with tourists of all faiths passing through this historic entrance to the “Old City.” One of the most wonderful parts of this trip is witnessing firsthand the resilience of the Israelis and how no one is living in fear. Just the opposite, the city and country are alive.
Of course I visited the Kotel – the Western Wall. I brought with me the list of names of people from the Shul who are not well and at the Holiest place on earth I asked Hashem to grant them a speedy recovery. Once again, I had the opportunity to speak with families from last week’s tragedy. This is the first Shabbat after the Shiva. May they find comfort during this difficult time in their lives. Shelly, our congregant whose brother was injured in the attack is spending Shabbat with him in the hospital.
I am spending this Shabbat with my five children and two grandchildren that live here. A rare opportunity. I will resume the updates after Shabbat. In the meantime, Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi P.
Nov 28, 2014 | Rabbi Perton's Blog
Friday is a very busy day in Jerusalem. Later I will go to the hospital to visit the wounded, however for now Jerusalem is waking up and there is no better time of the day to see and smell the flavour of the city.
We start off in Machane Yehuda, the world famous open-air market where you can buy the freshest meat, fish, vegetables along with twenty varieties of herring. Mounds of fresh spices greet you as you enter the spice market. If you’re in the mood to give Tzedaka, you don’t have to look any farther than the Pushkes mounted on the walls throughout the city. Then off to buy fresh Challah for Shabbat. It is hard not to buy an extra one to sample right now, they smell so good.
On the way you can get a sense of how Israeli’s park; and we thought in Montreal we parked poorly!
The streets are alive with the sounds of construction, shopping, children going off to school, men walking towards Shul and the hustle and bustle of the most special city in the world – Yerushalyim Shel Zahav – Jerusalem, the City of Gold.
Nov 27, 2014 | Rabbi Perton's Blog
I had the opportunity to attend the dedication of a brand new Magen David Adom ambulance tonight in Har Nof. It was dedicated in memory of the five victims of the recent terror attack on Kehilat Bnei Torah in Har Nof on November 18th. It was attended by all of the widows, including the wife of the Druze police officer, Zidan Saif who was killed defending the Shul. There were also injured police officers and first responders in attendance who had been injured during the attack. There were Jews from every Jerusalem walk of life. Black hats, knitted kippot, no kippot, Arabs were in attendance as well. As Rabbi Rubin the Rabbi of the synagogue stated, “No religion teaches that it is right to kill.” I echo those words. On Sunday I will be visiting two Druze villages and meeting with an Imam because we so desperately need peace. (more…)
Nov 27, 2014 | Rabbi Perton's Blog
“Nothing will ever be the same.” These words were shared with me by Rabbi Motti Olderberg, one of the officers of Kehilat Bnei Torah Synagogue where the Har Nof massacre on November 18 occurred. There were five fatalities and seven wounded including the brother of Shelly Rothman, a member of Beth Zion Congregation. As you can see from the pictures the glass with bullet holes has not yet been replaced, nor has the door that the police smashed in order to gain access to the sanctuary. You will also notice a bullet hole in a volume of Talmud as well. (more…)
