Accomplishing Great Things

by Joel Brown, February 26, 2017

When Solelniks come together, we accomplish some really great things. We have many groups of volunteers who deserve recognition and praise for the tremendous contributions they make to our shared Jewish home and to the broader community at large. The great thing about volunteering is the personal fulfillment that comes from knowing that you’re doing something to enrich the lives of others. We’re blessed at Solel to have so many opportunities to make the world a better place through volunteering and so many Solelniks who are eager to do this important work. I couldn’t possibly do justice to all of the groups of Solel volunteers in a single article, but I’d like to focus on just a few of the amazing things Solelniks have been up to lately.

Invite Your Neighbour

On Friday February 24, we hosted about 200 guests from a couple of dozen different faith and community groups for our Invite Your Neighbour service. For many of our guests this was their first visit to Solel and even their first time ever in a synagogue. Invite Your Neighbour gives us a unique opportunity to connect with our broader community and show them first hand what we do, what matters most to us, and, importantly, how much we have in common. Solel has always been in the vanguard of interfaith dialogue and partnership in Peel. This important work requires a lot of dedication and effort on the part of our Rabbi, our Director of Education, and many, many volunteers who work on many different projects. The Invite Your Neighbour service was a tremendous success and none of it would have been possible without the hard work of the Religious Committee. They deserve special recognition for helping us put our best face forward to our neighbours and interfaith partners.

The Religious Committee is also working very hard preparing for our Community Second Seder, which will be held on Tuesday, April, 11. I hope you will save the date and make plans to join us for what promises to be a joyous celebration of our people’s liberation from Mitzrayim thousands of years ago – and in every generation since.

O Solel’o Mio

Another group who have been working very hard for our community is the Membership Committee, in partnership with the Solel Sisterhood, who have been preparing an Italian-themed evening of food, music and fun, coming very soon: Saturday, March 4. This dinner party and fundraiser brings Solelniks together to enjoy each others’ company and to support all of the important things that we do. Making what promises to be a fabulous, fun (and delicious!) evening happen takes a lot of hard work from many volunteers from the Membership Committee and Sisterhood – and the others whom they’ve enlisted. I hope that you’ll support this tireless group of volunteers by participating in this wonderful event.

Purimshpiel

It’s Adar, which means that one of the happiest of Jewish holidays: Purim is coming soon. Solel’s annual Purim Party and Service will be held on Saturday evening, March 11. The evening starts with a pizza dinner and party with great Purim games for kids of all ages. And of course, Purim would not be complete without the most important Purim food: hamentaschen and the most important Purim activity: reading the Megilah of Esther – done, as always, with the special musical flair that Solel is famous for. This year’s Purimshpiel will be an extravaganza with great music and impressive costumes and scenery. Our intrepid Purimshpielers are hard at work, making this another spectacular to remember. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating their dedication, and have a great time in the bargain, on March 11.

These are only a few of the many amazing things that Solelniks are doing. I’m sure you’ll agree that we come together to accomplish great things. I know that we can all look forward to many more great things to come.

Filed under: President's Message

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