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We are thrilled that Rabbi Stephanie Crawley will join City Shul this summer (2025). “You have built something remarkable at City Shul,” Rabbi Crawley says. “In just over a decade, you’ve created a thriving, learned, engaged spiritual community in a place where it is so needed. The creativity, dedication and leadership of Rabbi Goldstein has inspired me, and I am honoured to have the merit to follow in her steps. My dream is that when people think and speak of City Shul, they will know that it is a place where Judaism is celebrated joyously, where it is taken seriously and where people are welcomed into a shining example of what a synagogue community can be. We will continue to build this together, and I can’t wait to get started with you.’’

See the full announcement HERE

Rabbi's Message

Next Year in Jerusalem—What Does it Mean to Us This Year?

This month, we will gather around our Seder tables, once again to recall our people’s journey—from slavery to freedom.  We are called upon each year to consider ourselves as having been slaves in Egypt and having experienced the exodus personally. We become one with our ancestors, sharing in the joy of redemption and in the inheritance of the Land of Israel. As in years past, our Seders this year will end with the words, “Next year in Jerusalem.” To the Jews of the Diaspora, this declaration was made on several levels.  In Biblical time, it was both an expression of hope and promise that next year they might take part in the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and share the lamb of the Pesach sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem.

At other times in our past, especially in times when the Diaspora was, itself, a place of oppression and persecution, our people continued to speak the words, “Next year in Jerusalem,” even though they knew full well that there was no possibility to realize the dream. The “Jerusalem” of their “next year” was not “Yerushalayim le-matah—the earthly Jerusalem” but “Yerushalayim le-malah—the heavenly Jerusalem”. It was not a place, but rather a state of being, a fulfillment of the messianic vision and a time of peace and harmony of humanity and nature. It was, for them, an expression of hope and promise that next year they might experience a better existence, deliverance from their oppressions and their suffering, and a world restored to goodness and wholeness.

So it is for us this year, a hope and promise that our world will be in a better place “next year,” free of war and struggle, free of anti-Semitism in our city and on our campuses, free from the uncertainties of the economy and our relationships with our neighbours to the south. But is it too much for us to ask that it be both?  That we might experience “Yerushalayim le-malah—the heavenly Jerusalem” and “Yerushalayim le-matah—the earthly Jerusalem”? I believe that we should strive for nothing less.

The first we can bring about through our continued participation in acts of tikkun olam, taking literally the words of our Seder service, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.  Let all who are in want share the hope of Passover...” Ensuring the sustenance and dignity of those in need, and working for a more just and compassionate society will allow us to experience the heavenly Jerusalem. This is something that we can do and that, indeed, we can do together.

The second we can bring about by travelling to Israel, and experiencing the earthly Jerusalem for ourselves.  Walking through the Old City—through its market place to the Western Wall, and the New City as well—with its museums and monuments, synagogues and squares.  Witnessing the beauty and history and the spirituality of the City of David.  Meeting its people.  Breathing its air.  Basking in its light. And especially now when Israelis, along with their neighbours, are suffering the effects of extended war and displacement. Our tradition tells us that when our neighbours or family members are suffering or in mourning, we should visit them. Well, this is a time that we should visit them. There are many ways to travel safely to Israel these days, and opportunities to volunteer in ways that support all those who are in need. I would be happy to talk with you about such possibilities.

Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat

Saturday, April 12th and Sunday, April 13th are Seder Nights.  We will gather around tables with family and friends to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt, and the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring us into freedom, and into the Land of Israel.  I hope that you will enjoy seders that are filled with meaning, with the songs and prayers of our people, and with people you love.

One of the ways that we create a bond with family and friends is sharing a meal.  Across cultures and around the world, the breaking of bread is a way to create community. And in our tradition, it is also a sacred moment, when we say a b’rachah and remind ourselves of the connection between God’s goodness and our sustenance. Whenever there are moments of celebration…festivals and life cycle celebrations and the like…we gather with our extended family and eat together as part of the celebration.

Something You Can Do…

Invite “guests” to your Seder—Each year we read the words, “Let all who are hungry come and eat,” yet there are members of our City Shul community who do not have a place to go or people with whom to share the Pesach meal.

If you have room at your Seder table, please let us know how many people you can accommodate.

If you need a place to go for Seder, let us know how many you are.

Let us know by sending an email to: connect@cityshul.com by Thursday, April 3.

Wishing you a “chag kasher v’sameach”

Rabbi Danny Gottlieb
rabbigottlieb@cityshul.com
www.cityshul.com

Saturday, June 15, 2024 was Rabbi Goldstein's last service as our City Shul Rabbi, as she is now our Rabbi Emerita.

Read the full sermon HERE

Watch the sermon HERE

Blessing for Rabbi Danny Gottlieb, Interim Rabbi at City Shul HERE

The video link to the full service is here - an edited version of the sermon portion will be available in early July. Click HERE to view

All Event Info can be found here.

To learn more about youth and teen learning, click here.