June 16, 2004

Dear friends,

Shalom uvracha! I am actually quite excited about our new second edition of Siddur Ahavat Olam which will debut at Maddy MacLeod’s bat mitzvah this coming Shabbat. I am excited because we have ironed out a lot of the kinks in our first edition siddur. We have completely re-designed several pages which were kind of confusing in our first edition to make them very smooth to davven through with far less wondering about where to go from one line to the next etc. We’ve provided a lot more transliteration for prayers—such as Kaddish Shalem—that we always include in our davvening but which are not transliterated in the first edition. We've added songs and readings—such as “Awaken, Arise”—and the entire Hallel and Yom Tov Amidah. Also, we’ve gotten it wire-spiral bound on the right-hand side so that it will open easily and lie flat. This is a great improvement over our first edition’s fold-over-the-top plastic binding. Altogether, these improvements will make the mechanics of our davvening much easier and will, God willing, enable us to give our hearts, minds and souls more to the kavvanah and content.

Yashar koah to everyone who was involved:

Jane Heyman took many hours out of her very busy life as a more-than-full-time professional working person, a highly-valued volunteer leader in community organizations and a devoted spouse and parent to work with me in thinking through and then meticulously laying out the 130+ pages of our new siddur. As always, it was a pleasure working with Jane. Her clarity about the task and her calm good humour made the work itself a joy.

Lorne Mallin was generous with his time and talents in the graphics department in redesigning our cover and frontispiece.

Marianne Rev and Raziel Ross gave helpful suggestions about material to include.

Finally, the families of our first two bnot mitzvah, Maddy MacLeod and Johanna Mintz, very generously provided the financial support making it possible for us to print up 70 copies of this new siddur.

I am grateful always for being able to share with this community the embrace of a creative and thoughtful Jewish path toward living with awareness and sensitivity to the Divine Presence in every moment,

B’Shalom,

David

Ahavat Olam is having a Special General Meeting!

The meeting will be held on Friday, August 20th, 12:00pm, at 303--788 West 14th Avenue.

1) Registration and Call to Order
2) Adoption of the Agenda
3) Discussion and Vote on Membership Policy (draft)
4) Special Resolution to change Bylaws

"Be it resolved that the Ahavat Olam Bylaws are amended so that all references to "December 31" in Section 8 are changed to read "August 31". This resolution changes the annual membership period from the year-end of the secular calendar to the year-end of the Jewish calendar."

5) Adjournment

We need eight persons for a quorum at this meeting. Respondez s'il vous plait to: AO_iwillcome@yahoo.com

Hila and baby Ben will have just returned from Israel and ICED TEA will be served! Everyone is invited!

April 6, 2004—The Ahavat Olam community will be celebrating our second seder together on Tuesday, April 6, at the Jewish Community Centre (950 W. 41st Ave.). The seder will run from 6:00 pm to approximately 10:00 and will be led by Rabbi David Mivasair together with a team of AO members. The meal will be catered by the JCC's Chagall's Creative Cuisine, who have worked with our crew to come up with a lovely vegetarian menu that is totally BCK-certified Kosher for Passover.

But as important as food is, a seder is about more. It's about asking questions and telling stories, singing songs and celebrating the sacred, about opening our hearts as well as our doors and sharing our gifts with others, about appreciating the freedoms we have and striving for ever-greater liberation. And it's about community.

So that our seder will be a true expression of community, we will be contributing 3% of proceeds to Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger. As well, partial subsidies are available to anyone in need; no one will be turned away from the seder for lack of money.

The seder costs $25 for adults, $10 for children up to bar/bat mitsvah age, with a flat rate of $65 for families of 4 or more. Children under 4 are free. The fees cover the cost of food and beverages except wine. You will need to bring your own Kosher le-Pesach wine (maked with a little "p"), which is available at BC Liquor Stores in the kosher or Israeli section, or before 1:00 pm at Schara Tzedek synagogue (rear entrance). Or you can add $6.50 to your total and we will provide wine.

So come, bring family and friends, sing, participate, eat and enjoy! (And although we have haggadot, please bring one if you have one.) To reserve your seat, call 604-464-7436 to get further instructions about where to send your cheque. Payment must be received by March 31 to ensure your reservation.

To fulfill the mitzvah of Matanot Le'Evyonim (Gifts to the Poor), Purim revellers are asked to bring ready-made gift baskets or bags of new personal-care items that will be distributed to women at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre the next day. The items can be assembled from a dollar store for less than $10 and could include such things as toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, hair clips, shampoo, cream rinse, soap, nail scissors or anything useful for a woman or child.

The connection with the women’s center helps address the issue of mistreatment of women as seen in King Ahasuerus’ contempt for Queen Vashti in the story of Purim. The story will emerge in the reading of the Megillah from 7:30 to 9 p.m., following havdalah at 6:45 and dressing up at 7. Bring your own favourite costumes, makeup and noisemakers, and there will be face paints to share. The celebration continues with eating, drinking, singing and merrymaking. Please bring alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and Kosher snacks.

January 19, 2004—The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver has approved a grant of $2,000 to help Ahavat Olam complete the purchase of our new sefer Torah. The sefer Torah has been with us since just before Rosh Hashanah when it came to us from its longtime home in Winnipeg. It is so beautifully written, we admired and appreciated its grace and light all over again this past Shabbat.

We owe a tremendous thanks to the donors and trustees of the Foundation for making approving this grant. In addition to the concrete benefits of their financial support, they have also given Ahavat Olam their recognition as a new congregation serving the Greater Vancouver Jewish community and worthy of the community's support.

The congregation dances with the Torah - Miriam, smiling in front of the unfurled Torah

September 18, 2003—Today, Ahavat Olam has reached an important milestone, as its first, and in fact, only Torah scrool arrived at the home of Rabbi David Mivasair. This particular Torah comes from Russia—where it was written between 150 to 250 years ago—via Winnipeg, its latest home.

Every Shabbat we pray Ve-ten Helkenu Be-toratecha: “Grant us our portion in your Torah”. The words of our prayer tell us that we each have a part in Torah. It is through the weekly reading of Torah that we are given the opportunity to find our very own part – our very own voice – in it. On Sunday morning, Sept 20, 2003, the Mivasair's will hold an an open house where congregation members have a chance to go through the entire Torah scroll, familiarize themselves with the writing, and decide that it is indeed the right Torah for them.

The congregation is soliciting donations toward the purchase of the Torah. Donations can be sent to Ahavat Olam, PO Box 19569, Vancouver, BC V5T 4E7.

Click on the thumbnails below to see bigger photos.

September 4, 2003—On September 4th, 2003, in a simple and joyous ceremony at the waterfall in Queen Elizabeth Park, Rahel Anne Bailie and Emma Hamer became the first same-sex Jewish couple to be legally married by a rabbi in British Columbia. Rabbi David Mivasair of Vancouver's Ahavat Olam Congregation officiated at the ceremony just as he did at their original Jewish wedding three years ago. This time, however, the ceremony is also recognized in civil law.

Read the Jewish Western Bulletin editorial on the topic of equal marriage.

August 1, 2003—You'll never get an answer unless you ask a question, so the saying goes. Ahavat asked, and got donations, both from expected and unexpected sources, to help establish the new congregation. Following Rabbi Danny Isaac's generous donation of 21 Soncino Hertz Humashim, Ahavat Olam has been honored with a donation of a lovely pair of tefillin and a lovely tallit made in Jerusalem at least 50~60 years ago. Karen Mason, a friend of Ahavat Olam who is the membership associate of the JCC, donated the tallit and tefillin for use by our members or for our rabbi to use in teaching. The search for a Sefer Torah has also led Congregation Shaarey Tefilah to lend us a Sefer Torah for our Shabbat davvening. Rabbi Ross Singer also welcomed Ahavat Olam members to his and his family's home on Erev Shabbat throughout the month of August. Ahavat Olam's Rabbi David Mivasair voiced his appreciation for these charitable actions.