From the Desk - Rise Together

Shalom Friends! We are excited to finally reach The Rise Together Project! For many weeks now, I have been talking about the importance of this project. As former Minister of Justice Professor Irwin Cotler said in his Rise Together Project Video, “we should give expression to the best within us, so that we can better the human condition for us all.” This week, I call on each of us to work on improving ourselves in a particular area. It may be on being more appreciative of those around us, taking our responsibilities more seriously, being more respectful toward co-workers or anything else which elevates our character. I am also excited to see you this weekend at Beth Ora to participate in all our activities and to learn from our amazing guest speaker, Rabbi Cary Friedman. But for now, I want to take the opportunity to say thank you. Quite aside from all the people in the wider community who have contributed to the success of The Rise Together Project, the sheer number of people in Congregation Beth Ora who have helped to make this possible is astounding. Today, I want to express my appreciation to each of those people in the alphabetical list below. Before I do that, I also want to mention that we are very excited for our Scotch Tasting evening this coming Wednesday evening in memory of our beloved Johnny Marmor and to credit Ben Alt and his team for their fantastic work on this event. Again, my deepest thanks to the below and to all of you for your support for The Rise Together Project. What an amazing communal effort! Now, be sure to come along and be part of the program!

• Joey Adelsohn for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Ellen and Earl Adler for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Rebecca Alter for making a YouTube video to promote the Beth Ora Rise Together program and for helping at Sunday’s event

• Mireille Alvo for your constant enthusiasm for The Rise Together Project and for promoting the Project through email and social media

• Nadine and Amir Anders for your donation toward the Beth Ora Rise Together Project activities

• Joel Ben-Guira for reaching out to institutions across Montreal to publicize the Rise Together Project and for helping to organize and run Sunday’s event

• Gerry Bernstein for your donations toward bringing the guest speaker and to The Rise Together Project, for helping at Sunday’s event and for reaching out to institutions across Montreal to participate in and promote The Rise Together Project

• Marvin Braude for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Dahlia and Glenn Caron for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker and to Glenn for printing and assisting with the graphic design of the posters for the Sunday Rise Together Project events and for helping at Sunday’s event

• Hoda and Manny Dalfen for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Chantal and Steven Davidovics for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Adi Derkson for reaching out to organizations to ask them to promote The Rise Together Project

• Emma, Jonah and Sarah Dym for your YouTube video in support of the Beth Ora Rise Together Project activities

• Jack Dym for helping to promote the Friday night dinner

• Saul Edelstein for helping to promote the Friday night dinner

• Robin Farber for helping to run Sunday’s event

• Sheila and Dr. Isaac Fried for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Anna and Irwin Fruchter for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Pablo Garcia for your donation to The Rise Together Project

• Herb Glazer for helping to prepare for Sunday’s event

• Penney Glazer for helping with the promotion of Beth Ora Rise Together activities

• Shari-Ann and Irwin Glazer for your donation to The Rise Together Project and to Irwin for helping to promote the Friday night dinner and taking photos at Sunday’s event

• Gabrielle Harroch for running the session for five and six year olds at Sunday’s program

• Jackie Harroch for helping to organize, promote and orchestrate the Friday night dinner

• Angie and Nathan Holcman for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Shervin Karami for your administrative support

• Carly, Dovid, Rachelli, Yehuda and Avrami Knopf for all your love and support during the planning of The Rise Together Project and for joining me in the privilege of hosting the Friedman family this Shabbat

• David Lacombe for arranging Trusource’s donation to The Rise Together Project

• Natalie Lang for making a YouTube video to promote the Beth Ora Rise Together program and for helping to run Sunday’s event

• Devorah Leibu for helping to run the program for 7-11 year olds on Sunday

• Hana and Ernie Lipkowitz for your donation to The Rise Together Project and to Hana for helping to promote the Friday night dinner

• Micheline and Jack Lorber for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker

• Minda and Irwin Ludmer for your donation toward bringing our guest speaker and to Irwin for printing The Rise Together Project posters and helping to promote the Friday night dinner

• Nat Meirovici for helping to organize our Sunday event and for reaching out to various organizations to ask them to promote The Rise Together Project

• Andras Nagy for your donation to The Rise Together Project and for all your logistical support

• Aliza Perez for all your administrative support and for processing the donations to The Rise Together Project

• Gil Perez for helping to organize and run our Sunday event

• Ronit Petel for helping to run the program for 5-6 year olds on Sunday

• Sigalit Petel for helping to organize and run our Sunday event

• Shirley and Zvi Pollak for your donation toward bringing the guest speaker

• Tracey and Barry Rashkovan for your donation toward bringing the guest speaker and for Barry’s support for The Rise Together Project

• Aron Rosenzweig for co-leading the organization and running of Sunday’s event

• Joe Salem for reaching out to Montreal synagogues to ask them to participate in The Rise Together Project and for transporting the Rise Together banners to different locations across the city

• Joan and Ricky Shapiro for your donation toward bringing the guest speaker

• Shelley and Mark Sherman for your donation toward bringing the guest speaker

• Howard Sholzberg for helping to promote the Friday night dinner

• Sandy and Lenny Sitcoff for your donation toward bringing the guest speaker

• Benji Smith for reaching out to and liaising with local celebrities to ask them to make promotional videos for The Rise Together Project

• Hayden Smith for helping to organize Sunday’s event

• Polly Storozum for your YouTube video promoting the Beth Ora Rise Together activities and for helping to promote the Friday night dinner

• Steve Tabac for transporting the Rise Together banners, pens and helium balloons to locations across the city

• Vivianne and Ion Valceanu for donating the helium for the balloons and to Ion for transporting the balloons, pens and banners to locations across the city

• Judy and Howard Yancovitch for your donation toward bringing the guest speaker and for Howard’s support for The Rise Together Project

Well done Congregation Beth Ora! Looking forward to an inspiring weekend for our community! Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Anthony and Carly Knopf Dovid, Rachelli, Yehuda and Avrami

#Scotch #RiseTogether