Our Torah concludes at the end of Deuteronomy with the letter "lamed" and begins  again at Genesis with the letter "bet". Together, these letters spell “leiv” or heart, reminding us that the beginnings and endings of  all-important events are bound up in  the heart. It is up to us to feel and ascribe a meaning to these openings and closures in life.  If we are truly attentive, we can even tie the end to the beginning, creating an uninterrupted cycle, like that of the Torah and thus a continuity to life.

I am proud of our synagogue workers who chose to recognize and respond to the 4Oth anniversary with a gala event that brings us all together to reminisce and laugh about early times, while looking forward to the future. Thank G-d for our early workers, who founded the synagogue, ascribing meaning to their times and thank G-d for the workers of today who continue to ascribe that meaning, creating a circle of love and commitment that links the generations together.

Forty is a special number, for it speaks Of Youth with experience. This is how we should perceive our synagogue. Experience of generations of tradition and the prestige of our synagogue’s illustrious position accompany us, yet we are youthfully planning the future, developing new ideas and ways of serving the Montreal Jewish community. May G~d bless the work of our hands, such that we move out of our forty-year training into a fresh, new beginning that fulfils the dreams and hopes of those who diligently worked to make our shul the respected institution that it is today. Mazal Tov and blessings of G-D’s kind love upon our past presidents who are honoured through this event.

Bivracha,

Rabbi Dr. Gavriel Newman