Correction!
The fax number for the Talmud Torah Jewish Telephone Directory was misprinted and should be
736-9754
We regret any incovenience this may have caused.
Short Me'
Opening the gates of prayer
The hankies were out in full force at the opening of the new Har-El synagogue Sept. 7, as the Torah procession entered the sanctuary.
More than 500 invited guests stood in anxious silence, then followed cantor Robert Edel in song, as the four Toralis were carried in under the chupah (canopy) and placed in the wooden ark.
'Tve been involved in this community for more than 20 years," said synagogue past-president Fred Rabiner. "This has been a dream for me all that time."
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the lighting of the eternal light, remarks by project chair Norman Greenberg and congregation president Miriam Berg-son, Rabbi Imre Balla rose to dedicate the new building.
Speaking on the role a synagogue plays within a Jewish community, Rabbi Balla said, "A Jew cannot be fully Jewish alone. We need each other and we need the synagogue as the centre of Jewish life... Without the synagogue as a religious centre, we fail. Without the Shabbat, without the holidays, we lose our identity as Jews.
"By opening the gate of learning, of prayer, we will bring a spark of holiness in our lives," he told the crowded room. "But the key to the gates can only be found in the hands of the congregation. This synagogue will be the symbol of Judaism on the North Shore."
After the ceremony, the guests spilled through the doors in the Jerusalem stone wall and mingled on the outdoor plaza, admiring the new building. Project architect Mark Ostry was pleased by the sight.
Proceeding with pride: Cantor Mordechai Robert Edel (ieft) and Rabbi Imre Baita iead the Torah procession into the new Har El synagogue on the North Shore.
"Seeing that space occupied with people was one of the more satisfying things about the project," said Mr. Ostry. "Because that's really what it's all about." □
A public open house at the synagogue, at the intersection of Highway 1 and Taylor Way, taJies place Sept. 14, 2-5pm.
— Baila Lazarus
New funds for Jewish schools
The Holocaust Education Centre (HEC) is offering new project grants of up to $500 as part of their educational outreach this year. The grants will be given to Jewish schools in the Lower Mainland for special projects of Holocaust remembrance or education.
Students, teachers, librarians and principals of Jewish schools may apply for the funding to support short term projects that "enhance, initiate or support a deeper understanding of the Holocaust among students or other members of the school community," according to the centre.
Frieda Miller, education director for the in-
stitution, said she hopes the new fund will help the Holocaust centre with its desire to develop and maintain strong relationships with the Jewish schools.
The new grants are part of the Levi Memorial Fund, established by John Mate in honor of his grandparents, Anna Abrahamsohn and Dr. Joseph Lovi, who died in the Holocaust, and his aunt Dr. Marta Lovi, who died in Vancouver in 1987.
Applications for the funds are due at the Holocaust Education Centre by Oct. 30. For more information call 264-0499. Tl
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