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Nov. 15, 2013
Richmond’s Jewish strength
Beth Tikvah and RJDS mark 40/18 milestones Nov. 23.
LAUREN KRAMER
When Richmond Jewish Day School and Congregation Beth Tikvah started planning their respective 18th and 40th anniversaries, both Richmond institutions picked the same week to celebrate. “Richmond is too small a community to do that, so we decided to combine forces and honor the visionaries in both institutions, because without them, we wouldn’t exist,” said Toby Rubin, who is co-chairing the joint event.
The celebration on Nov. 23 is titled 40/18 and will be a dinner and dance at Beth Tikvah, with music by the Usual Suspects and catering by Maple Grill. The partnership of the two institutions is an appropriate one given the fact that RJDS was borne out of Beth Tikvah 21 years ago – specifically, its members’ desire that Richmond have its own Jewish day school. The school began on Beth Tikvah property, outgrew it and moved to its present location on Number Five Road some 18 years ago, where it currently provides a Jewish education to 81 kids.
Rubin and her co-chair, Shannon Gorski, were thrilled when the event’s 230 tickets sold out far in advance. “It’s going to be a good evening to reaffirm everyone’s commitment to the Richmond Jewish community,” said Rubin, adding the event will be a “non-political night.”
“We’re Richmond. That’s the important thing,” she said.
Abba Brodt, principal at RJDS, said he is pleased that everyone behind the school will have this opportunity to stop and recognize how far the school has come and the significant role it plays in Richmond’s Jewish community. “We’ve always had something very special at RJDS,” he told the Independent. “We’re a small school that does things well, because small works, our teachers care, soul matters and everyone counts here. We’ve been really successful at repositioning the school and at making the case that there’s room for a school like ours and that, in Jewish education, one size does not fit all.”
Over the past couple of years, since Ofra Sixto’s iCare Childcare opened its doors inside the school for kids aged 2 to 5, RJDS has been able to grow its numbers not just in the kindergarten years, but across the school grades. “Things are looking very positive, and for the first time in six years,” Brodt said, adding that the school has gained 11 new families and 16 new students. “For a small school like ours, that’s massive.”
The 40/18 celebration will honor the visionaries who helped create and grow both RJDS and Beth Tikvah. “They are leaders and volunteers who went above and beyond, who sacrificed so much to lay the foundations of the buildings we are in, who developed the policies and procedures, constantly raised the needed funds, hired the teachers, staff and rabbis, and who looked after all sorts of details, both big and small,” Brodt explained. “Their work is truly a labor of love and is holy work, and we reap the benefits of their work to this day.”
Gorski agreed: “The fact that this event is sold out three weeks prior is testament to the commitment, support and belief in our community, and having two institutions as integral parts of it,” she said. “If it weren’t for these visionaries, my kids would not have a school they could call their own. It’s thanks to their hard work and dedication that RJDS is on the rise.”
Gorski said she is full of gratitude to the founders and visionaries behind RJDS. “Basically, they sold a dream and took a leap of faith. Can you imagine interviewing ... teachers and pointing to an empty lot instead of a school? There’s a saying, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ We had no idea that two decades later we’d still be a strong presence in this community.”
One of those founders was Shael Wilder, president of the first board at RJDS. “It took just the right combination of timing, community readiness, founding members, parents, teachers, and financial and moral supporters, to open the doors of RJDS to its inaugural 55 students in September 1992,” Wilder said. “Today, after 21 years, it ... stands proudly in its permanent home, having educated and cared for hundreds of students who have passed through its classrooms.”
Beth Tikvah’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Claudio Kaiser-Blueth, is looking forward to the anniversary celebrations. He’s been at Beth Tikvah for almost a decade, and said his congregation is “unique and very powerful. We may not be a humungous synagogue, but maybe that’s a blessing in disguise,” he reflected. “By being 275 members, we know each other and communicate and connect with each other personally. You’re not one in the crowd here.”
Beth Tikvah offers activities, education, services and social events for Jews at every stage of their lives, from kids as young as two years old to senior citizens, and everyone in between, he said. “We’re the only synagogue in town with its own chevra kaddisha, and it’s just one of the ways we offer an important religious service to our members. We also have interfaith activities with other religious institutions and share many moments together.”
The synagogue’s membership numbers have stayed constant over the 40 years since its inception, with an average of 15 to 20 new members coming each year. The anniversary celebration is a great opportunity to consider the past and look to the future, Kaiser-Blueth said. “It’s important to stop, evaluate and celebrate all that’s been accomplished. It’s a moment to ask ourselves, where have we been and where are we going from here on? The number 40 is a powerful number in our tradition,” he added. “It’s a matter of turning the page now and celebrating the great moments and great people who have contributed so much to make our congregation a reality.”
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond, B.C. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.
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