Siegel visits Or Shalom

KYLE BERGER REPORTER

The founding rabbi of Or Shalom Synagogue will return to his old stomping grounds for the weekend of Feb. 21 and 22.

Rabbi Daniel Siegel will spend Shabbat with Or Shalom's congregation, this time in his role as the rabbinic director of Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal – an umbrella organization for Jewish Renewal congregations around North America.
Siegel and his wife, Hanna Tiferet, founded Or Shalom in 1978 before Jewish Renewal was an official movement.

"We founded Or Shalom because we thought that Vancouver was a big enough Jewish community that there were probably a lot of people there who were not being served by existing institutions," he said. "We wanted to see if people would respond to this kind of a spiritual egalitarian approach to Judaism."

Siegel also worked as the director of the University of British Columbia Hillel House until he left Vancouver in 1987.

"It was important that we moved on and tried some other things," the rabbi said of his departure from British Columbia. "It was also important that Or Shalom be free of its founders to explore its own future."

Currently, Siegel serves as co-spiritual leader of B'nai Or in Boston. His role with Aleph, he explained, is to bring some clarity and purpose to the quickly growing Jewish Renewal movement.

Siegel described Jewish Renewal as a movement of people who want to live in the world as it is emerging, while holding on to their Jewish roots.

"We've become a place for people wanting to renew what Jewish spirituality is about," he said. "We've also become a place where people who have very deep commitments to their Judaism can come and find spiritual renewal for themselves."

While visiting Or Shalom, Siegel will lead Kaballat Shabbat. The service starts at 6 p.m. and is followed by a potluck vegetarian dinner. He will lead morning services and give the d'var Torah on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., with a kiddush lunch afterward and a shiur at 2 p.m. Siegel will also meet with the leadership of Or Shalom to discuss how the collected vision of his national organization can help. For more information about his visit, call 604-872-1614.

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