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March 30, 2007
Support growing shul
Israeli congregation needs a permanent building.
FREEMAN PORITZ
Over the course of the three years that I have spent in Israel,
no community has opened its doors and welcomed me as joyfully as
the Noam Siah congregation in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of Jerusalem.
My deep, personal, connection with Noam Siah commenced while participating
in Nativ, a two-month Israel Defence Forces course. Offered in conjunction
with the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Institute for Jewish Studies,
the program for new-immigrant soldiers focuses on the importance
of Judaism and Zionism in strengthening affiliation with the state
of Israel. As part of the course, each class of 25 or so soldiers
is matched up with a community synagogue to experience a religious
Shabbat – an experience which not many of the soldiers had
ever had.
My class was matched up with Noam Siah, where I was very well-received
by the Poupko family: Avraham, Gital and their five children. I
was treated to an intellectual and spiritual experience that far
exceeded my expectations. While this was not the first religious
Shabbat that I had experienced, my course had given me the necessary
background to understand and fully make the Shabbat my own. The
Poupkos were extremely hospitable, with Avraham and Gital answering
all my questions and inquiries about Shabbat traditions.
One of the highlights of my Shabbat experience from Nativ was when
Avraham and Gital's 12-year-old son Dov (soon to be a bar mitzvah)
explained to me in detail the logic behind the Hebrew calendar and
how it was arranged so as to fit all of the Jewish holidays into
their appropriate seasons of the year. Growing up in Vancouver,
Tishrei, Nissan and Sivan were names of Hebrew months that I had
heard mentioned, but no one I knew actually understood their meaning.
Here, Dov was explaining to me how the ancient Jewish calendar and
all of its months were formed. I was surprised to find out that
the Hebrew calendar is still very much in use by religious Jewish
communities, and studied by academics, worldwide.
Since that first Shabbat with the Poupko family, my relationship
with them has continued to develop and mature and I have been back
for many Shabbats since. Every Friday night, we go to services at
Noam Siah, which is located in the corridors of a local elementary
school.
Now, finally after nine years of continued growth, this congregation
is ready to build its own synagogue. To succeed in this endeavor,
financial help is needed. So far, congregation members have raised
$50,000 out of the required $500,000. If you would like to contribute
to the building of this synagogue, contact [email protected]
– and make your donation count before Pesach.
Chag samayach!
Freeman Poritz lived in Vancouver until the age of 19.
He now lives in Israel and is serving in the Israel Defence Forces.
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