Message from Marion Mayman

Shalom everyone;

As President of Mercaz-Canada I am very pleased to welcome you to the newly revised and updated web site and to tell you what has been happening since I assumed the presidency in April - following in the footsteps of Norman Stern who held this position for many years.

My first order of business was to establish a coast to coast Board of Governors consisting of an Officers' Committee and members from Conservative Synagogues from Halifax to Vancouver. Serving as Ex-Officio members are the international leaders of the Conservative Movement residing in Canada. To find out more about our Board members please click here.

From June 19th till the 27th I was a delegate to the World Zionist Organization (WZO) Vaad Hapoel and Jewish Agency (JAFI) Assembly meetings which took place in Jerusalem. At these meetings Mercaz Olami (the world Mercaz/Conservative organization) was able to play a role in the restructuring of the WZO and help make certain that the issue of religious pluralism remains high on the Jewish Agency agenda. One of the major advances for us was the passage of a resolution which dictated equality of funding support for all the religious streams. Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, President of Mercaz Olami, sits on the Jewish Agency's allocations committee and thanks to the work of Rabbi Kurtz, David Breakstone, International Vice President of Mercaz Olami and our other colleagues in Israel we were able to gain extra money for our activities in Israel.

I also had the opportunity while in Israel to see firsthand what the Masorti/Conservative Movement is accomplishing there. I visited a number of Masorti congregations and I want to briefly tell you about one particular program which touched me deeply.

Dedicated to advancing pluralism in an egalitarian environment, the Masorti/Conservative Movement believes in creating and nurturing spiritual communities that combine prayer and ritual with community service. The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program for Children with Special Needs is one of these programs. This is a national program within 30 schools for Special Education in Israel which provide Jewish enrichment for youngsters who are mentally challenged, have autism, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other special needs. The learning process culminates with Bar/Bat ceremonies with family and friends in Masorti Congregations. The aliyah to the Torah is unique to each child. For example, alternative communication devices are used by children who cannot speak.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend such a Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony in Ashkelon and I cannot begin to tell you how uplifting this was for me. To see the excitement and joy in the eyes of the young students and the pride on the faces of the parents made me extremely proud to be a Conservative Jew. We have been blessed with good fortune, for under the banner of the Masorti Movement this program for children with special needs came into being and continues to flourish. We are privileged to be able to lead such an important undertaking in Israeli society.

Here in Canada I am pleased to report on a flurry of activity, including:

• providing matching scholarships together with participating synagogues, to young people attending Israel programmes sponsored by the Conservative Movement;
• co-sponsoring the Israel Essay Contest with Mercaz-USA and Women's League for Conservative Judaism;
• promoting Israel-themed programming in Conservative synagogues throughout Canada;
• regularly e-mailing Israel Updates and Media Action Response notices to Mercaz-Canada Board members, Rabbis, Presidents and Israel Affairs representatives of all Canadian Conservative synagogues;
• participating in UJA Federation's steering committee for the 60th Anniversary of Israel, which will be organizing year-long celebrations in the community;
• considering the sponsorship of a visit of a Conservative shlicha from Israel, who will speak to youth and adults.

Our colleagues at Mercaz USA chair the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism (LCCJ) committee for the planning of Israel's 60th anniversary activities. We are delighted to be members of this committee. Please check the special dedicated web site www.israelanniversary.org to learn about the various programs.

Our goal this year is to increase awareness and membership in Mercaz-Canada. I look forward to working with our Board of Governors, Synagogue Rabbis, Presidents and all our members. Without you we could not move ahead and accomplish our goals.

Please join me in meeting the challenge of going from Strength to Strength.

Kol Tuv,

Marion Mayman