Article

“On a mild Sunday evening last October, cars and people on foot streamed into the Beth Torah Congregation’s grounds in Toronto for a unique celebration. Inside, regular members of the shul, friends of the congregation and guests visiting for the first time filled an elegant 5,000-person meeting space to capacity with the chatter of good friends catching up, old acquaintances running into one another, and people meeting for the first time.  Under dimmed lights, young and old mingled and ate from a host of gourmet serving stations in an atmosphere that was both vibrant and expectant. The names on the bill for the event, called “Inspire Your Future” were Eugene Levy as MC and singer Chantal Kreviazuk as performer.

But the crowd was there first and foremost to celebrate the person, Rabbi Yossi Sapirman, who has headed Beth Torah for 18 years. This event was his idea for how to commemorate his Chai year as Rabbi, and true to form he made sure it was about much more than a personal milestone. He is a leader loved and respected by his congregation, as much for his penchant for straight-talking observation and candour about his own experiences as for his sense of humour and conviction that worship may be a serious and important pursuit but wherever possible it should also be fun. Among his particular gifts are the ability to take the traditions of Jewish spirituality, translate them into very contemporary messages and deliver them in ways that resonate with a modern audience. He also makes a huge commitment to connect with his membership on as individual a level as possible. All that would be enough to celebrate.

But in his time with the congregation, Rabbi Yossi has also led Beth Torah out of relative obscurity and into some renown as a conservative synagogue that is forward-thinking, inclusive, well-managed, financially comfortable, and thriving. He has taken on a dual role of Rabbi-CEO that has worked well and potentially sets an innovative model for leadership. And perhaps most notably, he has initiated a series of highly successful programs that are designed to connect Jewish youth with their spiritual tradition not just during their Bar and Bat Mitzvah experiences, but into early adulthood and beyond.

To Rabbi Yossi, all these accomplishments are not his alone. Later in the evening when attendees had settled into their seats in the synagogue, he spoke about how the Beth Torah congregation was his inspiration and his necessary partner in each of these successes. With his 4-year old daughter Allegra disarmingly winding her way around her father on stage, he looked to the past to thank specific individuals who had supported him along his way, but emphasized the future. The intention behind the “Inspire Your Future” event was to be a fundraiser in support of expanding the programming at Beth Torah. With the congregation now in a position to focus on discretionary spending, he plans to continue to develop ways to engage congregants—especially youth—in their faith. This has been the most standout success at Beth Torah, setting it apart from many other conservative synagogues.

It is also the inspiration behind another of Rabbi Yossi’s initiatives: the Living Jewishly Foundation is being launched this year. This new charity will take the successful programming from Beth Torah and make it available to the wider Jewish community. As a stand-alone organization, it will accept participants irrespective of their affiliation with any Jewish congregation or organization. The idea is that, since Rabbi Yossi and Beth Torah have arrived at ways to create genuine and long-lasting ties between conservative Jewish youth through and well past their Mitzvahs, the Toronto-wide Jewish community should benefit from that success. While detailed plans are still being finalized, the Living Jewishly Foundation will include everything from the “Year of Living Jewishly” course to travel-based experiences. With Rabbi Yossi at the helm, the Living Jewishly Foundation will benefit directly from his parallel role as Rabbi at Beth Torah, and Beth Torah will act as a support for the broader Jewish community.

As MC, Eugene Levy took a moment away from keeping the audience laughing at tales of his own somewhat wobbly relationship with practicing Judaism. On a serious note he told the story of how many years ago Rabbi Yossi had accompanied his son through his Bar Mitzvah, both spiritually and literally. Daniel Levy hadn’t attended Hebrew school and reading from the Talmud would not be an easy task. Before the ceremony Rabbi Yossi mentioned to Eugene that the other Rabbis in attendance wouldn’t allow him to stand behind Daniel during the reading as a support, but not to worry, it would be fine. Eugene’s fatherly apprehension turned to grateful relief as he watched Rabbi Yossi nonetheless walk up to the podium with his son and stand by Daniel for the duration of the reading, as the other officiating Rabbis glared in disapproval. It was the kind of gesture, favouring the spirit of the tradition over its form, that many members of the Beth Torah congregation must have recognized from their own experiences with Rabbi Yossi.

As the candles tucked along the synagogue walls bathed the darkened space in calm blue-purple tones, Chantal Kreviazuk took the stage and introduced her set with some light-hearted stories about her own circumstantial connections to Judaism and her appreciation for the faith and culture. Her playful banter contrasted with devastatingly beautiful songs that dazzled from her piano and from her powerful, arresting voice. As lyrics of love and loss poured through the room, couples and families drew a little closer and held a little tighter. The emotion electrifying the room seemed to reflect what the night had always been intended to be for: togetherness above all. By the last song, a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, it seemed like a sacrament.”