President's Message

Welcome to Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am!

It’s an honour to serve as the President of Beth David, an Egalitarian Conservative congregation at Bathurst & Sheppard in the heart of Jewish Toronto.

Beth David has been like an extended family to me, my wife Adele, and our three children for over 20 years. We are blessed with an exceptional Clergy team, led by Rabbi Philip Scheim, one of North America’s preeminent Conservative Rabbis, along with our Engagement Rabbi Becca Walker, our Cantor Marshall Loomer, and our Ritual Director Michael Rubin. We also have a tremendous group of lay leaders and a superb professional team, led by our dedicated and capable Executive Director Ian Borer. And I can’t heap enough praise on our army of wonderful volunteers, who work hard to bring fun, interesting and enjoyable programs to our community every week of every month of every year.

Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, which has presented tremendous challenges to all of us in every aspect of our lives, Beth David has moved all our services and programs online through a combination of livestreaming and Zoom. Thank you to our generous donors and to our staff and volunteers for making it possible for us to continue to support our community during these difficult days, weeks and months.

Looking to the future, with Rabbi Scheim’s upcoming retirement, we are in the midst of recruiting an outstanding new Senior Rabbi. We have worked hard to establish and maintain a stable financial base, thanks to the ongoing commitment of all our Members, generous donors, solid financial management, and a recent, difficult decision to update our cemetery plot policy to eliminate a large unfunded liability. Our fully renovated Main Sanctuary, Chapel, Ganz Family Social Hall and Sisterhood Hall are all elevator-accessible to our Members and guests, and we are exploring options to pursue better and higher uses of our property.

I’m very pleased to extend a personal invitation to you to Participate, Learn and Grow at Beth David, where you will find an inclusive, accessible spiritual home, with morning and evening Minyanim daily, services on Shabbat and all the Haggim, and an array of educational, community service and social programming for all ages. We are Egalitarian in virtually all elements of our ritual practices. Our services and programs are open to all and I invite you to volunteer for any committee that interests you.

Beth David is fortunate to have a strong foundation and to be thriving. We will continue to build on this progress so that you can find meaning and purpose in your shul membership. Our Board of Directors, Clergy, volunteers and professionals have embarked on many new initiatives in recent years to continue our legacy, and we are wide open to new ideas.

Please contact me at president@bethdavid.com if you want to discuss how you can become more involved, or if you have any suggestions on how we can make Beth David a more inclusive, caring and welcoming community.

 P.S. If you’re a fan of stained-glass windows, please come see our beautiful and recently completed collection, including our iconic "From Holocaust to Redemption", which frames our floating Aron Hakodesh and was featured on the front cover of USCJ’s 5780 calendar!