information package - Beth Tikvah Synagogue, Toronto

Shalom - Welcome
T
hank you for your interest in Beth Tikvah. Making a decision on which synagogue to
join raises many questions. We hope this information package will answer many of
them and lead you to join our family. We encourage you to call Doris Alter, Executive
Director at 416-221-3433 Ext 307 for additional information. Visit our website at
www.bethtikvahtoronto.org – it’s a great resource on the synagogue, community events
and more.
On April 14, 1964 a small group of young families
dedicated to traditional Jewish worship and concern
for the education of their children organized a
congregation that would serve their needs. The
founders chose as its name Shaarei Tikvah, after a
synagogue in Amsterdam that had been razed by the
Nazis. Within two years, this nascent congregation
merged with another group and Beth Tikvah was
born.
Beth Tikvah is more than just a Conservative
congregation. It is a dynamic, vital Jewish
community with social cultural recreational,
educational and youth activities to serve the needs of
a diverse and growing membership. Our synagogue
has been a leader in social action and has received
numerous awards for music, programming, and
ritual.
Vision Statement
Beth Tikvah is a vibrant, forward-looking Conservative synagogue dedicated to fostering spiritual and Judaic
growth and fulfillment through meaningful ritual activities and exciting educational programmes. We are a
sensitive and caring congregation, attractive to all ages and responsive to the individual needs of our members.
Our dynamic leadership, effective lay-professional partnership and prudent financial planning provide a strong
foundation for the future.

Worship With Us
S
ymbolizing our religious commitment is the Shabbat experience. Our members enjoy
total family participation, starting with the Friday evening Kabbalat Shabbat service in
our magnificent Chapel and continuing with our well-attended Shabbat morning service. For
further fulfillment, our members study together on Shabbat afternoon and conclude Shabbat
with the special atmosphere of Havdalah.
Our inspiring choir enhances our prayer service on Festivals and about once each month. Our
members are encouraged and trained to participate in Torah reading and leading various
services throughout the year. Special emphasis is given to involving our youth in synagogue
ritual.
Regular Services
• Daily minyans
• Shabbat services, including youth services and
babysitting
• Services for all holidays
High Holiday Services
• Young Families Service
• Youth Services and programming for ages 4-13
• Babysitting to 3 years of age
Membership Privileges
• High Holidays tickets
• Priority bookings for B’nai mitzvah and weddings
• Discount rates for programmes with fees
• Cemetery privileges (Pardes Shalom)
• Energy co-op
• Support of dedicated professional staff
Dues
• Incentive programme for new members
• Flexible payment schedule

Lifelong Learning
eth Tikvah provides opportunities for you to add vitality, spirituality and meaning to
B your Jewish life. All of our adult education programmes are developed with that goal in
mind.
Adult Education
Adults are treated to an extensive menu of ongoing
classes and special adult education lectures and
programmes throughout the year. The High Holiday
and Passover Institutes are Beth Tikvah traditions.
These series of educational lectures provide insight
into the Holidays and are well attended in the
community. From September to August our extensive
programming provides educational enrichment for all
our members interests. Refer to the enclosed Adult
Education brochure for all the details.
Havurah at Beth Tikvah
Monthly, our two eclectic groups, with a total of
approximately 50 members, meet independently. Our
common mission is to create and to enjoy a smaller,
more intimate community within Beth Tikvah, and to
promote friendships and a sense of belonging that is
sometimes difficult to achieve within the larger
congregation. Activities have included cultural,
social, and educational evenings in our homes, at the
synagogue, and within the wider GTA community.
The Hesed Committee is currently helping to
organize a self-directed Havurah Group for young
members between the ages of 25 to 35.
The Beth Tikvah Choir
Throughout its history, Beth Tikvah Synagogue has
used music to enhance prayer. The Beth Tikvah
Choir, which started in 1966, is a volunteer group of
about 30. From 1969-2002, the choir was under the
professional leadership of Srul Irving Glick z`l, and
has since been led by Eyal Bitton (2003-2009) and
Klara Bagley (2009-current).
Our foundation is the music of Srul Irving Glick,
who spent his life composing liturgical music (it is
almost exclusive to Beth Tikvah), through our
repertoire ranges from early Renaissance to modern
composers, and from Eastern European to Sephardic
influences. In addition to enhancing our services,
the choir has made four recordings, and performed
in many other synagogues, at Cantors’ conventions,
and in Israel.
The choir rehearses most Thursday nights at 8:00
p.m., and is always open to new members. For more
information, please contact Jerry Kalpin at
jdkalpin@rogers.com

Youth Education and Activities
B
eth Tikvah has a dynamic, exciting and educational youth programme available for ages
kindergarten to grade 13 and all interests. We enjoy great youth services every Shabbat,
social activities and regional events. Come and check out what Beth Tikvah offers you: New
Friends; Social Action; Davening Skills; Sports; Community Service; Guest Speakers; and
Social Programmes.
Every Shabbat
• Babysitting up to 3 years of age
• Kinder Shabbat
• Junior Minyan
Kadima (AGES 11-13)
Our 6 th to 8 th graders meet and enjoy activities such
as skating, baseball, treasure hunts and more. Join us
and make new friends.
BETSY (Beth Tikvah USY)
If you are in Grades 8-12 (Ages 14 to 18), join our
award-winning chapter, BETSY. USY is an
international Jewish youth group that offers countless
opportunities for youth leadership, community
involvement, travel, education, religious study, and
meeting great new friends.
Our chapter holds programmes each month, in
addition to meeting every Shabbat morning. Join us
for activities such as apple picking; whirly ball; our
formal dance; food drives and ice-skating. Try us we
guarantee you’ll come back for more.
Young Families
Our Young Families are a vibrant part of our
congregation. They hold monthly Shabbat services
followed by a special Kiddush.
The annual Hanukkah and Purim events sponsored
by Youth and Young Families and the Festivals
Committee are synagogue-wide events, attracting
100’s of families. Beth Tikvah’s commitment to
Young Families programming will ensure the future
of our congregation.

Beth Tikvah Women - Men’s Club
O
ur Beth Tikvah Women and Men’s Club provide our members with an outstanding opportunity
to connect to an extensive local, national, and international network dedicated
to Jewish traditions, values, and friendships.
What is “Beth Tikvah Women?”
We share the common goal of supporting our
Synagogue and encouraging Jewish traditions and
family values. We come together in friendship to
promote Tzedakah, Hesed and Education. We plan,
organize and orchestrate the many projects and
programmes that Beth Tikvah Women undertakes
each year for the synagogue. We are all a part of
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism and have
access to many interesting programmes offered to
the conservative synagogues in the Toronto area. We
also support the Jewish Theological Seminary in New
York by selling Torah Fund Tribute cards. Beth
Tikvah has a lovely Judaica Shoppe that is totally
managed and staffed by Beth Tikvah Women. It gives
Beth Tikvah members the opportunity to buy gifts for
any and all occasions. We organize the Shiva and
sick visits and Beth Tikvah Women members take
turns making these visits. All year round, Beth Tikvah
Women sends out Sunshine and Goodwill cards
to any Beth Tikvah member who has experienced a
life-cycle change. All the programmes that Beth
Tikvah Women plans are for the benefit of all Beth
Tikvah members. Each year, we hold our Beth
Tikvah Women Family Shabbat. On alternate years,
we have a Women’s Seder. Wednesday morning
classes with the rabbi run through the fall, winter and
spring. They are well-attended and highly respected.
Beth Tikvah Women provides many occasions for
the women of Beth Tikvah Synagogue to join
together in support of our synagogue.
It not only gives us the chance to spend time with
friends but it allows us the opportunity to meet new
people. Please join us! We look forward to seeing
you.
Men’s Club
Men’s Club is alive and well at Beth Tikvah. As part
of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC),
we foster brotherhood and friendship by involving
Jewish Men in doing things Jewishly. Our
programming includes: our popular annual Lake
Ontario Regional Retreat, the World Wide Wrap,
where we join thousands of Mercaz/Masorti Jews
around the world to celebrate the Mitzvah of
Tefillin, Men’s Club Shabbat in the main sanctuary,
when we honour the outstanding Youth Leadership
of Beth Tikvah, and our Shabbat services at Sunnybrook
Hospital for Jewish War Veterans. Our annual
distribution of Yellow candles for Yom Hashoah
V’Hagvorah is a traditional fundraising event and a
meaningful effort to preserve the memory of the six
million victims of the Holocaust.
Our award winning programmes as well as furthering
our Jewish Observance and rituals, bring us into
the spiritual community of Beth Tikvah with ruach
and kavanah. All activities and programmes that we
sponsor share a common goal of supporting Beth
Tikvah and our Global community. Please join us
to renew old acquaintances and make new friends.

Get Involved - Something for Everyone
O
ur Committees are the working arms of the congregation. Through active committee
participation, members work to carry out the goals of the synagogue. They all welcome
new members – why not add your name to the list? There is something for everyone and an opportunity
to make new friends.
Committees
• Ritual
• Hesed
• Endowments
• House
• Musical Heritage
• Choir
• Long Range Planning
• Youth and Young Families
• Media Action/Israel Affairs
• Membership
• Cemetery
• Adult Education
• Budget
• Fundraising
• Catering
• Festivals
• Israel Bonds
• Legal
• USCJ
• Ushering
The Hesed Committee
Our motto is "Caring, Commitment & Community."
Our goal is to help provide a warm and supportive
environment for the members of Beth Tikvah and to
promote outreach to those in need in the outside
community. Examples of our involvement include:
"Tele-Care", a telephone support line; together with
Beth Tikvah Women, making Shiva calls and visiting
the sick; providing transportation for members who
are unable to drive to Shul; enlisting "greeters" to
welcome visitors & "regulars" to Shabbat & holiday
services; the formation of two Havurot for members
who wish to socialize in smaller groups; leading
monthly Kabbalat Shabbat services for seniors at
Carefree Lodge; providing "care packages" to abused
women in hostels; collecting for the Kosher Food
Bank; organizing an open forum to discuss the Jewish
approach to organ donation. In addition, several Beth
Tikvah families have hosted Shabbat dinners and
Seders for members who are new to our city and/or
congregation. We will continue to try to live up to
our motto and we welcome new members to the
Hesed Committee.
Social Action Committee
The Social Action Committee enrols the support and
assistance of the Congregation in projects that benefit
the Jewish and general communities locally, nationally
and internationally.
Media Action & Israel Affairs Groups
The Media Action and Israel Affairs Groups inform our
members, by means of the Internet, special events, and
projects about what is really happening in Israel and
with the Jewish people. Media Action provides
information, writing points, sample letters and
addresses to write to either the media or our government
representatives from a Canadian point of view. The
writers...the more pressure is brought to bear on those
who are in a position to make a difference. We need
your help!

Life Cycle Events
T he synagogue is the centre of celebration and remembrance for every important event in
a Jewish person's life.
Brit Milah
The Brit Milah ceremony that welcomes a baby boy
into the covenant of the Jewish people can be held in
the synagogue, or you may choose to have the
ceremony at your home.
Baby Naming
Naming and blessing a Jewish girl is her first
welcome into Jewish life. The naming takes place at
Shabbat Morning or Evening Services, or Tuesday or
Thursday mornings.
B’nai Mitzvah
When a child comes of age it is a simha for the
immediate family, the synagogue family, and the
entire Jewish community. As a child becomes
Bar/Bat Mitzvah, he/she takes on the responsibilities
and privileges of becoming an adult in the Jewish
community, which requires a great deal of
preparation and commitment. Our shul is blessed
with many B'nai Mitzvah each year. Dates are
reserved two years in advance, so plan ahead and
learn what is required.
Weddings
Rabbi Markose, Rabbi Grover and Hazzan Kovari
officiate at weddings and will gladly meet with you to
help you prepare for your simha. The synagogue
offers settings for weddings of all sizes. Ceremonies
may be held in the Main Sanctuary, or the Chapel.
There are numerous options for your celebration at
Beth Tikvah. To schedule an appointment with the
Rabbi, call 416-221-3433. For a tour of our facility
and to book a date, call Doris Alter at 416-221-3433
x 307.
Bereavement
A Rabbi and Hazzan are always available to assist
you and comfort your family in your hour of need.
During the shiva period the Beth Tikvah members
are available to conduct evening services in the
homes of mourners. Upon request, we will also
assist in organizing minyans. To make funeral
arrangements, contact the Funeral Home directly.
For shiva minyan assistance, cemetery plots and
other information call Doris Alter at 416-221-3433
x 307.
Catering
Our social hall on the upper level can accommodate
up to 400 people and a retractable wall makes the
room comfortable for smaller functions. Also on the
main level is an elegant chapel with a handcrafted
Aron Kodesh, perfect for intimate weddings. We
offer you a choice of four outstanding kosher
caterers who will be delighted to assist with all your
catering needs.
• PR Creative Caterers-contact Joe 416-787-9889
• Levy’s Catering-contact David 416-256-7886;
• Caterers York-contact Bill 416-783-4293
For bookings and assistance, please contact Doris
Alter at (416) 221-3433 Ext. 307

General Information
Beth Tikvah Synagogue
3080 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, ON M2N 5L3
Telephone: 416-221-3433
Fax: 416-221-1602
www.bethtikvahtoronto.org
Office Hours
Monday to Thursday 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Friday 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Rabbi Howard Markose. Rabbi Howard Markose was born and
raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received his rabbinical ordination
in 1984 from the Jewish Theological Seminary in NY. From 1984-
1994 he served as Assistant Rabbi at Adath Israel Congregation in Toronto
and Rabbi at Shaar Shalom Synagogue in Thornhill. He made
Aliyah in 1994 and after seven years as Rabbi of Kehilat Moreshet
Avraham in Jerusalem, he became the Director of Education for the
Young Judaea Year Course, a post high school/pre-university program
for young Jews from North America. He is currently working towards a
doctorate in Bible at Bar Ilan University. In his spare time, Rabbi Markose
teaches Biblical Hebrew Grammar and conducts Bar/Bat Mitzvah
ceremonies for families from North America visiting Israel.
Rabbi Jarrod Grover, Beth Tikvah’s recently is quickly making a
name for himself in Toronto’s Jewish community. Though active in all
areas of the congregation, he focuses much of his attention on youth
and young families. He has received numerous fellowships and
awards, including a leadership award from the Government of Canada.
A native of Montreal, Rabbi Grover graduated from Princeton
University and was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in
2009. While a student, he served congregations in New York and in
Syracuse. He is trained in pastoral care and counseling and authors a
very popular weekly Torah commentary called “Torah On Tour.” He
has a passion for Judaism that helps each congregant affirm his or her
own life within our tradition. Rabbi Grover can be contacted at
rabbigrover@bethtikvahtoronto.org
Rabbi Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Dr. Avraham Feder
was our first Rabbi and still enjoys enormous support. Originally
trained as a Hazzan and a powerful speaker, Rabbi Feder annually leads
one division of our High Holiday services. In addition, he makes an
annual visit to Beth Tikvah in the Spring to speak on Israel - where he
now resides - and on current events.
Rabbi Wayne Allen, Ph.D. Having led Beth Tikvah for over 20
years, Rabbi Allen now is on sabbatical until June of 2012. He has
served as president of the Toronto Board of Rabbis and serves as the
Av Bet Din for the Rabbinical Assembly Ontario Region. Rabbi Allen
holds a PhD from York University and was awarded a Doctor of
Divinity Honoris Causa from the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America. He can be contacted at rabbiallen@bethtikvahtoronto.org
Hazzan Tibor Kovari a native of Cluj, Romania, came to Beth
Tikvah from Beth Israel Synagogue in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he
served as Cantor, as teacher to members and students, and as youth
leader. He has served as acting Rabbi and Cantor for the Anna Frank
High School in Budapest, the Hungarian Armed Forces and the Pava
Street Synagogue. The Romanian Jewish community appointed him its
first Cantor and Director of Jewish Education. Tibor has a keen interest
in music of all kinds, enjoys singing, having been a member of
several youth choirs and a soloist. Tibor continues to sing regularly
with the Beth Tikvah Choir. The Cantor can be contacted at
hazzantiborkovari@gmail.com
Irving Kirshenblat is Ritual Director at Beth Tikvah. He serves
as Ba`al Koreh and is responsible for strengthening our weekday
services. Irv assists in our B`nai Mitzvah and Lay Participation
Programmes and teaches some of our B`nai Mitzvah. He brings to
Beth Tikvah many years of valuable experience in service to the
Toronto Jewish community. Irv can be contacted at
irv@bethtikvahtoronto.org
Doris Alter, Beth Tikvah Synagogue’s Executive Director, is responsible
for all aspects of the Synagogue Administration. Doris’s
career began over 20 years ago in the Jewish non profit sector. Born
and raised in Montreal and moved to Toronto in 1997. Amongst the
various volunteer positions Doris has held today she is President of
STAT, (Synagogue Temple Administrators of Toronto. Doris oversees
the fiscal management of Beth Tikvah and is responsible for
membership, recruitment and retention, fundraising, catering, major
events and building maintenance. Doris interfaces with outside organizations
on administrative affairs and daily operations. Contact
Doris Alter at doris@bethtikvahtoronto.org
Sigal Tuch B.A, B.ED has been our Youth and Young Families
Director since 2007. She is a long time member of Beth Tikvah where
she was a Kadimanik, USY participant, and BETSY president. Sigal
received her BA in Psychology and a Bachelor of Education from
York University with a specialized certificate in Equity Education.
Her diverse career includes teaching with the Toronto Board of
Education; serving as a Jewish educator with schools such as USDS,
DJCS, and the Beth Tikvah Congregational School; Executive Assistant
to a celebrity chef; event planning; and working as a Sales and
Marketing Coordinator in the foodservice industry. She also teaches
bar and bat mitzvah lessons at Beth Tikvah. Sigal can be contacted at
sigal@bethtikvahtoronto.org
Klara Bagley is Beth Tikvah’s Music Consultant and also conducts
the Beth Tikvah Choir. Since 1973 when she earned her Master’s
Degree from the Vilna Academy of Music in Lithuania, Klara
has served as an accompanist, voice coach, and music teacher. From
1982 to 1992, she served as Music Director for Beth Shalom Synagogue.
In 1992, Klara and her husband Cantor David Bagley z”l
moved to Montreal where Klara served as Music Director for Montreal’s
Jewish Day Schools. Back in Toronto in 1996, Klara was the
conductor of the High Holidays Choir at Beth Radom and later at the
Lodzer Congregation. Klara is a vocal coach and conducts other choirs
in Toronto. Klara can be contacted at klara_bagley@hotmail.com