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W ednesday May 10, 2000 TH E OAKVILLE BEAVER B1 navy « » J Q k Are you a Jones or a Claiborne? ^ Are you a Tommy or a Ralph? Find your true fashion identity this spring at By Consignment Many spring items now 25 to 50 percent off. Get designer labels at rock bottom prices. You'll never shop retail again! Upscale Resale Ladies Wear 115 Trafalgar Rd. iju k N o f L a k e s * * ) 338-3474 Bjjjra OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK B y C o n sig n m en t... OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL Focus4 G < x k » d l& W o tB ffm n t greens+ Fe*ttvai/ *299 5 ..-*569 5 WtttfeliaM'e* Oakville Beaver Focus Editor: WILMA BLOKHUIS 845-3824 Ext: 250; Fax: 337-5567; Email: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com Stainedglass windows at Shaarei Beth El honour retiring rabbi By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR When Rabbi Edward Goldfarb came to lead Oakville's Jewish community 18 years ago, he wasn't sure if the small synagogue would survive. Now, as he is about to retire, Shaarei Beth El Congregation of Halton has 1 grown to become a viable part of the Oakville community. Rabbi Goldfarb will retire at the end of June, and has no retirement plans, outside of perhaps studying literature, music and Judaism. However, he plans to continue doing some clergy work, such as officiating at weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs. He won't be leaving quietly - the congregation won't let him. Nor will Rabbi Goldfarb be forgot ten. At a tribute held for him at the end of April, the congregation dedicated two large stained glass windows in his honour to the synagogue. The gift caught Rabbi Goldfarb by surprise. "The are exquisite, just beautiful. . . the colours . . . everything . . . it's quite a tribute." he commented, almost lost for words. The windows, consisting of four 6 by 8 foot panels, have been installed on-the northeast and south windows of the sanctuary. He will also be fondly remembered for the Goldfarb Cup. "The congregation has named this cup after me, that's all," he said of the trophy going to the winner of Shaarei Beth El's annual golf tournament. This year's second annual event was held Sunday at the Oakville Executive Golf Course. When Rabbi Goldfarb arrived in 1982 as the first full time rabbi of the former Beth El Synagogue, he found a small Jewish congregation struggling to survive with only 30 to 35 member families. Oakville's Jewish community was established in 1955, and had opened its small synagogue at 186 Morrison Rd., in 1962. Two years after Rabbi Goldfarb's arrival, Burlington's Jewish communi ty, which did not own a building and was also struggling to survive, amalga mated with Beth El Synagogue. Membership increased to about 70. The synagogue was was renamed Shaarei Beth El Congregation of Halton. In 1985, a 6,000 square foot expan sion, including a sanctuary which seats 250 people, was added to the front of the original building at a cost of about $355,000. It was dedicated in 1986. Today, the Shaarei Beth El Congregation, Halton's only syna gogue, has between 140 and 145 mem bers - families and individuals. Photo by Barrie Erskine Rabbi Edward Goldfarb, who is retiring from Shaarei Beth El Synagogue after 18 years, poses beside the window on the south side of the synagogue symbolizing Yom Kippur. The windows are a tribute from the congregation. The growth of the synagogue stands out in Rabbi Goldfarb's mind. "We've seen a net annual increase in membership of between five and six families and/or individuals per year." Most of the members live in Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga, with perhaps a handful coming from Toronto and Hamilton, he explained. "It's been gratifying to have been here through the growth process," he reflected recently. "I've seen a small, very tentative group become a viable community, both religiously and financially. "In my early years here, this com munity was a very tentative enterprise. "There was no real certainty that this synagogue would still be around in two or three years. `Today, the disappearance of this synagogue is inconceivable. "It was nice to part of this transfor mation, this evolution from a tentative to a permanent community." Prior to coming to Shaarei Beth El as rabbi, he was director of education at Temple Sinai in Toronto for 17 years. "You could say I've had two paral lel, similar careers of almost equal length." Both careers involved leadership and teaching. Windows symbolize Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur The stained glass windows, dedicated in honour or Rabbi Edward Goldfarb who is retiring from Shaarei Beth El Congregation after 18 years, are inspired by the Days of Awe -- the 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. The northeast windows relate to the ceremony of Tashlikh, which takes place on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. The central image suggests the divine book, which has been opened. Within this framework, there is a sense of waves, and the many small circular shapes suggest the bread being thrown into the water as the symbol of one's sins. A blue thread weaves through the design -- emblemat ic of the continuity of Jewish heritage. There are also 10 clear jewels, denoting the Ten Commandments. The design is connected to the natural beauty of the site, and some clear space has been left all around it to preserve and include the exterior view. The south windows connect to Yom Kippur. Here, the divine book has been sealed for another year. Layers of white are enclosed within it; the white symbolizing purity, and the reconciliation attained through repentance, prayer and chari ty during the 10 Days of Awe. The book is framed by the Tree of Life, which is alive with glowing greens and golds. The Atonement window is designed to be more peaceful and contemplative than the Tashlikh window. The blue thread weaves through a border of lightly textured clear glass which maintains the visual link to the outside world. There are 12 clear jewels which symbolize the Twelve Tribes. The windows provide a beautiful, yet solemn, reminder of this important Jewish high holiday while heightening the connection with the outside world and the passing seasons. The windows are created in the traditional leaded tech nique and use hand-made, coloured European glass, in addi tion to clear and iridescent textures surrounding the central image. Some of the glass used is special multi-layered `streaky' glass which has two or more colours within a single sheet. Additional techniques of etching are used within the Tree of Life, and in the waves in the northeast windows. The windows were made by artist Sarah Hall and crafts man William Lindsay of Sarah Hall Studio in Toronto. This description was provided by the artist. 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