CELEBRATING 157 YEARS OF PYTHIANISM
Grand
Lodge
Knights of Pythias
Domain of Quebec
PYTHIAN CEMETERY
We are proud to have held our
Annual Knights of Pythias Memorial Service
Live on October 6, 2024
A bus picked up family and friends
and brought them to our Cemetery.
Full details waspublished her and in the
Suburban Newpaper in October.
Pythian (Quebec) Cemetery Association
Executive, 2024-2026
|
Michael Berman
President
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Calvin Finkelstein
Vice-President
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Eric Goldapple
Member of the Board of Directors
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John Derrick
Secretary/Treasurer
|
 |
Sir James Indig
Past
President
and all around great guy!
|
 |
Marvin Goodman
Immediate Past President |

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Welcoming
Jayson Derrick
as a new Director
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Inthe past, our theme was how to honour your deceased loved ones, without going to
the cemetery. Our President, Marvin Goodman, read this prayer:
A Prayer to Say When You Cannot Go to the Grave – Rabbi Janet Madden
G-d, Source of All, Comfort of all who mourn, I ask for Your
comfort as I return to a place of emotional devastation. My heart is
filled with the pain of loss; I feel the sharpness of a grief that will
be with me until my own dying day.
At this time of year, when it is traditional to visit the graves of our
beloved dead, I ache with longing. I feel so very far away, separated
by geography and time and by the reality that life does go on, no
matter how difficult it is to be without _________. How I wish we could
be together again to talk, to laugh, to touch. How I wish I could say
“I love you” one more time.
In the midst of my sorrow at a life without __________, I am grateful
that I have been granted the ability to know what it is to love and be
loved in return. I thank and bless you, G-d, Source of Life and Love,
for blessing us with the life we shared.
I ask you, G-d, to bless me with comfort and healing. May the blessing
of ___________’s life give me the courage to make a blessing of my own.
May I go forward from this time in renewed strength and peace. Amen. |
We were so fortunate this year to
have as our guest speaker Rabbi Dr. Simcha Raphael Paull, director of
the DAAT Institute in Philadelphia, PA. He explained to us the
Mitzvah of visiting a loved ones grave during this high holiday
period. He combined all his knowledge as a Rabbi plus as a
councilor with an excellent Power Point presentation. This made
for an extremely thoughtful and interesting presentation.
Past President of the Cemetery Association, Michael Berman read this moving poem.
We Remember Them
At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter; We remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring; We remember them.
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer; We remember them.
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn; We remember them.
At the beginning of the year and when it ends; We remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as We remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength; We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart; We remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make; We remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share; We remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs; We remember them.
For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as, We remember them.
O G-d, full of mercy, Who dwells on high, grant
proper rest on the wings of the Divine Presence – in the lofty levels
of the holy and the pure ones, who shine like the glow of the firmament
– for the souls of our Pythian family who went on to his world, because
they will contribute to charity in remembrance of his soul. May his
resting place be in the garden of Eden – therefore may the Master of
Mercy shelter him in the shelter of His wings for eternity, and may He
bind his soul in the Bond of Life. HASHEM is his heritage, and may he
repose in peace on his resting place. Now let us all respond: Amen.
Tekiah-shevrim-teruah-tekiah
Tekiah-shevarim-tekiah
Tekiah-teruah-tekiah
Tekiah gedolah
Located in the city of Laval, just a short drive from Montreal, is our
Pythian Cemetery. The Association invites Jewish members of the Knights
Of Pythias of Quebec that are in good standing to join our cemetery
association, and to reserve a single or double plot. The fees are
extremely reasonable. The Cemetery is run according to strict Orthodox
Jewish laws and is recognized as such by the Orthodox Jewish Rabbinate
of Montreal.
LAST YEAR
September 27, 2020....
A virtual memorial where
we gathered to remember our loved ones!
Every year, around the Yom
Toviem,
we have the honour of welcoming members to our Memorial
Service. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Memorial
was on Line. Our Cemetery Secretary had the opportunity to
speak to those assembled. Below is a copy of his welcoming speech
delivered on Zoom.
The Yizkor prayer, the prayer of Remembrance, is recited four times a year.
May G-d remember the soul of our Pythian members, family and friends:
who have gone to his [supernal] world, because I will — without
obligating myself with a vow — donate charity for their sake. In
this merit, may their souls be bound up in the bond of life with the
souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and
with the other righteous men and women who are in Gan Eden; and let us
say, Amen.
Dear family and friends.
2020 is a very strange year, one what we, our children and
grandchildren will soon not forget. But even in this very worst
of times, we will not lose our hope or our faith as we look
forward to normal times.
It is said that during these 10 days of awe, G-d will open his
accounting books that will determine the faith of the Jewish
people. On Yom Kippur He will close these ledgers and seal the
faith of each individual. There are three ways that one can
change this verdict, through performance of these three important
duties for Jews to perform, Tefilia, (prayer) Tsuvah (Repentance) and
Tzadah (Charity).
The customs of remembering the souls of the departed and contributing
to charity in their memory is part of the Jewish belief in the eternity
of the soul. When physical life ends, only the body dies, but the
soul lifts up to the heavens where it gains higher levels of purity and
holiness.
When this life is over, the soul can no longer perform good deeds; only mortal man and women can do such a deed.
But there is a way that the departed soul can continue to do good
deeds. If we, the living, give charity or do good deeds in memory
of a loved one, God in His mercy credits the deeds we do, the charity
we collect to the soul of our beloved departed.
In many ways these deeds truly reflect the work and deeds of our
Knights of Pythias Order. Through our Pythian Motto of
Friendship, Charity and Benevolence, we fulfill the many Mitzvahs of
the High Holidays. Through the year we collected money for many
worthy charitable causes. We do good deeds by bringing a bit of
entertainment and help to patients of many Montreal hospital and
institutions . These good deeds are not done only at this time of
the year, but throughout the entire year. Our Pythian Cemetery
leaders, people like Marvin Goodman, Michael Berman, Sir James Indig,
Calvin Finkelstein, Eric Goldapple, just to mention a few names, devote
many hours to serve in our Montreal, Jewish Community.
The Yom Kippur customs of pledging to charity on behalf of the departed
and of praying for their Souls are recorded in the Code of Jewish
Law. It is explained that the proper name of the day Yom
Hakippurim is in the plural, because there are indeed two mitzvahs -
one for the living and one for the dead. Consequently, it is
important upon the living to seek ways to bring spiritual benefits upon
their loved ones.
There are other reasons, too, for remembering our loved one at this
holiest of holy season. We remember our departed loved ones as a
method for our repentance, because the reminder that life is fleeting
helps to make us humble. An opposite point of view is that we
invoke the memory of our loved ones so that their memory will act on
our behalf before the Heavenly Court.
But please don’t cry of feel bad about our departed loved one, as it
was written in a poem which will be read by our Past President
Michael Berman.
Don't cry for me now I have died, for I'm still here I'm by your side,
My body's gone but my soul's is here, please don't shed another tear,
I am still here I'm all around, only my body lies in the ground.
I am the snowflake that kisses your nose,
I am the frost, that nips your toes.
I am the sun, bringing you light,
I am the star, shining so bright.
I am the rain, refreshing the earth,
I am the laughter, I am the mirth.
I am the bird, up in the sky,
I am the cloud, that's drifting by.
I am the thoughts, inside your head,
While I'm still there, I can't be dead.
On behalf of our Grand Lodge executive and the executive of the
Cemetery Association, I would like to wish everyone here a very happy
and healthy New Year, and that we may all be inscribed in the book of
life, and be here next year. May we be together next year,
healthy and safe.
Shanna Tova.