Montreal Rabbi preparing for Rosh Hashanah as son is at military base in Israel

Montreal Rabbi Reuben Poupko was spending the hours ahead of Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year – physically in his Côte Saint-Luc home, as his family cooked for the holiday, but mentally in Israel, as his son Avi is on an army base, after Iran launched a missile attack there on Tuesday.

“We’ll go to synagogue like we always have, we’ll sit around the table as we always have, but we’re not completely here,” said Poupko.

The rabbi at Montreal’s Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation says his son is also a rabbi who runs a college-level educational institution in Israel.

“He’s a remarkable young man and when he moved to Israel, he was too old for the army 12 years ago but like many Israelis, after Oct. 7, he signed up,” Poupko said.

Poupko often video calls Avi, who’s on a base in Tzippori, Israel about 20 kilometres from the Lebanese border.

“Rosh Hashanah is a big deal in Israel, it’s kind of like Thanksgiving in America, it’s a big family time, maybe even more than Passover for some families,” Avi said on Wednesday from his army base. “So folks are sad, but everyone’s doing their best to get into the holiday spirit.”

Poupko adding, “Last Rosh Hashanah, no one imagined what the year would look like. And only three weeks into that, into the Jewish New Year, we had a catastrophic assault on Israel.”

Looking ahead to a new year, Poupko’s daughters and his grandchildren made their traditional Gefilte fish on Wednesday morning, in preparation for the celebrations, as he kept up to date on the latest news.

“We’re all living in a world where we live in the present. We celebrate the holiday here but our thoughts regularly turn to what’s going on in Israel,” said Poupko.

Yet, Avi says not even the ongoing war and conflict is stopping Israelis from getting ready for Rosh Hashanah. 

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“Everyone’s still getting together for the meal. Everyone’s going to be in synagogue, praying, even here on the base,” Avi said. “We have somebody blowing the shofar. We got our apple and honey, so we’re all set up. No one’s letting the heaviness and the tension get away of celebrating our holiday.”

Poupko adding, “It’s hard to think of my grandchildren not having their father around for Rosh Hashanah. That’s hard. He won’t be with them in synagogue. He won’t be with them around the family table and that’s certainly painful but that’s a minor sacrifice.”

“We’re on the bases of this Rosh Hashanah, so we can be home next Rosh Hashanah,” said Avi.