By the time this article is published, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will be over and we will be enjoying the week of Sukkot. The days get cooler, the nights grow longer, and we settle into another year of work, school, retirement or whatever activities occupy us.

The High Holiday season encourages reflection not only on our Jewish lives but also on our community and the various issues that engage us in discussion and occupy these columns year-round. There is much good news. We enjoy the freedom and opportunity to pursue any ambitions we have, whether they are in business, industry, the professions, education, science or the arts. We are free to worship, celebrate our holidays and festivals, and enjoy our rich traditions and customs.

The Canadian Jewish community has taken many positive initiatives over the past year. We have continued to work with other cultural groups, including the aboriginal community, to forge common understanding and closer relations. We have continued to interact with governments, at all levels, to create a lasting and stable niche for Canadian Jews within our national mosaic.

To be sure, our work continues. Through its Social Action Advisory Committee, the Canadian Jewish Congress has launched a national poverty strategy aimed at eliminating poverty through an augmentation of government funding programs to facilitate more child care and more affordable housing. We cannot, however, be complacent. We must continually confront issues of concern to our community.

There are still pockets of anti-Semitism and bigotry in our nation, and people who incite hate and prejudice, largely on the Internet. B’nai Brith’s annual report of anti-Semitic incidents continues to mention increases in such occurrences in Canada. There was a recent physical attack – an isolated incident – on haredi Jews in Sainte Agathe, Que, however, the response from officials and the broader community was appropriate. During the recent federal election campaign, anti-Jewish comments were posted on some blogs, including an outrageous allegation by a Winnipeg area candidate who implied that Israel’s Mossad was complicit in 9/11.

Although that candidate’s nomination was subsequently rescinded, this episode points to the ever-present cloud of anti-Jewish sentiment.

Support for Israel is far from universal. There have been some viciously hateful anti-Israel activities on some of our university campuses. We must also be constantly mindful of the threatening attitude of Iran and its state policy  advocating the eradication of Israel. And the spectre of a so-called Durban II reminds us of the blatant anti-Israel, anti-Semitic circus that marked the original UN anti-racism conference of 2001.

 There are also issues to be resolved within organized Judaism, including the lack of egalitarianism within certain segments of our religious community. While acknowledging the tenets and beliefs of those supporting traditional religious practices, it is unacceptable, for example, that a person wishing to recite Kaddish for a loved one is denied the opportunity to do so because the women who are present in the congregation do not count in the minyan. Women have always been an integral part of Jewish life, and their voices should be heard in all aspects of our religious community. Changes will no doubt occur over time, but it is a slow and arduous process

Although not all the news is good, there is reason for optimism. The co-presidents of Canadian Jewish Congress, Rabbi Reuven Bulka and Sylvain Abitbol, reminded us in their Rosh Hashanah message to the community that we should be asking ourselves “to be our best, to do our best. This means taking life seriously, living up to our sacred calling, faithfully living up to our responsibilities, and to add a bit of seasoning to all this, allocating some time to helping others.”

As we celebrate this season of harvest, growth and natural plenty, let us feel confident and renewed as we strengthen our commitment to face the issues ahead. Sukkot is also known as Z’man Simchateinu, the season of our rejoicing. That’s the spirit that we should carry forward as we embark on the new year.