09/24/2026
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been greeting many of our customers with “Shana Tova,” wishing them a happy and sweet New Year.
But this year, I feel there is more that needs to be said.
Over Yom Kippur, a shooting took place outside a synagogue in Belleville while people were gathered for services. And in Toronto, a Jewish CBC journalist shared that he was taunted and intimidated by protesters as he tried to enter Yom Kippur services.
Whatever your faith, everyone deserves to be able to gather, pray and worship in peace.
When I was a little girl, we went to synagogue every Sabbath and holiday. I remember sitting on my father’s shoulders so I could see when the Torah was taken from the ark. It felt magical. We weren’t thinking about security. We were thinking about family, community, tradition and the wonderful meal waiting for us afterwards.
I wish that same sense of peace, safety and belonging felt just as simple today.
So this year, my wish goes beyond a happy and sweet New Year.
May it be a year of peace. A year of tolerance. A year in which people of every faith can gather freely and safely. And a year in which we remember that there is far more that connects us than divides us.
Shana Tova. May the year ahead be sweeter, safer and more peaceful for all of us.
Gail Fraiberg
Owner, Grumans Delicatessen
