As Kehillat Beth Israel (KBI) celebrates its 10th anniversary, the congregation is looking back on the histories that shaped it while looking ahead.

Kicking off the celebrations on November 8 is Open Doors, Living Books, an interactive event designed to bring congregants and visitors together through personal storytelling and conversation. The event will feature 20 “living books,” members of the community who will share their experiences, as well as activities for children and families through the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s PJ Library.

Batia Winer, co-chair of KBI’s 10th anniversary planning committee, said the event is intended to celebrate this milestone while shining a light on the people who make up its community.

“A living book is when a person shares a real-life experience through conversation,” she explained. 

Rather than simply reciting a biography, participants will share something personal that can spark a meaningful exchange.

Inspired by borrowing books from a library, visitors will be able to “browse” descriptions of the living books, choose someone they would like to meet, and spend time in conversation. Each living book will speak for approximately 10 minutes before engaging in a short discussion with the person who has “borrowed” them. Visitors can then borrow another living book and continue meeting people.

Stephen Bindman, a longtime congregant who played a key role in bringing together Congregation Beth Shalom and Agudath Israel to form KBI, said the event reflects the congregation’s belief that its people are among its greatest strengths. 

“We want to shine a light on the people that make this community,” he said. 

The event will also offer an opportunity for the wider Ottawa Jewish community to meet KBI’s new rabbi, Rabbi Kliel Rose, who will be among the featured living books.

Greeters will welcome the attendees, and “librarians” will help connect visitors with their chosen living books and ensure conversations remain comfortable and safe for everyone. 

For Winer, who has been involved in storytelling initiatives through KBI’s Pride programming, the event is a natural extension of an activity that can deepen understanding across a community.

Storytelling, she said, can help people form connections and relationships by sharing experiences that might otherwise remain unknown. 

The anniversary celebrations will continue with an event honouring KBI’s former presidents who helped establish the congregation, followed by a concert and party to mark the milestone and look ahead.

KBI was formed through the amalgamation of two established congregations, each with its own history and traditions. Bringing them together meant navigating differences, from familiar melodies to customs observed during services.

Jaimee Mitzmacher, KBI’s president, joined the congregation a year after the amalgamation. Having not belonged to either of the original congregations, she experienced the community primarily as KBI rather than through the lens of its predecessor congregations.

Over the past nine years, she said, she has seen members continue to show up, learn about one another, and work toward a shared identity.

“People are willing to listen and learn and grow,” Mitzmacher said. She credited intentional choices by congregational leadership and the commitment of members with helping KBI move forward, even through difficult periods, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bindman recalled that some differences between the former congregations initially extended to questions as small as whether congregants should stand or sit during the Kaddish. Over time, however, the distinction between the two former communities has become less prominent.

“We’ve gotten to a stage where it’s no longer ‘Are you from Agudath Israel?’ or ‘Are you from Beth Shalom?’” Bindman explained. “No, we’re KBI.”

Even though KBI represents a shared identity, it doesn’t mean forgetting its past. Mitzmacher emphasized the goal is to honour the histories and contributions of both congregations while building something new together.

This moment also provides an opportunity to look toward the future.

For Mitzmacher, the hope is that KBI will continue to thrive as a place where everyone feels included, welcomed, and embraced. 

“I want people to feel like KBI is their home away from home,” she said. “Some of us are daveners, some of us are page-turners, and some of us come to socialize and learn.”

“When community comes together, it’s sacred,” Winer added. “Whether we are coming together to pray or to talk to one another, there is something very special about having community around you.”

As KBI looks to its next decade, the hope is that the congregation will continue being a warm, inclusive and welcoming space for everyone in the years to come.

To take part in the celebrations, all are invited to attend Open Doors, Living Books, which is taking place on Sunday, November 8. Advance registration is required. Click here to learn more.