Heroes – and Antiheroes – to the Rescue Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, has so many themes that it is no wonder it has lent itself to passionate advocates as a most-significant holiday. Though in itself it qualifies as a “minor” festival in the Jewish year cycle, it stacks up against the Big Dates and […]
Erev Yom Kippur Message Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton 10 Tishrey 5786 // October 1, 2025 OrH – Or Haneshamah: Ottawa’s Reconstructionist Community Let’s begin this time of listening with a time of looking. In a moment I’ll invite you, if you are willing, to bring to your gaze to a neighbour in the pew, and silently […]
Selichot of the Heart A pal once offered this insight: The human condition, she mused, is really about getting it wrong. To this I add: The religious enterprise is about recognizing this, with compassion, and working it out, guided by teachings of our ancestors. It’s not about getting it right; it’s about the journey. […]
Tisha B’Av mourns destruction and displacement. It layers on ancient, medieval and modern experiences, linking the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem with pogroms through the ages, whether or not they fell on the 9th day of the month of Av. Av falls in July or August, months of attenuated synagogue involvement in many Jewish […]
This is your friendly reminder to join us 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m on Zoom for Or Haneshamah’s Annual General Meeting. Learn what our congregation has accomplished, what we’re planning for the future and add your voice to the conversation. Please stay on the same Zoom link for a Special Meeting from 8:30 p.m. – […]
Sometime this past Sunday night, the exterior wall of Ottawa’s National Holocaust Monument was painted in bright red letters with the words FEED ME. News Story, June 9, 2025: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/national-holocaust-monument-in-ottawa-defaced-with-feed-me-graffiti-1.7556179 On Monday afternoon I was contacted by CBC radio and agreed to be interviewed on the matter. Radio Interview, June 10, 2025: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-100-ottawa-morning/clip/16151486-national-holocaust-memorial-defaced In this […]
At a very young age – I can’t precisely pinpoint the year or even the precipitating event – I became aware that injustice was pervasive and widespread. I’m fairly certain it was at summer camp, because when I close my eyes and recall the feeling, I see pine trees, a dirt path, blue sky. All […]
Tze ulemad. Go and learn. This is how the “long” section of the Exodus story begins in the traditional Haggadah. After the initial blessings and rituals and songs, including the Four Questions and the first “short” answers, the retelling of the escape from Mitzrayim is retold. As attached as I was as a child to the […]
It’s Adar, Purim approaches, so of course I’m thinking costumes! And, of course, amidst the merry-making, there are serious themes, compounded this year -not for the first time – by our awareness of wider-world issues. There is also an overlay within the tradition, and that is the attention paid in this week’s parsha to the […]
Jewish practice is often identified by two overlapping cycles – the life cycle and the year cycle. Along with core values and text basics, these rubrics form the topics of our Exploring Judaism program. And it’s likely that most Introduction to Judaism courses make use of these rubrics as well. Many adult students of Jewish […]
