OrH Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter

4 November 2020

Words of the Spirit

Singing in the Key of Justice
 
Tuesday November 3, 2020. It’s hard to imagine anywhere in North America that is not on double high alert today. I say this not just as a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, but as a distressed citizen of the planet. Between the coronavirus infection numbers and the pending outcome of the American presidential election, it’s all I can do not to vibrate with worry and fear.
 
Listening to some mid-day classical musical helped. Any music helps. In this strange and deeply turbulent year of protest and disruption, I’ve noticed that my inner “radio” is on a great deal. I feel lucky that I have such a great virtual library – truly virtual – to provide comfort, or distraction, or inspiration. I can feel supported and inspired by listening to my inner play list, from old classical favourites to the many songs I’ve learned and sung at song circles, protests and rallies since my youth.
 
At camp and at youth gatherings we sang: If I had a hammer, a bell, a song … justice, freedom, love. Written in 1949 by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger and later popularized by the Weavers, The Hammer Song crystallized the yearnings and values of various progressive protest movements. The mostly white Anglo folk artists who popularized this song also interpreted melodies and lyrics from a range of cultures, countries, and languages. Included in the repertoire of the Weavers was Wimoweh, music by South African musician Solomon Linda, lyrics in Zulu; Guantanamera, Spanish lyrics by Cuban poet Jose Marti; and the Hebrew song Tzena, Tzena, words and music by liturgical composer Issachar Miron.
 
With concert halls and other performing venues shuttered, “folk” music – music of and by the people - is still being made in living rooms and basements, fields, farms and factories, with audio and with video, and in a Babel of languages and formats.
 
My friend and colleague Rabbi Sandra Lawson has been creating accessible Jewish content, including original liturgy, since her student days at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Ordained in 2018, she has broken new ground by picking up the many threads of her life and weaving them into a rabbinate that wholly reflects who she is: a queer, vegan, African-American, former military police officer and sociologist. As a passionate change-maker, she uses song and now also video to transmit a call for change and witness.
 
Rabbi Sandra wrote I am Human/Oseh Shalom five years ago while she was in Israel to fulfill the rabbinical student study requirement. After witnessing violations of human rights there, largely directed at black and brown people, she created this song, blending the familiar phrase with plaintive English lyrics as a “rallying cry, to never give up, remember the struggle, and always strive to see each other as created in the image of God because when we do, we treat each other with love, dignity, and respect.” In her video, the simple, chant-like melody with its accessible guitar chords, like the folksy and easy-to-join-in tunes popularized by the Weavers, is combined with powerful contemporary images culled from recent Black Lives Matter rallies and the street art that has accompanied so many of those gatherings, from pointed placards to massive murals.
 
Ten years ago, two white American television hosts created a massive mock event in Washington, DC, a “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear." Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart recently bantered together on a late-night talk show that Colbert, acting in his blowhard right-wing talk show host persona advocating for fear, has “won.”
 
As you read this, we may still not know who has won the election. As we wait, that rally comes to mind. Sometimes I wish the contest had been between fear and justice, that what will be restored through the outcome of this American election is fundamental and perpetual justice. But justice has not widely prevailed in that country, or our own for that matter, for black and brown people, trans folk, Indigenous peoples and cultures, and others with marginalized identities.
 
I’m looking forward to a day when we do rally, and sing, lifting our voices together without worry or fear. Today, this week, let’s hope for the restoration of sanity. With it, and through it, justice may emerge.
 
- Rabbi Liz

Shabbat with Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
Saturday, November 7, 10:30 am - noon

Along with Rabbi Liz, we are delighted to welcome her colleague and friend Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, to our service this Shabbat morning. Read Rabbi Wechterman’s bio here. Rabbi Wechterman will offer a devar torah and spark a discussion on Parshat Vayera, turning her attention to some of the passages from that Torah portion we DON’T read on Rosh Hashanah. In our Mi Sheberakhs/prayers for healing, we will also be acknowledging the results of the American presidential election with what we hope and pray will be a spirit of optimism for the health and well-being of all who dwell in North America.

East Coast Shabbat
On Friday, November 13 at 6:30 pm join congregations and clergy from Florida to Canada (including Or Haneshamah!) for this one-of-a-kind, collaborative Kabbalat Shabbat! While we may be unable to gather in person, we can lift our spirits together as we enter our much needed day of rest. Rabbi Liz and Shira Weidenbaum will be participating in the service.

After services, we'll have an afterparty hosted by Marlene Meyerson, JCC Manhattan, featuring a performance by Broadway's Ben Fankhauser (Newsies, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and schmoozing.
 
Organized by the JCC Manhattan. To register visit https://mmjccm.org/programs/east-coast-collaborative-shabbat or on Facebook.

Sunday Schmooze 'n Learn Cafe
On the second Sunday of each month, from 10:30-noon, Rabbi Liz will lead a Zoom schmooze for us to chat and catch up for the first 30 minutes, and then an OrH member will offer a presentation on a subject dear to their heart.

Our first Schmooze 'n Learn will take place on Nov. 8 with Eliyanah Delicate on "Home-learning in a Time of COVID." Eliyanah discuss tips, tricks, challenges, and successes with learning at home. Eliyanah has an MEd and has worked in education for over 30 years both as a tutor and a Jewish education professional. She has been home-schooling for 14 years. She’s active in the local Home Schooling Community as well as the international Gifted Home-Schooling Community.
  
And join us on Dec. 13 for David Brooks, who will offer an irreverent perspective on the “invention” of Hanukkah: You will hear about a book that was written Hebrew, published in Greek, canonized for Catholics, rejected by Protestants, and not translated into modern English until 1938, yet contains the only text that tells the story of Chanukah.

For the full schedule of Sunday Schmoozes visit: www.orh.ca/schmooze or contact learning@orh.ca.

Annexation? The Future of Israel/Palestine
The Global Justice Working Group of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa invites OrH members to attend a panel discussion on annexations and the future of Israel/Palestine on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 pm. The webinar features Mira Sucharov, Professor of Political Science at Carleton University, and Palestinian human rights lawyer Yaffa Jarrar. The discussion will be moderated by Rabbi Liz Bolton and will include a question and answer session. Advance registration is required here.

Upcoming Services and Events

Machaneh Shabbat
Saturday, November 7, 2020
9:00 AM (Machaneh Aleph), 9:30 AM (Machaneh Bet) – 10:30 AM, Zoom

Shabbat Morning Torah Service
Saturday, November 7, 2020
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Zoom

Schmooze 'n Learn: Home-Learning in a Time of COVID
Sunday, November 8, 2020

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, Zoom  

Repairing the World Small Group Discussion
Monday, November 9th, 2020
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Zoom  

Reconstructionist News

Strategic planning survey
Reconstructing Judaism has embarked on a strategic planning process to envision the near-term future of the organization. To inform that process, they are seeking to understand constituents’ needs in these tumultuous times. Please consider sharing your perspective by completing a brief survey. It should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete and will help support Reconstructing Judaism in its work building spiritual communities.

The Global Day of Jewish Learning
The Global Day of Jewish Learning is a project to unite Jewish communities across the world through study of our shared texts. The day unfolds during a 24-hour period of live-streamed events around the world. This year’s Global Day theme is about Judaism's vision of human dignity, the ethics of inclusivity and the imperative to decrease marginalization. It will take place on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. 

Please make special note of the sessions offered by Reconstructionist Rabbi Micah Geurin Weiss and Rabbi Sarra Lev, Ph.D., and download the Learning Guide, which includes text from Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D.:

HaHovel B’Havero: The Damages of Whiteness, with Rabbi Micah Geurin Weiss, 5 p.m. EST.  Rabbi Micah Weiss will share personal reflections on his growing edges
as a white Jewish teacher in a multiracial Jewish classroom, what this can teach other white Jews about building anti-racist Jewish communities, and a mishnah he will never read the same way again.

"It shall be desolation": ​Shunning and human dignity with Rabbi Sarra Lev, Ph.D., 6 p.m. EST. This talk will read through a Talmudic story that explores the relationships between rumor, power and shunning as a disciplinary device.

The live-stream will take place at limmudna.org/global-day-2020/ on Sunday, Nov. 8. More information can be found here.

The archive of back issues of Reconstructionism Today is available at: https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/article/newsletter-archive

In The Ottawa Community
* = New item this week
 
Community Events and Announcements

Voices for the Past, Present and Future. The Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship is marking five years of promoting Holocaust education with the premiere screening of Voices for the Past, Present and Future followed by a discussion about teaching the Holocaust in the 21 Century.  

Discussants: Prof Irwin Cotler, Founder and Chair, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights: “The importance of Holocaust Education” and Dr Avinoam Patt, Director, Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut: “Obligation and Challenges of Teaching the Holocaust in the 21st Century.” November 8, 7:00pm. Webinar registration required by November 6th to:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lcK65hDNSeWL2WRXoB_xJg  

* “Beyond All Memories - The Semer Ensemble and the Rescued Treasure of Jewish Musical Life in Nazi Berlin,” Monday, November 9th at 2 pm. Watch captivating performances from the “Semer Ensemble” in a film preview, talk with Dr. Rainer Lotz, a German music historian, about his years of saving the Semer Label and hear the stories behind the songs from singer Sasha Lurje and Dr. Alan Bern of the Semer Ensemble. Laila Biali, jazz singer, pianist and CBC Radio host, will moderate. To join the webinar: https://www.liberation75.org/nov9.

* Israeli Slang session, November 10, 10:30 - 11:10 am. Learn Israeli slang in this fun, virtual and free session. Presented by the SJCC. Email Ella at edagan@jccottawa.com for the Zoom invite.

* Peace Now Canada presents, “What Happens Now: The Results of the U.S. Elections,” November 12, 7:30 - 9:30 pm. Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief of The Forward in conversation with Rabbi Steven Garten on the U.S. election results. Subjects to be covered: implications for the Middle East, the U.S.-Israel-Palestine relationship and the U.S.-Diaspora relationship. Also implications for American Jewry and antisemitism. Rudoren is an award-winning journalist (formerly with the New York Times). A one-hour webinar, to include a Q&A with the audience.
Contact Gabriella Goliger at 613-222-3838 or goliger@rogers.com

* Launch of the Virtual Pop-Up Museum. November 15 at 1:00 pm. The artifacts exhibited were donated by Ottawa Holocaust survivors or their descendants. The launch will include a discussion on the importance of artifacts to research of the Holocaust with Sara Shor, Manager of Artifacts at Yad Vashem and Robert Ehrenreich, Director of the US Holocaust Museum’s national academic programs. Webinar registration required by November 13th to:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Zf5ak1g5S9i66frjyXf2Lg

From Baklava to Beavertails: The Syrian and Lebanese Jewish Experience in Canada. The Sephardi Association of Ottawa and Sephardi Voices are sponsoring a special panel to discuss the Syrian and Lebanese Jewish experience in Canada. Inspired by the documentary, "Wanted: The Joseph Esses Story" by Ottawa-based filmmaker and writer, Michelle Devorah Kahn, detailing Michelle’s grandfather's escape from Aleppo, Syria in 1950. The panelists include the filmmaker, her mother (born in Beirut, Lebanon), and the past president of SAO Clemy Srour. Participants will have a chance to ask questions. The event will be Sunday November 15th, 6:00pm-7:00pm on Zoom. To register and receive the zoom link for that evening please email info@sephardiottawa.ca. To watch the film please click this link: 
https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/4722/Wanted--The-Joseph-Esses-Story

* Family Life parents virtual meet up, November 17, 10:30 - 11:10 am. Meet other parents of young children in informal chat to discuss quarantine parenting challenges. Presented by the SJCC. Email Ella at edagan@jccottawa.com for the Zoom invite.

* Israeli Innovations, November 19, 7 - 8 pm. The activity will introduce participants to Israeli inventions, strengthen their connection to Israel. Brought to you by Vered Israel in partnership with JNF, Embassy of Israel in Canada and CICF. Please email Ella at edagan@jccottawa.com for the Zoom invite.

Opportunities

Dr. Dina Ripsman Eylon, Editor-in-Chief announces the electronic publication of the new issue of Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal,  http://www.womeninjudaism.org. Founded in 1997, the journal is the first multidisciplinary refereed e-journal solely dedicated to gender-related issues in Judaism.  Vol 17 No 1 (2020) contains articles on sex trafficking, Argentina, history, Jewish law, Australia and poetry as well as book reviews including THE NAME: A History of the Dual-Gendered Hebrew Name for God by Mark Sameth. 
Submissions are welcome for articles, essays, book reviews, short notes, and bibliographies from all disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences and should be made by e-mail to dina.eylon@utoronto.ca. Note: Scholarship by and about Canadian Jewish women is especially encouraged.  The journal will consider re-printing peer-reviewed papers or chapters from books that are not currently available in any digital format.  They are also seeking book reviewers. 
To be subscribed to their ongoing activities, please register on the site, “like” them on Facebook and/or subscribe to their RSS feeds.

The Beth Tzedec Men’s Club is pleased to sponsor our long standing scholarship program to assist young men and women who are pursuing programs of higher Jewish education.  Applicants need not be a member of Beth Tzedec. The criteria we use to judge each applicant is based on the following and should be given careful consideration when applying.  The information provided with this application is the sole source upon which the scholarship committee will make a decision:

• The financial need of the candidate.
• The program of study for which the funds will be used.
• The career goals of the candidate and how the program of study relates to it.
• The benefit that may be brought to the Jewish community by the candidate.
• The overall quality of the submitted application
• Special needs or consideration.

For more information and to request an application contact hershr@rogers.com.
 

Donations to OrH

Donations are a significant part of the funding for activities and rabbinic support in our community. You can direct your contribution to different areas of Or Haneshamah’s activity, including: general donations to fund programming, rabbinic leadership, donations in honor or in memory of a person or event, or dedication of ritual objects. We also welcome donations to the Gita (Tova) & Zvi Taub Memorial Fund, the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, the Or Haneshamah Endowment Fund. Federal employees or retirees can also give to OrH through the Annual Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign. Information on all these programs and how to give can be found at this link, or by clicking on the "Donate" tab on the main menu of the OrH website.

Board of Directors

November Board Chair: Diana, learning@orh.ca
Treasurer: Ari, treasurer@orh.ca
Acting Secretary: Joanie, secretary@orh.ca
Communications: David, communications@orh.ca
Membership: Barbara, membership@orh.ca
Learning: Diana, learning@orh.ca
Ritual/Many Hands: Shira, rituals@orh.ca ​​​​​​​
 Interim Member-at-Large: Elijah, elijah@orh.ca  

Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton: rabbi@orh.ca
OrH Members are welcome to contact Rabbi Liz, the Hesed team (hesed@orh.ca),
or any member of the board, regarding pastoral needs.

Or Haneshamah
30 Cleary Ave., Ottawa, ON, K2A 4A1
613-239-4988
www.orh.ca
info@orh.ca

** Disclaimer Regarding Community Event Postings **

Or Haneshamah frequently receives requests to post notices of upcoming events in the community at-large.  These events run the range from cultural, educational, and in some cases explorations of topical political issues.  In the interest of providing information to our congregation about the diversity of interesting events in the Ottawa community we will post notices of these events in our regular newsletter.

We recognize also that from time to time we are requested to post notices of events which are highly controversial in nature and reflect a wide range of opinions among our congregation on particular issues.  We are, however, of the opinion that it is appropriate for us to post events taking place in the community which may challenge us, which may cause discomfort, and which may cause us to reflect on some of our beliefs.  Our openness to post notices for a wide range of community events, however, does not mean that we have abdicated our responsibility to show discernment and to distinguish between those events which demonstrate an open-minded and thoughtful approach to specific issues and those which do not appear to reflect such values.  So, we will make judgments about what notices we believe are appropriate to post and those which we believe will not contribute to a thoughtful and balanced exploration of ideas and issues.

Will we make mistakes along the way?  Probably.  But the possibility of errors of judgment does not mean that we can excuse ourselves from the responsibility to show judgment in posting notices about events in the community and we promise to do so with openness tempered by a sense of responsibility.

In agreeing to post any notice of an event in the community, Or Haneshamah does not endorse, support or promote any perspectives, positions or ideas expressed in the events which are posted in our newsletter.