OrH Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter

15 December 2020

OrH Annual Campaign 5781 Update

Many thanks to all who have donated to our annual campaign thus far. After two weeks we have achieved 50% of our $36,000 campaign goal! More than 30 of our 130 Member and High Holiday Visitor households have donated. If you have not yet done so, please consider making a donation to Or Haneshamah this year. All donations, regardless of size, help to sustain our community and keep it healthy and vibrant. We would love to see 100% of OrH Members and Tishrey Visitors support our campaign this year.
Donating is easy: visit orh.ca/annual-campaign.html, where you can make a payment by credit card or PayPal with no added convenience fees. If you wish to pay by e-transfer or mail a cheque, instructions are on our donation page. 
 
Thank you for your continued support,
 
Your OrH Board of Directors

OrH Member-led Hanukkah Candle-Lighting
 
Join us for the remaining two virtual community candle-lightings, Wednesday and Thursday at 5:30 pm. OrH members will host candle lighting blessings, Hanukkah songs, and greetings. Visit: https://www.orh.ca/hanukkah2020. There you will also find links to a number of Hanukkah resources, including the candle lighting blessings, songs, and ideas for “dedicating” your candles to a worthy cause. (Note that for privacy reasons, the complete candle-lighting schedule and Zoom links are only accessible to OrH members – to access the schedule you will be prompted to log in to your OrH account.)

Human Rights Shabbat 2020: Racism and Responsibility in the Jewish Community
 
This Saturday morning at 10:30 we mark Human Rights Shabbat. Since 2013, OrH has joined with rabbis and congregations across North America to mark Human Rights Shabbat, observed annually close to the anniversary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. Our guest this year, Elon University chaplain Rabbi Sandra Lawson, is a 2018 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College whose “pulpit” includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Her teachings on spirituality, Torah, racial and economic justice, along with her music, are sparking fresh learning and challenging conversations in the Jewish world. Join Rabbi Liz and Rabbi Sandra Lawson for lively music and inspiring Torah for Human Rights Shabbat 2020.

Upcoming Services and Events

OrH Member Hanukkah Candle-Lighting
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM Zoom

OrH Member Hanukkah Candle-Lighting
Thursday, December 17, 2020
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM Zoom
 
Machaneh Shabbat
Saturday, December 19, 2020
9:00 AM (Machaneh Aleph), 9:30 AM (Machaneh Bet) – 10:30 AM, Zoom  

Human Rights Shabbat
Saturday, December 19, 2020
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM, Zoom  

Reconstructionist News

Reconstructing Judaism is changing the location where digital prayerbooks are stored. The new links are now hosted on the Reconstructing Judaism website and should be much more stable and accessible. These links are not visible on the main website. Although the old links will remain active for the time being, we strongly encourage you to switch to these new links as soon as possible. 
 
Daily Prayerbook
Shabbat Vehagim
Prayers for a House of Mourning
Machzor

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

* Special Notice for Holocaust Survivors: Any survivor who has received the one-time Hardship Fund compensation payment from Germany through the Claims Conference may now be eligible for two supplemental payments, beginning in 2021. The Claims Conference will mail a personalized application to you, based on the address they have on file. If you have moved since the time you received the Hardship Fund, you will need to notify the Claims Conference. The Claims Conference has all the information about the Supplemental Hardship Fund on their website including all the contact information you, or someone acting on your behalf, will need. The Claims Conference website is: www.claimscon.org  If you require additional information and, or support please contact Jewish Family Services 613 722-2225 x 311 (English), or x 326 (Russian)

* The City of Jerusalem: Ideas and Images, an art history course developed by Dr. Loren Lerner at Concordia University, is now available for free at https://jerusalemjournal.concordia.ca/jerusalem_ideas_and_images.html

* The latest episode of Meet the Author is now live! In the current episode, Ruth Panofsky, a professor of English at Ryerson University where she specializes in Canadian literature and culture, discusses her recent edited volume (The New Spice Box: Contemporary Jewish Writing). Her interviewers are Catherine Caufield (Concordia University of Edmonton) and Jesse Toufexis (University of Ottawa). Enjoy, and stay tuned for more episodes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAwQ0n44_48  

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

December Board Chair: Barbara, membership@orh.ca
Treasurer: Ari, treasurer@orh.ca
Interim Secretary: Kathy, 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  
​​​​​​​Interim Member-at-Large: Carolyn, carolyn@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.