OrH Newsletter

Biweekly Newsletter

12 October 2021

A Beautiful Season

Is there anything better than these warm autumn days? Possibly not. We will soak them in while we can. Today’s newsletter has some thank yous from our president, a search for a graphics enthusiast, and a peek at a future with some in-person events! Can you imagine? We can.

A Note from the President

As we say farewell to our busiest time of the synagogue year (Tishrey and membership renewal), we thank all the folks who made our month of High Holidays and start of the Jewish year so rewarding and enjoyable. Thanks to all of you who renewed your membership or became new members. You are all a vital part of our community.

I also want to thank those of you who stepped forward to help revitalize our Many Hands Team.

We look forward to the next phase of our Jewish Year, where we will be expanding our minds. Not only has Learning Coordinator Diana lined up a great learning team for this year, our Tikkun Olam group led by Monica is also planning for next year's activities. The Moving Traditions B-Mitzvah Group is starting up this month as well, under the leadership of Morah Jenny and Rabbi Liz.

But to the news many of you have been waiting for: we are slowly beginning to open up our Synagogue! Our last Bar Mitzvah was our first "hybrid service" since March 2020, and our Shabbat morning service on November 6 will also be open to a limited number of in-person congregants (as well as being on Zoom). For now, registration on a first come, first served basis will take place through our website. We will keep you updated as we move towards a safe and inclusive re-opening.

Best wishes,
Carolyn

Seeking a Graphics Enthusiast!

Are you great with graphics? Kooky for Canva? Amazing with apps? We are looking for a volunteer to help us make fantastic graphics for our social media channels. While we have someone to write and post the graphics themselves, we need a creative person to help put together images for some of our events. You can visit our Instagram page for an idea of what we do. If you are interested or have questions, drop a line to communications@orh.ca.

Tamir Survey
 
Many of you are familiar with the amazing work of Tamir here in Ottawa. The Tamir Foundation is sponsoring a community-wide disabilities survey in partnership with the Ottawa Developmental Services Network (ODSN). The survey will support a strategic planning initiative intended to guide the next 5-10 years of the organization’s development and will give them a better understanding of the needs of people with disabilities and their families in both the Jewish and broader Ottawa community. It will also help to identify possible gaps in services that may be affecting their quality of life. As you may be aware, Tamir (tamir.ca) provides therapeutic recreation services/day services, respite, and residential options. As a Jewish organization, they also offer Jewish religious and cultural programming in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and generous donors. The survey will be available until Friday, October 15, 2021.
Fill out the survey here.

Machaneh Shabbat
 
Our wonderful Machaneh Shabbat (Shabbat Camp) is back in session! Sometimes we meet through Zoom and other times we meet (safely) in person. If you've never experienced the fun and joy of family-ed sessions, this video can give you a taste. With our new online format, we invite you to experience our special program by dropping in for a trial session - or several (a donation of $36 per session is welcome to help cover costs). Please reach out to educator@orh.ca to participate and receive your Zoom link.

Bringing a Refugee Family to Ottawa
 
Or Haneshamah continues to work with the Unitarians who share our space on bringing a Syrian refugee family over from Jordan, where they have been in a camp for six years. The Almasalmeh family - two parents, one grandparent and six children aged 2 to 13 -  are supported by relatives already in Canada. We could really use someone whose skill set includes filling out application forms. Please contact president@orh.ca if you can help!

Upcoming Services and Events

Machaneh Shabbat
Saturday, Oct 16th 9:30am to 11:00am
Zoom

 
Shabbat Morning Service - Shabbat Limmud
Saturday, 16 October 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Zoom
 
Moving Traditions B-Mitzvah Family Group
Sunday, 17 October 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Zoom
 
Shabbat Morning Torah Service
Saturday, 6 November 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Multiaccess from Cleary and via Zoom
OrH Members who are fully vaccinated and have completed the OrH Vaccination Confirmation form may register to attend the service in person. Capacity is limited. Registration is required 24 hours in advance of the service. To register, complete the registration form on our website.
 
ST. MICHAEL’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL: LAMENT & LEGACY
Sunday, November 7 at 10 - 11:50 AM
Virtual Presentation via Zoom by members Dan Rubenstein and Nancy Dyson about their book St. Michael’s Residential School: Lament & Legacy (all royalties go to the Indian Residential Survivors Society in North Vancouver).
Register here

Reconstructionist News and Events

Monday, November 1 - Tuesday, November 2
RRC Online Institute for Prospective Rabbinical Students
Are you thinking about becoming a rabbi? Do you want to learn more about RRC? Join us to experience our Deeply Rooted and Boldly Relevant program and community. This year's Institute takes into consideration that participants are stretched across the time zones (and spend a lot of time on Zoom!) Join us for as much of the program as you can attend. Attendees will be sent a final schedule. Register now to hold your spot.

* Sunday, November 7
Global Day of Jewish Learning
Mark your calendars to learn from Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism, and others at the Global Day of Jewish Learning, where she will present "Bringing Peoplehood to Life." 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 study theme - The Bonds Between Us - explores the centrality of community and connection within the Jewish tradition. Through modern and traditional texts, multiple media and guiding study questions, the study guide, authored by expert educators, will support your Global Day programs one month from today! More info coming soon - check here for updates.

* November 14 @ 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. PST (4 p.m. - 6 p.m. EST)
The Tower of Babel: People’s Choice or Public Nuisance?

Join University Synagogue to find out why the Tower was the last straw and watch the drama unfold! Professor Oren Izenberg will introduce the story, followed by Professor Laurie Levenson and Dean Erwin Chemerinsky presenting the evidence and arguing the case in a thought-provoking and entertaining debate over the legal and ethical questions at stake. Finally, you, the jury, will decide this important biblical case. Click here for more information and to register for this event.

Convention 2022 
B'Yachad: Reconstructing Judaism Together
Convention Registration opens Sunday, September 26!
Come gather together from March 23 – 27, 2022 for B’Yachad: Reconstructing Judaism Together. Over these four days, both in person and virtually, we will learn from and with experts, scholars and lay leaders. We will engage in conversations, ask questions, and listen. We will pray together, sing together, dance together and celebrate all that we do every day in our communities to reconstruct Judaism. Our convention will take place in the versatile spaces of the beautiful Hilton McLean Tysons Corner hotel, located in the Chesapeake region. Reserve a hotel room for our convention at a special rate.

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

The JCC is offering courses from Melton - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Registration info can be found here.
Melton - Oct. 18 – Dec. 20, Mondays, 10:00 - 11:30 am
Leadership Defied and Defended (Numbers/Bemidbar) taught by Melton School Director, Rabbi Steve Garten (in-person and online - 10 weeks)

* October 20 - December 15, online via Zoom, 7-8:30 pm ET 
ORGANIC TORAH ON-LINE COURSE: “OUR RELATION TO CREATION”
Our teacher Rabbi Art Green has often said that as Jews, we are in need of renewing our relationship with Creation. With science and evolutionary theory, our creation stories have been seen as irrelevant or, worse, have been made into fundamentalist dogma. We need new, inspiring ways to look at a Jewish story or stories of Creation. The Piaseczner Rebbe used Kabbalah and his own deep intuition and insight to create new/old mystical and ecological creation stories: maybe exactly the stories we need today to save our world and find personal meaning. Please contact Linna Ettinger at lettinger@hebrewcollege.edu for scholarship information and with any questions.
Cost: $216 for the entire series. Generous scholarships available.

* Sunday, October 24, 2:00PM-3:30PM EDT 
Limmud Ottawa is proud to present IRVING LAYTON: THE JEWISH POEMS
A unique online discussion on the life and times of one of Canada’s major poets and leading voices in 20th-century Jewish writing. Layton’s themed poems need to hold our attention today as we find ourselves confronted with myriad social injustices and the rise of vehement variants of racism and antisemitism.
Featuring: Seymour Mayne | Natalia Vesselova | Max Layton
This event is free. Register here.

November 9, 2021 7pm
“All in the Telling” — CHES presents an evening in Commemoration of Kristallnacht with acclaimed Canadian actor Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek’s presentation will focus on how delving into and re-telling the story of his parents’ survival during the Holocaust in Poland affected three generations of his family. He has recently completed his play, “All in the Telling”, highlighting the many strands of this story and he will perform excerpts from it. Registration info coming soon.

November 14, 2021, 7pm
Second Generation Program–Keynote Address by Helen Epstein: “The Shadow of the Holocaust on the lives of descendants of survivors – Is it possible to move beyond its grip?”
CHES presents well-known author, journalist, and child of survivors, Helen Epstein. Her published works include the non-fiction trilogy Children of the Holocaust, Where She Came From, and The Long Half-Lives of Love and Trauma. In 2020, she edited and annotated her mother’s 1974 memoir, Franci’s War. Her pioneering work on the inter-generational transmission of trauma paved the way for hundreds of works by second-generation writers, artists, and researchers and has been widely translated. This is a virtual event via Zoom with Advance Registration. In lieu of tickets, a donation of $18 will be gratefully accepted. Registration info coming soon.

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

Chair: Carolyn, president@orh.ca 
Treasurer: Elijah, treasurer@orh.ca
Secretary: Nicola, secretary@orh.ca
Communications: Andrea, communications@orh.ca
Membership: Myrna, membership@orh.ca
Learning: Diana, learning@orh.ca
Ritual/Many Hands: Shira, rituals@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.