OrH Newsletter

Biweekly Newsletter

18 January 2022

A Hint of Spring in the Middle of Winter

Spring? How can we be talking about spring underneath all this snow? For those of you who joined our revitalizing Tu Bishvat seder, you may already know where we are headed with this. What a joy to discuss growth, change, rejuvenation and action with you all. Many of us had never attended a Tu Bishvat seder before, and judging by everyone’s faces, we were all enthralled. May we plant our seeds, watch them grow, and remember that this too shall pass. In this newsletter, we discuss our ongoing fundraiser, opportunities to serve on the Board of Directors, and the plethora of amazing events we have coming up. If it has to be virtual, let’s make it great.

Events In Texas

A day of rest was shattered, a sacred space breached. The distance from a small city in Texas to the greater Ottawa area contracted to a space deep in our bones. With blessings of gratitude for the safe release of the hostages comes a profound awareness that our fate, our well-being, is inextricably linked to that of all Jews and humans.

Here are a statement and a resource from Reconstructing Judaism, following Saturday's hostage-taking incident at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas.

Ways to Stay Warm This Winter!

As I write, a snowstorm is blanketing Ottawa. Mid-winter was, paradoxically, a great opportunity to celebrate Tu Bishvat – the birthday of the fruit trees. We immersed ourselves in the fruit of the trees (grapes, dates, nuts) with some agriculturally appropriate songs. 

If you check the orh.ca website on a regular basis, you’ll see lots of activities to keep you warm, engaged, and part of our community. Yes, the activities are via Zoom and there is no shared food (sigh). But we have been so well trained by our Tech Team Coordinator, services and events run smoothly online and are full of opportunities for participation. To join the Tech Team, please contact techteam@orh.ca.

I am really looking forward to the Rituals 101 course being offered by our Rituals Coordinator, supplemented by more traditional ‘fourth Shabbat’ services starting this month. If you are interested in joining that course, please contact rituals@orh.ca. The course has been bumped up to start on January 24, so you still have time to RSVP.
 
The Israel/Palestine speakers’ series, which we are organizing with four other Reconstructionist congregations, got off to a tremendous start this month, with almost 300 people in attendance. The next in the series is on January 26. Congratulations to our Learning Coordinator, who is shepherding this international project as well as some great upcoming Schmooze and Learns (one may be on a musical theme!). If you want to help in organizing a learning event, please contact her at learning@orh.ca.

The Tikkun Olam anti-racism committee of the synagogue is also experiencing a rebirth after several months’ hiatus. They are still planning activities for 2022, and if you want to be involved, please contact the Tikkun Olam committee coordinator monica.rosenthal18@gmail.com.

We continue to work with the First Unitarian congregation on bringing a Syrian refugee family (parents, six children and their grandmother) over to Ottawa. If you click on the new refugee sponsorship button on the orh.ca homepage, you can find out how to help and donate. 

At the Board, January means thinking about renewing our leadership team. Although the majority of us will be starting the second year of our two-year terms in May (assuming we are ratified by you, the congregation at the AGM), we are looking for a Vice-President, a Treasurer and a Many Hands Coordinator for the board, along with assistance with the Hesed Committee, and extra hands with Shabbat (especially when we open up again to in-person services) is always appreciated. Please contact me at president@orh.ca if you want to explore opportunities.

Finally and certainly not least, we have some really exciting long-term plans for rabbinic interns, better signage at the synagogue, new Machaneh Shabbat (children’s programming) materials… all of which would be assisted if you contribute to our annual Fundraising drive! Please contact our Treasurer if you want to know more: treasurer@orh.ca.

OrH Annual Fundraiser

We’ve made it halfway up the mountain; can you help us reach the top? So far we have raised over $17,000, and it has been so exciting watching the needle creep up on our 5782 Annual Campaign donation meter! The funds we raise during our annual fundraising drive go to paying for essential costs and core activities for our community. The more we are able to collect; the more opportunities we can craft for our members throughout the year. We encourage you to give what you can to help us reach our $32,000 goal! Questions? Email our treasurer, who will be happy to assist you.  

From all of us in the Or Haneshamah community, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the following individuals and households who have contributed to our campaign this year. Your support is truly essential and incredibly important to us.

POSTSCRIPT and ACTION FOLLOW-UP to our beautiful Tu Bishvat SEDER
 
Rabbi Arthur Waskow links Tu Bishvat, the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday in the US, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Pesach, drawing on the spiritual energy of the festivals in a Sacred Season from winter to spring. One “species” in this broad “eco-system” is focused on using the Exodus tradition as a sacred vessel to achieve eco-social justice for both specific marginalized neighborhoods and Earth as a whole. Like any species in a larger eco-system, they cooperate with the other forms of lively healing while focusing on their own approach. Suggestions for action and information on how to sign as supporter, and participant at #ExodusAlliance  (#ExodusAlliance vs. Climate Pharaohs:  A Call to Action), and ExodusAlliance.org.

New in Our Service Schedule:

4th Shabbat Morning Services
 
Starting January 29, join Shira as she davens (prays) a traditional Shabbat morning service on Zoom. Traditional but still Reconstructionist, these services will be conducted with more Hebrew and lots of singing. These services will be slightly less interactive and will include less English, but provide a chance to sink into the melodies and prayers and to enjoy the flow of morning blessings, psalms of praise, the Shema and the Amidah. As time and interest permits there will be an informal discussion of the parashah. These services will be listed in our events as we get closer to the date.

Liturgy 101 - A Practical Course
 
What exactly goes on in a Shabbat morning service? What is the structure of the service? What are the essential prayers? This course is for anyone who would like to know more about our Reconstructionist Shabbat liturgy but will be aimed particularly toward those just beginning to explore Jewish liturgy. The course is intended to be practical, enabling people to participate and even lead elements of a service. A familiarity with the Hebrew alphabet is helpful but not necessary. (A free course to learn or review the alphabet can be found here.) The course will include learning melodies, blessings, and essential liturgical terms. Class sessions will be recorded to be posted on the OrH website along with course resources. The course is free to members (with donations suggested and appreciated). Questions and registration: email rituals@orh.ca
 
This class is starting Monday, January 17, 7:30-8:45 PM Zoom (and every other Monday thereafter: January 31, February 14, March 1, March 14 - more dates to be scheduled as needed)

Upcoming Services and Events

Shabbat Limmud -- Parshat Yitro
Saturday, January 22 10:30am to noon
Every year, there are multiple opportunities to hear or study the Ten Commandments. This hints at the many ways of interpreting, understanding, and integrating this text along with all of Torah. This Shabbat Limmud, join Rabbi Liz for a calm and restorative service filled with singing, chanting and reflecting on the inheritance of Torah, and how we perpetually make it our own.
Zoom 

Liturgy 101 - A Practical Course 
Monday, January 24 7:30pm to 8:45pm   
Please RSVP at rituals@orh.ca to receive your link.
 
'We Find Ourselves in Tears': A Conversation About Israel/Palestine with Reconstructionist Rabbinical Students
Wednesday, January 26 8:00pm to 9:30pm
Please register here to participate.

4th Saturday Lay-Led Shabbat Morning Service 
Saturday, January 29 10:30am to 12:00pm 
Zoom 

Liturgy 101 - A Practical Course 
Monday, January 31 7:30pm to 8:45pm
Please RSVP at rituals@orh.ca to receive your link.
 
Tikkun Olam
Tuesday, February 1 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Come join our monthly small group discussions on the complexities of racism.
To register, please contact tikkunolam@orh.ca

Reconstructionist News and Events

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

Kamionkowski Bet Midrash is offering 50% off their online Classic Hebrew Fundamentals course. This class is for folks who can read Hebrew, but who may not understand it. Take advantage of this amazing deal!
The school is also offering a new webinar series which will run for four sessions on Mondays. The series is an introduction to the Book of Exodus as understood by biblical scholars. There are careful readings of the plague narratives, the famous Hollywood splitting of the sea, and more! If you can't make a session, no problem - you can access the recordings. You can sign up for the webinar series here .

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 ​​​​​​​
Interim Member-at-Large: Lyn, lyn@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.