OrH Newsletter

Biweekly Newsletter

10 January 2023

A Fresh Start

2023 is here! We hope you were able to enjoy a bit of time off last month - personally, we are still trying to work our way through our remaining piles of gelt. There are some great events happening in January, including another fabulous Freylekh Friday this coming Shabbat. Also, we are looking for folks who can help leyn or lead services later this year…  and we are happy to teach you the ropes! Details are below.

Freylekh Friday Returns

Our new venture Freylekh Friday has been met with great enthusiasm from the congregation - thank you for making it a success! We continue this tradition in 2023 with our usual lineup of Teddy Bear Shabbat, a potluck Shabbat meal, a musical Kabbalat Shabbat, and then a talk from a guest speaker.

We are excited to share that our guest speaker this week is none other than Or Haneshamah President Carolyn Whitzman. Carolyn will be discussing her forthcoming book “Clara at the Door with a Revolver: the scandalous Black suspect, the exemplary white son, and the murder that shocked Toronto.”  Please remember to register for Freylekh Friday, and note that there is a separate registration for Teddy Bear Shabbat here. See you Friday!

Do you know of a great speaker for our Freylekh Fridays? Drop us a line and let us know!

Getting Involved in Services

As you know, we are a congregation that thrives on community involvement. We are looking for some volunteers to either leyn or help lead part of a service between now and June. Rabbi Liz will be taking a study leave later this year and we want to plan in advance. If this interests you, or if you want to learn to leyn / lead services, email Shira at rituals@orh.ca. 

Portraits of Or Haneshamah

We are very happy to share the news that the photobook “Outside: Portraits of Or Haneshamah” is finally complete! Members Gary and Deborah started working on this project in 2020 and kept at it. A digital version can be viewed here.

Gary and Deborah are thrilled to release this community portrait, and we at OrH want to thank them immensely for creating such a vibrant work of art. What a thrill. 

More info will be shared in the coming weeks about holding a proper celebration for this accomplishment! Yasher Koach, Gary and Deborah.

Cleary Avenue Detour

Effective Monday November 21st, 2022, visitors and congregants will use the new detour for Cleary Avenue to enter 30 Cleary. The new entrance is through the parking lot of Kristy’s Restaurant. Please drive slowly and pay attention to new detour signage. The construction will include signage, a pedestrian walkway from the detour intersection to Unitarian House, and a traffic light at Richmond Road. The detour will be in place until September 2024 as part of the O-Train construction.

Over the two year detour period, you'll be able to find updates about the detour and related construction impacts here.

Reminder About Masking

Due to increased hospitalizations, please note that mask use is mandatory in all indoor synagogue events, including services, small group interactions and other congregational activities.

Exceptions only surround food and drink, and children under five years. Eating and drinking should be done at a set time, preferably in an alternative space. We are also continuing to encourage people to wear an N95 mask where possible and to ensure that the mask is properly fitted and completely covers your nose and mouth.

It is our job as a congregation to protect all people who enter our doors and masking has proven to be the safest way to interact in large and small groups alike. Thank you for your continued support and participation in this matter.

Upcoming Services and Events

Tuesday Night Shirah Ruach Music Circle
Every Tuesday from 7:00 - 8:30pm
Join us in Room 5 (30 Cleary Ave) for informal liturgical music making. It's a chance to learn and practice melodies for our Shabbat and festival services, to build our harmonizing muscles, and to enjoy some musical company. No Hebrew or music reading skills required. Questions? rituals@orh.ca

Freylekh Friday
Friday, January 13
In person, 30 Cleary Room 5
Teddy Bear Shabbat at 5:30 pm
Potluck Shabbat Dinner at 6:30 pm 
Musical Kabbalat Shabbat at 7:30 pm (available via Zoom as well)
Guest Speaker Carolyn Whitzman at 8:15 pm (available via Zoom as well)
Register to attend
 
Shabbat Morning Service
Saturday, January 21, 10 am - noon

Reconstructionist News and Events
* Indicates new this week

Reckoning Together: A Reconstructionist Pilgrimage Towards Racial Justice
Thurs, Mar. 16 - Sun, Mar. 19
This spring, Reconstructionists from all across the movement will make a pilgrimage to the  National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, and we want you to journey with us. Learn more and REGISTER NOW! 

*Learning opportunity:
Join us on Zoom for a 10-week course entitled “A History of Palestine and Israel,” taught by Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus at Stanford University. The course will be held on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Each class is 90 minutes. This will be an opportunity to grapple with the history, engage with difficult ideas, and process complex questions in a respectful environment. 
Before retiring in 2019, Joel taught Middle East history for 35 years at Stanford University. He is one of the organizers of the “Reconstructionist Expanding Our Conversation on Israel-Palestine” and is a member of Havurah Shalom in Portland. He has taught versions of this class several times in congregations in Portland. 
Registration is required. The course fee is sliding scale $36-$72 for the series. Please be in touch if you need scholarship money. 

Community Events

Upcoming courses of the Gamliel Institute (https://kavodvnichum.org/):
From Dust to Dust: a retreat exploring Jewish end-of-life rituals in partnership with Moishe House for participants aged 21-32, taking place the weekend of January 27-29th near Baltimore.
If you would like more information on these courses before signing up, please message info@orh.ca and we would be happy to help you.

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: Ben, treasurer@orh.ca
Secretary: Nicola, secretary@orh.ca
Communications: Andrea, communications@orh.ca
Membership: Myrna, membership@orh.ca
Many Hands Coordinator: Caroline, caroline@orh.ca
Interim Member-at-large: Sarah, sarah@orh.ca  
Interim Member-at-large: Gabrielle, gabrielle@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.