OrH Newsletter

Words of the Spirit
A Prayer for the New Year
(based on a text by Rabbi Dan Wolpe)
 
Mekorenu Eloheynu/Our source, our God,
 
Over the last few months, there has been so much horror. A deep increase in acts of hatred, storms that are flooding and destroying cities and taking human life, fires that are devastating communities in this country, earthquakes, ongoing genocides.
 
We won’t pray for protection, for we know that tragedy hits both the good and the evil.
We won’t pray for miracles, for we believe that WE are the miracles that you send, and that it is up to us to be there for each other, near at hand and from afar.
We won’t ask that you heed our prayers, for our prayers are meant to spur us into action. If we pray for peace, and don’t work for peace, we have not prayed. If we pray for the safety of others but do nothing to insure their safety, we have not prayed. My prayers are worthless without action.
 
We WILL ask for understanding, that we may know the right path and the right actions.
We WILL ask for help to stay strong and be of good courage.
We WILL ask for help in always seeing the good in the world, in holding fast to the belief that all human beings were created in God’s image, and in being the best version of ourselves that we can.
We WILL ask for your inspiration to never lose the conviction that the world can change for the better and that any one of us can be a small part of that change.
 
For these things, Dear God, I will ask of you—not just for myself, but for all of humanity. May we know a year of hope, a year of justice, a year of wholeness.
 
Amen.
 
- Rabbi  Liz

Bookshelves and Storage Bins Needed
If you have any bookshelves or storage bins that you can donate to OrH for the new office, please let us know at info@orh.ca.

Erev Rosh Hashanah Dinner
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7:45 pm, Lorne Mallin is hosting an Erev Rosh Hashanah potluck dinner at his home in Sandy Hill. Please RSVP at lorne.mallin@gmail.com and he will send you food and entry information for Rideau and Cumberland. Lorne is asking for a $5 donation to support the education of five Abayudaya Jewish orphans in Uganda. This event is instead of his third Friday Shabbat dinner.

Seeking Hosts for Shabbat Around the Table
September Shabbat around the table falls at a very special time. It is the ending of Rosh Hashanah, September 22. This is a wonderful opportunity to host at Shabbat dinner, welcoming the new year with apples and honey and community.  If you would like to offer your home for this Shabbat dinner, please contact Jan at jjottawa@hotmail.com.

MHI Seeking Volunteers
OrH is a member organization of the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI), a great organization that provides access to affordable housing in Ottawa. MHI is currently seeking some volunteers for the Property Maintenance Team. The team is comprised of four regular volunteers who assist with various tasks at its three older properties. Two of them were built more than sixty years ago and require frequent work.
 
Two kinds of projects dominate the agenda: the first is to assist the Property Manager by doing various maintenance tasks as required. In this case, the variety of work is immense, from reattaching a door, to repairing a table in a laundry room, to installing polyvinyl on stairs, to repainting a stairwell, etc. This work is mostly done on Thursdays. The second kind of work is the preparation of units for rental when people move out. This is a top priority and all other projects pause to get this work done, as it is always pressing to get the unit ready on time, and to minimize loss of income incurred during the preparation period. This usually entails anywhere between 40 and 80 hours for one unit.
 
The MHI maintenance team largely organizes themselves via e-mail and do not hold meetings, unless it is to assess a particular situation and have a discussion on site about how to go about a particular project. The Property Manager is an amazing person, very experienced, with immense regard for MHI volunteers: he accommodates this team whenever possible.
 
If getting involved actively, using your hands to help provide and maintain affordable housing, appeals to you, please contact Danielle Dugas, Property Maintenance Team Leader at MHI, 613-236-4182, greenblatt.dugas@gmail.com. Projects are ongoing, and volunteers are welcome throughout the year; however, Help is needed especially between October 1-15.

Upcoming Services and Events
 
First Meeting of Machaneh Shabbat
Saturday, September 16, 2017
9:45 AM - 12:45 PM, Room 3, lower level
The first Machaneh Shabbat Camp of 2017-18 takes place Saturday, Sep. 16. Those who are curious and thinking about having your children participate are welcome to drop in and see what it's all about. Enrollment is ongoing. More information can be found on the Machaneh Shabbat page or by contacting educator@orh.ca.
 
Selichot
Saturday, September 16, 2017
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Fellowship Hall of Unitarians
“MOtTs & MOoTs: Jewish observance with members of THE tribe, and members of OTHER tribes." Selichot is the evening service that previews the melodic as well as conceptual themes of the high holy days, and invites us all to enter this period of personal spiritual preparations as a community. We’ll begin our evening with a screening of Jewish-ly inflected episodes of television shows that explore a search for personal, religious and cultural identity. After discussion and refreshments, the brief service that follows foreshadows the music of Yom Kippur, and conclude with the sounding of the shofar. Bring a dessert to share.
 
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Fellowship Hall of Unitarians
We usher in the New Year with a brief service of singing, inspirational messages, and the sweet taste of apples and honey. Full details at https://www.orh.ca/high-holy-day-events.html.
 
Rosh Hashanah morning service
Thursday, September 21, 2017
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM, Worship Hall of Unitarians
Rosh Hashanah morning service with children's activities followed by potluck vegetarian lunch. From 5:30 - 5:45 pm we observe Tashlich, the casting off the crumbs of our wrongdoings into the moving waters, on the west (Glebe) side of the Rideau Canal, just south of Pretoria Bridge. Full details at https://www.orh.ca/high-holy-day-events.html.
 
Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Friday, September 22, 2017
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Room 6, lower level of Unitarians
Full details at https://www.orh.ca/high-holy-day-events.html.

Reconstructionist News
The Reconstructionist community has a new, updated website: Explore Jewishrecon.org, the New Online Home of Reconstructionist Judaism.
 
The September issue of the Reconstructionist Communities newsletter is available now at: http://eepurl.com/c2fX8.

In The Ottawa Community
* = New item this week
 
The New Spice Box: Jewish Canadian Writing Yesterday and Today. The Canadian Jewish Experience and Library and Archives Canada are hosting a literary party with Ruth Panofsky, editor of the newly published anthology,
The New Spice Box: Canadian Jewish Writing and Seymour Mayne, who will speak about Jewish Canadian literature anthologies and how they shaped their own stream in Canadian letters. Readings by Gabriella Goliger and Seymour Mayne from their short fiction included in The New Spice Box. The program will close with a musical tribute to Leonard Cohen by Ottawa's The Tower of Song ensemble led by Jerry Golland. Sunday, September 24 at 7:00 PM, National Library and Archives Canada - Alfred Pellan Room.
 
Reminder: Jewish Federation of Ottawa 2018 Annual Campaign Kickoff takes place on Sunday Sept. 17. The evening event, featuring Hillel Neuer, takes place at the SJCC at 7pm. We urge you to get your tickets as soon as possible by visiting our ticket site here. Mr. Neuer, a Montreal-born lawyer, writer and activist, is the executive director of UN Watch in Geneva. He is recognized as "one of the world's foremost human rights advocates." To learn more about this impressive man, listen to his speeches at the UN and read the article where he credits his Canadian values for helping with his work.
           
A sold-out afternoon family concert featuring family entertainers, Sharon and Bram takes place at Kehillat Beth Israel Synagogue, 1400 Coldrey Ave. at 3pm. We have a waiting list and will do our best to accommodate requests. Please contact Samantha at ssharkey@jewishottawa.com or call 613-798-4696 x241.
Tickets for the afternoon family concert are $10/household, while the evening event is $10/individual or $20/household.
 
The Centre for Holocaust Education and scholarship (CHES) is pleased to invite you to a special program to honour the inauguration of the National Holocaust Monument on Sept 27th at 7:00 pm at Library and Archives Canada. The Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship felt it was important to give people in Ottawa an opportunity to gather following the official inauguration, later that evening, and hear about the monument from the those who were involved in creating it. The public premiere screening of CHES’s survivors testimonials will be part of this event: the two minute testimonial excerpts of Raoul Korngold, a survivor from France, and Kati Morrison, a survivor from Hungary, and the half hour Testimonial film of Tova Clark, a survivor from Germany, will be screened. For more info about this event please visit: https://carleton.ca/ches/events
and see www.ottawajewishbulletin.com/2017/08/special-program-to-honour-inauguration-of-national-holocaust-monument/.


Red House Honey ( www.redhousehoney.ca) in Cardinal, Ontario is now offering special wholesale discounts on bulk purchases of our freshly extracted kosher honey available in cases of 12 jars (250 g) for $7.99 per jar ($95.88 per case—only a limited number is available) or smaller, 140 g jars for $4.99 each ($59.88 per case of 12). The 450 g jars are $12.99 each based on purchase of a case of six. Red House Honey is under the supervision of Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum. They can arrange free delivery to Ottawa to JCC or synagogues for bulk purchases and there is no tax. For more information contact Leslie Smith at leslie@redhousehoney.ca.

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:

Donations toward ongoing congregational operations:

• General donations, which fund programming, rabbinic leadership, and essential administrative costs.
• Donations in honour of, or in memory of, a person or event. All such donations are acknowledged through the Or Haneshamah card program, which sends notices of donation and a personalized message to a designated recipient.

Targeted donations:

• Dedication of ritual objects and books. We are currently seeking donations of $54 for each new copy of our Machzor (high holiday prayer book). Donations will be recognized by bookplates that may be in honour of, or in memory of, a person or event.
• Gita Taub Education Fund, which supports educational programming and access for members who would otherwise be unable to afford participation in Or Haneshamah or other valuable activities. Our present focus for disbursements from the fund is OrH’s new Machaneh Shabbat (Shabbat Camp) for primary school-aged children, which launched in September.
• Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund. Donations that the Rabbi gives to people in need or to support charities the Rabbi deems important.

Please make any of the above donations through the website by clicking on the "Donate" menu item.

Or Haneshamah Endowment Fund

• Established in May 2016, the Endowment Fund is a pool of financial assets that is invested to provide a reliable and ongoing source of income for our community's activities. Annual payouts from the fund go into Or Haneshamah's general revenues. Donations are made through the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation (OJCF) online at www.ojcf.ca or by telephone at 613-798-4696 ext 274.
   

Thank you for your generosity and support of OrH!

Potluck Protocol
Our community’s long time practice is to welcome egg, dairy and fish on the potluck table. Please label your meal contributions with all ingredients to help people with food allergies or sensitivities; also advise kitchen staff whether dish is to be served hot or cold.

Rides to Services and Events
Will you need a ride to services and OrH events? Are you able to offer a ride to services OrH events? We encourage members to be generous with their offers of rides. Please contact  info@orh.ca  with your name and area of the city you are coming from.

Visiting or Studying in Toronto or Montreal?
If you or your children will be in Toronto or Montreal, they are very welcome at our sibling congregations. We have reciprocal memberships with both Darchei Noam (Toronto) and Dorshei Emet (Montreal). Likewise, we welcome their members to our services, programs, and High Holy Day services. For security reasons we ask to call ahead to make arrangements for the High Holy Days.

A Caring Community
Members are encouraged to contact the rabbi or any board member to let us know about your pastoral care needs, or the needs of another member, whether related to a new or an ongoing circumstance. These may include such situations as a pending hospitalization, a change in health, relationship, or employment status, other life transitions, or the death of a loved one. Through knowing what is happening in each other’s lives, we give each other, including our rabbi, the opportunity to perform acts of gemilut hasadim/loving kindness, the hallmark of a caring community.

We Are Listening
How do you feel things are going in our community? Do you have ideas about programs or events that we should pursue? What aspects of Or Haneshamah do you feel are working well, and what do you think can be improved?  In the interest of making OrH the best community that it can be, the board and rabbi invite you to submit comments and feedback at any time. Please send your thoughts to  feedback@orh.ca  or directly to any member of the board (email addresses below).

Board of Directors
President: Paula,  president@orh.ca
Treasurer: Jacob,  treasurer@orh.ca
Education: Heni,  learning@orh.ca
Communications: David,  communications@orh.ca
Secretary: David,  secretary@orh.ca
Membership: Janet,  membership@orh.ca
Member-at-Large: Jean,  member-at-large.jean@orh.ca
Member-at-Large: Jan,  member-at-large.jan@orh.ca
Past President: Mark,  past-president@orh.ca
 
Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton:  rabbi@orh.ca
Members are welcome to contact Rabbi Liz, 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.