In The Ottawa Community
* = New item this week
Community Events and Announcements
* Hillel Lodge 10th Annual Biking for Bubbies, Sunday, September 16. The 10th Annual Biking for Bubbies event supports the 121 residents who call Hillel Lodge their home. This 36km bike event (with a 1km walk for those who do not bike) includes family of current and past residents of the Lodge as well as caring members of the greater Jewish and Ottawa community. Contact Mitch Miller at 613-728-3990 or mmiller@hillel-ltc.com, or visit https://www.hillel-ltc.com/.
* Flim: 1945. The Hungarian film “1945” opens on a very specific date: August 12, 1945. The war in Europe is over. In a small Hungarian town, a train pulls in, and two Orthodox Jews, carrying cases labelled as perfumes and cosmetics, step onto the platform. Word of their arrival quickly spreads: the Jews have returned. But are these silent emissaries out for revenge, looking to resettle or just passing through? Filmed starkly in black-and-white, this award-winning movie from Hungarian director Ferenec Török is a trenchant examination of what happens in the wake of genocide, to survivors, witnesses and those who merely stood and watched. “1945” plays at the Bytowne Cinema, 325 Rideau Street, on Fri. Sept 21 at 9:10 p.m.; Saturday Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.; Sunday Sept. 23 at 4:20 p.m.; and Monday Sept. 24 at 6:55 p.m. Running length is 91 minutes, with English sub-titles.
* Ottawa Jewish Chorus Open House, Thursday, September 27
1:30 - 3 pm at the SJCC, 21 Nadolny Sachs Pvt. Join Ottawa soprano Rachel Eugster and keyboard accompanist Aviva Lightstone for this exciting new ensemble dedicated to the exploration and performance of Jewish choral music (Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino), pop, classical, contemporary, gospel and world music. Contact Roslyn Wollock at rwollock@jccottawa.com.
* Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship (CHES)
Shoah Survivors and 2nd and 3rd generation gathering during Sukkot. Thursday, September 27, 12 - 2 pm. In the traditional custom of Sukkot hospitality, CHES will host its first luncheon to honour local Holocaust survivors and provide an opportunity for survivors and members of the 2nd and 3rd generation to meet. RSVP required by Sept 20th to aiyehsr@gmail.com or 613-619-5846.
Learn to Read Hebrew. Have you always wanted to learn to read Hebrew? Now is your chance! Join Rabbi Deborah Zuker for a 6-week crash course in Hebrew reading. Designed for beginners with no previous knowledge of Hebrew, this course will walk you through each of the letters and vowels, and develop your ability to successfully read and decode Hebrew. Meetings will be Tuesday mornings, October 9th through November 13th, 9:30-10:30am at Kehillat Beth Israel. Cost: $18 for Hebrew workbook. To register or for more information, please e-mail Rabbi Zuker at rabbizuker@kehillatbethisrael.com. Registration deadline is August 31st; the course will only take place with minimum of 8 students, so if you are interested please be in touch soon.
Community Opportunities
Jr. High Our Whole Lives (OWL) Parent Info Session (note new date). Our friends of at First Unitarians have brought this important session to our attention, It is highly recommended by Rabbi Liz: Parents are invited to come learn more about the Sexuality Education opportunity available at First Unitarian this year! OWL for 12-14 year olds is a comprehensive and progressive sexuality education program that models and teaches caring, compassion, respect, and justice. Come learn more about this holistic program, meet some of this year’s facilitators, and find out if OWL is right for your family this year!
Parent info session: September 9th, 2018 12:30pm in Room 2, Unitarians. Orientation and Program Opening Weekend: September 30th, 2018. Registration coming soon. Contact ourwholelives.ottawa@gmail.com with any questions!
The Gamliel Institute has announced a new course being offered this October. It is the Nechamah course (“Comfort” – both of the sick and of mourners), which is Course #4 in the series. The class begins on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 and meets on Tuesdays for 12 weeks, with the last class on December 25. You can sign up at: http://www.jewish-funerals.org/gamreg.
The goal of the course is to provide practical skills for some of the more difficult situations we encounter in our Chevrah Kadisha work. For example, we have a session for practical skills for nichum aveilim (comforting mourners) and bikkur cholim (visiting the sick). Other topics discussed include “aging Jewishly,” challenging situations, and some issues around cremation. We will discuss how we relate to families, and how we use prayer and song in the work of comforting. The practical facets of advance directives and organ donation are covered. One of the most important elements of our Nechamah course is the opportunity for each student to examine his/her feelings and ideas about death, and to share them with other students. Our work with our Chevrah Kadisha groups will have more meaning, and will be more effective, if we have come to terms with our personal mindsets about death.