In The Ottawa Community
* = New item this week
Community Events and Announcements
*Erev Pride Shabbat at Temple Israel, Friday, August 16. 6:15 pm Pride Kabbalat Shabbat Service led by Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg and Dara Lithwick. 7:00 pm Potluck Vegetarian Dinner (dairy), rainbow wear is encouraged! Potluck RSVP to Robin Chernick, robin.chernick@gmail.com.
*Screening of The Fruit Machine about the LGBTQ2+ purge in the public service and discussion led by Michelle Douglas, LGBTQ2+ human rights activist and advocate, who successfully sued the Canadian Armed Forces in a landmark 1992 case that ended Canada’s formalized ban on LGBTQ2+ people in the military. Monday August 19 from 7-9 pm at Temple Israel.
*Rainbow Pride Teddy Bear Shabbat featuring Drag Queen Story Hour at Kehillat Beth Israel, August 23, 5:30 - 7 pm. Tots 6 and under and their adults are invited to this very special Teddy Bear Shabbat to celebrate PRIDE! Our special guest and story teller will be Drag Queen Adrianna Expose. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to celebrate love in all families and being the real you! This program is free and open to the community, all are welcome!
Ethiopian Jewish Dinner. Congregation Beit Tikvah will be hosting an incredible Ethiopian Dinner and Showcase on Sunday, August 25 from 6-8pm. Members of Ottawa’s Ethiopian Jewish Community, alongside those from Toronto and Montreal, will be cooking and serving a traditional Kosher Ethiopian dinner for the community. There will be an Ethiopian singer in attendance who will entertain. There will be a special Ethiopian beer brewed just for this event. Tickets are $40/$15 for kids 12 and under. For ticket information, go to cbto.org/dinner or call 613-723-1800. RSVP by August 20.
*Jewish Federation is hosting an event to welcome Jewish
newcomers to Ottawa on August 28. Designed to welcome those who have
relocated or returned to Ottawa, the event will include the newcomers and several community lay leaders who will act as hosts. If you are interested or know someone who might be, please contact Sarah Beutel, sbeutel@jewishottawa.com, by August 19.
*The musical Falsettos is being performed by the the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society, September 4-7 at the Gladstone Theatre. A unique musical that explores modern Jewish identity, Variety describes it as “a masterly feat of comic storytelling and […] visionary musical theater.” Falsettos was recently revived to great acclaim on Broadway in 2016. Entirely sung-through, it features a Jewish family that experiences tumult when Marvin comes out as gay just as he and his wife Trina are starting to obsessively plan their son Jason’s bar mitzvah. Meanwhile, the AIDS crisis is in its infancy. A show about family and acceptance, where love tells a million stories. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.orpheus-theatre.ca/falsettos
*Foundations of Jewish Living, a program of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, starts this September at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre.
The course, Thursday evenings beginning September 12, is specifically designed for parents and provides an opportunity for them to enrich their own Jewish education and learn about Jewish life in the context of parenting.
Drawing on a range of texts - from the Bible to PJ Library books - the program consists of in-person sessions, each focused on themes connected to Jewish holidays or key figures in Jewish life. Course is $150 (subsidies available). Register at meltonschool.org