In The Ottawa Community
* = New item this week
Community Events and Announcements
“Life and Death in the Gaza Strip: Reports from the Frontlines.” A presentation by Dr. Tarek Loubani, a Canadian/Palestinian medical doctor, January 14, 2020 at 7pm, First Unitarian Congregation, 30 Cleary Avenue. Dr. Loubani is an emergency physician who regularly volunteers in the Gaza Strip. In this event, he will discuss his experiences on the frontlines delivering healthcare in Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa and on the frontlines of the recent March of Return. Free admission; voluntary contributions gratefully accepted. Sponsored by Amnesty International Canada, the Global Justice Working Group of the First Unitarian Congregation in Ottawa, and the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.
Join J-Fellows! J-Fellows is a leadership development program for young adults created to inspire the emerging generation of community leaders, co-chaired by Arielle Kreisman and Simone Davis. We have assembled an extraordinary line up for J-fellows 2020. Our interactive sessions will provide leadership and professional skill development, as well as opportunities to network and engage in and with the broader Jewish community. Enhance your professional and lay leadership skills, join J-Fellows today!
Sessions are free of charge, with pre-registration required. Session 1 - “Personality Poker”, Wednesday, Jan. 15. Find out more at https://jewishottawa.com/our-community/j-fellows
“More than Just Mosaics: The Ancient Synagogue at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee.” A lecture by Jodi Magness, Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism, Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Sunday, February 23, 2020, 19h00 (7:00pm), SJCC – Social Hall, 21 Nadolny Sachs Pvt.
Ottawa Tour to Israel: Celebrating Women’s Voices, May 17-27, 2020. Join an exceptional group of women on this educational and thought-provoking tour to Israel. Tour covers inspirational speakers on topics such as Ethiopian Jewry, civil rights, and Israeli health innovation. It also includes events with Palestinian Member of Knesset, Aida Touman-Sleeman, and a panel of experts discussing Palestinian and Jewish/Israeli perspectives on political and social issues. We will celebrate Rosh Chodesh with Women of the Wall and among other activities visit a Bedouin Weaving Centre and Dead Sea spa. Eight spaces remain to share in this exciting tour. For the itinerary, please contact: Yaffa Greenbaum at yaffa.greenbaum@gmail.com (613-266-6677) or Paula Agulnik at agulnikpaula@gmail.com (613-298-7520).
Community Opportunities
*Paradigms of Parting: Exploring Jewish Texts About Facing Death — Part of Gamliel Institute's new short course curriculum. Taught by Rabbi Richard Hirsch. Using stories from biblical, rabbinic and hasidic texts, we will explore how biblical heroes, talmudic sages and hasidic masters faced the inevitability of impermanence. In reading the texts, we will look for insights that might be applied to contemporary spiritual practice--and those that might be avoided. Implicit in these stories about the end of life are suggestions about how life is lived most fully in the face of its inevitable end, and insights into how family and friends can provide context, care and compassion that can ease moments of parting. All texts will be available in English. This exciting course starts January 9th. Register at: https://bit.ly/37cIz6t
Daily Dose of Talmud. We want to share a great new Jewish learning resource from myjewishlearning.com. You can sign up here to receive a "daily dose of Talmud" email offering interesting and accessible insights into the first tractate of the Talmud. The project will begin on January 5, 2020, the day that begins the new 7 ½ year cycle of "Daf Yomi" (Daf Yomi is a learning project where people choose to study one page of the Talmud per day). Historically, studying this much Talmud would be inaccessible for all but the most traditionally learned folks (with the most free time), but the entire Babylonian Talmud is now available on Sefaria.org, for free, in clear English translation, with helpful editorial comments. These two resources make learning Talmud more accessible than ever before. This blog post by Nigel Savage , Executive Director of Hazon, gives some great insight what it's like for a Talmud outsider to study this text each day.
