OrH Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter

14 January 2020

Words of the Spirit
 
To Repair the World, One Spark at a Time
 
Vehayyei olam nat’a betochenu   … letaken ‘olam bemalkhut shaddai -  endless potential lies within us to repair the world through the power of malkhut.
 
These phrases are embedded in each and every prayer service, in the words of the Aleynu prayer.
 
We don’t just say it, we sing Aleynu – it is up to us, through malkhut – sovereignty.
 
It was during her interpretive message on the Rosh Hashanah theme of Malkhut, shared with Halina Siedlikowski, that Monica Rosenthal issued a called to social action to members of ORH.
 
Up to us, it is, Yoda might say.
 
And yet. So many factors interfere, intervene, forestall us, side-track us. Feelings, questions, other important internal communal priorities. And then: if we do this [tackle one, enormous, pressing issue], what about that one? And then: can we really make a difference?
 
This is a both/and moment, if there ever was one. And there have been both/and moments endlessly.
 
Among the soundtracks of my adolescence (lots of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms mixed with the Beatles and the folk singers) was this little ditty – along with every other number from the musical Hair, which premiered on Broadway in 1968 – that begins: “Welcome sulfur dioxide, Hello carbon monoxide, The air, the air is everywhere.”
 
It served as a great companion piece to Tom Lehrer's Pollution, from 1960: “… don’t drink the water, and don’t breath the air.”
 
As it was then, so it is now: large, pressing issues, discussed, debated, investigated, perpetuated. Wet’suwet’en territory in BC. A BMO branch in downtown Vancouver. A kosher supermarket in Jersey City and rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York.  Australia.
 
Systemic injustice for our Indigenous communities. The burning, burning world. Dangerous expressions
of antisemitism and attacks on many other communities linked by inter-connected strands of hate-
fueled ideas.
 
And it’s all connected.
 
When ORH members met earlier this month, guided in reflection by Ken Victor, to identify issues, and priorities, it wasn’t necessarily to determine what we would do, but what we cared most about, in Ken’s words: what keeps you up at night?

Our passions will fuel our effectiveness in learning, standing together, effecting change. Spiritual communities, synagogues and havurot of all shapes and sizes have, over the years, the decades and the centuries, centered the call to repair the world.

We know, are aware, of so much brokenness, and many of us individually feel deeply that it connects to our own ancestral experiences of injustice. Some of you have said this is what inspired you to take on some of the activities we have already been doing as a community, such as supporting a Syrian refugee family through the Shalom Group or being active with the Multifaith Housing Initiative. Now as a community, we are preparing to address how we might engage more in tikkun olam, how we might respond to the call to repair the world.
 
There is not one Jewish moment – or one human moment – that does not present the opportunity for elevating the sparks of creation. The mystics of Safed imagined that each act of hesed/loving kindness, each mitzvah, entailed picking up a piece of the broken vessel that was the shattering of matter at the beginning of Creation. I can think of no greater act of hesed this week than to express condolences to your Iranian neighbours, coworkers, or the coworkers or family members of those whose loved ones perished on a flight from Tehran to Toronto, via Kyiv.
 
I leave you with some songs for a shared soundtrack, beginning with a folk anthem from Holly Near:
 
There is hurting in my family
There is sorrow in my town
There is panic in the nation
There is wailing the whole world round, But
I am open and I am willing
To be hopeless would seem so strange
It dishonors those who go before us
So lift me up to the light of change
 
and ending with the song Olam Hesed Yibaneh we sang at the end of our meeting, composed by Rabbi Menahem Creditor:
 
I will build this world from love … and you must build this world from love … and if we build this world from love … then God will build this world from love.
 
- Rabbi Liz

Shabbat Limmud

Join us this Saturday January 18 at 9:45 am in the NOW Room for our first Shabbat Limmud (Shabbat of Learning) of 2020.

The book of Exodus begins with a difficult and dangerous political climate that causes challenge and creates change for our ancestors’ families. Jewish families today and formed, and thrive, in an atmosphere that still can challenge their origins. Families formed by intermarriage, adoption, and through a range of partnership models are an extension of the “Tzipporah Model” – Moshe’s wife, Tzipporah, was a daughter of a Midianite priest, and Moshe himself was adopted and brought up by a pharaoh’s daughter

Tefilat Shirah – opening and closing segments of joyous song and contemplative prayer, rooted in the deep structure of the Shabbat morning service

Text Study and Discussion – exploring the legacy of Moshe’s adoption and the contemporary experiences of families formed intentionally across biological, racial, and ethnic boundaries through a close reading of biblical and contemporary texts.

We’ll conclude with song and our usual communal pot luck.

Or Haneshamah presents:

ART and THEATRE, in CONVERSATION

Catch an exclusive conversation between Ottawa Art Gallery senior curator Michelle Gewurtz and playwright Sarah Waisvisz as they discuss the love, activism, and artistic practices of Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe, French-Jewish artists whose artistic innovations, anti-Nazi resistance during WW2, and queerness are often ignored. Better known by their noms de plume as Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, the two continue to inspire as models of commitment, passion, and justice. Gewurtz and Waisvisz will discuss how they themselves have been inspired by Cahun and Moore to pursue innovative work of their own—including Gewurtz’s new exhibit and Waisvisz’s new play, both about them, both on now at Ottawa’s Arts Court.
 
Art and Theatre, in Conversation: Featuring Michelle Gewurtz and Sarah Waisvisz
Thursday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Temple Israel, 1301 Prince of Wales Drive
Hosted by Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg of Temple Israel
Moderated by Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton of Or Haneshamah
 
To learn more about Cahun and Moore and their artistic achievements, come to Ottawa’s Arts Court this winter:
 
Facing Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, an exhibit of the startling photographic and collage work of Cahun and Moore with responses by contemporary artists:
https://oaggao.ca/facing-claude-cahun-marcel-moore
at The Ottawa Art Gallery until February 9th. 

Heartlines
a new play by Sarah Waisvisz that explores the resistance work and love story of Cahun and Moore. At Arts Court Theatre as part of the undercurrents festival:
https://undercurrentsfestival.ca/shows/heartlines-2/ 
[February 6th, 8th, and 9th, with a talkback following the February 9th performance]

Upcoming Services and Events

Limmud Shabbat
Saturday, January 18, 2020
9:45 AM - 12:15 PM, NOW Room

Roots and Reflections
Sunday, January 19, 2020
9:45 - 11:30am, member's home, RSVP to mindfulness@orh.ca

Art and Theatre, in Conversation
Thursday, January 23, 2020
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM, Temple Israel, 1301 Prince of Wales Drive
 
Bar Mitzvah/Shabbat Morning Torah Service
Saturday, February 1, 2020
9:45 am - 12:15 pm, Worship Hall/Fellowship Hall, Unitarians.

Reconstructionist News

The latest issue of Reconstructionism Today can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/vavswtl . The archive of back issues is available at: https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/article/newsletter-archive

Learn to Read Hebrew in Two Weeks. Tamar Kamionkowski, professor of Bible at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, is offering a FREE online Hebrew course: you will learn how to pronounce every Hebrew letter and vowel. By the end of the course you will be reading from the prayer book and the Bible in Hebrew! Devote 10 minutes three days a week and you'll be able to sound out any Hebrew word in two weeks. Visit https://kamionkowski-bet-midrash.teachable.com/p/the-hebrew-alphabet-and-how-to-read

In The Ottawa Community
* = New item this week
 
Community Events and Announcements

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

*Musica Ebraica Choir Concert, January 19, 2:30 - 4:30 pm. Musica Ebraica Choir sings Jewish music — 500 years of folklore, psalms and musical magic, including Mendelssohn, Gershwin, and Persian songs performed by our conductor, Saeideh Rajabzadeh. Tickets at eventbrite.ca/e/83697217631 or at the door. Regular admission: $20; Students, and children 12 and under: $10; Visit: musicaebraica.ca
Kehillat Beth Israel, 1400 Coldrey Ave. Contact Toby Yan at 613-224-4560 or tobyyan@rogers.com

*International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 7- 8:30 pm. Join the community at the Library Archives Canada to hear keynote speaker Pinchas Gutter, the first Holocaust survivor to be immortalized in an interactive three-dimensional projection in the USC Shoah Foundation’s New Dimensions in Testimony. Admission is free, however kindly RSVP as places are limited. Library of Archives Canada
395 Wellington St., RSVP: https://holocaust-holocauste.eventbrite.ca. More info contact Carol at cfaucher@cija.ca
 
*Mitzvah Day, February 2, 8:30 - 12 pm. Join Jewish Federation of Ottawa for a day of doing good together! Mitzvah Day is about teaching our children, and experiencing for ourselves, the value and importance of one person helping another. It is about hands-on Judaism and making our community better together! This year, there are more than 12 family-fun activities that highlight the theme of "Better Together" and explore the mitzvot of helping the sick and hungry, passing on Jewish traditions, Jewish learning, and more. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Anne Read at 613-798-4696 x 355, Contact Tanya Poirier at 613-798-4696 x241, Register by visiting MitzvahDayOttawa.com
 
*Soloway JCC Winter Israeli Film Series
Film series with short talk by Orly Erlich, Consul at the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa and Ohad Kaynar, Charge d’affaires, Deputy Head of Mission.
January 16: Turn left at the end of the world
February 19: Zero Motivation
March 19: Peace after Marriage
Doors open at 6:40
Sponsor: Vered Israel Cultural and Educational Program, SJCC, The Embassy of Israel, CICF
Soloway JCC, 21 Nadolny Sachs Pvt.

“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.

*International Women's Day Celebration Party, March 7, 7 pm, SJCC, 21 Nadolny Sachs Pvt. The first annual party bringing together Israeli and Jewish women of the Ottawa community to celebrate International Women’s Day! A fun evening of dancing, delicious Israeli food, drinks and lots of great entertainment. You won’t want to miss this party of the year - Israeli style!  Tickets are $50 each and are limited – for more info or to buy tickets via etransfer contact Israeliwomeninottawa@gmail.com.  

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

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.

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.

Wearing of Scented Products
Out of concern for our fellow members and guests who have chemical sensitivities, and out of respect for the commitment of the First Unitarian Congregation to ensure that the space we share be fragrance-free, the Board respectfully requests that OrH members and visitors refrain as much as possible from wearing scented products, such as perfume, cologne, and hair or body sprays, at OrH services, events and activities. We appreciate your attention to this issue and for supporting our commitment to be an inclusive and welcoming community.

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.

Board of Directors

January Board Chair: Ari, treasurer@orh.ca

Treasurer: Ari, treasurer@orh.ca
Secretary: Joanie, secretary@orh.ca
Communications: David, communications@orh.ca
Membership: Barbara, membership@orh.ca
Member-at-Large: Sharon, member-at-large.sharon@orh.ca
 Member-at-Large: Timna, member.at.large-timna@orh.ca

Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton: rabbi@orh.ca
OrH 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.