Event Retrospective: Shavuot 2021/5781 Day of Learning
In 2021/5781, Or Haneshamah held a virtual day of learning to celebrate Erev Shavuot. It was decided that the focus of our self-education this year should be to honour and acknowledge the "mixed multitude" within the Jewish community.
We are now bringing the material involved in this day of learning online, so that you can benefit from it too. Check out the description of events below and learn more about the diversity of Jewish community!
Schedule of Events
Celebrating Our Jewish Mixed Multitude
Took place Erev Shavuot 5781 | May 16, 2021 via Zoom
Read the opening remarks by community member Sarah Waisvisz
Explore a self-study session “Diversity and the erev rav: Torah, Ancestry and Identity”
The liberated folks that left Mitzrayim (Egypt) and made their way to Har Sinai to receive the gift of Torah are given the singular term erev rav, variously translated as: a mixed multitude, a motley throng, various nations, and riffraff. That’s us! We’ll start our day of celebrating our Jewish mixed multitude with an engaging and interactive text study that invites many questions: how was the erev rav understood then, how has the understanding evolved, and how do we claim it for ourselves, our community and the Jewish people this Shavuot of 5781/2021.
Try some of the recipes from the "Beyond Blitzes" cooking session!
A culinary show and tell led by Diana Ralph and featuring the talents of OrH members and friends … and you? Our chefs will cook up a storm and a story or two as we take a culinary journey around the world.
Watch a presentation on "I don’t see colour, and other lies we tell ourselves."
Were you affected by the death of George Floyd? Or maybe you were shocked and saddened by an event that happened right here on our Ottawa doorstep, the death of Abdirahman Abdi? How could these things be happening in the 21st Century in our democracies? The Repairing the World group has spent the pandemic year grappling with the subject of anti black racism: what is the history; what are the psychological underpinnings of bias; what is the situation in Canada; what is structural racism and how does it perpetuate inequality; how are we all individually implicated in systemic racism? It has been a year of self education that we would like to share with our fellow OrH members. We see our anti racism education as a necessary step on the path to antiracism action.
Check out the questions and resources from a panel discussion on "Celebrating Our Jewish Diversity."
Join Sarah Waisvisz for a discussion-- with special guests Sara Yacobi-Harris (No Silence on Race) and Tema Smith (18Doors)-- about intersectionality, race, Jewishness, pride, and resilience. Sara Yacobi-Harris is the founder of No Silence on Race, a group of Jewish-Canadians committed to helping Jewish spaces become anti-racist, equitable, and inclusive. She is an artist, filmmaker, media professional and community organizer. Tema Smith is Director of Professional Development at 18Doors (formerly Interfaith Families) and a columnist at The Forward. She is a writer, diversity advocate, and community builder.
Follow a candle lighting kavanot and concluding ritual on healing and remembrance for Shavuot by Rabbi Liz
Looking for More Diverse Content?
Check out the Anti-Racist Resource Library! A multimedia selection curated by our Repairing the World group.
