Makom

Makom is a joyous, grassroots, downtown community, building traditional and progressive Jewish life in Toronto. We are creating an inclusive and diverse space, committed to Jewish learning, arts and culture, spirited prayer and ritual, and social and environmental activism.

We meet every-other week at The Kiever Shul (25 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto) to welcome Shabbat with soulful and song-filled Friday night services. Both men and women participate in leading services and there is a low curtain between women’s and men’s seating. All are invited & children are welcome.  Come as you are. That is, no need to dress up and jeans are acceptable. We require a minyan of 10 women + 10 men to start the ma’ariv service on Fridays, so we ask that you please come on time.

For details and dates, please see our events calendar.

Most recent shabbat service

Our Shabbat services and potluck picnic dinner in the park on August 20 was full of delicious food and wonderful people. It was amazing to see so many people together in a circle in the park and to welcome strangers who came across our picnic.  Thank you to Rabbi Miriam Margles and Aviva Chernick for co-leading the service with Rabbi Levy.

Community Conversations

Thank you to everyone who participated in Makom’s Community Conversation. It was the first of many. Watch our website or the mailing list to learn the dates of the next sessions.

High holidays

Makom will not be offering high holiday services this year but if you if you email us we would be happy to recommend services to you.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, peaceful and sweet New Year!

-The Makom leadership team: Aaron, Adam, Andrea, Miriam, Sarah, Ruth, Tema and Felicia.

Upcoming events:

Makom Goes to the Ashkenaz Festival

Saturday September 4 – Monday September 6 at Harbourfront Centre

Every two years, downtown TO is blessed with an amazing infusion of Jewish music, theatre, art, dance, film, literature, and celebration in the form of the Ashkenaz Festival!  We’ll meet-up as a community for lots of FREE concerts and participatory experiences over the course of the festival.  Join us for as much or as little as you’d like.  (Check out the outstanding ticketed concerts, too.)

Here’s Makom’s Ashkenaz schedule:

Saturday September 4

• 9pm @ Redpath Stage – Huge, outdoor Havdallah; meet at the front left of the stage
• 10pm @ Miss Lou’s Room – Creative, musical Slichot service led by Makom’s own Aviva Chernick
• 11pm @ Lakeside Terrace – Sephardic & Mizrachi Cabaret, featuring Yair Dalal

Sunday September 5

• 7pm @ East side of Ann Tindal Park – Potluck Picnic Dinner on the grass & listen to The Other Europeans
• 8pm @ Sirius Stage – Divahn + Yair Dalal, traditional & original Persian & Middle Eastern songs
• 9:30pm @ Sirius Stage – Balkan Beat Box, electro-folk & Mediterranean funk
• 11pm @ Brigantine Room – The Sway Machinery, underground cantorial rock & Jewish afrobeat

Monday September 6

• 3pm @ Redpath Stage – Makom Drummers Kick Off the Ashkenaz Parade!

Known for our rhythmic davening and plethora of percussionists, Makom has been invited to perform in the opening of the Ashkenaz Parade a massive spectacle of music, people, and puppets. Everyone is invited to bring a drum or shaker that you can play while walking; we need a lot of sound to lay down the beat for the parade. We’ll rehearse briefly at 3, the parade gathers at 3:30, and we’ll play at 4. If you can participate, please email us immediately and specify what kind of drum you’ll be playing. If you don’t drum, come out to support your drumming friends!

• 5pm @ Sirius Stage – Kaba Horo, Bulgarian gypsy funk
• 6:30pm @ Studio Theatre – The Socalled Movie, Montreal’s Yiddish hip-hop madman DJ Socalled
• 7:30pm @ Sirius Stage – Best of the Fest Finale, performance by headline artists + massive jam session

Stay tuned for more information about where else you’ll find us during the festival or join our mailing list.

Friday September 10, 6pm @ HTO Park West on the Lake (375 Queens Quay West, just east of Spadina)

Makom will gather for a spiritual Tashlikh service where we’ll sing, reflect, and symbolically cast away our sins into Lake Ontario.  Following Tashlikh, we’ll welcome the first Shabbat of the New Year with our joyous services, right at the water’s edge.

Pickling 101
Wednesday September 15, 7pm
141 Markham St. | $25

Learn how to preserve the summer’s fresh, local produce and make your own pickled products such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickled beans.

Space is limited; pre-registration and payment are required to confirm your spot. Register for this workshop. See here for info on multi-session discounts. For more info or to request financial accommodation: 416-805-8382 or email Risa Strauss.

Presented in partnership with Kavanah Garden as part of the Jewish Urban Homesteading Workshop Series.

Coming soon

Exciting things are afoot for Makom in the Jewish new year, 5771!

Watch for the unveiling of our new logo, new ideas that emerged from our first community conversation, additional community conversations, and more!