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Friday Night SERVICES + DINNER

6pm – Doors Open; 6:15 – Services Start
@ Makom  402 College St
$10 for Dinner (only $5 for Makom Members)
Registration Required

 

Dinner Dates:

 JAN 26 | FEB 23 | MAR 23 | APR 27 | MAY 25 | JUN 22 | JUL 27 | AUG 24

 

Celebrate Shabbat with spirit! Wind down from the week and welcome Shabbat with soulful, song-filled services, in which everyone can participate.

After services, we’ll enjoy a delicious, catered vegan Shabbat dinner together. Very limited space; register now.

Makom is a proud participant in the Synagogue Vegan Challenge, in which the Shamayim V’Aretz Institute for Animal Welfare and VegFund are subsidizing our all-vegan food for 5778.

Makom is a diverse and inclusive community that welcomes participants who espouse many different approaches to Judaism, from secular to traditionally observant. In order to join together as one community without regard to denominational labels, our services blend traditional and progressive practices. Both women and men lead different parts of services. We offer men’s, women’s, and mixed-seating sections. We need an egalitarian minyan of 10 Jews in the room + a non-overlapping traditional minyan of 10 men in the men’s section to start the maariv service, so we encourage you to come on time.

Hope to see you there!


 

NEYSHEV: Meditation w/ Aviva Chernick

Friday, May 26 • 7:45-8:45am @ Makom

Neyshev. Let’s sit. Chanting, meditation instruction and sitting. Everyone is welcome. No previous experience necessary. Led by meditation teacher, musician and prayer leader Aviva Chernick.

Please arrive before 7:45 to set up. There are chairs for sitting. Feel free to bring a cushion for the floor.

Pay What You Can • RSVP required

Downtown Tikkun Leil Shavuot: All-Night Jewish Learning Festival

Tuesday, May 30 • 8pm-8:30am • @ Miles Nadal JCC – 750 Spadina Ave • FREE • Register

sign that says "where sinai meets spadina" Where Sinai meets Spadina: a full night of community, study, singing, snacking and more! Over 50 sessions reinterpret and reimagine traditional Jewish texts and open up new community conversations. Special programs for kids and teens. Come for the cheesecake. Stay for the learning. All are welcome!

Main (Adult) Program: 8:00 PM – 8:30 AM Doors open at 7:30 PM  

From 8:00 PM onward, you can choose from over 50 sessions that reinterpret and reimagine traditional Jewish texts and open up new community conversations.

Shavuot Groove: 7:30 PM – 12:00 AM • (For kids ages 5-11)

Come in PJs and stay up late! Let your parents learn while you play! Drop-off starts at 7:30 PM and kids are welcome to join throughout the program. Info about the kids’ program: anniem@mnjcc.org | 416-924-6211 x388.

Pre-Teen and Teen Programs: 7:30 PM – 12:00 AM

Hang out @ the J – Shavuot Style! Pre-teens and teens have separate programs this year! Hang out in a program tailor-made for you.

Call for Volunteers

We’re looking for outgoing people to greet participants; as well as kitchen helpers to set up and clean up snack service as we go through the night. Volunteer duties will be scheduled in shifts so you’ll still have a chance to learn in sessions. Please contact Deanna Di Lello to sign up at deannad@mnjcc.org. Volunteers are encouraged to attend a Volunteer Orientation Session: Monday May 15th, 7:00pm – 8:30pm.

Programs are free, registration requested

Co-sponsored with Miles Nadal JCCAnnex ShulAssociation for Canadian Jewish Studies
Base TorontoBeach Hebrew InstituteCity Shul, Congregation Beth TorahCongregation Darchei NoamCongregation Shir LibeynuDanforth Jewish CircleDowntown Jewish Community School,
First Narayever CongregationHabonim Dror and Camp Gesher, Hashomer Hatzair and Camp ShomriaHoly Blossom TempleJewish Family and ChildKensington Torah CircleLimmud TorontoMakom: Creative Downtown JudaismOraynu: Congregation for Humanistic JudaismPaul Penna Downtown Jewish Day SchoolUJA’s Committee for Yiddish


 

At the Mountain: Shavuot MINDFULNESS RETREAT

Sunday, May 28 • 9am-noon • @ Makom – 402 College St • $35-$50 sliding scale • Register by May 20

Join musician, prayer leader, and meditation teacher Aviva Chernick in this morning of spiritual preparation for the upcoming festival of revelation, of receiving Torah.

Come together for a practice of silence and song, a time for reflection and learning. All are welcome!

Registration by email confirmed with e-transfer to chernick.aviva@gmail.com by May 20.


 

Friday Night Services + Kiddush

Friday, May 19 • 6:30pm – Doors open • 6:45 – Services start @ Makom

Wind down from the week and welcome Shabbat with soulful, song-filled services, in which everyone can participate.  Please bring a certified kosher food or drink to share for a light kiddush (snacking & schmoozing).

Future Friday night services: June 9, 23

Makom is a diverse and inclusive community that welcomes participants who espouse many different approaches to Judaism, from secular to traditionally observant. In order to join together as one community without regard to denominational labels, our services blend traditional and progressive practices. We need a minyan of 10 women + 10 men to start the ma`ariv service, so we encourage you to come on time. Both women and men lead services and there is a low partition between women’s and men’s seating. Upon advance request, we’ll gladly set up a section for gender non-conforming individuals. Children are welcome in all sections.


 

NEYSHEV: Meditation with Aviva Chernick

Fridays, May 19, 26 • 7:45-8:45am @ Makom

Neyshev. Let’s sit. Chanting, meditation instruction and sitting. Everyone is welcome. No previous experience necessary. Led by meditation teacher, musician and prayer leader Aviva Chernick.

Please arrive before 7:45 to set up. There are chairs for sitting. Feel free to bring a cushion for the floor.

Pay What You Can • RSVP required

RABBI ON THE GANGES: Judaism & Hinduism in Conversation with Visiting Scholar Rabbi Alan Brill, Ph.D.

Wednesday, May 17 • 7:30-9pm @ Makom – 402 College St • Suggested contribution $10-$20 • Registration required  

Hinduism and Judaism tend to misunderstand each other and their living realities. Exploring meditation, rituals, purity, and text study, we’ll discover the importance of asking the proper questions and using an appropriate lens. That which is first seen as completely foreign can be appreciated on its own terms, in turn creating a space for a shared spiritual language of understanding.

Rabbi Alan Brill is the Chair for Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University, where he teaches Jewish studies in the graduate program. Professor Brill is the author of He is the author of Thinking God: The Mysticism of Rabbi Zadok of Lublin (2002), Judaism and Other Religions: Models Of Understanding (2010), and Judaism and World Religions (2012), and is active in the Jewish interfaith encounter with Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus.

Please register to attend the talk


 

Now Hiring: Admin & Marketing Coordinator

Are you great at marketing and social media, organizing, event planning, and office admin? Want to work at a dynamic and friendly small org? If so, apply now to be Makom’s next Administrative and Marketing Coordinator.

See the job description and application instructions here. Apply ASAP.

LAG BA-OMER Bonfire + Picnic

Sunday, May 14  • 4:30-9pm  • @ Dovercourt Park (btw Ossington & Dufferin, Bloor & Dupont)  • $5/person or $10/family

Celebrate Lag ba-Omer – the joyous 33rd day of the journey from Passover to Shavuot! – with a campfire, picnic, and s’mores in the park.

All ages! Stories and games for kids on the early side; music, singing, and hanging out into the night for adults on the later side.

4:30-5:30   Kids play on the playground; adults hang out
5:30-6:00   Stories + games for kids
6:00-6:30   Picnic dinner (Bring Your Own Picnic)
6:30-9:00   Bonfire, s’mores, music & singing

Bring:

  • Your picnic dinner + everything you need to eat it (e.g., utensils, cups, etc.)
  • Acoustic instruments
  • $5/person or $10/family to help cover costs of park permit, s’mores, etc.

BAR/BAT-MITZVAH Info Night

Wednesday, May 3 •  8-9pm @ Makom – 402 College St

This coming fall, Makom will launch the next stage in our educational offerings: Makom Afterschool ATID (Future)!

Parents of children currently in grades 4-7 are invited to hear Rabbi Aaron and Rabbi Emma present the updated plan for multi-year programs of Jewish learning and experiences working toward individualized bar/bat-mitzvah ceremonies. (Even if you attended the general interest meeting in January, you should attend this meeting to learn program details.)

Please RSVP to Anya. Questions? Contact Rabbi Aaron.