Class

Weekly Wisdom: Torah for Personal Growth

Torah scroll text and pointer
Tues, May 25
8-9pm

Free – donations greatly appreciated!
Registration Required
Zoom link sent upon registration
(Sign up once for the whole series; no need to register each week.)
Automatic Closed Captioning

Let’s work on improving ourselves through ethical and spiritual growth.

Each week, we’ll focus on one piece of the parashah (weekly Torah portion) and through text study and open discussion, we’ll discover positive messages in it that we can apply to our lives.

Everyone is welcome!
No commitment; come when you can.
No prior Jewish study or Hebrew knowledge required.

Tikkun Pre-Shavuot: Late-Night Learning Festival

Making It Count


Sat, May 15
9:45pm-12:30am

Online via Zoom or call 647-558-0588
Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Passcode: 024117
FREE – donations greatly appreciated!
Automatic Closed Captioning

As Shabbat ends and Shavuot approaches, join us for a spirited, musical Havdalah followed by insightful and inspiring mini-classes by top teachers from multiple communities.

On this final night of the Omer – the period of counting each day from Passover to Shavuot – we’ll delve into this practice and explore what it means for us to count our days and make them count.

We’re honoured to have five half-hour classes. Join us for as much or as little as you’d like!

9:45pm Havdalah & Counting the Last Day of the Omer
10:00 Dr. Anna Urowitz-Freudenstein – Serach Bat Asher: Every Wo(Man) Counts
10:30 Joshua Schwartz – Literal Creativity: Remaking the World with Letters (& Numbers!)  
11:00 Aaron Rotenberg – Measuring Holiness in Time & Space 
11:30 Rabbi Aaron Levy – Lucky Number 7?
12am Becky Friedman – Va-Yehi Ba-Hatzi ha-Lilah: And It Happened At Midnight  

Presented by Annex Shul, Beth Lida, Eshel Toronto, Makom & Toronto Partnership Minyan

Weekly Wisdom: Torah for Personal Growth

Torah scroll text and pointer
Tuesdays, April 6 – May 11
8-9pm

Free – donations greatly appreciated!
Registration Required
Zoom link sent upon registration

In preparation for receiving the Torah on Shavuot, let’s work on improving ourselves through ethical and spiritual growth.

Each week, we’ll focus on one piece of the parashah (weekly Torah portion) and through text study and open discussion, we’ll discover positive messages in it that we can apply to our lives.

Everyone is welcome!
No commitment; come when you can.
No prior Jewish study or Hebrew knowledge required.
Automatic Closed Captioning.

Torah Study: The Kings of Israel

Traditional Hebrew books
Mondays, March 8 – May 3 (not Mar 29)
10am-12pm
$200 for 8 sessions 
Registration Required

Join us online to learn and discuss the tumultuous period leading up to the Assyrian conquest of Northern Israel from the Biblical Book of Melakhim/Kings from a great variety of perspectives: ancient and modern, traditional and academic, literary and historical, etc.  During this series, we’ll study the conclusion of II Kings (chapters 10-25).

No prior Jewish study or Hebrew knowledge required. Contact Rabbi Aaron for more info and to register.

ASK THE RABBI: Passover Q&A


Mon, Mar 22
8-8:30pm

Online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117
FREE – donations greatly appreciated!

Have a question about what’s kosher for Passover, selling hametz, what to eat on Shabbat immediately before Pesah, what to feed your pets, or anything else Passover related? Log on to ask Rabbi Aaron your questions in an open, non-judgmental forum.

ROCK YOUR SEDER: Tips & Tricks

Wed, Mar 17
8-9pm

Online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117
FREE – donations greatly appreciated!

Without the ability to gather with extended family, many of us will find ourselves hosting seder this year. Whether you’re leading for your first or fiftieth time, for your family or just for yourself, gain a better understanding of the seder steps and learn some tips and tricks to make your seder fun and meaningful, for both adults and children. You can do it!

If there are any seder topics that would particularly helpful for you, please email Rabbi Aaron in advance and he’ll aim to cover them. For example:

  • What was difficult in last year’s seder?
  • What’s a concern you have with leading a seder?
  • What’s something you want to understand better about the seder?

Be Happy, It’s Purim! What If I’m Just Not Feeling It?


Thurs, Feb 18
8-9:30pm

Online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117
FREE – donations greatly appreciated!

This past Shabbat was Rosh Hodesh – the new moon beginning the month of Adar. In the Babylonian Talmud, we learn: מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה – “When Adar enters, we increase in joy.” But what if you’re not feeling so joyous in these pandemic days? How can we navigate the dissonance between how we’re supposed to feel on Purim (and other holidays) and how we actually feel?

Let’s learn and discuss traditional Jewish texts that grapple with this human challenge. We’ll have time both for havruta (small group) study and full group discussion.

Everyone is welcome! No prior Jewish learning experience required.

Canadian REPARATIONS? Jewish Sources


Thurs, Feb 4
8-9:30pm

Online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117
FREE – donations greatly appreciated!

Should Canada pay reparations to descendants of Indigenous and Black enslaved people? We’ll read and discuss primary Jewish texts and consider their lessons for Canada (and by extension, the US) today.

Everyone is welcome! No prior Jewish learning experience required.

VIOLENCE in JEWISH HALLS of POWER


Thurs, Jan 14
8-9pm

Online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117
FREE – donations greatly appreciated!

Let’s learn about incidents when dissent led to Jewish violence in the Temple and the beit midrash (rabbinic study hall). We’ll read and discuss primary sources and consider their lessons in light of Wednesday’s horrific events in the US Capitol.

Everyone is welcome! No prior Jewish learning experience required.

TORAH Study: The KINGS of ISRAEL

Mondays, Jan 4 – Mar 1 (not Feb 15)
10am-12pm
$200 for 8 sessions 
Registration Required

Join us online to learn and discuss the tumultuous period after King Solomon from the Biblical Book of Melakhim/Kings from a great variety of perspectives: ancient and modern, traditional and academic, literary and historical, etc.

No prior Jewish study or Hebrew knowledge required. Contact Rabbi Aaron for more info and to register.