Programs

Jan 19 – Weaving Stories, Weaving Warmth

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Family stories weave us all together…let’s weave warmth for those in need while we share our stories with each other. Grandparents are the foundation-builders in our families. Their experiences are threads that help us to weave our own personal stories.

Sunday, January 19
4pm – 6pm
@ Makom (map)
Register here

For this unique event, we’re extending a special invitation to grandparents, parents, and pre-teens/teens to come together at Makom to share family history and family stories while we craft fleece blankets for those in need on Toronto’s streets this winter.

All supplies will be provided, and no sewing experience is required. We’ll enjoy some delicious snacks while we work and chat.

We hope that you’ll join us for this informal afternoon of connection and tikkun olam as we partner with Ve’ahavta, a humanitarian Jewish organization, to make and distribute the blankets to the Toronto community.

Please note that you and your friends are warmly welcome, even if you’re attending without family members. 


*Students in grades 6-8 and high-school teens of all Jewish identities are warmly welcome, including from interfaith/intercultural families and LGBTQ+.  No Makom affiliation necessary.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Register now

Accessibility Information

Makom welcomes participants of all abilities. Makom’s main space is wheelchair accessible; unfortunately, the washroom and playroom are not. There are wheelchair accessible washrooms one block away at the coffee shop at the corner of Bathurst and College. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Any Qs? Please contact Sarah English, Director of Education and Youth Programs.

Jan 19 – Family Tree with You and Me!

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Calling all grandparents, parents, and kids! Join us for an intergenerational afternoon of meaningful fun as we build family trees and share stories.

Sunday, January 19
1:30pm – 3:00pm
@ Makom (map)
Register here

Our family histories are what link all of the generations of our families together, and all of the Jewish people as a whole. Understanding where we come from is a hugely important part of our personal stories. Grandparents build the foundations of our families and help us to understand what makes us…us!

Grandparents, parents, and kids are invited to build kid-friendly family trees. We’ll also be sharing family stories, with a special focus on the experiences that our parents and grandparents have to share, and enjoying snacks as we chat.

This event is Geared for kids in JK through grade 5; younger siblings are welcome.  This is designed to give grandparents, parents, and kids a chance to do a hands-on activity and talk together (not a drop-off program).

We hope that you’ll join us for this wonderful opportunity to pass on family wisdom and a sense of connection to each other.

Register now

Accessibility Information

Makom welcomes participants of all abilities. Makom’s main space is wheelchair accessible; unfortunately, the washroom and playroom are not. There are wheelchair accessible washrooms one block away at the coffee shop at the corner of Bathurst and College. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Any Qs? Please contact Sarah English, Director of Education and Youth Programs.

Sep 13: Friday Night Services + Shabbat Dinner

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Orange Hebrew letters on a white background spelling the words Shabbat Shalom. The letters look like a worn block print, and faint purple outlines and scribbles are visible beneath the orange letters.

Wind down from the week with us! Everyone can participate in welcoming Shabbat with soulful, song-filled services. Afterwards we’ll enjoy a delicious kosher vegan Shabbat dinner, and each other’s warm company.

Friday September 13
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
@Makom (map)
Please register for dinner by Thursday, September 12. There’s no need to register if you’re coming just for services. [Note: Dinner reservations are sold out!]

Shabbat dinner is generously sponsored by Harry Koster and Murray Newman in honour of the 18th yahrtzeit of Harry’s late mother and Tamar Goldberg’s great aunt, Shoshana bat Hinda u-Tzvi, yehi zikhrah barukh – may her memory be a blessing.

Services

Please try to come on time for services at 7:00. Those who wish may light candles upon arrival until 7:30.

Makom is a diverse and inclusive community that welcomes participants with many different approaches to Judaism, from secular to traditionally observant. Our services blend traditional and progressive practices, so our community can join together without regard to denominational labels. 

We offer men’s, women’s, and mixed (all-genders) seating sections. All genders may lead parts of services. We need an egalitarian minyan of 10 Jews and a non-overlapping traditional minyan of 10 men to start the maariv service, so we encourage you to come on time.

Accessibility Information

Makom welcomes participants of all abilities. Makom’s main space is wheelchair accessible; unfortunately, the washroom and playroom are not. There are wheelchair accessible washrooms one block away. at the coffee shop on the corner of Bathurst and College. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Become a Makom Member first and save 10%.

Register for Shabbat Dinner

Aug 17: Shabbat Morning Services + Lunch

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Saturday August 17
9:30am – 2:30pm
@Makom (map)
Register for lunch by Thursday, Aug 15

Join us for soulful and song-filled Shabbat morning services, followed by delicious Shabbat lunch!

Supervised childcare will be provided in Makom’s playroom during services.

Lunch registration required; services don’t require registration.

We have various price options so that finances aren’t an impediment to anyone’s participation.

Become a Makom Member first and save 10%.

Please try to come on time so we can start services strong with a double minyan,* especially for anyone saying kaddish.

Register for Shabbat Lunch

Aug 12: Tishah be-Av Evening Services and Eikhah Reading

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Monday August 12
8:30 – 10:00pm
@Makom (map)
Bring Food or $$ to Donate + Flashlight
No registration required

Please join us for a powerful, contemplative evening marking historical Jewish loss and ongoing brokenness in the world as we usher in Tishah be-Av, the ninth day of the lunar month of Av. This date marks the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history. It is traditionally observed with fasting, refraining from wearing leather, and other mourning customs. (For more background, see here.)

We’ll pray the brief evening service and listen to the Biblical book of Eikhah/Lamentations, hauntingly chanted by community members. We’ll also sing somber songs; read kinnot (elegies) for ancient calamities, the Holocaust, and October 7; and chant niggunim (wordless melodies). 

As signs of mourning, it’s customary to sit on the floor of the synagogue with the lights dimmed, so please bring a flashlight. 

Please BRING FOOD or CASH for our neighbours at Fort York Food Bank, in keeping with the spirit of Isaiah 58:6-7, “This is the fast I desire… It is to share your bread with the hungry.” Fresh produce, grains, and canned or boxed foods are all welcome, as are cash donations.

Doors open at 8:30pm; services begin promptly at 8:45.

FYI, the fast begins Monday at sunset,8:24pm, and ends Tuesday at nightfall, 9:11pm.

Nov 14 – Dec 17: House of Searching: the Downtown Beit Midrash

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Please join us for House of Searching: The Downtown Beit Midrash!

Learn Torah together in an open and supportive environment.

Every Tuesday until December 17
7:00 Soup & Socializing
7:30-9:00 Learning
@Makom (map)
Free
Register now

It’s not a class, but a weekly space for you to:

  • Enjoy soup and socializing 7:00-7:30pm
  • Choose a Jewish text that interests you – we have a wide variety, from weekly Torah portion to ethics, mysticism to law, and much more; or bring your own book
  • Find a havruta (study partner) – come with a friend or we’ll help pair you with someone with a similar interest as you
  • Sit and learn together – read aloud, ask each other questions, discuss, debate, and reflect

While Rabbi Aaron won’t be formally teaching, he’ll be your Torah concierge to help you pick a text that works for you, find a havruta, get started, and navigate any difficulties you encounter.

Everyone is welcome, no matter your Jewish learning background!

And of course, LGBTQ+ folks, interfaith couples, and people from interfaith backgrounds are always absolutely welcome.

Learning Torah is fun! We really hope you’ll join us for it.

Register Now!

What’s a Beit Midrash?

Beit Midrash is usually translated as House of Study, a place in which people come together to learn, discuss, and debate Jewish texts of all sorts. But the root of the word “midrash” means searching. When we study Torah, we’re not just trying to comprehend it intellectually, but seeking meaning from it to apply in our lives. Hence, House of Searching.

Why is this important?

As Rabbi Aaron spoke about on Rosh Hashanah, it’s the Torah that gives meaning and substance to being Jewish.

Torah literally means “teaching,” so it refers not only to the Torah itself (the 5 Books of Moses), but to any Jewish teaching. There are so many ways to learn Torah, whether by reading the parashah (weekly Torah portion), studying the rabbinic debates of the Mishnah and Talmud, examining halakhah (Jewish law), delving into kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), and on and on.

Torah can enlighten us.  It can teach us our people’s stories, about Jewish ritual and ethics, the world, each other, God, even ourselves.

Torah – in its fullest sense – is so vast and varied, there’s definitely something that’s just right for you to learn.

Who is this for?

Torah is for all of us! It’s not some secret knowledge just for certain people. As the Torah says about itself: כִּי־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ – “This thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart” (see Devarim 30:11-14). House of Searching is intended for all adults; high school teens are also welcome.

How are we funding this?

Thank you to a generous, anonymous donor for partially sponsoring House of Searching and to Sunflower Kitchen for donating large amounts of soup.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available; please connect with Rabbi Aaron if you’re interested in supporting this program in general or for a particular week, perhaps in honour or memory of someone or to mark a special occasion. 

Donations are tremendously helpful and greatly appreciated; if you’re able, please contribute.

Donate Now

Nov 5: Yahad/Together: Adults & Teens’ Campfire, Song Circle & S’mores

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In these difficult times, many of us could use an opportunity to gather with others to be in community, sing, and enjoy the fall together.

Please join us for a campfire, s’mores, and song circle.

Accompanied by guitar, we’ll sing English and Hebrew songs of peace, togetherness, and comfort.

B.Y.O. Water Bottle

Schedule

5:00  Singing
5:30  Roasting marshmallows, making & eating s’mores
6:00  More singing
6:30  Lehitra’ot ~ goodbye

This program is intended for adults and teens. Families are invited to bring their kids to our family-focused campfire earlier in the afternoon.

Everyone is welcome, including LGBTQ+ folks & interfaith/intercultural couples.

Any Qs? Email Rabbi Aaron.

Register Now!

Nov 5: Families’ Campfire, Song Circle & S’mores

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Sunday, Nov 5
3:00-4:30pm
@Christie Pits Park (map)
Registration Required by Wednesday, Nov 1

In these difficult times, many families could use an opportunity to gather with other Jewish families to be in community, sing, and enjoy the fall together.

Please join us for a campfire, s’mores, and song circle. Accompanied by guitar, we’ll sing English and Hebrew songs of peace, togetherness, and comfort.

B.Y.O. Water Bottle

This program is specifically for families with children. We have a separate campfire for adults and teens later in the afternoon.

All families with kids are welcome, including LGBTQ+ & interfaith/intercultural families.

Any Qs? Email Racheli Mandelker, Makom’s Director of Youth Education & Programming.

Presented by Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism & Families @ the J

Register Now!

Oct 29: FENTSTER: Fringes Kumzitz & Exhibition Event

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Sunday, Oct 29
3:30-5:30pm
@Makom (map)
No registration required

You’re invited to a sing-along and ceremony expanding on Fringes – the beautiful and evocative current installation in FENTSTER (the art gallery in Makom’s front window).

We’ve reimagined the afternoon of welcoming the debut presentation of Fringes as a “kumzitz” (literally, “come sit”) – a chance to pull up a seat and join in song. Taking up a classic benei mitzvah tradition, there will also be a candle lighting ceremony with three generations of women in the artist’s family, inviting all gathered to reflect on and honour their journeys of feeling in-between. More info here.

Oct 21: Shabbat Morning Services + Lunch ‘n’ Learn

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Join us for soulful and song-filled Shabbat morning services,followed by Shabbat lunch and learning!

Saturday October 21 
9:30am-1pm
@Makom (map)
Various price options available so finances aren’t an impediment to anyone’s participation.
Services do not require registration.

We’ll hear the Torah reading of parashat Noah, which includes the flood story and tower of Babel. We’ll also say prayers for those killed and wounded in Israel and Gaza, for the safe return of the captives, for Israel, and for peace.

Supervised childcare will be provided in Makom’s playroom during services.

Lunch registration required! We have various price options so that finances aren’t an impediment to anyone’s participation.

Become a Makom Member first and save 10%.

Services don’t require registration.

At lunch, we’ll enjoy a  catered, delicious vegan & kosher meal together.

Please come on time so we can start services strong with a double minyan,* especially for anyone saying kaddish.

*As a diverse and inclusive Jewish community, Makom has mens’, womens’, and all-genders’ seating sections. Female, male, and gender non-binary Jews can lead parts of services, read and be called up to the Torah, and count in our double minyanim of both 10 Jewish men and 10 Jews regardless of gender. Makom services follow the traditional Ashkenazi liturgy (prayer text).

Makom welcomes participants of all abilities. Makom’s main space is wheelchair accessible; unfortunately, the washroom and playroom are not. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Register for Shabbat Lunch
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