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neySHEV Friday Morning Meditation

This is a beautiful way to begin the day. Come sit in a circle of community in stillness and in song.
You are not required to have previous experience in meditation to join this session. If you are completely new to practice, please consider joining the Sunday, four-class series in November for introductory instruction.
Friday mornings, 7:45-8:45
October 5, 12, 26
November 2, 9, 23, 30
December 7, 14
PWYC – Suggested donation $15-$30
Please email if you are attending neySHEV so that we know to expect you: chernick.aviva@gmail.com

SACRED CHANT for the Days of Awe

Thursday, Sep 6
7-8:30pm
@ Makom

$5-20 (sliding scale) at the door

The month of Elul preceding the High Holidays invites us to draw closer to God. Come sing joyful chants and weave together harmonies that will help us notice our connections to each other and the Divine before we enter the introspection of the High Holidays.

All are welcome, no musical or Hebrew experience necessary.

Rachel Brown has offered singing workshops in a variety of settings including Aleph Kallah, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Reclaiming Tradition – a Shabbaton for young Jewish adults. She has offered adult education classes in chanting at Kol Tzedek Synagogue in Philadelphia, where she serves on the board. In 2014 she completed the Kol Zimra Chant Leadership training with Rabbi Shefa Gold.

Co-sponsored by Annex Shul and Danforth Jewish Circle

Makom is Hiring Hebrew Teachers & TAs

Makom Afterschool is an innovative, pluralistic, Hebrew-immersion Jewish after-school program for children in JK through Grade 4. Founded by parents in 2011, Makom Afterschool enables children to attend their local neighbourhood school while gaining high-quality Jewish and Hebrew education and a warm Jewish peer community. We have three sites, at public schools in Kensington Market (College and Spadina), Seaton Village (Bathurst and Bloor), and Hillcrest Village (St. Clair and Christie). 

We are looking for experienced, creative, and energetic teachers for Makom Afterschool for the 2018-2019 school year.

We are looking for Hebrew Immersion Teachers to:

  • Teach children in grades JK through 4 every Monday and Wednesday from September to June
  • Teach Hebrew (literacy and conversation) in an immersive environment (Ivrit B’Ivrit), following a set curriculum with space for individualized planning and approach
  • Teach Hebrew through play-based and experiential models of education
  • Teach Jewish values, culture and traditions in a pluralistic and inclusive fashion

 

Job Requirements

  • Hebrew and English fluency
  • Expertise in one or several of the following: Early Childhood Education, teaching Hebrew as a second language, Experiential and/or Informal Jewish Education, differentiated classrooms or classroom management
  • Experience with classroom teaching, lesson planning, and pedagogy
  • Background in Jewish studies and tradition
  • Strong oral and written communication skills
  • Commitment to children’s social and emotional development
  • Desire to grow and learn professionally
  • Passion for working with children

 

Preferred qualifications

  • Experience with experiential education methods
  • Familiarity with child development, and ability to apply it to lesson planning and instruction
  • Training or experience in the Early Childhood setting
  • Experience with differentiated classroom, teaching multiple ages at once

Hebrew Immersion Teachers teach on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:10-5:40 pm, including picking up students from their local school classrooms, recess, snack time, and 1.5 hours of prepared lesson.  We follow the TDSB school calendar and meet from the second week of school (September 12, 2018) to the second-last week of the public school calendar (June 15,, 2019).

Hebrew Immersion Teachers will be paid $25/hr for 2.5 hours of class plus 1.5 hours of preparation per class ($104/class total). All Makom Afterschool staff members receive 4% vacation pay as well as CPP and EI benefits. All Makom Afterschool staff members are eligible for a 10% end-of-year completion bonus. Makom Afterschool staff members also attend monthly staff meetings for an additional $30/meeting.

Teachers will have access to professional development opportunities throughout the year in the areas of Jewish education, child development & classroom management.

Resumes will be accepted on a rolling basis until positions are filled.

For more information, please visit our website: www.makomafterschool.org

Please submit resumes to familyed@makomTO.org

Sweet, Soulful + Song-Filled High Holiday Services

Join us for Makom’s amazing Rosh Hashanah (Sept 10-11) and Yom Kippur (Sept 18-19) services, family services, childcare, and chanting!

Info and tickets here.  Become a Makom Member first and save even more (10% off) while you help support your downtown Jewish community.

(High Holiday ticket sales help cover the costs of putting on High Holiday services and are fully tax deductible. We don’t want anyone to be unable to attend services due to financial constraints. We offer student/low income tickets; if you need additional financial consideration, please contact Rabbi Aaron in confidence. All are welcome!)

Makom is an inclusive community that welcomes participants who espouse many different approaches to Judaism, from secular to religiously liberal to traditionally observant. In order to join together as one community without regard to denominational labels, our main services blend traditional and progressive practices. We’ll offer men’s, women’s, and mixed-seating sections in our main services; children are welcome in all sections. Both men and women will participate in leading services, reading Torah and haftarah, and being called up for aliyot to the Torah. Family Services are egalitarian with mixed seating.

Services will be led by Rabbi Aaron and special guest prayer leaders, whom we’ll announce soon.

We’re looking forward to an incredible start of 5779 together with you!

Co-presented with Kulanu Toronto and Moishe House Toronto

 

WELCOME, Sarah + Sorel!

We’re thrilled to announce that Makom has hired two fantastic new staff members, who will bring Makom AfterschoolMakom ATID, and Makom Families to new heights!

Sarah Livingston, Director of Family Programming and Afterschool Operations
Sarah is an experienced educator and administrator both within and outside the Jewish community. She holds a Master’s in Canadian Jewish Food History and Bachelor’s degrees in Russian Jewish History and Jewish Studies. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Sarah lives in the East End with her husband Rob, two boys Gavi and Rafi, and their kitty Nermal. She looks forward to meeting you at Makom Families programs. Email Sarah your welcome!

Sorel Goldberg Loeb, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development
Sorel is passionate about teaching Hebrew and Judaism and supporting teachers in their work. She worked with children, families, and teachers of all ages and stages for over twenty years as the Director of Education at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York. She is the author of the teacher resource book Teaching Torah – A Treasury of Insights and Activities. Sorel returned to her hometown of Toronto in 2016 and is excited to be joining the Makom community. Email Sorel your welcome!

TISHAH BE-AV EVE

This Saturday, July 21

10:15pm – Doors Open

10:30 – Services Start
12am – Program Ends
@ Kiever Synagogue – 25 Bellevue Ave
FREE
BRING FOOD or $$ to DONATE + FLASHLIGHTPlease join Makom and the Kiever to 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.)

Please BRING FOOD or CASH for St. Stephen’s Community House Corner Drop-In kitchen, 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.

We’ll pray the brief evening service and listen to the Biblical book of Eikhah/Lamentations, hauntingly chanted by community members. As signs of mourning, it’s customary to sit on the floor of the synagogue with the lights dimmed, so please BRING A FLASHLIGHT. We’ll also sing some songs, kinnot (elegies), and niggunim (wordless melodies).

FYI, Shabbat ends at 9:44pm, but the fast begins Saturday at sunset, 8:52pm, and ends Sunday at nightfall, 9:43pm.

There will be a low partition between women’s and men’s seating for the evening service, which will be removed for Eikhah and the rest of the evening’s program.

Presented in partnership with the Kiever Synagogue

FENTSTER Presents: Every Thread That Binds You

FENTSTER @ Makom

Multidisciplinary artist Jess Riva Cooper combines ceramic sculptures and new large-scale drawings to create a haunting, other-worldly installation.

The work responds to the renowned early 20th century Yiddish play, The Dybbuk by S. An-ski, which popularized Eastern European Jewish folklore of the evil spirit of the dybbuk which enters a living person. In the play, powerful rabbis exorcise the dybbuk, removing a perceived harmful spirit from the body of a bride. In the exhibition, female figures attach benevolent shadow-beings to themselves. The artist depicts sewers stitching protective garments onto their clothing and even their own skin. Through quiet gestures, these women reclaim power denied to the female character in An-ski’s classic drama.
Presented by FENTSTER and the Ashkenaz Festival
More info here

SERVICES w/ Instruments + KIDDUSH

Friday Aug 10
6:45pm 
– Doors Open; 7pm – Services Start
@ Makom
FREE

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

Bring an acoustic instrument if you play one to jam along and elevate our Kabbalat Shabbat prayers.

Please bring a certified kosher food or drink to share for a light kiddush (snacking & schmoozing). 

Technical details:
We’ll use instruments during Kabbalat Shabbat until the final stanza of Lekha Dodi, at which point we’ll stow the instruments, light candles, and bring in Shabbat a cappella before sunset.

Friday Night SERVICES + DINNER

Friday, July 13 & Aug 24
6:45pm 
– Doors Open; 7pm – Services Start
@ Makom  402 College St

$15 for Dinner (only $10 for Makom Members)
Registration Required (for dinner) by TONIGHT!

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.

TORAH STUDY by the Lake

5 Tuesdays, May 22 – June 19
11am – 1pm
65 Harbour Sq (Queen’s Quay W & York St)
$125 for the series

Come learn Torah! In our ongoing, multifaceted study of the Torah, we’ll learn and discuss Devarim (Deuteronomy) chapters 24-28 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.