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TISH`AH BE-AV Eve

Monday, July 31
8:30pm – Doors Open
8:45pm sharp – Services Start
10:15pm – Program Ends
@ Kiever Synagogue – 25 Bellevue Ave.
FREE
BRING FOOD TO DONATE + FLASHLIGHT

Please join Makom and the Kiever to usher in Tish`ah 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 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.

We’ll pray the brief evening service and listen to the Biblical book of Eikhah (Lamentations), hauntingly chanted by a number of community members. As signs of mourning, it is 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).

If you’d like to chant a chapter or half-chapter of Eikhah, please contact Rabbi Aaron ASAP.

FYI, the fast begins Monday at sunset, 8:41 pm, and ends Tuesday at nightfall, 9:30 pm.
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.

Intro to TALMUD: Text + Context

6 Tuesdays, July 18-Aug 29 (no class Aug 1) •  10am-12pm • @ 65 Harbour Square (on Queen’s Quay) •  $120 for the series – Register now

While you can’t go to the TO Islands, you can swim in the “Sea of Talmud” right next to the Lake! Through text study, analysis and discussion, we’ll learn a variety of fascinating passages from this core Jewish text with Rabbi Aaron. We’ll also cover the Talmud’s historical context, structure and layout. No experience necessary; sources presented in English and Hebrew/Aramaic. A great way to start understanding what Talmud is and how it works!

Questions or want to register? Contact Rabbi Aaron.


 

FENTSTER presents – Jeremiah: ha’aretz

May 25 – August 29, 2017

Opening Event  Wednesday, June 7  @ Makom 7 – 9  PM FREE

 

Established Toronto artist Simon Glass creates an installation for FENTSTER featuring new work, exhibited publicly for the first time. Transcribing golden Hebrew letters for the word “ha’aretz” (the land) onto vintage airplane doors, Glass suggests a bird’s-eye view, reinterpreting the bleak and barren landscape described by the Biblical prophet Jeremiah as filled with the potential for healing. www.fentster.org

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

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

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.

Sell Your Hametz before Passover

Traditional Jewish law (see Exodus 12:19) forbids owning any hametz (leavened foods) during Passover. While it’s ideal to consume or donate (e.g., to a soup kitchen) all hametz prior to the morning before Passover starts, rabbinic tradition allows for the sale of hametz to a non-Jew, even while it remains on your premises.

If you would like to sell your hametz through Makom, please complete and sign the linked form (in either doc or pdf format), scan it, and email it to aaron@makomTO.org by 9:00am on Friday, April 7.

Or you may mail the completed and signed form to: Makom, 402 College St., Toronto, ON M5T 1S8. Mailed forms must reach Makom by Thursday, April 6.

There is no fee for this service.  Donations to Makom are appreciated (minimum suggested donation of $18). You may donate online or mail a cheque along with your form.

Hag kasher ve-sameiah – wishing you a happy and kosher Passover!

Bar/Bat-Mitzvah Interest Meeting for Parents

Parents of children currently in grades 4-7 are invited to meet with Rabbi Aaron and Rabbi Emma to discuss the formation of a Makom bar/bat-mitzvah program beginning in Sept 2017. We’ll hear your ideas and interests and present our initial vision for multi-year programs of Jewish learning and experiences working toward individualized bar/bat-mitzvah ceremonies.

Tuesday, Jan 17 | 8-9pm | Makom – 402 College St
Please RSVP to Anya. Questions? Contact Rabbi Aaron.


Makom Families Havdallah

havdalah

Please join us for a family oriented Havdallah experience! Learn about the symbols of Havdallah with Rabbi Aaron Levy and Rabbi Emma Gottlieb, our new Director of Education and Family Programming. A great opportunity for parents and children to spend time together, do some parallel learning, and a chance for those who haven’t yet met Rabbi Emma to do so! January 21, 6:30pm at Makom, 402 College St.