Families with kids! Join us for a taste of Tu bi-Shvat – the Jewish New Year for Trees – with snacks, songs, and a craft.

Geared for kids in JK-Grade 5, but all families with children are welcome.

Schedule

1:30  Learn about Tu bi-Shvat and enjoy some snacks

2:00  Make your own bird feeder

2:30  Sing Tu bi-Shvat-inspired songs

3:00  Lehitra’ot ~a goodbye

This program is specifically for families with children.

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

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

Register here:

https://guestlist.co/events/767649

Join Downtown Jewish Teens for a winter hike at the Scarborough Bluffs!

Exam season is almost over! Get outdoors for a good, healthy, and fun post-exam celebration or study break with new and old friends.

It’s an easy hike on a hiking trail (unpaved). With the lake on one side and Scarborough Bluffs on the other, it’s a gorgeous change of scenery! No roads or buildings in sight, just lake views and nature.

Meet at Bathurst Station @ 1pm sharp!

Bring your Presto or money for round-trip on TTC.

Hike 2-4pm

We’ll back at Bathurst Station at 5pm.

If you want to meet us at the trailhead (start of hike), check that box when you register and be at 9 Ravine Drive at 2pm.

*High school kids of all Jewish identities are warmly welcome, including from interfaith/intercultural families and LGBTQ+.  No Makom affiliation necessary.

Please note that this hike is for high school students (grades 9-12) only.

Register here:

https://guestlist.co/events/767397

Kids in grades 6-8 are invited to hang out with other Jewish middle school students, watch a fun movie, enjoy popcorn and hot chocolate, and participate in havdalah this Saturday night, 7:30-10pm.

Have fun this Saturday night with other Jewish middle school students!

Join Hativah – our new youth group for grades 6-8 – to watch a movie and enjoy snacks with new and old friends!

We’ll start with Havdalah (the sweet, brief blessings to end Shabbat) at 7:30, followed by hot cocoa, popcorn, and a fun movie! (The kids will choose from a variety of movies together.)

Wear something cozy; bring a pillow and/or blanket.

Feel free to invite friends!

*Middle school kids of all Jewish identities are warmly welcome, including from interfaith/intercultural families and LGBTQ+.  No Makom affiliation necessary.

Please note that this is for middle school students (grades 6-8) only, not for parents.

Register here:

https://guestlist.co/events/767631

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

Celebrate Shabbat Shirah with gorgeous singing in the dark!

Shabbat Shirah – literally, the Shabbat of Song – is the Shabbat on which we read from the Torah of our ancestors’ spontaneous singing after fleeing Egypt and safely crossing through the Sea of Reeds.

Let’s mark this special Shabbat with a contemplative and harmonious seudah shelishit – third meal of Shabbat – focused more on the soul than the body.

We’ll begin by mindfully eating some fruit (allowing the tastes of Tu bi-Shvat to linger from earlier in the week) and drinking tea.

Inspired by an Izhbitz hasidic custom for Shabbat afternoon, as practiced by the Yakar community in Jerusalem, as the sun sets and room darkens, we’ll immerse ourselves in beautiful and powerful niggunim – wordless melodies. We’ll sing together in the darkness and allow the notes to linger in the silence after we sing. During this time, there will be no speaking.

We’ll conclude our experience with a musical havdalah – the short, sweet blessings for ending Shabbat.

Everyone is welcome! You don’t need to know any tunes; you’ll learn them through repetition.

Please try to arrive on time so as not to disrupt the flow of the program.

Register here:

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 kosher vegan Shabbat dinner and each other’s warm company.

Become a Makom Member first and save 10%.

Dinner registration required by Thursday, Jan 18 at 9am.

No need to register if you’re coming just for services and not staying for dinner.

Please try to come on time for services at 6pm.

Because sunset is at 5:10pm, we won’t be lighting candles together.

Thank you to Green Economy Law for their generous sponsorship!

Services

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 offer men’s, women’s, and mixed (all-genders) seating sections. Women, men, and non-binary folks 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. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Looking for something to do with your toddler on the weekend? 
PJ Plus: Parent/Tot Program

PJ Plus is an 8-10 week program where children aged 1.5 through 3 years and their parents (or grandparents) participate in a fun and meaningful program with a specially designed curriculum based on PJ Library books! It focuses on Jewish holidays, Shabbat, Israel, and Jewish values. Several locations, dates, and times available throughout the GTA!

PJ Plus builds on the overwhelming success of PJ Library, using PJ Library books as a springboard to develop engaging and inspiring weekly classes for parents or grandparents and their tots. It’s where the fun of a play date meets the value of Jewish family education. 

• Interactive PJ story circle time
• Arts and crafts
• Music and movin’
• Snack and schmoozin’

Parents are their children’s most powerful Jewish teachers. When you learn with your children, you are a model for lifelong Jewish learning.

Got kids? Join us and other families for upbeat, abridged Shabbat morning family services, followed by Shabbat lunch!

Services are geared for kids in grades 1-5, but all families with kids are welcome.

Services are egalitarian with mixed seating, and will include prayers, songs, a Torah story, and discussion to meaningfully engage adults and children together.

Services will be led by Makom’s Director of Youth Education & Programming, Racheli Mandelker, and Rabbi Aaron.

At lunch, we’ll enjoy a  home-cooked, delicious vegan & kosher meal together.

Lunch registration required! We have various price options so that finances aren’t an impediment to anyone’s participation. Registration deadline: Thursday, January 11.

Become a Makom Member first to save 10%.

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.

Amid the ongoing challenges in Israel and Gaza, it’s natural to feel engulfed by the tides of uncertainty and distress. It’s okay to acknowledge being overwhelmed and vital to reach out for communal strength.

Please join us for a workshop on the journey from helplessness to helpfulness, with therapist and grief counselor Aviv Bialy. Together, let’s weave a tapestry of support and collective resilience during this difficult time.

This workshop is a confluence of shared experiences, solace in unity, and an oasis of grounding practices. As someone navigating these turbulent times, Aviv has sought to create a haven for us all to find a semblance of peace and uncover our strength, together.

Registration deadline: Sunday, Dec 17

Please note: to maintain an intimate setting, we’re welcoming up to 10 participants.

Aviv Bialy is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and Grief Therapist at Andrea Warnick Consulting. Her connections to Israel are deep and personal. She created this workshop in order to help herself, and others, re-discover personal resilience in challenging times.

Accessibility Information

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

Join Hativah – our new youth group for grades 6-8 – for a fun Hanukkah party!

Celebrate the last night of Hanukkah with new and old friends.

Light Hanukkah candles and sing some Hanukkah songs at 6pm outdoors on the sidewalk in front of Makom. Then, hang out inside with other Jewish* middle school students while enjoying latkes with toppings, hot chocolate, snacks, music, and games.

Feel free to invite friends!

*Middle school kids of all Jewish identities are warmly welcome, including from interfaith/intercultural families and LGBTQ+.  No Makom affiliation necessary.

Please note that this is for middle school students (grades 6-8) only, not for parents.

Register here:

https://guestlist.co/events/763779

High school students: click here for the Teens’ Hanukkah Party.

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

Join other Jewish* high school teens for a chill Hanukkah party on the fifth night of Hanukkah – Monday, Dec 11, 6-8pm.

Light Hanukkah candles and sing some Hanukkah songs at 6pm outdoors on the sidewalk in front of Makom.

Then, hang out inside while enjoying latkes with toppings, hot chocolate, snacks, music, and games in the warm company of new and old friends.

Feel free to invite friends and JSAs!

Register here:

https://guestlist.co/events/763770