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

On Sunday, Dec 10, come on over to the Miles Nadal JCC for a family celebration with activities for ages 0-10, including Maccabee jungle gym, Hanukkah Singalong, holiday crafts and games, face painting, photo booth, your favourite seasonal snacks, and so much more!

Play traditional and creative dreidel games with Racheli Mandelker, Makom’s Director of Youth Education and Programming.

10am-12pm

$10 per person, kids 0-2 free

Advanced registration required:

https://app.amilia.com/store/en/miles-nadal-jcc/shop/activities/4615512

Join us next Saturday at 9:30am for Shabbat morning services and lunch n’ learn.

It’ll be Hanukkah, so we’ll have extra-joyous services with Hallel (special Psalms sung on holidays).

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

And at lunch, visiting scholar Dr. Elliott Malamet will lead us in a fascinating text study and discussion on “The Origins and Economics of Hanukkah Gift Giving.”

Lunch registration required by Thursday, Dec 7. (No need to register for services.)

Thank you to an anonymous donor for sponsoring Dr. Malamet’s talk and to Sunflower Kitchen for donating delicious dips!

Register here:

https://guestlist.co/events/763320

Thursday, Dec 7
6pm – 1am
Doors open at 5:30pm
@Beth Tzedec (map)

Where light and darkness meet, let’s begin Hanukkah together in a community-wide gathering.

Ignite! opens with an intergenerational, songful candle lighting, then breaks into a choose-your-own-adventure of arts-based workshops, performances and Jewish study sessions. See the full schedule with session descriptions here or abridged schedule here. (Among a number of Makom community members leading sessions, I’ll be offering Singing in the Dark, 11:45pm-12:45am.)

Throughout the night, enjoy short concerts inspired by the season’s themes, curated by the Ashkenaz Festival. 

Come early or late; stay a little or the whole time!

Kosher food available for purchase

Adult & Teen Track: suggested $20 per person

Family & Kids’ Track: admission provides access to the inter-generational communal candle lighting at 6pm and to a shorter program (6-8pm) for families with kids ages 5-12, with a light kosher dinner included. $30 per family of up to four people

Register here for family track:

https://bethtzedectoronto.shulcloud.com/form/ignite-tikkun-leil-chanukah-family.html

Register here for adult + teen track:

https://bethtzedectoronto.shulcloud.com/form/ignite-2023