Saturday, November 21 | 7:00 pm – College & Bathurst
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Join us for a fun evening of movies, snacks and hanging out with new and old friends!

We’ll start the evening with Havdalah, the short & sweet ceremony for ending Shabbat. Snacks will be served. Movie TBD based on everyone’s preferences, please let us know if you have any requests or suggestions!

Please register by November 19 at 12noon

High school teens of all Jewish identities are warmly welcome, including interfaith/intercultural and LGBTQ+. No Makom affiliation necessary. Feel free to invite friends!

Please note that this is for high school students only (Grades 9-12), not for parents.

Any questions? Contact Dani Wohl, Youth Programming Coordinator.

Registration

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Saturday, November 21 | 10:30 am – College & Bathurst
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Join us for an upbeat, kid-friendly Shabbat morning family service followed by Shabbat lunch! Services are geared for kids in Grades 1-5 and their parents, 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.

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

Registration required! We have various price options so that finances aren’t an impediment to participation. 

Free if you’re coming just for services and not staying for lunch, but registration’s still required.

Registration deadline: Thursday, November 19

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.

Any questions? Contact Dani Wohl, Youth Programming Coordinator.

Registration

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Sunday, November 15 | 3:00 pm – College & Bathurst
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Join us for a hands-on Jewish experience for families! Hear a story about Shabbat candle-lighting, learn about this tradition, and make your own beautiful beeswax candles.   

This program is geared for kids in JK to grade 5 with their parents, but all families with kids are welcome. 

Please make sure you order a candle set for each child participating. If you would like to make and decorate your own set of candles in addition to your child(ren), make sure to order an additional set for yourself. ‘

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.

Any questions? Contact Dani Wohl, Youth Programming Coordinator.

Registration

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Saturday, November 14 | 7:00 pm – College & Bathurst
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Come sing, learn, and snack at a Melaveh Malkah – literally, escorting out the (Shabbat) queen!

We’ll begin with a musical havdalah to end Shabbat, followed by some spiritual singing, an interactive class taught by visiting scholar Rabbi Deborah Anstandig, and then dessert and schmoozing.

This event is FREE! Please register by November 13 at 12 noon.

Schedule

7:00 pm Doors open
7:15 pm Musical havdalah
7:30 pm Singing
7:45 pm Rabbi Deborah Anstandig teaches on Shipwrecked Rabbis!
8:30 pm Dessert & schmoozing
9:00 pm Lilah tov – good night

Everyone is warmly welcome! No Makom or TPM affiliation necessary.

Shipwrecked Rabbis! What Can We Learn About Survival?

What do we do when the world feels unsteady and so much lies beyond our control? In this class, we’ll explore rabbinic texts and contemporary voices that offer different ways of meeting uncertainty and disruption. Together, we’ll ask what it means to endure difficult moments, where resilience comes from, and whether upheaval can sometimes open up new ways of living.

Rabbi Deborah Anstandig is the Educational Director of Engagement at Pardes, where she began her Jewish education career nearly 20 years ago through the Educators Program and later served as a mentor. She has taught and mentored at SAR High School and The Heschel School in New York City and has participated in fellowships in pedagogy, facilitation, and Jewish learning. Ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew College in 2025, Deborah also served the Kehillath Israel and Temple Emunah communities and completed chaplaincy training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She is a graduate of Yeshiva University, Hebrew College, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Deborah is passionate about teaching Torah that speaks to today’s challenges, including polarization in our communities. She enjoys biking, swimming, Hebrew conversation, and making music with others.

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.

Sponsored by Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism, Toronto Partnership Minyan & The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

Registration

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Thursday, November 12 | 6:00 pm – College & Bathurst
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Join Hativah – Makom’s youth group for Grades 6-8 – fun evening of pizza, a movie, snacks, and hanging out with new and old friends! 

Please register by Thursday, November 12 at 1:00 pm.

Kids in Grades 6-8 of all Jewish identities are warmly welcome, including interfaith/intercultural and LGBTQ+. No Makom affiliation necessary. Feel free to invite friends!

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

Any questions? Contact Dani Wohl, Youth Programming Coordinator.

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.

Registration

The post Nov 12: Grades 6-8 Pizza + Movie Night appeared first on Makom.

Friday, November 6 | 6:00 pm – College & Bathurst
Register now!

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.

Dinner registration required by Wednesday, November 4 at 10am.

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

Become a Makom first and save 10%.

Thank you to Green Economy Law for their generous sponsorship.

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

Services

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. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Registration

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Saturday, October 24 | 9:30 am – College & Bathurst
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Join us for soulful and song-filled Shabbat morning services, followed by a delicious Shabbat lunch and stimulating learning!

Lunch registration required by Thursday, October 22.

Services don’t require registration – no need to register if you’re not staying for lunch!

Become a Makom Member first and save 10%.

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

At lunch, Professor Alan Verskin will lead us in thought-provoking, interactive learning session about “Life and Love in the Medieval Jewish World.”

There was once a Jewish community that saved nearly every piece of paper: love letters, grocery lists, children’s doodles, anxious notes between parents and teachers, as well as all of their sacred books. These papers became known as the Cairo Genizah. Come explore the writings they left us. Step into the everyday lives of Jewish men, women, and children from centuries ago: messy, moving, and startlingly familiar – all in their own words.

Alan Verskin is the Samuel J. Zacks Chair of Jewish History at the University of Toronto. His areas of research include religious, legal, and social history in both Jewish and Islamic contexts, from the middle ages through the nineteenth century. He is particularly interested in travel, translation, and the migration of ideas between religious communities. He is also interested in intellectual responses to religious persecution and minorityhood. What unites and connects all of these areas is an emphasis on paying attention to the first-person stories of those whose perspectives have been marginalized. Read more…

Registration

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The fun of a play date meets meaningful Jewish family education! Join us for a weekly parent/grandparent and tot program for children aged 18 months through three years, focused on Jewish holidays, Shabbat, and Jewish values.

8 Sundays, October 18 – December 6 
10:30-11:30am
Register

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’

The post Oct 18 – Dec 6, Sundays: PJ+ Parent & Tot Program appeared first on Makom.

A time to mourn and a time to dance

—Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 3:4

Please join Makom and Hillel UofT for an evening of mourning and dancing, crying and laughing, as we commemorate the third yahrtzeit (anniversary) of the Simhat Torah/Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel and then celebrate the joyous holiday of Simhat Torah (rejoicing with the Torah upon completing its annual reading).

Due to security measures, everyone must register in advance, even if you’re not participating in the dinner. (The memorial service, services, and hakafot are free, but donations are greatly appreciated.)

Schedule

5:00 pm  Doors open
5:15 pm  Memorial ceremony – prayers, poems & songs to remember the victims of the attack and all those who have died in the ensuing war, and pray for peace
6:00 pm   Festive holiday dinner (catered, kosher & vegan)
7:45 pm   Ma’ariv & Hakafot – evening service + singing & dancing with the Torah
10:15 pm Torah reading & conclusion of service
11:00 pm Goodnight!

Dinner registration required by Wednesday, Sept 30.

Please try to come on time for the memorial service at 5 pm so as not to disrupt the service.

Why are we commemorating Oct 7 on Oct 3?

As a Jewish spiritual community, we mark time based on the Jewish lunar calendar. Therefore, we’ll be ritually commemorating the third  anniversary of the attack on Israel and the start of the ensuing war on 22 Tishrei. This is the date of Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah, the holidays that were suddenly turned from joy to grief and celebration to mourning three years ago. This year, 22 Tishrei falls on October 3. 

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 mixed (all-genders), women’s, and men’s seating sections. Women, men, and non-binary folks may lead parts of services. We’ll have three dancing circles (mixed, women’s & men’s), each with a Torah scroll.

Accessibility Information

Makom and Hillel UofT welcome participants of all abilities. Our venue for this event is fully wheelchair accessible, with an elevator and accessible washrooms. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Registration

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Chill in a sukkah with other downtown Jewish teens! 

Enjoy some pizza and games with new and old friends and learn about the holiday of Sukkot.

Next Thursday, October 1 | 7:30pm
@Kensington Market
This event is FREE! Register by October 1 at noon

Donations are greatly appreciated and help us cover pizza, sukkah rental, staff time, etc.

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

Please note that this is for high school students only (Grades 9-12), not for parents.

Accessibility Information

Makom welcomes participants of all abilities. The sukkah is wheelchair accessible. However, the washroom is down a flight of stairs. If you have an accessibility need or require any accommodations, please reach out to us.

Registration

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