Posted on by Adina in Class, Programs | Comments Off on Weekly Wisdom: Torah for Personal Growth
Tuesdays, April 6 – May 11 8-9pm Free – donations greatly appreciated! Registration Required Zoom link sent upon registration
In preparation for receiving the Torah on Shavuot, let’s work on improving ourselves through ethical and spiritual growth.
Each week, we’ll focus on one piece of the parashah (weekly Torah portion) and through text study and open discussion, we’ll discover positive messages in it that we can apply to our lives.
Everyone is welcome! No commitment; come when you can. No prior Jewish study or Hebrew knowledge required. Automatic Closed Captioning.
Posted on by Adina in Class, Programs | Comments Off on Torah Study: The Kings of Israel
Mondays, March 8 – May 3 (not Mar 29) 10am-12pm $200 for 8 sessions Registration Required
Join us online to learn and discuss the tumultuous period leading up to the Assyrian conquest of Northern Israel from the Biblical Book of Melakhim/Kings from a great variety of perspectives: ancient and modern, traditional and academic, literary and historical, etc. During this series, we’ll study the conclusion of II Kings (chapters 10-25).
No prior Jewish study or Hebrew knowledge required. Contact Rabbi Aaron for more info and to register.
A beautiful way to end your Monday or begin your Friday. Come sit in a circle of community in silence, song and Torah led by meditation teacher, musician and prayer leader Aviva Chernick.
No previous meditation or mindfulness practice necessary. Just come with your curiosity and tender heart. You are welcome just as you are.
Pay What You Can – all are welcome no matter your financial situation Monday sessions: $10 minimum recommended Friday sessions: $20 minimum recommended Canadians: E-transfer to chernick.aviva@gmail.com Outside of Canada: Pay by Paypal here
Thurs, April 1 8-8:30pm Online via Zoom Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117 FREE – donations greatly appreciated!
Let’s come together to memorialize our loved ones who have passed, whether recently or long ago, and all those around the world who have died from COVID-19.
Yizkor is the special memorial service traditionally said on holidays, including the last day of Passover. Since we won’t be able to gather* then, we’ll do so during hol ha-moed – the intermediate days of holiday.
We’ll say short prayers in Hebrew and English, sing, and reflect on lives lost.
ALL are welcome, whether you’re mourning a loved one or not. Please join us.
*We’re not gathering in person due to public health precautions nor online due to traditional restrictions on using electronics on holidays.
Posted on by Adina in holidays | Comments Off on SELL YOUR HAMETZ
Due Thurs, Mar 25 FREE – donations greatly appreciated! Authorization forms: doc or pdf
Traditional Jewish law (Torah – Shemot/Exodus 12:19) forbids not only eating any hametz (leavened grain products) during Passover, but even owning any hametz. 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’d 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 12noon on Thurs, Mar 25.
Or you may mail the completed and signed form to: Rabbi Aaron Levy, 141 Markham St., Toronto, ON M6J 2G4. Mailed forms must reach Rabbi Aaron by Thurs, Mar 25.
Please note that selling hametz is a bit more complicated this year because Shabbat immediately precedes the start of Passover. The sale of hametz will be transacted on Fri, Mar 26 at approximately 6:00pm but will not take effect until Sat, Mar 27 at 12:15pm. It will apply only to hametz that you owned at 6:00pm on Mar 26. Any hametz you acquire after 6:00pm on Mar 26 will not be subject to this sale and must be given away or otherwise disposed of before 12:20pm on Sat, Mar 27.
FYI, the latest time to finish eating hametz on Saturday, March 27 is 11:18am.
There’s 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.
Posted on by Adina in Programs | Comments Off on INTERFAITH COUPLES’ Pre-Passover Gathering
Wed, Mar 24 8-9pm FREE – donations greatly appreciated! Registration Required Zoom link sent upon registration
ALL* interfaith** couples*** are invited for a special pre-Passover gathering. We’ll get to know each other and then learn we’ll about Passover’s liberation story and traditional holiday customs through interactive text study and open discussion.
*LGBTQ and straight couples warmly welcome! **We use the term “interfaith” loosely, to include any couples with one Jewish partner and one partner who isn’t Jewish, whether they’re affiliated with another religion or not. (After all, we don’t usually call Judaism a “faith” either, but it’s common parlance in English.) Of course, interfaith couples who are also intercultural or interracial are most welcome as well! ***One or both partners of interfaith couples are welcome to join us.
Mon, Mar 22 8-8:30pm Online via Zoom Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117 FREE – donations greatly appreciated!
Have a question about what’s kosher for Passover, selling hametz, what to eat on Shabbat immediately before Pesah, what to feed your pets, or anything else Passover related? Log on to ask Rabbi Aaron your questions in an open, non-judgmental forum.
Sun, Mar 21 5:00-6:15pm FREE – donations greatly appreciated! Registration Required Zoom link sent upon registration
Let’s get ready for Pesah/Passover together! Join us for a fun and engaging program for kids in JK through grade 6 (and their parents) to help us prepare our homes, our tables, and our selves for freedom.
If you’re participating in the program, we’d love to give your family a free “Unboxing Jewish” Pesah kit, filled with fantastic materials to make your seders more participatory and meaningful. Supplies are very limited. In addition to registering your family with a “Family Ticket,” please select a “Request Unboxing Jewish Kit” ticket. First come, first served. Pick up your kit this week near Bathurst & Dundas. (If your child is enrolled in Makom Afterschool or ATID this year or was last year, we already delivered a kit to your home!)
In the program, we’ll open our Pesah kits together, learn what to do with all the awesome items in them, play games, and design our own usable seder plates in breakout rooms* by age group.
*We’ve resolved the technical issues with breakout rooms we had on Purim. 😉
Posted on by Adina in Programs | Comments Off on FRI NIGHT SERVICES
Fri, Mar 19 6:30-7:15pm Online via Zoom Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117 FREE – donations greatly appreciated!
We’ll wind down from the week and welcome Shabbat by singing the joyous melodies of Kabbalat Shabbat together as a community and hearing a brief devar Torah.
Just before bringing in Shabbat with the final stanza of Lekha Dodi, we’ll bid each other Shabbat shalom and log off to light candles and start Shabbat the good ol’ unplugged way.
Have your Shabbat candles ready to light. If you have a siddur (prayer book), please use it; we’ll also screen share the prayers.
Posted on by Adina in Class, Programs | Comments Off on ROCK YOUR SEDER: Tips & Tricks
Wed, Mar 17 8-9pm Online via Zoom Meeting ID: 955 4183 9308, Password: 024117 FREE – donations greatly appreciated!
Without the ability to gather with extended family, many of us will find ourselves hosting seder this year. Whether you’re leading for your first or fiftieth time, for your family or just for yourself, gain a better understanding of the seder steps and learn some tips and tricks to make your seder fun and meaningful, for both adults and children. You can do it!
If there are any seder topics that would particularly helpful for you, please email Rabbi Aaron in advance and he’ll aim to cover them. For example:
What was difficult in last year’s seder?
What’s a concern you have with leading a seder?
What’s something you want to understand better about the seder?
