TRAGEDY AT PITTSBURGH'S SYNAGOGUE
Dear Shir Libeynu Community,
At times when violence and tragedy affect our midst, we as Jews of all denominations and backgrounds unite and identify as "k'lal yisrael" (literally the whole Jewish community). We stand in unity and solidarity with our people to condemn anti-Semitism in all its manifestations. We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the Tree of Life synagogue. May the future bring peace and understanding to our world.
-Rabbi Aviva Goldberg
Join us this Saturday morning as we gather in solidarity and remembrance (see below).
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UPCOMING SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
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Shabbat Morning Service
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC) Chapel and Rm. 318, 3rd floor
Saturday, November 3, 2018
10:30 a.m.
Rabbi Goldberg will lead, with Paula Wolfson as cantorial soloist. We thank Jamie Flagal for chanting the Torah portion.
This week at service, we welcome a representative from JIAS (Jewish Immigrant Aid Society) who will talk with us about our shul's support in the settlement of a refugee escaping homophobia, who is now in Ghana. He will be arriving in Canada soon. The JIAS rep will let us know more about his situation, and his hope of connecting to Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities here. (This was planned in advance of the Pittsburgh tragedy, and that synagogue's participation with the HIAS refugee initiatives in the U.S. JIAS is the Canadian counterpart of HIAS; here is our opportunity to show solidarity with these organizations, and support for the important work they do.)
Children are welcome in the chapel, and/or for those ages three to six there is also childcare down the hall.
Prior to the service, we are providing a meditation program for further support and comfort in the wake of the Pittsburgh tragedy. It begins at 9:45 a.m. in Room 318.
More information.
A kiddish lunch will follow the service.
We thank Amy Matchen and Mark Fine for sponsoring the kiddish in honour of their second wedding anniversary.
**Please Note: the kiddish will be served until 1:00 p.m.only, at which point we will transform the room for the HEW program that follows. There will then be ongoing coffee and tea service that all attendees can enjoy.
In the wake of the unspeakable events that befell Pittsburgh's Jewish community this past Shabbat, Shir Libeynu member Lorne Blumer will be leading a meditation prior to the November 3rd Shabbat service.
It will be held in the kiddush room (318) from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m. Although it will be guided to some extent, with a little time for processing, mostly it will be an opportunity to be with and support one another in silence.
Holocaust Education Week Program
1:30 p.m. (after the kiddish) in room 318
We are very pleased to announce our 2018 Neuberger Holocaust Education Week (HEW) program,
Among hundreds of drawings made by concentration camp prisoners, images of the killing process are rare.
The Scrolls of Auschwitz, accounts of the extermination written and hidden by members of the Sonderkommando (Special Forces) - most of whom were murdered - have been found, preserved, translated and published. Less attention has been paid to the immediate post-war drawings, paintings and sculpture made by artist and Sonderkommando David Olère (1902-1985).
In this talk, Carol Zemel considers Olère's images as evidence and witness testimony of the Nazi extermination and killing process.
Carol Zemel is Professor Emerita of Art History and Visual Culture at York University, Toronto. Her book
, Looking Jewish: Visual Culture and Modern Diaspora was published 2015 by University of Indiana Press. Current projects include
Art in Extremis, a study of images made by prisoners during the Holocaust.
A co-presentation with the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.
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Other Upcoming Services and Events
Morning services* begin at 10:30 a.m. at the MNJCC, 3rd floor chapel
A kiddish always follows the Saturday service in Rm. 318.
Saturday, November 24, 2018*
Bar Mitzvah of Wolf Virgo and Shabbat morning service.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Shabbat morning service led by Rabbi Goldberg.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Shabbat morning service led by Rabbi Goldberg.
*Bar/Bat Mitzvah services take place at our First Unitarian Toronto
site.
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Friday (evening), November 30th-POSTPONED
Workshop led by Chazzan Gesundheit on the musical liturgy and songs of Shabbat at home.
Please look out for a new date in upcoming newsletters and on our website and social media.
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Shir Libeynu Film Series
519 Church Street Community Centre, Rm 301
(room subject to change, please check monitor at
519 when arriving for the film screening)
Our Next Film, November 18th:
Walk on Water
Eyal, an Israeli Mossad agent, is given the mission to track down and kill the very old Alfred Himmelman, an ex-Nazi officer, who might still be alive. Pretending to be a tourist guide, he befriends his grandson, Axel, in Israel to visit his sister Pia. The two men set out on a tour of the country during which Axel challenges Eyal's values
.
All films will start at 1:30 p.m.followed by a question/answer session. The program will conclude by 4:00 p.m.
More information on our film series
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SAVE THE DATE:
OUR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: DECEMBER 9th AT 10:00 a.m.
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CHOIR: ALL WELCOME TO OUR NEW MONTHLY
SESSIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
Did High Holidays leave you feeling you need to sing more throughout the year? Beginning soon, the Shir Libeynu choir will be meeting monthly at a central location on the Tuesday following each Shabbat services. No prior singing experience or Hebrew knowledge required - we will help you get there! Write to Ellie Goldenberg with questions, and the address of the gathering, at choir@shirlibeynu.ca.
The first practice is on Tuesday, November 6th at 7p.m.
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BEIT OLAM - A JEWISH BURIAL SITE
Congregation Shir Libeynu is pleased to partner with Beit Olam on this new cemetery site. Beit Olam welcomes persons of Jewish faith, interfaith families, and those with Jewish connections. Burial at Beit Olam (within Glenview Memorial Gardens) is to be made in accordance with Jewish customs and protocols, and monuments are expected to contain Jewish symbols or be non-denominational. All burials and monuments at Beit Olam will be respectful of the Jewish nature of the gardens. Beit Olam will be surrounded by borders and roads to delineate it from the rest of the Glenview Memorial Garden's other sites. A rabbinic advisory group will oversee all of Beit Olam and ensure that established standards of ritual and practice are honoured and upheld.
Shir Libeynu now has a designated section at Beit Olam, with a limited number of plots reserved for our congregants. We are planning a ceremony in the spring to mark this designation. In them meantime, if you are interested in or want more information about Beit Olam, we suggest you arrange a visit to the cemetery (located in Woodbridge).
For more information or to contact our shul about our partnership with Beit Olam, contact us
here
.
Shir Libeynu thanks Tanis Floom for her help and support to our community at Beit Olam.
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SHIR LIBEYNU SCHOOL
Great news: we have a school venue in the Annex and are now accepting registrations for the Winter session.
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Some of last year's School participants (with a young guest)
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Sign your Children Up
NOW!
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HOLOCAUST EDUCATION WEEK (HEW) AT THE MNJCC: SOME OTHER EVENTS OF NOTE (SEE ABOVE FOR SHIR LIBEYNU'S PRESENTATION ON NOV. 3RD)
Hierarchy and Queer Desire in the Holocaust
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Anna Hájková, associate professor, University of Warwick Dr. Anna Hájková will explore consent, homophobia, powerlessness and agency during the Holocaust. She will also examine issues of narrativity and the politics of the Holocaust archives and how we can write a queer history of the Holocaust.
Monday November 5. 7:30 p.m. Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church Street FREE
Presented in partnership with the Ontario Public Service Pride Network, the Miles Nadal JCC, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
How to Talk to Your Children About the Holocaust
Facilitator Dr. Dona Matthews examines how and when the right time is to engage children in conversations about the Holocaust. This parent and child evening will conclude with facilitated discussions in groups.
Presented in partnership with the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, Facing History and Ourselves, The Mabin School, and Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School.
Monday November 5 7- 9 p.m. MNjcc FREE
Guest Lecturer: Joseph Gilbert "Jewish", "Degenerate" and "Bolshevik" were terms the Nazis used to describe music not acceptable to the Third Reich - including content, political views, composer's religion or race. All Jewish musicians and composers were dismissed, many fled, and many were killed.
Thursday November 8th,1:30 - 3:00 p.m. MNjcc FREE
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