September 10, 2020 / 21 Elul, 5780
Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5780 / פרשת נִצָּבִים־וַיֵּלֶךְ
Erev Shabbat candle lighting: 7:14 pm
Havdalah: 8:18 pm
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Rabbi Hannah’s Weekly Reflection |
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Netzavim / Vayelech
Lower and Upper Teshuvah
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Earlier in the summer we read of God exhorting Israel to open our hearts. Now, in Netzavim, God promises that once we do teshuvah, God will circumcise our hearts, removing whatever impediments there are to our wholehearted connection with Spirit.
And the root “shov,” “return,” from which “teshuvah” is derived, comes into play over and over in Nitzavim. The rabbis teach that this is to communicate the variety of ways in which we are to approach teshuvah. First we read: “Shavta at Adonai,” which, literally, means “turn around toward Adonai.” Later, we read “Tashvu el Adonai” - “turn to Adonai.” And the rabbis explain that these different forms of the verb refer to two stages of teshuvah, what the mystics and Hassidim called “Lower” and “Upper” teshuvah.
When we turn around toward Adonai, we engage in a 360-degree assessment of ourselves, noticing what thoughts and behaviors require modification. This is the Lower Teshuvah, our repair of ourselves on the ground, so to speak. Turning to God is teshuvah in the sense of homecoming, returning to God’s presence, made easier by our readjustment of self.
As we approach the homecoming of Rosh Hashanah, may we be blessed to release old habits and destructive behaviors with relative ease. May our hearts be circumcised so that we open with ease, connecting with all that is. And as our parsha promises, may the Divine share with us God’s own qualities of love and empathy.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Upcoming Shabbat Services |
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Saturday, September 12, 9-10 AM & 10-11AM
Shabbat morning Torah Study with Rabbi Susan (9-10 AM), followed by an abbreviated davening (10-11AM). See HERE for details.
Saturday, September 19, 10-12:30AM
Zoom Shabbat Rosh Hashanah. See HERE for details.
Saturday, September 26, 10-11:45AM
Zoom Shabbat Shuva Service. See HERE for details.
Saturday, October 3, 10AM-12PM
Shabbat Sukkoth service and Simchat Mitzvah of Ryan Perks. See HERE for details.
Saturday, October 10, 9-10 AM & 10-11AM
Shabbat morning Torah Study with Rabbi Susan (9-10 AM), followed by an abbreviated davening (10-11AM). See HERE for details.
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Borrowing Prayerbooks
(Siddurim and Machzorim)
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Please have your own Siddur Eit Ratzon in hand for our Shabbat morning services, and your own Harlow Machzor in hand for our High Holiday services
PLUS
The Velveteen Rabbi's Machzor
for Erev Rosh Hashanah
If you would like to sign out a Siddur and/or a Machzor from Or Shalom for virtual services, email the office at office@orshalom.ca to arrange a pick up time or a delivery time (please allow around 5 days for volunteer deliveries).
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Preparing for the Days of Awe During Elul |
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In Preparation for Yizkor Service on Yom Kippur |
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The names of loved ones we have lost during this past year will be read aloud during the Yizkor service on Yom Kippur. To add the names of your beloveds, email yizkor@orshalom.ca by Sept. 18.
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High Holiday Events Requiring Registration |
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KABBALAT CHAG zoomed from the Bayit with Rabbi Hannah – candle lighting and the stirring nusach of the Erev Rosh Hashanah service.
Please have a copy of the Velveteen Rabbi’s Machzor on hand for Erev Rosh Hashanah.
Application to Attend In-Person
We have some spots available for individuals to daven in the bayit. If you would like to attend, please apply using the linked form. Please understand that there are only a limited number of spaces available given Covid guidelines and the need to maintain social distancing between bubbles. We will let you know by September 16 whether we are able to accommodate you.
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Your opportunity to greet community members in person and hear the Shofar blown.
In person at at Canoe Bridge in Olympic Village, Olympic Village waterfront – self-directed Tashlich followed by Shofar from afar. Pre-registration required for up to 49 persons in each of 3 time slots. Please register HERE by September 19 to reserve your spot. Spaces are filling up fast!
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Friday September 11 to Thursday September 17 |
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See our new Event Calendar for details of upcoming programs, services, and events. |
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Tomer Devorah
- led by Rabbi Hannah, Matthew Gindin, Rabbi Yoni Gordis, and Alycia Fridkin
Weekdays, August 21 to September 17, 12:00 pm
Please register via Eventbrite; drop-ins are welcome, however, more will be gained from fuller entry into the daily practice. Tomer Devorah text is available HERE.
Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 821 3648 1430; Passcode: 594533
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Friday, September 11, 9:00 am
This week's parasha is
Parashat Nitzavim/Vayelech
/ פרשת נִצָּבִים־וַיֵּלֶךְ
Meeting ID: 892 7010 9069; Password: 572724
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Prayers for Healing, Tehillim for the Human Family
- led by John Fuerst
Friday, September 11, 1:00 pm
Reciting Tehillim for the sick is a traditional practice.
Join John to chant or sing Psalms, or to sit quietly, sending healing intentions. This Friday we will learn and daven Psalm 81, following the tradition of praying for a person’s full recovery by reciting the psalm that matches his or her age.
Psalms are available in Hebrew and English HERE.
Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 873 2214 6883; Password: 200901 |
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Erev Shabbat Candle Lighting
- led by Karen Rabinovitch and Motti Lis
Friday, September 11, 6.00 pm
Candle lighting, Kiddush, and Motzi.
Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 835 2957 0801; Passcode: 077070
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Saturday, September 12, 9-10 AM & 10-11AM
Shabbat morning Torah Study with Rabbi Susan (9-10 AM), followed by an abbreviated davening (10-11AM).
Zoom Shamashim: John Fuerst and Syntyche Smith
Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 833 9418 2404 Passcode: 335611
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Zoom KOREH SELICHOT: This is Real and We are Totally Unprepared
September 12, 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
You are invited to hear Or Shalom writers and friends who will be featuring their prayers, poems, and stories generated by this year’s strange crossing into the new year. Our readers are:
- Aren X Tulchinsky
- Cecil Hershler
- Els Kushner
- Katherine Zemliya
- Mark Winston
- Philippe Tortell
- Rhea Tregebov
- Shelley Stein-Wotten
- Tiferet Welch
- Val Dolgin
The program is opening and closing with two Jazz interpretations of Kol Nidre with musicians Martin Gotfrit, Dave Kauffman, Noah Gotfrit, Harriet Frost and Wendy Rubin. Anyone is welcome to be in the audience.
See HERE for more information.
Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 878 5578 9173; Password: 579611
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More Talmud - Summer Edition
- led by Rabbi Susan Shamash
Sunday, September 13, 11:30 AM
We are nearing the end of our study of Women in the Talmud. We will explore the stories of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Eleazar, hiding from the Romans in a cave, the steamy relationship between Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish, and Rabbi Eleazar on his death bed. We will also spend some time discussing what we would like to focus our learning on next.
Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 860 1711 2489; Passcode: 049890 |
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Virtual Evening Minyan
- led by Rabbi Hannah
Sunday, September 13, 7:00 pm
For a transliterated and translated weekday evening liturgy, please click HERE (pg 69 to 125). Join via Zoom. Meeting ID: 869 8675 6931, Passcode: 291406 |
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Women's Heart Centered Torah Study
- led by Dael Adams Segal
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Thursday, September 17, 12:30 pm
We will be gleaning from the parasha The Akedah - The Binding of Isaac
Genesis/Bereshit 22:1-24
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Programs Open For Registration |
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Come join us for transformative, inclusive, communal learning that opens doorways in both the mind and the heart.
Zusia is serious but playful study and is for all learners who are interested in examining the multi-faceted nature of Torah and Jewish culture.
Each course is taught by an instructor with specialized knowledge and a passion for expressive and deep thought. Our bet midrash, literally “house of learning,” is currently being offered via Zoom.
Fall 2020 Zusia Course Offerings!
This year, the first Zusia courses begin November 2020. See course descriptions below for details and course fees; Special rates for Or Shalom members!
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Spinoza: Jewish Philosophy In The Time of Covid-19
Spinoza was among the most fearless of philosophers. He formed his thought both in tension with, and inspired by, his Jewish background. His vision of personal and communal ethics is as countercultural today as it was in the 17th century, and is still provoking revolutionary thought and action.
In this 4 week online class we will look at Spinoza’s potent insights on joy, human flourishing and freedom, democracy, and community and how these can offer us guidance during our current moment of overlapping crises.
Instructor: Matthew Gindin
Prerequisite: None:
Dates: Tuesdays, November 3 – November 24, 2020
Time: 7-9 PM
Investment: Members $60; Non-Members $98
Please find further details and registration HERE. |
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Return to the Place: The Wisdom of Sefer Yetzirah
Sefer Yetzirah is an ancient and foundational work of Jewish mysticism. This brief and cryptic book imagines letters as the building blocks of the universe, focusing our attention on the components of space, time, and soul and the elements of air, fire, and water. Its goal is to allow adepts to contemplate, and even partake in, the Divine creative process.
In this series, we will explore sections from the book closely as well as use images from the text to meditate and reflect on our own spiritual experience. In the worldview of the Sefer Yetzirah, we and all things are part of the One, and all we need to do is remember and return.
This course will consist of a series of three pre-recorded video lessons with downloadable text, online chevruta work in study assigned groups, and a final (4th) session that is an interactive webinar with Rabbi Hammer.
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, is the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion, and the co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute. Her most recent book is titled Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah.
She is also the author of Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women, The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for all Seasons, The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership (with Taya Shere), Siddur haKohanot: A Hebrew Priestess Prayerbook (with Taya Shere) and The Book of Earth and Other Mysteries.
Instructor: Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD
Prerequisite: None:
Dates: Tuesdays, November 3 – November 24, 2020
Time: 7-9 PM
Investment: Members $60; Non-Members $98
Please find further details and registration HERE. |
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Exploring Judaism, led by Rabbi Hannah Dresner.
Or Shalom’s yearly program for those on the path to discovering Judaism and for those wishing to deepen basic understandings.
Our new season will begin with online monthly Zoom classes, starting Monday, October 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. Please find further details and registration HERE.
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Children and Youth Program |
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Shabbat Sheli
We will be returning this year with a new teacher- Samantha Fogel! Sammy is coming to us after a year of working with kids in the same age range at
Har-El in North Vancouver. She has years of experience working with kids as well as in positions of service to the community at large and we are lucky to have her. Please find further details and registration HERE.
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Bright Lights
Matthew Gindin will again be teaching this program which will include text study, discussion, art, crafts and play. The curriculum will focus on learning the stories of our ancestors in the Tanakh, beginning Hebrew Alphabet studies, and the continued learning of mussar (Jewish values). Matthew is excited to learn with kids old and new after summer break!
Please find further details and registration HERE. |
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B'Yachad
Going forward Byachad is reimagined as a two year course with the option to stay on after Simchat Mitzvah for another year at no additional cost.
Our revised curriculum delivers a broad knowledge of Jewish culture, religion, history and values, hoping to offer a multitude of portals to Jewish identity. Harriet Frost will teach an expanded Hebrew and Trope curriculum which will give the students a deeper knowledge of Hebrew and allow them to spend more time working on leining in preparation for the Simcha!
Please find further details and registration HERE. |
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Do a big mitzvah!
Donate to the high holy day tzedakah fund online
The Tikkun Olam Commitee chose the following four organizations for the 5781 High Holy Days’ Tzedakah Fund. We were guided by the intention to support one of our current charities (BWSS), one Israeli charity, and one each of Indigenous and environmental organizations, the two key focus areas for our Tikkun Olam at this time. We will divide the tzedakah collected equally among each of these four worthy organizations.
Battered Women’s Support Services: A feminist voice against violence and oppression, BWSS is a strong, dynamic organization that provides support and advocacy for women who have experienced abuse, as well as community education and training about violence against women.
Rabbis for Human Rights: RHR has been on the front lines of social justice work in Israel since 1988 and is the only rabbinic voice in Israel explicitly dedicated to human rights.
Fostering Change: launched by the Vancouver Foundation in 2013 with the goal of addressing homelessness by providing opportunities and support for youth transitioning out of foster care.
Raven Trust: provides legal funds for Indigenous communities to protect their territories, partnering with Indigenous peoples to enable access to Canada’s justice system.
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- A donation was made by Ruth Stewart and David Hsu to the Rabbi's Benevolent Fund in Honour of all the hard working volunteers behind the scenes in putting together the August 9th Community Meeting & Idea Jam.
- A donation was made by Evan Orloff to the Rabbi's Benevolent Fund in Memory of my mother, Dina Orloff's yahrtzeit, ז’’ל.
- Thank you to Dave Kauffman and Pat Gill for producing the fall edition of the Keren Or.
- Thank you to Harriet Frost for her Selichot singing.
- Thank you to Wendy Oberlander for assembling “creation kits” for our Birthday of the World family service.
- Thank you to the Gemilut Chesed Working Group and to our Covid-19 volunteers for their ongoing support.
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Your tax-deductible donation to Or Shalom can be used to honour an accomplishment or life event, say thank you for a mitzvah or job well-done, or remember a loved ones passing.
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The membership committee's Getting to Know You interview series is an opportunity for Or Shalomniks to get to know one another and learn about the fascinating stories and knowledge our community has to offer.
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If you wish to help support folks in need, please complete the volunteer form at this link. Your community will be very grateful.
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Jewish Federation Campaign |
Here's the annual message from Jewish Federation of Vancouver to encourage giving to the annual campaign. |
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JFS Emergency Care Hotline
9:00 am – 9:00 pm,
7 days a week.
JFS is here to help! If you or a loved one need support you can contact us in any of the following ways:
604-558-5719
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Hebrew Free Loan Association of Vancouver
Coronavirus Emergency Loan
Helps support individuals with financial challenges caused by the Coronavirus.
Maximum Loan Amount Available: $2,000
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Have something to post in the Doar?
Just fill in this handy web-form to included your article in future editions of the Doar Shalom, Or Shalom's weekly e-newsletter.
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