In this Newsletter:
. A Very Special Shabbat Service June 5 with Emily's Bat Mitzvah
. Catch Your Breath Before the Service with Lorne Blumer
. Pride Havdalah Service June 12
. From Anti-Semitism to Anti-Racism with Danforth Jewish Circle June 13
. Second CSL Book Club Meeting June 22
. Save the Date: From Broadway to the Bimah July 11
. Exciting News from our Members!
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Dear Members,
Hope is in the air, as the weather is warmer and more of us are getting vaccinated. We are still mindful that we are not out of the woods yet, and our hearts are with other parts of Canada and the world that are still struggling to flatten the curve.
In May we had a wonderful celebration of Aaron’s Bar Mitzvah. This is how Jamie described Aaron’s magnificent Torah chanting:
When you started chanting the first Aliyah, it was such a great moment to behold. You looked down and gently touched the scrolls with your talit, took a deep breath, collected yourself, fixed the yad in position, and out came this very meaningful and purposeful “amen”… You chanted with such confidence, hitting every note of the trope with an attitude of "I got this”! So I am proposing a new term to help all those who are nervous as they approach the Torah to chant a parsha. I am dubbing it the “Triple A”: Aaron’s Anchor Amen. I think it’s a technique we all need to teach and remember.
Immense gratitude to the Bayer and Magerman families for their generous participation in the service. It was a pleasure to have you with us at Shir Libeynu. Thanks to Rabbi Dara Lithwick, Shabbat Chazzan Paula Wolfson, Zev Frishman and Jamie Flagel for your leadership, music, organization and so much more! This was our first virtual Bar Mitzvah and the joy and pride in Aaron’s achievement were palpable. Mazel Tov! What a day!
As always, thank you to Lorne Blumer for leading us in meditation and helping us catch our breath before the service.
Coming up, we celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Emily Jojkic on Saturday, June 5. (See more about Emily in this newsletter.) Her parents, Michelle Grinstein and Dushan Jojkic are pleased to share this simcha with our congregation. We are looking forward to welcoming all their family and friends to Shir Libeynu.
This is Rabbi Dara Lithwick’s last service with our congregation. Rabbi Lithwick jumped into deep waters last summer by agreeing to help us develop and lead our virtual High Holy Day services. At that time, we didn’t know if we would be able to offer services or how we would keep our community connected.
Rabbi Lithwick, we are beyond grateful to you for your knowledge, grace, enthusiasm, humour and great love for Judaism and Torah. We were so very lucky to find you and work with you over the past 10 months. Thank you for the High Holy Days, Shabbat services, Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat and our Dr. Seuss Purim and cabaret. So many wonderful and snazzy moments for us to cherish!
Our Annual Pride Havdalah Service this year is on June 12 at 7:30 pm, with Rabbi Emerita Aviva Goldberg, Shabbat Chazzan Paula Wolfson and friends.
And in case you thought nothing was going on this year, check out Pride Toronto’s fabulous website (https://www.pridetoronto.com) for virtual activities all month long, including a digital parade on June 27.
HAPPY PRIDE!
Board of Directors
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Join Rabbi Dara Lithwick and Shabbat Chazzan Paula Wolfson, for a very special Shabbat service on Saturday, June 5 at 10:30 am, where we will celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Emily Jojkic. All members, family and friends are welcome! The service booklet will be available closer to the service. Click here to register.
You may access the service booklet here.
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Meet Emily Jojkic
Hello, I'm Emily, and I'm in the seventh grade. I go to Toronto Prep School and I'm becoming a Bat Mitzvah on June 5, 2021!
In and outside of school I have a passion for science and all things musical. The science of the world around us fascinates me, as does the vast universe beyond our atmosphere. Making music is also such a part of my daily life that it’s almost unusual for a day to go by without playing or singing songs with my family.
I also enjoy spending time outdoors. When it's snowy, my brother and I like to go outside and play. On rainy days I experiment with new styles of art, and in the summer I enjoy canoe trips.
Being part of the Shir Libeynu community has been such a great experience. Through my B’nei Mitzvah class I have been inspired to learn about Jewish culture and our stories and traditions. For my Tikun Olam project I made Shabbat kits and delivered them to my great grandmother and her friends at her retirement home during a long period of isolation this past winter. It was something small that I could do and the feedback I received was so rewarding.
I am looking forward to my Bat Mitzvah and think it will be a great experience.
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Catch Your Breath Before the Service with Lorne Blumer
Before the service on June 5, from 9:30 to 10:15 am, Lorne Blumer will once again offer “Meditation on Shabbat.” You need to register for this session separately. Please click here.
Abraham Joshua Heschel once described Shabbat as a “sanctuary in time.” Let’s see if we can cultivate a sense of exactly that as we near Shabbat services, catching our breath, finding some stillness, and working with meditation (guided and silent), shaped by the mood of the moment and ancient Jewish texts.
Lorne Blumer is a graduate of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s program in Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, who's often led meditation for the Shir Libeynu community.
To participate in virtual offerings, you need to have a Zoom account and register. See our website for more details.
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Pride Havdalah Service
Saturday, June 12, 7:30 pm
Join Rabbi Emerita Aviva Goldberg and Shabbat Chazzan Paula Wolfson for our annual Pride Havdalah service. Let's celebrate the diversity of our community with song, prayer and special guests. Register here.
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From Anti-Semitism to Anti-Racism: Why Jews Should Support Defunding the Police
Sunday, June 13, 2-3:30 pm
Join the Social Justice Committee of the Danforth Jewish Circle for a discussion on why Jewish communities should support defunding the police, taking into account the perspective of some Jewish communities who feel reliant on the police given anti-Semitic threats.
Speakers: Rima Berns-McGown, MPP, Beaches-East York; Shalomyah Bowers,Founder & President of Bowers Consulting Firm and Deputy Executive Director of Black Lives Matter; and Hannah Freedman, Kavod Boston. Moderated by the Reverend Anne Dunlap, Coordinator of Standing Up for Racial Justice-Faith (SURJ-Faith).
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Join Us For Our Second Book Club Meeting!
Tuesday, June 22, 7:30 pm
We will be discussing How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi, a #1 New York Times bestseller. It is available at the public library.
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From Broadway to the Bimah
Sunday, July 11, 10:30 am
Join us for “From Broadway to the Bimah.” Our own Paula Wolfson — a Dora-award winning performer — will tell us, through story and song, about how her love of music led her into chazzanut. Hosted by our Rabbi Emerita, Aviva Goldberg, this on-line event will give us a glimpse into the heart that Paula pours into every song.
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If you missed any of our past offerings or wish to view them again, below are the links:
May 1 Shabbat service with Rabbi Lithwick and Aaron’s Bar Mitzvah, click here.
Congregation Shir Libeynu was pleased to support the Virtual Vigil Against Violence Between Jews and Palestinians. Thanks to the organizers and all of our members who attended.
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Dear Friends,
Thank you for registering for yesterday's event, "Virtual Vigil Against Violence Between Jews and Palestinians".
This was a moving and important moment for all of us to be together — with over 600 registrants, and 370 attendees from many countries, cities, and organizations, including Members of Parliament Iqra Kalid and Ya'ara Saks. We gathered in order to mourn together, to be seen together, and to take action together.
Upcoming events:
Learn more about the event organizers:
We are grateful for the support of our community partners, Ameinu Canada, Canadian Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights, Congregation Shir Libeynu, Danforth Jewish Circle, Kol Ami, Oraynu Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, and Temple Beth Ora.
Thank you again for joining us,
Canadian Friends of Peace Now, JSpaceCanada, and New Israel Fund of Canada
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Mazel tov to Jonathan & Elysse Schlein Medow on the birth of their son Gil Nathanial (Nachum) Medow on May 12, and to the whole family: siblings, Michael Medow, Zachary Medow and Amy Schlein; grandparents, Mark & Nancy z'l Schlein, Daniel & Miriam Medow; and great-grandparent, Rhoda Medow. |
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Helen Spitzer, member, photographer, writer and urban farmer, has work showing in the CONTACT Photography Festival 2021. Mazel tov, Helen! Be sure to check it out!
Photos are viewable from outside, so it’s a Covid-safe art activity for the art-deprived! They're up in the windows of two cafes in the downtown west end: CYGNET Coffee: 1691 Dundas St W. (between Brock St. & Lansdowne) and FIX Coffee and Bikes: 80 Gladstone Ave. at Alma (roughly halfway between Queen St. W. & Dundas W.).
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Congregation Shir Libeynu
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