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Milibeynu מלבנו
From our Heart
March 2024
Elton-themed Purim spiel & food drive
Do you have a condo party room to lend?
Post-October 7th loneliness
Purim drag makeup, an evening with Standing Together,
Shabbat, Lunch & Learn, and more....
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Annual Planning Meeting - Report of the President, Karen Lior
The board held a very productive and focused planning meeting, making plans and plotting for the next few years. We affirmed that we are an open, inclusive, welcoming, part-time congregation. We want to grow to include more young families and will be working toward planning more family programming. We are also changing the name of our adult education program to Adult Learning and expanding the program to include activities such as plays, walks, and movies in addition to interesting and provocative speakers.
We celebrate the distinct quirkiness of our congregation and our ability to be positive and forward-thinking in these difficult days. Our ability to see many sides of an issue and hold contradictions is an important facet of our congregational personality.
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Thank you for your generous donation
The board would like to acknowledge with deeply felt gratitude, Mary Nemis for her generous donation in memory of Shelley Glazer.
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Donate to Congregation Shir Libeynu Today!
Special occasion coming? Would you like to honour someone or acknowledge a Yahrtzeit? Make a donation to Congregation Shir Libeynu. If appropriate, you may choose to have your honouree receive notice, and you will receive a tax receipt. We have a number of different accounts to which you can make a donation including our General Fund, Adult Education Fund, Cantor’s Discretionary Fund, and New Machzor Fund. You can also sponsor a Kiddush! Check out the possibilities for giving here!
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Sponsor a Kiddush
Another wonderful way to acknowledge a special event, or milestone is to sponsor a Shabbat Kiddush! For a minimum donation of $80, you can share your celebration with the CSL community! To sponsor a Kiddush, click here to find out how you can sponsor a Kiddush today!
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Elton-themed Purim Spiel and food drive
Join us for I Guess That’s Why They Call It a Spiel on Saturday, March 23rd beginning at 7:00pm, in person only, at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC), Room 318.
Instead of using traditional greggars this year, we would like each person to bring a box of food - something that makes noise when you shake it: mac and cheese, cereal, rice, pasta, etc. We will collect your 'greggars' after the spiel and take them to the food bank.
Many thanks to Ellie Goldenberg for once again directing, and our whole cast for singing and acting.
Please RSVP here so we can ensure enough refreshments and seating.
Please bring a box of Mac and Cheese (or a box of dry pasta or rice) to act as a greggar (noise maker). All boxes will be donated to a local food pantry after the celebration.
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It's a Shir Libeynu Field Trip!
On Sunday, Mar 31st S. Bear Bergman will be performing The First Jew in Canada: A Trans Tale at the Al Green Theatre. This play is co-presented by LGBTQ+ at the J and the Ontario Jewish Archives –– and Congregation Shir Libeynu is organizing a field trip for our members to go see it together, and for those interested, to go out after to chat about the play and hang out!
About The First Jew in Canada: A Trans Tale
In 1738, a young transgender man named Jacques LaFargue set off from France to what is now Quebec City, determined to make for himself a new life. The First Jew In Canada: A Trans Tale is his largely untold story, embroidered onto the bones of nine verifiable facts about his life and existence, and interwoven with the modern experience of a trans and Jewish immigrant to Canada three hundred years later. A thrilling and illuminating tale, The First Jew In Canada: Trans Tale takes its audience on a stubbornly Jewish journey of optimism, faith, and joy - including the joy and affirmation of finding an ancestor you never knew you had.
Tickets
Tickets for the play are $18. If you identify as trans, nonbinary or gender expansive and the $18 ticket price is prohibitive, there is an option AT THE CHECKOUT PAGE for $10 tickets.
Once you click check out, there will be a message prompt that asks “If you identify as somebody who is trans, nonbinary or gender expansive and cannot afford the full ticket price please answer yes to receive a reduced price.” If you select “yes” you will receive an $8 discount on your tickets.
To register for the performance and purchase tickets, click this link.
Let us know if you're coming!
To meet up together to go to the play with the CSL group, please email board member River Oliveira by March 10th.
To RSVP for the post-performance social at a location TBD please email board member Helen Spitzer by March 10th.
Buy your ticket soon as we expect it will sell out! We look forward to seeing you there!
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Find a Table, Offer a Table - a Passover tradition
Part of the Passover celebration includes offering a seat for the stranger at the Seder Table. This year the board is making a practical application of this tradition by asking members to consider whether they may have room at their Seder table for a member(s) who does/do not have a Seder to attend.
Whether you can offer space at your table, or would like to attend a Seder, watch for your opportunity to sign up coming soon!
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Condo party room?
Do you live in a condo with a party room? Would you be willing to book it for Congregation Shir Libeynu if we need space in the future for a special event such as a Chanukah or Purim celebration? If so, please complete this form and if the need arises, we will contact you.
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Loneliness in a post-October 7th world
Since the attacks on October 7th, many of you have come to me to share a similar sentiment of feeling alone. Whether it is feeling politically misaligned with family and friends, feeling singled-out at work, or just a general sense that the war is causing tension within your personal relationships, it is safe to say that the vast majority of us are finding it difficult to connect with others right now. Many of us are worried, many of us are afraid, and yet, despite the loneliness, the idea of sharing our feelings with others can cause even more worry and fear. It’s difficult to know who agrees with us, who disagrees with us, and especially how people are going to react to hearing differing points of view. Sometimes it feels as though civil discourse is nearly impossible.
Attached here is a PDF of a New York Times article from February 8th that I found to be helpful and comforting. It is about a few different interfaith couples and how they are managing during this challenging time. I know that this is a particularly difficult time for the interfaith couples that I work with, and I am heartened by these stories.
I hope that you are similarly comforted by these stories, but even if you are not, I want you to know that you are not alone. Our community is here for you in times of joy and in grief. Our board of directors is here for you, to hear your concerns and your ideas. I am here for you, to sit with you, to listen to you, and to bring comfort wherever I can. We are here for each other, and none of us should have to feel alone.
If you feel so inclined, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the attached New York Times article. Please email me at cantorwunch@gmail.com. And if you need to talk, please make an appointment by clicking here.
I look forward to speaking with you.
B’ahava
Cantor Cheryl Wunch
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Please join the Congregation Shir Libeynu community on Saturday, March 2nd at 10:30 AM for Shabbat morning services being held in person at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (MNJCC), Room 318, and online via Zoom.
Masking is not required, however we encourage those members who would like to continue to wear a mask to do so. If you feel at all unwell, please join us via Zoom.
The Zoom link, prayer book and supplemental materials will be emailed on Friday, March 1st. If you have not received this email by 2:00 PM, please email our Administrator Amanda at shirlibeynuadmin@gmail.com.
No registration is required. Please either come in person to the MNJcc or join via Zoom.
We welcome new attendees!
If you know of anyone who wants to attend our services, please bring them along with you, or if they wish to join by Zoom, ask them to email our administrator, Amanda, at shirlibeynuadmin@gmail.com.
Did you know?
Did you know that you can find Shabbat and Havdalah start times as well as the weekly Torah portion on our website? To find this information, click this link.
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Join Cantor Wunch on Tuesday, March 19th at noon on Zoom as she hosts this month’s conversation about a parasha from the Torah.
Always engaging. Always interesting. Always something new to learn! No prior Torah experience necessary!
No registration required. Zoom link will be sent to all members prior to the date.
Save the date now for future Lunch & Learn Tuesdays
April 16
May 21
June 11 (note - 2nd Tuesday of the month)
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Upcoming observances & celebrations-at-a-glance
All Jewish festivals begin at sundown on the first date, and end at sundown on the last date.
- Purim - Saturday March 23 - Sunday March 24
- Purim Spiel, Saturday, March 23, 7:00 PM, in person at the MNJcc
- Trans Day of Visibility, Sunday March 31
- Passover Monday, April 22 - Tuesday, April 30
- Pride Havdalah - Saturday, June 1
- Shavuot Tuesday, June 11 - Thursday, June 13
Watch for new events to be added here as dates are confirmed!
For a complete list of Jewish dates of significance in 2024, click this link.
For information about Jewish observances & celebrations, click this link.
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Four Faces of Purim: Drag Makeup Mastery
Happy Adar - it's the season of mishloach manot (Purim gift baskets), masks, and makeup, and LGBTQ+ at the J has you covered with a drag makeup workshop! Featuring four archetypal characters from the Purim story, we will learn how to get made up for megillah. Everyone can be anyone this time of year - will you be a queen, a king, a villain, or something else entirely? We can't wait to see!
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UJA’s March Break Experiences
including Mechane Lev March Break Camp
UJA’s March Break Experiences gives high school students the opportunity to spend their March Break building new friendships, sight-seeing, and enjoying fun Jewish programming. Choose from a variety of amazing programs—with different themes, locations, dates, and itineraries, there’s something for everyone.
Click here to see what’s available and to register!
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New Israel Fund of Canada presents
An evening with Standing Together
At a time when strife has skyrocketed between Jews and Arabs around the world, millions of people have been inspired by the enduring Jewish-Arab partnership of Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad-Naqif Ma’an).
Standing Together is a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice. Since October 7th, their message of mutual solidarity between both peoples – and for peace – stands in stark contrast to deepening polarization and rising hatred.
Join the New Israel Fund of Canada for an important conversation with Rula Daood and Itamar Avneri—leaders of Standing Together—about achieving a shared future with safety, freedom, and equality for all.
Tuesday, March 26th
Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street
The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Advance registration required in order to attend. To register, click here.
Please note that this event will not be livestreamed. If you would like to receive the recording afterward, please sign up here.
The Speakers
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Rula Daood is the National co-Director of Standing Together and speech pathologist by profession. She is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, born and raised in the Galilee village of Kafr Yasif and began her activism in her home city and later became involved in promoting Jewish-Arab partnership in mixed (Jewish-Arab) cities. Before joining Standing Together, Rula worked as a community organizer, organizing events and protests that drew hundreds of activists.
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Itamar Avneri is a social and peace activist. He is a community organizer and a member of national leadership in Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad-Naqif Ma’an). He is also a member of the Israeli Climate Forum, founded by President Yitzhak Hertzog, and a Ph.D. student in History of Science at Bar-Ilan University.
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