1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561
Hi, Holy Blossom community!
I hope all of you are all doing well and that you had a great week so far!
This past Shabbat I got to share my first D’var Israel with you at the main service. It was a really special and exciting moment for me, I hope that you enjoyed it. This coming Shabbat, November 12th 2022, I’ll be giving another D’var Israel at the family service and will run a breakout room activity with the kids. Hope to see you all there.
I wanted to point out to you that on Sunday, November 6th 2022, Israel mentioned the 27th year since the assassination of the past Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin z”l.
Komuna 16 of the UJA Shinshinim in Toronto made a big community event in his memory that Sunday evening. I took part in planning the event and also got to play some music throughout the night. The event went really well and was very heartwarming. I wanted to thank you all personally and as one of the UJA Shinshinim For supporting and coming to the event, it was great to see you in person.
On another note, At the YEC this past Sunday, I got to spend my time with grade 2. We had a fun and interesting activity together about Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. Hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I did!
In addition, I wanted to tell you that for a couple of weeks now I’ve been running a program called “Hebrew Word Of The Week” at the YEC during tefillah. Every week I’m teaching the kids a new word in Hebrew, and I wanted to share it with you also here in the newsletter.
This week’s word is….
טירוף- Teruf
Which means “Crazy” in Hebrew.
Stay posted every week for a new word. You can also check out all of the words on the bulletin board on the third floor of the YEC, Right next to the youth chapel.
Best wishes to all of you and with love,
Ella Payorski, The UJA Shinshinit at Holy Blossom.
By: Karen Kollins
In his book, A Heart of Many Rooms, leading Jewish thinker and philosopher Rabbi David Hartman, shares how he came to understand his role as a Rabbi as one who helped Jews confront tradition through their own questions, rather than by simply providing his own answers.
It has been in this spirit that Holy Blossom has been the beneficiary of Hartman’s influence and legacy. Our Temple leadership – Rabbis and lay leaders have been blessed with the opportunity to explore their own questions of faith, peoplehood, and identity through the work of the Shalom Hartman Institute since its founding in 1976. Holy Blossom’s extraordinary dedication to learning, its strong commitment to Israel, and the collaborative relationships we have with other Jewish and multifaith communities across the city have, I would like to think, been impacted by Temple’s deep connection to Hartman.
Today, the Shalom Hartman Institute, based in both Israel and North America, serves as a pluralistic think tank and educational centre for the Jewish people, engaging in thought leadership that focuses on the major questions facing the Jewish people. Hartman learning meaningfully addresses the central challenges of contemporary Jewish life, enriches and enhances knowledge in the foundations of Jewish thought, and empowers leaders to influence and move their communities forward by imparting new ideas.
In my role as Hartman’s Director of Canada, I hear often from Canadians across the country, particularly those connected to Montreal where Hartman served as a Rabbi for close to two decades, who share stories of how they were impacted by Rabbi David Hartman. Hartman introduced them to Torah in a new way – with a unique blend of complexity and accessibility, focusing on the traditions of Judaism and a commitment to Israel while emphasizing the necessity for a plurality of voices.
We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to welcome Donniel Hartman, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute to Holy Blossom Temple on Monday, November 21 at 7:30 pm where he will be in conversation with Professor David Koffman on Religion and Democracy in Israel: What are the Stakes for Global Jewry? Holy Blossom Temple, The Shalom Hartman Institute, and the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York University are thrilled to be partnering on this extraordinary event.
I hope you will join us for this opportunity to discover the power of Jewish ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute and to raise your own questions about Judaism and democracy in Israel, its significance, and why it might matter to us as Canadians.
Watch out also for upcoming information about Hartman’s Community Leadership Program, a week-long study program taking place June 21-28, 2023, at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.
1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561