1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561
Lishma
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
Learning together as a community. That has always been the way of the Jewish people. Starting with Moses and continuing through every generational link in our history; learning and growth have always been at the forefront of the Jewish communal experience.
One of my favourite learning communities that I have the privilege of being a part of here at Holy Blossom is the “Lishma: Jewish Learning Collective”. We are a community of learners in our 20s and 30s that consist of seasoned scholars as well as folks who are brand new to the pursuit of life-long Jewish education. This collective is presented in partnership by Holy Blossom Temple, Annex Shul, BASE, UJA Genesis, Miles Nadal JCC, and Beth Tzedec.
With community members representing different denominations, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and levels of physical and mental ability, this is one of the most inclusive spaces I have ever belonged to. The model goes like this:
Lishma hosts at least three semesters during the year and each semester consists of three different class options running concurrently:
Each class runs for six weeks and is taught by a local Jewish community member, ranging anywhere from rabbis to social workers to amateur chefs. During the covid-19 pandemic, we moved this model online and have sold out every seat of every class! It is an incredible achievement that perfectly illustrates the desire of young Jewish professionals to engage in meaningful learning and community building.
I am excited to be offering a text-based course during our upcoming semester (beginning on April 21st) in which we will be exploring Pirkei Avot as well as a new publication entitled “The Illustrated Pirkei Avot” by Jessica Tamar Deutsch. I have even invited Jessica to guest lecture one of the six sessions and share some of her wisdom and writing process. This is still in the works, but promises to be an engaging and enriching course!
While we are committed to creating an inclusive space for all students, this learning collective is specifically designed for Jewish young adults. Many of the members of Holy Blossom’s YAD (Young Adult Division) are woven into the fabric of the Lishma community. If you are interested in exploring this option or know someone who may want to get involved, please connect with me at [email protected] or check out the Lishma website at lishma.ca.
I believe that good learning, and specifically Torah study, should be transformative. Meaning, that the material that we engage with changes us in some way; widening our perspective, challenging theological conceptions, or even inspiring us to change our behaviours. While “Torah Lishma” literally means Torah study for its own sake, I find that being in the Lishma community offers so much more than simply learning for learning’s sake. It offers a sense of growth, outlets for curiosity, camaraderie, an inclusive spirit, and much more.
Learning together as a community. Holy Blossom does this well. From our Little Blossoms to our members more advanced in years, we are committed to being a congregation of life-long learners. Our involvement as a partner organization of Lishma not only provides our YAD members with enriching educational opportunities, it also further establishes Holy Blossom as a community that lives out its stated values.
“Say not, ‘When I shall have leisure I shall study’; perhaps you will not have leisure!” – Pirkei Avot 2:4
Rabbi Yael Splansky
Rabbinic Reflections
January 29, 2021
IHRA and Free Speech
“An almond tree blooming in Israel.”
In June 2019, the Government of Canada announced its adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as part of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. The “working definition” attempts to set parameters for what anti-semitism is and is not. CIJA (The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) has been leading the effort to have the IHRA definition affirmed by all three levels of government. See here for a helpful resource on IHRA in the Canadian context.
This week, in time for International Holocaust Education Week, the Union of Reform Judaism, the umbrella organization to which Holy Blossom Temple proudly belongs for one hundred years now, made its own statement affirming IHRA as a working definition of anti-semitism. You can read the full statement here.
I appreciate the URJ’s affirmation. And I was not surprised by how it included in its statement an expression of warning about how the definition may be used as a tool to chip away at freedom of speech. “Our commitment to principles of free speech and concerns about the potential abuse of the definition compel us to urge its use only as intended: as a guide and an awareness raising tool. The definition should not be codified into policy that would trigger potentially problematic punitive action to circumscribe speech, efforts which have been particularly aimed at college students and human rights activists. If the effect of application of the IHRA definition is to limit free speech, it threatens to divide the broad coalition needed to combat antisemitism.
I don’t believe the URJ’s affirmation needed to be couched with such concerns. I understand protection of Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment is bedrock in The United States. But it comes with a price.
I have come to appreciate Canada’s willingness to say that Hate Speech is definable and punishable. I remember during the tiki torch parade in Charlottesville, a Canadian participant was interviewed on CNN. When asked “Why are you here?” he answered simply, “I can’t say these things in Canada, so I came here to speak my mind.” And there was at least one Canadian flag seen flying during the recent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
The URJ leadership wants to ensure that the Jewish student activist campus is protected when she speaks out against demeaning checkpoints or unethical housing demolitions in the West Bank. I don’t believe the IHRA definition was created with her in mind. More than I fear it could be used to marginalize her, I fear a world where antisemitism has no margins. We know what can happen when hate speech goes unchecked.
The day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day was Tu BiShvat. Ecclesiastes asserts there is “A time to plant and a time to uproot what has been planted.” Let us plant ourselves in the good countries that shout down anti-semitism when they see it and uproot every form of bigotry and hatred wherever it festers.
Shabbat Shalom.
1950 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5P 3K9
(416) 789-3291
[email protected]
Emergency Funeral Contact
Cell: 416-565-7561