Yom Kippur 5784 Study Sessions
Monday, September 25, 1:30 – 2:45 pm
At Holy Blossom Temple, it is our custom to pause from our prayers for learning on the afternoon of Yom Kippur. Enjoy this impressive and diverse line-up of teachers and topics. All sessions are offered concurrently.
“White Lies, Right Lies?: ‘The Bride is Always Beautiful’ and Other Lies We Tell”
with Rabbi Taylor Baruchel, Holy Blossom’s Director of Outreach and Next Gen Engagement
Discover the intricate interplay between our aspiration for pure honesty and the complex reality of human interactions. Together, we’ll reflect on the fine line between maintaining integrity and embracing compassion. On this day of Teshuvah, come gain insights in how to navigate a world where honesty, empathy, and understanding converge.
Location: Lantern Board Room
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85417160483?pwd=RVBRdlZ0VzV0MUpiZFFNaFNJVzJBdz09
Meeting ID: 854 1716 0483
Passcode: 054852
“Teen Study: You are SO invited to the Teen Yom Kippur study session! ”
with Lisa Isen Baumal, Principal of Holy Blossom’s Schools and Sophie Rivers, Holy Blossom’s Youth Engagement Coordinator
Take a deep dive into what Teshuvah really means and looks like, using ‘You are SO not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah’ as a study guide. Teens and tweens in grades 7 and up are all invited!
Location: HABSTY Youth Lounge
“Triumphs and Divisions: Israel’s 50-Year Evolution Examined on Yom Kippur”
with Yaron Deckel, Senior Emissary from Israel’s Jewish Agency to Canada
During this year of the 50th anniversary of the brutal Yom Kippur War, we reflect on the remarkable evolution Israel has undergone over the last five decades. The journey has been extraordinary; some say, miraculous. Yet, even now, Israel finds itself in a state of division and polarization, not seen in many years. Throughout the history of the Jewish People and the Jewish State, optimism and challenges have intertwined. What does the current chapter mean for Diaspora Jewry and for Israel’s future?
Location: Enkin Board Room
Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81829397211?pwd=D8ynTZyrbMMNYyH2tIisMIfyoPdxuu.1
Meeting ID: 818 2939 7211
Passcode: 883267
“The Forgiveness Book Tour”
With Natalie Kertes and Sharoni Sibony, Holy Blossom’s Adult Education Coordinator
Journey through scenes from contemporary Jewish fiction, using a literary lens to unpack the big questions of intergenerational trauma, forgiveness, remorse, and reconciliation. With excerpts from Judy Batalion’s White Walls, Rachel Kadish’s The Weight of Ink, and Hannah Lillith Asadi’s The Stars are Not Yet Bells as our guides, we’ll explore what it means to forgive behaviours we recognize as the products of social circumstances, in ourselves and in others.
Location: Room 307 (In person only)
“Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Study”
Holy Grounds Café is closed, of course, but the bookshelves of our Max Enkin Library are well-stocked. Temple Librarian and Temple Board Member, Caroline Ingvaldsen, will be on hand to help you find materials of interest. A collection of High Holy Day-themed readings will also be provided for private study.
Location: Max Enkin Library (1st floor, next to Holy Grounds Cafe)
“Contemplative Walk”
With Wendy Melvin, Board Member and Competitive Sprinter
Weather permitting, meet on the green grass just outside the Ava Road entrance
Holy Blossom Walking Club will host a special Contemplative Walk through Cedarvale Park. The pace of our walk will be slow and mindful as we engage in rich conversation and inspirations taken from the Rabbis’ sermons, personal gratitudes and commitments for a blessed year ahead. Please join us for fresh air, light exercise, and uplifting conversations with fellow congregants. This is an all-ages event.
“Tikun Olam and Our Climate Chaos”
With City Councillor, Dr. Dianne Saxe
On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate the creation of the world. On Yom Kippur we recount and repent for our sins of commission, our sins of omission, and our sins of emission against the planet. After a summer of raging fires from coast to coast, the climate crisis is hitting closer to home. One of Canada’s leading Canadian environmental lawyers will bring Jewish questions of accountability to our study table.
Location: Mishkan
Livestream: holyblossom.org/hhd/
“Instrumental Music and Private Prayer”
With Beth Singer, Cellist
Against the backdrop of the single voice of the cello, choose your favourite seat in the mostly-empty Main Sanctuary for private meditation. One after another, congregants are welcome to ascend to the open Ark to offer private prayers for the new year. A collection of High Holy Day-themed readings will be provided for those who wish. The Plaut Torah Commentaries and the compilation of Jewish wisdom at the front of the Machzor (High Holyday Prayerbook) are also available for your personal study.
Location: Main Sanctuary (1st-floor and 2nd-floor balconies through the Garson/Baskin Family Gallery)
“The Big, the Small, and the Genesis of our Universe: What Science and Torah Have to Say to One Another”
With Professor Pekka Sinervo
What do we really know about our universe? What might our ancestors have understood about subatomic matter and evolution? We’ll bring a scientific lens to study the first verses of Torah and celebrate the wonder of how our world came to be.
Location: Room 209 (In person only)
“Restoration of Trust”
With Professor Robert Steiner
Recent years have rocked the public’s trust in elected leadership, the police, the health care system, the social safety net, and the media. The global refugee crisis drove millions out of their homes and the global pandemic drove millions into their homes, leading to widespread anxiety and loneliness.
We’ll take a hard look at the dynamics currently undermining trust in the public square and mine our sacred texts for hints on how to build a high-trust community in the midst of today’s low-trust environment.
Location: Rm 308-309 (In person only)
