Jessica has just come home from Jewish Studies. The family sits down to dinner and listens to the news. It’s all bad, so Dad turns it off. Jessica asks, “What’s going on in Ukraine?” Dad grabs a sheet of paper from her school bag to draw a map. Mom starts to explain about the war, …
Bearing witness is a moral act. While you and I don’t have the power to hault Putin’s military aggression against Ukraine, and while I feel quite powerless as the horrific events in Ukraine unfold, we have the ability and moral responsibility to bear witness to this assault – -to bear witness Putin’s use of …
“Einstein and the Rabbi” Discussion Group Please join Rhonda Isaac for a summer reading and discussion group on the book “Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul” by Naomi Levy. In this book, the author becomes fascinated with a found letter from Einstein, and a dialogue of curiosity, compassion, faith and science intercept. Our …
Pencil in hand, my eyes trace the contours of two oranges. I try not to draw what I know, but rather what is right in front of me — the outline, contours, shadows, bumps and dimples. Lighting a spark in the cold dark months, artist Leah Gold’s prompts are for anyone and everyone — an …
Inner Sparks – Reflections on Our Community Art Project Read More »
Baruch ata Adonai matir assurim – Blessed are You Adonai who frees the captives. I only heard about Saturday’s hostage standoff at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas when I turned my phone back on after Shabbat. Initially, I felt shocked and deeply worried until the hostages made it safely out of the building. It …
The wisdom of Tu BiShvat is coming right when we need it, as we face another round of Covid restrictions, illness, financial strain, separation and concerns. Tu BiShvat (from the evening of January 16th through January 17th) is the New Year of the Trees. What started as a day for fruit-tree taxation in ancient Israel …
Miriam’s Cup: Tu BiShvat’s Outer Shells and Hidden Sparks Read More »
I have known of the Chesed Caring Committee for a number of years, but have never fully appreciated what they do and how well they do it until recently. My partner had surgery in mid-October and we knew that his recuperation would be a slow one, so I reached out to the Committee for a …
We’re in the time of the year when we wake up and it’s dark and cold out, and it’s dark again by 4:30 in the afternoon. This year, winter during the Covid pandemic is bringing news of yet another variant, questions about the effectiveness of the vaccine and more waves of uncertainty. For many of …
Miriam’s Cup: Training Our Eyes to See Hidden Light Read More »
I’m part of a newly formed group called the Shmita Sisters (we will definitely need T-shirts!). We’re a group of creative Jewish women leaders and teachers in Toronto, meeting monthly to explore how we might live the biblical practices of Shmita/the Sabbatical year that arrives every seven years. And this year is a Shmita year. …
Miriam’s Cup: Building Sabbatical Culture – DJC Learning and Practice for the Year Ahead Read More »
The DJC’s Artist Selection Committee is excited to welcome Leah Gold as our Visiting Artist this year, in honour of our 25th anniversary. An experienced community artist, Leah will lead printmaking workshops that investigate our place in the natural world. Leah Gold is a visual artist and community arts facilitator. Her drawings and ceramics use …
It is a worthwhile question, as we begin Yom Kippur, as we enter this 25-hour period engaged in the central activity of kaparah – atonement – to ask, does it actually makes a difference? Does it change us? I don’t want to talk myself out of a job, so you can probably guess that I …
I want to share a cartoon on the screen that you may have seen. I’ll describe it as well. There is a person sitting at a table in front of a lemon squeezer. To their right, are mountains of lemons and a cannon firing lemons right at their head. To their left are jars and …
