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December 2007
CONTENTS:
Repeat after me …
School Salaries + Website+ Chanukah Celebration + Accounting+ Bereavement Fund+ Listening Campaign+ Shabbats+ Book Club+ Passover Seder + Annual General Meeting + Newsletter + Administrator + Purim Party + School rent + Adult Education + Office Supplies + School Utilities + Rabbi + Kiddushes + High Holidays + Flowers + Security+ Rabbi Cell/Office phone+ Office + Mailing + Photocopying + Cantor+ Room Rentals + Subsidies for Memberships + Insurance + Lawyer + Rabbi Travel+ Membership invitations+ Online Credit Card fees + Board Consultant+ Bookkeeper + Children’s Services + Childcare + Volunteer Appreciation = DJC.
Catch your breath.
You’re just a click away from donating online at www.djctoronto.com. Or take a moment to mail in your contribution in the envelope supplied with your invitation. To those who have supported our fundraising campaign, we thank you. To those who have yet to send in a donation, your thank you is on standby.
Everyone who makes a donation will be thanked in our January newsletter by name. Imagine not seeing your name on our list. Imagine a lively dinner party conversation grinding to a halt when someone says, “I didn’t see your name.” You cringe. You cough. You ask for another helping of maple-crusted asparagus. Avoid embarrassment. Embrace the DJC.
Please make a donation by December 31, when our fundraising campaign ends.
Thank you!
DECEMBER CALENDAR
At a glance:
| WHAT | WHEN | WHERE |
DJC Youth Group Inaugural event |
Sunday, December 2 3:30 PM |
28 Bayfield Crescent Home of Emma Abramowicz [map] |
| Chanukah Party | Thursday, December 6 5:15 PM |
Ms Miriam’s Stay & Play 583 A Danforth Avenue ring the doorbell for entry [map] |
| HOUSE MEETING - AGING- Discussion on Tell Me a Riddle by Tillie Olsen |
Thursday, December 6 7:15 PM |
Riverdale Presbyterian 662 Pape Avenue [map] (just south of Danforth) |
| Shabbat Service Led by Melissa Heller |
Friday, December 7 |
Eastminster United 310 Danforth Avenue Auditorium [map] Child care available, Kiddush to follow |
| Torah Study | Saturday, December 8, 11:00 AM | Eastminster United Room C17 [map] directions posted at Jackman entrance |
| In House Shabbat | Friday, December 14 7:00 PM | 4 Austin Crescent [map] Home of Sheri Cohen |
DATES TO MARK FOR JANUARY:
- ♣ Diversity meeting - January 10
- ♣ Book Club meeting: January 15 - The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
- ♣ Melissa’s weekend visit: January 17- 19
For more details about these events, please read on…!
Calling all DJC Youth!
Are you a youth between the ages of 14-18? Are you looking to connect with other DJC youth, be part of a fledgling and exciting new group that engages in a variety of social activities and social action initiatives? Then make sure you come out to the very first, premiere, and inaugural DJCYG event!
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When: Sunday, December 2 |
We'll be screening the recent 'sleeper' hit movie: Thank You for Smoking, and there will be good eats, good discussion, and good times! If you are the parent of a teen reading this, make sure you pass this info on to them. If you are a teen reading this, make sure you let your parents know you intend on going!
Everyone is welcome! We look forward to seeing you!
Please Rsvp to: djcyouthgroup@gmail.com
“Chanukah oh Chanukah, come light my menorah…”
Excerpt from Sharon, Lois and Bram song
Our DJC community Chanukah party is happening this year at our Jewish School location on the Danforth.
Where: 583 A Danforth Avenue - Ms Miriam’s Stay & Play [map]
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM - for students, parents and community members
Date: Thursday, December 6
Parents of JS Students are asked to be at their children’s classes as our day will end at 5:15 PM so that families can celebrate together. Our teachers will be providing games and crafts for your entertainment. There will be songs, candle lighting, musical entertainment for families and some Chanukah crafts and games to participate in.
Please join us for our celebration of the festival of lights!
Chanukah comes early this year, beginning on December 4th. We’d like to remind you that by doing your shopping at www.judaicamaven.ca a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Danforth Jewish Circle.
Whether you’re looking for candles, chocolate coins, menorahs or dreydels, you can order online and have it shipped or avoid shipping charges by placing the order by phone.
Please call Temi @ 416-656-5650 and she will be happy to take any phone orders and organize a delivery drop off depot.
House Meeting on Aging
Through last year's Listening Campaign we identified caring for aging parents as a common experience for many DJCers. It comes in many forms, shapes and sizes, depending on where the parent(s) live, what shape they are in, what their level of independence and needs are, and what the parent-child relationship has been and is now. It doesn't take Sigmund Freud to tell us that this is complicated territory, full of feelings and consequences. Although we each carry our own set of responsibilities for our parents, there is much we can share and learn from each other. It begins with stories and continues with lessons and resources that are available. As a caring, interested community, we give and receive support. We plan to have several meetings on caring for aging parents in the coming months. Our Spiritual leader, Melissa, has offered to lead a discussion on the topic drawing on a book/short story titled, Tell Me A Riddle * by Tillie Olsen. *Melissa has indicated it’s important to have read this short story in advance of this evening’s discussion. If you are interested in joining the discussion, and need a copy of Tell Me a Riddle please Rsvp: info@djctoronto.com.
What: House meeting on Aging
Discussion: Tell Me a Riddle
Date: Thursday, December 6
Time: 7:15 PM
Location: Riverdale Presbyterian Church, 662 Pape Avenue - Large room in basement [map]
Please consider…
…and if you'd like to have a one-on-one discussion with one of the Listening Campaign organizing group members, send your request to: info@djctoronto.com.
This is highly recommended for newer members of our community, but we’d love you to step forward and share your thoughts even if you're not so new! It’s a great way to connect and share your story.
December Shabbat services (Rabbi and in home) and Torah Study
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ADVANCE NOTICE - for 2 January meetings - House meeting (Diversity) and the Book Club:
The Diversity amongst Us
House Meeting
Please join the diversity committee for a house meeting and discussion on what makes us so diverse and how we can address those differences. Whether you're an interfaith couple
or family; a same sex couple; a single person longing for more community or spiritual connections; or just interested in talking about how the DJC can respond to its diverse membership, please come join us…
Date: Thursday, January 10, 2008
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: 1030 Logan (north of Browning) [map] at the home of Alex Lowy and Julia Mustard. The nearest subway stop is Chester.
*In case you have allergies, they have cats that will be put in the basement for the meeting.
For more information or to Rsvp: Please contact Karen Robbins karenmrobbins@aol.com or Tanya Lewis:t7lewis@ryerson.ca.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008 The title of this illuminating national bestseller, A History of Love, by Nicole Krauss, refers to a book within this book, a strange and marvelous novel written long ago by a heartbroken Leo Gursky, who lost his first and only love, Alma, when she fled Poland for America before W.W.II. Leo is now an old man in New York City, unaware that his novel has also survived the war and changed lives. “Vertiginously exciting...vibrantly imagined... [Krauss is] a prodigious talent.” - Janet Maslin, New York Times. Cynthia Good is director of the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College, and former president of Penguin Group (Canada). At Penguin she originated the Penguin's Canadian Program, which has grown to one of the most successful in Canada, boasting a list of premier Canadian writers. She has taught in both Ryerson University's and Centennial College's publishing certificate programs, and been a featured speaker on cultural, literary and business subjects at many universities and colleges across Canada. |
Book Club Rsvps: please write to info@djctoronto.com to Rsvp for this meeting. As there is an attendance cap for each meeting, please Rsvp promptly as spaces fill up quickly since all meetings take place in members’ homes.
Please note: this year’s meeting dates are also available online here.
*Please try to get this book early, as it may have to be ordered. Happy reading!
Reporting on our October Retreat…
On Friday October 26th 20 women, individually and in assorted groups made their way through a foggy, rainy night to the Sahayoga Retreat Centre in the heart of Prince Edward County. Tired, hungry and full of anticipation, we all gathered in the spacious dining room, where, with renewed energy, the chatter of connection and reconnection began to shape the tone of what was to be a memorable weekend.
This Women’s gathering emanated from our first retreat in the spring of 2006, the success of which drew broad interest for another. This time the focus was on ritual, women’s rituals in Judaism…what are they, how can we individually and collectively reclaim their relevance and how can we embrace their meaning fully. From Friday evening until Sunday afternoon we were steeped in stories and memories, spoken and felt. We learned about ourselves by learning about each other which naturally brought us closer, more intimately sharing our personal worlds and the meaning of our connections to Judaism. We moved from brilliantly planned services, to silent meditation, to walks in the rain, to yoga to a collective ‘mikva’, to finally hearing stories evoked by objects symbolizing our connection to Judaism. There were tears, laughter and lots of talking. Everything was planned and lead by a small group of women who outdid themselves in the planning and created a warm and caring space to move us through the weekend seamlessly.
Reluctant to leave the spirit of our connection, we developed a lengthy list of activities to bring us back together after re-entering our busy lives. And as one participant stated, “I feel as if I have made 19 new friends.” What could be better??…this is community, this is the DJC.
Lynne Raskin - member and co-chair of the DJC Board
ECO TIP FROM DJC’S GREEN BAYIT:
Every month, we share a tip or tool in the newsletter with a focus on home environmentalism, the focus of the DJC's Green House/Bayit Campaign for the Jewish Year 5768. This month, we look at the positive contribution you can make with your old cell phone and fax inkjet cartridge.
Local Phones for Food — Local food banks benefit and harmful waste is diverted from the garbage every time someone recycles their used inkjet cartridge or cell phone. When a collection box is full, it is sent to a central location where the cartridges and phones are sorted and sold to the re-manufacturing industry. They turned into refurbished products for consumers, and funds are raised for our local food banks through this process. To find a collection site or request to create one at your workplace or school, click on http://www.think-food.com/en/dropoff.asp.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Saturday, December 8, 8:00 PM. New Choir -In the Air Tonight. Location: Eastminster United Church. Tickets: $20 at the door; more info: newchoir.ca
SPECIAL SESSION
Date: Tuesday, December 18
Location: First Narayever Shul
Time: 7:30PM
Rabbi David Seidenberg, a noted scholar of eco-Judaism and writer and teacher of Kabbalah and Chasidism, will speak on "The Alter Rebbe's Divine Ecology and the Radiance of the Earth." The study session is presented by Torat HaTeva (the Jewish Nature Centre of Canada) who has invited Narayever to host a program with visiting scholar R. David Seidenburg. It will be based on the last teaching that Shneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad Chasidism, wrote, where he extols the earth itself as the manifestation of infinite chesed or love. Shneur Zalman's last legacy was radical not only for the Kabbalah of his time but also for the Judaism of our own. Join this exploration of intellectual history, Kabbalah, and the future of planet.
Suggested donation is $10-20 or whatever each participant can afford.
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