Havurot 5782

Jewish, Older LGBTQIA+

My name is Sheri Ahava Cohen and I recently came out as Queer. The coming out process is exhilarating, alive, unleashing, challenging and at times, difficult to navigate. I want to connect with older Jewish LGBTQ+ who have come out or are in the process of coming out now.  I am looking to start a new havurah/group for (age 50+) to explore topics like: understanding  our culture, sexuality, gender (pronouns and beyond), relationships and partnerships, other topics decided by the group and  how to live into this new life, internally and publicly.  We’ll explore from a specifically Jewish perspective, as well as bringing in some mindfulness practice. Let’s begin by meeting on Zoom, and plan to meet in person in the future. If you are interested or want to know more, contact Sheri Ahava at shericohen@rogers.com or 416-456-8422

DJC Havurah: Seniors Coffee & Chat GroupThursday evenings | 7 PM

The DJC Seniors Coffee & Chat group grew out of a need for those seniors who are adapting to living solo after the loss of a spouse, a divorce, or being single and who would like to expand their social circle.  Our group started in late 2021 during COVID to share common interests and develop new connections.   

Since then, we have grown to be a wonderful group of friends who look forward to our Thursday evening 7:00 pm zooms.  During the summer months, we finally met each other in person having picnics in nearby parks and meeting at Edwards Gardens for Thursday night concerts.  Now that we are venturing out to meet in person, if the fall is COVID safe, we are looking ahead to broadening our focus to share topics of interest and to host Seniors events to reach out and meet new members of the DJC community.  

We look forward to welcoming new members. The value of having new friendships at this stage of life is exciting and enriching.    

To RSVP or for more information please email Marilyn Neuman at marilynneuman50@gmail.com

Yidisher Shmues Havura

Dates/times: Monday or Tuesday evening, the exact time & frequency of meetings to be determined by interested participants.

Are you learning Yiddish and could use some conversational practice? Then come meet with other DJC learners on zoom, and will practice together. Folks who want to join should already know some Yiddish – at least the alef-beys & the ability to put together (even really simple) sentences (like “Redstu Yidish?”). This is not a class to learn Yiddish from scratch, but rather a space to improve our language skills together. I’m at the upper beginner/lower intermediate level myself – but anyone from middle beginner to advanced levels is absolutely welcome to join, and we can try to create practice pairs or trios according to fluency matches. I have some dialogue guides from books & classes I’ve attended, but everyone is welcome to bring their own conversational scripts & suggestions for this space.

Please email Kamila.Rina.catalyst@proton.me if you want to participate, or have questions.