Click image above for more details Please join us on Thursday evening July 4th at 7:30 PM for a stimulating conversation with Jim Lederman. Jim will present ISRAEL - THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS. JIM LEDERMAN, An Israel based analyst, he is the Senior Middle East regional analyst for Oxford Analytica. He advises the writers and analysts on whom we rely. He has lectured widely at universities and to independent public affairs groups. Has Read more »
Click image above for more details Richard Marceau understands the treatment of Israel in Quebec from all angles. As a Catholic Francophone, Marceau was three times elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Bloc Quebecois. Having taken an interest in Israel, the self-described "Pro-Palestinian Zionist" converted to Judaism and is now an Israel activist working as General Counsel for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. On Read more »
Click image above for more details Thursday, May 9, 2013. 7:30 p.m. Yossi Alpher is an independent Israeli strategic affairs consultant and commentator. He served in the Israel Defense Forces as an Intelligence officer, followed by 12 years in the Mossad. From 1978 to 1980, he was an intelligence analyst on Iran. From 1981 to 1995 he was associated with the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies (JCSS) at Tel Aviv University, ultimately serving Read more »
Click image above for more details May 7 & 8, 2013 7:30 p.m. The Harry and Blanche Posen Memorial Lecture is bringing in Professor Gabi Ben Dor from Israel who will join us for two evenings, Tuesday May 7 & Wednesday May 8, 2013. Professor Ben-Dor’s lectures are sponsored by the family of the late Harry & Blanche Posen. Gabi has been a part of the Holy Blossom culture for almost 10 years. His audiences continue to be awed by Read more »
Click image above for more details May 10-11, 2013. Rabbi Michael Marmur will be joining us on Friday, May 10, 2013. Rabbi Marmur, the son of our own Rabbi Dow Marmur, is the Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Jerusalem. As always, Rabbi Marmur’s teaching will be uplifting and dynamic. During the Friday evening dinner, our all will have an opportunity to learn more about the YES Fund, which supports all rabbinical Read more »
click image above for more details Look back: You did a good job raising your child in a Jewish home with Jewish values. Look ahead: How can Judaism continue to be a guide for you, your adult-child, and his/her non-Jewish spouse, and your grandchildren? This open and welcoming series of conversations will provide information, support and good humor to help you navigate the challenges and issues that you may confront on the road ahead. Read more »
Click image above for more details The End of the Shul as We Know it – Part II. Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Join us to learn from the leader in synagogue transformation, Rabbi/Professor Lawrence Hoffman. Rabbi Hoffman, co-founder of Synagogue 2000, a trans-denominational project to envision and implement the ideal synagogue “as moral and spiritual centre” for the 21st century. Rabbi Hoffman is training an entire generation Read more »
Click image above for more details Professor Einbinder is a leading scholar in the field of Medieval Jewish Literature. Through her research in Medieval Jewish poetry and martyrdom, she was surprised to find herself drawn into the medical texts of medieval Jewish physicians. These fascinating manuscripts shed light on a dark period of our history and still speak to us today about the resilience of the Jewish body-mind-spirit. We invite you Read more »
Click image above for more details Rabbi-Professor Susan Einbinder will join us as Scholar in Residence April 12-13, 2013. Einbinder is a leading scholar in the field of Medieval Jewish Literature. Through her research in Medieval Jewish poetry and martyrdom, she found herself drawn into medical texts of Jewish physicians. These fascinating manuscripts shed light on a dark period of our history and still speak to us today about the resilience Read more »
Click image above for more details Please join us for this fabulous series with noted artist, Laya Crust. Laya works mainly with paint and inks on paper. This first of our three-part series on Thursday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Enkin Boardroom, will focus on the Scroll of Esther – the Purim Megillah. Laya will show us the fascinating megillah that she has created through her own research and interpretation of the life of Esther Read more »
Click image above for more details Join us on Tuesday, February 5th at 7:30 p.m. in the Enkin Boardroom for the second in our series on Jewish Genealogy. Bill Gladstone, a Toronto-based journalist, author, publisher, public speaker and noted genealogist, has written extensively for numerous publications. He founded his own publishing company in 2008. He also gives frequent workshops on Jewish genealogy for the Ontario Jewish Archives and for Read more »
Click image above for more details Race to Nowhere: Monday January 21st from 6:30-8:30 p.m. This 80 minute documentary is a spellbinding analysis of stress in high school. Students, teachers, parents, and experts like Dr. Wendy Mogul address issues of homework, university preparation, and the outcomes of high pressure. It is an honest and resonate film—a must see for teens and parents. Following the film, concurrent parent and teen Read more »
Click image above for more details With Rabbi Michael Stroh. Ayn Rand was the Queen of Capitalism and "the virtue of selfishness". Martin Buber, the most famous modern Jewish thinker, taught about encounters with God and a realm of experience completely different from our technical, functional world. They were both Jewish. Let's see what happens when they confront each other. Read more »
Adult B’nei Mitzvah class light Chanukah candles together Members of our Adult B’nei Mitzvah class light Chanukah candles together on the 5th night of Chanukah. Our conversations are enriching and lively. The class meets weekly for the next two school years. We look forward to engaging these current “b’nei Mitzvah students” into continuing leadership roles in the congregation. To learn more about our upcoming Chanukah Read more »
Over 350 people from across Jewish spectrum, Jewish professionals and lay people, joined together at Beth Tzedec Congregation on Thursday December 6th for the first of the two-part series, "The End of the Shul as We Know It? Crisis and Renewal in North American Synagogues". We at Holy Blossom Temple were fortunate to collaborate with The Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto, and Beth Tzedec for this event. Professor Jeffrey Kopstein, Read more »
Click image above for more details First there was the Arab-Israeli conflict, then came the “Arab Spring,” but these are just the tip of the pyramid in a region driven by fear and hate. Secularists are battling religionists in several states including Egypt, Syria, Israel and the new “state” of Palestine; Sunni Muslims are at war with Shiites in Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain; monarchs are struggling to keep commoners at bay in Jordan and Saudi Read more »
Click image above to download your copy Dear Friends, As Director of Education I am pleased to present to you the latest Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple’s brochure for Winter/Spring 2013. Please take a moment or two to scan through the myriad of programs. There is truly something for everyone. There are programs for the studious, programs for theatre go-ers, programs for teens and their Read more »
Click image above for more details Barrie Wilson is a fascinating lecturer on the topic of Jesus. His critically acclaimed novel, How Jesus Became Christian, published in 2008, opened our eyes to Jesus, his family life and his disciples. Barrie brings the world of Christianity to life inside the Jewish lens. We look forward to this year’s course, EXPLORING THE JESUS TRIANGLE. Barrie will take us through the significance of how can we know Read more »
Join us at Beth Tzedec Congregation, 1700 Bathurst Street at 7:00 PM, on Thursday December 6th as keynote presentation by Professor Jonathan Sarna, of Brandeis University, a pre-eminent scholar and author on the history of Jewish life and institutions in America presents on the future of congregations in North America. Professor Sarna will present a broad social and cultural history of large synagogues as the preferred institution in North Read more »
Keynote presentation by Professor Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University, pre-eminent scholar and author on the history of Jewish life and institutions in America This event is free and open to the public. No registration required. Professor Sarna will present a broad social and cultural history of large synagogues as the preferred institution in North America, and explore whether the model remains well suited to the current diversity and challenges Read more »
Speaker: Hershell Ezrin. Date: Shabbat, November 24th. Time: 1:00 p.m. (after kiddush.) An opportunity for our congregation to come together to reflect on the first week of Operation Pillar of Defense - the causes and timing of the escalation, events and progress to date, status of cease-fire negotiations, strategies of both sides. Hershell Ezrin, former Canadian diplomat and founding CEO of the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy, Read more »
Respected by the left and the right (and sometimes criticized by both), Daniel Gordis is one of Israel's most thoughtful observers. The blogger/ author Jeffery Goldberg says few care about Israel's moral, spiritual and physical health as does Gordis. Rabbi Gordis, Sr. Vice President of The Shalem Center in Jerusalem, is the author of a new book, The Promise of Israel. Among other things, the book turns the Israeli/ Palestinian relationship upside Read more »
Monday November 19, 2012. 7:30 p.m. Ron Gerlitz and Ali Haider are the Jewish and Arab co-executive directors of Sikkuy: The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality. During their conversation at Holy Blossom they will present: a behind the scenes analysis of how government policy toward the Arab citizens of Israel is determined and where the major barriers to equal resource allocations to be found. They will also update us Read more »
Click image above for more details The resolution about Israel that was passed last summer by the General Council of the United Church of Canada opened old wounds in the Jewish community. It reminded many of the anti-Israel invective pursued by the United Church Observer decades ago. On the other hand, the United Church passed almost a decade ago a very impressive document, "Bearing Faithful Witness," about Jewish-Christian relations. Many Read more »
Tuesday November 13, 2012. 8:00 p.m. Professor Joseph Klafter is the Heineman Chair of Physical Chemistry at Tel Aviv University. He has published close to 400 scientific articles and edited 18 books, earning him many prestigious prizes in his field. Since 2002 he has chaired the academic board of the Israel Science Foundation and as the new President of Tel Aviv University Professor Klafter is expanding the impact of Israel’s higher Read more »
