Minorities: What is the place of religious minorities in a Jewish state? Israel guarantees its citizens freedom of religion. Yet while many Israeli Arabs thrive and prosper in Israel, examples of discrimination and intolerance towards Israel’s Palestinian minority are also not uncommon. What is the significance of Palestinian dual loyalty, or even hostility of some Palestinians towards the state? There are reports of government discrimination in terms Read more »
Professor Gabi Ben Dor. Tuesday and Wednesday, May 8 & 9, at 8:00 p.m. May 8: The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East. May 9: The Politics Of Social Change In Israel. The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East. The tumultuous regime chances in the Middle East during the past year have created some new realities and rivalries, and they have also restored some old ones. The Arab world as such has lost most of its clout, Read more »
Morality in War: Can war ever be justified? If so, when? Does morality have a place in war? Are there rules for asymmetric warfare? How should we respond to an enemy who demonstrates total disregard for civilians on both sides? Are we required to protect civilians who are intentionally endangered by the enemy? Are we required to assume risk to our own soldiers and civilians, to protect civilians on the other side? Mondays, April 23 to May 14, at Read more »
By Rabbi Thomashow. Palliative care is a special, sensitive field of medicine. The rabbis, in their wisdom, showed the same care for this area of medicine, and time in one’s life. Come hear Dr. Larry Librach, director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the U of T, here at HBT tonight at 7:30pm. Read more »
Occupation: A people that throughout history has faced powerlessness and persecution now finds itself forced to exercise control over others. How should Israel balance the right to security with the desire of Palestinians for sovereignty? When is occupation justified? What are acceptable measures to control a terrorist minority in a larger population? To what rights are West Bank Palestinians entitled? Mondays, April 23 to May 14, at Read more »
Mondays, April 23 to May 14, at 7:30 p.m. Are Diaspora Jews become disenchanted or disinterested in the State of Israel, as some claim? Have Jews become uncomfortable with Israel’s military power? How do we relate to a modern and economically vibrant Jewish State, who needs personal engagement more than charity? Based on the Engaging Israel program from the world renowned Shalom Hartman Institute, this year’s Israel Seminar will challenge Read more »
By Rabbi John Moscowitz. This Tuesday evening I will begin teaching “Faith and the Faithless”. Please come join whether you are possessed of faith or not; if you are keen to learn what some fascinating figures say about belief; and if you want to study with other seekers—seekers of God, of faith, of the kind of sense that makes life satisfying, even if not always discernable. Click here for more details. To read more Read more »
How Belief May Take you by Surprise Tuesdays, April 3 – April 24 7:30 p.m. What divergent and interesting thinkers have to say – from Aviva Zornberg to David Horowitz, from Joseph Soloveitchik to Naomi Levy – have to say about how faith may emerge when least expected and most necessary, and how you don’t have to start as a believer to gain faith. These four weeks will include a survey of what the great Jewish exponents of faith have Read more »
Wednesday, March 28-April 11 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Yael Splansky Are you what you eat? Judaism has always had a lot to say about what to eat, what not to eat, and how to make the acts of preparing, eating, and sharing food sacred. Using sacred Jewish text and excerpts from Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, “Eating Animals,” we’ll consider our foodways in light of environmental, social, health-conscious, religious, and ethical values. Read more »
Dr. Wendy Mogel will inspire and challenge each parent. Monday, February 13 – 6:30 p.m. The inspiration is that there is a way in which for parents to live with their teen and preteen and do so with comfort and strength. The challenge is to potentially shift our way of thinking about parenthood and childhood too. Dr. Mogel will also bring her professional wisdom plus comedic hilarity. It is entertaining to be with Dr. Mogel. It is also truly Read more »
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 7:30 p.m. Why does Israel receive so much attention in the media and international community? Why do its actions come under such harsh criticism? This talk seeks to answer these questions, paying attention to reasons both intrinsic – what the state of Israel really is and does – and extrinsic – how it is perceived by others. Derek J. Penslar Samuel Zacks Professor of Jewish History Associate Chair, Department Read more »
Our Winter/Spring 2012 Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Centre for Adult Learning at Holy Blossom Temple Booklet is now on-line. Please take some time to peruse the wonderful courses offered this season. There are courses for all tastes. Learn from our rabbis; Torah Study on Shabbat morning, Rabbi John Moscowitz, parse through the Talmud, with Rabbi Karen Thomashow, study texts on ethical eating, with Rabbi Yael Splansky and/or study and learn Read more »
The Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre For Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple, in conjunction with Torah In Motion, looks forward to hosting author Mark Steyn in conversation with Dr. Elliott Malamet. Thursday December 1, 8pm. Free Admission. Mark Steyn is an international bestselling author and a leading Canadian human rights activist. His latest book, After America (2011), is a Top Five bestseller in the United States and Read more »
The complete video of Benny Morris: What Must Israel Do To Survive – And Thrive? lecture – November 17, 2011 at 8 p.m. Part of the Gerald Schwartz / Heather Reisman Fall Lecture Series at Holy Blossom Temple. To learn about our upcoming lecture, with Mark Steyn – Dec. 1 at 8 pm, click here. Read more »
November 17, 2011 at 8 p.m. The Gerald Schwartz / Heather Reisman Fall Lecture Series at Holy Blossom Temple. Benny Morris is one of the foremost Israeli historians, the founder in fact of the revisionist group of Israeli historians who in the 1980’s began to look at Israel’s founding less through the eyes of Leon Uris (Exodus) and more through the lens of the critical lover of the Jewish State. He is a take-no-prisoners kind of intellectual, Read more »
The complete video of Yossi Klein Halevi’s What Must Israel Do To Survive – And Thrive? lecture - November 10, 2011 at 8 p.m. Part of the Gerald Schwartz / Heather Reisman Fall Lecture Series at Holy Blossom Temple. To learn about the third lecture in this series, with Benny Morris – Nov 17 at 8 pm, click here. Read more »
November 10, 2011 at 8 p.m. The Gerald Schwartz / Heather Reisman Fall Lecture Series at Holy Blossom Temple. Yossi Klein Halevi is possessed of an unusual combination. He has the soul of a poet, (see his book At The Entrance of The Garden, note that he is serious devotee of meditation) along with the head of a political analyst, (see his writings on Israel and the Middle East, in The New Republic particularly). He is a lover Read more »
On November 11 and 12, Rabbi Steven Leder is Holy Blossom’s Scholar in Residence. The rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, Steven Leder writes in the press and is seen on television commenting on Jews and contemporary life. Come and learn from Rabbi Leder of the corrosive, as well as the liberating, aspects of money: How we use money and abuse it. Rabbi Steven Leder, Wilshire Blvd Temple, Los Angeles, CA November 11 Following Read more »
Wednesdays, Nov 9, 23, Dec 7, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. Each was born in a different decade, into a unique social environment, yet they are united in a desire to leave behind a record of a life lived. What can the memoirs tell us about a particular time, and place and an individual. Dr. Sandler will review the following novels: Shusha Guppy, The Blindfold Horse. Memories Of A Persian Childhood A Girl In Paris, A Persian Encounter With the West Read more »
Mondays, November 7, 14 and 21 at 7:30 pm. In Judaism, sacred study is a form of worship, of praising God, and marveling at the mysteries of God’s world. The newly launched Siddur Pirchei Kodesh is rich with texts – Biblical, Rabbinic, Medieval, and Modern. We’ll consider these and add our own voices, too, as we ask the eternal questions embedded in the prayerbook. Among them are: What does God do? What does God want from the Read more »
Nov 2, 16, & 30 at 7:30 p.m. This three-part series examines Jewish Diasporic Cinema. We will discuss and screen excerpts from various Jewish films from around the world which demonstrate the survival and persistence of Jewish culture in radically different geographic and social environments. We also will explore the ways in which, throughout this century of global and economic migration, the meaning of ‘diaspora’ has broadened Read more »
Redeeming Goodness: Refugees and the Struggle for Canada Honoured recipient Dr. Mary Jo Leddy Member of the Order of Canada, writer, speaker, theologian and social activist. We will honour Dr. Leddy for her work with refugees at Toronto’s Romero House. The founding editor of the Catholic New Times and the author of the books “Say to the Darkness We Beg to Differ”, Reweaving Religious Life: Beyond the Liberal Model, At the Border Called Read more »
Yom Kippur: Our Learning for the High Holy Days Study Sessions – Saturday October 8, 2011 – 1:30 p.m. Evan Solomon: Sacrifice, Isolation and Faith: Israel in the Arab Spring - Two-time Gemini Award-winning journalist Evan Solomon is the anchor of CBC News Network’s Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, as well as CBC Radio One’s The House. Before that, Solomon co-hosted the Gemini Award-winning weekly news and current affairs shows CBC Read more »
Watch and listen as Hirsh Goodman, a leading Israeli journalist and strategist, speaks about his book, “The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival” at Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto, September 22,2011. Goodman was surprisingly optimistic, as is his book. To learn more about all our upcoming Schwartz/Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning programs, please click here. Read more »
The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival. THE GERALD SCHWARTZ / HEATHER REISMAN CENTRE FOR JEWISH LEARNING AT HOLY BLOSSOM TEMPLE. The question “Can Israel survive?” has echoed loud for Israelis – and Jews, their supporters and adversaries worldwide – since the Holocaust. Hirsh Goodman attempts to answer it through rigorous factual assessment of each of the challenges his country faces, and by consulting experts and participants on all sides of Read more »