Adult Learning

Lunch and Learn

Join Cantor Wunch on Tuesday, February 20th at noon on Zoom as she hosts this month’s conversation about a parasha from the Torah.

Always engaging. Always interesting. Always something new to learn! No prior Torah experience necessary!

No registration required. Zoom link will be sent to all members prior to the date.

Save the date now for future Lunch & Learn Tuesdays

March 19

April 16

May 21

June 11 (note – 2nd Tuesday of the month)

The Conflict

In recognition that we all come at the Israel/Palestine struggle with different understandings, the Congregation Shir Libeynu Board is pleased to present a four part learning experience, The Conflict.

Taught by Dr. Dan Aviv who has been engaged in Jewish learning as an educator, professor, published scholar and author for thirty years, this four-part series will provide context for the ongoing struggle between Israel and Palestine. Dr. Aviv has developed and taught curricula on classical and modern Jewish texts, philosophy, history of the diaspora, and Israel and Zionism as well as Jewish food culture.

Over the course of four 90-minute sessions, we will look at government documents, poetry, song, selections from fiction, manifestos, speeches, UN resolutions, and key historical events in an attempt to provide a frame in which to understand what’s going on right now.

As the founding principal of ADRABA (adraba.ca), an online Jewish high school, Dr. Aviv currently teaches high school credit courses to Jewish teens in six communities across Ontario. The Board is thrilled that he has agreed to provide this program to our congregants and the broader community.

These sessions will be offered over ZOOM on Sunday February 11th, 18th, 25th and March 3rd, at 7:00pm.

Registration Details

Members can attend all four sessions for just $20; non-members $25. If you would like to attend but cannot afford this rate, please contact our administrator, Amanda.

 To reserve your space, click this link today. Please pay by e-transfer or cheque, or, if you would prefer to pay by credit card, contact shirlibeynuadmin@gmail.com.

Speaker Series 

Throughout the year, we offer our members and the broader community opportunities to hear and learn from distinguished community leaders, social justice advocates, writers, artists and many other people who are making a difference in their fields and in the world.

Please see our Events page for details on upcoming speakers and events. If you have ideas for special activities, speakers, presentations, celebrations or other events, please send a message to shirlibeynuadmin@gmail.com.

Here is a recording of our event from April 2023: Ben Murane: Pushback for Democracy in Israel.

These are some past remarkable speakers and performers:

Alan Silverman

Alan Silverman is a member of the coordinating committee of SCAN! (Seniors for Climate Action Now!) He will address what the current provincial and federal governments have, and have not done, toward ending greenhouse gas emissions. He will also tell us about SCAN! and how we can get involved with this organization. 

 

Naomi Alboim

Naomi Alboim is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration (CERC) at Ryerson University, and a Distinguished Fellow at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University.  
 
Ms. Alboim is an active public policy consultant and has advised governments and NGOs across Canada, in Europe, the Caribbean, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya and South Korea.  
 
Previously, Ms. Alboim worked at senior levels in the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments for twenty-five years, including eight years as Deputy Minister in three different portfolios. Her areas of responsibility included immigration, human rights, labour market training, workplace standards, culture, as well as women’s, seniors’, disability, anti-racism and Indigenous issues. 
 
She is an engaged volunteer and advocate on refugee issues, and leads her synagogue’s refugee sponsorship activities.  
 
Naomi is a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals and is a member of the Order of Ontario. 

Carmel Tanaka

A “Jewpanese” (Japanese and Jewish) activist and community organizer who works in Jewish LGBTQ+ spaces and to eliminate Anti-Asian hate, Founder and Executive Director of JQT Vancouver, Vancouver’s Jewish queer trans non-profit,  Carmel spoke with Cantor Wunch and Arya Marvazy about her personal journey towards leadership, and experiences and visions for creating Jewish communities that truly serve the diverse Jewish landscape. July 29, 2021
https://www.jqtvancouver.ca

Arya Marvaz

An Iranian-American Jewish LGBTQ+ activist and community organizer, Arya spoke with Cantor Wunch and Carmel Tanaka about his personal journey towards leadership, and experiences and visions for creating Jewish communities that truly serve the diverse Jewish landscape. July 29, 2021.

Paula Wolfson

Shir Libeynu’s Shabbat & B’Mitzvah Chazzan for over nine years and a Dora-award winning performer, presented “From Broadway to the Bimah,” to share how her love of music led her into chazzanut. July 11,  2021
https://paulawolfson.com

Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi, PhD

A freelance rabbi and educator with years of experience in the Hillel world and expertise in queer theory and community, spoke with Cantor Wunch and Rabbi Andrea Myers about LGBTQ+ Jews and leadership. June 24, 2021
http://www.rabbinikki.com

Rabbi Andrea Myers (they/them)

A spiritual counselor at the All of You Wellness Centre, human resources professional and author of The Choosing: A Rabbi’s Journey from Silent Nights to High Holy Days (Rutgers University Press, 2011), spoke with Cantor Wunch and Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi about LGBTQ+ Jews and leadership. June 24, 2021
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabbi-andrea-myers-646323153/?originalSubdomain=ca

Avi Sadiv

From the Canadian chapter of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), spoke about the many great things the Society does. April 18, 2021
https://natureisrael.org/CSPNI

Jenny Isaacs

Director, Heart to Heart, spoke about this leadership program for Jewish and Palestinian youth. March 21, 2021
https://www.heart-to-heart.ca

Tema Smith

Diversity advocate, writer and Jewish community builder, spoke about “Mixed Race and Jewish: The Personal and the Political.” Presented in collaboration with Danforth Jewish Circle. February 21, 2021
https://temasmith.com

Dr. Mira Sucharov

Professor of Political Science and University Chair of Teaching Innovation at Carleton University, spoke about her book, Borders and Belonging: A Memoir (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). January 17, 2021
https://carleton.ca/polisci/people/sucharov-mira/

Akilah Allen-Silverstein and Yoni Belete

From No Silence on Race, which advocates for racial equity and inclusivity in Jewish spaces in Canada, and encourages organizations to commit to the creation of a truly anti-racist Jewish community through the implementation of “9 pillars” for systemic change. November 22, 2020
https://www.nosilenceonrace.ca