FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
J U L Y — A U G U S T 2 0 2 1
A.G.M. Report……….2 President’s Report………...3 Upcoming Events………….. 4-5 Resource List from ARC……..6 School Report……….7 Argentina Tour Overview…..8 On the Pew Report…………..10 Forward and backward…….11 The Book Corner………12 Guide to Jewish Food………13
Inside this issue:
Members and guests are welcome to submit articles and letters and photographs. Please email to: [email protected] Generally submissions should be no more than 700 words and should reflect a secular humanistic perspective. Please note that Oraynu reserves the right to decline or edit submissions in order to maintain the mutual respect our members enjoy and our reputation for fairness.
Website:
oraynu.org
Shalom everyone—By the time you read this, I will be recover- ing from my second hip replacement in nine months, which is a good thing. The end of my hip pain is in sight! My goal has always been to get back to Zumba one day.
Perhaps by the time the Y can reopen, I will be all healed and ready to go dancing.
Here’s hoping …
In spite of the pandemic, we still managed to have a stellar year in terms of program- ming, thanks to Interim Program Director Karen Elkin and our team (Roby, Rabbis Eva and Karen, and me). Besides the High Holidays and Passover, we offered a wide variety of online events for both members and friends of Oraynu. Highlights included two programs generously sponsored by Sue McLeod—”Laugh-Out Loud” with David Gale and Randy Vancourt in November and the hilarious Purim Spiel, written by Diane Flacks, and starring several Oraynuniks with special guests Terri Hawkes and Lorne Levy in February. On May 13th, we presented another of our Davida Glazer Memorial Program events. This time we welcomed Rabbi Adam Chalom for a fascinating discussion on the question of how humanis- tic Jews relate to the Torah and our earliest books.
Rabbi Eva Goldfinger offered a terrific, well- attended four-part lecture series once again, this time on the topic of “How Inter- pretive Lenses Change the Meaning of Jewish Texts.” She also put together an amazing program for Yom Hashoah
(Holocaust Remembrance), involving more than 25 members of all ages on “The Meaning and Purpose of Remembering Through Verse, Voices, Music and Art.” It was a powerful and moving program. And that’s just some of our year’s events!!
As always in the summer, our activities slow down a bit, but we do have some great programs planned for you:
The first one, on July 13th, is basically a Zoom social that will focus on food—
entitled “Jewish Food and Much More…”;
there is a comedic aspect to the program as well. Check out the notice on p. 4 and the ‘primer’ on p. 11. On July 29th, Linda Beck will present to us once again, this time on songwriters Kander and Ebb who are responsible for several musicals, including Chicago and Cabaret. In August, for everyone who has been itching to get away during this past year, we are heading virtually to Argentina to learn about its Jewish history (in two parts) from well- reviewed local guide Claudia Hercman. At this point, armchair travel is still better than no travel!
There is lots to read in this issue: a report on our Annual General Meeting, a list of important resources from Oraynu’s Anti- Racism Committee, an article from Paul Golin on the latest Pew Survey, an over- view of the Argentina program, and much more.
Stay safe and have a good summer.
Sandi
Sandi Horwitz, Editor
Happy Summering!
Oraynu has a
New Rabbi!
See p. 2
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING REPORT — June 22, 2021
Thirty-seven members Zoomed for our A.G.M. Following approval of last year’s minutes, President Mark Brender referred to the reports which members had received in advance. Secretary Penny Parnes took notes.
First up was Louise Sherman, Chair of the Rabbi Search Committee, who was thrilled to announce to the membership that Rabbi Jonathan Cohen has accepted the position of becoming our new Rabbi. He will start just prior to the High Holidays. Rabbi Jonathan was at the meeting and addressed us all, indicating how much he and his wife Karen are looking forward to becoming part of our community. See below for more about Jonathan.
Mark then delivered his President’s Report. See opposite page for the complete text.
Treasurer Robert Horwitz showed that Oraynu is in a strong financial position. The member surplus at June 30, 2020 was
$567,000 comprising: General Fund ($305,000), Building Fund ($44,000) and the Cemetery Fund ($218,000). Our membership stands at 133 family units, about the average over the past decade. Sadly, due to the necessity of being online during the pandemic, the school population declined considerably; but we believe it will rebound to pre-Covid numbers when we are back in person. High Holiday ticket sales to non-members, an important revenue source, were well down as events were held online. But we still expect about a $40,000 surplus for the current year because: (1) our Rabbi position remained unfilled, (2) we qualified for some Government pandemic assistance, (3) our membership responded tremendously well through renew- als and donations, and (4) our excellent online programming garnered donations from nonmembers. Our 2021-22 Budget has not yet been approved, as there are many questions on how we will operate with respect to High Holidays, the school and more. Some of our members have suffered financially due to the pandemic. We want them to continue being part of Oraynu. We know that many of our members will continue their support of Oraynu, through membership and generous do- nations. Oraynu's financial health was strong going into the pandemic and will continue to be strong as we come out of this period. Robert is happy to answer any questions you may have; email him at: [email protected]/
Board member and School Committee Chair Erin Winokur then provided us with an update on the School and its activities.
Next came the election of officers. Shelly Maerov is retiring from the Board, so on behalf of all members, we thank him for his committed service. The Board is so pleased to welcome long-time member Paula Bass and recent joinee Carol Elman to its ranks. See the complete listing of Officers on the back inside cover.
Following adjournment of the meeting, Mark presented a statement developed by the Anti-Racism Committee, including prescribed actions, related to Oraynu signing on to the principles of the No Silence on Race organization. After about a 30 minute open discussion, members were asked to indicate their support for the statement which was heartily approved. An important point brought forward by a couple of members was the problem of increasing Anti-Semitism and whether we might focus on that as well as the anti-racism issues in the BIPOC community. Perhaps another committee will be struck to deal specifically with that in the future. As people dropped out of the meeting, several stayed on to offer comments about Oraynu and to just continue chatting.
MEET ORAYNU’S INCOMING NEW RABBI ~ JONATHAN COHEN
With much thanks to the Rabbi Search and Interview Committees (Louise Sherman, Rabbi Karen Levy, Mark Brender, Robert Horwitz, Risa Morris, Karen Elkin, Les Kelman, Norval Wener and Cara Wilkie), Oraynu has a new rabbi who will serve us starting with the High Holidays. He has attended several of our online events during this past year and led an Oneg Shabbat program in February.
Jonathan Cohen has most recently been working as a tenured law professor and affiliate professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Florida. He was ordained as a Rabbi in 2018 through the Jewish Leaders Spiritual Institute and has just completed an M.A. in Jewish Studies from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He has an A.B., M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, where he also received his law degree.
Rabbi Jonathan been deeply involved in Jewish life for many years, and specifically in Humanistic Judaism for the past three years, actively participating in Gainesville FL’s small Humanistic Jewish community. He served as guest editor of the Sum- mer 2020 issue of Humanistic Judaism Magazine.
He has been preparing to work as a congregational rabbi for many years. Over the past decades, he has helped to found and grow a chavurah-style service (the “Circle Minyan”), taught courses in Jewish law at his university, served as a student rabbi for a small congregation and for a senior living community, and served as a songleader in the Hillel setting. Addition- ally, he has written a number of scholarly articles in Jewish thought, and is currently writing a book, If the Bible is Fiction:
Concepts for Religious and Social Development.
Welcome, Rabbi Jonathan!! We look forward to meeting you and Karen in Toronto in the not too-distant future.
Board President Mark Brender’s A.G.M. Report June 11, 2020
I almost teared up a few times when watching Oraynu’s Bnai Mitzvah earlier this month from a desk chair in my basement. This was not expected. My youngest daughter went through her Bnai Mitzvah eight years ago, back in pre-Covid days if memory serves. I’ve attended several Bnai Mitzvah ceremonies since then, all of them excellent – and yet I don’t remember being quite as emotional as I was this time.
Still, it would be stretching the truth to say a mostly pre-recorded ceremony viewed on a computer screen is more moving than the usual Richmond Hill theatre experience. What our online world did allow for the first time, however, was seeing others’ reactions in real time.
Friends and extended family of our Bnai Mitzvah students were typing in their anticipation and greetings and congratulations and commentary from all over the world – from Israel and the United States and Europe, from Vancouver to Halifax, one side of Canada to the other. The comments never stopped, dozens and dozens of them, maybe hundreds, over the course of two hours. People shared what they were learning, how impressed they were with the Jewish history and culture embedded in the ceremony, the social justice themes, the emphasis put on women leaders, the modern day heroes and challenges, the deep learning on display. It was all so moving because the reactions of so many people who have never experienced Oraynu or our Bnai Mitzvah program in person proved that even in such a difficult year, the values Oraynu upholds and instills in our children came through as strong as ever. Under challenging circumstances, the children — some of whom were supposed to have their ceremony a year earlier — were simply brilliant. So I want to extend huge congratulations again to our graduates and parents, and staff, and to so many other people behind the scenes who made this year’s Bnai Mitzvah possible. That Oraynu has been able to hold strong to our values is a good and reassuring thing at a time when we need good and reassuring.
I started writing this a few days after Madiha Salman, Yumna Afzaal, Talat Afzaal and Salman Afzaal were murdered in London, Ontario on June 6 in an act of Islamophobic hatred. This followed on the heels of the remains of 215 children found in a mass grave at a for- mer Indigenous residential school in Kamloops. Amidst grief and anger and ongoing Covid frustrations (mitigated by the immense privilege many of us are fortunate to enjoy) I took comfort in Oraynu whether I realized it or not, as I suspect did many others. We take
two things we all have in common — our connection to Jewishness, and an affinity for humanism — and use them to lift ourselves up as individu- als and collectively, rising to the need to meet challenges, laugh a little (hello, Purim spiel!!!), and help each other build a better world.
Without a lead rabbi for the first time in over a decade, Oraynu’s membership and programming nevertheless shone. We did away with mandatory membership fees to ensure cost would not be a barrier for anyone stick- ing with us, and asked those who could step up to help financially to do so. Our members came through, ensuring our financial position remains strong. Virtual High Holiday services could have been a big downer at what is normally the high point of Oraynu’s calendar, and yet we left our first-ever virtual services feeling justifiably proud and inspired. We haven’t had any in- person programming going on 17 months now, and yet we’ve seen each other (and each other’s living rooms, offices, and even bedrooms) more than ever before. The board and board committees definitely met more in 2020-21 than ever before… but with fewer snacks. And membership and board and staff came together to start what is undoubtedly one of Oraynu’s most important initiatives, the Anti-Racism Committee, or ARC.
The list of people to thank in a year like this is longer than uncut hair during lockdown. So many people went over and above, it feels crazy to mention only a few by name, but I’ll do it anyway, starting with Shelly Maerov, who is stepping off the board. Thank you, Shelly, for your service – you’ll be missed. And for reasons too many to mention, special appreciation is due to a fabulous foursome — Risa Morris, Louise Sherman, Karen Elkin and Rabbi Karen Levy — for going way over and above, time and time and time again. We have reason to look ahead with optimism. At the top of the list is promising news on the rabbi search front. (See the A.G.M. Report on previous page.)
Even if we don’t get back our usual in-person gather- ings in time for this year’s High Holidays, which unfortunately appears to be the case, a return to something closer to normalcy is on its way. And Oraynu, thankfully, isn’t going anywhere but forward!
Mark
Unless otherwise indicated, kindly RSVP for ALL EVENTS:
416-385-3910 | [email protected] | via Oraynu website Event link
UPCOMING SUMMER EVENTS
Tuesday, July 13
7:30 pm
Via Zoom
LET’S EAT! JEWISH FOOD AND MUCH MORE ...
•
Ahead of the event, we invite you to watch Yidlife Crisis’ film “CHEWDAISM—A
Taste of Jewish Montreal”. It has played at Jewish film festivals all over North
America to great acclaim and is available to stream for free on CBC Gem. It is
45 minutes long. In Sept. 2019, Oraynu presented a sold-out evening with the
YidLife Crisis guys called YidLive! View the “Chewdaism” film here:
https://gem.cbc.ca/media/absolutely-canadian/season-19/episode- 42/38e815a-01150166dcc?cmp=sch-chewdaism
Follow Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion as they discover the roots of Montreal’s Jewish community through a series of classic Jewish eateries telling their community’s story in the last 100 years, with various guests along the way sharing tales and meals.
•
When we meet on July 13th, we will “chew over” the film, then broaden the discus-
sion to include foods from diverse cultures.
It promises to be a fun-filled evening, but, due to the pandemic, you will have to
supply your own food to nosh on! Hummus, burritos, spanakopita, pad thai,
tagine — anyone?
Non-members are asked to consider a voluntary donation in lieu of a specific event fee.
KANDER & EBB: BEAUTY IN DARK PLACES
with Linda Beck
We all know a couple of their shows — Cabaret,
Chicago — and a couple of their songs — ‘New
York, New York’, ‘All That Jazz’ — but many
people don’t know their names. Their shows
often deal with unlikely subjects for Broadway.
Think The Kiss of the Spider Woman, which got its
start in Toronto. Think Liza Minnelli, who says
they created her.
Meet John Kander and Fred Ebb, two nice secular Jewish boys, and the brilliant music
they produced. With lots of razzle dazzle, plenty of humour and beauty, and a dash of
the unexpected, learn how they did their bit to “repair the world” through their shows.
Since retiring from a career teaching English, Oraynu member Linda Beck has directed her energies to the study of Broadway musicals and their creators. Linda has studied, and teaches about, Cole Porter, Fred Astaire, Rodgers & Hart, and Shakespeare on Broadway, among other topics. She has taught classes for seniors at the University of Toronto, Ryerson, George Brown College, and Lifelong Learning Mississauga. She also speaks to adult study groups, Jewish and otherwise, in the Toronto area. Linda last presented to us in August 2020 on Mel Brooks.
Non-members are asked to consider a voluntary donation in lieu of a specific event fee.
Thursday,
July 29
7:30 pm
Via Zoom
SECULAR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM ~ WHAT, WHY, HOW?
Staff members Sandi Horwitz and Roby Sadler present our semi-annual
talk about Oraynu and how we “do Jewish.” Ideal for newer members or
for those looking to learn more about our branch of Judaism. Kindly
spread the word to anyone you know who may be interested.
All welcome to attend
JEWISH ARGENTINA VIRTUAL TOUR
Join guide Claudia Hercman for a two-session visit to Buenos Aires to learn
the fascinating Jewish history of her native country.
SESSION 1
Immigration and history of Jews in Argentina between the 16th
C. and WWII / Inquisition in Latin America / Jewish gauchos /
A pogrom in Buenos Aires
SESSION 2
Argentina during WWII / Nazis in Latin America / Eichmann /
Terror attacks / Emigration waves / Antisemitism / Jewish life and
culture today
Each session is 90 minutes including Q&A
See page 8 for Claudia’s full description of her program, as well as her bio.
Don’t miss this fascinating armchair travel event.
Non-members are asked to consider a voluntary donation in lieu of a specific event fee.
Two sessions:
Tuesday, Aug. 10
Thursday, Aug. 19
7:30-9:00 pm
Live via Zoom
Thursday, Aug. 26
7:30 pm
Via Zoom
Mark your calendars now! Coming very soon ...
ORAYNU’S “ZOOM-ANISTIC” HIGH HOLIDAYS 5782
We invite you to experience our services with their powerful readings,
evocative poetry, and beautiful music ... rather than prayer!
Once again, we very much wish our observances could be live, so we could all
observe the holiday among friends as always but, sadly, not this year either!!
ROSH HASHANAH: Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 10:30 am
With guest musicians Barbara Ackerman (flute), Bob Cohen (guitar), Charmain Louis (viola) and vocalists.
EREV YOM KIPPUR: Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 8 pm
Experience the Kol Nidrei sung by Lenka Lichtenberg, the Scroll of Remembrance
during the Nizkor section, and our guest musicians.
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR EACH EVENT; GUESTS WELCOME
Members: No charge, but you must register in advance to receive your Zoom links.
They will not be automatically be sent to you.
Fees for Member’s Adult Children and Non-Members: TBA
For further info, contact Roby: [email protected] or 416-385-3910
OUR ARC TOWARDS JUSTICE: List of Resources from Oraynu’s
Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) Prepared by CAROL ELMAN
Taking action in the ARC towards justice and the dismantling of systemic racism will, potentially, take a different arc or path for each of us. It can feel overwhelming to determine where to begin to act and/or learn. Our actions can feel miniscule in the face of this immense and complex societal challenge. I believe it is important to reflect and to remember that even the smallest action taken: any effort to learn about, to explore and to understand the histories and current issues, the discussions that we continue to have within our families and communities, these actions do add up.
Significantly. I believe that we cannot be part of the solutions without first understanding the multiple historical view- points and acknowledging that racism and white privilege exist.
In an effort to support that determination in each of us, here is a list of recommended books, podcasts and documen- taries to draw from. While many of these resources are voices of people who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), others are voices of white people tackling the issues of white privilege and systemic racism. All of these resources come highly recommended from myself, from Oraynu’s ARC members or from my immediate circle of family and close friends. It is important to note that several of these resources were suggested to me by multiple people, which speaks to the power of these resources to impact and potentially change thinking and lives. It is also worth noting that several of these authors have multiple books, in their voices, that are worth reading. This list is by no means exhaustive; however, it is a starting point for deeper learning and further action.
Fiction Books
• Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese
• Son of a Trickster Eden Robinson
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Brother by David Chariandy
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
• The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
• Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshing Rice
• The Break by Katherena Vermette
• Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
• Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King Non-Fiction Books
• Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga
• The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
• The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
• Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard
• Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call by Arthur Manuel
• The Right to be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet by Sheila Watt-Cloutier
• From the Ashes: My Story of Being Metis, Homeless and Finding my Way by Jesse Thistle
• 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph
Podcasts (find these wherever you get your podcasts)
• Nice White Parents
• White Picket Fence
• CanadaLand Commons
• Twisted Histories
• The Secret Life of Canada
• CanadaLand: Thunder Bay Documentaries
• 13TH (Netflix)
• What Systemic Racism in Canada Looks Like (YouTube)
• James Baldwin vs William F. Buckley: A legendary debate from 1965 (YouTube)
• Two Distant Strangers (Netflix)
• Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times (YouTube) An Additional Resource
Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. This course is avail- able to audit for free or if you prefer and qualify there is also an option to pay a modest fee and receive a certificate of completion. From an Indigenous perspective the modules explore key issues facing indigenous peoples today highlighting historical perspectives and national and local Indigenous-settler relations.
A summertime hello from all of the members of the Oraynu Children's School's staff. I can't begin to tell all our kids and staff how proud and grateful we are that you all chose to Zoom with us last year! And I can't start to tell you how hopeful I am that we will be able to "zoom" right into real, live, classrooms in September.
I wish I had had a chance to see you all as we ended our year in May, but time and vaccination numbers will hopefully be on our side and instead of in-person good- byes, we will look forward to in-person hellos; big
"shalom" greetings all around.
As the planning continues throughout the summer for next year, we are eagerly awaiting word from the prov- ince as to what our situation will be. Oraynu's Children's
ORAYNU CHILDREN’S SCHOOL REPORT By Risa Morris, Acting Principal
School WILL RUN!!! We are working on our highly re- garded curriculum with our fantastic teachers, so please look out for Roby's summer email instructing you how and when to register.
To our newly, and not so newly B'nai Mitzvah - I just found out that the SHJ Youth Conclave this year will be held in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Get ready to get in- volved in our youth movement and hopefully we'll be able to travel together for social action AND general socializing, too.
We can't wait to reconnect with you later this summer, and see you in the Fall, but if you need us - we are just an email away. Stay safe and enjoy your summer,
Risa
ONTARIO JEWISH ARCHIVES ~ SCROLLING SPADINA
The Ontario Jewish Archives presents the first-ever virtual tour of Toronto’s historic Kensington Market.
Scroll through all eight stops and watch the streets come to life though guided videos presenting the
sights and sounds of the one-time Jewish Market. Learn about the history of Toronto's Jewish community
and the challenges and opportunities they faced in the early twentieth century. Along the way you will
discover stories of migration, employment, activism, community, culture and more. You will even meet
the people of the market, including home-grown boxing champion, Sammy Luftspring! Start at:
https://ojascrollingspadina.org/project/stop-1-immigration/
SESSION 1: Tuesday, Aug. 10, 7:30-9:30 pm
The Jews who came to Argentina planted seeds
and harvested doctors.
Most of the Jews who travel to Argentina are interested in having a Jewish Tour. The Argentinean Jewish Community is the 6th largest in the world after Israel, the USA, France, Canada and the UK. Maybe you are wondering why?
The first Jewish communities in Latin America were Sephardic. What happened to those Jews during the Inquisition? Why, if Latin America was part of the Spanish Empire, is the Jewish Community in Argentina 80% Ashkenazi and only 20% Sephardic today?
We are going to answer all these questions and many more during the first session of our Virtual Jewish Tour of Argentina. I will show you images and short videos of the most important Jewish sites and you will also be able to see parts of Buenos Aires, a wonderful, cosmopolitan, European-looking city.
I will also tell you about the first Jewish immigrants, who settled in the rural areas and we will talk about the Jewish colonies and the Jewish Gauchos. I also did some research on the first Jewish women who stayed in the shadows for a long time. Mothers and wives.
What was their role in the economic and social development of the Jews in Argentina? Unfortunately, we will also learn about antisemitism in Argentina and a pogrom that took place in Buenos Aires in 1919.
SESSION 2: Thursday, Aug. 19, 7:30-9:30 pm
“Argentina was the Cape of Last Hope for Nazi
criminals.” - Simon Wiesenthal
Before WWII many Jews came to Argentina. In a country of immigrants, it became a very important and strong community. What happened in Argentina during and after the Holocaust? Who was Perón, what was his policy towards the Jews? Did he really help the Nazis come to Argentina? Many other countries in Latin America welcomed nazi criminals too. Who were they? What happened to them? Did they have any influence in Latin American society and politics?
During this last session, I will tell you about many political, economic and social crises Argentina went
through and about the two terror attacks we suffered in Buenos Aires. I will show you the buildings that were attacked, the memorials to remember the victims and you will learn about the cases, that still remain open after 28 and 26 years respectively.
In the 60s there were half a million Jews in Argentina, now we are only 220.000. What happened? There were emigration waves and also, assimilation. However, the Jewish Community in Argentina is still very important, and you can choose the kind of Jew you want to be.
There are many social, educational and religious options.
I will tell you everything about the Jewish Community in Argentina, and if you want to find out more about the life of a Jew in Buenos Aires today, I will be there to answer any questions you might have.
Looking forward to meeting you -
Claudia
- - -
Claudia Hercman is an Argentinian tour guide and translator. She is also a sculptor and painter, whose main subjects are Memory and Uprooting, in honour of her four grandparents who emigrated from Poland to Argentina in the
´30s.
Claudia was born and raised in Buenos Aires, into the Argentin- ian Jewish community. Twenty years ago, she became bored of
translating books with a computer as her only company, so she decided to study tourism and history. She has been conducting city, art and Jewish tours ever since, and enjoying every single moment of it. And then, 2020 arrived, and with it the pandemic, which forced her to go back to spending time with her computer. So she decided to create these virtual Jewish tours as an excuse to be able to talk to people and meet new friends from all over the world, while helping them explore the history of the Jews in Argentina.
AN OVERVIEW OF OUR TWO PART “JEWISH TOUR OF ARGENTINA”
with CLAUDIA HERCMAN
MITZVAHS
AND
MILESTONES
We acknowledge the following memorial anniversaries (yahrtzeits) to be marked by our members. May their memories be a blessing:
Members are encouraged to add the names of family members to this list. Please take a moment to email the information for inclusion (date of death, name and relationship) to Roby Sadler at: [email protected]/
Nizkor - We Remember
Donations and Tributes
Oraynu gratefully acknowledges the following donations to Oraynu:
In appreciation for our online events, from:
And, to our Davida Glazer Memorial Program, from:
- - -
Members and friends of Oraynu are welcome to make donations at any time during the year, especially to honour life cycle events such as birth, Bar/Bat Mizvahs, weddings, memorial or acknowledge special achievements or milestone birthday/anniversaries. See back inside cover for information.
Meet our Newest Oraynuniks
We are pleased to welcome the following new members to our roster:
•
May the warmth of the Oraynu community encircle you and your family.
All content on this page removed for privacy reason
What it means to be a ‘Jew of No Religion’ — it’s not what you think
By PAUL GOLIN (SHJ Executive Director) | May 19, 2021
From jweekly.com; reprinted by permission I’m thrilled that atheist/agnostic, nonreligious Jews like meseem to be growing in numbers. I’m concerned, though, that our full set of values is not made apparent by the new Pew Research Survey of American Jews.
Pew splits the community between “Jews by Religion” and
“Jews of No Religion.” It suggests an increase among Jews of No Religion to 27 percent of all Jewish adults, up from 22 percent in their 2013 survey, with a whopping 40 percent among Jews ages 18-29.
I was not surveyed. But had I been, I would’ve had a tough choice with the screening question used to make that determination. Pew asked, “What is your present religion, if any?”
I’m strongly Jewishly identified and want to be counted as a Jew. But I’m equally vocal about my atheism and human- ism, and in some ways, those are the more marginalized identities in American society and need greater representa- tion. Had I checked “atheist,” I certainly would have answered affirmatively to the follow-up question, “Aside from religion, do you consider yourself Jewish in any way (ethnically, culturally, family background)?” A yes to that would’ve included me among Jews of No Religion.
Unfortunately, most of the questions posed by this survey will portray Jews of No Religion as “less than,” when compared with Jews by Religion. On average, Jews of No Religion are less Jewishly educated, less synagogue- affiliated, less ritually practicing, less emotionally attached to Israel, place less emphasis on being Jewish or belonging to the Jewish people, care less about having Jewish grand- children, and have fewer Jewish friends than Jews by Religion.
This narrative of “less than” emerges because Pew only measured activities and values cared about by the organized Jewish community and not necessarily by the broader Jewish population.
For example, one question not asked is how strongly Jews believe in the universal equality of all people. One indicator that Jews of No Religion would average “more than” Jews by Religion on universalism is the way we enact that value through our family configurations: Nearly 80 percent of married Jews of No Religion are intermarried (married to spouses who aren’t Jewish), and nearly 60 percent of Jews of No Religion were raised by intermarried parents.
As an intermarried Jew, I see universalism as a positive value. Most of the organized Jewish community is not universalist in approach, though, it is particularistic. And thus, the conflicting narrative.
Pew found the individual rate of Jewish intermarriage remaining at a sky-high 72 percent of non-Orthodox Jews over the past decade. While the report does not share the outcome of such a rate, the result is that today in
America, among households with at least one married Jew, there are hundreds of thousands more intermarried than so-called “in-married”
(two Jewish spouses) households. A case can therefore be made that universalism is a Jewish value! Which may be one reason why affiliation rates with synagogues and other Jewish organi-
zations remain low. Can the organized Jewish community better appeal to Jewish universalists?
Diversity is another value I believe in. Along with being relig- iously intermarried, I’m interracially married; my wife is from Japan and our kids are mixed race. While the American Jewish community is still overwhelmingly white, Jews of No Religion are more than twice as likely as Jews by Religion to live in multi-racial households. That’s something to celebrate!
Jews of No Religion also have twice the rate of LGBTQ+
individuals than Jews by Religion. …
We know that Jews don’t need religion to be good, because the Pew survey demonstrates that even among Jews by Religion, religious belief is significantly weaker than Ameri- cans in general. Pew asked whether you believe “in God as described in the Bible,” and only 33 percent of Jews by Religion said yes. While most Jews do believe in some
“other higher power or spiritual force,” if that force is not a God that makes specific commandments about how to behave, why are most Jews good? I’d argue it’s their human- istic values, even if they’ve never heard the word humanist before.
It’s humanism — the innate human ability to make decisions based on reason, knowledge, empathy and consideration for what’s best for most people — that fosters the liberal politi- cal approach among most American Jews. For example, Jews overwhelmingly support gay marriage and LGBTQ equality.
That was not dictated to us from on high, and it wasn’t even the case a few decades ago. It is because of our growing humanism and despite our religious tradition that Jews have come to those conclusions.
So then why still be Jewish at all? That’s the question that some Jews of No Religion already have clarity about, with our continued Jewish identity and participation. For me, it’s about empathy fostered from being part of an at-times marginal- ized minority, even as I benefit from unsought white privilege. It’s about knowing where I fit into the grand time- line of human history, and a fascination with the unique Jewish story. And it’s about family and celebration.
The organized Jewish community could be providing this and more to the Jews of No Religion it currently is not reaching, but first there must be a recognition and acceptance of the different —yet equally valid—set of values we hold. We’re not “less than.” Our differences can be celebrated equally, if only the communal umbrella were stretched wider.
Forwards and backwards ...
Our "open mic" night on Friday, May 28 featured 10 Oraynuniks sharing their interests and creative sides at an intimate Zoom gathering. There were TED-style mini-talks (Jim, Maxine) and readings (Rob, Roby) and comedy (Eva, Sawyer) and singing (Sandi, Jesse) and a musical parody video (Karen E).
Larry Kline talked about his writing/performing pursuits and then delivered "live" an original poem over a text/music video. The poem reads "forwards and backwards", line by line, to paint two very different pictures of the future. Larry wrote it a few years ago for a colleague of his to use in multimedia presentations about technology. (To see what inspired the forwards/backwards aspect, you can Google "lost generation poem.")
Here is Larry's poem and a link to the video version that his colleague created and voiced.
It Could Go Either Way (Ways of Seeing A.I.)
Words by Larry Kline, video by Keith McDonald: https://youtu.be/WlpdUefVF1c
Humanity is finished.
You can't say that
We have a future...
When you look around,
Think about it,
And realize who's really in control.
Quantum computers will understand –
Managing your personal data...
Determining your movements...
Running your life.
You are the one
The robots want to fix.
Disease and environmental decay are problems that
Will continue to make a big impact on people.
But they certainly
Don't have much effect on machines.
Musicians, artists and storytellers
Won't hold the same value anymore.
Their decision-making will give way to faster A.I. and therefore
They'll lose some of their power.
Governments?
They know technology is changing every day.
Changing everything.
There's a new generation of human beings
With flesh and blood and new ideas,
But still,
The future is scary and uncertain.
Things could go either way.
So… are you an optimist or a pessimist?
THE BOOK CORNER
Book Corner is a place to suggest books that your fellow Oraynuniks may enjoy. Send your
suggestions and mini-reviews (if you wish) to Sandi Horwitz for inclusion in the next Shofar:
[email protected]/
Here is a partial list of books Roby Sadler has “on hold” at the Toronto library, with her notes on each:
• “Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children's Literature” by Miriam Udel. I have watched countless hours of webinars this past year on history, politics, business, popular culture, you name it. And I always have pen and paper handy, not in order to be able to take notes of salient points, but in case any books should be referred to. A recent webinar offered by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research on Jewish Children's Literature in Russian and Yiddish, with various speakers, made mention of this book, a new offering by one of the speakers that after- noon. It is promoted as a compilation of twentieth-century children's literature, all originally published in Yiddish, that recount Jewish history, culture, and education. The fact that they promise to be mostly upbeat and often focus on social justice just adds to the book’s appeal!
• “Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World” by Fareed Zakaria. My father used to spend his Sunday mornings in front of the TV; all news-related, mostly American. The highlight of the morning was at 10am, when the CNN show GPS hosted by Fareed Zakaria, came on. So when I saw Mr Zakaria being interviewed by Steve Paikin on The Agenda recently, about his new book, my interest was piqued.
• “Relax, Dammit!: A User's Guide to the Age of Anxiety” by Timothy Caulfield… getting through the day with less stress and better health. What more needs to be said!!!
• “Foreskin’s Lament” and “Beware of God,” both by Shalom Auslander. I have attended many zoom sessions this year, on a number of different subjects, taught by Adam Chalom, rabbi of Oraynu’s sister congregation in Chicago, Kol Hadash, and Dean of our teaching institute, the IISHJ. Earlier this spring he made a casual reference to the author Shalom Auslander, who grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family, but rebelled against his reli- gious upbringing and left. The first is a memoir, the second a collection of short stories; both promise to be funny and dark.
Here are a few titles suggested by Eva Goldfinger, both fiction and non-fiction:
• “The Wondering Jew: Israel and the Search for Jewish Identity” by Micah Goodman
• “How to be a Happy Parent…in Spite of Your Children” by Fred G. Gosman
• “The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty
• “And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini
• “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choy
With this list and the resources from ARC, you are well-supplied with suggestions for your summertime reading!
FUN WORDPLAY WITH HETERONYMS
Homographs are words of like spelling but with more than one meaning. A homograph that is also pronounced dif- ferently is a heteronym. (Thanks to Eva G. for submitting these.)
1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
5. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
6. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
7. I did not object to the object.
8. They were too close to the door to close it.
9. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
10. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
11. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
12. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend
BNAI MITZVAH 2021 REHEARSAL SCREEN SHOT
Here’s a pic of the Bnai Mitzvah kids — Shai, Kaia, Casper, Elias, Noa, Juno, Noah and Ben — at one of their Zoom rehearsals led by Risa Morris and Etti Stubbs.
A (BELIEVE IT OR NOT) HISTORY OF JEWISH FOOD (From the Editor’s files)
In advance of our July 13th event, “Jewish Food and Much More...”, here is a useful primer!
- - -
Latkes: A pancake-like structure not to be confused with anything the House of Pancakes would put out. In a latke, the oil is in the pancake. It is made with potatoes, onions, eggs and matzo meal. Latkes can be eaten with applesauce, but NEVER with maple syrup. There is a rumor that in the time of the Maccabees they lit a latke by mistake and it burned for eight days. What is certain is that you will have heartburn for the same amount of time.
Matzoh: The Egyptians' revenge for leaving slavery. It consists of a simple mix of flour and water -- no eggs or flavor at all. When made well, it could actually taste like cardboard. Its redeeming value is that it does fill you up and stay with you for a long time. However, it is recommended that you eat a few prunes soon afterwards.
Kasha Varnishkes: One of the little-known delicacies which is even more difficult to pronounce than to cook. It is basically a mixture of buckwheat (kasha) and bow-tie macaroni (noodles). Why a bow-tie? Many sages discussed this and agreed that some Jewish mother decided that 'You can't come to the table without a tie.'
Blintzes: Basically this is the Jewish answer to the French crepes Suzette.
Kreplach: It sounds worse than it tastes. Rabbis have debated its origins: One rabbi claims it began when a fortune cookie fell into his chicken soup. The other claims it started in an Italian restaurant. Either way it can be soft, hard, or soggy and the amount of meat inside depends on whether it is your mother or your mother-in-law who cooked it.
Cholent: This unique combination of beans, barley, potatoes, and bones or meat been the secret weapon of Jews for centuries. It is meant to stick to your ribs and anything else it comes into contact with. At a fancy Mexican restaurant (kosher of course) I once heard the comment from a youngster who had just had his first taste of Mexican refried beans:
'What! Do they serve leftover cholent here, too?!'
Gefilte Fish: A few years ago, I had problems with my filter in my fish pond and a few of them got rather stuck and mangled. My 5-year-old son looked at them and commented 'Is that why we call it 'Ge-Filtered Fish'?'
Bagels: How can we finish without the quintessential Jewish Food, the bagel? Like most foods, there are legends surrounding the bagel although I don't know any. There have been persistent rumors that the inventors of the bagel were the Norwegians who couldn't get anyone to buy their smoked lox. Think about it: Can you picture yourself eating lox on white bread? Rye?
Marilyn Rowen’s WIT & WISDOM
A giant in our movement, Marilyn Rowens, retired Executive Director of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism and a recipient of the Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award, passed away on March 24th. She had always doodled in her spare time, creating wonderful insightful cartoons, which she published in several collections. In tribute to her life and work, we share two of her pieces. Enjoy!
2 USEFUL QUOTES
Came across this apropos
quotation recently from
Marcus Aurelius, Roman
Emperor from 161-180CE,
on how to greet the day.
It meshes perfectly with our
humanist Jewish ideology
of tikkun olam, repairing
the world:
Arise and do the work
of humankind.
- - -
And, a terrific T-shirt design!
PAYING IT FORWARD!
Lisa Villeneuve has gifted this ad for a favourite local business.The Toronto School for Strings and Piano (TSSP) was founded in 1999, by Julian and Mary Fisher, to provide their students with a positive and stimulating learning experience.
Our faculty of highly qualified and experienced teachers incorporate the best of the world-renowned Suzuki Philosophy, the rigour of the nationally recognized Royal Conservatory of Music Examination system and other approaches tailored to the needs of individual students. Our teachers include accredited adjudicators and performers active in the musical life of Toronto.
Online and in-person lessons now available.
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto
School for School for School for
Strings and
Strings and
Strings and
Piano Piano Piano
The Mission of the Toronto School for Strings and Piano is to create an environment where the love of music and musical ability is developed through instruction, performances and group activities.
The TSSP is a supportive community that celebrates the musical accomplishments of all its members and seeks to perpetuate the value of musical education for families and individuals.
WHAT WE BELIEVE ...
♦ A Jew is someone who identifies with the history, culture, and fate of the Jewish people.
♦ Judaism encompasses the civilization created by the Jewish people.
It includes art and music, folk culture, and the treasured master- pieces of our great writers and thinkers, from the Bible to the present.
♦ We have the power and responsibility to shape our own lives independent of supernatural authority.
♦ Our ethics and morality serve human needs. We participate in tikkun olam (building a better world) for all people.
♦ We strive to express our Jewishness in a manner consistent with our beliefs.
♦ We stand in solidarity with the State of Israel and with Jewish communities in Toronto and around the world.
♦ The freedom and dignity of the Jewish people must go hand in hand with the freedom and dignity of all people.
♦ We warmly welcome into our community all those who share our values and who are connected to the Jewish people, whether by birth, adopted identity or by family relationship.
ORAYNU TRIBUTE DONATIONS/CARDS
Members and friends can choose to honour a person or an event (memorial, birth, birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, marriage, anniversary, achievement, etc.) by making a tax-receiptable donation of $18 or more to Oraynu. An Oraynu Tribute Card will be sent to the person or family of the honouree and the donation will be also recognized in The Shofar.
To arrange this, please contact Roby at:
416-385-3910 | [email protected]
PASTORAL AND EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE
Jewish Guidance is a service that many of our members expect from their congregational leaders. Oraynu provides part-time services of:
Steve Shabes for guidance about Jewish education for children and youth
Rabbi Eva Goldfinger, for guidance regarding life cycle transitions and conversion
Rabbi Eva Goldfinger for pastoral guidance regarding inter- marriage, Jewish practices, adult education and ethics
Guidance is offered, but not counseling or tutoring, which can be provided on a fee-for-service basis. For referral to the appropriate person, contact Roby at: 416-385-3910 or [email protected]/
ORAYNU CONGREGATION
FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM
Est. 1969
BOARDOF DIRECTORS 2021-2022 President
MARK BRENDER [email protected] Secretary
PENNY PARNES [email protected] Treasurer
ROBERT HORWITZ [email protected] Members-at-Large
PAULA BASS CAROL ELMAN KEVIN FINE
LOUISE SHERMAN (Past-President) NORVAL WENER
ERIN WINOCUR RABBI EMERITA
KAREN LEVY [email protected] LIFE CYCLE DIRECTOR
RABBI EVA GOLDFINGER [email protected] INTERIM PROGRAM DIRECTOR
KAREN ELKIN [email protected] YOUTH & FAMILY DIRECTOR/SCHOOL PRINCIPAL STEVE SHABES [email protected] RISA MORRIS (Acting Principal)
[email protected] SCHOOL COMMITTEE
ERIN WINOCUR (Chair) [email protected] TRACY BARDELL
DAVE CHERKASSKY YUVAL GRINSPUN CARI HAIM
JANE ROBERTSON (Volunteer-at-Large) OFFICE MANAGER/CONTACTUS
ROBY SADLER [email protected] 416-385-3910
MAILING ADDRESS
156 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 14 Toronto ON M3B 3N2 WEBSITE
www.oraynu.org THE SHOFAR is a bi-monthly publication of
Oraynu Congregation for Humanistic Judaism EDITOR: SANDI HORWITZ
Oraynu Congregation is part of a worldwide movement, affiliated with Society for Humanistic Judaism and the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Oraynu Children’s School gratefully acknowledges funding support from:
For more Oraynu news and conver- sation, log onto our FB page. Con- nect with fellow members, share ideas, and stay up-to-date on events. We’ll post fre- quently and hope you chime in with opinions and relevant links of your own. Please ‘like’ the page, share it with friends and keep it lively.
