OJC’s group Mikva of 12 persons who have chosen Judaism as their faith took place on Thursday, July 15th on the property of Steve and Gayle Faigan. What an event to have Rabbis Bright, Parnes, Samuels and Cantor Jayne supervise the men, and Rebbetzin Bright supervise the women, in this final event of the 1 year conversion process. Mazel tov to all involved!
The Shabbaton week-end of July 16th and 17th was to honour those 12 persons who have chosen Judaism as their faith. The week-end culminated 10 months of intensive study, a week consisting of a Bet Din Ceremony, Mikva ceremony in the lake, and a special Shabbat week-end, during which those have chosen Judaism were honoured by English readings but especially by Aliyot to the Torah. Each person successfully read their Aliyah in Hebrew from the opening passage of Deuteronomy. Mazel Tov to all involved during this auspicious program.
OJC is super-excited to welcome our first, full-time resident Rabbi, Rabbi Tom Samuels. Looking forward to many events together as we take this momentous step forward in the growth of our Community. We are all excited to work together in this endevour.
Thank-you to Adina Mendelson, Tour Guide at Yad V’Shem for guiding OJC members and friends through the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem. The virtual, private, online tour summarized the key displays at the museum and took us chronologically through the events in Europe from the early 1930’s until the end of World War II. The tour was moving, educational, informative and comprehensive. Those who attended were able to give very positive feedback on the event.
How exciting to see one another in person at OJC. Rabbi Benaroch from Montreal presented a talk on “The Jews of Morocco” to OJC members and friends. This very first LIVE event post-pandemic took place in the parking lot on the evening of Thursday, June 3rd. A pleasant, warm evening, and a very interesting talk about this fascinating diaspora community. Indoor events will be starting shortly with limited numbers allowed inside the building as per public health guidelines.
Mazel tov to Jordan and Kate Spevakow and their parents David and Natalie for a job well-done at their outdoor, COVID-friendly B’nai Mitzvah done on location lake side on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Nearly 100 computers were able to join from far and wide. The weather was very cooperative as were the ducks in the lake for their pass-by. Great job to all. The Community is very proud!
Another great evening of Jewish/Israeli music took place Saturday evening, May 1st at 7:30 pm. There were 9 music videos that were shown each being introduced by the submitting member. Great selection ranging from klezmer to rap, Yiddish to modern Israeli. Special thanks to Laura McPheeters for MC’ing and to David Spevakow for the technical assistance. Looking forward to another event in the Fall.
Congratulations to OJC members and friends for a great attendance at Yad V’Shem’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) event. The event on Wednesday, April 7th was advertised on our emailing and was a great educational and professionally presented event led by Noam Gitin from Yad V’Shem in Jerusalem. She has previously led virtual educational events and does a fantastic job. Of the international forum which had 54 computers in attendance world-wide, SIX of these attendees were from OJC! Way to go for all those who attended!
Thanks to Rabbi Tom for leading us in an exceptional online Passover Seder. Sixty-six computers were able to join in this auspicious event, from as far away as Oklahoma City. It was a great, modern, relevant interpretation of the Passover story, complete with the important traditions and songs. Kol ha’Kavod to Rabbi Tom, and thank you to all that attended.
What an exciting opportunity to have a personal, live, online tour of Israel’s newly renovated Museum of the Diaspora – now called the ANU museum. Our host, Yael Rosen, of the education division led us around the museum on a virtual tour, with us being able to interact live with questions and comments. The tour took place live from Tel Aviv (7pm), and was available to our members at 10:00 am on Sunday, March 21st. Thank-you to those who attended and appreciated this opportunity. The wonders of technology – what will be next.