NOTE: This page will be updated as details become available. Session times will be added closer to the event.
Teen Lounge
8:45 – 9:45
Gentle Morning Yoga
This class is designed for those looking for a soft, nurturing relaxed practice. It will include simple postures to lengthen your body while focusing on breath. Relaxing mind and body.
Cindy Garcia is the Assistant Director of Care at Hillel Lodge. She has been teaching yoga for five years. Her classes bring the ancient wisdom of yoga to our modern world. Her natural calming positive energy shines through as she helps others increase their awareness and comfort with their bodies.
Social Hall A
10:00 – 11:00
Reconciliation
How Indigenous and Jewish communities can learn from one another’s trauma and injustice as well as healing, recovery and reconciliation.
Claudette Commanda is an Algonquin Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation located in the province of Quebec. An alumni of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law and Faculty of Arts, Claudette has dedicated the last 30 years promoting First Nations people, history, culture and rights in various capacities as a University of Ottawa student, professor, member and chair of the Aboriginal education council via public speaking events.
She is a professor for the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Women’s Studies; Faculty of Education; Faculty of Law; and the Aboriginal Studies Program, teaching courses on First Nations Women; Native Education; First Nations People and History; Indigenous Traditions; and Decolonization. In addition, she is the Executive Director of the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres, a national organization which protects and promotes First Nations culture, languages and traditional knowledge. She is inducted into the Common Law Honour Society; served two terms on the Board of Governors for the First Nations University of Canada; and three terms on the Kitigan Zibi band council. In 2017, Claudette was the first First Nation appointed Elder in Residence for the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa; and the first person of a First Nation heritage to be appointed to the Board of Governors for the University of Ottawa. Claudette is a proud mother of four and a grandmother to ten beautiful grandchildren.
Social Hall A
11:15 – 12:15
Kindness and Empathy: A Personal and Professional Search
The term Gemilut Chasadim is translated as acts of loving-kindness. It is used to describe everything from visiting the sick to helping people who are homeless. Human beings are hardwired to be kind and empathic, but time, pressure, stress, sleep deprivation and personal distress get in the way of that human trait. As a physician, Dr. Brian Goldman thought he was born to be kind, until his brusqueness was called out by the family member of a patient. That set Goldman off on a journey around the world to meet the kindest people on the planet, and into his own brain and his own heart to search for the empathy he once had. His discoveries have lessons for everyone who has had reason to doubt their own kindness.
Brian Goldman MD is a highly regarded emergency physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. He is also the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s award-winning radio show “White Coat, Black Art”, where he takes listeners behind the scenes of hospitals and doctors’ offices. Goldman unpacks and demystifies what goes on inside medicine’s sliding doors – with edgy topics that include whistle blowing in health care, burnout among health professionals, racism in health care and how to get to the head of the line in health care.
He always believed that caring came naturally to physicians. But time, stress, errors, and heavy expectations left him wondering if he might not be the same caring doctor he thought he was at the beginning of his career. He wondered what kindness truly looks like—in himself and in others. He will share empowering findings from his worldwide search for kindness that are documented in his book. The book will be available for purchase at the Limmud Café .
Social Hall A
12:30 – 1:30
Conversations on Compassion
When your time in life becomes limited, life becomes more precious. With Canadians living longer, they are not necessarily living better. For many people, living longer means a struggle with poor health caused by chronic conditions, degenerative diseases or cancer. Even with improved medical treatments, the decline in health are now more gradual, but this can also draw out the process of dying. This panel discussion will approach from the various perspectives, the need for change in our collective attitudes to the needs of the seriously ill and those who are dying.
Brian Goldman MD is a highly regarded emergency physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. He is also the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s award-winning radio show “White Coat, Black Art”, where he takes listeners behind the scenes of hospitals and doctor’s offices. Goldman unpacks and demystifies what goes on inside medicine’s sliding doors – with edgy topics that include whistle blowing in health care, burnout among health professionals, racism in health care and how to get to the head of the line in health care.
Jackie Holzman was elected to Ottawa Council, 1982-1997, the last 6 years as Mayor. She has volunteered on health, hospital, rehabilitation and research organizations, and in the early days of the NCJW, Jewish Family Services, TAMIR, Hillel Lodge and the development of Temple Israel. She is co-founder of Compassionate Ottawa https://compassionateottawa.ca/ You will be able to pick up a brochure at the Limmud Café.
Rabbi Eytan Kenter, a native New Yorker by way of Atlanta is a graduate of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Davidson School of Jewish Education, enjoys cooking, basketball, and all aspects of pop culture, is senior Rabbi at Kehillat Beth Israel.
Susan Landau Chark – Facilitator Susan Landau-Chark, Ph.D, is the Associate Director of the Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies. Her most recent publication is “Traversing the 49th Parallel: The Jewish Experience Prior to 1881,” written for Neither in Dark Speeches nor in Similitudes: Reflections and Refractions Between Canadian and American Jews (2016).
Library
12:30 – 1:30
Discussions on Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel is a central figure in modern Judaism. He was a key figure to the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. during the 1960’s, famously marching alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Rabbi Heschel’s influence was felt beyond his own community, numerous Christian leaders cite him as an example of what a faithful religious witness wedded to justice looks like in the public sphere. Last fall, an interfaith book study began to gather biweekly at the Byward Market to read the works of Rabbi Heschel. We started with his classic book The Sabbath and followed this with Man Is Not Alone, and are currently reading God In Search of Man. Young, restless, and driven to explore faith and community, many of us started as strangers, but have become fast friends. Come and hear our stories!
Daniel Bezalel Richardsen (facilitator) A Graduate student in History with the Interdisciplinary Humanities program at Trinity Western University. He is a former federal political staffer, having served as press secretary and researcher. Daniel cares deeply about cultural literacy and fostering a concrete vision of what a rich common life can afford us. He is founder and editor of Foment, the literary magazine of the Ottawa International Writers Festival— Canada’s largest independent literary celebration. Daniel also co-leads the Ottawa chapter of Readers of First Things, which is inclusive of Convivium Connections.
Social Hall A
1:45 – 2:45
Israel’s New Warrior
Algemeiner News picked Hen Mazzig as 2018 top 100 people most positively influencing Jewish life. Hen is regarded as a uniquely qualified expert on all aspects dealing with Israel and Gay rights advocacy.
His family members were refugees from Iraq and Tunisia part of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries and made Israel their home. In the IDF served in the COGAT unit as an intermediary between the Israeli Defense Forces (the IDF), the Palestinian Authority, the UN, and the many non-governmental organizations that work in the West Bank. After military service, Hen was Campus Coordinator for StandWithUs in the Pacific Northwest, during which he fought BDS on college campuses and in communities. For the last two years has led the Israel Education Department at StandWithUs Israel. His award-winning articles and op-eds can be found in Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel and more. He has shared his story with thousands of students throughout the USA, Canada and UK for the last four years. Since 2016, he has been working as a freelance consultant. He is a rare voice in these divisive days and age that can unite people for a common cause rather than sowing discord and conflict over conflicting narratives in one of the most complex conflicts on earth.
Hen Mazzig is a Iraqi-Tunisian Israeli media consultant and former officer in the Israel Defense Forces humanitarian COGAT unit served as an openly gay commander,Hen Mazzig is also a writer and a human rights activist. Hen speaks on campuses in Europe and North America about his family and personal experiences, combating the BDS movement and other forms of Antisemitism.
Social Hall A
3:00 – 4:00
Anti-Semitism vs. Legitimate Criticism of Israel
Giving students the building blocks and critical thinking skills in order to discern between anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism and legitimate criticism of the state of Israel. Includes actual examples for the students to debate.
Hen Mazzig, an Iraqi-Tunisian Israeli, a media consultant and former officer in the Israel Defense Forces humanitarian COGAT unit served as an openly gay commander, is a writer and a human rights activist. Hen speaks on campuses in Europe and North America about his experiences, combating the BDS movement and other forms of Anti-Semitism.
Rebecca Katzman graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Social Work. She was President of Students Supporting Israel and coordinated the passing of a motion for a Holocaust Education Week. Later that year, worked to get the Ryerson Students` Union (RSU) to be the first in Canada to adopt the Ottawa Protocol.
Social Hall A
4: 15 – 5:15
Leonard Bernstein at 100: The man, his music, and his Judaism
The centenary of Leonard Bernstein presents an opportunity to consider his extraordinary life and music, from “West Side Story” to “Mass,” as well as his profound Jewish identity. Adam Moscoe and special guest Katie Shapiro, accompanied by Evelyn Greenberg, will discuss and perform some of Bernstein‘s most beloved works.
Evelyn Greenberg is an accomplished musician, teacher and community builder who has dedicated her career to the principles of teamwork, harmony and service. She spent 23 years with the Music Department at the University of Ottawa. Founding Chair of the National Arts Centre Orchestra Association and the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation. Evelyn is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal for Volunteers.
Adam Moscoe is a public servant who follows his passion for international development, community building, inclusion…and musical theatre! He is a proud Limmud Ottawa volunteer who serves on the worldwide Limmud Connections Team.
Social Hall C
8:45 – 9:45
Krav Maga – Self Defence
Come and learn this street tested system of self defense used in Israel and around the world. Session is for those 14 years of age or older. Please bring clothes that allow physical activity.
Ben Wallace is ranked as graduate level 4 in the International Krav Maga Federation and has trained in Israel with the expert team. He has over 15 years of martial arts and self defense experience. Ben is a security professional and has seen violence and the ways to avoid it in real life.
Social Hall C
3:00 – 4:00
Canada’s Jewish Experience. The Story of an Exhibition
How a community project became a celebrated national exhibition. During 2017, Canada’s 150th anniversary year, an inspired team of Jewish Canadians set out to celebrate the country and the many contributions of its Jewish citizens. We created a panel exhibition entitled “The Canadian Jewish Experience (CJE): A Tribute to Canada” that travelled from coast to coast, alongside many outreach activities and a website. Tova will describe the journey of the CJE, which included publishing a new book.
Tova Weiss- Lynch was born in Jerusalem to parents who fled Vienna in 1939. She became a press photographer, the first Israeli woman in a male-dominated field. Her photos were published in Israeli and international newspapers. Tova interacted very often with iconic Israeli leaders such as Golda Mayer, Yitzhak Rabin as well as Knesset members and other important visiting dignitaries such as Henry Kissinger. Tova married Jim Lynch, a Canadian Foreign Service officer and is a proud grandmother to Sasha and Sydney. Recently Tova served as the Chair and organizer of the “Canadian Jewish Experience: A Tribute to Canada”, a 15 panel exhibition depicting 150 years of Jewish Canadian contributions, created for Canada 150 – the year-long celebration of the country’s sesquicentennial in 2017. The panels will be on exhibit at Limmud. Yopu will be able to purchase the book at the Limmud Café.
Boardroom
10:00 – 11:00
My Jerusalem
A Beit Ha’am presentation on “My Jerusalem”. We will read and discuss the words of Israeli writers and public figures about the city of Jerusalem.
David Roytenberg
David is an independent software consultant. He writes a monthly column for the Canadian Jewish News. He is the chair of Adult education at Kehillat Beth Israel, serves on the board of MERCAZ Canada, and leads a monthly Beit Ha’am program. He is married and the father of two sons.
Boardroom
11:15 – 12:15
The Adventures of Itzik Manger: His poems in Yiddish and English.
Murray Citron is a grandfather and lives in Ottawa. His translations of Yiddish poems have appeared in print and online in publications in England, Canada and the United States, most recently in Pakn Treger.” My presentations consist of me reading the original of a poem and my translation of it. Sometimes I read the original in full and sometimes just an extract. I feel out the audience”.
Boardroom
12:30 – 1:30
Authenticity, Success and Failure. It’s Deli Not What You Think.
The noble quest to restore a lost tradition.
Zane Caplansky was born to own a deli. He was formerly a consultant, political assistant, dot com millionaire, scrap metal broker, night janitor, and lots in between. Zane is the owner of Toronto’s Caplansky’s Deli. Begun in 2008 out of frustration with the lack of good smoked meat in Toronto, as a trend-setting pop up, Caplansky’s Deli won accolades, spawned four restaurants, a food truck, catering business, retail brand and franchise. The media fanfare was intense until January 2018 when a landlord dispute forced the College St. Caplansky’s to close.
A true foodie at heart, you can catch Zane talk about a wide spectrum of food trends, chefs and foodies on Let’s Eat with Zane Caplansky on Newstalk 1010 Radio, Saturdays at 11:00 AM.
Classroom 5
12:30 – 1:30
Lomir Ale Zingen: Yiddish Songs, New and Old
Whether or not you know mameloshn, this participatory class in Yiddish song will be an accessible, fun-filled opportunity to learn or re-acquaint yourself with a wonderful repertoire of Yiddish songs. The program will include some lesser-known gems, including recent compositions by contemporary composers and lyricists. Rabbi Liz is joined by guitarist Howard Kaplan.
Elizabeth Bolton is a Montreal-born rabbi, teacher, singer, cantor and activist. Prior to graduating from rabbinical school, Liz studied music and women’s studies, and then sang on opera and concert stages in Canada – including performing at the opening Royal Gala of Expo ’86 for the Prince and Princess of Wales. While studying at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, she created the RRC ApiChorus and upon graduation taught their courses in traditional nusach, launched the Reconstructionist Music and Liturgy project, and served a congregation in Baltimore, Maryland. Liz returned to Canada in 2013 to become the first woman and first queer congregational rabbi in Ottawa. She serves Or Haneshamah: Ottawa’s Reconstructionist Community, and also works as a Multifaith Chaplain at Queensway Carleton-Hospital. Liz is co-coordinator of Rainbow Haven, a community group focused on resettling LGBTQ refugees. Liz began attending KlezKamp in its early years, extending her early exposure to Yiddish from Talmud Torah of Chomedey, and at her bobbe and zayde’s house in Outremont, and continues to visit Camp B’nai Brith in the Laurentians, the site of KlezKanada. Liz was named one of the Forward’s “Most Inspiring Rabbis of 2016,” and considers it one of her most sacred rabbinic duties to come up with inventive Purim characters every year.
Boardroom
1:45 – 2:45
Maimonides’ Philosophical Religion vis-à-vis Spinoza’s Theistic Revolt.
Maimonides’ 12th-century-ground-breaking intellectual project aimed at revising traditional notion of Judaism. His main goal in his magnum opus, The Guide of the Perplexed, being to reconcile science of his day, i.e. Greek philosophy, with what revealed tradition of Judaism had to offer as the path to the salvation. In other words, Maimonides took upon himself, both as a prominent religious leader of Jewish community and a philosopher, to offer an “up-to-date” version of Jewish faith for the intellectual elite of the time who had been exposed to new rationalism of medieval era. Five centuries later, another revolutionary Jewish philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, in a yet “modern” attempt to revise Jewish faith came to completely opposite conclusions, hence his excommunication from the Jewish community. Although Maimonides and Spinoza both had an initial concern as to determine the relationship between faith and reason, the outcome of their endeavours prove contradictory. The central questions I would tackle in my presentation is what underlies the drastic change in the two philosophers’ approach to Jewish faith? If Spinoza’s critique of Maimonides’ reconciliatory method can contribute to Jewish religiosity today or it can only lead to a full-fledged rejection of Jewish faith?
Soroosh Shahriari is a PhD candidate in Jewish Studies at McGill University, Montreal. In his current doctoral research, he studies the intellectual dialogue between Muslim and Jewish philosophers of the Medieval era in particular theological works of Maimonides and al-Ghazali.
Boardroom
3:00 – 4:00
Sexism or Advances Thinking: An Exploration of the Rabbinic Wisdom in Masechet Yebamot.
In a little read Talmudic Masechet, the Rabbis of blessed memory chat about marriage, sex and children. Their words have numerous implications not only for Jewish law but the values prescribed for male- female relationships.
Steven Garten is Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Israel, Ottawa. He served as the pulpit Rabbi for 19 years. Now he serves as director of Melton Adult Learning, Ottawa site, the executive secretary of the OCDSB Spiritual Care in Secondary Schools, and host of the CHRI weekly radio program: “Jewish Faith and Jewish Facts”. He is a respected teacher, preacher, known as a fan of Baseball and on a good day a fan of golf.
Teen Lounge
12:30 – 1:30
Deep Things Out of Darkness: The Book of Job and Our Search for Meaning
What can Job teach us about finding meaning within our suffering and relating to G-d?
Ariel Goldberg is a Rabbi, counselor, spiritual educator and proud Ottawan. Since earning smecha, in Israel, in 2012, he has lived in New York City with his wife, Francesca. He served for three years as a chaplain for the Mount Sinai Medical Center and is currently now in training as a psychotherapist.
Rabbi Ariel Goldberg’s father, Harvey Goldberg is Limmud Ottawa’s official Shofar timekeeper for the past 4 events and we hope for many more years to come!
Teen Lounge
1:45 – 2:45
Tekiah: Waking My Soul From A Deep Slumber
This performance of original songs explores spiritual resonances of our journey through the Jewish year. The shofar wakens us from deep slumber; we dwell in a shelter with branches above; we step forward, as the water draws back; we walk up the steps to Sinai; we seek God’s presence, without and within.
Roslyn Schwartz is a Jewish composer and performer whose work has been described as nourishing, inspiring, and healing. She serves as Cantorial Soloist & Music Educator in Kingston, Ontario, and is the founder and director of the Kingston Jewish Community Choir. She recently released the album “Singing Through The Night”. A physician with over 30 years of experience in Family Medicine and psychotherapy, facilitating healing and personal growth, Ros believes that music and medicine flow from the same healing source. You can purchase Roslyn’s CDs at the Limmud Café.
Teen Lounge
3:00 – 4:00
More than Your Baking Class, an Active Workshop in Writing Word Sonnets
Open to all, including master bakers, chefs, cooks, and mavens of cuisine!
Try your hand at literary composition, writing some spontaneous word sonnets with encouragement from Seymour Mayne, master word sonneteer whose publications in the sub-genre have received much positive international attention.
The word sonnet is a new variation of the traditional form, fourteen lines long, but with only one word set for each verse.
Why has the word sonnet caught the eye of so many practising Canadian poets? What is it about the word sonnet that makes it so contemporary a form? How can the word sonnet be used in the teaching and appreciation of poetry? Can it be that it fills a need for succinct utterance in a time of public and electronic surfeit of words? Participants will be encouraged to compose spontaneous word sonnets in a stimulating workshop forum. Bring pens and paper or any digital device that will be an inducement to your hidden creativity.
Seymour Mayne is the author, editor, or translator of more than seventy books. His writings have been translated into many languages. His latest collections of poetry and short fiction include the bilingual Ricochet: Word Sonnets/Sonnets d’un mot, The Old Blue Couch and Other Stories, Cusp, a selection of new word sonnets, published to mark fifty years since his first collection appeared in Montreal, and the personal anthology, In Your Words: Translations from the Yiddish and the Hebrew.
As the leading international innovator of the word sonnet, he has given readings and lectured widely on this unique new ‘miniature’ form. On Summer and Fall evenings he offers courses in Canadian Literature, Canadian Studies, and Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa. You are welcome to enroll and attend.
Forget about herbs, try verbs! Set aside flour, bake up poetry with word power.
Classroom5
1:45 – 2:45
The Agunah: A workshop at the Crossroads of Feminist Midrash and Tradition
Experience the wit and wisdom of a contemporary feminist Israeli midrashic interpretation of the problem of the Agunah. Work through this modern text alongside relevant halakhic sources with Professors Betina Appel Kuzmarov and Deidre Butler in this lively workshop.
Professor Deidre Butler is Director of the Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies and the Jewish Studies specialist in the Religion program at Carleton University. She researches and teaches at the intersections of religion, gender, sexuality, and Jewish thought. Deidre is also Limmud Ottawa’s fearless academic mentor and partner.
Professor Betina Appel Kuzmarov is the Associate Dean (Students and Enrolment) in the Faculty of Public Affairs and she researches and teaches at the intersections of religion, law and culture in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University.
Classroom5
3:00- 4:00
International Migration: Jewish Perspectives
A survey of Immigration theory and practices that determine “Who Gets In?”. Discussion includes Citizenship; Refugee Determination; Ger Toshav; The Law of Return; Tensions between Sovereignty and Morality.
Howard “Chummus” Spunt served 37 years as a Canadian Diplomat. While assigned to Germany, Scotland, the United States, and Zambia, he contributed prominently to Immigration program delivery; Border Management; Integration of Newcomers; and, Anti-Apartheid Policy. In Ottawa, he developed Canada’s marketing strategy to recruit skilled workers and business immigrants.
Vaad BoardRoom
10:00 – 11:00
“I always wondered why we couldn’t have more children”: Women’s experiences of infertility after the Shoah
Dr. Kleinplatz has been interviewing women in Canada, the US and Israel who have waited a lifetime to tell their stories of amenorrhea, multiple miscarriages and infertility after the Shoah. They have long hoped that someone would investigate their experiences of coerced pharmacological interventions and stop attributing their difficulties to “psychosomatic trauma” or prior malnutrition. Their history has been hidden in plain sight. It is time to give voice to women’s narratives.
Peggy J Kleinplatz Ph.D. is Professor of Medicine, Director of Sex and Couples Therapy Training at the University of Ottawa. In 2015, she received the AASECT Professional Standard of Excellence Award for teaching, research and clinical practice. Her current study is supported by The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
Vaad BoardRoom
11:15 – 12:15
Dealing with Diminishers. How to Rise Above the People who Pull us Down.
The Torah is full of the tales of difficult people and the challenges they posed to others. This workshop will give you practical guidance for dealing with difficult people as learned from the vast treasure chest of Jewish wisdom. No Hebrew needed.
Lauren Shaps is the director of Women’s Programming for JET and a master educator with over 25 years’ experience in adult education. She brings a sophisticated understanding of human nature to the many classes that she teaches. Lauren is passionate about building Jewish community and sharing the beauty of Judaism. She has a MSW from Yeshiva University in NYC and loves being a Mother and Bubbie.
Greenberg Families Library
10:00 – 11:00
Stories Filled with Light and Hope
Wise stories to transport you to other places and times gone by while you hear what you need to hear.
Selina Eisenberg has delighted listeners in Canada, United States, Ireland and Israel.
Her storytelling ability garnered her a spot on the 2013 TD Canada Children’s Book Week Tour; telling at Festivals in Ottawa, Edmonton and across Quebec. She is a proud active member of Storytellers of Canada and Montreal Storytellers Guild. This is Selina Eisenberg’s second time presenting at Limmud Ottawa.
Greenberg Families Library
11:15 – 12:15
The JFK Assassination: Jewish Connections and Anti-Semitism
President John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas in November 1963. His assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed by Jewish nightclub-owner Jack Ruby. Why did Ruby kill Oswald? This presentation looks at the answer and examines Ruby’s view of anti-Semitism and why his Jewish identity helped him make that fatal decision. In addition, many of the early critics of the Warren Report were Jewish and were modern-day Talmudic scholars who scoured the evidence for discrepancies and inconsistencies. Why were so many Jewish skeptics attracted to the JFK case? The last part of the presentation will look at how some anti-Semites have used JFK’s murder to advance their conspiratorial view of the Jews.
Fred Litwin is an author whose second book is I Was a Teenage JFK Conspiracy Freak. In 2015, he published Conservative Confidential: Inside the Fabulous Blue Tent, detailing his journey from left-wing anti-nuclear activist to Conservative Party campaigner. Fred has written articles for the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, the Toronto Sun, C2C Journal, iPolitics and the Dorchester Review. In 2000 he founded NorthernBlues Music, a cutting-edge blues label. The company has rel4eased over 70 CDs and has garnered 12 Juno Award and more than 40 Blues Music Award nominations. In 2007, Fred started the Free Thinking Film Society to showcase films on freedom, liberty and democracy. The Society has shown over 100 films and also organizes book launches and panel discussions. You will be able to purchase Fred ‘s latest book I Was a Teenage JFK Conspiracy Freak at the Limmud Café.
Greenberg Families Library
12:30 – 1:30
Jewish Lessons in Leadership:
We will study, schmooze, nosh, debate, and deliberate on the leadership lessons offered by paradigmatic biblical figures, rabbis over the ages, and contemporary sources. It will be a happening.
Dara Litwick is passionate about all things Jewish and is actively involved in the local community. When not working as a lawyer in constitutional and parliamentary affairs, she is completing part time rabbinical studies through Aleph, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal. She is also currently serving as a URJ JewV’Nation fellow.
Greenberg Families Library
1:45 – 2:45
The Deaths of Nadav and Avihu: Strange fire or Estranged from G-d? An Exegetical Look at Torah Text.
This session will deal with the approach taken by commentaries in comprehending what transpired to the sons of Aaron as discussed in the parsha of the week, Shmini. Participants will have an opportunity to examine text and sources in translation and in the original Hebrew.
Howard Finkelstein is Rabbi of Congregation Beit Tikvah since 1991, Dean of Judaic Studies at the Ottawa Jewish Community School, former Dean of Judaic Studies at Yitzhak Rabin High School. Graduate of Yeshiva University and New York University with principal certification from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Rabbi Finkelstein has been an ardent supporter of Limmud Ottawa since its inception.
Breeze Way
10:00 – 4:00 Pop Up Kitchen
3:00 – 4:00 Presentation
Mimouna: Its Origins and Traditions. Myths. Realities.
Mimouna originated in Morocco almost 4 centuries ago and became a festival celebrated and shared by Jews in Israel and in many countries where there is a significant Moroccan community. Michel Tapiero will present everything related to this unique North African Jewish tradition celebrated the day after Passover. MUFLETA demo and tasting! Come to the lecture but STAY FOR THE MUFLETAS!
Michel Tapiero was born in Casablanca, Morocco. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Paris and an MBA in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia. He retired as a public servant from the federal government. For the past 20 years, he enjoyed working in international cooperation in various countries. Michel speaks French and Spanish (native tongues) English and Arabic (Moroccan dialect).
Limmud Café Tables
Avi Naor Freehand Calligrapher + Hand Letterer
Brian Goldman Art of Kindness Books
Roslyn Schwartz Songs Recordings CD’s
Tova Lynch CJE Books
Jackie Holzman Compassion Ottawa
Fred Litwin Book Launch
Max Sternthal Album: Songs And Stories Of My People
