by Hillel Ontario | Jan 23, 2023 | Hillel Ontario
In their research on listening to survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides, Bronwen E. Low and Emmanuelle Sonntag note listeners’ problematic tendencies towards one of two responses. On the one hand, they can regard the narratives as so unfamiliar and foreign...
by Hillel Ontario | Jan 13, 2023 | Hillel Ontario, Uncategorized, Weekly D'var
In this week’s parashah we learn the story of Moses, from his birth, through his flight from and eventual return to Egypt, to the acceptance of his role as leader of the Hebrew people. After fleeing Egypt, for killing an Egyptian slave master, Moses was living rather...
by Hillel Ontario | Jan 4, 2023 | Hillel Ontario
Beginning this month, each of Hillel Ontario’s spaces across the province will be equipped with a Mikey automated external defibrillator (AED). A defibrillator is an electronic device that is used to revive someone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. Through the...
by Hillel Ontario | Jan 3, 2023 | Hillel Ontario, Weekly D'var
In this week’s parashah: Vayechi, Joseph and his brothers confront their father’s passing and their conflict from years passed with Joseph. The brothers, unable to forgive themselves for their past actions, assume Joseph will hold their actions against...
by Hillel Ontario | Dec 22, 2022 | Uncategorized
While I applaud President Gertler’s condemnation of antisemitism in “The remedy for controversial speech is more speech,” much of his opinion essay left me distressed, angry, and perplexed. As an example, Recommendation 3 in the Report of the University of Toronto...
by Hillel Ontario | Dec 15, 2022 | Hillel Ontario, Weekly D'var
This week’s Parsha predominantly features Joseph’s narrative. However, after the first chapter there is a break in the story to tell us a bit about one of Joseph’s brothers, Judah, together with his three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah and of course, his...
by Hillel Ontario | Dec 8, 2022 | Uncategorized
In this week’s parasha (torah portion), Vayishlach, Jacob and Esau, brothers, are planning to meet again for the first time in decades. The night before they meet, Jacob is awakened by a stranger, an angel, with whom he wrestles the entire night. Towards the break of...
by Hillel Ontario | Dec 2, 2022 | Uncategorized
As we approach the end of the fall semester of the 2022/23 school year, and begin to prepare for winter exams, and the holiday season, I want to share several ways in which Hillel Ontario is empowering a (re)surge(ence) in Jewish pride, community, and activism across...
by Hillel Ontario | Dec 2, 2022 | Hillel Ontario, Weekly D'var
This week’s parsha is one that is filled near to overflowing with iconic stories. Covering Jacob’s travels to, life in, and departure from Haran, the home of his uncle (and eventually father-in-law) Laban, Vayetzei recounts the stories of Jacob’s dream of the ladder,...
by Hillel Ontario | Nov 24, 2022 | Uncategorized
Parshat Toldot tells the story of Isaac and Rebecca’s twin sons, Jacob and Esau, who struggle in the womb and who seem destined to clash throughout their lives. Additionally, it contains two notable passages: the birth and childhood of Jacob and Esau, and the scene...
