Jewish Joy: Part 2 is an educational, anti-racist and anti-antisemitism framework to support the wellbeing of Jewish members and to engage the broader ETT membership in learning about Jewish identity, culture, and social justice.
Event Details
- Thursday, May 14, 2026
- 5 pm. – 7 pm
- Edithvale Community Centre (131 Finch Avenue West, in the Banquet Hall)
- A light meal will be served. We will also be making sandwiches for unhoused Torontonians
This workshop is centered around the theme of “The Art of Storytelling”” and celebrating Jewish Joy and well-being during Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario. Through the arts and storytelling, this event focuses on highlighting the diversity within the Jewish community and the rich stories that build identity and belonging. Members will participate in a delicious kosher meal, workshops about different cultural traditions and identities within the community, and support a social justice initiative by making sandwiches for Ve’ahavta (a Jewish humanitarian organization that supports unhoused Torontonians). Teachers will receive ready-to-use classroom books and activities aligned with the Ontario curriculum.
Jewish Joy 2 will take place in the same month as the holiday Shavuot. Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It coincides with the wheat harvest and is celebrated by staying up late to read and study. Shavuot is approached in this session as a cultural and educational lens through which members explore themes of identity, diversity, and representation through the arts. A delicious, light meal will be served at the start of the event. Members will receive ready-to-use classroom books and activities that are aligned with the Ontario curriculum. The ESJ committee will also be supporting a social justice initiative by making sandwiches for Ve’ahavta, a Jewish humanitarian organization that supports unhoused Torontonians. We are also collecting hygiene items to donate.
Agenda
- Dinner is served at 4:40 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (members can eat during the presentations)
- Introduction – Jennifer Samson and Lindsay Rosen (Storytelling, Shavuot, Music lesson) 10 minutes
- The Jews of Yemen; Art gallery – Karen Pe’er – 20 min
- The Jews of India – Ann Samson – 20 min
- Ontario Jewish Life – David Koffman – 15 min
- History of Jewish languages – Alex Redinger 10 minutes
- Jewish Dancing – Jenny Wiesel – 15 minutes
- Making sandwiches for Ve’ahavta – supporting the unhoused population of Toronto – 25 minutes
Please register for this event below, presented by the ESJ committee. Members may contact Executive Officers Maria Abbruzzese or Rico Rodriguez with any questions.
