{"id":45485,"date":"2024-11-29T01:26:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T09:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=45485"},"modified":"2024-11-28T17:37:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T01:37:30","slug":"vibrant-start-to-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2024\/11\/29\/vibrant-start-to-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Vibrant start to new year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visiting Rabbi Cantor Russell Jayne (of Beth Tzedec Congregation, Calgary) was in Kelowna for a September Shabbaton. (photo from the OJC)<\/i><\/p>\n

The Okanagan Jewish Community may be small, but it\u2019s got a strong, involved congregation that makes an impact on the region.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 14, the OJC hosted the first Okanagan multifaith community event, organized by the Kelowna General Hospital Spiritual Care Committee. Numerous faith-based organizations throughout the valley are part of this supportive, open-minded learning collective. The goal of the new group is to discover what unites us and what distinguishes us as citizens, and to promote peace and understanding across religious and cultural lines.<\/p>\n

*\u2008*\u2008*<\/p>\n

The OJC enjoyed another Shabbat with Rabbi Cantor Russell Jayne from Calgary, Sept. 20-21. This was the start of the community\u2019s visiting rabbi series for the new year and Jayne shared his historical knowledge, philosophical insights and voice from the bimah, and delighted community members with beautiful melodies at the Kaffehaus event on the Saturday evening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u2008*\u2008*\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Oct. 6, Harley Kushmier and Maureen Mansoor organized an Oct. 7 commemorative film and discussion evening, which was solemn, moving and enlightening.<\/p>\n

*\u2008*\u2008*\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
The Okanagan Jewish Community\u2019s break fast meal Oct. 12. (photo from the OJC)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The OJC\u2019s High Holidays were very much community-driven again this year.<\/p>\n

Evan Orloff led the services and the community is grateful that he has the heart and knowledge to serve as a lay leader.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OJC president Laura McPheeters lent her musical talents to the services and Adam Tizel sounded the shofar. The Torah was read by Josh Golden and Steven Finkleman. The community break fast meal was organized by Josh Golden and Abbey Westbury. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u2008*\u2008* \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The OJC Sisterhood hosted a luncheon on Oct. 23 with guest speaker Taylor Backman of the RCMP. His presentation about security during this period of heightened antisemitism was timely. Backman has offered to come speak to the community again in the spring.<\/p>\n

The next Sisterhood luncheon is scheduled for Dec. 12, and there will be a reprise of last year\u2019s popular Hanukkah gift exchange.<\/p>\n

*\u2008*\u2008*\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Kelowna musician Patricia Dalgleish joined the OJC earlier this month for the Parisian-themed Caf\u00e9 au J. (photo from the OJC)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first weekend in November brought Rabbi Jeremy Parnes from Regina. As ever, he graced the bimah with thoughtfulness, charm, and a strong focus on community and healing. That Saturday evening, OJC members took a virtual field trip to the Seine with the Parisian-themed Caf\u00e9 au J! Amid the croissants and cr\u00eapes, Kelowna songstress Patricia Dalgleish took to the stage with French ditties and crowd favourites that had everyone singing along.<\/p>\n

*\u2008*\u2008*<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the OJC is excited to welcome Rabbi Matthew Leibl from Winnipeg for its December Shabbaton weekend. Social events will take place on those nights, as well. The community\u2019s annual Hanukkah party, the Sisterhood\u2019s Christmas Eve Chinese food dinner, themed Kaffehaus nights, and many other get-togethers are planned in the coming months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013 Courtesy Okanagan Jewish Community<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visiting Rabbi Cantor Russell Jayne (of Beth Tzedec Congregation, Calgary) was in Kelowna for a September Shabbaton. (photo from the OJC) The Okanagan Jewish Community may be small, but it\u2019s got a strong, involved congregation that makes an impact on the region. On Sept. 14, the OJC hosted the first Okanagan multifaith community event, organized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[21777,6433,218,23648,856,1801],"class_list":["post-45485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-hanukkah","tag-jewish-life","tag-judaism","tag-kaffehaus","tag-okanagan","tag-rosh-hashanah"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}