Niv readers! I hope you’re ready, because the next month or so is chock-full of Jewish arts and culture events. Purim and beyond, I’ve got you covered!
Purim
Purim 2024 is approaching in a few short weeks! The most unique event I’ve come across is Four Faces of Purim: Drag Makeup Mastery, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. This is a free online drag makeup workshop organized by LGBTQ+ at the J. So if you’ve always wanted to learn how to apply drag makeup, now is your chance. Boy Vey and Josie are ready to help.
Exhibitions
Most of the events mentioned in this article are catered toward people who want to attend events rather than participate in them. However, if you are the latter, there is a call for art from the Miles Nadal JCC. They are seeking pieces to include in an August exhibition called L’dor v’dor (from generation to generation).
The call asks for work that explores the question: “What lessons, values, rituals or stories have we learned from our elders and what do we want to pass down to our children?” Submit your artwork by April 30, 2024 and visit mnjcc.org/visualarts for more information on guidelines, criteria, and submission forms.
Meanwhile, the Lower Library, located at the University of Toronto’s Massey College, has an exhibition on now that is showcasing nine different Hebrew fonts from the Balinson collection in metal and wood types. A Printer’s Voice: The Balinson Jewish Type Collection is curated by acquisitions specialist Leona Bromberg. Visit in person or check the site regularly to see when the digital edition appears. The exhibit offers a rare example of local Yiddish tangible heritage, as the fonts were originally used from 1911 and onward at a print shop in Hamilton, Ontario. This was the home of Hamilton’s only Yiddish-language newspaper Yiddishe Shtime de Hamiltoner (Jewish Voice of Hamilton). Check out page 11 of this online visual guide to learn more about the newspaper and the remarkable man behind it, Henry Balinson, after which the typeface is now named.
The Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA) is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada, and this year the organization marks its 50th anniversary. Since 1973, the OJA has been gathering, preserving, and sharing the stories of Jewish life across the province. Join the celebration this spring as new collections are revealed each week, showcasing a variety of organizations, individuals, and events from over 170 years of Jewish history in Ontario. Many of the collections are still locked online, and there will be 50 collections in total, to represent 50 years of the Jewish community’s history.
Live Events
On Trans Day of Visibility (March 31), LGBTQ+ at the J and the OJA will present The First Jew in Canada: A Trans Tale, written and performed by American author, poet, playwright S. Bear Bergman. The story takes place in 1738 when sailor Jacques LaFargue, a young transgender man, left France to start a new life in Canada, settling in what is now Quebec City. The play reveals “his largely untold story, embroidered onto the bones of nine verifiable facts about his life and existence, and interwoven with the modern experience of a trans and Jewish immigrant to Canada three hundred years later.”
The play promises to take “its audience on a stubbornly Jewish journey of optimism, faith, and joy—including the joy and affirmation of finding an ancestor you never knew you had.”
To learn more about what is known about LaFargue and his life in Canada visit this site. Tickets are $18 and you can purchase them here.
Lastly in the events category, if an evening of laughter sounds like something you need right now, grab your tickets to see Talia Reese, an Orthodox stand-up comedian who will be visiting the Prosserman JCC on March 14. She’s been featured on The Wendy Williams Show and Sirius XM. You can purchase tickets for $39.
Learning
The Lishma Jewish Learning Project just wrapped its current semester, which includes classes on mitzvah and pleasure; the history of Israel and Palestine—which provides a foundation for out-of-the-box thinking about the future of the region and its inhabitants—and on finding meaning in the Book of Job. If you’re curious to try a course, you’re already able to sign up for the next one. The class begins on May 1 and runs through to June 5 at Holy Blossom. It’s not clear what the next semester will focus on, but if the previous series is any indication, you’ll be in for interesting discussions. Stay tuned to their website for more information and register for the next course!
Miscellaneous Musings
I follow Katherine Bogen, a young Jewish scholar, on social media, who recently joined Dr. Hani Chaabo on his podcast, Super Humanizer, to discuss resistance, healing, and activism. The podcast is just one way of unpacking the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, and this particular episode was a beautiful, empathetic conversation that might be of interest.
It will be a few months until my next article, so if you’re hunting for activities to enjoy, check the Kultura Collective event calendar. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for this year’s annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival, from May 30 until June 9.
Lara
Niv readers! I hope you’re ready, because the next month or so is chock-full of Jewish arts and culture events. Purim and beyond, I’ve got you covered!
Purim
Purim 2024 is approaching in a few short weeks! The most unique event I’ve come across is Four Faces of Purim: Drag Makeup Mastery, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. This is a free online drag makeup workshop organized by LGBTQ+ at the J. So if you’ve always wanted to learn how to apply drag makeup, now is your chance. Boy Vey and Josie are ready to help.
Exhibitions
Most of the events mentioned in this article are catered toward people who want to attend events rather than participate in them. However, if you are the latter, there is a call for art from the Miles Nadal JCC. They are seeking pieces to include in an August exhibition called L’dor v’dor (from generation to generation).
The call asks for work that explores the question: “What lessons, values, rituals or stories have we learned from our elders and what do we want to pass down to our children?” Submit your artwork by April 30, 2024 and visit mnjcc.org/visualarts for more information on guidelines, criteria, and submission forms.
Meanwhile, the Lower Library, located at the University of Toronto’s Massey College, has an exhibition on now that is showcasing nine different Hebrew fonts from the Balinson collection in metal and wood types. A Printer’s Voice: The Balinson Jewish Type Collection is curated by acquisitions specialist Leona Bromberg. Visit in person or check the site regularly to see when the digital edition appears. The exhibit offers a rare example of local Yiddish tangible heritage, as the fonts were originally used from 1911 and onward at a print shop in Hamilton, Ontario. This was the home of Hamilton’s only Yiddish-language newspaper Yiddishe Shtime de Hamiltoner (Jewish Voice of Hamilton). Check out page 11 of this online visual guide to learn more about the newspaper and the remarkable man behind it, Henry Balinson, after which the typeface is now named.
The Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA) is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada, and this year the organization marks its 50th anniversary. Since 1973, the OJA has been gathering, preserving, and sharing the stories of Jewish life across the province. Join the celebration this spring as new collections are revealed each week, showcasing a variety of organizations, individuals, and events from over 170 years of Jewish history in Ontario. Many of the collections are still locked online, and there will be 50 collections in total, to represent 50 years of the Jewish community’s history.
Live Events
On Trans Day of Visibility (March 31), LGBTQ+ at the J and the OJA will present The First Jew in Canada: A Trans Tale, written and performed by American author, poet, playwright S. Bear Bergman. The story takes place in 1738 when sailor Jacques LaFargue, a young transgender man, left France to start a new life in Canada, settling in what is now Quebec City. The play reveals “his largely untold story, embroidered onto the bones of nine verifiable facts about his life and existence, and interwoven with the modern experience of a trans and Jewish immigrant to Canada three hundred years later.”
The play promises to take “its audience on a stubbornly Jewish journey of optimism, faith, and joy—including the joy and affirmation of finding an ancestor you never knew you had.”
To learn more about what is known about LaFargue and his life in Canada visit this site. Tickets are $18 and you can purchase them here.
Lastly in the events category, if an evening of laughter sounds like something you need right now, grab your tickets to see Talia Reese, an Orthodox stand-up comedian who will be visiting the Prosserman JCC on March 14. She’s been featured on The Wendy Williams Show and Sirius XM. You can purchase tickets for $39.
Learning
The Lishma Jewish Learning Project just wrapped its current semester, which includes classes on mitzvah and pleasure; the history of Israel and Palestine—which provides a foundation for out-of-the-box thinking about the future of the region and its inhabitants—and on finding meaning in the Book of Job. If you’re curious to try a course, you’re already able to sign up for the next one. The class begins on May 1 and runs through to June 5 at Holy Blossom. It’s not clear what the next semester will focus on, but if the previous series is any indication, you’ll be in for interesting discussions. Stay tuned to their website for more information and register for the next course!
Miscellaneous Musings
I follow Katherine Bogen, a young Jewish scholar, on social media, who recently joined Dr. Hani Chaabo on his podcast, Super Humanizer, to discuss resistance, healing, and activism. The podcast is just one way of unpacking the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, and this particular episode was a beautiful, empathetic conversation that might be of interest.
It will be a few months until my next article, so if you’re hunting for activities to enjoy, check the Kultura Collective event calendar. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for this year’s annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival, from May 30 until June 9.
Lara