For further information on any of these events, email to: getinvolved@jccpeterborough.com
Upcoming Events (click on title for details):
Kabbalat Shabbat Service
TBA
When: TBA
Where: Beth Israel Synagogue.
Join Dan Houpt and fellow congregants in a special Kabbalat Shabbat service to take place in the synagogue this coming Friday. Dan will be leading this in-person event. The service will not be broad cast via Zoom.
This Kabbalat Shabbat service will include a special recognition and commemoration of the Shoah (Holocaust) and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that occurred 80 years ago on April 19th, 1943. This past week on Monday and Tuesday, an exhibit for Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah Vehagvurah) which occurs on April 17th-18th was shown at Beth Israel Synagogue, and a commemorative candle lighting took place. At this Kabbalat Shabbat service we will provide an opportunity for those who missed the commemoration to participate in a candle lighting as well. We have the honour to have our own Peterborough Poet Laureate, Ziysah von Bieberstein, read one of her poems for this occasion.
Please join us.
If someone needs a ride to the synagogue for this service, please let us know as soon as possible, for sure before Friday, by contacting: bisptbo@gmail.com
Oneg Shabbat Service
When: To resume in June
Where: Beth Israel Synagogue
Shavuot and the Children of Ruth
Where: Beth Israel Synagogue, Peterborough
In addition to hearing more about Ruth, and about individual journeys, we will have music, including the catchy numbers ‘Sweet as Honey’ and ‘613 Commandments’, as well as songs in Hebrew to celebrate this wonderful holiday. We will also have a Yizkor Service, to remember those family members and friends who have passed away. Finally, we will enjoy dairy treats, to accord with the passage in the Song of Songs where the Torah is likened to milk: just as milk has the ability to fully sustain the human body, so too the Torah provides all the “spiritual nourishment” necessary for the human soul.
Following our Shavuot event, dairy desserts and coffee will be served at noon. If you would like to contribute to the dairy treats with a cheesecake or something else, please let Larry know.
BIC Annual General Meeting
Where: Beth Israel Synagogue, Peterborough
We will also open the floor to answer any questions and hear anything else that is on your mind.
Lastly, we invite anyone who would like to join the Board to come forward.

Community Passover Seder
Where: Beth Israel Synagogue, Peterborough
The doors will open at 5 PM and the Seder will start promptly at 6 PM. Please come early to mingle and get ready for the 6PM start!!! This is a full Passover Seder. Everything will be provided including a Haggadah, Seder plate, matzo, and a wonderful catered meal.
The Seder will be led by folks from our community, and we will have several guests who will attend. Please include numbers attending, choice of catered meal, and opportunities to volunteer. The deadline for registration is Sunday April 2nd, as we need to inform the caterer.
Attendees must register using this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcmrC2tmiji4IrcX97AU2Z8Lo3f4g-wVwVU0pyruCM0DCLpA/viewform?usp=sf_link
GUESTS AT THE COMMUNITY SEDER
One of the guests is our very own Cantor Leon Litvack, who will join us by Zoom all the way from Belfast Ireland.
Passover is also a time to welcome the needy to our tables and is also a time of charity. Reflecting this Passover mandate, our other guests include a Ukrainian refugee family who are living in the Peterborough area.
As you recall we have been raising money to support local Ukrainian refugee families. As a community we have raised $3,300. We will present a cheque to one of the Ukrainian refugee family during the Seder.
There is some additional information below, on the 2 Ukrainian refugee families that we are supporting.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Grape juice for the 4 cups of wine will be available to all those who attend. Should you want to bring wine to the Seder, you are welcome to do so.
COSTS OF THE SEDER
The costs of catering this meal is approximately $20 per person. Recognizing that people in our community are in different financial positions, we ask you to please pay what you can.
If you can’t afford to contribute to the meal, you are very welcome to come and enjoy. If you can afford the $20 or can assist us with a bit more to cover the shortfall, it would be appreciated. We will have a donation box at the Seder for meal donations.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
We can really use your help to conduct the Seder.
Volunteers are required to do the following:
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- Prepare the Seders plates.
- Prepare Matzo Ball soup
- Set up for the Seder
- Security
- Clean up after
Please consider helping and indicate this on the attendance form.
INFORMATION ON THE 2 UKRAINIAN FAMILIES THAT WE WILL SUPPORT
The first family is a large Ukrainian family who have settled in the Marmora area – and they are exceptional in a couple of ways. First, it is a large household of 13, 3 adults and 10 kids, 8 of whom are adopted and 1 with a physical disability. Second, they are the descendants of a Righteous Gentile who saved Jews during the Holocaust (and they have presented documentation to this effect). This large and needy family will be our guests at the Seder. Please come out and meet them.
One of this family’s needs is basic food. Should you want to bring a food donation, we will set up a food donation box in the lobby of the Synagogue. Please note that any donated items do not have to be kosher for Passover.
Many of you have already met the second family we will support, Svitlana and her children. They left the Ukraine at the start of the conflict and emigrated to Canada. Kelli and Dan Houpt have graciously housed them at the farm and provided support since they arrived in Canada. As Svitlana can not come to the Seder, we will be sending her a cheque.
IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS
If you have any thoughts or questions on the Seder, please contact Larry Gillman at larry.gillman@f55f.com
Purim Celebrations
Where: Beth Israel Synagogue, Peterborough
If you would to take on a role in the play, please contact Nevia Frank by sending her an email at nevia@thefrankhouse.com.
Our Purim plays are always interesting and more than a bit humorous!!! Whether you are in the play or not, come out, dress up, bring noisemakers,
What kind of Purim party would it be if we didn’t have Hamantaschen and refreshments. Oye!!If you have any other questions or suggestions, please contact Larry at larry.gillman@f55f.com