My Place Needs Towels & Pillow Cases

Our Place is staffing and partially funding a transitional residence called My Place. This off-shoot presently houses 44 men and 4 women. The dormitory-style area is a large gym, divided into 48 small spaces, surrounded by fairly low curtains. In each cubby there is a bed and, fitting underneath, a large plastic bin to hold personal items. The residents may stay for an indefinite time, hopefully moving from here to housing.

Thank you so much, Avodah!

Burnside Gorge Community Association is one of the organizations that your contributions to Avodah support.  Avodah receives regular reports from them on how our donations benefit their clients.
Here is a portion of a letter Avodah received in June from the Family Housing Outreach Workers from Burnside Gorge.

Emanu-El Launches 2019 Summer Tours

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday 12 – 1 pm, 1461 Blanshard Street, Victoria BC — Every summer, many tourists visit our beautiful synagogue, the oldest Canadian synagogue in continuous use, to explore its unique history, architecture and restoration with our  knowledgeable guide, Amber Woods.  It is a thrill to see how visitors are so fascinated by their visit to our shul. Please encourage your summer visitors to experience Victoria’s Jewish roots by taking one of our shul tours. If they wish to find out more about the Jewish experience in early Victoria, we recommend the gentle walking tour Not Just a Little Bit of Olde England.

Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue Tours: 2019 Summer Schedule

• Months: June 4 – August 29, 2019
• Days: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
• Hours: Noon to 1 pm
• Cost: Adults & Youth (aged 12-18): $10: Children (Aged 6-11) $5 (Cash only)
  • Free for children under 6

Drop in for a quick peek from 10 am to noon and from 1-2 pm by donation.

Not Just a Little Bit of Olde England Walking Tours

• Months: June 1 – September 8
• Days: Wednesdays
• Hours: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm
• Cost: Adults: $20 Seniors: $15 Students: $13 Children (6-11): $10 Families: $50
• Location: This tour starts outside the Visitor Info Centre, 812 Wharf Street at Government Street.

Note: Tours take place rain or shine.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 12 – 1 pm, June 4 – August 29, 2019   –

MEMORY and ESSENCE Art Exhibit: Mini Is Mighty

The Memory and Essence art exhibit in Congregation Emanu-El social hall showcases the values, ideas and stories of Jewish life seen through the lens of history.
The exhibit features two small pieces that might not be appreciated at first glance. There is a tiny children’s tea set to the right of Suzie’s doll (upper panel) belonging to Ed Fitch’s mother, Beulah Batinsky Fitch that dates from 1920.
On the other side of the upper shelf is a mid-century Israeli wooden beautifully painted scholar (lower panel) who pours over a text and can be seen with books, a candle, and carpet.  The detail is remarkable as this scholar is approx. 2″ tall!  Please come and enjoy this lovely exhibit.

What a blowout benefit!

On June 19, a Love Your Neighbour Benefit Concert was held in the Congregation Emanu-El sanctuary for support of our Avodah Social Action Group.  We were privileged to have The Klezbians as our musical headliner, and they did not disappoint. Audience members enjoyed and sang along, too, during the various Eastern European Jewish folk tunes offered up.  In addition, Maggidah (Jewish female storyteller) Shoshana Litman, accompanied by Joe Hatherill on piano, enraptured the audience with both stories and songs. The musical group Kouskous also made a guest appearance.

It was a fun, inspiring, and memorable evening.  Monies raised will go towards the many worthwhile social action/social justice projects that Avodah sponsors in the homeless and marginalized community.   Loving one’s neighbour means providing these services with compassion, dignity, and respect for the whole individual.

Lastly, a big todah rabah (thank you) goes out to our performers, volunteers – and generous audience.  Click here to view photos taken by Penny Tennenhouse.

MEMORY and ESSENCE Art Exhibit

The Memory and Essence art exhibit opened at the Calling All Artists Gala 2019. This exhibit showcases the values, ideas and stories of Jewish life seen through the lens of history. We will tell a few of the stories intermittently. Thank you to everyone who helped make this exhibit happen.
We are very pleased to display an AUTOGRAPH BOOK in impeccable condition from Teresienstadt concentration camp in 1945. Shown above are a few of the pages, including a concert program performed by the camp’s orchestra and featuring Alice Herz-Sommer about whom a film was made a few years ago (The Lady in Number 6).  She died at the age of 110 in 2014, she played the piano every day.

Tikkun Leil Shavuot 2019 Program

Saturday June 8 at 7:30 pm Congregation Emanu-El Sanctuary — Here’s the program for our all night learning.

7:45 pm—Andrew Gow:  Race, Religion and Ethnicity in the Face of Right Wing Populism: How Jews, Muslims, and People of Colour can Counter the Far Right in North America and Europe