Dear Community,
As I write this Shabbat message, ballistic rockets continue to be launched from Iran to Israeli civilian sites, and our brethren are entering Shabbat while running to shelters for protection. We are in contact with our P2G and Jewish Federations of Canada – United Israel Appeal staff on the ground, offering our love and support and determining immediate needs for the previously raised Israel emergency funds.
Thank you to those of you who supported the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs action alert asking our Canadian government to take a stand against the Iranian threat. If you have not already done so, please send the message to the government now.
I have been in direct contact with Edmonton Police leadership around our community concerns given the escalation in Israel and appreciate their proactive stance and understanding. Whether in planning for larger community events like the Jewish National Fund gala or a presence around Shabbat services, we appreciate their support and that of our national Jewish security network partners.
It is business as usual at the Jewish Federation (I hope to see you all at the JCC show and share at Talmud Torah this afternoon) and I am pleased to bring you a Shabbat message from Laura Taylor, who started her journey with us through Shalom Baby and was a participant in the Courageous Leaders Canada Shalom Hartman program.
The Shalom Hartman Institute hosts the Courageous Leadership Canada program, which focuses on strengthening the pipeline for Jewish leadership and addressing the key challenges of Jewish life in small and mid-sized Canadian communities. A leading research and educational center serving Israel and world Jewry, the organization develops innovative responses to the difficulties of our time, nurtures future leaders and works to build transformational education projects that help inspire a better Judaism and Israel for the 21st century.
In September 2024, the institute launched the inaugural Canadian cohort, engaging leadership from small and mid-size Jewish communities across the country. Included in this exciting work was a cohort of professional and lay leaders from the Edmonton Jewish community.
“Shalom Hartman has supported my growth as a leader by exploring ideas, concepts and values rooted in Judaism that apply in all areas of life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to lean and connect in this supportive space and have already seen the impacts of the program in my roles.”
- Edmonton cohort participant
Over the past 10 months, the Edmonton cohort has engaged in small Hevruta and larger group study sessions, including an in-person gathering in Ottawa. These collaborative learning experiences, led by prominent Jewish scholars, have afforded the chance to reflect on Jewish frameworks, thoughts, and ideas while building leadership skills that will help navigate current and future community and Jewish issues.
Exploring themes like pluralism, responsibility, Jewish identity, peoplehood and community, has brought Jewish principles and ideas into the heart of leadership and equipped program participants with elevated ethics-based Jewish learning with which to address challenges and today’s pressing questions and issues.
“The opportunity to learn from fellow mid-size Jewish communities through the Courageous Leadership Program has been impactful. There are strong thriving Jewish communities across Canada and tremendous value when we come together.”
- Edmonton cohort participant
Applying the concepts and learning from the program, in the coming months, the Edmonton cohort will be engaging the Edmonton Jewish community on a listening tour as part of our capstone project. Community members will engage in facilitated sessions which focus on exploring identity and what it means to be a part of a Jewish Edmonton. We hope that this work will support an inclusive and diverse community, balancing local needs with broader goals and contributing to a vibrant and thriving vision for the future of Edmonton’s Jewish community. We look forward to learning and working together!
Thank you to the following funders who recognized this need and made this program possible: the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Family Foundation, and the Azrieli Foundation.
Shabbat Shalom,
Laura Taylor on behalf of the Edmonton Shalom Hartman Courageous Leadership Program Cohort