This past Family Day weekend many of you joined us for PJ Havdallah and the Experience Israel cooking event and market tour. Both were the bursts of light and energy needed to warm up a deep freeze weekend! While we also experienced the imperfection of technology, we look forward to bringing Chef Shawna and Orit back (along with our friends in Calgary!), as well as to more PJ events. 

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Jenn Magalnick, the newest addition to our team in the Federation office. Jenn has education and background in Jewish communal service and is an expert in early childhood education. I am eager to see how she will bring these experiences to the education and engagement portfolio. 

As you may know, February is Black History Month. I hope you will join me on February 24 at 6 to 8 p.m. as we have the opportunity to honour our Black Jewish community members along with national partners, through an exciting event being streamed from Ottawa. I am Jewish: Honouring Black Jewish Experiences will feature experiences and performances in Canada and in connection to Israel. Tema Smith, Nissim Black, and more will be on the roster! Participating in events of this calibre is one of the many benefits of our national system and you can register now.

Purim is coming upon us and there are offerings across the community. Whether you are someone who makes or helps to deliver mishloach manot (Purim baskets), attends a zany event, or just enjoys a chance to wear a costume and listen to the megillah there are many ways to engage in our community. Thank you to all the volunteers who are ensuring we can remain connected and find meaningful moments.

I look forward to the day when we can meet for coffee and welcome you into our office. In the meantime I continue to do the Zoom tours and appreciate the opportunities to join in on agency meetings as I slowly get to know more of the community.  Warmer temps this week will make it easier to take longer walks and have more outdoor activity. Personally, I look forward to this and hope you take advantage of the weather as well – and as a Jewish mother I urge the tobogganers to wear a helmet!

Shabbat Shalom,

Stacey