Limmud Toronto 2021

Niv (which means expression in Hebrew) is an independent, not-for-profit online magazine, focusing on Jewish culture and creative work in Canada and abroad. Niv fosters a platform for the Jewish perspective, in all its diverse, pluralistic, and ever-changing forms of expression. It’s been a year since we launched and we want to share our experience with you! Niv was founded because there is a lack of inclusive Jewish publications in Canada geared towards a younger audience (but our magazine is enjoyed and has contributors of all ages). We want to hold an open forum and lead a discussion on what the future of Jewish media can be while giving insight into our process: from conducting interviews, to putting together an issue, to even our digital experience. New Jewish media in Canada does exist and it can be actualized; let us show you how!

The world is full of so much pain. How does non-Orthodox Judaism grapple with divine justice, with questions of good and evil? In this talk, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, head of the Reconstructionist movement, will point to some answers from a progressive perspective.


THE FIRST WOMAN RABBI to head a Jewish congregational union and a Jewish seminary, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., became president and chief executive officer of Reconstructing Judaism in 2014.Since then, she has drawn on her training as a rabbi and historian to be the Reconstructionist movement’s leading voice in the public square.

This talk will cover the importance of Tshuva in the Jewish Tradition, my personal journey from prison to my current life in Israel, and how the lessons we learn from Tshuva can be used to not only to help us get back on track after we make a mistake, but can also help us turn any negative situation we encounter into an opportunity for growth.

After years as a political speechwriter – serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama, a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign – Sarah Hurwitz decided to apply her communication skills to writing a book…about Judaism. And no one is more surprised than she is. Sarah was the quintessential lapsed Jew—until, at age 36, on a whim, she attended an introduction to Judaism class and was blown away by what she found: beautiful holidays and rituals, high ethical standards, conceptions of God beyond the judgy bearded man in the sky – none of which she had learned in Hebrew school or during the two synagogue services she grudgingly attended each year. That class led to a years-long dive into Jewish study, which continues to this day. In a wide-ranging interview, Sarah Hurwitz will discuss her book, Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life – in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There), and she will also share stories from her time at the White House.

Until fairly recently, the majority of Jews spoke, thought and wrote in more than one language. Since the late nineteenth century, the development of modern Jewish literature, especially in Hebrew and Yiddish, was in many ways defined by multilingual tensions. Today, however, Jews are increasingly monolingual, and rely on translation to gain access to Jewish heritage languages. So what does it mean to raise a multilingual Jewish child today? In this lecture, literary history intersects with personal anecdotes to explore the past, present and future of Jewish multilingualism.

Sephardic, Mizrahi, Iraqi, Arab, Middle Eastern... What's in a name? These are all words that my family has identified or been identified as, yet these terms can have very different connotations and meanings. This presentation will specifically focus on the impact of history and contemporary politics on identity among the Jewish Iraqi community. I will utilize both my personal family history and academic research on the topic to reflect on the ways that Orientalism, colonialism, Zionism, modern nationalism, and geographic relocations impact identity.

What does it mean to be an ally? At this epic moment in our lives, many people are understanding for the first time the need to be active in this holy resistance, but are worried about getting it right. Allyship can feel awkward. It is hard work – sometimes uncomfortable and painful – not just because it is predicated on people being dehumanized but also because we recognize our own complicity in an unjust society. Being an ally requires an exceptional precision to take up the appropriate amount of space. That exactness can be as aspirational as it may be elusive, even for seasoned allies. This discussion, based on the book Chaver Up!, will explore allyship as spiritual practice.