Synaplex Shabbat 📅 Saturday, October 25 | 🕙 10:00 AM | 📍 Multiple locations at Darchei Noam We will begin together at 10:00 AM with introductory prayers, setting the stage for a meaningful and transformative morning. Then, as we arrive at the Torah service, you get to choose from three meaningful opportunities to experience Torah—each offering a unique lens into Jewish tradition, spirituality, and learning. Option 1: Traditional Torah Service Engage in a full, exploratory Torah reading led by Rob Silver. Option 2: Reflective & Meditative Musical Experience David Lefkowich will lead an immersive exploration of the Book of Psalms, where ancient words meet modern melodies. Option 3: Periphery with Sara Yacobi‑Harris Join us for a special Synaplex Shabbat featuring Periphery, a short documentary exploring ethnic diversity and Jewish identity through the stories of Jews from Black/African, Korean, Iraqi, Indian, and South American backgrounds. Together we’ll reflect on representation, intersectionality, and belonging within the global Jewish community, guided by filmmaker and educator Sara Yacobi‑Harris, co‑founder of No Silence on Race Periphery is an evocative short documentary that explores ethnic diversity in the Jewish community in Canada through dance, poetry and personal narratives. Following 10 Jews of Black/African, Korean, Iraqi, Indian and South American ancestry, the film challenges perceptions of who is a Jew, exploring ideas of representation, intersectionality, race, and sexuality. A window into the Jewish community, Periphery invites us to appreciate the richness of Jewish identity and cultural expression while also illustrating what it feels like to grapple with a sense of belonging and to seek recognition within one’s own ethnic community. In these shabbat sessions we will explore Jewish identity, culture and ethnic diversity within the global Jewish diaspora, intersectionality and Jews and Whiteness. Sara Yacobi-Harris is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, learning designer and social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of No Silence on Race, a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing and celebrating multi-ethnic Jewish experiences through content creation, community programming and cross-cultural dialogue. She currently works at EPIC leadership and is studying Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto. Please register here for Synaplex Shabbat.
