Bar
and Bat Mitzvah Program
LAST
REVISED: APRIL, 2011
Welcome to a year of
immersion into Jewish study and participation in the communal life of Or
Shalom!
The
B'nei Mitzvah Program at Or Shalom includes the following components. These components are described below.
Bar(t) Mitzvah - eligibility and ceremony
Reserving a date / summary of fees / membership in Or Shalom
Group study and mitzvah projects and participation in family
programs
Guided individual preparation for the ceremony
Ceremony
Planning
Kiddush Lunch Celebration
About Bar and Bat Mitzvah
“Bar Mitzvah” literally
means “son of the commandments” and “Bat mitzvah” literally means “daughter of
the commandments” – but the words are more accurately translated as “a person
of religious commitment.” Traditionally,
the Bar or Bat mitzvah ceremony marks a young teenager’s willingness to make a
commitment to the Jewish path. In order
to do so, the teen is expected to have some familiarity with Judaism. Typically, a teen is expected to have a basic
acquaintance with Jewish ethics, Jewish prayer, a section of Torah, Hebrew
reading, and the cycle of the Jewish year.
Or Shalom welcomes students with various levels of advance preparation,
and provides the resources for Jewish study.
At Or Shalom, most
youth come up to the Torah for an aliyah
(Torah blessing), read a short segment of the weekly parashah (Torah portion) from the Torah scroll, present a short d’var Torah (teaching), and lead one or
more short prayers.
Students with a strong
background in Jewish study and practice are welcome to lead more of the
service. We also work with students with
special needs to adapt the ceremony to their interests and abilities.
Other members of the
family are also welcome to participate in leading prayer or reading from the
Torah. Non-Jewish family members may
read poems and psalms, or join Jewish family members as they come up for an aliyah.
Who Is Eligible for Bar
and Bat Mitzvah?
Age
Usually, becoming a bar or bat mitzvah (a person of
religious commitment) is celebrated at age 13.
However, a person can celebrate any time after reaching age 13. If a child is not prepared emotionally or
intellectually at age 13, he or she may choose to celebrate later in their
teens. Adults who wish to renew their
commitment to Judaism and have completed a course of study may arrange for a
celebration at any time. In certain
circumstances, a girl from an observant Jewish background with strong
preparation may celebrate at age 12.
Jewish Identity
Or Shalom accepts the traditional view of halakhah (Jewish law and custom) that
Jewish identity is passed from mothers to their children. If a birth mother is Jewish at the time her
child is born, the child is considered automatically Jewish. If the mother is not Jewish at the time of
birth, if the child is adopted from unknown or non-Jewish parents, or if only
the child’s father is Jewish, we ask that the youth participate in a conversion
ritual shortly before the bar or bat mitzvah. Please let the rabbi know during
your initial conversation if Or Shalom will need to arrange for this brief but
meaningful ritual. Or Shalom welcomes
interfaith families into its bnei mitzvah program. Please speak with the rabbi at any time if
you have any questions about your child’s Jewish identity or about the rituals
for affirming Judaism.
Jewish Education
Or Shalom welcomes students with various levels of
advance preparation. Some of our bnei
mitzvah students have attended Jewish Day School throughout elementary school,
others have attended synagogue religious school or studied with a private
tutor. If your child has little to no
Jewish literacy, please speak with the rabbi about options for preparation, so
that Or Shalom can connect you with an appropriate program or tutor.
Reserving
a date for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah and Summary of Fees
1.
Contact
the rabbi to discuss possible dates for the ceremony. Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan will give you
information about the Jewish ritual calendar, the Torah portion of the week,
and availability of your proposed dates, and help you make a final
decision. The rabbi can be reached at
604-872-1614 or reblaura@orshalom.ca.
2.
Fill
in the form on the last page of this booklet in order to enroll in the B’Yachad
group study program. Tuition for the
B’Yachad program is tax-deductible. Send
the completed form along with a $180 cheque for the B’Yachad tuition as
indicated on the form to Office Manager Lily Salja, 710 E. 10th
Avenue, Vancouver BC V5T 2A7. Lily can be reached via email at office@orshalom.ca and by phone
at 604-872-1614.
3.
Send
$300 for facility booking, plus a $200 security deposit to the Or Shalom Office
Manager, Lily Salja, 710 E. 10th Avenue, Vancouver BC V5T 2A7.
The office manager can be reached via email at office@orshalom.ca, and by phone at
604-872-1614.
4.
Please
make sure your Or Shalom membership is in good standing by checking with the Or
Shalom Office Manager Lily Salja. All
bnei mitzvah families are expected to commit to at least two years of
membership in Or Shalom. Costs of
membership are detailed on the next page.
If you are not currently a member of Or Shalom, please request new
member materials from the office manager.
SUMMARY OF FEES PAYABLE TO OR SHALOM:
-
2
year membership in Or Shalom ($800 per year for a one-parent family; $1600 per
year for a two-parent family)
-
Bar/bat
mitzvah booking fee ($300)
-
B'yachad course tuition
($180)
-
Refundable
security deposit ($200)
-
Building
fund contribution ($2500)
Fees
for tutoring & catering are arranged privately with service providers.
Participation in Or Shalom should not be hindered by
one’s ability to pay dues and meet other financial obligations. Please contact
treasurer Linda Peritz: lind@interchange.ubc.ca
or leave a phone message in the Or Shalom Office.
Membership
in Or Shalom
Or Shalom (Light of Peace) is a Jewish
Renewal community seeking to live an authentic, creative and deeply satisfying
spiritual life. We are committed to the
integrity of our Jewish tradition and its continual evolution. Women and men share and participate equally
in all aspects of our community’s religious life. We are dedicated to providing an inclusive
community and resources for individuals to explore their Judaism and the modern
era. Our uniqueness expresses itself in
the melodies, poetry, visual arts, creative liturgy and new ceremonies created
by our members.
Or Shalom was founded by Rabbis Daniel
and Hanna Tiferet Siegel in 1979. We
began as a havurah (circle of
friends) and moved to our bayit
(home) at 710 East 10th Avenue, Vancouver, in 1992. We are affiliated with ALEPH: Alliance for
Jewish Renewal and draw on the strengths and beauties of the Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements. Or Shalom and the Jewish Renewal movement
attribute their origins largely to the intellectual and spiritual insights and
teachings of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.
Or Shalom offers its members religious
services, holiday celebrations, lifecycle events, adult and youth education,
social action projects, rabbinic consultation, conversion study, artistic
opportunities, social events, and opportunities to get involved with synagogue
life.
The financial responsibilities of membership
consist of ongoing annual dues ($800 per adult, includes children) and a
one-time contribution of $2,500 to the building fund. Participation in Or Shalom should not be
hindered by one’s ability to pay dues and meet other financial obligations. Please contact Or Shalom’s treasurer Linda
Peritz to discuss an alternate financial arrangement if required. Please leave a message for Linda at Or Shalom
or email her at lind@interchange.ubc.ca.
Confidentiality is assured.
Group Study and Mitzvah
Projects: The B'Yachad Group
B'Yachad
is the Hebrew word for "together."
At Or Shalom, all students preparing for bar or bat mitzvah enroll in
the B'Yachad Program during the school year leading up to their ceremony. Students with varying levels of previous
Jewish education study, socialize, celebrate, and contribute to the community
as a group. The rabbi teaches in the
B'Yachad program, along with various learned members of the Or Shalom
community. The program director
coordinates the program's communication and logistics.
The B'Yachad program includes
the following commitments:
·
Meeting
eight Sunday mornings during the school year (as outlined in the year's
calendar) from 10:00 a.m. - 12 noon.
o
On many of these Sunday
mornings, students study topics that help them prepare for their bar or bat
mitzvah: writing creative prayers, acting out interpretations of Torah through
bibliodrama, trying on tallit, discussing the nature of God and Jewish
ethics. These Sunday mornings begin with
a light breakfast, provided by parents on a rotating basis. Parents whose turn it is to provide breakfast
arrive 15 minutes early to help the program director set up.
o
On some Sunday mornings, b'nei
mitzvah students and their families join with other students in the religious
school and their families for active, youth-oriented holiday celebrations.
These family celebrations often run from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon instead of the
regular B'Yachad time. Please stay tuned
in to the year's specific schedule.
·
Meeting six Shabbat mornings at
Or Shalom (as outlined in the year’s course calendar) from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00
p.m.
o
Services on these Shabbat
mornings (10:00-12:30) will include a balance of participation in the regular
service and special activities for the bnei mitzvah. Some of these mornings
coincide with family Shabbat, including a humorous parashah play by bnei mitzvah
and older children in the congregation. Services are followed by potluck lunch
with the whole congregation. After lunch (1:00-2:00 pm) students meet for a
one-hour class with the Rabbi, continuing the curriculum outlined above.
·
Mitzvah
projects
o Mitzvah
projects are community service tzedakah projects. These are hands-on commitments to putting
Jewish ethics into practice. The class
will join together for at least one significant project. The Or Shalom staff,
tikkun olam (repair of the world) committee, and Family/Youth/Children’s
committee work with parents to arrange for the project. In the past, students
have participated in cooking and serving lunch at a homeless shelter, raising
money for earthquake relief, collecting food for a food bank, collecting
clothing for a clothing bank, sorting goods for a food bank.
·
Schul
(synagogue) improvement project
o
We ask each B’Yachad class to
make a helpful contribution to Or Shalom’s physical facility and
resources. Past classes have funded a
stained glass window, created a group mosaic, inventoried and restocked the
kitchen utensils, funded the purchase of new books for the library. Sometimes Or Shalom staff organize a creative
project. However, we invite parents and
students to think creatively about making a contribution to Or Shalom. In order to begin the process, parents are
invited to consult the “wish lists” prepared by the various Or Shalom
committees. Proposed improvement projects should be approved by the Rabbi (who
will consult with the Board), in order to avoid people accidentally working at
cross-purposes.
·
Shabbat
and Holidays at Or Shalom
o
In addition to the eight
scheduled Shabbat morning classes, B’Yachad families are asked to attend
Shabbat morning services one more time each month. Attendance at services helps
youth get acquainted with the service that forms the foundation for their bar
or bat mitzvah ceremony. Students are also encouraged to attend all weekly
Shabbat services for the month preceding the bar or bat mitzvah celebration.
o
B'Yachad families are also asked
to attend family holiday celebrations at Or Shalom, in addition to those held
on Sunday morning. Attendance helps
students gain familiarity with the cycle of the Jewish year, and gives them
additional opportunities to enjoy Jewish practice at Or Shalom.
·
Attending
one another's celebrations
o
B'Yachad students are expected
to invite one another to their b'nei mitzvah ceremonies and celebrations. Please send each student in the class a
formal invitation. Early in the school
year, the program director will distribute contact information for all the
members of the class.
·
Purchase
of Books
o
All families in the B'Yachad
program are expected to own a copy of Siddur Eit Ratzon, the siddur (prayerbook)
that is used at Or Shalom. Students may
make notes or place post-it notes in their own prayerbooks to help them prepare
for the service at their ceremonies.
Prayerbooks will be available for sale early in the year at a Sunday
morning B'Yachad meeting.
o
Families are also expected to
have at home any edition of a Chumash in order to facilitate study of
the Torah portion. Please note that the
usual gift from Or Shalom to each bar or bat mitzvah at the ceremony is an Etz
Chayim Chumash with English translation, selections from traditional
commentaries, and Haftora (selections from the Prophets).
Guided Individual Preparation
Students work with tutors as well as with
the rabbi in order to prepare for their individual ceremonies and, in some
cases, to supplement their Jewish education.
Tutors charge a fee per lesson, and the fee varies by individual
tutor. Typically, students will study
with their tutors: Hebrew reading, trope or cantillation (notes for Torah reading),
the student’s particular Hebrew Torah reading, selected prayers, the content of
the day’s Torah reading. Many tutors
also help students increase their background knowledge of Judaism. Each tutor
should stay in touch with the rabbi about each student’s learning.
Each student has the opportunity to meet
with the rabbi for four one-hour sessions beginning approximately 6-8 weeks
before the bar or bat mitzvah ceremony. Together they will study the parashah
and prepare the dvar Torah. The rabbi will schedule a rehearsal in the Or
Shalom sanctuary approximately one week before the ceremony. At that rehearsal,
the bar or bat mitzvah will practice reading directly from the Torah scroll,
delivering the d’var Torah, carrying the Torah scroll, and other contributions
to the service.
If your tutor is not one of the tutors
familiar with Or Shalom on the list below, please encourage them to begin to be
in close touch with the Or Shalom rabbi as early in the process as possible.
Tutors
include:
The Ceremony
Timing
The bar or bat mitzvah ceremony
is integrated into a prayer service.
Most ceremonies take place during a Shabbat morning service (10:00 a.m.
– 12:30 p.m.) A ceremony can also take
place during a Shabbat afternoon service (4:30-6:00 p.m., with slight
variations according to seasonal sunset time).
Please speak with the rabbi about the advantages of each of the
different services.
When inviting your guests, please
ask them to come at the beginning of the service. This is particularly important so that guests
who are unfamiliar with Or Shalom can be greeted, get oriented, and feel
comfortable.
Welcoming Guests
Our
sanctuary holds up to 250 people. On a
Shabbat morning, expect approximately 50 Or Shalom members in addition to your
guests. In order to accommodate this maximum number of 250, it may be necessary
to rearrange pews and chairs. Please
check with the office manager for guidance on the set-up. If you rearrange the sanctuary, please
designate someone to return it to its original configuration.
Please note
that the sanctuary is heated but not air-conditioned. If you are expecting a very hot summer day,
consider making small bottles of cold water available to your guests at the
door. You may also wish to consider
bringing oscillating fans.
Designated
greeters can be helpful. Arrange for
friends to take turns to welcome guests, hand out booklets (see below), kippot,
direct the overflow of coats downstairs and the gifts to a table or box that
you should provide and have watched. It
may also be useful to designate one person for the role of “floor manager” or
“usher” to ensure that every guest finds a seat.
Neighbourhood
folks sometimes wander in and it is our custom to welcome them into the service
and the eating. However, in order to discourage theft, you should ensure
supervision of the valuables your guests may have left near the front
door.
Order of the Shabbat Morning Service
1.
Psukei D’zimra – Psalms and
Blessings. The bar or bat mitzvah may receive a talit and say the blessing; may
also lead prayers or songs along with family members or tutors.
2.
Shacharit – Affirmations
of Faith and Silent Prayer. The bar or
bat mitzvah may lead Barechu, Shema,
and possibly other prayers.
3.
Torah Service: (Opening the Ark
through Candy Throwing)
4.
Opening the Ark: An honor often given to family
members.
5.
Taking out the Torah Scroll, singing Sh’ma,
carrying the Torah in the procession: Usually done by the bar or bat
mitzvah. Family can join the bar or bat
mitzvah for the symbolic passing of the Torah from one generation to another.
6.
Hagbah - Raising up
the Torah scroll: An honor often given to physically strong family members or
friends.
7.
Five Aliyot – Being called
up to the Torah for a blessing: One aliyah is for the bar or bat mitzvah, one
for community healing, three to honor parents and other family members/close
friends/teachers. Please provide the
rabbi with English and Hebrew names of those being called up. The bar or bat mitzvah usually reads at least
one aliyah worth of Torah
verses. Other readings may be done by
the bar or bat mitzvah, the tutor, the rabbi, friends, family members, or
community members appointed by the gabbaim
– the ritual committee representatives.
8.
D’var Torah - Torah commentary given by the Bar/Bat
Mitzvah
9.
Parent’s Blessing – 3 minutes of good wishes. Many
parents prefer to offer these during a family party.
10.
Presentation by board member - Bar or bat
mitzvah receives as a gift from Or Shalom an Etz Chayim edition Chumash,
certificate, and JCC membership.
11.
Returning the Sefer Torah and closing the
Ark: Usually done by the bar or bat mitzvah, though a family member or friend
can close the ark.
12.
Candy throwing:
Some teens like to be showered with candy, thrown by the younger members
of the congregation. Younger siblings,
friends, or relatives often enjoy passing these out. Candies should be passed out after the bar or
bat mitzvah has finished presenting their d’var
Torah (ideally during the final Torah procession) so that no rattling
wrappers drown them out. The only
approved candy is individually wrapped soft gummy circles from Pini’s Kosher
Corner.
13.
Mourners’
Kaddish: Led by the
adult service leader. Special mention
may be made of deceased family members who are greatly missed at the event.
14.
Closing Song(s): Can be led by the bar or bat mitzvah
with siblings and friends.
15. Kiddush and
HaMotzi
(Blessings over wine and challah): May be done in the sanctuary at the end of
the service or in the social hall at the beginning of the meal. Can be led by the bar or bat mitzvah with
siblings and friends. Please arrange to provide wine and challah for the
blessings.
Order of the Shabbat Afternoon
(Mincha) Service
1.
2
Short Opening Prayers
2.
Torah
Service with 3-5 aliyot (includes all the components of the morning Torah
service) – Please note that on Shabbat afternoon we read and study the next
week’s Torah portion.
3.
Amidah
4.
Mourner’s
Kaddish, Closing Songs
Booklets for the Service
Together
with the Rabbi, the Or Shalom communications coordinator prepares a weekly
Shabbat bulletin that includes a d’var Torah, information about the service and
its leaders, weekly announcements, and basic synagogue information. The usual
bulletin is four sided, 4 1/4” x 5 1/2”.
We are happy to adapt this bulletin for bnei mitzvah. At the very least, we will include in our
usual space information about the service leaders and Torah readers for your
special day. We can also include the
names of people being called up for aliyot, a description of the service and
bar or bat mitzvah ceremony, a special message from the family to its guests,
words to special songs that might be sung, a poem by or photos of the bar or bat
mitzvah. We are happy to add an
additional four sides with no extra charge or negotiation. The rabbi has sample booklets on file.
Some
families choose to prepare a longer booklet that contains additional family
information, more detailed descriptions of the service and its meanings, extra
transliterations, or color photographs.
If you are interested in preparing one, the rabbi has sample copies on
file for you can look at.
Planning the event
Information needed by
Or Shalom
6 weeks in advance:
Tutor or family should request from the rabbi an outline of the service, and
let the rabbi know who will be leading which portions of the service and who
will be reading from the Torah. The
rabbi and gabbaim (prayer service organizers) can identify additional leaders
and Torah readers, if necessary.
10 days in advance:
Family should contact the rabbi to go over the final plans for the
service. Family must finalize with the
rabbi any inserts for the Shabbat bulletin.
The family and rabbi should schedule the rehearsal.
Family should let rabbi
or Torah service leader know who will be called up for the aliyot and their
Hebrew names. Family should give the
rabbi the full Hebrew name (including parents’ Hebrew names) of the bar or bat
mitzvah.
Invitations to the Ceremony
If you are sending invitations, we recommend that you
organize them three or four months before the date. The rabbi has sample invitations, if you wish
to review them. Many families prefer to
prepare invitations on their own computers.
For professionally prepared invitations, note that local printers who
are familiar with Hebrew letters can be found through the Vancouver Jewish
Community directory. Mail out
invitations about seven to eight weeks prior to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah. The community at large will be informed of
the upcoming ceremony through the quarterly calendar mailout and the weekly
Shabbat bulletin distributed at services. However, a general announcement does
not have the warmth of a personal invitation, so make sure that those you want
to reach personally do receive an invitation.
Flowers
Flowers make a beautiful addition to the sanctuary on a
special occasion. Many people choose to
set one vase on the round stands at either side of the ark. Or Shalom has vases available for this use,
donated by b'nei mitzvah families. If
you order flowers for the sanctuary, please avoid heavily scented flowers such
as calla lilies.
Child
Minding
Or Shalom provides one child-minder
for Shabbat morning services. Our
child-minder takes care of the children on Shabbat from 10:15 a.m. to 1:00
p.m., in the same room downstairs where the kiddush is set up.
Please bring or ask your caterer to
provide a snack for 12 children, plus more if additional little guests are
attending a Bat/Bar Mitzvah. Otherwise
they will be tempted to help themselves to the food as it is being set out!
If you are expecting many guests
with children, we ask that you hire an additional child-minder. Please let the Or Shalom education director
know 3 weeks in advance of the event if you would like Or Shalom to identify an
additional childminder. Any later than
that and we will ask you to identify one.
Building Access
As of spring 2010, the office hours at Or Shalom are:
Monday –Thursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Fridays by special prior arrangement
only. The office is closed on statutory
holidays and on Jewish holidays.
Please check with the Office Manager at least one week in
advance regarding delivery times for rentals.
Rental pickups should be arranged to take place during normal business
hours the week following the bar or bat mitzvah.
Access to Or Shalom outside of these hours must be
arranged with the office manager. Simply
leaving a phone message does not guarantee a completed communication! Please plan well in advance. A charge of $25 per occasion may be deducted
from your security deposit for access to the building outside of normal office
hours, such as late Friday afternoon set-up or Shabbat morning access before
9:30 a.m.
Support Groups
If all of this sounds a bit overwhelming, please note
that in past years, some families have coordinated support groups with other
willing parents of that year’s B’Yachad class.
The group members assist each other with such details as greeting,
set-up, etc. It is also possible to
organize a group of friends and relatives to help with food preparation,
driving, schlepping, set-up, clean-up, etc.
Kiddush Luncheon
Background
Halacha (Jewish law and custom) mandates that following a life cycle ceremony we
invite our guests to a se’udat mitzvah,
a meal. At Or Shalom, every Shabbat
morning bar and bat mitzvah invites the entire congregation along with their
guests to a Kiddush luncheon held either in the Or Shalom social hall or at a
neighborhood location within walking distance.
Every Shabbat afternoon bar and bat mitzvah invites the entire
congregation along with their guests to a light snack immediately after the
ceremony.
If
the cost of a luncheon is prohibitive, please check with the rabbi. It is possible to arrange a potluck meal or
self-catered meal instead of a professionally catered meal. If you are going to
use a caterer, please book their services early.
Approved Bnei Mitzvah Caterers
The Or Shalom Board has compiled a list
of approved caterers for bar and bat mitzvah luncheons at Or Shalom. These caterers are familiar with Or Shalom –
its kosher/dairy standards, its kitchen, and its procedures. If you wish to use
a different caterer, please contact the rabbi.
-
Lazy
Gourmet, 734-2507
-
Sabra,
733-4912
-
Solly’s,
872-1821 or 738-2121
-
Shlomo
Yekutieli, 738-1304
-
Nava
Creative Kosher Cuisine (JCC), 676-7579
-
Suzie Segal, 272-2103
-
Ayal Worth, 261-1217
Capacity
If
you fill our sanctuary to capacity (250 people) for the ceremony, there will be
standing room only for your kiddush luncheon. For this reason many members have
chosen to rent various sized tents. During the summer one can gamble on the
weather and plan for some guests to eat outside in the garden. Please consider the need to arrange for
renting additional tables, chairs, tablecloths, plates, etc.
Children’s Play Area
When
you, your helpers, or your caterer are setting up the room for the lunch,
please make sure that the children’s play area, including its table and chairs,
are not disturbed. This will ensure that
the children have their regular indoor play space and will not disrupt the rest
of the setup!
Kitchen Inventory
An inventory of the Or Shalom
kitchen was conducted Sept 11 2005 by bnei mitzvah class parents. The inventory, presented below, lists the
utensils that Or Shalom owns. If you expect
that you will need more than this for your Kiddush lunch, please arrange to
rent what you need.
Forks 295; Spoon (soup) 75; Spoons
(tea) 173; Knives 264; Large plates 231; Medium sized plates (glass) 114 ;
Plates (china medium sized) 26; Plates (pink) 22; Small plates (china) 4; Bowls
(large, serving) 18; Bowls (medium serving) 17; Bowls (small, serving) 7; Mugs
(coffee) 130; Wine glasses 24; Glasses (drinking) 67 ; Glasses (wine) 30;
Drinking glasses (small) 19; Cream servers 3; Trays (large, serving) 29; Coffee
urn 2; Vase (flowers) 21
Food Policies
"Dairy
Vegetarian"
At Or Shalom, we
maintain a “dairy vegetarian” standard in our kitchen. The tradition at Or
Shalom is to serve dairy vegetarian foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish,
eggs, dairy, etc.
Meat,
shellfish, and foods containing rennet and gelatin are NOT acceptable.
For
Higher Kosher Standards
Some of your guests may require a
standard higher than our dairy-vegetarian standard. If you are using one of our approved
caterers, please discuss your guests’ needs with them to make sure they can be
met, before you sign a contract with the caterer. Please discuss with the
caterer Or Shalom’s commitment to Eco-Kashrut, and arrange for use of
non-disposable Kosher plates. Alternatively, if you are preparing a potluck, a
table for these guests should be set with koshered plates, cutlery and cups
from a kosher kitchen, and with food prepared in a kosher kitchen. Please place a sign that says “reserved” on
that table.
Kosher
symbols:
Various symbols found on packaged
food indicate rabbinical approval of the ingredients and processing of a
product. Typical symbols found on products on BC grocery store shelves are:
BCK, COR, MK, WK. Certified kosher retail outlets in Vancouver include Sabra's,
Omnitsky's, Kosher Food Warehouse, and Pini’s.
The
Vancouver organization that supervises British Columbia Kosher - BCK - will
provide you with up-to-date information of currently approved foods. You can
call their office to receive a copy of the current list at 604-275-0042.
Eco-Kashrut
Eco-Kashrut
provides an ecological perspective to Judaism by including environmental
practices as part of our religious practice. Please try to respect this
practice at your Kiddush lunch.
Eco-kashrut practices include:
·
being careful to avoid using
disposable plates and cutlery.
·
minimizing the amount of
packaging used for foods.
·
cleaning and recycling the
containers we bring into the building.
·
avoiding genetically engineered
foods.
Luncheon Cleanup
Be
clear with your caterer or helpers about the responsibility to set up and to
clean up. It is ultimately your
responsibility to ensure that the kitchen and sanctuary have been restored to
the condition they were in when you arrived to set up. Following the celebration Or Shalom will
vacuum the sanctuary and wash the downstairs floors. Sweeping downstairs is part of your
responsibility. Your security deposit
will not be refunded if there is damage or if the following conditions are not
met:
·
Garbage
is to be bagged and taken out to the appropriate area in the back lane.
·
Tablecloths
must be shaken out and put in the hamper in the kitchen closet.
·
Freezer and refrigerator doors should be
securely closed.
·
Cups,
glasses, plates and cutlery must be brought in from the back yard.
·
Cups,
glasses and plates must be rinsed and wiped clean before being put in the
sterilizer. It is not a dishwasher! Be sure that you or your designate understand
the operation of the equipment before use.
Sterilizer instructions are posted near the appliance.
·
Cups, glasses, plates and cutlery should
be returned to their original location on the appropriate shelves after
cleaning.
·
All
stove burners and the oven must be turned off before leaving
·
Caterers
should take all recyclables with them when they leave, including cardboard
boxes, etc. Glass and plastic bottles
may be put in the designated recycling can under the coat rack.
·
Any
pews, chairs, tables or other furniture that are moved by you or your helpers
for the event must be moved back to their original location soon after the
event, e.g., chairs from downstairs go back downstairs.
Food Storage
All foods stored at Or Shalom must
be in animal-proof containers. There is a side-by-side fridge/freezer available
to store foods. Anything stored in the fridge, the freezer or on the counter
for the lunch (brought in prior to Shabbat) must be clearly labeled. All refrigerated foods used for the lunch
must be taken home after the lunch or donated to Food Runners at 604-889-4018.
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