Bringing our partner region close to home, Rabbi Orit Rozenblit, founder of Poteach Shearim in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, is spending the next month in Ottawa with the Temple Israel community, helping deepen ties between Canadian Jews and our friends in Israel’s North. This ongoing relationship between Rabbi Rozenblit and Temple Israel is a true example of gesher chai, the living bridge envisioned by Partnership2Gether.

Thanks to the Partnership2Gether program, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa joins several other Federations across Canada in fostering meaningful relationships with northern Israeli communities like Metula through education, cultural exchanges, and immersive experiences. Rabbi Rozenblit’s visit is a living embodiment of that bridge-building.

With flights grounded during Israel’s conflict with Iran, there was uncertainty about whether her trip would be possible. But as skies reopened following a ceasefire agreement, Rabbi Rozenblit arrived safely in Ottawa last week — a sign of hope and resilience in a turbulent time.

Her visit includes leading Kabbalat Shabbat services, Torah study, and community learning throughout July, including tomorrow’s special Beyachad Shabbat, a spirited Israeli-Canadian service held in partnership with Temple Israel, Hakibbutz, and the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.

Her trip to Ottawa comes at a critical time for Jewish people globally, as there has been a marked desire among diaspora Jews to have a deeper connection with Israel, as well as Israelis living abroad wanting more opportunities to connect with their culture in their new home.

Ultimately, Rabbi Rozenblit’s presence in Ottawa is a testament to the evolving and essential relationship between Jews across the globe. 

“Jewish life in Israel is a given, but in the diaspora, it’s a choice,” she reflected. “That’s something we can learn from here and bring back home.”

One of the Rabbi’s main goals of this visit is to allow more secular Israelis to feel comfortable participating in the rituals that more observant Jews follow. She aims to do this by incorporating Israeli melodies into her services and doing the service mostly in Hebrew.

“Doing a Kabbalat Shabbat together is like building a bridge between Israelis and Canadians,” she said.

Rabbi Rozenblit’s background has also helped her understand why building these bridges is so important, especially through education. Before becoming a rabbi, she worked in the education system to help establish the foundation for teaching Jewish culture and history.

“I worked with teachers on how to make Jewish texts relevant, interesting, and meaningful,” she explained. 

Her work also extended beyond classrooms, engaging audiences from young adults to retirees, and eventually establishing a beit midrash, a place of learning for young adults, in the North. It was this passion for meaningful Jewish life that led her to the Reform movement, where she became a rabbi in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her leadership soon extended to founding a Reform congregation in Kiryat Shmona, a traditionally observant town in northern Israel. 

“It’s not easy to explain what a Reform congregation is,” she shared, “but slowly, member by member, people began to join us.” 

By the summer of 2023, they felt like a true congregation — until October 7, when the war with Hamas displaced most of her community. Despite the upheaval, she and her congregation found ways to gather for Shabbat and continue fostering a sense of unity and Jewish life from afar. 

Rabbi Rozenblit’s journey from Northern Israel to the pulpit of Temple Israel in Ottawa this month is not just a physical journey, it is a deeply spiritual and communal mission. Her story, rooted in Jewish education and renewal, highlights the power of connection between Israeli and Canadian Jewish communities, especially during times of uncertainty.

To sign up for tomorrow’s Beyachad event, click here