Donate

Good Things Come in Small Packages

Two-bite brownies, puppies, bonsai trees ... Theyʼre all small and disproportionately awesome. When it comes to giving at the Kollel, think about sending a small,  awesome, monthly virtual *KISS to someone in need.

*Keep It Small and Simple

The Power of 18

Eighteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew word "chai", which means "life." Traditionally, monetary gifts are given in increments of 18 in order to bless the receiver with a long and healthy life. The Kollel has been around for 10 years and we are looking forward to many, many more. When you make a donation to the Kollel, you bless us and the hundreds of people we serve with long and healthy lives. Weʼd like to give you some opportunities to get in on the blessings.

For only $18 a month you can support one Jew – a student, a single parent, a recent immigrant etc. – in his or her own Jewish journey.

PLEASE MAKE A DONATION.
You can donate online by credit card.
Click on the DONATE NOW link to process your donation!

By Mail

If you prefer to donate by mail, please make cheques out to “Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel” and mail your donation to:
Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel
2nd floor-1892 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC  V6J 1Y9

Thank you!

Friday Night Dinners
Every Friday, people line up around the block to experience the warmth and connection that Shabbat at the Kollel provides. Okay, so we donʼt really make anyone line up. We just usher them through the doors in the spirit of Jewish hospitality. Each person who joins us for a prayer and a meal holds a Jewish soul that gets recharged every Friday night.

$18 sponsors one person for an entire month. A great scholar? The next Prime Minister? Someone on the brink of finding their bashert? Who will your donation bring through our doors?

Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah
There are a few special milestones in the life of a Jew. First, thereʼs all the hoopla that occurs when we first arrive in this world. After that, things are pretty quiet until Bar or Bat Mitzvah. It is a crucial time when young women and men take the first steps towards full participation in the Jewish community.

There are many unaffiliated families in Metro Vancouver who are unable to afford the education and festivities that mark Jewish coming of age. Just $18 a month provides a boy or girl who would otherwise not be able to participate with the opportunity to begin their journey as a full member of the Jewish community with confidence and dignity.

Holiday Meals
Rosh Hashanah Dinners. Passover Seders. Outdoor buffets during Sukkot. Thatʼs a lot of nosh! And itʼs also the way many Jews find their way back to Judaism in Vancouver. For lots of unaffiliated Jews, holiday meals are a path to connecting to their familyʼs nostalgic past. At the Kollel, we also see it as a connection to their very own future. Never underestimate the power of a traditional meal to make a person feel that being involved in the Jewish community is important.

You can get a holiday twofer by sponsoring a couple of eager participants for a wholesome holiday meal. Of all the things you could possibly do with $18, this is one that can really make a difference.

High Holiday Services
When is a day, not just a day?
Jewish holidays in Vancouver are a strange exploration in contrasts. For a very small percentage of the population, a Jewish holiday is a day to experience holiness and connection to G-d. For everyone else, itʼs Wednesday. That sometimes makes it difficult to embrace the specialness of it all. Holiday services at the Kollel mark the sanctity of the day and bring the extended Vancouver Jewish community family together for an enlightening experience.

Elevate a Jewish holiday for a fellow Jew? For $18?! Are we serious?!? Yes, you can. Yes, just 18. And, yes, we most certainly are.

Youth Programs
The children are the future. They are, however, here right now, so the Kollel currently runs programs that cater to kids of different ages with different needs. The Food For Thought Club brings discussion, debate and lunch to several public and private high schools, while the Hebrew Learning Circle is an after school program geared toward elementary school students.
In a world of texting, bullying and reality tv, the Kollel offers a chance for Jewish kids to learn about their deeper selves, their heritage and how it all fits into their everyday lives. It takes a lot to shape a child into a caring, ethical adult. There has never been an $18 investment with a better rate of return.

Jewish Education
Some people donʼt know how to learn. Some donʼt know where to start. Some have no idea how they can afford it. All of these people – and many more – are our target audience.
Jewish education is not so easy to find in Vancouver, so the Kollel has turned itself into an easily accessible storehouse of information. With classes and one-to-one instruction running every single day, there is something for every person who wants to get in on the action. No matter what topic or level, thereʼs a class for that.
Can you imagine giving a Jew the gift of the entire catalogue of Jewish wisdom ever amassed? We did the math. At only fractions of fractions of a penny per year of Jewish history, $18 is one incredible bargain.

Loaves of Love
Itʼs easy to forget that ʻloveʼ is a verb. Actually showing chesed (kindness) to a fellow Jew often involves more than just good intentions or kind words. Once a week, an enthusiastic group of people roll up their sleeves and get down to the business of giving.
The Loaves of Love program serves two purposes: Participants are involved in the hands-on learning of making fresh challahs, followed by the chance to enjoy their creations. The equation is simple:
Keep one+Give one=Shabbat blessings for all
The equation for supporting this program is simple, too:
Your care and concern for a fellow Jew+$18 a month=the experience of true community for someone who may otherwise not find a way to fit in.

Weekend Retreat
If you want to get out of the city, there are hundreds of choices for a weekend away. Only one, however, injects a little Torah into your time out. The Kollel runs periodic weekend retreats that bring together people who want to experience a little R&R – Rabbis & Ruach – all wrapped up in the beauty of B.C.ʼs most glorious landscapes. Sometimes you just want to get away, escape the city and leave your cares behind. Why watch someone just run away when just $18 a month can help them run toward their Jewish heritage?

Kollel on Campus
University life involves so many influences; Some bad, some good. For all the negatives of college life, thank goodness there is the positive outreach of the Kollel. Twice a week, Kollel rabbis shlep themselves and a hot, tasty meal to the community at UBC. Over lunch, they teach and discuss the issues of the day from a Jewish perspective. For many students in the wilds of UBC, this is the only Jewish point of contact. University students are like open vessels, ready to be filled with new and exciting knowledge.
A donation of $18 a month assures that some of that knowledge will be grounded in Jewish tradition, history and values.

Miriamʼs Legacy
If word got out about what gets discussed when the women of the Kollel get together, it would be pretty hard to keep the guys away. Some of our best teaching and learning takes place in this women-only environment. Local female teachers and leaders share lessons designed specifically for the needs of Vancouverʼs modern Jewish woman, then host a get-together at which delicious eats and drinks round out the evening.
Once a month, itʼs all about the ladies. Moms, sisters, daughters and wives are the backbone of the Jewish nation. To invest in their education is to invest in the strength of the future. $18 a month is a beautiful way to build the next generation from the ground up.

The Kollel is a society incorporated under the laws of BC and is a registered Canadian charity.  The Kollel has an outstanding Board of Directors and a Board of Governors comprised of many leading members of the Jewish Community of Vancouver. The Kollel accountants are Walsh King, a well known and reputable firm of chartered accountants in Vancouver.