Please use this link to register:  https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkcOChrTIpE9Jm6m1pKedTTp8E8cTYY4By

Reverend Hazan Daniel Benlolo will be the featured speaker in Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s Building Bridges: Celebrating Diversity in Jewish Life event on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at 11AM PT on Zoom.

Reverend Hazan Daniel Benlolo has always been a firm believer in the power of music and singing to bring out the potential of people with physical and intellectual challenges. The upcoming talk will centre on Benlolo’s work with the Montreal Shira Choir, co-founded with his wife Muriel Suissa in 2019with the assistance of Federation CJA and the Jewish Community Foundation.

The Montreal Shira Choir consists of adult singers over age 18, who encounter physical and intellectual challenges. The choir performs an eclectic repertoire of liturgical songs, as well as Broadway and Pop hits for crowded synagogues, hospitals, nursing homes, Parliament Hill and city wide events. This has inspired audiences and raised awareness about those who are excluded and marginalized from society. His talk will include a discussion of the recently premiered documentary: Just As I am, featured on CBC Gem. This film is an intimate profile of the courageous, special needs adults willing to join and help shape this musical group and explores the universal language of music and how it works to empower and transform lives.

Kolot Mayim invites the public to attend this enriching presentation. This event is offered in collaboration with the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal in celebration of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). JDAIM is a global initiative among Jewish organizations to raise awareness and foster acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities and mental health conditions and those who love them.

Hazan Benlolo has been working for the past 4 decades as a full-time clergy in both Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues deepening his knowledge and strengthening his bond with both communities. He has faithfully served the Jewish community while continuing to encourage religious diversity and dialogue which he believes helps everyone grow spiritually. He is an award winning leader in the Jewish community whose interfaith and multicultural work has been recognized by many institutions.

This event is part of a 6-part series of talks on the theme of Building Bridges: Celebrating Diversity in Jewish Life. Rabbi Lynn Greenhough of Kolot Mayim Reform Temple said: “We are proud to welcome Hazan Benlolo to share his inspiring story of the Montreal Shira Choir and his work with people living with disabilities in Montreal.” Talks are free and held on scheduled Sundays from 11 AM -12:15 PM PT.

Last year we welcomed over 400 participants from across the country and in some cases around the world. To register, please visit the Kolot Mayim website at https://kolotmayimreformtemple.com/