Local inmates get help

BASYA LAYE

Work with the local Jewish prison population has traditionally been the responsibility of a representative chosen from within the local klei kodesh. Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Philip Bregman did outreach with Jewish inmates, first as a young chaplain to youth in juvenile prisons in West Virginia and, then, in British Columbia for several years, before passing the torch to Rabbi Shmuel Birnham of Congregation Har El on the North Shore.

Recently, the job was passed to Beth Israel’s Cantor Michael Zoosman. In an e-mail to the Independent, Zoosman wrote, “I took over the position as Jewish chaplain for all federal correctional facilities in the Pacific Region (British Columbia) of Corrections Service Canada (CSC) roughly one year ago from Rabbi Shmuel Birnham. In that capacity, I regularly visit any inmate who requests to see a Jewish chaplain in any of these nine federal facilities (from minimum to maximum and in Abbotsford, Mission, Agassiz and Victoria).”

Zoosman’s role sees him traveling biweekly to correctional facilities in the region. “There are roughly 20 to 25 inmates who see me at any given time,” he said. “In this capacity, I lead services/ceremonies and study sessions, provided one-on-one pastoral care and approve of those inmates seeking to be on the kosher plan and/or receive other supplies related to ritual observance.”

Also playing a role is the Jewish Family Service Agency, who provide Passover and High Holiday packages, which, Zoosman said, are very well-received.

He also “connect[s] with parolees who seek a Jewish chaplain on the outside throughout the region. However, this only covers the federal correctional facilities ... which is the purview of CSC. The nine regional facilities are another matter entirely,” he wrote. “Here, funds are lacking for any official Jewish chaplaincy presence. As such, I’ve made the institutions aware that I am available to see Jewish inmates there once when they arrive. Otherwise, these facilities receive no regular visitation of which I am aware at this time. Also, the vast majority of these institutions do not have financial resources for kosher meal provision.”

Zoosman is currently looking for volunteers who are “willing to go through the necessary training (a one-time thing) to supplement the visits I make to the facilities,” he said. “Given my full-time work as cantor at Beth Israel, I only am able to get to each prison once every six weeks, give or take (going every other week to a different area of prisons). A volunteer to go and represent the Jewish community would be much appreciated ... at both the federal and regional levels.”

The issues that come up for Jews in prisons are many, but Zoosman gave the following as examples: “Dealing with issues of loneliness, guilt, and trying to maintain (or discover) Jewish identity in an environment where doing so many times is a danger, proper holiday observance, questions on the nature of God, the afterlife, current events in Israel and very often Jewish spirituality (especially interest in kabbalistic study).”

For his part, Birnham hasn’t put his work with inmates entirely behind him. “I would like to start up a support network for Jewish inmates when they come out into our community,” a goal, he said, that hasn’t yet happened.

To inquire about volunteer opportunities, contact Zoosman by phone at 604-628-9591 or via e-mail at [email protected].

^TOP