philanthropy – Jewish Independent

Funds for Jewish studies

Prof. Gregg Gardner has held the Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics at the University of British Columbia since 2011. (photo from UBC Media Relations)

Gregg Gardner conveys an infectious exuberance when speaking of the $1 million donation from the Diamond Foundation to the University of British Columbia this September.

“None of this would have been possible in terms of Jewish studies at UBC without the Diamond family,” Gardner, an associate UBC professor, told the Independent. “Their sense of giving is felt not just here but throughout the broader community.”

The Diamond Foundation’s most recent gift to the school will build on achievements of the Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics at UBC to date, with a particular focus on the expansion of Jewish studies programming both in the classroom and beyond the UBC campus.

“The gift is part of a larger initiative which will really go a long way in helping to create and augment programming, assist in having students travel to Israel, bring in new speakers and assist in new research,” said Gardner, current holder of the Diamond Chair.

He plans to invite an array of speakers during the 2020 and 2021 academic years.

“The money from the Diamonds can be used to bring in authorities in various aspects of Jewish research to Vancouver. Once here, they can speak at the university as well as at synagogues, retirement homes or cultural centres in town,” he said.

Gardner also hopes the new funds can serve as a stepping stone towards such things as creating a centre for Jewish studies at UBC and, ultimately, bringing the field of Jewish research at the institution to a level commensurate with that of other universities in North America.

Students at UBC, he said, have shown a widespread interest in Jewish studies, and this interest extends well beyond their own personal background.

The Diamond Chair in Jewish Law and Ethics was established in 2001. Gardner has held the position since 2011, with his research concentrating largely on the history of Jewish thought. At UBC, his classes focus on the history of religions, together with exploring Jewish history, texts and traditions.

In 2018, he teamed up with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to lead a group of UBC students in an archeological field school at Horvat Midras in Israel, a site that may have been developed by King Herod. There, they helped excavate a pyramid that marked a tomb from the first century and an elaborate underground system of tunnels and caves that served as hideouts for Jewish rebels against Rome in the second century.

The Diamond gift will additionally allow Gardner himself to present more lectures locally and internationally. Heretofore, he has given has public talks at Hillel BC (UBC) and academic lectures at Oxford, Cambridge and Yale universities.

Gardner has authored several academic papers and books, including The Origins of Organized Charity in Rabbinic Judaism (Cambridge University Press, 2015), which examines foundational rabbinic texts and places their discourses on giving within their historical – second- and third-century – contexts.

The Diamonds are equally enthusiastic about the results their donations have brought and will bring.

“We wanted to enhance the current chair and enable Dr. Gardner to play a pivotal role in generating sophisticated research and understanding of Jews and Judaism,” said Leslie Diamond. “He has inspired students and the community by enriching their knowledge of Judaism through his courses, public talks and events with visiting scholars.”

She added, “I am very proud with what our funding of the Jewish Chair in Ethics and Jewish Law has accomplished.”

The Diamond Foundation has long played a pivotal and prominent role in Vancouver philanthropy. Created by Jack, z’l, and Gordon Diamond in 1984, its mission is to improve the quality of life for people in the communities in which the Diamonds live and do business. It donates to organizations throughout the Greater Vancouver area, including schools, hospitals and numerous Jewish organizations. The foundation seeks investments in organizations and issues that strengthen Jewish community life throughout the city and its environs. At age 25, family members are invited to become directors of the foundation.

Jack Diamond arrived in British Columbia as a near-penniless refugee from Poland in 1927 and went on to create the province’s largest meat-packing firm, Pacific Meats. He is credited with setting up Vancouver’s first kosher butcher shop and was instrumental in building the Schara Tzedeck Synagogue, among countless other endeavours.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Many milestones for Wosk in 2019

Dr. Yosef Wosk, right, with Max Wyman, 2017. (photo by Fred Cawsey)

The Yosef Wosk Poetry Initiative at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, which began in 2009, marked its 10th year with a celebratory gathering of artists and poets and with the publication of a commemorative book earlier this year. In addition, the Yosef Wosk Poets’ Corner, along with the adjacent Poet Laureates Garden, was inaugurated on the newly renovated top floor of the downtown central Vancouver Public Library – it was named in recognition of Dr. Yosef Wosk’s decades-long support of the VPL.

Wosk was an early major donor to the redevelopment of the eighth and ninth floors and the roof of the central branch of VPL and was asked to serve as honourary chair of the VPL campaign in 2018/19. The architect for the renovations, as for the library itself, was Moshe Safdie, while Cornelia Hahn Oberlander designed an extensive garden to complement her roof garden that crowns the award-winning structure.

In the library world, Wosk – who has established more than 400 libraries on all seven continents over the past 20 years – was able to fund more than 50 new initiatives in 2018/19, including 20 libraries in remote Himalayan villages and 37 in Jewish communities throughout the world.

As a writer and publisher, Wosk’s work has appeared in a number of publications. Most recently, these include having curated and written the preface for Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal, featuring photographs by Gidal from Wosk’s and the Israel Museum’s collections (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem and New York, 2019). He also initiated and funded a biography, written by Christopher Best, of Faye Leung, the effervescent pioneer in the Chinese and real estate communities, affectionately known as the Hat Lady (Warfleet Press, 2020).

Wosk’s essay “On the Wings of Forever” was published in the online Ormsby Review this year in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. The editor’s preface notes that: “With prose as profound and learned as it is clear and accessible, here Wosk examines and appreciates the role of museums and museum workers in the digitizing modern world. It’s not gloom ’n’ doom. Instead, he outlines what he calls ‘a stirring vision, one of innovative technology on a human scale, heart-centred and soul-sized.’”

In collaboration with the Canadian Museums Association, Wosk helped transform the President’s Award into the President’s Medal; he also commissioned the medal and wrote the introduction in the booklet that accompanies the honorific, which was first awarded in 2019.

The province-wide Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing in the Arts, which was inaugurated by Wosk in 2017, formed an alliance this year with the VIVA Awards (the Shadbolt Foundation), which will begin in 2020.

In academia, Wosk was reappointed this year as an adjunct professor in humanities at Simon Fraser University and completed four years as a Shadbolt Fellow at SFU, where he was recently named a Simons Fellow.

During the year, Wosk served on 11 boards in the Jewish and general communities in areas such as education, medical research, museums, libraries, literature, business and the arts. These boards have included the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Schara Tzedeck Cemetery Board, CHILD Foundation, Museums Foundation of Canada and Pacific Torah Institute. He was also an ambassador for the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale and is completing a second term with the B.C. Arts Council.

Ride to help Israeli veterans

Beit Halochem Canada’s Courage in Motion saw many riders return to do the five-day annual cycle in Israel again. (photo from Beit Halochem Canada)

The 12th annual Courage in Motion, an initiative of Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel, welcomed cyclists from across Canada, joined by some Americans and Israelis. From Oct. 27-31, these international cyclists rode alongside Israel’s disabled veterans on five fully supported routes through northern Israel’s archeological sites and landscapes.

Fundraising is open until Dec. 31, and it is expected that the ride will raise approximately $750,000 Cdn. Sponsors’ support and cyclists’ fundraising facilitated the participation of more than 100 injured Beit Halochem Israel members this year. Money raised also funds programming at Beit Halochem centres in Israel. Thanks to the ongoing success of the ride, cycling has steadily grown in popularity at the state-of-art centres.

Lisa Levy, national executive director of Beit Halochem Canada, is the ride’s founder. An avid cyclist herself, she said, “Cycling in Courage in Motion means visiting Israel, supporting an incredible cause, and connecting directly with our members. Beyond the ride’s huge fundraising component, I never fail to be excited by witnessing lifelong friendships taking shape. It is truly a life-altering experience that you never forget and one that participants want to repeat!”

photo - 3 cyclists — *(photo from Beit Halochem Canada)*

Annually, the ride welcomes both new and repeat participants. This year, returning cyclists included Toronto-born Keith Primeau, who rode in last year’s CIM for the first time. Primeau enjoyed the experience so much that his daughter Kylie accompanied him this time.

Primeau played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League, most notably with the Philadelphia Flyers, prior to his career being cut short due to multiple concussions. He co-wrote the book Concussed! Sports-Related Head Injuries: Prevention, Coping and Real Stories (2012), detailing life after concussion.

Other international returnees included former cycling champion Eon D’Ornellas, who competed throughout the 1970s and 1980s on behalf of both Canada and his native Guyana. The proprietor of Toronto’s D’Ornellas Bike Shop, he started a cycling club more than 25 years ago. In 2011, D’Ornellas, then 59-years old, suffered a stroke during a training ride.

Among the Beit Halochem members participating in Courage in Motion 2019 was Asi Mekonen. In 2012, just prior to his release from the Givati Brigade, Mekonen suffered severe head injuries, with resulting brain damage, vision and hearing impairment, and memory loss. Following five years of physical and cognitive rehabilitation at Beit Halochem, he is now a Jerusalem-based musician. Besides experiencing several Courage in Motion rides, he has completed two marathons. Mekonen was already known to many of the ride’s Canadian participants through his on-stage appearances in this year’s Beit Halochem Canada Celebration of Life concerts.

This year, cyclists may have ridden alongside a future Paralympics hand-bike medallist. Critically wounded in 2002 in a military operation while serving in the artillery corps, Amit Hasdai was left with paralysis on the right side of his body. During rehabilitation, he benefited from equestrian therapy, later competing internationally. Since turning to hand-bike racing at Beit Halochem Tel Aviv, Hasdai has enjoyed participating in Courage in Motion. Hasdai’s natural talent, enhanced by Beit Halochem’s support of his training and coaching, has resulted in his current ranking of eighth in the world. He is training to qualify for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

Courage in Motion’s participants enjoyed group activities, including a cycling tour of the agriculture region of the Hula Valley and an evening with Israel’s heroes – all Beit Halochem members – who shared their personal stories of tragedy and resilience.

The next Courage in Motion takes place in Israel from Oct. 18-22, 2020. Registration is expected to open in March 2020. See courageinmotion.ca.

’Tis the season for jazz

Jazz artist Maya Rae (photo © Maya Rae Music)

Jazz artist Maya Rae has a busy week ahead. Tomorrow night, Nov. 30, she takes part in Temple Sholom’s Fall Fest Fun-raiser, after a benefit concert earlier in the day at Brentwood Presbyterian Church called Socks for Souls. On Sunday, Dec. 1, she is among 11 bands that will perform in Jazz Walk at the Shadbolt. And, on Dec. 4, she is at the Vancouver Playhouse, participating in the show Strings and Jazz.

“Definitely this time of year is very busy when it comes to gigging and playing shows,” Rae told the Independent. “Because it’s surrounding the holidays, people are needing musicians for lots of things, so there are more opportunities to work right now. I’ve also been lucky enough to have played numerous shows throughout the years, so people are reaching out more now, hiring me for future gigs as well.”

One of the highlights of Rae’s past year was a trip to the southern United States.

“I went to Nashville last March to record my album and that was definitely one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had so far in my career,” said Rae.

The album, which will see its release in April, is the young musician’s second.

“Every song on it was written by my brother and myself, so the whole project is composed of originals,” she said. “My debut album, Sapphire Birds, is made up of some jazz standards, rearranged pop tunes and a few originals as well. The upcoming album, Can You See Me?, focuses on my original music from the past year, a lot of it reflecting on what I’ve learned and experienced. The music is incredibly personal, but I’m super-excited to share it with the rest of the world.”

Most of the songs on the new recording were inspired by things that have happened to Rae or to people close to her.

“I graduated high school back in June, and so a lot of the songs are about what I experienced throughout that journey,” she explained. “For example, ‘Can You See Me?,’ the title track of the record, is about removing the mask that hides one’s true self and not being afraid to be who you are. I found that, throughout high school (and outside of it), people try so hard to fit a certain box and be who they think they should be rather than who they really are. This song is about removing that façade and being OK with showing your true colours.

“‘Sun Will Come Out Again’ is another tune on the record that I wrote with so many people in mind. So much of the time, when we’re stressed, sad, angry, or any other uncomfortable feeling, it feels like the end of the world. This song is about how, no matter one’s current situation, whether it be big or small, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. That dark, upsetting feeling will not last forever.”

For more information on Rae’s music and upcoming performances, visit mayaraemusic.com.

The Fall Fest Fun-raiser (templesholom.ca/fall-fest-fun-raiser) on Saturday starts at 7 p.m. and also features Annette Kozicki and Friends and Tal & Yael’s Israeli dance, while Strings and Jazz on Dec. 4 includes Sinfonietta, VSO School of Music’s honour jazz combo (vsoschoolofmusic.ca).

The Dec. 1 Jazz Walk is a daylong event, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the Shadbolt Cenre for the Arts. The scheduled lineup includes Rae, Dave Robbins Sextet, Lucine Yeghiazaryan, Dawn Pemberton Quartet, Brad Turner Quintet, Grant Stewart Trio, Cory Weeds Quintet featuring Roy Mccurdy, Steve Kaldesta, Grant Stewart, Alyssa Allgood, Stephen Riley, Chris Hazelton, Jill Townsend Jazz Orchestra and Ernest Turner. It also includes roundtable discussions with various people in the field, such as archival record producer Zev Feldman of Resonance Records in Los Angeles. Tickets and more information can be found at shadboltcentre.com.

Trees bring Zack to life

Michael Seelig is donating the proceeds from his exhibit Trees to the Zack Gallery. (photo by Olga Livshin)

Trees, Michael Seelig’s new solo photography exhibit at the Zack Gallery, opened last week. It is a fundraiser for the gallery, which is located in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

Such philanthropic initiatives “are of ultimate importance to the gallery and the community, as everybody wins when the gallery is well-supported,” said Zack director Linda Lando. “We have approximately three benefits a year, and they come in different ways. Sometimes, they’re initiated by the artist, sometimes by myself or another staff member of the JCC.”

Seelig’s decision to donate all the proceeds came from the heart, and it’s not the first time. His previous show at the Zack, which was held five years ago, was also a benefit. “This is my way of contributing to the JCC,” he said in an interview with the Independent. “We have a longstanding connection to the centre. My wife was president of the JCC some time ago, and we’ve given several donations to the community over the years.”

Unlike his previous show, which focused on architectural images – Seelig was an architect before he retired – this show is all about trees. A cornucopia of greens dominates the gallery walls.

“When Linda asked me to do a show this year, I didn’t have much in mind,” he said. “I started going through my photographs, selected the best 20, and then realized that eight of them were photos of trees. Looking back, I’ve always photographed trees. Maybe I have an affinity for trees. So, I thought I’d make it the theme of this entire show.”

photo - “Garden Kyoto” by Michael Seelig — “Garden Kyoto” by Michael Seelig.

Seelig has been drawn to trees and their unique charm for a long time. “I think my love of trees comes from my childhood, when I was growing up in Israel,” he said. “Jewish people are the only ones I know who have a holiday dedicated to trees: Tu b’Shevat. During that holiday, we cherish trees, plant them, take care of them, so they can take care of us. That tradition probably influenced me from a young age to love trees and photograph them. I take photos of trees wherever I travel.”

In the Zack exhibition, there are pictures of trees from Israel and Scotland, Canada and Japan.

“There is a book I read recently,” Seelig said, “called The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben. He is a German forester and writer and he knows trees. He says trees form communities. They communicate with each other and with us. It was a fascinating book, and I agree with the author; his book inspired me. Have you noticed that old stumps sprout new growth sometimes? That is because there are other trees around. Trees are life-givers; they create the air we breathe. Without trees, there would be no life on earth.… In Canada, and particularly in British Columbia, we often take trees for granted. Most of us do not pause to look at them and admire their beauty, solidity and permanence. We forget that, without trees, our planet cannot survive. This show pays homage to trees in many parts of the world.”

Seelig’s trees are all different; each one has its own shape and personality. Some are gnarled and twisted, while others stretch up in straight lines.

“I like it that they don’t talk to me,” he joked. “Trees are my models, but they’re more obedient than people when it comes to posing for a photo. I can take my time snapping pictures of trees. They are perfect photography objects. A tree just stands there. You can walk around it, see it from 360 degrees or from underneath. And every view is different. You can’t do this with a person.”

In addition to Seelig’s photographs of trees, the show includes several watercolours, most of which he painted specifically for this exhibit. Only two small works are exceptions. “When I was looking through my archives in preparation for this show, I found a small painting, created by my father in 1940. He painted a street in Haifa, and there is a tree in the image. The second painting is mine; I painted it in 2010, also in Haifa. Seventy years passed between these two paintings, but their colour schemes are surprisingly similar. And there are trees in both paintings.”

The sizes of the images on display vary greatly. While Seelig’s father’s painting would fit in a school notebook, and most of the photographs are the perfect size for a family home, a huge triptych on canvas of one of his Kyoto garden photos would enliven a hotel foyer or a corporate conference room. “I invited some designers to the show,” Seelig said. “Maybe one of them would like it.”

Seelig’s approach to photography is consistently organic. He doesn’t edit his photos with Photoshop, doesn’t even crop them.

“My pictures are exactly what I see,” he said. “And now you see them, too. There are other photographers who manipulate their photos with editing software, many of them wonderful artists, but I don’t do that. I don’t call myself an artist either, even though I use my creativity for many things in my life. I used artistic judgment for my work as an architect, before I retired. Now, I make greeting cards and wedding invitations with my photographs and my paintings. I illustrated a couple of children’s books, written by my daughter and her husband. Even making dinner for our friends is a form of art for me.”

The Trees exhibit runs until Oct. 20.

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].

Dealing with adversity

Houston Rabbi Brian Strauss lost both his family home and his synagogue to Hurricane Harvey, but the story he brought to FEDtalks Sept. 9 was an uplifting one. (photo from JFGV)

A time-lapse video showed the unrelenting advance of Hurricane Harvey. The security camera at Houston’s Jewish community centre captured the natural disaster’s impact on the building’s interior from the moment the first drops of water came through the front door until the deluge reached the ceiling. Furniture became unmoored and began to swirl around the building’s lobby.

The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in August 2017, slamming Texas and Louisiana with catastrophic flooding and dozens of fatalities. Material damages were estimated at $125 billion US, mostly in Houston and southeast Texas.

The Jewish community of Texas had to rebuild. Synagogues, the JCC, the Jewish seniors home and one in every 13 Jewish family homes were ruined.

Rabbi Brian Strauss, who spoke in Vancouver Sept. 9, lost both his family home and his synagogue. The issue was not merely flooding. Any flooding damages property, but the area’s topography meant that Houston was submerged in toxic bayou water, rendering everything it touched toxic. Added to this, the humidity of Houston caused mold to grow immediately. Houston received 52 inches of rain in three days – equivalent to its average annual rainfall. (By contrast, he noted, Vancouver gets 46 inches of rain annually.)

But the story Strauss brought to the Vancouver Playhouse – he was one of four speakers at FEDtalks, the opening event of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s annual campaign – was an uplifting one.

Volunteers from around the world descended on Houston. The federal government provided resources to rebuild synagogues, homes and communal facilities. Especially notable: Israel donated $1 million to a Diaspora community struggling with crisis. Strauss juxtaposed the phenomenon of Jewish giving, which for decades flowed from the Diaspora to Israel, with the reality that Israel is now in a position to help a community in crisis abroad.

Also speaking at the campaign launch event was Risa Alyson Cooper, executive director of Shoresh. She shared her journey into Jewish spiritual and ethical issues around food. Shoresh is an Ontario-based organization that “inspires and empowers our community to take care of the earth by connecting people, land and Jewish tradition.”

“Eating is an ethical act,” Cooper said. By engaging community members “from seed to harvest,” the organization reduces the stigma of receiving “donated” foods.

“It’s not a handout,” she said. People are involved in creating their own food sustainability.

Cooper’s journey of exploration began during a trip in Nelson, B.C., a story she shared in an article the Independent ran in advance of the event. (See jewishindependent.ca/b-c-inspires-activists-work.)

Also at FEDtalks, Isaac “Bougie” Herzog – who chose to sit out not one but two Israeli elections this year – spoke about his role as head of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Herzog is Israel’s former leader of the opposition and former head of the Labour party. In contextualizing his role as chairperson of the world’s largest Jewish organization, an agency that has been central in creating and building the Jewish state, he spoke of continuing a family legacy.

His grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, who was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, went on a rescue mission in 1946 to find hidden Jewish children in churches and monasteries throughout Europe, bringing thousands of them to Palestine. Herzog’s father, Chaim, who went on to become president of Israel, served with the U.K. army, landed in Normandy, fought in the Battle of the Rhine and was among the first to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Abba Eban, the legendary Israeli diplomat and statesman, was an uncle.

“I’m fulfilling the orders of my forbearers,” said Herzog, who was introduced by Karen James, immediate past board chair of the Jewish Federation and a member of the board of the Jewish Agency. The Independent also interviewed Herzog in advance of his visit. (Read the story at jewishindependent.ca/building-jewish-future.)

The most emotional presentation of the night came last. Dr. Gillian Presner recounted how she was invited to join the Federation movement’s National Young Leadership Cabinet. When she was told the commitment was five years, she replied: “That’s the rest of my life.”

Presner was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016, while pregnant with her third daughter. Nine days after the baby was born, she suffered a stroke.

Despite the challenges of raising a very young family while enduring terminal brain cancer, she accepted the invitation to join the cabinet because, she said, “I refuse to die before I’m dead.”

She added: “I am full of hope, but I am also a realist.”

She understands that she needs to leave a legacy of vibrant memories to her daughters – the family took a trip to Israel together, certain it would be her only chance – but she also knows that her daughters will “have to learn about me by hearing about what Mommy did.”

By continuing to devote herself to philanthropic causes, she is “showing my daughters what I truly value.”

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation, closed the evening, noting “our most precious commodity we have here is our time.”

Alex Cristall, chair of the board of Federation, welcomed the audience, acknowledging in particular 150 people in their 20s and 30s whose presence was made possible through a contribution by Jonathon and Karly Leipsic. Jonathon Leipsic is the annual campaign chair for the second consecutive year.

“It is a pleasure to have you,” Cristall said. “We need you.”

Jonathon Leipsic spoke of Theodor Herzl’s dream of Jewish self-determination and noted: “Our generation has never known a generation without emancipated Jewish freedom.”

He urged the audience to go to YouTube and find Chaim Herzog’s speech to the United Nations in 1975 against the motion that equated Zionism with racism.

“It will send shivers down your spine,” he said.

Members of Parliament Joyce Murray, Don Davies, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Randeep Sarai and Hedy Fry were in attendance, the latter of whom spoke from the podium and brought greetings from the prime minister. Also present were Selena Robinson, British Columbia’s minister of municipal affairs and housing; George Heyman, minister of environment and climate change strategy; George Chow, minister of state for trade; and Anne Kang, member of the Legislative Assembly. Vancouver city councilors Melissa De Genova, Colleen Hardwick, Sarah Kirby-Yung and Pete Fry attended, as did the consuls general of France, Germany and the United States, and Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer.

O Canada and Hatikvah were sung by the King David High School Choir.

To donate to the campaign and watch videos of all the FEDtalks speakers, visit jewishvancouver.com.

NCJW Vancouver fall update

National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, Vancouver section, members. Seated, left to right, are Lisa Boroditsky, Jill Kipnis and Sandi Hazan Switzer. Standing are Heather Sirlin, left, and Jane Stoller. (photo from NCJWC Vancouver)

Members of National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, Vancouver section, have been busy close to home, not only supporting various initiatives for disadvantaged children in local schools – Books for Kids, HIPPY, Operation Dressup, and hygiene and nutrition school programs – but learning more about the Jewish history of the city.

photo - Newcomers to Vancouver, Guillermo and Debby Castillo from Mexico, who joined the NCJWC walk Sunday morning — Newcomers to Vancouver, Guillermo and Debby Castillo from Mexico, who joined the NCJWC walk Sunday morning. *(photo from NCJWC Vancouver)*

On Sept. 8, more than 25 people participated in a sold-out walk through the “old city” of Vancouver, organized by Lisa Boroditsky, Jane Stoller and Sandi Hazan Switzer. Participants were enthralled by the stories of Harry Hammer, by the geographical and architectural details, to say nothing of the oral history of horse-drawn carts, family stores and tales of running to the bus for cheder.

NCJWC members also worked nationally, supporting successful efforts by CIJA (Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs) to get Parliament to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism; and internationally, issuing a call to action to participate in the campaign to free human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been imprisoned in Iran’s Evin prison since June 2018.

In May of this year, Prof. Irwin Cotler, chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Montreal, addressed the executive of the International Council of Jewish Women on the issue of human rights. He made a compelling case for participation in the campaign to free Sotoudeh, sentenced to 38 years and 148 lashes in Iran because of her work defending women’s rights. She has been imprisoned four times since 2010.

Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are integral to ensuring rule of law and the functions of democracy; they are fundamental principles clearly defined in international law and they are the inherent right of all people. These two democratic themes were betrayed in 2018 when, as part of peaceful protests, some women removed their hijabs and waved them like flags and then were prosecuted for this behaviour. For defending these women, Sotoudeh has been unjustly imprisoned.

The International Council of Jewish Women executive voted to support Cotler’s recommendation and Debby Altow, vice-president for Canada on this executive, circulated a backgrounder and sample letter of protest for 33 affiliates worldwide. Both email and postal addresses for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and UN Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, were distributed, making such protest letters easier to submit. For more about Sotoudeh and NCJW Vancouver section, visit ncjwvancouver.org.

B.C. inspires activist’s work

Shoresh executive director Risa Alyson Cooper and Mati Cooper plant a tree. (photo from Shoresh)

Risa Alyson Cooper, who was raised in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, was road-tripping across the country with a friend about 20 years ago when they ran out of cash in Nelson, B.C. That misfortune changed the course of her life – and is making a big impact in Canada’s Jewish community.

“We were invited to a free church dinner for homeless and struggling individuals and we decided to go,” Cooper said of the adventure. “That was, for me, one of those aha moments. It was the first time that I thought religion might have what to say about the food that we eat.”

Cooper is now executive director of Shoresh, a Toronto-area charity that “inspires and empowers our community to take care of the earth by connecting people, land and Jewish tradition.” Cooper is one of four speakers at FEDtalks Sept. 9, the annual campaign opening event for the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

The church supper made her think about something that hadn’t really struck her before.

“I wondered if Jewish tradition has anything to say about food,” she recalled with a laugh in a recent telephone interview. “It was the first time that I really started thinking about food ethics. I’d grown up Jewish, I knew that food was so much of an anchor of Jewish observance, [that] my family’s Jewish identity was about meals to celebrate holidays, but I never really thought about the moral values that we can express through the food that we eat.”

She quickly discovered that Jewish tradition has a great deal to say about food and the moral, social and ethical issues around it. Agriculture is so intrinsic to the ancient texts that, Cooper said, a friend refers to Torah as “the Jewish Farmer’s Almanac.”

“It has very clear rules for how we farm, what we plant, where we plant, when we plant, and it also has rules beyond that,” she said. “It has rules for how we celebrate the harvest, how we hold gratitude for that which we receive from the land, and it also has very, very clear rules about how we share our resources with others in our community.”

There have been a number of Jewish “back to the land” movements – the most consequential being Zionism – but, on the shoulders of all this history, there is something new happening today.

“The idea of there being a Jewish way of thinking about food security is as old as Jewish tradition,” she said, “but what we are seeing now are really innovative ways of addressing food insecurity and also building vibrant Jewish communities”

Shoresh (the name is the Hebrew word for “root”) operates Kavanah Garden, adjacent to the Jewish Community Campus in suburban Vaughan, Ont., and invites children and adults to “participate in experiential programs rooted in Jewish text, tradition and values, and [is] designed to elicit experiences of awe in response to the wonders of the natural world.” Food grown at the garden is used in programming or donated through tzedakah partnerships.

photo - Risa Alyson Cooper beekeeping. Shoresh’s Bela Farm, in Hillsburgh, Ont., is home to an apiary and bee sanctuary — Risa Alyson Cooper beekeeping. Shoresh’s Bela Farm, in Hillsburgh, Ont., is home to an apiary and bee sanctuary. *(photo from Shoresh)*

Shoresh also operates Bela Farm, in Hillsburgh, Ont., a little further outside Toronto. This 100-acre farm, home to Shoresh’s apiary, bee sanctuary and native reforestation efforts, offers “deep, immersive experiences for land-based Jewish learning and living, creating for participants sustained connections with self, community and the earth.”

Their third location is Maxie’s Garden, a partnership between Shoresh and Jewish Family and Child, located in the Kensington Market yard of a Shoresh member. Here, an urban sanctuary in the heart of Toronto’s historic Jewish neighbourhood is “a haven for people, plants and pollinators.” It was envisioned to empower, educate and inspire clients of the social service agency through the power of nature connection and food production.

Beyond these three sites, Shoresh runs programs out of schools and camps, and in green spaces, parks and ravines throughout Toronto.

Cooper’s own agricultural journey, which began here in British Columbia, led her to a master’s degree in which she looked at religious food and environmental ethics. Then she went to Connecticut, where she worked for three years as a Jewish environmental educator at the Teva Learning Center, the only full-time, year-round program dedicated to innovative, experiential Jewish education taught through the lens of the natural world.

She got her hands even dirtier in small-scale organic farming as a member of the Adamah Jewish Farming Fellowship. She grew vegetables on a four-acre farm, worked in a raw goat-milk dairy and dabbled in the art of fermentation.

“I was so deeply in love with the community that I discovered in the States I probably would have stayed there but I had my visa revoked and I got sent back to Canada,” she said, laughing again.

photo - The Shoresh team — The Shoresh team. *(photo from Shoresh)*

Living out Jewish values on the land in the Diaspora raises particular issues, Cooper said.

“What does it mean to be holding a tradition that is in many ways land-based,” she said. “So much about the Torah, so many of our holidays, have agricultural connections. What does it mean to be having these land-based traditions and to be practising them in Canada? How do we honour the elements of our tradition, while honouring the fact that not only are we in the Diaspora – so not on the land where many of these traditions are rooted – but we are also specifically here on Turtle Island, this land that has been stewarded by indigenous communities for thousands and thousands of years?”

In Vancouver next month, Cooper said, she will talk about contemporary Jewish food insecurity issues and will share something about the model that Shoresh has developed, as well as ideas spawned from similar organizations across North America.

Everything she shares at the event will owe a debt back to that fateful visit to British Columbia’s Kootenay region.

“That was the moment that I can trace all this back to,” she said.

Other speakers at FEDtalks, which takes place at the Vancouver Playhouse on Monday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m., are National Young Leadership Cabinet member Dr. Gillian Presner, who will offer “hard-earned wisdom about the power of community and the nature of our true legacies”; Rabbi Brian Strauss, whose Houston, Tex., synagogue and home were flooded by Hurricane Harvey and who subsequently witnessed an outpouring of support from Jewish federations across the continent; and Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel and former longtime politician, who led Israel’s Labour party and was opposition leader from 2013 to 2018 (featured in the other cover story in this issue).

For tickets ($36/$10) to FEDtalks Sept. 9, 7 p.m., at Vancouver Playhouse, visit jewishvancouver.com/fedtalks.

Building Jewish future

Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. (photo from JFGV)

Isaac Herzog was elected chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel in August 2018. The past year has seen him hit the ground running in the unique role as head of the sprawling organization whose mission is to “inspire Jews throughout the world to connect with their people, heritage and land, and empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel.”

In Vancouver Sept. 9, Herzog will share some of his experiences in this new role. He joins three other speakers at FEDtalks, the opening event of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s annual campaign.

“I’m looking very much forward toward my visit, especially in Vancouver, where I for a long time wanted to meet the community,” Herzog told the Independent in a telephone interview from Israel. “I hear wonderful [things] about the strong stance of Jewish purpose and Zionist feeling in this community.”

Founded in 1929, the Jewish Agency is, said Herzog, “a great Jewish story.”

“We are the biggest Jewish organization in the world. We founded the state of Israel. We brought millions of olim, immigrants, to Israel,” he said.

In this generation, the agency has focused heavily on issues of safety and well-being for Jews worldwide, as well as encouraging aliyah and advancing Jewish identity and continuity through education, youth exchange programs and partnerships between the Diaspora and Israel.

Part of his role, he said, is to impress on Israelis the reality of the diversity of the Jewish world. He tells political leaders and rabbis in Israel that they have a “huge lack of knowledge” about the Diaspora and its pluralistic nature and the commitment of Diaspora Jews to Jewish knowledge, writing and education. Similarly, he said, he wants Diaspora Jews to have a realistic view of Israel.

“I expect world Jewry to know that Israel is not what you read in the New York Times, for example, or in Ha’aretz. It is a much more elaborate, developed, interesting, multifaceted, multicultural and incredible place that needs to be nurtured,” he said. “All these challenges are something that I have focused heavily on as a major leader of the Jewish people.”

An important focus of the Jewish Agency’s work right now is with young Diaspora Jews who are disaffected or disengaged from Israel or Judaism, or both.

“That’s a major challenge, of course,” he said. “We are developing programs that will rekindle the Jewish identity within alienated millennials, such as the whole idea of tikkun olam, healing the world, whereby we have programs all over the world where we take young Jews to volunteer, also in non-Jewish communities, in inner cities and Third World countries, as a venue for those who don’t want to be involved directly with Jewish activities.”

Herzog took the helm at a critical juncture.

“We are now in a major change process in the Jewish Agency,” he said, an ongoing development that will see a shift in priorities, changes in the organizational structure, some different areas of focus and new programs.

He added that this is not a path the agency is taking by itself.

“We can’t do everything alone,” said Herzog. “We work with partners and partnerships for specific purposes. This is a very exciting process in the 90-year-old organization.”

He stressed that the Jewish Agency has got a great number of things right over its nearly a century of activity.

“This is another chapter in the life of this organization,” he said. “It’s an exciting new chapter because of the challenges of the era.”

In addition to challenges presented by the younger generation, Herzog cited the need for dialogue that involves all streams of Judaism and all kinds of practices.

“We believe in the right of every Jew to live as a Jew wherever they want to live and [to] practice whatever kind of Judaism they want to practice,” he said.

Prior to assuming the leadership of the Jewish Agency, Herzog was a leading political figure, having served in five Knessets, having held five cabinet roles, including ministry of Diaspora affairs and ministry of welfare, and, from 2013 to 2018, being leader of the opposition as chair of the Labour party.

“I’m going to be in Vancouver just about a week before the election, 10 days before the Israeli election,” he said, acknowledging that sitting this one out feels different. “I cannot say that the bug is not with me. I’m fully attentive to what’s going on in the Israeli elections. People consult with me, but I took upon myself a new historical role of serving my nation, my people, in a different way.”

His priority now, he said, is to ensure that the Israeli body politic realizes the importance of the Jewish Agency’s mission and that these priorities are priorities for the next government, whoever forms the government after Sept. 17.

Herzog’s lineage of history-making Jewish leaders is widely known – his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak Halevi Herzog, was chief rabbi of Ireland and then Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel; his father, Chaim Herzog, served two terms as president of Israel. But, in speaking with the Independent, Herzog stressed his Canadian bona fides.

His uncle, Yaakov Herzog, was ambassador to Canada in the 1960s. His cousin, Shira Herzog, who passed away five years ago, served as head of the Canada Israel Committee for a decade and was involved in a range of Jewish and non-Jewish philanthropic works across Canada. Herzog’s wife, Michal, who is joining him on this summer’s trip, graduated school in Canada.

The Vancouver stop is part of a cross-Canada tour, in which he will also visit Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. In each place, he said, he will visit schools and federations and meet with leaders and communities. The Jewish Agency, he said, supports Jewish organizations, youth movements and infrastructure, beyond the shlichim, emissaries, the agency facilitates in sending from Israel to Diaspora communities.

For tickets ($36/$10) to FEDtalks Sept. 9, 7 p.m., at Vancouver Playhouse, visit jewishvancouver.com/fedtalks.

Local woman inspires chesed

Members of Vancouver Talmud Torah’s Grade 7 chesed club with Gia Tran, a local woman who raises money for cancer research by taking refundable containers to a bottle depot. (photo from VTT)

Since 2014, Vancouver Talmud Torah has offered a chesed (kindness) program to students in grades 3 and 6. Following requests from parents, the school introduced a mandatory chesed program for Grade 7s this year, which nurtures a commitment to volunteering and social justice.

And, this year, the initiative was pursued with a particular dedication, as students mourned the recent passing of Rose Dupaya, who worked as a custodian at VTT. She took ill last fall with cancer and died suddenly, which was a tremendous shock to the school community. In response, the students – who would often greet Rose with hugs – turned their grief into action.

When the Chesed Leadership Club heard about local woman Gia Tran, who takes refundable containers to a bottle depot every day to raise money for cancer research – more than $15,000 in 22 years – they were inspired. Following in Tran’s footsteps, the kids raised $2,000 from a bottle drive for cancer research.

VTT student Julia Andison expressed her gratitude to Tran for teaching her about personal agency. “Gia taught me that even a small act like collecting cans can make a big impact on others. And, as a chesed leader, I was able to communicate this to the younger students in our school, that every little bit counts.”

Students in the chesed club do not follow a curriculum. Unlike with subjects like math or language arts, the club was founded for students to explore their values and lead a program on their own initiative. As a consequence, the program’s success lies in the development of student ideas, teamwork and leadership.

“The minute you offer something optional and student-driven, it takes on a life of its own,” said Shoshana Burton, director of Hebrew (grades 5-7) and chesed programming at VTT.

Students are not admitted automatically to the chesed club. Instead, they submit applications and sign contracts. If they do not follow up on their commitment to leadership, they can be dropped from the program, which is both an opportunity and a challenge to the students’ organizational skills and a way to exercise their moral and management muscles.

All of the students volunteer as part of the program. Some do so once a week while others volunteer their help every day. Many organizations and communities have benefitted from the support of VTT students, including the Muslim Food Bank and residents of the Downtown Eastside.

According to their teacher, the success of the club is in its spontaneous, natural development. “You can’t know the end result when you start. You can’t plan in advance,” said Burton. “The students learn how to work as part of a team, learning to commit to a project.”

Student Celia Joffe spoke of the club’s impact on her. “Helping others gives us a sense of pride and responsibility,” she said. “The project with Gia was amazing because we ended up not only helping the cancer foundation and the environment, but we also made Gia feel special and acknowledged.”

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at shulaklinger.com.