Woody Forster and Devora Laye of the Burying Ground. (photo by Mary Matheson) Contrary to what you might expect, given the band’s name, there is much joy in the Burying Ground. Woody Forster and Devora Laye obviously love what they…
Left to right, panelists Dr. Tommy Gerschman, Dr. Thuso David and Randi Weiss at the screening of A Heartbeat Away in Vancouver on Nov. 2. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) More than 4,400 children from 55 countries in the developing world…
An illustration from Yerus Goes to Jerusalem. (photo from Sid Tafler) The Ethiopian aliyah to Israel inspired people around the world when it was first revealed in the 1980s. Today, there are 125,000 first-, second- and third-generation Israelis from Ethiopia.…
This year’s Lamplighter Award recipients are Emily, left, and Jessie Miller. (photo by Josh Bowie Photography) The Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley has selected Emily and Jessie Miller, Grade 10 twin sisters at Prince of Wales Secondary…
Among the items featured in Buchan’s Judaica section is a set of six hammered liquor cups on a pomegranate branch from Yair Emanuel, for any Shabbat or holiday table. (photo from facebook.com/BuchansKerrisdaleStationery) If you’re looking for a new menorah or…
There is a reason that we wake up every morning to new reports of accusations against men in positions of power. It is not that the sad phenomenon of sexual harassment or violence is new – in fact, many of…
“There are as many Holocaust stories as there are Holocaust survivors,” said David Ehrlich, a survivor outreach speaker of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, to open his afternoon talk at Langara College. On Oct. 31, a class of 20 students…
One of the stories that my father, z”l, used to tell me about his father, my grandfather, Rabbi Eyad Acoca, z”l, was that back in Morocco, at a young age, my grandfather traveled to the city of Sale to learn…
Nolan Hupp and Annika Hupp play two schoolchildren who protest to save the shul in The Original Deed. (photo by Gayle Mavor) When Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, z”l, sometimes known as the “Singing Rabbi,” visited Victoria on a concert tour in…
On Canadian Friends of Hebrew University trips to the Israel National Trail, travelers will take their time and enjoy the landscape. (photo from Ami Dotan) The Vancouver chapter of Canadian Friends of Hebrew University has plans to walk the Israel National…
(photo from Chabad Richmond) Chabad Richmond is leading a trip to Israel called The Land & the Spirit Israel Experience. People from across the Lower Mainland are invited to participate in this educational journey to Israel and Judaism’s most holy…
Left to right are Jerry Nussbaum, president of the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada, Lillian Boraks-Nemetz, David Morley and Kit Krieger. (photo by Shula Klinger) On Nov. 6, the Janusz Korczak Association of Canada welcomed David Morley, president and chief…
Danny Redden places a poppy at a family grave. (photo by Shula Klinger) With Remembrance Day falling on a Saturday this year, members of Royal Canadian Legion Shalom Branch #178 paid their respects on Monday, Nov. 13. They met at…
White Rock/South Surrey Jewish Community Centre Religious School kindergarten student Navi lays the WRSS JCC wreath at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day. (photo from WRSS JCC) The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #008 hosts the annual Remembrance Day Parade and Wreath…
Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans of Israel, held its 10th annual Courage in Motion Oct. 22-26. (photo from Beit Halochem Canada) In this year’s Courage in Motion, 75 Canadians, including nine from Western Canada, cycled alongside 85 Beit…
Gordon Diamond hangs the mezuzah at the opening of the Diamond Residences on Oct. 17, as Rabbi Levi Varnai looks on. (photo by Shelley Karrel) At the ceremony, donors were thanked, residents welcomed and mezuzot put up; present were members…
Richmond Jewish Day School vice-principal Lisa Romalis addresses a delegation of United Nations ambassador on Nov. 13. (photo from RJDS) India Cultural Centre of Canada / Gurdwara Nanak Niwas in Richmond hosted 11 United Nations ambassadors on Nov. 13. These…
The “class photo” at the recent Kinus Hashluchim. (photo from Chabad Lubavitch) Twelve Chabad Lubavitch emissaries to British Columbia joined 5,600 rabbis and communal leaders from all 50 U.S. states and 100 countries, hailing from as far away as Laos and…
White Rock / South Surrey Jewish Community Centre Religious School students work on their entries to the Jewish Independent’s annual Chanukah cover art contest. (photos from WRSS JCC)
Soup is not just food. It’s an experience, a sustenance, a simple yet magnificent meal, if done right, which is generally easy. Probably every culture on earth has a signature variation and, in the Jewish tradition, there is nothing more…
On classical favourite is Beethoven. (image from Schirmer’s Library of Musical Classics) Music, my love! Where can one start with this subject? For many, it is a highly emotional issue. Watching young people at a rave or rock concert, we…
A still from One Of Us. (photo from lokifilms.com/one-of-us) The riveting Netflix documentary One of Us follows three New Yorkers in various stages of the painful process of leaving their Chassidic community. The lone woman among them is far and…
Abigail Pogrebin, author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew. (photo from Abigail Pogrebin) A few years ago, author Abigail Pogrebin spent an immersive year studying the Jewish calendar and attempting to observe it. She chronicled her experience…
Raised by American parents in Montreal, Adam Gopnik moved, with his Canadian wife Martha, to New York City in the 1980s. There, he began a career as an art critic, editor and writer for such publications as GQ and The…
Jewish Conscience of the Church: Jules Isaac and the Second Vatican Council by Norman C. Tobias (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) is an extraordinary book about the volte face that the Catholic Church executed at Vatican II in 1963 when, as a…
(photo from oliveandwild.com/collections/judaic) It is the season for gatherings and celebrations, and many travelers are urgently trying to make their way home for the holidays. An innate urge seems to drive them back to their roots. And, I wonder, What…
(photo from flickr.com/photos/scazon) The sky turns shades of orange and mauve as I glance outside my dining room window and notice the sun slipping behind the trees. The havoc and chatter in the house has peaked. I call my daughter…
“Maoz Tzur,” recording by Abraham Tzevi Idelsohn. (photo from Music in the Jewish Community of Palestine 1880-1948 by Yehoash Hirschberg) What do we have every year at Chanukah but rarely think about in terms of their origins? The songs. In…
Cookbook author Joan Nathan, left, with journalist Sybil Kaplan. (photo from Barry A. Kaplan) Before I review King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking around the World by Joan Nathan (Knopf, 2017), I have to admit, I am…
You don’t have to go to Israel to savour the perfect Israeli sufganiyot. (photo from IMP) Here is a favourite Israeli Chanukah recipe courtesy of Tnuva, an Israeli company that makes kosher cheese and dairy products. ISRAELI MINI SUFGANIYOT (12…
