Gardening is just one of the new activities keeping kids engaged on land at Camp Hatikvah. (photo from Camp Hatikvah) Fun on water and land Located on a stunning peninsula in the Okanagan and surrounded by water on three of its…
A study for the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness led by a Simon Fraser University master’s student has found that a disproportionate number of people chronically staying in Victoria’s emergency shelters are seniors. Hannah Rabinovitch conducted the longitudinal study…
The turning of the calendar presents opportunities for reflection and gratitude. We at the Jewish Independent are particularly grateful this year for the support we have experienced as a community institution. And that leads us to offer an expression of…
Nadav Lapid’s The Kindergarten Teacher raises some interesting ideas, but is lacklustre overall. (photo from VIFF) The rollercoaster ride of emotions continued this week, as the Jewish Independent reviewed another set of films that will be featured at the Vancouver International Film…
Rabbi Carey Brown presents at LimmudVan ’14. (photo from Limmud Vancouver) The inaugural event of Limmud Vancouver received rave reviews for its diverse and engaging presenters. The second annual festival of culture, creativity and learning promises to be even better. Would…
After a successful run in Edinburgh, Scotland, the play My Rabbi, from Sum Theatre, has arrived in Victoria. It comes to Vancouver next month. The playwrights and performers are Kayvon Kelly from Vancouver and Joel Bernbaum from Saskatoon. Their co-creation…
Artist Jess Riva Cooper’s work for the Gardiner Museum competition is entitled Viral Series. You can vote for her at gardinermuseum.on.ca. (photo by Sophia Wallace) Canadian artist Jess Riva Cooper is currently vying for the RBC Emerging Artist People’s Choice…
Are you concerned about the cost of living and the lack of affordable housing in Vancouver? Is it preventing you, or someone you know, from feeling connected to the Jewish community? Tikva Housing Society in collaboration with the Jewish Federation…
This year’s Rosh Hashanah cover featured a photographer by Saanich-based biologist Leah Ramsay (leaningoaks.ca). Domestic honeybees, like this one, were introduced to the east coast of North America from Europe in 1622. Aided by settlers, it took a couple hundred…
Beth Tikvah Congregation has hired Rabbi Howard Siegel as interim rabbi for the coming year. Siegel is no stranger to the Vancouver and Richmond Jewish community. He served as assistant and associate rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel from 1978-81 and…
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at Ben-Gurion Airport with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and wife Laureen. (photo by Ashernet) A petition calling on the adjudicating committee of the Nobel Peace Prize to reject B’nai Brith Canada outgoing CEO Frank Dimant’s planned nomination…
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Gazan civilians on the roof of a building that had been used for terror activity. (photo from idfblog.com) As Palestinians begin to discuss the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after seven weeks of fighting with Israel, Israeli, Palestinian and international…
The parking lot at the Rambam Health Care Campus is a dual-purpose facility capable of converting into a fortified 2,000-bed underground hospital in times of conflict. (photo from Rambam Health Care Campus) Not unexpectedly, southern Israel suffered more than other areas of…
(photo from Deror avi via commons.wikimedia.org) It’s the children, at first, that inspire awe, the infants now walking, the toddlers talking, the grade schoolers freshly combed and pressed, the high schoolers immense, the college students all but unrecognizable in their…
Carrots represent the hope that Israel’s enemies will be “cut off,” or kept away. (photo by Stephen Ausmus / USARS via en.wikipedia.org) Most Jews, religious or not, celebrate Passover, opening the holiday with a seder – fewer know that a seder…
Fish is a traditional part of the Rosh Hashanah meal. Since Rosh Hashanah translates literally as “Head of the Year,” some people will eat the head of a fish as part of the holiday meal, or at least have one…
The concept of SoftWheel was initially imagined as an improvement for wheelchairs, but its potential uses are numerous. (photo from SoftWheel) While new patents and inventions appear all the time, they don’t often aim at a mainstay, like the common wheel, which…
It is amazing how many common themes run through even the most disparate books. The selection reviewed by the Jewish Independent this year includes both picture books and novels for teens; the topics range from genocide and oppression, to a…
The tuna salad recipe is one of Lynn Kirsche Shapiro’s mother’s most popular recipes. (photo by Nick Ulivieri Photography) The first section of Food, Family and Tradition: Hungarian Kosher Family Recipes and Remembrances (Cherry Press, 2013) is a family album, which Lynn Kirsche…
A small black hole gains mass. Dense cold gas (green) flows toward the centre of a stellar cluster (red cross in blue circle) with stars (yellow); the erratic path of the black hole through the gas (black line) is randomized…
On the right track to finding a place to purchase shofarot. (photo from Steven Finkleman) Heading down the B2 from Swakopmund to Windhoek, I could see by the road signage that this would be a prime location to search for the perfect…
In Apple Days: A Rosh Hashanah Story by Allison Sarnoff Soffer (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2014), Katy and her classmates share what they like best about Rosh Hashanah with their teacher. Katy recalls how each year she and her mom go apple…
Mikve Israel-Emanuel in Willemstad, Curaçao, is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Americas. (photo from Masada Siegel) The night was aglow with candles and the silky white sand found its way in between my toes. I grinned, as it only…
Apple clafouti (photo by Barry A. Kaplan) From Sybil Kaplan: A couple of years ago, I discovered clafouti, the French dessert of fruit, covered with a batter, baked and served warm. What I loved most was that it was good year…
More than 120 women attended Community Mega Challah Bake that was led by challah-baking expert Rochie Pinson, who also gave a lecture. (photo from Chabad Lubavitch BC) More than 120 women from across Greater Vancouver gathered on Wednesday evening, Sept. 10,…
Ever hear of Heifer International? No? Until recently, I’d never heard of it either. I was talking to my grandsons, ages 7 and 3, via the webcam perched atop my computer screen. The boys were telling me about their Shabbat…
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are nearly here! A memorable way to include some special inspiration for you and your children is to drop into the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library, where you’ll find a great variety of books perfect…
During a festival when people try and increase their “blessings,” adding many different wines provides the opportunity to keep proclaiming HaTov v’HaMeitiv. (photo courtesy of Yarden Inc.) The Rosh Hashanah meal is a festive affair. Traditions abound as to how the…
Bazelet HaGolan wine varietals include cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay. (photo from bazelet-hagolan.com) The fourth in a series featuring nine Israeli wine producers features Yoav Levy of Bazelet HaGolan Winery. The most recent article – on Domaine du Castel – was…
