Today’s ancestry services, like 23andMe, have made us more aware than ever of our genes and just how important they are, for both our own health and the health of our children. Celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé’s…
One of the four additional questions that the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs suggests we ask ourselves this Passover is: As we solemnly intone “Next year in Jerusalem,” how can we express the significance of the land of Israel…
If you’ve ever slogged through a spring melt in a place, like, say, Winnipeg, you know about the odd balance … the one where it’s best if the snow melts slowly, even painfully, with a freeze at night. Why? Too…
Journalist and author Sybil Kaplan, who is a regular contributor to the Jewish Independent’s special holiday issues, was, in her younger years, the first leader of Hatzaad Harishon, a Jewish youth group that was formed in the 1960s in New…
Not fitting in. Being misunderstood and miscategorized. These are recurring themes in Flying Camel: Essays on Identity by Women of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Heritage, edited by Loolwa Khazzoom, a Seattle writer, musician, activist and occasional contributor to…
“Twins run in the family, you know,” Stella ter Hart’s mother, Sophia, said to her nonchalantly when Stella was pregnant with her first child. That this was news to Stella is a first sign that there was a great deal…
Liba Baitelman, the 2021 JI Chanukah Cover Art Contest winner, was commissioned to create this year’s cover of the Jewish Independent’s Passover issue. (photo by Merle Linde) Liba Baitelman, daughter of Rabbi Yechiel and Chanie Baitelman, is a fun-loving, always…
The head of Hatshepsut, in Pergamon Museum, Berlin, 2018. (photo by Richard Mortell, 2018) As we all know from the Passover story, Pharaoh was one stubborn guy. On five occasions, Moses and Aaron tried to persuade Pharaoh to let the…
Many years ago, in the village of Chelm, there were two families, the Chiribim and the Chiribom. They were enemies. They fought over everything. They fought over land, they fought over water, they fought over cows and horses and chickens.…
Cauliflower rice, ready to serve. (photo from cookingclassy.com) With Passover approaching, the meal planning has begun. Looking into my Passover folder for something new to share, I found a few side dishes – and many desserts. I hope you are…
In my world, you can never have enough lamb. Or, to be more specific, lamb shanks. It used to be what I called “fancy food,” for which I splurged only on special occasions, like New Year’s Eve, or a birthday…
Dogwood Gardens, which is due to open later this year, features an open garden space with shading that is set off from the street. (photo by Lior Noyman Productions) In October last year, Tikva Housing Society, in conjunction with YMCA…
Rabbi Eliezer Diamond (photo from jtsa.edu) “I am particularly interested in the way that Torah can help us look inward. Each of the topics is about religious character formation, various ways in which we create a more godly character and…
Jewish Canadians were instrumental in building the Canadian labour movement and, by extension, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, which would go on to become the New Democratic Party. Political scientists and others have observed that, as immigrant communities integrate into their…
Hebrew University academic Samuel Barnai said Ukrainian unity extends beyond political parties and politicians, such as President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured here), and the war is viewed as a great patriotic fight for Ukraine. (photo from president.gov.ua) In the July 12, 2021,…
InJoy, led by Gilat Rapaport (centre), comes to Vancouver for the community’s Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration on May 4 at Vogue Theatre. (photo by Linda Kasian) Tickets are now on sale for the community’s celebration of Israel’s 74th Independence Day. This…
As part of Fashion Blooms on March 31, Canadian journalist, media personality and fashion entrepreneur Jeanne Beker, left, will interview Israel’s Sharon Tal, head designer of Maskit. (photos from CHW) Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) presents the second annual Fashion Blooms on…
Seth Klein speaks at the Press Conference from the Future on March 12. (photo by Lorne Mallin) On March 12, hundreds turned out for a creative event that imagined what could be accomplished by 2025 with climate movement leaders in…
Looking Back, Moving Forward is available for purchase from the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia. (photo from JMABC) The first thing many readers will do upon opening the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia’s Looking Back, Moving…
New docent program at the Zack gets underway. (photo from Zack Gallery) Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery director Hope Forstenzer recently instituted a new docent program, to train guides for the art gallery. “I came up with the idea of…
A still from Ahed’s Knee, which screens at Vancity Theatre March 25, 26 and 28. The movie – which won the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival – is about a celebrated Israeli filmmaker named Y, who arrives…
Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, left, Dr. Patricia Daly and Dr. Eric Grafstein (photo from Temple Sholom Twitter) On Feb. 26, Temple Sholom awarded community members Dr. Patricia Daly and Dr. Eric Grafstein with the Pikuah Nefesh Award (to save a life)…
I recently studied the Pardes story in Tractate Chagigah of the Babylonian Talmud. This story is a complicated, mystical journey. The Mishnah starts by asking what extremely sensitive topics are difficult and, therefore, should only be taught in small groups.…
Moshkeleh Ganev, a forgotten novella by Sholom Aleichem, was recently resurrected from obscurity by gifted translator Curt Leviant. Missing from the standard edition of Sholom Aleichem’s collected works, which was published after his death, Leviant came across a brief citation…
As meaningful and fun as most of the Jewish holidays are, there’s a lot of running around, cleaning, cooking and other preparation that generally goes into them. Three recently published children’s books – two about Passover and one on Shabbat…
One PJ Library holiday offering is Passover is Coming by Tracy Newman and Viviana Garofoli. Long a trusted resource for Jewish families in more than 35 countries around the world who receive their free books each month, PJ Library offers fresh reading, audio…
According to the Nov. 11, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune, Rose Schwartz and Abraham Lachterman were married in a plague wedding in Winnipeg, Man. More than 1,000 people attended, Jews and non-Jews. Relatively early in the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, in…
בשנתיים האחרונות חוויתי אירועים קשים שכמעטו ולא היו כדוגמתם לאורך כשנות חיי, בישראלועתה בקנדה. כשאני חושב על מה שעבר עלי מאז חודש מרץ לפני שנתיים בדיוק, זה נראה לי הזוי- ממש מדע בדיוני קודם כל החלה אז במרץ אלפיים ועשרים מגפת…
Alan Twigg, author of Out of Hiding: Holocaust Literature of British Columbia, at the gravesite of Rudolf “Rudi” Vrba, who died in 2006. (photo from JCC Jewish Book Festival) Fittingly for a man who has dedicated his life’s work to…
Barak Ravid (photo from Twitter) An end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be nowhere in sight, but the Israeli-Arab conflict may be coming to an end, says a leading Israeli diplomatic journalist. Barak Ravid spoke virtually Feb. 20 in a presentation…
