Kyle Berger

CSS honours Bellas z”l

The Bellas family, left to right: Oksana, Aliza, Yaakov, Maya and Matthew. (photo from Camp Solomon Schechter)

When Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS) hosts their annual Spark fundraiser event at Beth Israel Synagogue May 3, it might be a more emotional gathering than it has been in past years.

That’s because the honouree, Matthew Bellas, z”l, who passed away last year at age 49 from health complications, left a powerful mark on both the Vancouver and CSS community.

“It means everything,” said Bellas’s daughter, Maya, of her aba (dad) being the focus of the local event. “You can’t put into words the impact he had just walking into a room with his positivity, his passion and his light, and how that inspired others.”

Honouring him, she said, “means that those opportunities for him to continue teaching and passing on his ethics and his education are not lost, and we can continue to pass that spark on to more people.”

Maya said her dad had a special relationship with CSS as a child.

“Camp was where he could express most sides of himself in the silliest way possible,” she recalled. “At camp, he was able to be playful, be an athlete, be artistic and do different visual arts, and sing and dance, while also expressing his religious side.”

She recalled her dad saying that he found his calling to be a rabbi while he was leading prayers (tefillot) as an 8-year-old. “Getting to practice Judaism and [Jewish] traditions was key to who he would become. He had lots of nostalgia and gratitude [to CSS] for that,” she said.

Rabbi Bellas grew up in the Vancouver Jewish community, attending CSS as a camper and participating in Oded, the junior counselor program. He became bar mitzvah and got married to his wife, Oksana, at Beth Israel. The couple raised three children here – Maya, Yaakov and Aliza – before moving to Olney, Md., in 2014.

While studying to become a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Bellas returned to camp in 2001 and 2002 as “Rabbi Matt,” writing curriculum and making other contributions. After receiving ordination in 2004, he continued to build a distinguished career in Jewish education, serving as school rabbi at Brandeis School in Lawrence, NY, and at Vancouver Talmud Torah. He spent the last decade of his life as a principal at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md., where he apparently coined the daily reminder: “Ask a good question, learn something new, and be kind to everyone.”

Camp Solomon Schechter’s annual Spark event celebrates the camp’s legacy, community and future, with simultaneous events in Vancouver, Portland and Seattle, bringing together alumni, supporters and friends from across the region. This year’s theme – Body, Mind and Spirit – reflects the camp’s commitment to nurturing the whole person through meaningful experiences, relationships and Jewish values.

photo - Matthew Bellas with his son Yaakov at Camp Solomon Schechter — Matthew Bellas with his son Yaakov at Camp Solomon Schechter. *(photo from Camp Solomon Schechter)*

Bellas is being recognized for the Spirit element of the event.

“He was so passionate about Jewish continuity,” Maya said of the spirit her dad brought to his work, including his time at CSS. “He wanted to create that experience for other youth and families. He knew that the continuation of our traditions and people relies on joyful, immersive and strong Jewish communities, and that Judaism is a community and family-based activity.

“At Schechter, along with the Judaics team, he created an experience that was fun, engaging and hands on,” she said. “Creating the Jewish memories for the campers that he had as a kid.”

Maya and Yaakov also both attended CSS as campers, while Maya continued her staffing journey there as a young Jewish leader, serving as the director of Oded the past two summers.

“When we started going to camp, being part of this lineage of going to camp, we got to talk about how it evolved over time,” she said. “We are a part of this history and story of camp, and it’s something that connected us, and that’s something that he appreciated, too.”

Maya said witnessing her dad’s legacy has led her to seriously consider her own impact and the work she did at CSS.

“To see the mark he’s left on the world and on the people he’s come across, at my age, it definitely makes me start to think about what I’m going to leave behind me,” she said. “I just hope it’s a warmer, safer, connected place and I hope this event helps camp [provide] that for many more kids.”

For the Vancouver event co-chairs, Lisa Boroditsky and Sandy Hazan, Bellas’s aunt, honouring Rabbi Matt is extra special.

“First and foremost, it is a true honour to be connected to Matthew Bellas, z”l, as part of our extended mishpachah [family] through the Switzer family clan,” said Boroditsky. “To have the opportunity to carry on what was so truly important to Matt is a meaningful way for me to honour his legacy.

“I also strongly believe in the profound impact that Jewish summer camp has on young people,” she said. “It helps shape identity, build community and instil a lasting love for Jewish life and tradition. Being part of an event that both honours Matthew’s legacy and supports something that was so important to him and our shared beliefs is incredibly meaningful.”

Hazan said her nephew taught them all what it means to be proud of being Jewish and loving our traditions.

“His impact in fostering love of Judaism and showing Jewish pride was felt in every aspect of his professional and personal life,” she said. “He also loved bringing people together and Schechter Spark is an opportunity for the Vancouver Jewish community to gather and celebrate Matthew’s spirit and the Jewish values we all hold so dear. These past years have shown us all that we are stronger together.”

Boroditsky made a point of noting Bellas’s impact on those around him, and how that made him an especially appropriate honouree for this year’s event.

“He touched hundreds of lives through his teachings, kindness, leadership and unwavering spirit,” she said. “By honouring him at the Spark event this year, the community comes together not only to remember him, but to celebrate the legacy he leaves behind.”

The Schechter Spark events this year will also recognize Debbi and Alan Montrose in Portland, Ore., as the Body honourees, and Cindy and Bob Strauss in Seattle, Wash., as the Mind honourees.

“As we celebrate another year of impact, Spark is a time to honour our past, celebrate our present and invest in our future,” said Zach Duitch, executive director of Camp Solomon Schechter. “We are especially grateful to honour Rabbi Bellas’s memory and the spiritual legacy he leaves within our community.”

For more than 70 years, CSS has been a cornerstone of Jewish life in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Spark reflects the soul of camp, bringing people together in gratitude, remembrance and hope. Registration and sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, visit campschechter.org/spark or contact Leah Conley at [email protected].

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

Jews shine in Canucks colours

Zeev Buium, top right, and Max Sasson, bottom right, talking to, left to right, Bik Nizzar, Satiar Shah and Josh Elliott-Wolfe of Sportsnet 650 Radio hosts at the JCC Sports Dinner, March 3. (photo by Kyle Berger)

Cheering for the home team is one of the simplest concepts in sports fandom. The players represent the city, wearing its name on their crest, and the fans give those players their cheers and emotional support.

For members of Vancouver’s Jewish community, there is even more of a reason to watch and cheer for the National Hockey League’s (NHL) hometown Canucks. Two current members of the team, Zeev Buium and Max Sasson, are part of a small fraternity of Jewish NHL players.

“One hundred percent,” Sasson answered when asked if it he was proud to represent the Jewish community in the NHL. “Some of the rinks, especially when we got Zeev, there will be signs written in Hebrew during the warms-ups, and that’s pretty cool. Some fans have interacted with me and say I’m an inspiration and stuff, and that means the world to me and my family, having Jewish players in the NHL and representing our community.”

Sasson, who was raised in Birmingham, Mich., where he had his bar mitzvah, said Jewish life, including Shabbat dinners with his grandparents, were a regular part of his childhood and something he still thinks about.

“My dad and I were talking the other day about how my first NHL goal was against [Boston’s star Jewish goaltender] Jeremy Swayman and it’s probably the only first goal ever in the NHL to be a Jewish guy on a Jewish guy,” he said.

Sasson’s pro hockey story is a bit unique, as he wasn’t drafted to the league like most NHL players are. A late bloomer, Sasson was scouted and then signed by the Canucks to an entry-level contract in 2023 after a couple of strong seasons with the Western Michigan Broncos.

He spent most of his first season with Vancouver’s AHL team, the Abbotsford Canucks, leading them to a Calder Cup Championship last season. This season, however, Sasson has spent most of the year with the big club, scoring 11 goals already, and was recently rewarded with a contract extension that will take him through the 2027/28 season.

“When you sit back and think about the journey, it feels really good,” Sasson said about where his pro hockey career currently stands. “Not having anything handed to me, doing it the hard way, getting cut by teams growing up, and even getting to college and not playing a bunch my first year. But I’ve always said I have belief in myself and, every day, I try to improve so that I’m better than I was the day before.”

Though Sasson isn’t thinking too far ahead, noting that goals and milestones get achieved through continual effort and practice, he does hope for a long NHL career beyond his contract. Then, perhaps, he’ll follow that up with a career in the JCC’s recreational hockey league? “I’ll hop in there for sure,” he said with a smile.

* * *

Before joining the Canucks this season, 20-year-old defenceman Zeev Buium had already made waves around the Jewish hockey world as the first NHL player with Israeli parents.

His mom and dad, Miriam and Sorin, met in Israel when they were 16 and went through their military service together. They fell in love while living in Israel, before moving together to San Diego, Calif., when they were both 23.

“I think my parents just wanted to see what the American dream was all about,” Buium explained. “They came over with one suitcase with both their clothes in it and maybe $1,000, and they moved in with our close family friend’s cousin. My dad started his heating and air conditioning company, and it’s done really well. But they obviously love Israel and we talk about going back there all the time.”

Despite being raised in San Diego, Buium has maintained his own close relationship with Israel, as his parents took him and his brothers, Ben and Shai (a prospect with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL), there every summer, until he was 15, to visit family and friends.

They also always found ways to keep their Jewishness in their hockey adventures.

In 2018, all three Buium brothers represented Team Orange County’s ice hockey team at the JCC Maccabi Games: Zeev and Shai played on the team and older brother Ben served as an assistant coach.

photo - The three Buium brothers – left to right, Zeev, Shai and Ben – at the 2018 JCC Maccabi Games in Orange County, Calif. — The three Buium brothers – left to right, Zeev, Shai and Ben – at the 2018 JCC Maccabi Games in Orange County, Calif. (photo from Raychel Reilly)

In the summer of 2024, shortly after being drafted in the NHL by the Minnesota Wild, Zeev was brought back to the JCC Maccabi world as a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the games in Detroit.

“It was very nerve-wracking,” Buium said of speaking in front of thousands at the ceremony. “I had never talked in front of that many people before. It was also cool to go back to see the ceremony again and it brought back memories of when I was there. [JCC Maccabi] was such a fun time in my life and getting to do it with my brothers too was so cool and such a fun experience.

“I always tell people,” he said of his JCC Maccabi experience, “if you get the opportunity to go, you gotta do it. It’s something you can’t miss out on.”

While Buium hasn’t had the opportunity to play hockey in Israel, he recalls watching his brother Ben play in the Maccabiah Games there in 2017, and he loves seeing the sport becoming more popular in Israel.

“It’s cool to see [hockey] growing there and, hopefully we can have more Jewish athletes and Jewish hockey players,” he said, noting that some of the Jewish hockey players in the NHL, like Edmonton’s Zach Hyman, have reached out to him as well. “The Jewish community is small and so is the hockey world – and you put them together and it’s even smaller,” said Buium. “So, it’s cool to run into those guys and share that together.”

Buium has a tattoo on his arm with the dates, written in Hebrew and based on the Hebrew calendar, of his previous hockey championships, though he admits he can’t speak the language as well as he’d like.

“I feel embarrassed speaking Hebrew because my accent is so bad,” he laughed. “I mispronounce words so much, but I try to keep up with it. Especially growing up, my parents’ English wasn’t great, so they would speak Hebrew to us a lot and we responded in English, so it helped all of us out. I’m glad that we never lost touch with understanding it.”

Less than a year after being drafted 12th overall at the 2024 NHL entry draft as his season with the University of Denver wrapped up, Buium was invited by the Wild to join the NHL club for the playoffs, ending his college career and beginning his professional one. He showed well in the 2025 playoffs, leading into his first full season as an NHLer for the 2025/26 season.

Referring to his transition to college and then the NHL as a “whirlwind” time in his life, Buium said he trusted himself, as well as the people close to him, to find his way through it all.

“I’ve always been where my feet are and focusing on what I need to do,” he said. “Everything went really smoothly those two years at Denver. I love that place a lot and it was hard to leave but I can’t pass up an opportunity like that, when Minnesota comes calling and telling you that you’re going to play in the playoffs. So, it was a special moment for me and for my family. It was cool to sit back that summer and reflect on everything that happened and went down, and just be appreciative and grateful for where we are.”

Continuing the whirlwind, 31 games into this season, Buium became the centrepiece player in a blockbuster trade that sent sure-fire future Hall of Famer Quinn Hughes from the Canucks to Minnesota. While Buium admits he wasn’t expecting the trade when it happened, he has embraced the opportunity to be part of a young, rebuilding Vancouver Canucks team.

“Minnesota is a very veteran team with a lot of older guys and a lot of experienced players,” he said, noting, “It’s a different atmosphere here, with younger players and a lot of us trying to prove ourselves and, obviously, there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs with young guys. But we know that, and I think it’s cool to be able to try to put all this together and become something special.”

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

Local teens in JCC Maccabis

Team Vancouver getting ready for the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony in Israel. (photo from JCCGV)

Twenty athletes and coaches represented Team Vancouver-Galil at two separate JCC Maccabi Games experiences this summer – in Israel and in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The games in Israel July 5-26 celebrated the first return to the Holy Land for JCC Maccabi since 2011. The 1,000-plus athletes spent their first eight days engaged in athletic competition along the Mediterranean coast, from Ra’anana to Haifa. After all the competitions were completed, the teens then hopped on buses for two weeks of touring the country with a sports lens.

Aside from the usual Israeli hot spots, the tour included stops at Kfar Maccabiah Hotel, which has a sports complex, rafting down the Jordan River, surf lessons and a mega party event sponsored by RootOne, which also provided significant subsidies for the visiting athletes.

In Israel, Vancouver’s athletes competed in baseball, hockey and volleyball. Thanks to support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, the delegation there included participants from Vancouver’s partnership region of Etzbah HaGalil in Israel’s north, who joined the hockey team.

photo - The Vancouver/Alberta combined hockey team at the JCC Maccabi Games in Israel — The Vancouver/Alberta combined hockey team at the JCC Maccabi Games in Israel. *(photo from JCCGV)*

Ayla Greenberg, who represented Vancouver on a mixed team with players from San Diego and Long Beach, said one of her fondest memories from the competition in Israel came after they played against a team from Ukraine and she bonded with some of her opponents.

“We talked about volleyball and being in Israel and how cool it was that we got to play with people we have never met,” said Greenberg. “It showed me that sports and competition were able to bring hundreds of teenagers from all around the world together in Israel and, no matter our differences, we were able to make friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.”

Greenberg went on to share her favourite story of the touring portion of the trip, when she arrived at the Western Wall.

“When I first got to the wall, there was a child next to me who was crying and her mother was on the other side of her,” explained Greenberg. “The child looked up at me and grabbed my hand and stopped crying. As I stood at the wall next to this child, I was extremely proud of being a Jewish woman and couldn’t help but be excited about the future and how I can make a difference in the world.”

The delegation in Israel included Greenberg, Tanner Barnett, Brody Winkler, Eli Tonken, Jesse and Ari Filkow, as well as Israelis Shay Rachevski and Josh Losinsky. They were joined by hockey coach Marie Vondracek and me, in my role as delegation head.

photo - The golden moment for the U16 soccer team in Fort Lauderdale, which included Vancouver’s Sam Perez (second to left) — The golden moment for the U16 soccer team in Fort Lauderdale, which included Vancouver’s Sam Perez (second to left). *(photo from JCC Maccabi Fort Lauderdale)*

In that capacity, I also traveled to Fort Lauderdale. The delegation attending the week-long games there Aug. 4-11 competed in hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball and swimming.

Team Vancouver brought home four medals, including two gold and one bronze for swimmer Daniel Litvak, and a gold medal for the U16 soccer team, which included Vancouver’s star striker, Sam Perez.

photo - Daniel Litvak with his gold medal, for winning the 100 freestyle swimming relay at the JCC Maccabi Games in Fort Lauderdale — Daniel Litvak with his gold medal, for winning the 100 freestyle swimming relay at the JCC Maccabi Games in Fort Lauderdale. (photo from JCCGV)

The Vancouver delegates in Florida also included Sierra Brosgall, Laylah Bronstein, Ouri Tzvella-Sculnick, Bryson Lexier and Matai David. They were led by chaperone Mark David and me.

Next year’s JCC Maccabi Games will be hosted in Detroit and Houston, while a new Israel tour program will be offered for teens who want to experience Israel with a focus on sports.

This was a very special summer for the JCC Maccabi Games and the spirit and energy were incredible. These teens returned home with a long list of life-changing experiences and a connection to Israel and the Jewish peoplehood that will stick with them for life.

photo - Nava and Mark David with their Western Canadian Championships gold medals — Nava and Mark David with their Western Canadian Championships gold medals. (photo from JCCGV)

Softball victories

The day after arriving home from chaperoning Team Vancouver at the JCC Maccabi Games in Fort Lauderdale, Mark David resumed his position as head coach of the Richmond Islanders U15 softball team, as they competed in the Western Canadian Championships Aug. 11-13. David’s team, which included his daughter, Nava David, had a big weekend, winning the tournament and taking home the gold.

“These underdogs played with heart, determination and teamwork and came out on top with a gold medal,” the coach said. “It all came together with every player contributing in their own way.”

In other softball news, after a slow start to the season, the Purple Meshugeneh Cobras finished strong, winning the 2023 JCC Softball League championships.

photo - The Purple Meshugeneh Cobras won the 2023 JCC Softball League championshi — The Purple Meshugeneh Cobras won the 2023 JCC Softball League championship. *(photo from JCCGV)*

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond. For more information about the JCC Maccabi Games or the Vancouver JCC’s upcoming year-round programming, email Berger at [email protected].

Medical myth-busting

Medical myth-buster Dr. James McCormack speaks Nov. 22 via Zoom. (photo from too-much-medicine.com)

Dr. James McCormack is a bit of an anomaly as a voice in today’s medical debates. In a politically driven climate where most people tend to stand as either “all in” or “all out” with regards to their belief in science and research, McCormack’s approach is more pragmatic.

McCormack, a tenured professor in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia, a podcast host and a YouTube content creator, is a strong believer in evidence-based medicine. Well-known as a medical myth-buster, he dispels misinformation that often prevents doctors and their patients from making the most informed decisions possible. He will present some of his many thoughts and findings at the Jewish Seniors Alliance Virtual Fall Symposium Nov. 22, 2 p.m., which will be held on Zoom.

McCormack’s presentation will highlight some of the more common myths around what medications are actually effective and how doctors and patients can better work together to make evidence-based decisions. In a phone interview with the Jewish Independent, the doctor said his ultimate objective is to find out what the best available existing evidence is in healthcare to help doctors and patients make shared decisions on treatment plans.

This process is often “tricky,” he said, because of the many false conclusions and deceptive statistics that surround the medical field. For example, there are hundreds of clinical trials showing that statins, one of the most popular drugs in the world, help patients with high cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart attacks among 50-to-60-year-old patients from five percent to four percent.

“If you take a statin you can reduce your chance of a heart attack by about one percent,” he explained. “But what you will hear is that this is a 20% reduction in heart attacks – 20% is not a lie, but it’s misleading.

“If I come to you and say, ‘You have high blood pressure. That’s a silent killer. Do you want it to be treated?’ That’s not shared decision-making,” he argued. “If I said, ‘Your blood pressure is this number and your chance of a heart attack is 10% over the next 10 years and we can reduce it from 10% down to eight percent, what do you think of that?’ If that two percent seems like something you might want to consider, then we can try the drug, start with a low dose, make sure we don’t blow you away with any side effects, and then go from there.”

McCormack hinted at the large amount of medical misunderstanding around the world by noting his belief that at least half of all medical prescriptions are either wrong, unnecessary or the incorrect dose – a problem he says is driven by the challenges pharmaceutical companies face in getting their products to market.

“When a new drug comes onto the market, almost for sure the recommended dose is too high,” he said. “[Pharmaceutical companies] have to show that the medicine works. To show that it works, they have to recommend a dose that everybody responds to because, if you choose lower doses, you might not show enough people responding.”

He likened this process to attempting to estimate how much alcohol any specific person would need to drink in order to get drunk – a question for which there would be almost as many answers as there are people.

“This is a fundamental flaw in how we get a drug onto the market,” he said.

McCormack also brought up the alarming lack of evidence-based research on some of the most popular ideas in modern medicine and nutrition. Some of these myths include what we think about vitamins, the lack of evidence showing the health benefits of green vegetables like broccoli, and even our daily water intake.

“You see the same things with nutrition, where there are so many recommendations that are BS – like the idea of [needing to drink] eight glasses of water a day,” he noted. “Almost everyone in the world knows that’s the number of glasses of water you’re supposed to have every day, but there is not a single study that’s ever looked at that. It’s a made-up number mentioned by someone maybe 50 years ago, but it becomes incredibly powerful when everyone assumes it to be true. The evidence is pretty clear when it comes to water – you drink when you’re thirsty.”

McCormack became a myth-buster when, earlier in his career, he discovered a lack of evidence backing up the so-called facts that many of his mentors presented to him.

“I went looking for the evidence and I wondered why they were telling me this if [there was a lack of] evidence. It didn’t make any sense,” he said. “If good, smart people who are trying to do a good thing are telling me unintentional BS, why is that? So, ever since then, I’ve been very inquisitive.”

While he does his best to provide as much myth-busting content as possible to the public, McCormack warned that there’s no simple solution to helping patients understand the great nuances surrounding medical options.

“It’s very tricky,” he said. “Patients don’t feel empowered to make a decision because that’s not part of the ethos of how we do medicine. There are people who would say to their doctor, ‘Just tell me what to do.’ And that’s totally fine as long as the doctor or the pharmacist knows the best available evidence.”

While McCormack will share some of his key discoveries at the symposium, fans of his work can also listen to any of the 460-plus episodes of his podcast, The Best Science Medicine Podcast, which he has nicknamed The BS Medicine Podcast.

“We take the BS out of the BS,” he laughed, before emphasizing that he and co-host Michael Allan approach their shows with a sense of humour.

McCormack also produces various music video parodies on his YouTube channel under his own name. The videos, he said, are a labour of love. “I do [them] because I’m a tenured professor and I can do whatever I want,” he said, tongue-in-cheek. “Which is kind of nice.”

JSA members/supporters will receive an email with the Zoom link to join the virtual symposium. For more information on and to register for the JSA symposium, contact the JSA office at [email protected] or 604-732-1555.

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

***

Editor’s note: This article has been amended from the print version to include more detailed information on how to access the event on Zoom.

Mark and Seth Rogen honoured

Left to right: Lauren Miller Rogen, Seth Rogen, Mark Rogen, Sandy Rogen and Danya Rogen at the ceremony in New York City at which Mark and Seth were honoured with the Generation to Generation Activism Award from the Workmen’s Circle. (photo from Mark Rogen)

Vancouver’s Mark and Sandy Rogen have good reason to be proud of their children and the Jewish values with which they raised them. Some of those values were highlighted as 2019 came to a close, when Mark Rogen and his actor, writer and producer son Seth were honoured on Dec. 2 with the Generation to Generation Activism Award from the Workmen’s Circle in New York.

The award recognizes the Rogens’ work promoting Jewish culture and traditions, while also carrying on the traditions of tikkun olam, repairing the world.

“What made it meaningful for us and for everyone who came was that it was an award about values,” Mark Rogen said in an interview with the Jewish Independent after a game of basketball at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. “It wasn’t about someone giving $2 million to get their name on a hospital. It was about recognizing people living in a positive way.”

Rogen said he and Sandy have always preached that value to their kids, along with the idea that they should always strive to “be a blessing.”

“That’s the way Sandy and I tried to raise Danya and Seth – to try to be a blessing and do what you can,” he explained. “Doing something one-to-one is just as good as doing something internationally. It’s where your heart is and I think Sandy and I are very happy to see that’s how Danya and Seth live their lives. That’s the pride.”

Rogen noted that, when his kids were young, they experienced many blessings. In those years, he said, the family had little money and institutions like Vancouver Talmud Torah, the JCC and Camp Miriam treated his children well, and “didn’t charge us a lot. So, Danya and Seth spent their formative years in the Vancouver Jewish community, and their friends today are from those years. Seth met Evan [Goldberg, his writing partner] at the JCC doing karate, and then they did bar mitzvah classes together.”

Knowing that his children are giving back as adults is important, said Rogen, who worked for the Workmen’s Circle for two years when the family temporarily moved to Los Angeles when Seth filmed Freaks and Geeks. Among other things, Seth and wife Lauren Miller Rogen founded Hilarity for Charity, which raises money for Alzheimer’s care, research and support.

That the recent award was a joint honour made it more meaningful to Seth Rogen. “To be honoured in any capacity is rare and lovely for me, but, to be honoured alongside my father was truly special and memorable,” he told the Independent. “My dad has always been dedicated to helping others and spreading goodness wherever he can. He worked for nonprofits most of my childhood and always strived to make the world a better place. He is someone I always go to for advice and his guidance is consistently geared towards not just what’s good for me, but what’s good for everyone.”

As for the Jewishness he often displays on screen, the actor said he rarely separates that part of himself from his work. “Being Jewish is inseparable from my identity in many ways, so it’s something I’ve always thought was good to acknowledge and integrate into my work,” he explained. “I simply am Jewish and I’m proud of myself and what I’ve done with my life.”

Seth Rogen’s biggest Jewish role, however, might be coming in the soon-to-be-released American Pickle, in which he plays a young man who comes to the United States in 1918 from a European shtetl, then gets trapped and preserved in a pickle barrel for 100 years before being united with his grandson in Brooklyn.

Danya Rogen – who is currently on the board of Vancouver Talmud Torah, on the personnel committee for Habonim Dror Camp Miriam and a regular participant on the JCC softball league team her father captains – joined many family members and friends in New York for the ceremony honouring her father and brother. She remembers her parents raising their awareness of important issues at a very young age.

“My parents, and my dad in particular, taught us to stand up for what we believe in and stand up for others who can’t do it for themselves,” she said. “My parents were also incredibly kind and generous, even when we didn’t have so much ourselves. All of those values have stuck with me my whole life. “I hope to live up to being a blessing and can pass those values on to my own children. I suppose the fact that I have become a social worker isn’t that surprising.”

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

Comedy for youth sport

Comedian Jacob Samuel headlines A Night of Shticks & Giggles Feb. 21 at the Rothstein Theatre. (photo from JCCGV)

In just one week, I will be standing on stage at one of the most exciting events I have ever been a part of. On Feb. 21, some of the funniest stand-up comedians in Vancouver will join me in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s Rothstein Theatre, using laughter to raise money for JCC youth sports scholarships.

A Night of Shticks & Giggles is co-produced by the JCC and Rise of the Comics. Headlined by 2017 Yuk Off champion Jacob Samuel – It’s good to finally see a successful Jewish comedian, right!? – it will also feature a performance from Larke Miller, who I remember watching on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, as well as several other local comedic stars.

While the show will be one of those guaranteed good times for the audience, for me, it also represents a unique opportunity to combine two of my great passions.

Passion #1: As the delegation head for the JCC Maccabi Games – an athletics and arts program that provides Jewish teens the opportunity to travel and experience an Olympic-style international event – I have the responsibility and honour of raising scholarship funds to enable as many teens as possible the chance to participate in this life-changing event.

Passion #2: As a stand-up comic still in his rookie season, I get to meet, learn from and share the stage with some of the city’s top comics. Not to mention the opportunity to stand and perform my craft in front of an audience of 200+ in the Rothstein. (Gulp!)

As a producer of the show, the fact that I will be performing my own original set kind of makes me like that kid who got to start on the soccer team because my dad happened to be the head coach. Except, in this case, I also run the soccer team, picked my dad to be the coach and, oh boy, he’s putting me in!

While I might not end up being the funniest comic of the night, I can promise A Night of Shticks & Giggles will deliver the funny in spades.

Among his many local appearances, Samuel has performed on the Rothstein stage before, when the Jewish Independent team held their JI Chai Celebration in December 2017. He followed that up with his Yuk Off championship win, and his career has taken off since.

Harris Anderson, Joey Commisso and Randee Neumeyer have all inspired me with their irreverent, clever and sharp takes on life, as well.

Another one of the comics, Ed Konyha, used to run the award-winning open mic Stand-up and Deliver, the show in which I finally found the courage to perform my very first set as a stand-up comic.

Finally, Scotty Aceman, emcee for the night and producer of Rise of the Comics, has worked with me on a few shows now (this being the largest by far!) and is a huge inspiration for anyone thinking of quitting their day jobs and following their passion – no matter how little money it makes them. Aceman had a career in the cellphone business before giving it all up to bring comedy to Vancouver’s masses. Today, Rise of the Comics showcases Vancouver’s incredible comedy scene, producing and selling out regular live shows while featuring these local talents on their YouTube channel. His latest venture, Rise After Dark, offers people the chance to bring stand-up comedy right into their living room or private event.

Shticks & Giggles is a well-supported community event with a powerhouse of partnerships including the Chutzpah! Festival; Axis, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s young adult initiative; and, of course, the Jewish Independent.

Tickets for A Night of Shticks & Giggles are $20 and can be bought online at ticketpeak.com/jccgv. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21, with the show set to begin at 8 p.m.

Kyle Berger is coordinator, sports department, Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, and co-producer of A Night of Shticks & Giggles.

Silver linings, anyone?

By Michael Vadon - from Wikipedia — Photo by Michael Vadon – from Wikipedia

As the majority of the world sits in shock that a reality TV star was actually voted in to be the next President of the United States (happy or not, y’all have to admit only Michael Moore expected this result!), many awoke Wednesday morning trying to make some sense of it all.

It’s usually around this time that the desperately positive side of me seeks some kind of solace or acceptance by trying to find a silver lining in a seemingly poor situation – that same part of me that has allowed me to be a Vancouver Canucks fan for so many years.

It is with that train of thought that I consider what possible positive outcome might eventually come from the fact that more than 50 million Americans submitted their vote for a man with no international political experience, the temperament of a bully, sexist tendencies and an undeniable ability to look someone in the eye and lie if it suited him in that moment.

There was an intense sense of panic across the country leading up to this election. There was panic from those who feared their country was already falling apart and looked to Trump as their only option for change. There was also panic from those who opposed Trump and feared the type of change he could bring.

It became clear, however, that very few Americans felt that their country was going to be just fine no matter what happened Nov 8.

Perhaps the shocking election of Donald J. Trump was the wake-up call or the shake up the country needed to become more focused on what it needs to do in order to actually become whole again.

If Trump is as ridiculous, ignorant and unprepared as President as he showed to be during his campaign it’s going to become painfully obvious rather fast. In which case the need for dramatic reform could kick the country into high gear, unite leaders in unprecedented ways and refocus the entire country.

Or perhaps Trump becomes humbled by the responsibility of leading the free world, learns on the job quickly and becomes the new type of leader millions of Americans are hoping for. If that happened it would also completely change the way American politics function moving forward.

Of course it’s also possible he leads the country into civil war, alienates millions and sets of world-wide fires that can’t be easily extinguished while the US of A becomes a joke, sending Western society into grave danger. But let’s stay on the possible silver lining track here for a minute!

It is clear that something had to give. Much like when mother nature sets off natural disasters in order to renew herself for the longevity of the planet, perhaps this disaster of an election will do the same for the longevity of the USA.

Perhaps this is the political version of the story of Noah and the flood and America can come out of this disaster ready for a more positive future.

Unfortunately, as many Americans learned while crashing the Canadian immigration website last night, Canada is not the Ark!

Happy silver linings, everyone!

Outside of British Columbia

Jewish summer camp combines land and water activities with learning about Israel and Judaism. (photo from Camp BB Riback)

When summer comes to the Pacific Northwest, it’s the best time to head into the great outdoors and, of course, for kids, into the summer camp experience. For Jewish kids in British Columbia, there are not only great local camps – Camp Hatikvah and Camp Miriam – but a few out-of-province options worth considering.

When Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS) was established in 1954, on the shores of Whidbey Island, there was a vision born out of the camp’s now-common catch phrase, “Where Judaism and joy are one.” Sixty-one years later, now located on private, protected lakefront property on the outskirts of Olympia, Wash., the camp is looking to the future again, with the combination of Judaism and joy still central.

A Conservative movement-based summer camp, CSS launched a capital campaign in 2014 called From 60 to 120, with a focus on supporting the next 60 years of growth. In an informational social gathering hosted in Vancouver by the camp on Jan. 10, director Sam Perlin shared plans for the campaign and the new facilities that would be born from it.

photo - Jewish summer camp combines land and water activities with learning about Israel and Judaism — *(photo from Camp Solomon Schechter)*

Already halfway to reaching their $12 million goal, Perlin said that if they reach $8 million on time, construction would begin as soon as the summer. New dining and covered sports facilities with programming space are in the works, along with health and welcome centres, all built while preserving and enhancing the camp’s unique wetlands.

The new developments will be a welcome addition to the approximately 120 Canadian campers CSS gets in any given summer, a number Perlin says he hopes will continue to grow. “We have full Canadian buses coming from Canada,” he explained. “We even moved Aleph (First) session to accommodate the Canadian school schedule.”

With several matching grants approved, Perlin noted that Canadians can participate in the matching program to maximize their contributions. He also pointed out that a Canadian donation will be matched with the same number in U.S. dollars, regardless of the exchange rate.

For more information on CSS programming or the campaign, visit campschechter.org or from60to120.org.

* * *

Across the Rockies and into Alberta, Camp BB Riback (a B’nai B’rith camp) is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Pine Lake.

Camp director Jerrod Henoch said they’ve been building up their waterfront program to include learn-to-ski and wakeboard sessions. “Our professional-level ski boat and boom, combined with the expert attention of our waterfront staff, sees even many of our youngest campers get up on water skis for their first time at camp,” he explained.

Of course, with the Alberta-based location, Camp BB also features a horseback riding instruction program.

Camp BB will also be building new camper cabins this spring as part one of their facility enhancement plans.

Although the majority of Camp BB’s participants are from Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon, Henoch said they do get several B.C. families every summer as well.

“Camp BB is famous for its inclusive and open camp community and we are especially good at helping new campers from out of province or across the world feel included,” he said. “With one of the largest arrays of activity areas in Western Canada, we have something that every camper will excel at and something that will challenge each camper.”

Henoch said there are several staff and even senior management studying or living in British Columbia with whom a consultation for any interested local families could be set up.

More information on the camp can be found at campbb.com.

* * *

One of the newer Jewish camps in the region is Camp Kalsman. Affiliated with the Reform movement, the facilities are located off the Interstate 5, between Mt. Vernon and Everett in Washington.

photo - learning Torah at Camp Kalsman — *(photo from Camp Kalsman)*

Entering their 10th summer, director David Berkman said this summer will be one big birthday celebration, highlighted by a community-wide party on July 31.

In its first decade, Berkman said the camp’s sense of community has stood out more than anything else.

“The two things that most distinguish Kalsman from other Jewish summer camps are our staff and the community we form with all our participants,” he said. “The Kalsman staff are extraordinary and their dedication to the campers and the camp is amazing. We all work hard to create a sense of family and home away from home. More often than not, campers refer to camp as their home.”

In addition to a heated pool, Camp Kalsman also features a 50-foot tower, a giant swing, a speaking garden and even a petting zoo. With sessions ranging in length from three days to three weeks, the camp serves participants from Grade 2 all the way through high school.

Berkman said Camp Kalsman usually sees three to four dozen campers from north of the border, but he is looking forward to seeing that number grow.

For more information on Camp Kalsman, visit campkalsman.org.

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

Maccabi TA star visits

Tal Brody, left, with Richard Poritz at the Vancouver screening of On the Map. (photo by Kyle Berger)

It was a warm Israeli summer in 1965 when Tal Brody made the journey across the Atlantic to visit Israel for the first time. It was a trip that would not only change his life, but also the entire world of basketball in Israel.

Immediately after being drafted 12th overall by the Baltimore Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) – or 13th, depending on how you saw it, according to Brody – he represented the United States at the Maccabiah Games that summer, leading them to a gold medal victory. He also fell in love with Israel.

He returned home with an offer to play in Israel for a year with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel’s represented team in the European Championship League. What followed was what many have called the birth of basketball in Israel, highlighted by Brody’s now-famous “We are on the map” quote – the inspiration behind the new documentary On the Map, the Vancouver première of which Brody attended at the end of November.

“Maccabi Tel Aviv was a team that never went past the first round of the European Basketball Championships,” Brody explained of the time before he visited Israel. “They asked me to take them to another level. They said that, by joining them, it would lift the spirits of the country and make them proud. This appealed to me as a young Jewish kid, so I decided to take a year out of my life. But I never imagined I would go to Israel for more than a year.”

That season, Maccabi Tel Aviv made it all the way to the European Cup Finals versus Italy. While they didn’t win it all, Brody saw firsthand the impact that basketball had on the spirit of Israel, as well as oppressed Jews around Europe.

“I saw what happened to the country because of basketball,” he said. “As well, as we played games in Eastern Europe, where Jews were suffering from antisemitism, I saw how proud they were when the team from Israel would come. The Jewish communities would gather around our team and, as the years went by, we became the team that had the most support wherever we went.”

Brody’s one-year plan turned into a lifetime, peaking in 1977 when Maccabi Tel Aviv won the European Cup Championship, defeating the heavily favored Russian Red Army squad. It was after that victory that Brody exclaimed, “We are on the map – and we are staying on the map! Not only in sports, but in everything!”

Today, Brody is one of the most recognized sports figures in Israeli history. Currently serving as a goodwill ambassador for the country, he was named the Israel Sportsman of the Year in 1967, was awarded the Israel Prize – Israel’s highest civilian honor – in 1979 and received a lifetime achievement award in the Knesset just last May.

“Every year I go back to the NBA all-star weekend and the guys always ask me the same thing: ‘Tal, why did you go to Israel?’” he shared. “I said, ‘Guys, even today, if I was offered 2.7 mill, if I knew what I would be missing, I wouldn’t take that money.’ I would never give up those 48 years in Israel. It’s been amazing.”

Since Brody’s influence, Maccabi Tel Aviv has remained a competitive team in the European Cup, winning it six times now. Israel has also seen two players play in the NBA, with Omri Kasspi currently playing for the Sacramento Kings and Gal Mekel playing for the Dallas Mavericks in 2013.

“To see and to take that journey from the rise of Maccabi Tel Aviv and now to see two Israeli players in the NBA and what it has done for the country is a good feeling,” Brody said. “It’s been such a great ride for me.”

Brody’s visit to Vancouver and the screening of On the Map were facilitated by the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. The film will be officially released by Hey Jude Productions in 2016.

Kyle Berger is Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver sports coordinator, and a freelance writer living in Richmond.

Don’t vote for Momma!

A few weeks ago, I sat in the High Holy Day services looking around the room at the omany folks who make their annual pilgrimage to the synagogue that time of year. Most of them are there out of guilt or a sense of obligation instilled in them from when they were kids. Momma said, “You go to services on the High Holy Days!” And that was that! Most of them also hang onto a sense of Jewish identity and feel that attending that service once a year keeps them connected and fulfilled.

A few rabbis might wince as they read this, but I say there is nothing wrong with that. Religion is whatever we each want, need or don’t need it to be. It is personal. However we wish to acknowledge or pay attention to it is up to us. We don’t owe our beliefs or religious commitments to anyone but ourselves – and maybe our mommas.

This certainly isn’t just a Jewish-specific behavior. All sorts of folks in all sorts of religions follow a similar path, engaging at certain key times of the year to fulfill their personal obligations or commitments.

Unfortunately, too many Canadians carry on a similar mentality when it comes to national politics, with election time being the one time they feel compelled to celebrate their democratic rights by heading to the polling stations and voting.

While participating in a religious service without understanding the issues or knowing what it’s really about can still offer personal benefits, influencing politics and voting without knowing what it’s really about is concerning.

Everywhere I look on social media for the past month I see folks pleading with the country to show up and vote. We live in a democracy, after all. We are lucky to have the opportunity and the right to vote and, thus, we should. Many people sacrificed their lives so that we can have these choices today, with the right and freedom to vote for our leaders.

But it’s not just about stepping up to a pole and filling out a ballot. Important decisions are being made while every single vote carries the same weight.

It’s not just about the action of voting. It’s about contributing. It’s about respecting the rights and privileges we once fought for and now defend in this country. So please, don’t vote blind. Don’t vote based on the color of the lawn post you prefer. Don’t vote because the person in your riding has the same first name as you. Don’t vote because your momma told you who to vote for.

Everyone should vote! But if you can’t find some time to have at least a basic understanding of who or what you are voting for I am suggesting that you do not vote.

If you think you might fall under that category, take the time to read the posts linked here – both great places to start. Then get out there and vote!

Everything you need to know about the platforms, and JI interviews with the Liberals, Conservatives, Greens and NDP for all you need to about the federal leaders’ views on Israel, Iran, security, and more. And there’s even more at Federal Election 2015.