Sam Margolis – Page 3

Music’s healing power

The annual Music Heals gala raises funds and awareness of the therapeutic use of music. This year’s event takes place Oct. 23 at the Commodore Ballroom. (photo from David Barnett)

Vancouver’s business and entertainment communities are combining their philanthropic forces at the Commodore Ballroom Oct. 23 for a gala to support Music Heals, the charitable foundation that raises awareness and funds for the therapeutic use of music in physical and mental health processes.

David Barnett founded Music Heals in 2012. (photo from David Barnett)

David Barnett, who founded Music Heals in 2012 and currently serves as board president, said tickets will be available after Labour Day and are expected to sell out quickly. Still, the event, which is already fully booked from an artist standpoint, always has room for sponsorship opportunities, according to Barnett.

“It is a great group at Music Heals,” he said. “We bring in all types of artists from all over, including Grammy Award winners, and produce a fun variety show. We don’t reveal any of the artists. We keep everything a surprise.

“It is a super-fun event to produce and it brings the downtown business community and the music industry together for one night to celebrate the power of music.”

Since its beginning, Music Heals has distributed more than $5 million to help vulnerable Canadians gain access to music therapy. That translates to more than 65,000 funded music therapy hours in 85 different facilities, from children’s hospitals to senior centres to burn units, to hospices and rehabilitation centres. The funds have gone towards helping at-risk youth, cancer patients, those needing bereavement support and many others.

The 2024 gala raised more than $450,000, with sponsors such as RBC, BMO, ZLC Financial, Colliers International and Westbridge Capital, among numerous other organizations. DJ All Good, bbno$, CeeLo Green, Jack Thomas, Bif Naked and the Delta Police Pipe Band were some of the performers that appeared.

photo - “We always try to bring in something eclectic. The event itself is a little bit rowdy, and we try to keep the volume up,” says Music Heals founder and board president David Barnett about the organization’s annual gala — “We always try to bring in something eclectic. The event itself is a little bit rowdy, and we try to keep the volume up,” says Music Heals founder and board president David Barnett about the organization’s annual gala. (photo from David Barnett)

As for the upcoming event, Barnett, who calls Music Heals one of his “passion projects,” said, “We always try to bring in something eclectic. The event itself is a little bit rowdy, and we try to keep the volume up. We feature a story that is happening in the community and have a video of how we spent the money in the previous year.

“It is an opportunity for us to build a community of friends, business associates and music industry people to have some fun and raise some money for a very cool kind of cause to support facilities that use music as medicine in their healing for mental and physical health.”

In 2025, Music Heals gave more than $520,000 to 45 music therapy programs that included Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, BC Cancer Foundation and the Pacific Autism Family Centre.

Countless studies have been conducted on the healing power of music. The overwhelming conclusion is that listening to or playing music has a beneficial effect on overall human health and can mitigate various physical and mental ailments. Music, various research has shown, can lower stress, lift moods, bolster energy and lower pain levels.

Music therapy can benefit people in all age groups, from children with developmental disabilities to older adults with Alzheimer’s. For young people, music can help improve their cognitive and social development, allowing for better communication and emotional expression. For adults, music therapy can be a means of managing stress, anxiety and depression while boosting self-esteem.

For seniors, music therapy can have positive implications for recollection and cognitive function. The Louis Brier Home and Hospital, for example, offers one-on-one individualized and small-to-large group music therapy programs that are supported by Music Heals.

Among the types of music used at the Brier are beat boxing, drum circles and movement to music, as well as the singing of the Brier Choir. Louis Brier states on its website that music therapy for individuals in long-term care can maintain memory recall and reminiscing, fine motor coordination and range of motion, and increase creative expression.

On the power of music, the late Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician David Crosby said in an interview done with Music Heals in 2017, “Music is a lifting force in the universe. Just as war drags the human race down and draws out the worst in people, music is a lifting force. It brings out the best in us; it lifts us up. Any time you can do music, it lifts the human race.”

In March, around the time of International Women’s Day, Music Heals hosts Let Her Sing, an annual event meant to provide women with access to music therapy programs in support of their physical and mental health. This year’s event raised $120,000.

Philanthropic causes, whether through Music Heals or other charitable ventures, have played an important role for Barnett throughout his life.

“I grew up in a family that gives back to the community and giving back was a large part of my upbringing,” said Barnett, whose business ventures have included music venues in the city.

“As I was getting older and found myself having kids and trying to get out of the music industry and nightclub space,” he said, “we were looking for an opportunity to get back and give back, and fell into the music therapy world.”

For more information, visit musicheals.ca.

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

Victoria Fringe has started

Director Francis G. Matheu, right, with actors Nolan Fidyk and Dan Landry rehearsing Alan Segal’s Shade Apparel. (photo by Sarah Nicole Faucher)

This year’s Victoria Fringe Festival, billed as “12 days of madcap fun this summer,” started on Aug. 20 and runs to Aug. 31. Included in the lineup are pieces by two local Jewish community members, Alan Segal and David Heyman.

Segal describes his play, Shade Apparel, as “comedy, drama and absurdity.” It features Danver, a playwright rooted in daily routine, who tries to find answers to questions he never knew he had. And, Segal told the Independent, “He is not prepared for the answers. Shade Apparel is a play about wanting to know more and not knowing where to find anything.”

In Segal’s words, our society is “heavily psychologized,” in that everything is given a psychological or emotional origin story, he said. “But, if we breathe, we absorb culture, ideas, ideals and assumptions.

“Most of the time, we have a slight awareness of the precise origin of these. Their origin tale, however, is found in the social cauldron of daily life. This, too, is our apparel. We are clothed in more than material fabric,” he said.

From an early age, Segal has had an interest in how people become, well, anything; for example, how are allegiance, assurance, belonging, anger, dissent, happiness, or its opposite, created?

Segal’s first Victoria Fringe experience was not as a playwright but as a supporter of the arts who was captivated by the aura and array of creativity he observed. Last year, he founded Imbroglio Theatre, which will put on Shade Apparel.

“Beyond headlines and supposed fame, people venture into many realms of expression. I loved it from the start, and I expect many will be enlivened by what is approaching in Victoria at the end of August,” he said.

The creative team for the Fringe show comprises Dan Landry, Nolan Fidyk and Kendra Bidwell (cast), Alan Segal (writer), Francis G. Matheu (director), Elaine Montgomery (stage manager), Luke Weston and Andrea Gregg (lighting design), Phil Letourneau (music and sound design), Sarah Nicole Faucher (costume design) and Doug Wills (poster and program).

“Shade Apparel is the second play I have written – a project I never intended to write and had no inkling of, until it leaped into my mind as a single scene,” said Segal.

His first play, Frey’s Anguish, premiered in March 2024 at Paul Phillips Hall in Victoria.

photo - David Heyman’s Ducks co-stars, right to left, Gloria Snider, Lorene Cammiade, Ryan Kniel and Danielle Greschner — David Heyman’s Ducks co-stars, right to left, Gloria Snider, Lorene Cammiade, Ryan Kniel and Danielle Greschner. *(photo from David Heyman)*

Heyman’s play, Ducks, takes place in the aftermath of an incident in which 1,600 ducks flew into an oilsands tailings pond in northern Alberta and died – a true event that caused international criticism of the provincial government. Years later, the oil company that owned and operated the pond was fined and the government promised tighter restrictions; however, the damage to Alberta’s reputation was significant.

The fictionalized theatrical story centres on a government communications director who has 20 minutes to retrieve an embarrassing, career-ending invitation erroneously sent out in his name before the media or public find out about it.

“I was communications manager for the premier of Alberta at the time [of the real-life incident] and, although I was not involved in managing the issue … I was able to observe the crisis-management efforts from up close,” Heyman said.

“The characters and events in the play are entirely made up but are informed by my inside knowledge of how communications offices work, and how the media deal with such situations,” he said. “Before joining the Alberta Premier’s Office, I was a political reporter at the Calgary Herald for many years. Many people who work in governments in Alberta and BC have told me that the play feels authentic, which was my goal.”

When Ducks premiered at the Victoria One-Act Play Festival in 2023, it won the prize for outstanding original script. When it was performed at the 2024 Edmonton Fringe Festival, five of eight shows sold out and the play received stellar reviews. The play has also been performed at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival and in Tofino.

Heading into the Victoria Fringe, Heyman said, “We’ve got a top-notch cast, a great director and a great stage manager this year. The rehearsals are going very well and I’m confident it will be a hit.”

Heyman is the show’s producer and, joining him in mounting the Fringe show are Ryan Kniel, Lorene Cammiade, Gloria Snider and Danielle Greschner (cast), Francis G. Matheu (director), Andrea Gregg (stage manager) and Sarah Heyman (associate producer).

David Heyman has written an as-yet-unperformed sequel, Rhymes with Ducks, that he hopes to put on at next year’s festival. “The sequel is designed also to be a second (and final) act, and perhaps one day both will be performed as a single show,” he said.

For the Fringe, Shade Apparel is at Victoria Conservatory of Music’s Wood Hall, while Ducks is at James Bay United Church. Both plays are 45 minutes long. For tickets and more information, visit victoriafringe.com.

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

Making space for kids to play

Simon Fraser Elementary School’s playground, which opened in 2024, was a beneficiary of financial support from the Dayhu Family Foundation. (photo from Dayhu Family Foundation)

For more than 30 years, the Dayhu Family Foundation, formerly known as the Ben and Esther Dayson Charitable Foundation, has helped create playgrounds both locally and in Israel.

“My mother and father always liked the idea of children playing,” said Shirley Barnett, chair of the Dayhu Family Foundation, about her late parents, Esther and Ben Dayson.

In Vancouver, finding the monetary support for playgrounds can be orchestrated by parent advisory councils (PACs) within the public schools. The PACs initiate the fundraising drives, sometimes years in advance, through a multitude of means, from bake sales and lemonade stands to other forms of financial outreach.

According to Barnett, the PAC at Simon Fraser Elementary School was an enterprising group that canvassed the neighbourhood in search of support for their playground project. Dayhu Group of Companies, a real estate investment, development and property management company with a large development near the school, was approached and quickly recognized that this was a worthy endeavour. Before the playground, put together by Habitat Systems, opened in 2024, Simon Fraser had to make do with an area ill-suited for children’s recreational activities.

“My son Jonathan said to me, ‘Didn’t we build two playgrounds in Israel and one at the JCC? Why don’t we just stick with playgrounds and fund a couple because children need to play?’ It is such a good fit for us,” Barnett explained.

photo - Shirley Barnett at Dayhu Family Foundation’s first venture into playgrounds – the Dayson Playground in Modi’in, Israel, which was built in 1993 — Shirley Barnett at Dayhu Family Foundation’s first venture into playgrounds – the Dayson Playground in Modi’in, Israel, which was built in 1993. *(photo from Dayhu Family Foundation)*

The foundation has a long history of providing financial support to cultural, educational and social causes both within and outside the Jewish community of Greater Vancouver. Its first venture into playgrounds started with the Dayson Playground, a Jewish National Fund project, which was built in Modi’in (outside of Jerusalem) in 1993.

The second playground was also in Israel. Launched in 2018, the Ben and Esther Dayson Outdoor Learning Centre at the Ilanot School in Jerusalem was designed for children with special needs, as the Ilanot School serves children with severe motor and cognitive impairment, including many with cerebral palsy. Its pupils come from many cultural backgrounds, including Jewish, Muslim and Christian.

“We have also been very involved with the JCC for many years, and so we helped the early childhood education playground, on my son’s initiative, in 2012, at the current JCC,” Barnett said of the Dayhu initiative at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

A new project at Britannia Community Elementary School is a good fit for the foundation as well, said Barnett, who described the reactions from both Simon Fraser and Britannia as “phenomenal.”

“These are schools that really needed help. The parent committees at Simon Fraser and Britannia have worked so hard to bring about these playgrounds. They are in need and the parents can’t raise much money,” Barnett said.

“A playground can make a huge difference in getting kids outdoors and getting them active, rather than them just running around a gravel field. I think it is obvious that kids need to play. We trust their design, we trust their need and their rationale.”

With both elementary school playground projects, Dayhu operated swiftly after being approached, understanding that there is a process involved before work can commence. Dayhu is not involved in the creativity or development of these projects; rather, it looks at a site and how much money has been raised. When it sees that more funds cannot be raised, it steps in as the lead donor.

Cassandra Torok, a parent at Britannia, said that, after four years of advocating and fundraising for an expansion and upgrade to the school’s playground, the East Vancouver community felt stuck, unable to obtain the money needed.

“Meeting Jonathan and Shirley was this amazing tipping point for our school’s playground project,” Torok said. “Her family’s generosity and openness gave our community the support and agency needed to reach the fundraising goals that felt impossible before. Providing the necessary funds to meet students’ needs was a surprising gift that we are so grateful for.

“Without her, her family’s and Dayhu’s philanthropic commitment, we know that we would not be getting the playground needed at our school, the playground our children deserve to grow, develop and improve their well-being as a whole,” Torok added.

image - A rendering of the proposed playground enhancements at Britannia Community Elementary School, which will be built with financial assistance from the Dayhu Family Foundation — A rendering of the proposed playground enhancements at Britannia Community Elementary School, which will be built with financial assistance from the Dayhu Family Foundation. *(image from Dayhu Family Foundation)*

Britannia school expects to have shovels in the ground within the next few months. When it opens, the playground will also be accessible to the larger community after school hours, on weekends and during the summer months.

Dayhu’s efforts have led others to back the creation of playgrounds. At least one other family foundation saw what Dayhu had supported at the JCC and was motivated to help fund similar projects, said Barnett.

“It is a huge accomplishment to be an inspiration for someone else,” Barnett said. “We are not trying to promote our philanthropy. I would love it if someone read this article, and said, ‘You know, we have a few dollars and there is a neighbourhood school with a gravel field, maybe we could do something there.’”

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

Krieger takes on new roles

Nina Krieger, centre, member of the BC Legislative Assembly for Victoria-Swan Lake, connects with community members. Krieger is the new public safety minister and solicitor general. (photo from Nina Krieger)

After a cabinet shuffle last week, Nina Krieger, member of the legislative assembly for Victoria-Swan Lake, is the new public safety minister and solicitor general, replacing Garry Begg, who became parliamentary secretary for Surrey infrastructure.

Saying she is “humbled and excited” to take on the position, Krieger told the Independent: “Our province faces complex challenges, and I am committed to working with my colleagues, local governments, Indigenous leadership, police services, business and community organizations to build safe, healthy and resilient communities for everyone.

“Public safety is one of the central issues of our time,” she said, “and British Columbians are looking to us to strengthen public safety through effective support of our law enforcement services and working across government to address the root causes of public disorder.

“I look forward to working with partners around the province to take meaningful action to keep BC a safe place to live, work and enjoy this beautiful province we call home,” she added.

Before being elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia last fall, Krieger was the executive director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC). She takes over her new cabinet position after having served as parliamentary secretary for arts and film. Prior to this shift in roles, she spoke with the Independent about her time in office since being sworn in.

“The role of MLA is a unique opportunity and responsibility. I don’t think anything can quite prepare you for the busy, ever-changing schedule, and the range of issues and people that you encounter on any given day,” Krieger said.

“The learning curve is steep but exciting and I’m grateful to be learning alongside other new MLAs, from veteran members of caucus and from the incredible teams behind the scenes at the BC legislature.”

Krieger describes the move from the VHEC as “bittersweet,” saying it was difficult to leave an organization and a community for which she cares deeply. Nonetheless, she said the skills, experience and values she honed during her work at VHEC have proved meaningful and timely in her current role.

“I keep in close touch with former colleagues and the Holocaust survivor community and was honoured to return to the VHEC this spring to emcee a Yom Hashoah commemorative program featuring Premier David Eby, presented in partnership with the Province of BC and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs,” she said.

Her introduction to the legislative side of the MLA job came during the recent spring session that concluded in May. She sat in the house and committee rooms, sometimes late into the night, delivering speeches about her community and constituents’ achievements and needs, as well as debating and voting on proposed legislation.

“I was proud to deliver several statements in the house, marking days of significance for BC’s Jewish community,” said Krieger.

“This spring, government passed legislation to protect consumers, respond to the threat of tariffs and implement countermeasures, deliver more renewable energy projects and major infrastructure projects, among other work,” she said.

During the summer months, MLAs return to their communities.

“I visit and meet with local organizations to hear about the work they do and how we can spotlight and support them,” she said. “I also have the chance to attend local events as an MLA over the summer, from graduation ceremonies to festivals, markets and sports games. With so many amazing people putting on great events around town here over the summer, it adds to the fun of this role.”

As the parliamentary secretary for arts and film, Krieger worked closely with the minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport to advance the

development and growth of British Columbia’s film, television and animation sectors, as well as supporting and growing the arts and culture sectors in the province. One of the perks of that job was attending film-related events and meetings, like local film festivals.

“It has been amazing to see the talent and work coming out of BC, and rewarding to stand strong in support of workers in the face of tariff threats,” she said.

Krieger acknowledges that it is a difficult time for Jews in the province and throughout Canada, with challenges in finding their political “homes.” She is grateful that there were Jewish voters whose values aligned with those of the BC NDP.

“I know that there is work to do to ensure that Jewish people in BC feel safe and supported, and that nobody is targeted because of who they are,” Krieger said. “Combatting antisemitism – which is illiberal, toxic to democracy and dangerous – requires the work of all levels of government and civil society.”

She continues to be in active contact with Jewish constituents and community leaders in Victoria, which, she says, is home to a diverse Jewish community. Constituents from a range of backgrounds have contacted her and expressed deep concern about the toll of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war on the civilian populations of the region.

“While foreign policy is beyond my scope as a provincial representative, it is vital to discuss ways to ensure that BC is a safe and inclusive place for all people,” Krieger said. “From my work as a Holocaust educator, I know that it is vital to counter misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories, which can fan the flames of xenophobia, antisemitism and hate, and keep communities divided. In my work as MLA, I hope to counter this by bringing people together, modeling respectful dialogue and upholding the values of truth and trust in democratic institutions.”

Krieger explained that her experience as an anti-racism educator showed her the importance of listening and continually learning with openness and compassion. It is relevant to her current work, she believes, because she is entrusted with the stories and experiences of many constituents, which are often shared to build a more just and inclusive society.

“The province helps fund anti-racism and anti-hate work done around BC,” said Krieger, “and I have the opportunity to talk to organizers that are the recipients of grant funding and hear about their work, share experiences and learn how we can continue to collaborate to do this vital work effectively.”

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

New day school opens

Tamim Academy of Vancouver is accepting kindergarten through Grade 5 applications for the 2025-2026 school year. (photo from TAV)

Tamim Academy of Vancouver, a new Jewish day school, is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.

Located at Granville and 62nd, in what was the premises of Vancouver Hebrew Academy, Tamim will offer an integrated Judaic and general studies curriculum, with small class sizes.

Vancouver Hebrew Academy had been struggling financially. Several VHA staff members will help as the transition to Tamim takes place. New staff will also be joining the team and “will undergo intensive summer training to prepare for Tamim’s unique, child-centred educational approach,” Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu, who sits on the board of the school, told the Independent.

Open to all Jewish families, no matter how observant, Tamim will start this fall with a kindergarten through Grade 5 program and expand to include Grade 6 in 2026 and Grade 7 in 2027. Additionally, Ner Atid, a full-day early-years program for children 5 years old and under, just launched, with the aim of providing a smooth transition into the elementary school. Spots for younger siblings in the Ner Atid daycare program, adjacent to the school, are available as well.

“Together, Tamim and Ner Atid offer a seamless educational journey rooted in tradition and ready for the future, beginning in infancy and extending through the foundational years of learning and growth,” said Yeshayahu, who is also the director the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel.

The school day will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with optional extracurricular activities – an hour before and/or an hour after those times – included at no extra cost.

“Our objective is to create a school that offers a unified, child-centred and future-ready approach to Jewish education, where academic excellence and spiritual development go hand in hand,” Yeshayahu said.

“At Tamim, general and Judaic studies are integrated, not compartmentalized – reflecting the belief that students should be empowered to live as their whole selves in every environment. We educate the whole child,” he said, “nurturing intellectual growth, emotional well-being, social responsibility and Jewish identity in equal measure.”

Yeshayahu emphasized that each student at the school will have their own learning plan, developed to meet their unique strengths, interests and areas for growth. Tamim offers an educational model that is personal, and designed for the real world, he said.

According to Yeshayahu, the school will include Hebrew taught by native speakers; a values-based culture that stresses kindness, responsibility, resilience and leadership; a nutritious hot lunch; and a diverse community.

photo - Tamim Academy of Vancouver will offer an integrated Judaic and general studies curriculum, with small class sizes — Tamim Academy of Vancouver will offer an integrated Judaic and general studies curriculum, with small class sizes. *(photo from TAV)*

Among some of the additional program highlights will be gardening, nature exploration (hiking and wildlife observation) and art across several media. The school, with access to a large field and playground, will also feature outdoor play.

“Tamim students don’t just learn, they flourish,” said Yeshayahu. “They leave school each day feeling capable, connected and proud of who they are.”

Yeshayahu made clear that, while the Tamim Academy is situated on the location of the former Vancouver Hebrew Academy, it is a completely new school with a distinct vision, leadership team and educational model.

“Tamim Academy of Vancouver is part of a growing international network of schools that are reimagining Jewish education for today’s world,” he said.

“We honour the legacy of Jewish education in this city,” said Yeshayahu. “Tamim carries that commitment forward with renewed energy, a modern educational philosophy and a warm, inclusive community. We welcome Jewish families of all levels of observance and are proud to offer a space where every child is supported, celebrated and inspired to grow.”

Laen Hershler, the school’s director of education, is currently a teaching associate and mentor for pre-service teachers at the University of British Columbia. His work focuses on literacy education, creative pedagogy and inclusive teaching methods. He has previously served as a Judaic educator at King David High School, developed interactive and performance-based learning programs, and contributed to curriculum development across K-12 and post-secondary education.

Itay Reuven – a former army officer and commander, with a background in business studies – is the school’s operations and safety coordinator, and Preet Brar serves as director of student life, innovation and learning enrichment.

Khezia Gibbons is the manager of Ner Atid Early Childhood Centre. She brings more than a decade of experience in early childhood education and, most recently, worked with the Township of Langley, where she guided young learners.

Tamim Academy of Vancouver will be the third Tamim in Canada after those established in the York region north of Toronto and the Kineret Tamim Academy, which opened in Victoria last year. (See jewishindependent.ca/groundbreaking-may-26.) There are 20 such academies in North America, and others around the world. The name stems from Tomchei Temimim, the first formal yeshiva system of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement that was founded in 1897 by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneerson in Russia. Each student was referred to as tamim: pure, perfect or complete. The assumption is that each child is inherently holy and good, with the concept of “wholeness” being the foundation of the education model.

For more information, visit tamimvancouver.org.

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

Will you help or hide?

Bema Productions’ The Last Yiddish Speaker cast, director and crew: standing, left to right, Tess Nolan, Kevin McKendrick, Andrea Eggenberger, Nolan McConnell-Fidyk and Ian Case; seated, Siobhan Davies, left, and Zelda Dean. The play imagines a world in which the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in Washington, DC, was successful and Christian nationalists have taken over the United States. (photo by Peter Nadler)

Victoria’s Bema Productions is staging the international premiere of Deborah Laufer’s The Last Yiddish Speaker at Congregation Emanu-El’s Black Box Theatre June 18-29.

The drama imagines a dystopian world in which the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in Washington, DC, was successful and Christian nationalists have taken over the United States. In the play, a Jewish father and daughter must be careful and cunning, as any deviation from the norm could be deadly. When an aged Yiddish-speaking woman lands on their doorstep, they must decide whether to take the risk of helping the woman or focus on saving themselves.

Laufer has numerous full-length plays to her credit, as well as dozens of short plays and even musicals (written with composer Daniel Green). Her plays have been produced around the world and she has been recognized with numerous awards.

While The Last Yiddish Speaker focuses on Judaism and the right for Jews to exist, the play could be about any marginalized group, in any country.

“Although the play is set in the USA, the theme is universal: the struggle of good over evil,” Zelda Dean, founder and managing artistic director of Bema, told the Independent. “In this play, Canada is still a safe place for Jews.”

That said, it has a message for Canadian audiences, as well, Dean said. “It is very important that we address social and political issues, particularly with the huge increase in antisemitism in Canada. The play is entertaining, engaging and enlightening. It takes place in 2029, when the fascists have taken over the USA. It is timely and powerful.”

Directed by Kevin McKendrick, The Last Yiddish Speaker features Ian Case, Siobhan Davies, Nolan McConnell-Fidyk and Dean.

McKendrick is an award-winning director, notably being recognized by the Alberta Theatre Projects for significant contributions to theatre in Calgary. Case, a veteran stage actor on Vancouver Island, is also a director and arts advocate. Davies, meanwhile, is a stage and cinematic performer – she will be appearing in the upcoming film Allure, shot in Victoria. McConnell-Fidyk is a local actor who appeared in Survivors, a play aimed at spreading information about the Holocaust to audiences from Grade 6 and up. (See jewishindependent.ca/theatre-that-educates and jewishindependent.ca/survivors-play-brings-tears.)

Before the November 2024 presidential elections, Laufer told Philadelphia public radio station WHYY about her reasons for writing the play, including that she was deeply disturbed by the events of Jan. 6. “I thought, ‘Is this the end? Is our democracy completely ended?’” she said.

“The play reminds us there are times in history when we have the choice to speak out against oppression or choose to remain silent. You get the government you deserve,” McKendrick told the Independent. “How will you respond when faced with outright injustice?”

Tickets for The Last Yiddish Speaker can be purchased at ticketowl.io/lastyiddishspeaker.

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

Klezcadia set to return

Bay Area klezmer trio Veretski Pass returns to Klezcadia, which runs in-person and online June 10-15. (photo from Klezcadia)

Klezcadia, a festival of klezmer music and Yiddish culture, is back for a second year. The June 10-15 event can be experienced in-person in Victoria or virtually from around the world.

The 2025 festival, free for all who register, features author and playwright Michael Wex, who will be offering a two-part webinar titled Jews, Germans and Jive: Yiddish as a Language of Resistance.

Wex, the author of the bestseller Born to Kvetch and Just Say Nu, will be delivering the talks from his home in Toronto. No stranger to Vancouver audiences, his play, The Last Night at the Cabaret Yitesh (Di Letste Nakht Baym Yitesh), in which he also performed, closed the 2024 Chutzpah! Festival.

Laura Rosenberg, the director and driving force behind Klezcadia, said Wex “is arguably the most famous person to interpret the public impact of the Yiddish language on the English language.”

She told the Independent that the festival’s mission, operating principles and format will be the same as they were in its inaugural season. “The performance and workshop content, on the other hand, will be completely new for 2025, though obviously within the same klezmer music and Yiddish culture arena as last year, and involving many of the same artists and faculty members,” she said.

Between in-person and virtual attendees, Klezcadia had more than 500 participants from 21 countries in 2024 and the 2025 registration looks to be at least on par with those data, according to Rosenberg.

“Everything from concerts to workshops to open rehearsals is designed to equalize as much as possible the experience of in-person and virtual participants,” she said. “And, thanks to our generous donors, registration is once again free.”

Other notable appearances this year include returning Bay Area klezmer trio Veretski Pass, who will appear on both the concert and workshop rosters. Members Cookie Segelstein (violin), Joshua Horowitz (19th-century button accordion) and Stuart Brotman (bass) play a wide variety of East European numbers. This year, they will offer “band-to-band master classes” with two Victoria-based klezmer ensembles.

Vancouver singer/songwriter Geoff Berner, joined by Segelstein, will perform songs from his upcoming album – Berner’s first to be completely in Yiddish. Over the past 25 years, Berner has toured in 17 countries, opened for rock stars in stadiums and, the Klezcadia notes state, “played nearly every dirty little café bar in Western Europe.”

Klezcadia 2025 will see the Victoria debut of Jordan Wax, a rising star on the Yiddish singer/songwriter scene, who will share music from his newly released album, The Heart Deciphers, on the Borscht Beat label. The New Mexico musician blends many influences, from the Missouri Ozarks to the Indo-Hispanic world and the entire Ashkenazic diaspora.

Christina Crowder, director of the Klezmer Institute, based in Yonkers, NY, will be on hand to perform century-old music rediscovered in Ukraine’s Vernadsky Library, which recently was published for global use via the Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project.

As it did in 2024, this year’s festival will conclude with the entire Klezcadia cohort performing a finale concert at the Stage in the Park (Cameron Bandshell) in Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park.

Billing itself as “A Safer Shtetl,” Klezcadia’s hybrid environment prioritizes the safe experience of immunocompromised and high-risk participants, for the performers, crew and volunteers, and for attendees. Indoor activities feature the use of protective protocols such as supplemental air purification, required masking and daily onsite COVID testing.

“We learned from our inaugural-season experience that our fully hybrid format was extremely valuable, both to our immunocompromised and high-risk participants, but also to a vast number of people who, for geographic or financial reasons, were unable to attend in person,” Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg gives credit to other members of the Klezcadia team for helping with the various technical tools needed to put together a hybrid festival. She said some of the evolving challenges faced in viral safety and communal safety, and the current cross-border political situation, have provided added appreciation to how much a hybrid design can be adapted at short notice, if needed.

People who were not able to attend a live event in 2024 have expressed their thanks to Rosenberg in the lead-up to this year’s festival.

“One of my greatest delights in the intervening year since our inaugural season has been hearing what a difference Klezcadia made to our immunocompromised and high-risk attendees,” she said. “Whether local or halfway across the world, many of these people have felt shut out of their communities, including their Jewish cultural communities, and they expressed in heartfelt terms how life-changing it was for them to be able to participate in a cultural festival that prioritized their safety but was open to everyone.”

All Klezcadia events will take place within a 10-minute drive from downtown Victoria. Specific venue information will be provided only after registration, and only to in-person participants. For more information, visit klezcadia.org.

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

Amid the rescuers, resisters

A nationwide Upstanders Canada keynote lecture to mark Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) last month reminded the Zoom audience that the belief that Jews simply cowered, while the atrocities around them were being committed during the Second World War, is erroneous.

“The idea of Jewish passivity is part of the narrative, but it is not the truth. Jews, individually and collectively, engaged in acts of resistance and rescue,” said Pat Johnson, founder of Upstanders Canada, at the start of the event.

That people should know this fact “is crucial,” said Johnson, “because it corrects a flawed narrative. It is crucial additionally, not only for Jews but for every person and every people in the world, to see the potential for resistance and courage against authoritarianism hatred and inhumanity.”

The April 27 event, titled Jews Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust, was presented by Rinat Dushansky-Werbner. She was introduced by Moshe Gromb, author of a 15-volume series with the same title, which Dushansky-Werbner and Pnina Jacobi-Yahid translated into English from Hebrew. In her talk, Dushansky-Werbner, a member of the Action Committee for Recognizing Jews Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust, highlighted several Jewish heroes during the Shoah – their names not widely known.

“There were operations inside the death camps. There were people smuggling people across borders. They were hiding children in monasteries. They were falsifying documents,” Dushansky-Werbner said.

“The Jews were very, very creative, and tried to think of any possible way to save their brethren. Sadly, many of these Jewish rescuers were caught and murdered by the Nazis. Even though they could have escaped and saved themselves,” she said, “most of them decided not to do so. [They] decided to stand where they are, and try and rescue as many people as possible.”

The people discussed represented a range of backgrounds, ages, geographic locations and levels of religious observance, and were but examples from a much larger number of Jews who took on tremendous risks and used remarkable ingenuity to rescue other Jews during the Holocaust. Thus far, Dushansky-Werbner’s action committee has collected information on more than 2,500 Jewish rescuers and documented more than 50 rescue methods.

Many of the Jewish rescuers, Dushansky-Werbner said, did not see themselves as great heroes, but rather as people who did what they were compelled to do, and saddened they could not do more.

“There is something very humble about these people,” she said.

Jews rescued other Jews wherever the Germans operated – throughout Europe, North Africa and even the Philippines – and their operations began once the Nazis rose to power and continued throughout and after the war. Often, their operations involved collaborations with non-Jews.

In Belarus, four brothers named Bielski – Tuvia, Zus (Alexander Zeisal), Asael and Aron – founded a partisan unit, a wandering communal rescue army, that established a family camp in the Naliboki Forest. The camp operated for more than two years during the war, moving occasionally from place to place in the forest, and included a synagogue, a school, a courthouse, a clinic, an armoury and more. It is estimated that the Bielski brothers rescued 1,236 Jews in what became known as the “Jerusalem of the Forests.” Their story is among the more celebrated of Jewish rescuers and was turned into a 2008 film, Defiance, starring Daniel Craig.

In France, the Loinger family, led by George, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 108, smuggled hundreds of Jewish children across the border to Switzerland, while his wife, Flora, managed the houses in which they hid Jewish children.

George would play soccer with the children. When the ball flew over to the other side of the border, one or two children would be sent to safety to the other side without the local guard noticing, Dushansky-Werbner explained.

George’s sisters also helped. Fanny hid children in monasteries; Emme prepared abandoned monasteries for Jewish orphans and ran one of the children’s houses; the youngest, Ivette, 13, rode with Jewish children on trains, hiding their money and keeping them calm during the journey.

French pantomime Marcel Marceau and his brother Alain – who were George’s cousins – forged papers for Jews on the run and helped George smuggle Jewish children out of France.

“Marcel would help keep them calm and would just basically be the clown. He would be like a mother, a father, a brother, and he would make them laugh. And this is how many of them stayed calm and agreed to go from one place to another,” said Dushansky-Werbner, who went on to share another story of heroism.

In Volos, Greece, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Pesach was ordered by a German commander to draw up a list of all the Jews in the city. He turned to his friend, Metropolitan Joachim Alexopoulos, who recommended the Jews leave the city immediately.

At the age of 74, the rabbi gathered the members of the community and led them to the hills surrounding Volos with the help of the metropolitan and the city’s mayor, and hid them in homes and other buildings. This effort would save 746 of the 882 Jews in Volos.

Dushansky-Werbner ended her talk with the words of Marion Pritchard, a non-Jew who rescued Jews in the Netherlands: “If we do not acknowledge the bravery of those Jewish rescuers who, if caught, were in graver danger than the Righteous Among Nations, that would be a distortion of Holocaust history. It also adds to the false notion that the Jews were led like lambs to the slaughter as cowards. This is far from the truth,” said Pritchard.

Upstanders Canada is a national organization that seeks to mobilize primarily non-Jewish Canadians to stand with the Jewish people and against antisemitism. For more information, visit upstanderscanada.com.

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

Writing & fixing holy scrolls

Scribe Marc Michaels concluded Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s 2024/25 Kvell at the Well series with the talk Torah Tales: Adventures in Scribal Art. (photo from Marc Michaels)

On April 6, Marc Michaels spoke about his experiences as a Jewish scribe (sofer, in Hebrew) in the final webinar of the 2024/25 Kvell at the Well series. Titled Torah Tales: Adventures in Scribal Art, the event was organized by Victoria’s Kolot Mayim Reform Temple.

Based in London, Michaels has been writing Torah scrolls, Megillat Esther, ketubot and the scrolls inside mezuzot and tefillin for more 30 years. He is a Cambridge scholar, earning a PhD in Jewish manuscripts from University of Cambridge’s faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern studies.

A Jewish scribe writes and restores holy works using quills, parchment and special inks, all the while following a strict set of rules, explained Michaels. Indeed, there are many, many rules, which Michaels came back to through the course of the talk.

The scribal art, he said, goes far beyond calligraphy and requires a detailed knowledge of Jewish law and a relatively high level of religious observance.

Michaels provided a recipe for the special ink a scribe might use, which includes gum arabic, gallnuts (from oak trees), iron sulfate and water. The gallnuts are crushed to form tannic acid, mixed with the other ingredients and cooked on an open flame until a residue is left. The larger lumps of gallnuts are strained out and the mixture is left for six months to turn black and be used as ink.

For quills, Michaels believes that a swan’s quill is too soft and a goose quill too hard and prefers a turkey quill. “As Goldilocks would say, it is just right,” he said.

Quills, Michaels warned, must be adjusted in such a way to limit the risk of a scribe sneezing because, if that happens on parchment, it is impossible to remove. Scribes shifted to quills on the move to Europe, he said. Beforehand, they used reeds – which were used to write the Dead Sea Scrolls.

“We switched to quills because that’s what the Christians were using and they were getting a much finer, nicer point on their calligraphy,” he said.

A large part of a scribe’s job is repairing scrolls. Returning again to the rules, he said, “It only takes one letter to be wrong, and that means maybe the ink has come off or it’s broken or whatever, for the whole scroll to be pasul (invalid).”

If a scroll is deemed pasul, Michaels told the audience, then it must be placed in the ark with an indicator to show it’s invalid, such as arranging its belt outside of its mantel. Jewish law states that it must be repaired within 30 days, but, he said, it may take much longer.

Among the Torah scroll repair horrors presented by Michaels were gauze that joined seams together, stains from tape that had to be scraped out, and a patch that was sewn onto the scroll.

Typical repairs, he said, are not so extreme and mostly involve fading and broken letters, which require much overwriting. On occasion, whole columns no longer exist, having been completely rubbed away by time. Sometimes, members of a congregation might mark the scrolls with a pencil or ballpoint pen. In one slide Michaels displayed, someone had drawn a flower onto the scroll.

In his career, Michaels has also encountered incorrect spellings, deletions and Hebrew characters that were mistakenly joined together. Missing words, mixed-up letters and omitted characters from various Torah scrolls were shown to the Zoom crowd as well.

“And then you get wear and tear, dirt, holes, rips and things like that. You have to be very careful. You can patch a Torah, but you’re not allowed to do half patches,” he said.

What’s more, accidents can happen, especially when lifting the Torah during times when one side is much heavier than the other, ie., at the start and at the end of the yearly reading cycle. In one example, a Torah was torn through columns, thus the columns had to be removed and rewritten in the style of the original scribe.

Perhaps topping the list of Torah misadventures is the case Michaels came across of a young person studying for her bat mitzvah and the family dog chewed through a section of the Torah.

“It was literally the best excuse for not learning a bat mitzvah portion – the dog ate my portion,” Michaels joked.

“I had to do an emergency fix because there wasn’t enough time. I repaired it in the style of the original scroll, but only part of it, which you’re not normally supposed to do except in the case of an emergency – and this was a massive emergency. Because the parchment was much older than the shiny new parchment, I coated it with Yorkshire Tea. And it worked.”

A prolific author, designer and presenter, Michaels designed the prayer book for the Movement for Reform Judaism and has written numerous books and articles on scrolls, the Bible and art; he wrote the children’s book The Dot on the Ot. Michaels is currently working with Kolot Mayim to restore a Torah scroll.

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

Emergency medicine at work

Dr. Oren Wacht of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will be in Vancouver this month, giving a public lecture May 25 and promoting Heartbeat of Education, a project geared to helping more Israeli paramedics further their education in emergency medical services. (photo from BGU Canada BC & Alberta Region)

Dr. Oren Wacht, who heads the department of emergency medicine and is the academic director of the Field Family Medical Simulation Centre at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, will be in Vancouver May 23 to 25. As part of his visit, he will speak to the community on May 25, 7 p.m., at an event titled Emergency Medicine in Action: Healing the Negev Post-Oct. 7.

An experienced emergency medical technician and the first paramedic in Israel to receive his PhD, Wacht serves, too, as a volunteer paramedic for Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service. Since Oct. 7, 2023, he has seen months of active service between his teaching and training responsibilities. Thousands of BGU faculty, staff and students were called to serve after the Hamas attacks.

Wacht said his May 25 talk will be about his department, which trains paramedics, and will briefly touch upon his own experiences as a paramedic.

“Since the war, I have spent most of the time in the military, in the infantry, as a paramedic,” he told the Independent. “I am trying to combine this with my work at BGU as a head of department and researcher, and, of course, my personal life and family. It is very challenging, but there is no other choice.”

Wacht’s visit to Vancouver will promote Heartbeat of Education, a project geared to helping more Israeli paramedics from all walks of life access and earn a bachelor’s degree in emergency medical services (EMS).

As the national EMS system, Magen David Adom (MDA) has very close ties with the program. In February 2022, MDA and BGU signed an affiliation agreement as part of an academic initiative designed to improve training for paramedics and EMTs. The affiliation, believed to be the first between a national EMS service and a university, strives to bolster the quality of pre-hospital emergency care in Israel and elsewhere.

“We want Israel to have the best paramedics and, with the program’s support, we can help our students go through our very intense program with less financial stress,” Wacht said.

“Our program is unique,” he added, “because students do EMS shifts at MDA from the first year of studies. We are incredibly excited about this opportunity – and being able to support our students, especially since the war, is one of the most important things we need to do.”

In Israel, MDA paramedics are among the first on the scene in emergencies to provide critical care. However, many paramedics lack the financial means to pursue higher education. The purpose of the Heartbeat of Education program is to enable paramedics to take on more specialized roles within the health-care system, bring enhanced expertise to emergencies and thereby save more lives and improve outcomes, drive innovation and support a diverse, inclusive environment that can provide life-saving services to everyone who lives in Israel.

Wacht also has created a summer program, in English, in emergency medicine at BGU. It will open this year, from July 20 to 30, and is geared towards laypeople and professionals alike. The program uses the extensive experience of tactical medicine – the delivery of care in hostile or high-risk situations that integrates medical and tactical operations to preserve life – at BGU and brings it to people in the course in a realistic environment at the school’s medical simulation centre. In addition to offering graduates a certificate from BGU, the program hopes to provide participants with the confidence to handle demanding medical challenges.

The Field Family Medical Simulation Centre occupies four floors of the Rachel and Max Javit Medical Simulation and Classroom Building at BGU. It includes classrooms equipped with medical devices, advanced simulators and research laboratories, and features state-of-the-art medical simulation rooms to train doctors, nurses and paramedics. The rooms are designed to reflect real-life medical situations, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, procedures for trauma victims and emergency surgeries.

Since Oct. 7, many medical teams, from army and civilian organizations, have asked for guidance at the centre, and the centre has helped prepare many Israel Defence Forces teams.

“Despite the challenges we face, and despite the fact that a significant part of the team has been called up for reserve duty, hospitals and MDA, this is our small contribution, and we stand united with the medical community in these difficult times,” Wacht said in October 2023.

“The support of Jewish people from around the world gives all of us, and me personally, a lot of strength in these challenging times,” Wacht told the Independent. “We invite readers to visit BGU and see the fantastic work in many fields of research.”

To register for the Metro Vancouver event, visit bengurion.ca/events/vancouver-events.

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