Temple Sholom

Navigate golden years

On Feb. 15 at Beth Israel, there will be two opportunities to hear Dr. Mielu Rabinovici speak on the topic of The Know-How to Navigate Through the Golden Years and Retirement, and Preparedness also Towards an Increased Longevity and a Better Quality of Life.

Rabinovici is an author and educator who has lived and worked across Canada and on three continents. He has degrees from various institutions, including the University of Toronto, faculty of education.

He has written and taught on several subjects, his areas of speciality being accounting, marketing and management. He is also the author of several books especially designed for seniors, about retirement, longevity and towards a better quality of life.

Now in his mid-80s, Rabinovici is still writing and sharing his knowledge with many groups, including seniors, helping them navigate through the modern complexities of life, characterized by climate change and rapid technological changes.

To register for one of Rabinovici’s Feb. 15 talks (2-4 p.m. or 6-8 p.m.), call him at 604-725-1376.

– Courtesy Temple Sholom

Awarding tikkun olam

Sam Albert, above, and Liana Gerber are co-winners of this year’s Temple Sholom Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. (photos from Temple Sholom)

The Dreamers and Builders gala event May 5 provides Temple Sholom the opportunity to present its third annual Tikkun Olam Awards. The awards are the dream child of Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, and are funded by Michelle and Neil Pollock.

In addition to highlighting exemplary dreamers and builders like honourees Susan Mendelson and Jack Lutsky, this year’s gala will recognize two among the many amazing teens in the community. These youth see the needs in the world and work hard to address those needs, with creativity and compassion.

The application process for the 2019 Tikkun Olam Awards produced eight applicants and two co-winners: Sam Albert and Liana Gerber.

Sam, 17, is in Grade 11 and already recognizes the power of the pen – he plans to study journalism. His parents, Jennifer Tater and David Albert, have encouraged his devotion to community involvement. He is the youngest of three and has two older sisters. His interest is protecting the planet and preventing climate change. He is involved in many local organizations and has spent a lot of his spare time working to clean Metro Vancouver’s beaches. He is so well-known in the world community that he has been invited to attend a climate change conference in Bonn, Germany, this summer.

Liana, also 17, is a Grade 12 student. The daughter of Michelle and Martin Gerber, Liana has a twin and a younger sister. Next year, Liana plans to start studying interior design and also hopes to become a paramedic one day. For several years, on a volunteer basis, she has baked for the kids who enter Ronald McDonald House. In the process of doing this, she has spoken with and persuaded the manager of her local grocery store to provide reduced prices for the grocery items required. She also has fundraised to ensure that meals are provided for families when they enter the home, so that they may focus on the needs of their child and not worry about feeding themselves. While traveling in the United States, Liana found a Ronald McDonald House and baked for the residents there. How basherte it is that Liana is a co-winner the year that Temple Sholom recognizes Mendelson, a founder of the Lazy Gourmet catering company, among other accomplishments, for all of her work and devotion to tikkun olam.

Temple Sholom is proud and honoured to recognize excellence among its teens. On June 7, at the Shabbat evening service at the synagogue, all of the Tikkun Olam Award candidates will be acknowledged and celebrated with a special presentation. The entire community is invited to participate.

For more information about and tickets to the Dreamers and Builders gala, which is almost sold out, visit templesholom.ca/dreamers-and-builders.

Be a builder, dreamer

Temple Sholom is hosting Inspired to Act. The event will feature the comedy of Yuk Yuk’s co-founder Mark Breslin, plus the music of young local artists Liel Amdour and Adrienne Robles, and will honour the winners of the 2018 Tikkun Olam Youth Awards.

This annual spring fundraising event will take place the evening of May 6 at Performance Works on Granville Island. It will be an uplifting night of entertainment and inspiration, and the recognition of Vancouver’s Jewish youth’s efforts to repair the world, or tikkun olam.

Yuk Yuk’s is the largest chain of comedy clubs in Canada, and Breslin will keep the audience in stitches. He will also share his view that comedy is a way of life. “You don’t just perform comedy; you live it,” he said. “It’s something you do onstage and off; whether you’re in the business or not.”

After Breslin’s performance, the 2018 Tikkun Olam Youth Awards will be presented to two teenage members of the Metro Vancouver Jewish community. These young community leaders will be honoured for their vision to heal and their passion to make the world a better place. The winner of the Dreamer category will have envisioned an action plan to address an issue in need of repair, while the winner of the Builder category will have volunteered at the grassroots level to cause change.

Community members have until April 9 to nominate a candidate, who is a member of the Jewish community between 13 and 19 years of age. The Dreamers Award is $1,800, while the Builders Award is $270, and the awards are funded by the generosity of the Neil and Michelle Pollock Family Foundation. For more information and the online application, visit templesholom.ca/youth-award.

The entire community is invited to Inspired to Act. For more information, tickets or to make a donation, visit templesholom.ca/inspired.

A new youth award

Temple Sholom is inviting applications for the inaugural Tikkun Olam Youth Award. The award will be presented at the Dreamers & Builders Gala on March 5 to a deserving Jewish teen in the community who has demonstrated a vision to heal the world through an act of tikkun olam.

A prize of $1,800 will be awarded, of which $600 must be used toward the recipient’s tikkun olam project and $1,200 goes directly to the recipient as an award for being an example to the community.

The submission deadline for applications is, Friday, Jan. 13, 4 p.m. The winner will be notified on Jan. 31.

To qualify, an applicant must be a Jewish teen between the ages of 13 and 19; have identified something in the community, in the country or globally, that is in need of repair; and must have commenced the project.

Potential areas of award might include, but are in no way limited to animals in need of rescue and special treatment; antisemitism; art and/or music therapy; discrimination; global warming; Holocaust remembrance; LGBTQ; poverty; seniors; sustainable living; Syrian refugees; world peace and anything in between.

Applications may be submitted via online form or a video or multi-media presentation no longer than five minutes. Applicants should answer the following questions:

What problem did you observe that needed fixing or healing?
What steps have you taken toward your goal?
What is your vision for the next steps to be taken?
How will the community it is intended for benefit?
Why are you passionate about this?
How does the initiative connect to Jewish values?
Who might the applicant try to involve to see the dream to fruition?

To apply, visit templesholom.ca/tikkun-olam-youth-award.