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Meaning of liberation

The Canadian military helped liberate Bergen-Belsen and other Nazi concentration camps near the end of the Second World War, a fact that was omitted for decades from recorded history.

The experiences of Canadian liberators – and the meaning of the term “liberation” itself – were the subject of the keynote address at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day observance in Vancouver last week.

Prof. Mark Celinscak, a Canadian who teaches at the University of Nebraska Omaha, delivered the address Jan. 18, at a commemoration presented by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) in partnership with the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre.

photo - Prof. Mark Celinscak — Prof. Mark Celinscak (photo from unomaha.edu)

Celinscak’s book, Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp, was recognized as the best nonfiction book of 2016 by the Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature. In his lecture, he explained how he stumbled upon the facts of Canadian involvement in the liberation of Nazi camps.

Researching the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, he encountered multiple conflicting narratives, but none involved Canadians, he said. In archival research, he found references to Canadians encountering Nazi camps and so he consulted leading Canadian military historians, but all assured him there was no Canadian role in the liberation of concentration camps.

Through further research, Celinscak identified a few soldiers who confirmed the Canadian military’s involvement. These connections led to more and, eventually, he had identified 1,000 individual cases of Canadian military personnel who participated in the liberation of Nazi camps. Seven decades after the end of the war, this aspect of history is only now coming to light. The oversight, said Celinscak, was likely due to the general sense of chaos in Europe at the end of the war.

In introducing Celinscak, VHEC executive director Nina Krieger said: “Were it not for the tenacious scholarship of this evening’s presenter, future generations might never have known of the Canadian role in this aspect of the Second World War.”

Celinscak believes his research helps right an omission in the record. He reflected on an incident from 1997, when plans for a new Canadian War Museum included a Holocaust memorial gallery. Controversy ensued, and Senate hearings were held on the appropriateness of including the Holocaust in a museum devoted to Canadian military history.

“Upon conclusion of the hearings, the plan for a Holocaust memorial gallery was promptly abandoned,” Celinscak said. “In the view of many who testified, the Holocaust either had no place in the country’s war museum or it held no direct connection to Canada and its military.”

His research, however, indicates that the Canadian military did indeed have a connection to the Holocaust, as liberating forces.

Celinscak’s local address was related to the exhibition currently being presented at the VHEC, called Canada Responds to the Holocaust, 1944–45. The exhibition, Celinscak said, reflects “a recent growing body of research that explores how the Canadian government, Canadian organizations and average Canadians responded to the Holocaust.” Celinscak wrote the exhibition’s panels related to Bergen-Belsen, while the overall exhibition was developed by Prof. Richard Menkis and Ronnie Tessler.

Canadians helped liberate camps in the Netherlands and in northern Germany, Celinscak said, though Bergen-Belsen was not taken by military force.

“Simply put, the Allies became involved in Bergen-Belsen because the Germans turned it over to them,” he said. Recognizing that the war was all but lost and that the disease-ridden camp presented a public health hazard to the surrounding German population, a representative from the German army crossed British lines and said that inmates in a nearby concentration camp were ill. The Allies entered Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945.

“In the ensuing days, weeks and months, British and Canadian forces from the surrounding area arrived at Bergen-Belsen to assist, to witness and to document,” said Celinscak. “Clearly, military personnel were unprepared for what they were to find in the camp.”

The “liberation” removed the Nazis from the scene, but life improved slowly for the survivors of the camp.

“The war, of course, still continued,” he said. “As a consequence of that, supplies were limited, personnel were largely unavailable and many resources were occupied elsewhere. Those who remained to work in the camp were left with monumental tasks.”

The victims of Bergen-Belsen continued to die. In the two weeks after the Allies took over, 9,000 people died of disease. The next month, 4,500 inmates succumbed, and another 400 perished the following month.

“In total, approximately 14,000 people died in the camp after its transfer to Allied control,” said Celinscak. “In other words, nearly a quarter of the total number of prisoners still alive when the British and Canadian forces first arrived in the camp ultimately met their demise.… While the situation slowly improved, the conditions in the camp remained grim even weeks after its surrender.”

This reality is partly why Celinscak’s research also focuses on the meaning of the term liberation.

“Liberation was an experience that transformed the lives of both liberators and survivors,” he said, noting that this is another newly emerging field of academic inquiry.

“What does that word mean in relation to the Holocaust?” he asked. “If we consider some popular representations of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, we often see it framed as a jubilant event, one that brought to an end the suffering of the victims of the Holocaust. In films such as Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful, in history books and in some museum exhibits, liberation is frequently depicted as a homogenous, joyful moment in time. But how accurate is this portrayal?”

Liberator narratives, he said, “are overflowing with shock, grief, confusion, disgust and rage.” For survivors, life did not turn for the better instantly. Public health considerations meant the camp inmates were effectively quarantined.

“The prisoners remained behind barbed wire,” he said. “Initially, the survivors were not given autonomy to leave the camp whenever they saw fit. Instead, in the weeks – and, for some, in the months and even years that followed – they continued to live behind the barbed wire of these camps. Places like Bergen-Belsen became displaced persons camps. The survivors were still guarded, only by men in different uniforms.”

In extensive interviews with many survivors, Celinscak came to realize the nuance in the concept of liberation.

“Liberation was a highly ambivalent experience,” he said. “They understood that they were no longer prisoners of Nazi Germany, but many would remain in displaced persons camps long after the war, learning that many of their friends and family had not survived what we now refer to as the Holocaust. For both survivor and liberator, they would contend with these experiences for the rest of their lives.”

Phil Levinson, president of the board of the VHEC, welcomed visitors and introduced a procession of Holocaust survivors carrying Yahrzeit candles. David Schaffer led the Mourners’ Kaddish. Councilor Raymond Louie read the proclamation from the City of Vancouver.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was designated by the United Nations in 2005, is officially on Jan. 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Pat Johnson is a communications and development consultant to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

Need for JFSA services grow

Jewish Family Service Agency chief executive officer Richard Fruchter with Ellen Bick, recognizing the work of JFSA staff at the agency’s Nov. 30 annual general meeting. (photo from JFSA)

Richard Fruchter is the new chief executive officer of the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA). He barely had time to settle into the agency’s former location before its move to East Broadway, adjacent to Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society. As Fruchter cheerfully leads an office tour, he has clearly settled into his role, proud of the new space, the agency’s staff and their work.

Fruchter is excited to expand the agency’s activities and profile in the Jewish community and beyond, as well as to take it in some new directions required by changing times.

“It’s inevitable now because of the generational shift that there is going to be more need for home support,” said Fruchter, citing one example. “That particular area of service is growing by more than 10% a year. We now have more than 80 home support workers. They go out into all neighbourhoods in the community. We also work with the Better at Home program with United Way, working in the broader community. That’s another potential growth area for us that we have to prepare for.”

Fruchter said JFSA’s activities in the Jewish community are more urgently needed with each passing month.

“What we’re seeing is that there is a tremendous need for food and housing,” he explained. “These are two areas where there is an affordability crisis for our community just like the rest of the community; we’re seeing astounding growth in those two areas on a month-to-month basis. When it comes to food security, we’re seeing growth all across the board – certainly with seniors, but we’re also seeing more families, it used to be mostly individuals. We see people coming to the [Jewish] Food Bank twice a month instead of once. The demand for food vouchers has grown by over 20% this year.”

He added, “If housing is getting more and more expensive for people, they begin making choices between rent and food or medicine, and we don’t want people making those kinds of choices. Those needs tend to tumble into each other, and people end up needing more and more services.

“The advantage that we have as an agency is that we have this remarkable basket of services, so that if someone is food insecure, sometimes they’re also housing insecure. If they are a new immigrant, they may need employment opportunities, they may need a hand-up for a couple of months in transitional housing.”

Another mounting issue, said Fruchter, is the growing needs of aging Holocaust survivors. “We are seeing that many survivors are beginning to need support, or more support,” he said.

“People are not cognizant enough of the presence of poverty in the Jewish community,” he continued. “We plan to partner with CIJA [Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs] to do unprecedented advocacy both within the Jewish community and with the government – federal, municipal and provincial – to show what an important cog we are in helping people to be more resilient and able to deal with the crises in their lives. I am looking forward to working more closely with our partner agencies and our synagogues to make sure no one slips through the cracks.”

As for the role JFSA plays in the broader Vancouver community, Fruchter explained, “Most of the services we do are in the Jewish community, but if you go back to our values, when our sages said, ‘welcome the stranger,’ they didn’t mean the Jewish stranger. They meant, ‘welcome the stranger’! If we find that people are in need, we’re going to go out there and help them. The main areas are employment, settlement and the Better at Home program, which is for lower-income seniors who need a little help to stay in their homes. The United Way came to us and said we love what you’re doing, we wonder if you could replicate that in the broader community.”

Fruchter came to service work in the Jewish community after a background in journalism, communications and social services. His work with the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle was pivotal. “I just grew into that job and loved what I did, and my Jewish identity blossomed from the work I was doing,” he said.

Fruchter worked for federations in Arizona and Minneapolis before heading to Seattle. He first came to Vancouver as a senior management consultant two years ago for the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, after being president and CEO of the Seattle Federation for six-and-a-half years. “I got a call from Mark Gurvis, an old pal in the Jewish communal services field, saying he was moving to New York and had a proposition for me. I got the interim job, then went home. Later, I got a call from JFSA wanting consulting, and that progressed to a job offer. I was inspired by what I was seeing and the potential of the organization, so I accepted.”

Fruchter’s wife and three sons still live in Seattle, while he commutes to Vancouver every Monday.

“I love the community here,” he said. “It is very strong, very intergenerational, very committed. The agencies work well together, the rabbis work well together, which is not the case everywhere.”

Matthew Gindin is a freelance journalist, writer and lecturer. He writes regularly for the Forward and All That Is Interesting, and has been published in Religion Dispatches, Situate Magazine, Tikkun and elsewhere. He can be found on Medium and Twitter.

Uncle’s letters reveal much

Left to right, Harry, Joseph, Benjamin and Rachel Seidelman, in approximately 1906. (photo from JMABC L.25670)

The following is an edited version of remarks presented at the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia (JMABC) Intersections speakers series on Dec. 15 about the museum’s online exhibit Letters Home.

Recently, my wife Shelley and I were on a tour of Italy that stopped at the Cassino War Cemetery for soldiers killed during the Battle of Monte Cassino, a battle which resulted in 55,000 Allied casualties. In the 15 minutes we were there, we found two headstones with a Magen David, for soldiers from British Columbia who were killed in this Second World War battle. These headstones commemorate just two of many soldiers who have died in the fight for democracy but whose bodies are interred far away from family. My Uncle Joe was even less fortunate. Since his body was never found, there is no grave and, therefore, no headstone.

The First World War claimed the lives of 38 million civilians and soldiers alike. Approximately 2,700 Canadian Jews served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, with about 1,200 seeing combat. Of those, an estimated 123 died in battle.

In late 1917, Gen. Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, insisted that the key to victory on the Western Front was capturing the area around the village of Passchendaele, near Ypres in Belgium. Even though bad weather had turned the battlefield into a quagmire, Haig was determined to proceed.

At Passchendaele, on Oct. 26, 1917, 15,654 Canadian soldiers were killed. Among those who paid the terrible price for this hopeless decision was Pte. (Edward) Joseph Seidelman, 20, of Vancouver. His father, William, was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant who, after living in Kansas and Seattle, had settled in Vancouver in the 1890s. There, he met Esther Pearlman from Winnipeg. The two were married in 1896. Joseph was born a year later, followed by four more children during the next decade. Their father unfortunately died in 1907, leaving Joseph, Rachel, Harry and Ben; William was born after his father died and was named after him.

In 1916, Joseph was a student at the University of British Columbia. He would have graduated in 1918, the final year of the university’s transition from being an annex of McGill University to being a fully independent UBC.

Yearbooks are meant to celebrate successes at the institution but the 1918 edition also records the experiences of students who went to fight in the war and returned home, and it laments those students who went to war and did not return. One section is entitled “Military” and includes a copy of the Roll of Honour in Memoriam plaque that hangs in the foyer of the UBC War Memorial Gymnasium. It also contains brief biographies of those who were killed in action, including Joseph. Seventy-eight UBC students lost their lives during the war, and are commemorated on plaques in the War Memorial Gymnasium.

Compelled to do his patriotic duty, Joseph enlisted in the Western Universities 196th Battalion, which was made up of more than 150 students from universities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Joseph was in England by November 1916. Early in 1917, he was sent to northern France and found himself in the muddy trenches of the Western Front.

So, how much do we know about someone who lived and died so long ago? Well, because of the letters featured in the JMABC online exhibit Letters Home, we have come to know Edward Joseph Seidelman better. In addition, in the 1918 yearbook, there is also a short mention of Joseph in a message from Prof. Lemuel Robertson, the first chair of the classics department at UBC. “Do you remember those little talks on socialism with Coughlan, or when Norman Hughes came into class the day after a dance, in the hope that he wouldn’t be asked anything? And Seidelman, too?” There are only three words but they give us a clue into his personality, that perhaps he liked to party.

In the letters Joseph wrote to his sister Rachel over nine months, he discussed family business and Vancouver affairs – in one letter, he expressed surprise at being a candidate for a Rhodes scholarship – and stated his hope that the war might end soon, though his optimism about the war varied. Even though he was in the centre of the action, he seems, in retrospect, to have been somewhat ignorant of how the war was actually proceeding.

The following letters are only examples drawn from the 87 he wrote. The letters from May 7, 1917, and are part of the JMABC online exhibit.

Camp Hughes, Man., Oct. 2, 1916: “I am going to Brandon again on Thursday afternoon and will stay over Friday, the 6th of October and also Saturday. I stayed with a Jewish family named Kisner and they were glad indeed to have me. Five or six decent-looking Jewish families wanted me to stay with them but Kisners had me first. Mrs. Kisner is only about 30 years old and she comes from the same city in Russia where mamma comes from, Novgorod. Mrs. Kisner introduced me to her 18-year-old sister….”

Dec. 24, 1916: “I knew Mr. Gibson’s son who was reported killed. Mamma has no reason to worry about me. It looks as though Germany will surrender to the Entente Allies…. I read in a London newspaper to-day called Lloyd’s Weekly News that a very high official of the German government … has confessed that Germany is starving and will give to England all that England demands even surrendering the Kaiser himself if necessary. It is quite possible, therefore, that the war may stop within a month or two by Germany’s sudden and complete surrender.”

Joseph stated that he applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps but they were not taking any more applicants at that time. Instead, he was taking a lieutenant’s course and would perhaps go to a military training school later.

Feb. 17, 1917: “Two large Trans Atlantic liners carrying about 12,000 sacks of mail were reported torpedoed and sunk by German submarines and so let me tell you once again not to send anything valuable, for a German submarine might put an end to it.”

photo - Joseph Seidelman in uniform — Joseph Seidelman in uniform. *(photo from JMABC L.25664)*

Feb. 27, 1917: “No doubt there are still many fellows hanging around in Vancouver who should be in the Army. I cannot understand their state of mind unless they have no self-respect or sense of honour. Let them go their ways while there is no conscription but I certainly am glad I am not in those times in civilian clothes. The B.C. University will have to wait until the end of the war for me at least.”

March 4, 1917: “France is certainly a muddy place. You ought to hear our artillery guns hurl death and destruction into the rank of the Huns [Germans]. The artillery makes most of the noise at night and then, when you wake up, you hear the terrific reports of each shot as quickly as the pat-pat-pat of a typewriter.”

March 11, 1917: “Things are somewhat interesting around this part of the world. British aeroplanes fly over us about as thickly as birds. To-day the Huns were firing at our aeroplanes and the puffs of smoke from the enemy’s shells bursting around the aeroplanes could easily be seen. It is very regrettable though that one of the enemy’s shells must have pierced the petrol tank of one of our aeroplanes, for it came down a mass of flames with a thick black column of smoke shooting out behind it. I never saw a single German aeroplane since I came to France. No doubt they have their wits scared out of them.”

April 7, 1917: “The chances of peace do not … look as rosy as I thought but the Huns will be defeated ultimately.”

April 17, 1917: “To-day after returning with a party from a certain part of France where the Germans were once expelled from and the ground all cut and plowed up with trenches, I found waiting for me a parcel containing a broken biscuit tin with some of mamma’s home-made confectionary (including many crumbs) and a tin of strawberries and coffee.”

May 7, 1917, datelined “some other place in France this time”: “I suppose it must have been reported to you that I was very slightly wounded by two very small pieces of shrapnel and, as I feel that you folks at home are very anxious to hear particulars, I want to assure you that there is absolutely nothing whatever for you to worry about. The two wounds I got are on the outer side of my right leg, one above the knee about the centre and the other below the knee about the centre. Although each wound has the appearance of nothing more than a [scratch?] on the skin, nevertheless I had to come to the hospital, where it is a pleasure to be for a change. One of the attendants told me that the leg will be alright again in about 5 days. So tell mamma to be happy and cheerful at home.

“I received three letters from you while I was in the firing line. I was much surprised to hear of the murder of Chief of Police McLennan. I guess Vancouver was shocked at the time almost as badly as a war event.”

On May 22, 1917, from “somewhere in France,” Joseph writes that he still has not rejoined his battalion after his leg injury, as another shrapnel piece was found in his leg, and required more medical attention at the hospital. Joseph tells Rachel that the shrapnel was found with the aid of an X-ray, and the doctor let him keep the shrapnel as a souvenir.

On July 3, 1917, again from “somewhere in France,” Joseph has returned to his battalion. In this letter, he tells Rachel that, on the night of May 5, 1917, when he received his leg wound, he still made the effort to help out a wounded officer. A telegram indicating Joseph’s return to the battalion from the hospital was sent to Joseph’s mother, Esther, on July 5, 1917.

On Oct. 14, 1917, still “somewhere in France,” Joseph reports “nothing to write about.” It is the last letter he writes home.

Joseph fought and survived the Battle for Vimy Ridge, was wounded in the leg in another battle and spent several weeks in an army hospital before being sent back to the front. On Oct. 26, the first day Canadian soldiers fought at Passchendaele, he was killed. Joseph was the first Canadian Jewish soldier from Vancouver to die fighting in the war.

UBC Remembrance Day Ceremonies have been held since 1951, when the War Memorial Gymnasium was opened. Since that time, I have attended nearly every ceremony. At first, I went with my brother and our father, Harry, who was too young to be part of the First World War and too old to be part of the Second World War. In the early years, my father would speak with veterans who knew Joseph. Over time, they all have passed away, but I have continued to attend the memorial ceremony with various members of my family as a way to remember my Uncle Joe, who is lying somewhere in France with no grave or headstone; our own kever avot (tradition of visiting the graves of our fathers).

Perry Seidelman is, among other things, president of the board of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia.

New start for Café Forty One

Chef Menajem Peretz (above) has partnered with Yamila Chikiar and chocolatier Daniel Presman. Peretz and the couple met through a mutual friend, and the three now co-own FortyOne Catering, Neshama and Café Forty One. (photo by Lauren Kramer)

It’s a new year and a new beginning for the restaurant at Oak and 41st. Café Forty One is under new ownership and has reopened at its former location, following the closing of Shuk Eat + Play several months ago. The three entrepreneurs at its helm are energized, excited and ready to feed Jewish Vancouver with soul food that’s kosher, delicious and caters to both the sweet-toothed and those who prefer savoury.

About 50 people showed up for the grand opening of Café Forty One last Thursday. Menajem Peretz, by now a well-known face in Vancouver’s kosher catering scene with a well-deserved reputation for culinary excellence, was in the kitchen. The trays that emerged carried crispy avocado spring rolls, bruschetta, and latke sandwiches filled with smoked salmon and sour cream.

photo - Yamila Chikiar and Daniel Presman — Yamila Chikiar and Daniel Presman *(photo by Lauren Kramer)*

Peretz’s co-partners, Daniel Presman and Yamila Chikiar, managed the reception, displaying their talent behind the glass display case, which featured an assortment of pastries, mini-cakes, bonbons (Presman’s exquisitely decorated chocolate squares with liquid fillings), cupcakes, strudel, muffins, cake pops and blintzes.

“In the two months before we opened, we put up new lighting, re-did the décor and renovated the tables,” said Chikiar, who moved to Vancouver from Buenos Aires 16 months ago with her spouse, Presman, mother-in-law and two children. Presman, a chocolatier who sold his bonbons to five-star hotels in Argentina, went back to work making kosher chocolates under the brand name Neshama, and the artistic, rich treats were quickly picked up by Superstore.

photo - Neshama chocolates — Neshama chocolates *(photo by Lauren Kramer)*

The couple met Peretz, who is also from Buenos Aires, through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. Peretz was impressed with the bonbons and asked Presman to supply Neshama chocolates to his catering company. The relationship evolved and Group 41 was the result, a parent company that encompasses FortyOne Catering, Neshama and Café Forty One, and is owned and operated by all three partners.

“It was like a blessing when we met Menajem,” Chikiar said. “It’s difficult immigrating to another country and we had a hard year at first. But then opportunities started presenting themselves and it was like G-d was guiding us on a path.”

Café Forty One is a dairy establishment following Chalav Yisrael protocols, while FortyOne Catering offers meat, dairy and pareve meals. Chikiar is heading up marketing and communications and managing the front of house for the restaurant, while Presman heads up the sweet department and Peretz masterminds the savoury.

“The idea is to offer big portions and to give Café Forty One diners something extra,” Presman explained. “For example, all our sandwiches come with a shot of the hot soup of the day and, with any hot drink, we’re giving diners two free bonbons.”

The menu includes soups, salads, falafel and hummus plates, shakshuka, blintzes, omelettes, pizzas and sandwiches, as well as a wide assortment of sweet treats. The restaurant is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Friday and underground parking is free for diners.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.

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.

Share light of Shabbat

“We want to share Shabbat with those who are alone, or those who might have difficulty cooking for themselves. Plus, we want to help every Jew feel connected and part of the community,” said Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman of Chabad of Richmond, who started the Light of Shabbat program in 2011. “This is not tzedakah; it’s about making a connection with other Jews and helping them celebrate the mitzvah of Shabbos.”

With help from devoted community volunteers, full kosher Shabbat meals are cooked and delivered to those who are elderly, alone, recovering from illness, or homebound. Currently, deliveries are done every other week to about 10 people in Richmond. Each Shabbat box contains challah, grape juice and Shabbat candles, plus a meal of soup, salad, chicken, vegetables and dessert – all homemade. They even include a little card with the blessing for lighting candles, the Torah portion for the week and information about why Jews celebrate Shabbat.

“The boxes are personalized, depending on the needs of the recipient, so some boxes contain more than one meal,” said Grace Jampolsky, coordinator of the Light of Shabbat program. Chabad of Richmond has delivered 495 boxes to date.

“I like to bake the challah myself, but other volunteers make the soup, cook the chicken and vegetables, and bake the desserts,” added Jampolsky.

Richmond resident Courtenay Cohen and her friends, some of whom aren’t even Jewish, bake cookies, cakes and brownies for the Shabbat boxes. Cohen started volunteering a year or two ago. Asked why she recruited non-Jewish friends to help bake, Cohen said: “They’re very involved in their own religious community, but when I told them what I was doing, they wanted to help. It’s a great way to teach them about Judaism.”

Taking on a bigger role this year, Cohen now oversees the baking part of the Shabbat boxes. Not only does she bake, but she also helps pack the boxes and deliver some of them. “Delivering the boxes gives me a chance to visit elderly Jews and others in our community and make a person-to-person connection with them. It’s also a way to check in on them and make sure they’re living in safe and suitable conditions,” added Cohen. “Plus, they really love talking to young people.”

Pam, one of the Shabbat box recipients, said: “It’s fantastic! It’s very generous of Chabad to do this.” Pam said she especially likes when the kids decorate the boxes, and she enjoys the short visit with them. She said that, with the recent snow and an elevator that wasn’t working, she couldn’t leave her apartment for a week, so the Shabbat box was very helpful to have.

Rabbi Yeshurun Blumenfeld, along with his 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, make volunteer deliveries of a Shabbat box to a couple in their 90s every other week. “Not only do I create an ongoing relationship with this couple, but it’s a way to teach my kids about the importance of doing mitzvahs,” said Blumenfeld, who added that promoting a mitzvah is a sanctification of G-d’s name.

Blumenfeld also shared a story of how, one day, when he was at a Richmond bakery buying challah for his family, he happened to bump into the wife of this elderly couple to whom he delivers a Shabbat box. She was shlepping a bunch of groceries, and he asked her how she was getting home. She told him she had called a taxi. He immediately said they should cancel the taxi, and he would drive her home himself. He said it was a very special moment for him, to make that connection with another Jew.

The Light of Shabbat program began in memory of Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, shluchim who started the Chabad House in Mumbai, India – the couple was murdered by terrorists in 2008.

Supporting the Light of Shabbat program is a huge mitzvah on many levels. And, as there are a lot of seniors and others in Richmond who would appreciate a good Shabbat meal, Chabad of Richmond desperately wants to expand the program, but needs more donors, sponsors and volunteers to sustain it. Their goal is to substantially increase the number of meals they deliver every week. Each filled Shabbat box costs approximately $25 to $28. To donate to the program on an ongoing or one-time basis, contact Baitelman at 604-277-6427 or [email protected].

Chimp facilitates charitable giving

Left to right: Ariel Lewinski, Judy Boxer and John Bromley. (photo from Chimp)

When it comes to charitable giving, there’s a widespread feeling of donor fatigue, says Judy Boxer, community engagement manager with Chimp Technology in Vancouver. Chimp is an online giving platform that helps people give to and fundraise for charities that match their values and interest. Focused on charitable impact, the company is determined to counter donor fatigue by making philanthropy a positive, rewarding experience. And it’s set its sights on the Jewish community of Vancouver with a Tzedakah Project targeting Jewish giving.

A Vancouver donor who prefers to remain anonymous gave Chimp $270,000 to jumpstart the Tzedakah Project in mid-November. Boxer and her colleague Ariel Lewinski are tasked with creating the community, helping select a board to run it and then handing it over to the board.

“Ultimately, this initiative is something the Jewish community will take on and run on their own terms,” she said. To add incentive to membership, the Tzedakah Project is starting out by offering an $18 charitable gift to new members “so they can experience the gift of giving to a Jewish charity of their choice,” Boxer explained.

The core of Chimp is the Chimp account, which gives a donor the same benefits as having their own private foundation, but free of charge, said Lewinski, Chimp’s vice-president of partnerships and growth. “It’s like an online bank account for charitable giving. You put any amount of money into the Chimp account and you get your tax receipt at the moment you want it. You can allocate the charitable giving at a later date.”

Chimp membership encourages donors to rethink how they give charitably. Boxer and her team have found that people’s donations are more reactive when they receive calls requesting donations. They don’t necessarily plan their giving to make the biggest impact.

“We’ve found people connect really well to causes,” she reflected. “At Chimp, we’ll help them figure out what causes are important to them and then offer a matching charitable organization so they can allocate their charitable giving. With a Chimp account, you have an opportunity to engage in a conversation about what you care about, what you want to achieve and where you want to make an impact, as opposed to reacting towards people asking for money.”

Chimp Technology is the brainchild of John Bromley, a 38-year-old Vancouverite who started out in corporate finance and then co-founded a law consulting company focused on charity. His clients were high-net-worth donors who needed help structuring their giving and, in the process of working with them, Bromley felt he could help ordinary people structure their charitable giving, too.

“I saw that the only people getting their giving problems resolved were people who had so much money they could create their own private foundation,” he said. “I started Chimp Technology in 2012 to focus on a donor-centred giving experience for everyone else.”

Bromley observed that the main place people learned to give was in religiously oriented families or theologically tied communities. “As there’s been more secularization in North America, we’ve seen a reduction in the number of people that learn how to give,” he noted. “Chimp isn’t religiously motivated, but we understand the theological backgrounds and the very important role those theologies and communities play in the giving economy in Canada.”

While Chimp is theologically neutral, it aims to represent donors and effectively facilitate their philanthropy. “That’s important, because, when you take away all the noise that exists around how to give to charity, you create more time for people to think about how they’ll spend their charitable dollars,” Bromley said. “Chimp is about enabling or empowering donors large and small to give on their own terms to the things that matter to them.”

Boxer said the Tzedakah Project is also trying to empower the younger generation and has partnered with Vancouver Hebrew Academy, Vancouver Talmud Torah, King David High School and Torah High in Vancouver. “We want to start a philanthropic conversation with kids of a certain age about the kind of impact they want to have, to have them think about charity in a new way, and possibly start conversations between them and their families,” she said.

“We’re trying to enable and empower people from different communities by giving them the tools they need to create a giving program around a cause or community,” Bromley added. “We’re not the founders of the idea for the Tzedakah Project – that’s coming out of the Jewish community. But it’s a real pleasure to be doing this with the Jewish community. I’ve learned a heck of a lot about the wealth of engagement with tzedakah and how serious giving values are in the community, and it’s quite inspiring.”

To join, visit go.chimp.net/tzedakahproject.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net. This article was originally published in the CJN.

Enhancing nature activities

Inbal Len Nenner holds the attention of campers on Cypress Mountain during JCC Camp Shalom’s winter session last month. (photo from JCC Camp Shalom)

When Inbal Len Nenner arrived in Vancouver last year from Israel, she fell in love with the natural environment, as well as its people. “I met the nicest people in the world,” she said.

When JCC Camp Shalom met Nenner by chance at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, she spoke about her work with Israeli children, where she created a special program called Children’s Tribe. Inspired by ancient tribal traditions, it focuses on group-building activities for children and youth and connects them to nature.

photo - Arts and crafts are a big part of JCC Camp Shalom, no matter what the season — Arts and crafts are a big part of JCC Camp Shalom, no matter what the season. *(photo from JCC Camp Shalom)*

This type of programming was of interest to Camp Shalom, as it has always focused on nature education and teaching values that foster appreciation and respect for the environment. So, during the two weeks of JCC Camp Shalom’s 2016 winter session, Nenner volunteered to work with all age groups.

During the winter camp, Nenner created many activities, including a quest for Big Foot at Cypress Mountain, where campers learned to follow tracks in the snow, and a “tribe day,” where the youth campers (grades 4-7) became the Spirit Eagle Tribe – each child had a role to fulfil, learned a job and shared with others. Meanwhile, with the younger campers (preschoolers), Nenner ran a Chanukah storytelling session, during which the children had the chance to dress up and play some of the roles in the story. The highlight of the week was a camp-wide celebration of Chanukah as in biblical times, which included booths and activities such as ceramics, dance and Olympic games.

Nenner’s goal in her work is to develop creative thinking in children and to show them the positive effect of making social connections in a group. This aligns exactly with JCC Camp Shalom’s values, so the camp could not have been more excited to give Nenner a chance to demonstrate her craft. During her time as a volunteer, the campers laughed and played, and created an environment that fostered positive self-image and growth.

“Inbal quickly became part of our Camp Shalom team and was loved by the campers and staff alike,” said Ben Horev, JCC Camp Shalom director.

Nenner has since returned to Israel, but JCC Camp Shalom is taking the necessary steps to ensure that she will return to the JCC in the spring. Not only did she enjoy her experience with the camp, but she was an amazing asset to the camp program, translating the camp’s values into meaningful activities from which the children grew and learned in an experiential way.

For more information about JCC Camp Shalom and its programming, contact Horev at [email protected].

B.C. mission to Israel

B.C. Finance Minister Michael de Jong speaks at the Canadian reception in Tel Aviv, kicking off the Nov. 13-17 trade mission to Israel. (photo from flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos)

In November, B.C. Minister of Finance and House Leader Michael de Jong led a provincial trade mission to Israel. The invitation to delegates was sent by the minister and Dr. Moira Stilwell, MLA for Vancouver-Langara.

“A lot of the impetus for this [mission] derived from the tech sector, the health sciences sector, the cybersecurity sector itself here in B.C., who said, look, we are seeing increasing opportunities and we’d like to explore those further, is the government prepared to work with us?” de Jong told the Independent in a phone interview. “And that led to a conversation between myself and Moira – of course, she has been, for many years, a big proponent of growing the bilateral relationship – and, out of that emerged this formal trade delegation.”

It was de Jong’s second mission to Israel. His first was about five years ago, during his tenure as the province’s minister of health.

“The role the government and a minister can play is to help facilitate partnerships and contacts between people, and this particular group had done a lot of that work themselves,” he said. “So, for example, the Rick Hansen Institute had already created the beginnings of a partnership with Hadassah [Medical Centre] and we saw that go to the next level in terms of formalization. We went out to Technion University, which is this world-leading institute – in their hallway, they feature Nobel laureates the way other institutions feature alumni – it’s quite remarkable…. [On] the cybersecurity side, some of the folks who were with us are even now actively pursuing with colleagues in Israel opportunities for exchange and for trade and, ultimately, that’s what this is all about.”

photo - Finance Minister Michael de Jong at Yad Vashem during the November B.C. trade mission to Israel — Finance Minister Michael de Jong at Yad Vashem during the November B.C. trade mission to Israel. (photo by Yuval Yosef)

Delegates on the Nov. 13-17 mission traveled to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheva, Haifa and the West Bank to meet with various government, university and other stakeholders. Among those accompanying de Jong was Nico Slobinsky, director of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Pacific Region. CIJA hosted an optional tour and Shabbat dinner on Nov. 18 for delegates who stayed after the mission was officially over, Slobinsky told the Independent.

“CIJA was delighted by the Government of British Columbia’s initiative to lead a trade delegation to Israel composed of B.C. entrepreneurs and professionals involved in life sciences and cybersecurity,” he said. “This mission assisted in cementing existing relationships, creating new partnerships and promoting opportunities in the province by deepening the economic, cultural and academic ties between Israel and B.C.”

One of those ties was with the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS), a centre of the Providence Health Care Research Institute and the University of British Columbia faculty of medicine.

“Israel is viewed as a world exemplar in science, technology and commercialization – a place where we can learn, but also can share best practices from B.C.,” said Prof. Robert Sindelar, who, among other things, serves as an advisor to CHÉOS. He added, “Having participated in valuable and hugely beneficial B.C. trade missions previously to China and India, I said yes immediately when I had received the invitation to consider participating in a B.C. trade mission to Israel from the B.C. Ministry of International Trade.”

About the November trip, he said, “From our very first meeting in Israel to the very last meeting, I was continually impressed by our Israel hosts’ efforts to: 1) openly and candidly share valuable insight and details of their successes and endeavors with our delegation, and 2) the immediate connection in person or via email within 24 hours of an event to further explore potential opportunities and collaborations. Thus, we are already working together on several possible collaborations between Israel and B.C.”

Being a multidisciplinary health research centre, CHÉOS looks “to partner and collaborate with synergistic and like organizations researching at the cutting-edge of health and wellness,” said Sindelar. “Thus, true partnerships and collaborations with the best health-outcomes organizations in the world – sharing knowledge, skills and new methodologies – is a continuing goal for us. Each and every life-science event planned for the B.C. trade mission to Israel provided an opportunity and unique ideas for possible collaborations for CHÉOS health scientists and clinicians at a world-class level.”

Of course, the relationship with Israel extends beyond British Columbia to all of Canada.

“There is this very strong political and cultural tie,” said de Jong. “I think we still underachieve with respect to trade. I think there is genuine room for growth on the trade front. There are some emerging opportunities, as Israel begins to explore offshore energy potential.”

As well, “we have room to learn from the ‘start-up nation,’” said de Jong. “You go down to Beersheva, for example, and see how they have managed to create a technology hub in concert with the university there and the community there, and you see elements of that beginning to develop in British Columbia, in the Lower Mainland, in Victoria, but there are some real lessons to be learned.

“Frequently, the conversations began with the Israeli representatives reminding us of the unique challenges that they face and how innovation is borne out of necessity – smaller population base, smaller country, neighbors that aren’t always particularly friendly and, in some cases, are downright hostile, and, out of that, out of necessity, innovation has emerged. At one point, I replied to a group, acknowledged that and said I want you to think about another form of necessity. Imagine four-and-a-half million people in an area the size of Europe … well, that’s our circumstance. That breeds a different kind of innovation … 35 million people in a country that’s the second-largest country in the world. And so, we have to innovate in order to achieve a standard of living that is amongst the highest in the world, with vast distances and a very small population base, and we may have something to teach you about that. Different circumstances, both have required a degree of unique innovation, and two countries that have performed remarkably well economically.”

The cost of the trip, which included travel to Israel and England for the minister and his chief of staff, came in slightly below the ministry’s $25,000 estimate, said de Jong.

“It costs money,” he said. “You go to these hotels and, if you can find one that’s below $300 a night, you’re lucky. It’s not cheap.”

But, he explained, “It’s well spent if it facilitates business and trade. If it doesn’t, then it is not a sound investment. We try to track the trade stats and the partners that came with us and do the follow-up.”

Regarding that follow-up, he said, “Well, the trade ministry, who were also represented on the trip, will be following up with the members of the delegation; in some cases, providing additional information to folks we met in Israel. In a couple of cases, there are groups there who have indicated a desire to come here to follow-up. The ultimate test of success is the degree to which investment flows out of Israel into British Columbia and out of B.C. into Israel, and we see increased levels of commerce and trade in goods and services. We can dress it up any way we want, but that’s the measure of success. If, a year or two from now, our trade levels remain the same, then it hasn’t been a success.”

To those who support the boycott, divestment and sanction movement, de Jong said, “I disagree with the approach. I see benefits for British Columbia in developing and enhancing the trade relationship, benefits for Canada; I see benefits for Israel, I see benefits for the region. I met with the finance minister for the Palestinian Authority, went into Ramallah, had a conversation, obviously got a perspective on some of the economic challenges that they are facing. I had met earlier that day or the day previous with the Israeli health minister. There is a vexing challenge there, and I’m not going to pretend to have the recipe for resolution, but I do know that Canada and Canadians are well-regarded within Israel and, my impression was, amongst the Palestinian officials. To the extent that we can encourage or influence the prospect of negotiations and resolution, so much the better.”

After the mission to Israel, de Jong stopped in London, where British Columbia was honored by the London Stock Exchange for innovation in financial capital markets.

“As finance minister over the last five years, there’s a bit of a pattern,” said de Jong of his international travel in general. “After the budget, I’ll usually do a tour involving the North American markets, so Toronto, Montreal, New York, Boston, Chicago, that sort of triangle, if you will. We also have a lot of investors in Europe, so every second year, there will be a European show.

“As forestry minister, those were the years we were opening up the China market and were very active there, happily. It’s paying dividends now. And, more recently, we were the first government anywhere in the world to issue what are called ‘dim sum and panda bonds,’ one is offshore, one is onshore, Chinese currency bonds.

“Earlier, I mean just before I was in Israel, I was in India. We were the first government anywhere in the world to issue what are called ‘masala bonds,’ rupee-denominated bonds. We’re able to do these things because we’re triple-A … so we can go where no one has gone before … and break new ground. On the way back from Israel, I stopped in London, and the reason the stock exchange wanted to honor British Columbia was for creating an entire new trade through this masala bond. We issue it out of London and now, of course, others are following.”

According to Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver chief executive officer Ezra Shanken, in his Nov. 18 e-newsletter, other local Jewish community members who joined the B.C.-Israel mission were Candace Kwinter, who is on Federation’s Israel and overseas affairs committee and CIJA-PR’s Local Partnership Council; Paul Goldman, who is CIJA’s immediate past chair; and Eli Mann, chief executive officer of Shield4UC, who also serves on Federation’s community security advisory committee.

Aginsky this year’s Lamplighter

Jason Aginsky (photo from Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley)

The Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley has announced the recipient of its annual Lamplighter Award, which honors a child who has performed an outstanding act of community service.

Jason Aginsky, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at McMath Secondary in Richmond, was the second-youngest participant in the B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer in August 2016, when he rode the 250 kilometres from Surrey to Seattle over two days.

“He’d announced eight months earlier that it was a cause he was determined to support and no safety concerns raised by his worried mother could deter him,” said Mark Aginsky, Jason’s father.

Jason was motivated to do this ride after losing his grandmother, Shirley Kramer, to ovarian cancer in 2003, when he was just 3 years old. He joined the Village Idiots, a group of riders in the Steveston area, and, after raising close to $4,000 to support the B.C. Cancer Agency, powered through the race.

“We followed him on Day 1 by car and he was utterly exhausted, on the brink of admitting he’d ‘bitten off more than he could chew’ by participating,” his father recalled. “The winds were against the riders that day and it was hard going. But, when it comes to determination, Jason has it in spades and he pushed through on Day 2, waiting hours at the last stop so he could cross the finish line with other members of the group who were well behind him.”

In total, this year’s participants in the B.C. Ride to Conquer Cancer raised $7.1 million for cancer research.

Jason will receive the Lamplighter Award on Dec. 29 at the Semiahmoo Shopping Centre at a ceremony attended by Rabbi Falik and Simie Schtroks, directors of the Centre for Judaism, White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin, and representatives of the cities of Surrey, White Rock, Langley and Delta.

“Chanukah celebrates the victory of light over darkness and goodness over evil,” said Simie Schtroks. “This is a most appropriate opportunity to motivate and inspire young people to make this world a brighter and better place. By filling the world with goodness and kindness, that light can dispel all sorts of darkness.”