אמזון מתכוונת בשלב זה לגייס כשלוש מאות עובדים לסניף המפואר בבניין ‘טאלס גארדן.’ (צילום: telusgarden.com)
תופסים קנדה: אמזון מגייסת עובדים מישראל לסניף החדש בוונקובר
ענקית המסחר האלקטרוני האמריקנית – אמזון, מגייסת בימים אלה עובדים בין היתר מישראל, לסניף החברה החדש בוונקובר. נציגי החברה האמריקנית הגיעו לאחרונה לישראל במטרה לגייס עובדים לתפקידים שונים ובעיקר מהנדסים. זאת כדי לבנות מוצרים חדשים ולהעניק תמיכה לשירות הענן ‘אמזון ווב סרוויס’.
אמזון מתכוונת בשלב זה לגייס כשלוש מאות עובדים לסניף המפואר בבניין ‘טאלס גארדן’ ברחוב ג’ורג’יה בדאון טאון, שמשתרע על פני כ-91 אלף סקוור פיט. בהמשך מצוות כוח האדם תגדל לכאלף עובדים, והחברה תממש כנראה את האפוציה להכפיל את שטחו של הסניף. באמזון מקווים שיופיה של ונקובר וכידוע איכות החיים גבוהה שלה, תעזור לגייס עובדים לכאן. עם זאת רק לפני מספר שבועות התפרסם דוח בינ”ל על עליית מחירי הנדל”ן בשנה האחרונה בערים מובילות בעולם, ממנו עולה כי ונקובר נמצאת במקום הראשון עם עלייה גבוהה מאוד של 36.4%.
לאמזון שני סניפים נוספים בקנדה באוטווה וטורונטו והיא מתכוונת עד סוף השנה לפתוח סניף רביעי במונטריאול.
בשנים האחרונות ונקובר הופכת להיות מרכז טכנולוגי משמעותי, שמשמש בית לחברות בינלאומיות כמו מיקרוסופט, פייסבוק, טוויטר, סיילספורס ועוד.
זחל לפרסום: נחש נמצא בבור ביוב מתחת לכביש
שבוע שלם לקח לעובדי מחלקת עיריית ויקטוריה לתפוס את הנחש הכי מפורסם בתולדות עיר הבירה של בריטיש קולומביה. הנחש שאורכו חמישה פיט (שהם כ-1.5 מטרים) מסוג כרכן תירס, נמצא בבור ביוב מתחת לאחד הכבישים הראשיים בעיר. עובדי העירייה שפתחו את מיכסה הבור במסגרת עבודות תחזוקה רגילות (בפינת הרחובות קוואדרה ובלמורל), נדהמו לראות שנחש מסתובב לו חופשי בתוך הבור העמוק. הם הורירו מצלמה לבור שתיעדה את תנועת הנחש שתחילה חשבו שהוא ארסי. לאחר שהוזעק למקום לוכד נחשים התברר שמדובר בנחש לא מסוכן ולא ארסי – מסוג כרכן תירס.
הנחש כרכן תירס זכה לכינוי זה כיוון שעל גחונו יש משבצות שמזכירות קלח תירס, והוא נמצא בדרך כלל בשדות ואסמי תירס. הנחש טורף לילי שניזון ממכרסמים, ציפורים, צפרדעים ולטאות. כרכן התירס נפוץ באמריקה התיכונה והדרום מזרחית ובעיקר בפלורידה. לכן לא ברור כיצד בכלל הגיע לבור של מערכת הביוב בויקטוריה. לפי הערכה הנחש שכאמור לעיל אינו מסוכן לבני האדם וניתן לגדלו כחיית מחמד (בשל אופיו הנוח), נזרק על ידי בעליו ובצורה כלשהי הגיע למערכת הביוב העירונית. יצויין כי כל הנחשים ובעיקר כרכן התירס ינצלו כל הזדמנות לברוח מהשבי.
אם כן עובדי העיריית ויקטוריה נזקקו לשבוע ימים לתפוס את הנחש שמצא בית חדש בביוב. הם ניסו לפתות אותו בעזרת מלכודות עם עכברים ואביזרי חימום – אך ללא הצלחה. לבסוף הצליח אחד העובדים שירד אל בור הביוב לתפוס את הנחש העקשן. הוא הועלה על פני הכביש ונקשר. ולאחר מכן הועבר למתקן בעלי חיים ושם אגב השיל את עורו. עם תפיסתו מיהרה מחלקת הדוברות של העייריה לפרסם הודעה על כך, כדי הרגיע את הציבור המבוהל.
במהלך הימים בהם פורסמו באמצעות התקשורת תמונות של הנחש בביוב, התקשרו מספר אזרחים למוקד העירייה ודיווחו, כיבכול שהנחש שלהם. הגדילה לעשות ניקול פנרייס שטענה כי הנחש הוא שלה, שמו ‘מיקו’ והוא נעלם מביתה בדרך לא ברורה לפני כשלוש שנים.
אגב בוושינגטון הסמוכה לבריטיש קולומביה התברר בימים האחרונים, שבור ביוב שימש מגורים לא לנחש אלה לשני ילדים. הם הצליחו לברוח ולמשטרה אין מוסג מדוע הפכו דווקא את המקום הזה לביתם.
Alison Lebovitz (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver)
The original meaning of tikkun olam, as seen in the Talmud, was to “decorate, beautify or refine” the world. The modern meaning of “repairing” the world came to be emphasized much later, in kabbalistic writings. Alison Lebovitz was taught the importance of this older sense of tikkun olam by her grandmother Mimi, though she had a different way of putting it: “Pretty is as pretty does.” In the Jewish ethical context in which she was raised, “beautiful actions” meant making the world a better place. To this day, that priority shapes Lebovitz’s life.
Lebovitz is among the speakers who will help launch the annual campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver on Sept. 22, with this year’s FEDtalks.
Growing up in Montgomery, Ala., Lebovitz was an active volunteer in the Jewish community. One summer, she worked with refuseniks, who had come to Birmingham as refugees. Seeing them clustered around a shelf offering several different kinds of toothpicks, paralyzed by the alien surfeit of choices, unable to select a brand, Lebovitz had a visceral confrontation with the way people lived outside of her middle-class American bubble, and how much our own over-abundance of resources should inspire us to be givers.
After moving to Chattanooga, Tenn., Lebovitz became involved with the documentary Paper Clips, working to have it shown in more schools. Paper Clips takes place in the rural Tennessee community of Whitwell, where a middle-school class attempts to understand the magnitude of the Holocaust by collecting paper clips, each of which represents a human life lost in the Nazis’ slaughter of six million Jews and millions of others.
For Lebovitz, this work naturally developed into her initiative One Clip at a Time, which is a program for taking kids from the message of Paper Clips further, into personal application and action. Students discover ways to make positive changes in their own classrooms and communities and are encouraged to continually look for ways to make a difference. “For me, growing up,” Lebovitz told the Independent, “the question my family always asked about any idea was, ‘So what?’ What does it mean in the real world? Next was, ‘Now what?’ How are you going to put that into action?”
In addition to her work with One Clip, Lebovitz has been involved in an impressive roster of other activities. For 20-plus years, she has written a column on the trials and tribulations of daily life and lessons learned called “Am I There Yet?”; columns of which were published as a book by the same name. She is host of the PBS talk show The A List with Alison Lebovitz, and is a regular public speaker, including for TED Talks.
Lebovitz views herself as a “curator of stories” and an entrepreneur with a passion for social justice. These two themes will coalesce in her FEDtalks presentation in Vancouver, where she plans to speak on “the power of story and the power of community.” She said the end game, for her, is to light the torch of the next generation and invite them to run along with us, but then to also pass on the flame to the generation that follows them.
FEDtalks takes place at Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Sept. 22, 7 p.m. For tickets and information about all the speakers, visit jewishvancouver.com/fedtalks2016.
Matthew Gindinis a Vancouver freelance writer and journalist. He blogs on spirituality and social justice at seeking her voice (hashkata.com) and has been published in the Forward, Tikkun, Elephant Journal and elsewhere.
When Paul Steinberg first read The Big Book, the “bible” of Alcoholics Anonymous, written by founder Bill Wilson, he scribbled disagreements in the margins. His sponsor later saw them and took him to task. “Do you really think you know more than Bill Wilson, who wrote a book that has saved the lives of millions of people?” he said. “Maybe it’s time for you to start looking for things you can connect with in the book, not things you disagree with!”
Steinberg took the advice to heart, and a journey began. He is now the rabbi of L.A.-based Beit T’Shuvah, a Jewish centre for addiction recovery that integrates the wisdom of the 12-step program with Jewish spirituality, culture and community. He will be speaking at Congregation Beth Israel, together with Rebecca Denham of Jewish Addiction Community Services Vancouver, on Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m. The event, which officially launches JACS Vancouver, is called Opening the Door: A Conversation about Addiction in the Jewish Community.
Steinberg first came to Beit T’Shuvah, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, as a rabbi, a Jewish educator and an alcoholic looking for healing. After living there for five months in recovery, he began doing part-time spiritual counseling as part of the centre’s work therapy program. Eventually, he took on that role full time, then became the pulpit rabbi of the centre’s synagogue, a congregation with hundreds of attendees on Shabbat.
“The centre is unusual in many ways, one of which is in having a synagogue with a fully functioning congregational life on site,” Steinberg told the Independent. “The congregation is made up mostly of residents of the centre, alumni and their family members. Being so close to Hollywood, we have an amazing roster of artists and musicians who come to shul here – the music rocks.”
Steinberg’s rebirth was dependent on his discovering a deeper Judaism, and that is something he is passionate about sharing with other Jews in recovery. “We believe, as evidenced by the success of the 12-step program, that the spiritual is essential in recovery,” he said.
In 2014, Steinberg published the book Recovery, the 12 Steps and Jewish Spirituality: Reclaiming Hope, Courage and Wholeness, about his journey and the insights it afforded. He explained that, for many Jews, the 12 steps are uncomfortably associated with Christian spirituality, despite the open-ended approach to God in the method. “Some Jews recoil from AA for that reason. We need to give Jews access to the 12-step structure in Jewish terms,” he said.
“The addict’s world is very narrow, obsessive, self-centred. Opening up and surrendering to a greater power – whether that’s thought of as God, the universe, the Dao, the collective spirit – breaks that entrapment and allows change. It is the essence of a Jewish approach to recovery. On that ground, the disciplines of Jewish life – community, service, study, prayer – can do their work.”
Discomfort with the spirituality of AA is far from the only obstacle Jews struggling with addiction face. Steinberg said there is tremendous stigma around addiction in the Jewish community, especially around drugs and alcohol. As Rabbi Abraham Twerski discusses in the foreword to Steinberg’s book, AA groups were refused the use of synagogues for many years, reinforcing their habit of locating in church basements.
“The old saying was a shikker is a goy (a drunkard is a gentile),” said Steinberg. “Jews are not supposed to be alcoholics. The reality is that there are many Jews struggling with substance abuse, even very outwardly successful Jews. There are doctors, lawyers, businessmen and even rabbis. I was outwardly a success, but I was living a divided life. My life had to completely fall apart before I would deal with my alcoholism.”
Many struggling Jews do not know where to turn when they suffer from addiction. “It is amazing how few Jews will turn to their rabbi or their community for help,” said Steinberg. “The synagogue is all too often not seen as a place where you can air your dirty laundry, where you can be vulnerable.”
The desire to provide Jews with a place to find healing from addiction as Jews is what drove the creation of JACS Vancouver. “It is imperative to provide a safe place for Jews to get help, and to provide them with the Jewish tools they need for that healing to be successful,” said Denham.
“Addiction is an epidemic in North America,” said Steinberg. “It’s not just alcohol and street drugs; it’s also gambling, sex addiction, workaholism, pornography, opiate addiction. We need to face the brokenness in ourselves and our community without stigmatizing it, so that the healing can begin.”
Matthew Gindinis a Vancouver freelance writer and journalist. He blogs on spirituality and social justice at seeking her voice (hashkata.com) and has been published in the Forward, Tikkun, Elephant Journal and elsewhere.
After an extensive search, the Dr. Irving and Phyliss Snider Campus for Jewish Seniors, comprised of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital and the Weinberg Residence, have appointed David Keselman chief executive officer.
“David is the ideal candidate at this time for the organization,” said Louis Brier board chair Arnold Abramson in a press release. “David’s experience will benefit Louis Brier directly in our commitment to providing quality patient care for residents. We feel that his innovative approach, enthusiasm and leadership style will enable Louis Brier as it moves forward with both our clinical operations and our upcoming site redevelopment.”
Sandra Bressler, chair of the Weinberg Residence, echoed Abramson’s endorsement.
“I plan first to get to know and understand the environment, both clinical, social and political in the organization and in B.C. in general,” Keselman told the Independent. “The relationships with stakeholders (both internal and external) are important, as well as familiarizing myself with the Jewish community and finding opportunities for integration as appropriate.”
Born in Lvov, Keselman was raised north of Haifa, in Kiriyat Yam, and served three years in the Israel Defence Forces. At 21, he followed his high school sweetheart to Toronto and began working at Baycrest, Toronto’s major Jewish home for the elderly. He has a doctorate of health administration from Central Michigan University, and a master’s of nursing and a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Toronto, and he worked in acute care for many years.
In Toronto, the couple had two children, now aged 20 and 17, both of whom attended Jewish day school. They live with their mother but are following in their father’s footsteps – his son is enrolled in the nursing program at Ryerson University and his daughter plans to become a nurse as well.
Coming with his partner to Vancouver from Yellowknife – where he was vice-president of patient services at Stanton Territorial Health Authority – Keselman is looking forward to getting back to a place with a Jewish community. While he admits that he does not connect with the synagogue experience, he feels connected to many aspects of the Jewish community.
“As I get older,” he said, “the affinity and need to get closer to my roots becomes more important. Seeing that I grew up in Israel, keeping our community strong and active is imperative on many levels, not only to ensure that our tradition and culture continue to exist, but also because a strong community here ensures the strength of Israel and its ability to cope with the many adversities it is facing.”
Keselman comes to the campus in the 70th anniversary year of the Louis Brier.
“I am excited about the renewal plans,” he said, “and look forward to a future design that integrates culture, tradition, values with evidence-based and best practices to create a dynamic environment that provides a holistic continuum for patients/residents of the Louis Brier and their families, with an aim of creating a centre of excellence in geriatric care anchored in the philosophy of client- and family-centred care.”
Keselman has a five-year history of involvement with Accreditation Canada, the organization that certifies health-care facilities, where he has gained considerable knowledge in the area of quality improvement and risk reduction. He has held a wide range of executive roles in Ontario and the Northwest Territories, and is an associate instructor at both the Ryerson University School of Nursing and Athabasca University.
“I believe my experiences to date culminate in a progressive, open-minded, transformational leadership style that will support the team, stakeholders and, of course, the residents of the Louis Brier in achieving quality outcomes and satisfaction from the environment and the services delivered in the organization,” he said.
Sounding like a West Coaster already, Keselman said he is looking forward to a very different lifestyle in Vancouver than he had in Yellowknife. Jewish community is a big bonus, he said, but so is the increased opportunity for fitness – Keselman has taught aqua fitness and spin classes for almost 20 years. According to Abramson, Keselman is expected to be on-site at the Louis Brier on Sept. 14.
Michelle Dodekis a freelance writer living in Vancouver.
Artwork from a participant in an exhibit by the Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. (photo by Baila Lazarus)
As the population ages, there will be more adult children, caregivers, seniors homes and other centres caring for loved ones or patients whose memories are failing.
For many years, it’s been believed that there is little that can be done to slow such degeneration. We’re told that, if we challenge ourselves with puzzles or other intellectual games, this might have an effect. But, one woman has been investigating a different option – one that started out facing a lot of skepticism by those working in the field but has been slowly gaining acceptance.
Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka didn’t set out to become an expert in the conditions of dementia, but life brought her onto this path, which she embraces with passion … and compassion.
Born in Israel, Gottlieb-Tanaka actually started out in a drafting career with the Israeli navy and studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, where she met her husband, Mineo, who was from the Okanagan. They came back to Canada in 1975 to study at the University of British Columbia, where she did a master’s degree in architecture. The two are both semi-retired now and share their residency between Vernon and Vancouver.
In 1990, Gottlieb-Tanaka volunteered to spend time with a woman living with dementia and that subsequently led to her present occupation. This was a pivotal turning point in Gottlieb-Tanaka’s career.
“I went there and fell in love with this woman. She was so lovely and we could talk about anything in the world,” said Gottlieb-Tanaka.
Over time, Gottlieb-Tanaka noticed there were situations in which the woman demonstrated a lack of memory and no conception of the consequences of certain actions.
“Then it clicked,” she said. “It’s unpredictable. There are good and bad days.”
She became fascinated and started to immerse herself in the study of what she refers to as a medical condition, not a disease.
She learned that there are 72 different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s affects the largest number of people; that dementia is characterized by confusion and memory loss; and that it can be brought on by stress or depression.
“You can meet people with dementia who are very, very normal, but they might have memory issues,” she explained. “It doesn’t mean they’re mentally ill, and only now people are understanding the difference.”
Eventually, Gottlieb-Tanaka took her studies to UBC, where she completed a PhD in the Institute of Health Promotion Research and the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. In 2011, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the department of psychology.
Her goal was to assess the creative abilities – singing, art, flower arrangement, among others – of people with memory loss to determine how those activities were affected, and whether an increase in those activities could make a difference in staving off the development of these medical conditions.
“So what if someone has memory loss?” she said. “Does it mean they don’t like listening to music?”
Despite a steep learning curve, Gottlieb-Tanaka started to make inroads. She eventually developed the Creative Expression Activities Program for seniors with dementia, for which she won an award from the American Society on Aging. She also founded the Society for the Arts in Dementia Care in British Columbia, which just celebrated a 10-year anniversary.
Among the activities of the society are exhibits of artwork by people suffering from dementia. In its first year, the society’s exhibit was held in North Vancouver and 4,000 people came.
“They were amazed by the results,” said Gottlieb-Tanaka.
The society also runs an annual international conference on creativity and aging, which takes place this year in Vernon, Sept. 8-10.
Trying to pursue her research has been an uphill struggle because Gottlieb-Tanaka was constantly breaking new ground. In some cases, people thought she was crazy. Slowly, however, her ideas are gaining acceptance.
Originally, her work focused on bringing the arts to dementia sufferers; now, she’s looking at how such activities might prevent the onset of those conditions, and she’s showing that such memory loss might be delayed by up to two years.
As her research becomes more known, Gottlieb-Tanaka is trying to pass the torch to those working with people with dementia – nurses, art therapists, music therapists, elder-care facilitators and seniors advocates. That’s the goal of the upcoming conference in Vernon, which offers presentations and hands-on workshops and includes a keynote by Isobel Mackenzie, seniors advocate with the B.C. government. It’s been a 25-year battle, but it seems people are finally starting to take notice.
L’Chaim Adult Day Centre has completed upgrades to its outdoor seating area. Additions include a custom-built overhead awning and new patio furniture. The purchase of this equipment was made possible by a federal grant from Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, and a generous donation made in 2014 to L’Chaim in memory Dr. Betty Horodesky.
The infrastructure program was established as part of Canada 150 Celebrates, the federal government’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
“Investing in facilities that support a healthy and thriving community embodies the spirit of our Canada 150 celebrations and honors our diverse and inclusive nation,” said the Hon. Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development and minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada. “By providing funding that enhances access to the outdoor space at L’Chaim Adult Day Centre, our government is helping seniors stay connected and active in their community.”
L’Chaim was established in 1985 and provides social, therapeutic and recreational services to the elderly in a safe, supportive environment. L’Chaim strives to improve the quality of life of its participants by providing a caring and stimulating group experience for those who might otherwise be socially isolated, while also providing support and respite for care-giving families and friends.
The new awning will provide shelter from the elements, allowing L’Chaim participants (and others) to enjoy the fresh air no matter the weather. The seating upgrades will ensure that participants are able to spend more time outdoors. Outdoor activities may now include arts and crafts, Friday Shabbat services, trivia, meals, and more. Recent research has indicated that the majority of adults spend 90% of their time indoors, and this percentage is expected to be even higher for people 65 and over, many of whom are living with mobility limitations. However, spending time outdoors is essential to maintaining good mental and physical health, and to ensuring a high quality of life.
גלית ברעם אמדור נכנסה בראשית החודש לתפקידה החדש כקונסול הכללי של ישראל בטורונטו ומערב קנדה. (צילום: twitter.com/galibaram)
גלית ברעם אמדור נכנסה לתפקידה כקונסול הכללי של ישראל בטורונטו ומערב קנדה
גלית ברעם אמדור נכנסה בראשית החודש לתפקידה החדש כקונסול הכללי של ישראל בטורונטו ומערב קנדה. ממשלת ישראל אישרה בחודש ינואר השנה את מינויה של ברעם אמדור לתפקיד, עם שורה של מינויים בכירים נוספים בשירות החוץ. ברעם אמדור החליפה את די. ג’יי שניוויס, ששימש בתפקיד הקונסול של טורונטו ומערב קנדה מאז 2012.
ברעם אמדור תדבר על האירועים האחרונים בישראל והתוכניות שלה לגבי טורונטו ומערב קנדה, בשיחת ועידה טלפונית לחברי הקהילה היהודית ובעיקר לישראלים, ביום שישי הקרוב (26 בחודש), בשעה 9 בבוקר לפי שעון מחוז בריטיש קולומביה.
לברעם אמדור (שדוברת גם אנגלית ורוסית) ניסיון רב ועשיר במשרד החוץ והיא החזיקה בשורה של תפקידים בכירים בישראל ומחוצה לה. בין היתר: שימשה כמנהלת המחלקה של התחום הפלסטיני ושיתוף הפעולה האזורי במשרד החוץ (במשך כשנתיים וחצי). לפני כן שימשה בתפקיד הקונסול של ישראל ברוסיה, אוקראינה ובלארוס (משך כשנה וחצי), הקונסול של ישראל בשגרירות ישראל בוושינגטון (במשך כשלוש שנים), הקונסול של ישראל בשגרירות ישראל בקהיר (במשך כשלוש שנים), סגן מנהל תחום מרכז אסיה במשרד החוץ (במשך כשלוש שנים), ומזכיר ראשון בשגרירות ישראל במוסקבה (במשך כחמש שנים).
חתונה הפכה לסיוט: צעירה שנערכה להתחתן עם אהובה גילתה שהוא נשוי ויש לו שני ילדים
זוג צעיר בגילאי השלושים מאזור ונקובר נערך למסד את מערכת היחסים ביניהם, ולהתחתן החודש בריצ’מונד. הצעירה הוציאה למעלה מעשרים אלף דולר על מתנות, תכשיטים וכל מה שצריך לחתונה, והזמנות לאירוע נשלחו לאורחים. אך 11 יום לפני החתונה הכלה המיועדת גילתה שבעלה לעתיד הוא בעצם גבר נשוי ויש לו אף שני ילדים.
הזוג הכיר לפני שנתיים באמצעות אתר אינטרנט להכרויות. הם בילו הרבה ביחד ובספטמבר לפני שנה בעת טיול ליפאן, הצעיר הפתיע את אהובתו והציע לה להתחתן והעניק לה טבעת. מאותו רגע החלו השניים לתכנן החתונה במרץ. לאט לאט החלו לצוץ בעיות שונות מצדו של הגבר, אך אשתו לעתיד לא חשבה שיש לכך משמעות. פעם אחת הוא סיפר לה שהוריו שגרים בהודו לא מאושרים כל כך מהחתונה, כיוון שמשפחתה לא מספיק עשירה. לאחר מכן הוא סיפר כי אמו חלתה במחלה חשוכה והמשפחה במצב נפשי קשה. למרות כל הבעל לעתיד ביקש מאשתו לעתיד שלא להפסיק בהכנות לחתונה אלה להמשיכן כמתוכנן.
האמת על מצבו התגלתה לאחר שפגישה מתוכננת בין משפחות שני הצדדים שבועות ספורים לפני החתונה לא יצאה אל הפועל. משפחת הכלה הבינה שמשהו מוזר קורה והחליטה לנקוט מעשה. הוריה, אחיה והיא עצמה נסעו לאבוטספורד לראות את קרוביו של חתנה. את דלת בית המשפחה פתחה אישה שהציגה עצמה כשאשתו של החתן, מזה 13 שנה. הכלה המיועדת שהייתה בשוק ביקשה מאשתו להציג לה תמונות מהחתונה שלהם. פתאם הופיעו בסלון שני ילדיו הקטנים של הבעל (בגילאי 4 ו-10) שכל כך דומים לו, כך שלא היה צריך בהוכחות נוספות להוכחת המירמה. לאחר מספר דקות הגיע הגבר הנשוי שהוא גם החתן המיועד ונאלץ להתמודד עם התקפות הזעם מצד שתי הנשים בחייו. הוא לא הפסיק להתנצל וכמעט כרע על ברכיו, וטען להגנתו שהמניע להתנהגותו נובע מהעובדה שהוא לקה במחלת נפש.
הכלה נערכת בימים אלה להגשת תביעה כספית נגד אהובה הרמאי, בהיקף כ-53 אלף דולר, לכסות את כל ההוצאות הגבוהות שנגרמו לה עקב החתונה שלא יצאה אל הפועל.
Left to right, reciting the Four Questions at the Okanagan Jewish community’s Passover celebration: Adarah Challmie, Ben Levitan, Jordan Spevakow, David Spevakow, Samara Levitan, and Kate Spevakow. (photo by Misty Smith)
Kelowna’s Jewish community may be small, but it’s poised for growth. The latest development: an expansion of its Hebrew school’s curriculum.
Led by the family of David and Natalie Spevakow, who moved to Kelowna from Calgary some 13 years ago, Hebrew classes were first provided last year. Now, more Jewish content will be added to the lessons, as well.
At the moment, the Spevakows are spearheading this task. Parents lead classes every Monday after school, with kindergarten to Grade 3 first, followed by grades 4-to-7. The parents rotate each week, teaching the kids about Jewish traditions and the Hebrew language, prayers and blessings. Currently, there are 14 students in total (two of whom are Spevakows).
“Trying to have a Jewish life in a small community can be a challenge,” said Natalie Spevakow. “I would say our congregation at the Okanagan Jewish Community Centre is about 100 members, but only 25 to 30 are active members.
“We have a visiting rabbi who comes once a month, Rabbi [Shaul] Osadchey from Beth Tzedec congregation in Calgary. We set this up to bridge the gap with our communities, and that’s been wonderful. With us having young families, we’ve all decided that it’s important that we get together, and we wanted to build a Jewish community for ourselves and our kids.”
The Spevakows are looking to hire a part-time teacher to start in September and work through June. They are searching for a creative, energetic person knowledgeable in Hebrew and the Jewish traditions to teach children ages 4 to 14. The position involves two hours of teaching a week, plus preparation time, and the teaching material is provided. In addition to an hourly wage, the teacher would receive a free annual family membership to the Okanagan JCC. (Interested readers should call Anne at the OJCC, 250-862-2305.)
“All of our parents just want our kids to be with other Jewish children and get a sense of what it is to be Jewish,” said Spevakow.
“We also try to get together with our Hebrew school every few months for a potluck,” she added. “When we have the visiting rabbi come, we do a potluck with the rabbi and do services with our children and our families as well. We make that a time to get together and bring the community together.”
As of now, all the children involved in the school are Canadian-born, but there are Israeli-born children who will be joining classes when they come of age. The class curriculum is a combination of programs that the Spevakows sourced online with guidance from Osadchey. Parents are encouraged to take material home to practise during the week.
“The learning works better if they do take stuff home,” said Natalie Spevakow. “I know, for the little guys, they’re just learning the Hebrew letters and can repeat the words they learned…. We try to make it hands-on and more fun for them.”
Looking ahead, Spevakow feels that the Jewish community is growing, anticipating that one day it will be big enough to warrant more frequent visits from Osadchey.
“But, right now, with our smaller numbers, it’s very difficult for us to finance having a rabbi here all the time,” she said. “As is, we’re making it work, getting our kids educated and getting the resources we can.”
The older students are learning to lead Friday night services, with the goal of having them lead a service by May 2017, and then again, have them lead a service with Osadchey.
“We’re not on our own, trying to make things up on our own,” she said. “It’s just a matter of people making time for their kids, so the program works. I think all the parents recognize they want this for our kids and are willing to put in their time.
“We used to do it on weekends, but, with so many of us really big into skiing, it wasn’t working out. So, weekdays are definitely working better for us.”
They also recognize there may be some older members of the community who may be interested in helping with classes, so they hope to bridge the gap and find ways to bring them in, too.
“There’s something to be said about a small community, in that you really get to know all your members,” said Spevakow. “They truly do become an extension of your family. You realize that anything you’d like to see happen, things that, in a larger community you might have taken for granted because it’s available, in a small community may not exist yet…. Connecting on a deeper level with the people in our community, figuring out the assets that each can bring to the table, has really benefited our community. Knowing everyone’s faces really helps.”
Gwyneth Paltrow, left, and Zooey Deschanel at the Sage Summit in July. (photo by Dave Gordon)
Some 15,000 entrepreneurs gathered in Chicago July 26-29 for the Sage Summit, to hear keynote speakers, network and browse the exhibitors’ stations, which spanned the length of 10 football fields, according to Sage chief executive officer Stephen Kelly, who oversees the accounting software giant.
Celebrity speakers included entrepreneurs and actors Gwyneth Paltrow, Zooey Deschanel and Ashton Kutcher, all of whom have Jewish connections.
Paltrow, most known lately for her role as Pepper Potts in the Iron Man film series, was also the head of Goop, which touts itself as a “weekly lifestyle publication.” (She left the publication days after the Summit.)
“The more you create a vision of where you’re going, the more you can create a vertical. Where do you want it to be, where do you imagine it to be, and ask people ‘where do you want it to go?’ – that’s how you form an execution strategy,” she advised entrepreneurs at the Chicago gathering.
She also offered a morale boost for budding entrepreneurs.
“Unwavering self-belief is everything. Everyone’s going to tell you why you can’t do it, and you have to know in your bones that you can do it … and take disappointments with as much grace as you can,” said the actress, whose late father, film director Bruce Paltrow, was Jewish.
Paltrow’s co-panelist, Deschanel of television’s New Girl, is founder of the website Hello Giggles, an online magazine for young women launched five years ago and acquired by Time Inc. in 2015. She has also invested in a hydroponics company that grows sustainable and eco-friendly organic food.
“Trust your gut and be yourself – and watch your bottom line. Customers will thank you for that,” said Deschanel, who converted to Judaism last November.
Chiming in about knowing one’s limits – and about social media engagement – was Kutcher, who has invested in high-tech ventures including Skype, FourSquare and Airbnb.
“I learned by sitting in the rooms being the dumbest person in there and asking a lot of questions,” he said.
Kutcher last year married Jewish actress Mila Kunis. He has been a student of kabbalah and has visited Israel several times.
“I was aggressively into social media early on,” he said at the summit. “From a business perspective, I think it’s valuable from a customer service, customer relations perspective. Building a social media environment for their feedback in a dramatic and visible way creates transparency and delivers a high-quality product and service. From a marketing perspective, if used right, it can be beneficial.”
But, he noted, there’s a critical caveat regarding marketers.
“They come up with these elaborate social media marketing plans, which inevitably fail along the way,” he said, “because marketers tend to forget it’s a conversation, and they don’t account for feedback.”
Kutcher cautioned against having fingers in several social media platforms, noting it’s more about quality than quantity.
“I feel a lot of people aggressively chase the latest in social media marketing and waste a lot of time in it. It’s this sort of race to be on the cutting edge, but, in another sense, it’s time on inefficient platforms. It’s like in acting – the fans don’t go to the actor, the actor should go to where the fans are.”
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook already have “huge swaths of people and have really great tools for targeting,” he added.
Co-panelist Yancey Strickler, one of the three founders of Kickstarter, which he described as “the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects,” has also been the crowdfunding site’s CEO for the past three years.
Despite Kickstarter’s online base, Strickler had his own warning about social media.
“I think social media is bad for our brains, and it’s hard to have introspection on these platforms.… I wouldn’t doubt, in 20 years, if they found what social media does to our brains is what smoking does to our lungs.”
“I’m worried about my brain now,” Kutcher retorted.
Dave Gordonis a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than a hundred publications around the world. He is the managing editor of landmarkreport.com.
From left to right: Murray Palay, Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University national chair; Israel Defence Forces Unit 669 reserve combat soldiers Leehou Porat and Gai Ben Dor; Prof. Yaacov Nahmias, director of the Alexander Grass Centre for Bioengineering at Hebrew U; 669 reserve combat soldiers Bar Reuven and Dotan Braun; CFHU Vancouver chapter president Randy Milner; and CFHU national vice-chair Phil Switzer. (photo from CFHU Vancouver)
Dina Wachtel, executive director of Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University’s Western region, describes the recent fundraising event that attracted more than 300 people to Congregation Beth Israel on July 17 as “a wonderful success.”
The sold-out event raised scholarship funds for outstanding student-soldiers. These individuals are pursuing degrees at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as performing their miluim, or reserve duty, in the Israel Defence Forces’ elite airborne rescue and evacuation unit known as “669.” The Vancouver event drew a diverse and engaged crowd from the community and included academics and members of local search and rescue groups.
Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, director of the Alexander Grass Centre for Bioengineering at the Hebrew University, kicked off the formal part of the evening’s program with an overview of Hebrew U’s history and accomplishments. Founded in 1918 – 30 years before the establishment of the state of Israel – by illustrious historical figures, such as Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Chaim Weizmann, Hebrew U ranks as one of the world’s leading universities and boasts seven Nobel Prize laureates. According to Nahmias, “when Hebrew U calls, you answer!”
The Grass Centre was established in 2010. Nahmias, who was at Harvard University before returning to Israel, has won several academic awards for his work in liver research and he is particularly proud of the centre’s successes in “educat[ing] a new generation of multidisciplinary innovators and entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of biotechnology and medical science.” He noted that the centre’s 44 affiliated faculty members undertake research that winds up in the world’s leading scientific journals; interest-catching pursuits such as building a liver outside of a body, predicting in vitro fertilization pregnancy rates, and determining “idiosyncratic drug toxicity” (hitherto unexpected adverse reactions to drugs).
Nahmias also outlined the “startup” element of the centre’s work – an aspect that appeals to students with academic ambitions, as well as giving them market experience and engendering an entrepreneurial spirit. The Israeli government has invested $20 million US in BioJerusalem, or “Silicon Wadi,” to support technological innovation. The outcome? Israel is a global leader in medical devices and pharmaceuticals, he said, and this attracts intellectually curious science students who are also seeking opportunities in business, medicine and engineering. The biodesign program feeds directly into Israel’s economic success and reputation as a technological powerhouse. Remarkable and revolutionary projects to date, he said, include the creation of a specialized infrared gun to facilitate intravenous insertions; digitally made dentures that are inexpensive and quick to produce; and a new 60-second life-saving procedure that improves stabbing victims’ chances of survival by preventing suffocation caused by collapsed lungs.
Nahmias concluded his presentation by highlighting bioengineering as “one of the most fascinating areas, especially for the future of Jerusalem as a city and Hebrew University as the leading university in Israel.” He announced that plans are underway to build a large, new institute on the Givat Ram campus to house the biodesign program.
The evening’s lecture was punctuated with a musical interlude from Vancouver-based Israeli composer and guitarist Itamar Erez. Recipient of the Landau Prize in 2014, as well as the ACUM Prize for special achievement in jazz, Erez’s musical talents blend jazz, flamenco and the sounds of the Middle East.
Following Erez’s performance, four extraordinary young Israelis took centre stage. They detailed their personal experiences serving in the IDF’s 669 and how the service has impacted their lives.
The unit, which accepts only 50 recruits each year out of 10,000 applicants, was established in 1974 following the Yom Kippur War. It is referred to as the “guardian angel of the Jewish people” because it rescues soldiers and civilians alike, both within and beyond Israel’s borders. The unit’s motto is, “Thou didst call in trouble and I rescued thee” and, in the last 40 years, the unit has rescued more than 10,000 injured and saved thousands of lives. Rescue operations are generally extremely difficult and dangerous.
Bar Reuven, Leehou Porat, Dotan Braun and Gai Ben Dor impressed upon the crowd the unique and challenging lifestyle of a Unit 669 reservist, who is “on-call 24/7” and serves an average of 30 to 45 days a year “in peacetime.” When summoned, a civilian university student is instantly transformed into an elite reservist on a mission that can be anywhere in the world. All personal commitments are immediately set aside.
According to Reuven, 27, who served as an officer in 669 and founded an alumni association designed to provide much-needed support to discharged soldiers from 669 transitioning to civilian life, you “can go from eating shakshuka [in Tel Aviv] to Gaza in 30 minutes.”
Thirty-year-old Braun, a fifth-year medical student at Hebrew U and a reserve combat soldier and paramedic in 669, recounted walking to class in July 2012, when he received a command to present himself on base within the next 30 minutes. He soon learned that he would be traveling to Burgas, Bulgaria, to treat and evacuate some 42 Israeli tourists who had been targeted in a bus bombing. (Tragically, five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver were murdered in that terror attack.)
Serving in the 669 instils Braun with a profound sense of pride in Israel, as “there is no other country that cares about the security of all its citizens and at all times,” he said. He – like others in 669 – is also called upon to come to the aid of non-citizens in life-threatening situations, including rescuing sailors in the Mediterranean or treating casualties of natural disasters in far-flung corners of the world.
Braun emphasized that life for 669 reservists, in particular, “is never routine.” Porat, 28, who is both a reserve combat soldier in Unit 669 and a student at Hebrew U, underscored this fact by recounting – with the aid of select video footage – a harrowing evening of back-to-back rescue missions that included evacuating an Israeli soldier from Gaza who had been gravely wounded in an axe attack; responding to a serious car accident that caused seven fatalities; assisting a pregnant Bedouin woman in the advanced stages of labor and whose house had just been washed away by floods; and rescuing a number of individuals trapped in or on cars swirling in raging floodwaters and high winds.
Despite the challenges of balancing the responsibilities of school, work, family, volunteerism and reserve duty, Reuven, Porat, Braun and Ben Dor were all steadfast in their commitment to their unit, and to serving their country and fellow citizens in times of crisis.
It was evident that these four speakers have indeed internalized the core values of the unit, described by Reuven as assisting those in need, social responsibility, and helping make Israel and her people stronger. He engages these values to guide him in managing his Cat 669 Alumni Association, a group that provides emotional, psychological and financial guidance, career mentoring and other material support to fellow unit members transitioning – sometimes with great difficulty – to civilian life. This group also draws upon its superior skill set to “pay it forward” in local communities by, for example, teaching emergency first aid.
Thirty-two-year-old Ben Dor is an accountant and lawyer at KPMG in Israel. As part of 669, he is another example of the positive contributions that 669 reservists make to Israeli society. An avid long-distance runner in his teens, Ben Dor responded to an online ad seeking “a runner with soul.” Beza, a blind Ethiopian immigrant wanted to take up running, and Ben Dor (and his father, also a runner) coached Beza over the next several years. Beza competed in a number of international marathons, and ultimately qualified to compete at the Beijing Paralympics, representingIsrael. Ben Dor, his father and Beza have since climbed to Everest Base Camp together and Ben Dor has established an Israeli not-for-profit organization called 180 Degrees, which hosts running groups for people with physical or cognitive disabilities.
Listening to these four young Israelis who are serving their country in truly meaningful ways and learning about the cutting-edge research taking place at the Hebrew University, it is not surprising that the evening’s fundraising event – to support the reserve soldiers in Unit 669 studying at Hebrew U by relieving them of financial worries – was a “wonderful success.”