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Ben and Carla Levinson (photo by Sam Margolis) With the speed of a street-corner caricaturist yet the precision of someone who seemingly misses nothing, Ben Levinson has for decades been capturing the cityscapes of the many places to which he…
Chanukah is about, among other things, sparking light amid the darkness. It is a message of hope that we should uplift all year round, not only in December. As discussed in this space last week, social media, and media generally,…
Eli Kowaz is communications director at the Israel Policy Forum. (photo from Eli Kowaz) This article is one in an occasional series about people with British Columbian roots having positive impacts in Israel and elsewhere. For Vancouver-born Israeli Eli Kowaz,…
No external threat worries Canadian Jewry more than the rising tide of antisemitism. For years, in grassroots consultations hosted by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), community members have unanimously and consistently said antisemitism is their primary concern.…
Left to right: Chana Rivka Bitton, Miriam Feigelstock, Baila Shapiro, Shira Oirechman and Ora Yeshayahu. The biggest event of the Tzivos Hashem year is a Shabbaton in New York, the highlight of which is an international competition called Chidon Sefer…
Ayelet Rose Gottlieb released two new collaborative CDs this year. (photo by Sergio Veranes) Ayelet Rose Gottlieb released two new collaborative CDs this year: Who Has Seen the Wind? by the group Pneuma and I Carry Your Heart: A Tribute to…
Prof. Ira Robinson of Concordia University’s Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies teaches a wide range of students about the Holocaust and antisemitism. (photo from Ira Robinson) Ira Robinson is the director of Concordia University’s Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies and…
Lou Segal being interviewed by his daughter, Ramona Josephson, 2019. (photo from Ramona Josephson) A few years ago, the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia contacted my dad, Lou Segal, to interview him, as part of their mission to…
Left to right: Debby Altow, NCJW Vancouver past president; Cate Stoller, NCJW Vancouver president; Shelley Rivkin, vice-president, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver; Kasari Govender, B.C. human rights commissioner; Ezra Shanken, Jewish Federation executive director; and Etti Goldman, Centre for Israel…
(photo from facebook.com/liatg) Benji Goldstein, who lives in Sioux Lookout with his family, is a full-time doctor working in indigenous communities in northern of Ontario. He has created for Chanukah an almost six-foot chanukiyah out of ice, improving his 1.0…
Operation Protective Edge, on Aug. 3, 2014. (photo from flickr.com/photos/idfonline) Part 3 of a three-part series, in which the author shares his diaries from the homefront, providing a glimpse of daily life under missile threat during Operation Protective Edge in…
Norman Ravvin (photo by Allen McInnis/The Gazette) For anyone interested in the history and landmarks of Vancouver, especially, but also cities in Poland, reading Norman Ravvin’s new novel, The Girl Who Stole Everything (Linda Leith Editions, 2019), will take longer…
Bari Weiss, the New York Times columnist, grew up in Pittsburgh and so the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, in October 2017, hit even closer to home for her than for most Jewish North Americans. For many American…
Craig Darch’s L’Chaim and Lamentations (NewSouth Books, 2019) is a bittersweet collection of seven short stories. Most of the characters in his first foray into fiction are older Ashkenazi Jews whose pasts are almost characters themselves. Yet, as strong as…
Kermit Soup, ready to serve. (photo by Shelley Civkin) Treat your friends to one little taste of my Kermit Soup (aka kale-and-potato soup) and I guarantee they’ll be green with envy. Granted, it’s an unholy colour, which could be off-putting…
Standing on the Haas Promenade in southern Jerusalem overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, the Ethiopian priests wore traditional clothing and carried parasols. (photo by Gil Zohar) Approximately one-third of Israel’s 125,000-strong Ethiopian Jewish community came from across the country…
Beit Halochem Canada’s Courage in Motion saw many riders return to do the five-day annual cycle in Israel again. (photo from Beit Halochem Canada) The 12th annual Courage in Motion, an initiative of Beit Halochem Canada, Aid to Disabled Veterans…
The writer and her husband at the synagogue Slat-Al Azama, in Marrakesh, which was built in 1492 by Jews expelled from Spain. (photo from Miri Garaway) There are so many adjectives to describe Morocco, but, after being immersed in the…
The Museum of Jewish History in Sosua is located right next to the city’s synagogue. (photo by Dave Gordon) Famous for its rum, cigars, resorts, beaches and rich history, the all-season holiday destination of the Dominican Republic attracts 800,000 Canadians…
Judith Leiber (photo from Palm Beach Beauté) Many of us gravitate towards objects that are bright and sparkly. Creating this magic in one handbag is what Judith Leiber, née Peto, accomplished. Judith Peto was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1921.…
One of the family cards, produced 100 years ago, that is currently on long-term loan in the folklore department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, on Mt. Scopus. It is from the Chaya and Chana Gitelman Collection. Not too long…
Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith sharing a toast in a New York bar, 1935. (photo from Library of Congress; New York World-Telegram and Sun Collection) Wine is a large part of Jewish ritual and tradition. And a glass or two…
Did you notice what a great day it was today? Rain or shine, there are lots of people out there who are so happy you are alive. Besides yourself, I mean. I bet you did some things today that added…
In recent years, sufganiyot have easily become the unsung heroines of new Chanukah traditions. (photo from piqsels.com) Full disclosure, Chanukah has always been my favourite holiday. It has all the things a good holiday needs: dark wintery nights, deep-fried oily…
The chanukiyah is an expression of Jews’ commitment to place the particular into the mainstream of history. (photo from pxhere.com) Jewishness is not merely determined by a biological accident. It involves commitment and dedication to the spiritual worldview contained within…
The lights of chanukiyot could be seen in the neighbourhood windows. (photo by Neil Harris) There once was a dreidel named Dreidelhead. Dreidelhead had three brothers and lived with his parents in Flushing, N.Y. His first name was Noon but…
What does the word Maccabee mean? Who were the five sons of Mattathias? What is a Chanukah lamp called? What are the letters on a dreidel outside of Israel? Inside Israel? In which book of the Bible do we read…
(photo by Josh Evnin) In traditional Jewish cooking, brisket is most often braised as a pot roast, especially as a holiday main course, usually served at Rosh Hashanah, Passover and on the Sabbath. For reasons of economics and kashrut, it…
(photo from Umbe Ber/Pixabay) Every time I do a food column, I look up its history, and I am continually fascinated by what I learn. We all know what is pasta – unleavened semolina mixed with water or eggs and…
(photo by Kimberly Vardeman) Chocolate chips were created when chocolate chip cookies were invented in 1937 – Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Mass., added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestlé chocolate bar to a cookie…
