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A day that changed my life

photo - The author in the Sinai in October 1973, before his unit was attacked by two Iraqi planes, which caused the unit’s ammunition supply to explode, killing some soldiers and wounding others

The author in the Sinai in October 1973, before his unit was attacked by two Iraqi planes, which caused the unit’s ammunition supply to explode, killing some soldiers and wounding others. (photo from Yom Shamash) I would like to say…

The wisdom of an oxymoron

Shabbat, Nov. 23 Chayei Sarah, Genesis 23:1-25:18 Haftarah, I Kings 1:1-31 I am an American citizen living in Vancouver, B.C., and serving a Reform congregation for the past six years. This juxtaposition of two increasingly disparate identities has given me…

טורונטו למטיילים

photo - Kensington Market neighbourhood

שכונת קנסינגטון מרקט. (Arild Vågen) טיול בטורונטו הוא חוויה מיוחדת, והעיר מתאימה לכל סוג טיול. לטיול עם הילדים, וגם בלי, למי שרוצה טיול שלו וגם כטיול עירוני. העיר מומלצת לכל מי שמגיע לקנדה והסביבה. טורונטו היא העיר הגדולה ביותר בקנדה…

Child survivors gather

photo - Child survivors Rabbi Joseph Polak, right, and Robert Krell at the Havdalah service Nov. 2, part of the annual conference of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendants

Child survivors Rabbi Joseph Polak, right, and Robert Krell at the Havdalah service Nov. 2, part of the annual conference of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendants. (photo from Robert Krell) When Halina Levitt…

A story of two of six million

Dr. Michael Hayden delivers the keynote address at the annual Kristallnacht commemorative program Nov. 7. (photo by Al Szajman) In the 1930s, German Jews were required to register all precious metals in their possession, a prelude to having them confiscated.…

Jewish war brides talk

photo - At the University of British Columbia on Nov. 21, Prof. Robin Judd will speak on What’s Love Got to Do With It? Jewish War Brides and North American Soldier Husbands after the Second World War

At the University of British Columbia on Nov. 21, Prof. Robin Judd will speak on What’s Love Got to Do With It? Jewish War Brides and North American Soldier Husbands after the Second World War. (photo from Robin Judd) Prof.…

Price is a point of view

photo - Left to right, Patrick Bahrich, Sjahari Hollands and Christine Iannetta co-star, along with Rob Monk, in United Players’ production of The Price by Arthur Miller, which is at Jericho Arts Centre until Dec. 1

Left to right, Patrick Bahrich, Sjahari Hollands and Christine Iannetta co-star, along with Rob Monk, in United Players’ production of The Price by Arthur Miller, which is at Jericho Arts Centre until Dec. 1. (photo by Nancy Caldwell) United Players…

Rockets raining down

photo - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu talks about the rockets being fired from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu talks about the rockets being fired from Gaza. (photo by IGPO via Ashernet) Rockets were falling on southern and central Israel as the paper went to press this week. After the Israeli military killed Islamic…

Xenophobia intolerable

photo - Don Cherry and Ron Maclean on screen, in 2018

Don Cherry and Ron Maclean on screen, in 2018. (photo by Ross Dunn) For many Canadians, Don Cherry and his bombastic pronouncements about hockey, but, more importantly, about society and whatever pops into his head, have been like a tolerated,…

Harpers at Lake Hula opening

photo - Laureen and Stephen Harper, centre left, and Daniel Atar, KKL-JNF world chair, centre, were among those who cut the ribbon at the Nov. 6 official opening of the Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre

Laureen and Stephen Harper, centre left, and Daniel Atar, KKL-JNF world chair, centre, were among those who cut the ribbon at the Nov. 6 official opening of the Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre. (photo…

On return to Canada, life changes

Victor Neuman (photo from Victor Neuman) In this eight-part series, the author recounts his life in Israel around the time of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The events and people described are real but, for reasons of privacy, the names…

אז מה אם הוא ראש הממשלה?

photo - Isareli Prime MInister Binyamin Netanyahu

בנימין נתניהו (en.kremlin.ru) אינכם מבינים עד כמה אני עסוק? יש לי עניינים מעניינים שונים לעסוק בהם. מכאן ועד שם. אז מה אם הוא ראש הממשלה? מה אתם חושבים שיש לי זמן להתפנות ולשמוע אותו נואם בחדשות המרכזיות של הערוץ המרכזי…

Historic JCC-Fed agreement

image - A rendering of the development that is planned to replace the current Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver

A rendering of the development that is planned to replace the current Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. (image from JCCGV) A recently signed agreement is a significant next step in the largest infrastructure project in the history of British…

Bahr’s many personas

photo - Writer and comedian Iris Bahr performs at the Rothstein Theatre on Nov. 12 and 13, as part of the Chutzpah! Festival

Writer and comedian Iris Bahr performs at the Rothstein Theatre on Nov. 12 and 13, as part of the Chutzpah! Festival. (photo by Gail Hadini) Award-winning writer, actor, director and producer Iris Bahr delves into serious issues using humour –…

Dance biennial to start

photo - Amber Funk Barton presents VAST at the Dance Centre Nov. 22, as part of Dance in Vancouver

Amber Funk Barton presents VAST at the Dance Centre Nov. 22, as part of Dance in Vancouver. (photo by Chris Barton) From Nov. 20 to 24, the Dance Centre presents the 12th biennial Dance in Vancouver. This year’s event was…

People and places of Cuba

photos - Lorne Greenberg’s solo show, Cuba, comprises photographic compositions, such as this one

Lorne Greenberg’s solo show, Cuba, comprises photographic compositions, such as this one. (photos by Lorne Greenberg) The origins of Lorne Greenberg’s solo photography exhibition Cuba can be traced back more than 35 years. “I had my MFA in photography from…

The next generations

An important event took place in Vancouver last weekend, as hundreds of child survivors of the Holocaust convened at a downtown hotel for the conference of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendants. A Shabbat…

The joy of Israeli dance

photo - Tamar Cohen and her husband, Michael Gal

Tamar Cohen and her husband, Michael Gal. (photo from Vancouver Israeli Folk Dance Society) After 43 years of teaching with the Vancouver Israeli Folk Dance Society (VIFS), Tamar Cohen is retiring. One of the early leaders of the VIFS and…

Reimagining Hatikvah

photo - Molly-Ann Leikin

Molly-Ann Leikin (photo from Molly-Ann Leikin) For most of her five-decade musical career, Molly-Ann Leikin felt something was missing – many English speakers singing Hatikvah had no idea what the Hebrew words coming out of their mouths actually mean. So,…

Justice visits Richmond

photo - Justice Richard H. Bernstein, of the Michigan Supreme Court, speaks in Richmond on Nov. 17

Justice Richard H. Bernstein, of the Michigan Supreme Court, speaks in Richmond on Nov. 17. (photo from Chabad Richmond) Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard H. Bernstein will speak at the Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond on Nov. 17. The…

History and future combine

photo - Ilana Zackon and Ariel Martz-Oberlander played current-day partisans in the immersive theatre piece Time Machine

Ilana Zackon and Ariel Martz-Oberlander played current-day partisans in the immersive theatre piece Time Machine. (photo from Radix Theatre) Two Jewish theatre artist-creators, Ariel Martz-Oberlander and Ilana Zackon, teamed up this summer to create an immersive piece based on the…

Coping with life’s challenges

Starting Nov. 20, Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman of Chabad Richmond will be leading Worrier to Warrior, a new six-session course offered by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), to help people deal with life’s challenges by accepting themselves and finding meaning…

Critical, short look at Nazism

image - Nazi Germany cover cropped

Oxford University Press launched the first of its “Very Short Introductions” in 1995. Since then, the series has reached more than 600 volumes, which have been translated into 45 languages. To write the most recent in this series, Nazi Germany:…

Turning FOMO into JOMO

photo - Adrienne Gold is a participant in this year’s international Shabbat Project, Nov. 15-16

Adrienne Gold is a participant in this year’s international Shabbat Project, Nov. 15-16. (photo from Shabbat Project) FOMO: fear of missing out. Four letters that encapsulate the human hankering for absolute control, and the profound anxiety we suffer from knowing…

The fire-like impacts of war

Life for many kibbutz members changed after they served in the war. (photo by Victor Neuman) In this eight-part series, the author recounts his life in Israel around the time of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The events and people…

People are not bricks in a wall

Shabbat, Nov. 2 Noach, Genesis 6:9-11:32 Haftarah, Isaiah 54:1-55:5 W.C. Fields said, “Never work with animals or children, [they steal the spotlight].” Though no one ever accused him of being a Torah scholar, his insight was certainly applicable to last…

Making death a friend

I used to wake up each morning wondering if I had Alzheimer’s yet. I dreaded the thought. Who wouldn’t? I used to imagine the torment of dealing with cancer; the diagnosis, the surgery, the chemotherapy, the radiation, losing my hair!…

From beginning again

Recently, I decided to conquer an inner anxiety and do something new. It wasn’t skydiving or anything dangerous. I was hoping to follow a pattern and sew myself some clothes. I write knitting patterns, so am very familiar with the…

Important finds in Usha

photo - A 1,400-year-old hammer and nails, found at the ancient city of Usha

A 1,400-year-old hammer and nails, found at the ancient city of Usha. (photo by Yoli Schwartz/IAA via Ashernet) An Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) excavation some 15 kilometres east of Haifa at the ancient city of Usha revealed a 1,400-year-old hammer…

לא מכונה ולא כביסה

photo - Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park

סטנלי פארק (Jester7777 at English Wikipedia) התמקמתי סוף סוף בדירה החדשה בסמוך לסטנלי פארק הגדול, היפה והירוק (בניגוד למה שאנו רגילים לו בישראל). אמרתי לעצמי בשקט: “ברוך הבא למשכנך החדש והיפה. סוף סוף תוכל לכתוב בשקט כך שרק נשימותי ישמעו…