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Bevis Marks 315 years later

photo - The interior of Bevis Marks Synagogue looking towards the ark and with the bima in the left foreground. The ark is made of oak, but painted to look like Italian marble, as are the supports to the ladies gallery

The interior of Bevis Marks Synagogue looking towards the ark and with the bima in the left foreground. The ark is made of oak, but painted to look like Italian marble, as are the supports to the ladies gallery. (photo…

Wonders of Mediterranean

book cover - The New Mediterranean Jewish Table

Joyce Goldstein was chef and owner of Square One restaurant in San Francisco; prior to that, she was chef at Chez Panisse café. Today, she is a cooking teacher, restaurant consultant and cookbook author. Her bibliography lists 60 cookbooks, the…

Bringing Israel to the table

book cover - Israel Eats

Steven Rothfeld is a travel photographer with an emphasis on culinary cuisine. He has written more than 10 books of photography and lives in Napa Valley, Calif. His cookbook Israel Eats (Gibbs Smith Publishers) came out earlier this year. In…

Chanukiyah’s evolution

photo - When the Second Temple was destroyed, its menorah was said to have been taken to Rome. This is depicted, with the menorah being carried by Jewish slaves, in a carving on the inside of the Arch of Titus

When the Second Temple was destroyed, its menorah was said to have been taken to Rome. This is depicted, with the menorah being carried by Jewish slaves, in a carving on the inside of the Arch of Titus. (photo by…

Dreidel’s lasting popularity

photo - Dreidels from the author’s dreidel collection. Clockwise from the top left: a hand-painted dreidel with an open top; a hand-painted dreidel on a base; a felt dreidel; a hand-painted dreidel; and, in the centre, a tiny hand-painted glass dreidel

Dreidels from the author’s dreidel collection. Clockwise from the top left: a hand-painted dreidel with an open top; a hand-painted dreidel on a base; a felt dreidel; a hand-painted dreidel; and, in the centre, a tiny hand-painted glass dreidel. (photo…

The genie in the chanukiyah

screenshot - Alan Dean was the world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of Chanukah menorahs.

Alan Dean was the world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of Chanukah menorahs. “You what!” Zoe’s father was yelling at her. Again. “You traded my lamp?” Nothing Zoe did seemed good enough for Dad. Her room was too messy. Her grades…

Lovin’ from the oven

photo - A young Dawn Lerman with her grandmother, Beauty

A young Dawn Lerman with her grandmother, Beauty (photo from Dawn Lerman via JNS.org) In her memoir My Fat Dad, New York Times wellness blogger and nutritionist Dawn Lerman (@dawnlerman) shares her food journey and that of her father, a…

Figuring out family holidays

screenshot - Adam Brody played Seth Cohen in the show The O.C. and celebrated “Chrismukkah.”

Adam Brody played Seth Cohen in the show The O.C. and celebrated “Chrismukkah.” (photo from cookiesandsangria.files.wordpress.com) If nothing else, The O.C., the popular 2003-07 American television show that featured the overblown dramas of hyper-privileged Orange County teens and their self-obsessed…

בועות הנדל”ן

photo - Is Vancouver real estate is a bubble about to explode?

האם הנדל”ן בוונקובר הוא בועה שעומדת להתפוצץ? (צילום: Cynthia Ramsay) יש הטוענים ששוק הנדל”ן של אזור ונקובר הוא בועה שעומדת להתפוצץ כל רגע, והם אף דואגים להזהיר את הציבור הרחב מפני כיביכול סכנה גדולה זו. הבנק השוויצי יו.בי.אס טוען שוונקובר…

Museum launches Oakridge

photo - Cambie Street, looking south from 41st Avenue, 1952

Cambie Street, looking south from 41st Avenue, 1952. (photo from City of Vancouver Archives via jewishmuseum.ca/oakridge) On Nov. 23, the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia had both its annual general meeting and launched its newest online exhibit, Oakridge.…

Fêting Shemer, Cohen

photo - Mauro Perelmann is coming from Brazil to lead a Dec. 17 musical tribute to Naomi Shemer and Leonard Cohen

Mauro Perelmann is coming from Brazil to lead a Dec. 17 musical tribute to Naomi Shemer and Leonard Cohen. (photo by Natan Guterman Fotografia) On Dec. 17, Congregation Beth Israel will host a tribute concert to Israeli singer songwriter Naomi…

Greens’ policy on Israel

On Saturday, Dec. 3, at a meeting in Calgary, the Green Party of Canada (GPC) passed a resolution updating the party’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict. It puts the entire onus for the conflict’s continuation on Israel, specifically on Prime…

Ontario rejects BDS

On Dec. 1, the Ontario legislature voted 49-5 to pass Motion 36, which rejects the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement aimed at Israel. The motion was backed both by the Liberals, who form the government, and the opposition Progressive…

Inspired by Standing Rock

The story of Chanukah is a narrative of the victory of a small group of righteous fighters against a powerful empire. It is a redemptive story of standing for one’s beliefs (and existence) and triumphing in the end. The end…

Nominate a mensch

The Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley is looking for nominations for its annual Lamplighter Award, which honors a child who has performed an outstanding act of community service. Candidates must be between the ages of 6 and…

Writing Lives project

This fall, a select number of Langara College students embarked on a project to write the memoirs of local Holocaust survivors, capturing personal stories from the Second World War. The project is called Writing Lives: the Holocaust Survivor Memoir Project.…

Young talent in Music Man

photo - Meghan Gardiner as Marian and Jay Hindle as Harold Hill in The Music Man

Meghan Gardiner as Marian and Jay Hindle as Harold Hill in The Music Man. (photo by David Cooper) Few children know what they want to do as a career. Even fewer start on their career goals before they are 10…

Internet access and poverty

image - On Nov. 24., writer Penny Goldsmith spoke at King David High School about PovNet, a B.C.-based anti-poverty network.

On Nov. 24., writer Penny Goldsmith spoke at King David High School about PovNet, a B.C.-based anti-poverty network. When Storming the Digital Divide: The PovNet Story was published in August by Lazara Press, the Jewish Independent received a copy. A…

Shabbat Across UBC

photo - Chabad on Campus, student and other volunteers and Shabbat hosts made Shabbat Across UBC on Nov. 18 possible

Chabad on Campus, student and other volunteers and Shabbat hosts made Shabbat Across UBC on Nov. 18 possible. (photos from Chabad at UBC) On Nov. 18, more than 75 students celebrated Shabbat with Chabad on Campus at the University of…

Getting through Chanukah

It’s that time of year again! For many, the holiday season is spent with family and is filled with nothing but joy, love, laughter, gratitude and giving. If this is you, you can go ahead and stop reading now…. This…

Unite in acts of chesed

May 24, 2017, marks the 50th anniversary of a united Jerusalem. In honor of this occasion, the Afikim Foundation, in cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, is launching the Jerusalem50 Global Unity Torah, a global movement that celebrates…

Thousands gather

photo - International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries

(photo by Mendel Grossbaum / Chabad.org) Rabbis dance with their colleagues at a banquet at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Pier 8 on Nov. 27. They were among the 5,600 rabbis and guests from 90 countries who gathered in New York…

טרודו וקסטרו

photo - Cuba’s former leader, Fidel Castro, who died on Nov. 25

מנהיגה לשעבר של קובה, פידל קסטרו, שנפטר ב-25 בנובמבר. (צילום: Antônio Milena/ABr via Wikimedia Commons) ג’סטין טרודו מאבד גובה: תמיכתו בפידל קסטרו גרמה לראש ממשלת קנדה לראשונה לחטוף מכל עבר ראש ממשלת קנדה מטעם המפלגה הליברלית, ג’סטין טרודו, חטף לראשונה…

Garfinkel aims for Victoria

photo - Gabe Garfinkel is running for the B.C. Liberal nomination in Vancouver-Fairview

Gabe Garfinkel is running for the B.C. Liberal nomination in Vancouver-Fairview. (photo from Gabe Garfinkel) Gabe Garfinkel says he has the combination of youth and experience that makes him an ideal candidate for the B.C. Legislature. Garfinkel recently announced his…

Landscapes alive with color

photo - Sandy Blass’ solo exhibit No Other Country is at Zack Gallery until Dec. 12

Sandy Blass’ solo exhibit No Other Country is at Zack Gallery until Dec. 12. (photo by Olga Livshin) Artist Sandy Blass’ first solo show in Canada – No Other Country, a series of landscapes – opened last week at Zack…

Finding community on coast

photo - Members of the Gibsons-area Jewish community gather for a pre-Rosh Hashanah dinner

Members of the Gibsons-area Jewish community gather for a pre-Rosh Hashanah dinner. (photo by Lehe Spiegelman) Young Jewish families are looking for affordable living, just like everyone else. What they are finding is that the Lower Mainland just doesn’t provide…

Fires take a huge toll

photo - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu examines arson damage in Beit Meir

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu examines arson damage in Beit Meir. (photo from Ashernet) Last week’s wave of fires across northern and central Israel is estimated to have caused, so far, some half a billion shekels in damage, and total projections…

Does the truth still matter?

A recently released study from the graduate School of Education at Stanford University engaged 7,800 middle school, high school and college students to evaluate the information they received on the internet. The report said there was a “stunning and dismaying…