Arts & Culture

The greatest Jewish novel?

image - The Ruined House cover

What strange quirk brought it about that what may be one of the greatest and most Jewish of Jewish novels should be written not by a Diaspora Jew, nor an Israeli Jew, nor a Diaspora Jew who had made aliyah,…

Celebrating many milestones

photo - Alexandra Gerson, centre, says a few words at a Jewish talent show put on by Radio VERA last year

Alexandra Gerson, centre, says a few words at a Jewish talent show put on by Radio VERA last year. (photo from Radio VERA) “I have a dream: I want to bring together Russian-speaking and English-speaking Jews in Canada, to unite…

Singing adds to health

photo - Choir director and singer Earle Peach, seated at centre, with members of Highs and Lows Choir

Choir director and singer Earle Peach, seated at centre, with members of Highs and Lows Choir. (photo by Kathleen Yang) For more than 20 years, Highs and Lows Choir has brought music back into the lives of its members. Established…

Ever-changing job landscape

photo - Prof. Ilana Gershon’s latest book is Down and Out in the New Economy

Prof. Ilana Gershon’s latest book is Down and Out in the New Economy. (photo from Ilana Gershon) An increasing number of people in their 50s and 60s are needing or wanting to find work – and are finding that next…

Life-giving practice

photo - On Feb. 1, Sarah Peyton speaks at Or Shalom on the topic Why Love is Not Enough: Family Heartache and the Path of Repair

On Feb. 1, Sarah Peyton speaks at Or Shalom on the topic Why Love is Not Enough: Family Heartache and the Path of Repair. (photo from Or Shalom) Have you ever longed for someone who would be able to listen…

Healing after tragedy

photo - Mishelle Cuttler has the challenge of supervising the musical elements of The Events, which features a different community choir every show

Mishelle Cuttler has the challenge of supervising the musical elements of The Events, which features a different community choir every show. (photo from Pi Theatre) In 2011, while he was out with his son, who was then 12 years old,…

Perpetrators offers new insights

book cover - Perpetrators: The World of the Holocaust Killers cropped

Who could shoot at close range two million children, women and men who were standing at the sides of graves they had just been forced to dig? And then, when this process proved inefficient, who could herd four million more…

A history of Jewish humour

photo - Matthew Gindin takes a pause in his talk, The History of Jewish Humour

Matthew Gindin takes a pause in his talk, The History of Jewish Humour. (photo from Jewish Seniors Alliance) On Nov. 24, the first session of the 2017-18 Empowerment Series started with a bang. Almost 80 people came out to launch…

Play faces our mortality

photo - Kelly Sheridan and Peter Wilson in The Realistic Joneses

Kelly Sheridan and Peter Wilson in The Realistic Joneses. (photo by Nancy Caldwell) The unfortunate truth is that we are all going to die some day. How we cope with our mortality defines our approach to life. Playwright Will Eno…

Reinvention of Salomé myth

image - For the past five years, Jewish community member Adeena Karasick has been working with Grammy Award-winning composer/trumpeter Frank London on Salomé: Woman of Valor

For the past five years, Jewish community member Adeena Karasick has been working with Grammy Award-winning composer/trumpeter Frank London on Salomé: Woman of Valor, a total art experience, groundbreaking in its interplay of poetry, music, dance and film. Karasick’s libretto,…