Category Op-Ed

Jewish ethics and surrogacy

photo - Spikebrennan via Wikimedia Commons

(Spikebrennan via Wikimedia Commons) The subject of surrogacy has been examined by Jewish scholars, mainly rabbis, for thousands of years. The Jewish belief system of ethical values incorporates two independent and seemingly disparate thoughts. The first is the obligation to…

Saying goodbye to a dear friend

photo - Jenny and Zvika, 2002

Jenny and Zvika, 2002. (photo from Jenny Wright) I am at Vancouver International Airport and U.S. Customs hands me a card asking the purpose of my visit to the United States. Is it business, pleasure, study? “None of the above,”…

Importance of listening

photo - Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish (photo by Bob Talbot) I was born in Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, southern Israel. My father, an Israeli-born Jew of Tunisian descent, began his residency in obstetrics and gynecology the following year. Joining him in the…

Thoughts on Oakridge exhibit

photo - Staging a parade on Laurel Street, circa 1960. An image from the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia’s online exhibit, Oakridge

Staging a parade on Laurel Street, circa 1960. An image from the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia’s online exhibit, Oakridge. (photo from Gail Dodek Wenner via jewishmuseum.ca) The oral history exhibit recently launched by the Jewish Museum and…

Benefits from finding your I

What was your growing-up story like? If we are fortunate, we are in a nurturing environment as we scramble to make some sense of the world around us, with little sense of who or what we are. We are all…

For the love of G-d and man

Our Bible, according to my estimation, tells us repetitively to love G-d. How can we comply with this mandate? I love my wife, kids, a few highly select friends who owe me money, even the cat. And I love lamb…

Much work to be done

It has been a difficult month for me and I know it has been for many of you. Though I feel more and more like a Canadian with each passing year and I am a rabbi in this community, I…

Illiberal world of Bannon

In considering the furor around President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Stephen Bannon, the chief executive officer of the hard-right news website Breitbart, as his chief strategist, let’s start with the perspective of those who have defended him. On one…

Mourning Mom and inherited scars

photo - Marta Fuchs, right, with Ilona Fuchs, 1968, Pasadena, Calif.

Marta Fuchs, right, with Ilona Fuchs, 1968, Pasadena, Calif. (photo from Marta Fuchs) My 98-year-old mother died recently and I’m waiting to feel something. I watched family and friends cry at her funeral and I listened to their outpouring of…

Good news on Alzheimer’s

For the last three years, I have been researching, interviewing and writing articles for Senior Line, the magazine published three times a year by Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver. In that capacity, I read everything I can about dementia,…