{"id":36842,"date":"2021-05-07T02:42:24","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T09:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=36842"},"modified":"2021-05-07T00:03:37","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T07:03:37","slug":"torah-class-marks-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/05\/07\/torah-class-marks-10-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Torah class marks 10 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Manis Friedman is the keynote speaker at Chabad Richmond\u2019s celebration on June 1. (photo from Wikipedia)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On June 1, Chabad Richmond will mark 10 years of the weekly Torah studies class. A special event celebrating the past and launching the future will feature guest speaker Rabbi Manis Friedman, a renowned lecturer, counselor and author of several books and many articles. The topic is The Top 10 Reasons to Study Torah.<\/p>\n

Starting in 2011 as a small group that met with Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman to discuss the weekly parashah<\/em> (Torah portion), this assembly of retirees has grown to more than 20 people weekly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile not exclusively the domain of the retired, these weekly morning Torah classes mainly attract seniors,\u201d said Baitelman. \u201cNot only are local Richmond and Vancouver folks attending, but participants from Alberta and Quebec are joining virtually as well. During the pandemic, with more people working from home, we have some younger participants, too. Everyone is welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the pandemic struck last year, Baitelman recognized the need for the continuity of Torah studies and immediately started offering classes via Zoom. These weekly classes have provided learning, but, more importantly, inspiration.<\/p>\n

Richmond resident and longtime Chabad attendee Grace Jampolsky approached Baitelman back in 2011 and asked if he would offer a weekly Torah class. She gathered a few friends, and so began the 10-year tradition that is now a foundational part of the participants\u2019 lives. The weekly class is a program of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute of Richmond.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging Chabad Richmond\u2019s accomplishments to date, Baitelman said, \u201cIt\u2019s all about celebrating our past learning and looking forward to growth and continued learning for the future. The continuity of weekly Torah study over 10 years is a real milestone. It represents thousands of hours spent studying the Torah portion of the week together, interactively, as a community of learners.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the participants attest, the classes have had a positive impact on expanding their Jewishness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to ask me what the goals of the Torah classes are, I\u2019d say it\u2019s two-pronged goal \u2013 to increase class attendance and to share a love of Torah with our community,\u201d said Baitelman.<\/p>\n

Speaking with a few of the initial attendees, it became apparent that it\u2019s not just the content of the classes that resonates with people, it\u2019s Baitelman\u2019s approach to teaching.<\/p>\n

Ralph and Gina Blasbalg are two of the original members and, when asked how the classes have impacted their lives, Ralph Blasbalg said: \u201cIt\u2019s always something to look forward to, especially when we\u2019re cocooning during the pandemic. We don\u2019t go out very much because we\u2019re very vulnerable. The Torah lessons, the talks, the spirited wisdom of our rabbi \u2013 we are so lucky to have this rabbi in our community. Rabbi Baitelman is such a mensch, he\u2019s just a wonderful human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked how it\u2019s enriched their lives, he added: \u201cFirst of all, the knowledge that we are gaining, the knowledge about Torah, the knowledge about our community and the responsibilities that each one of us has to share and pay forward to the community. And the benefit that it gives to us, meaning that we have a sense of belonging, and we realize how our ancestors lived and how faith supported them through even worse times. We just have a pandemic \u2013 they had pogroms and illness and suppression and oppression \u2026 and, still, this faith, this Yiddishkeit, the manner of living by the Torah rules \u2013 the manual of life \u2013 is so important to us, for me, it\u2019s definitely giving me that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former participant Stevie Steiner said: \u201cI was one of the first people in the group \u2026 and I attended for several years. I loved that class. It gave my life more meaning and purpose. If I went to the class tired, by the time it was over, I found myself so uplifted, or thoughtful. It made me look at things very differently, and very positively. Rabbi Baitelman always saw the glass half full, rather than half empty. It made quite a difference in my life actually. Rabbi Baitelman is a wonderful man and excellent teacher. He\u2019s got a talent for getting the lesson across. The material was always very relevant. The rabbi was a very positive influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regular participant Maria Hughes said: \u201cThe weekly Torah classes have had a big effect on me. I\u2019m from Russia, where there were no Torah classes, no nothing. I just knew I was Jewish because it was in my past, but I was discriminated against everywhere there. I went to live in Israel, but didn\u2019t go to synagogue because I felt like an outsider and we didn\u2019t know Hebrew. When I came to live in Richmond and started attending Chabad Richmond, I really started learning about Judaism and started feeling more and more proud of being Jewish\u2026. It was like the puzzle came together. I started studying more and loving it. So I started talking to my daughter (who lives in Israel) about it a lot and we had different discussions. She was not religious at all \u2026 but, slowly, my daughter started keeping Shabbat and I think my influence was a big part of it. My talking about Judaism had a big effect on her. It affected not just me, but also my daughter and grandchildren. It affected a whole generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver; Rabbi Efraim Mintz, executive director of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute; and Sheldon Kuchinsky, board member of Chabad Richmond, will be present to offer greetings at the celebration of the class\u2019s 10 years.<\/p>\n

Guest speaker Friedman is the dean of Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies, the world\u2019s first yeshiva exclusively for women. He hosts his own cable TV series, Torah Forum with Manis Friedman, which is syndicated throughout North America.<\/p>\n

The event takes place at 7 p.m. on June 1 via Zoom at chabadrichmond.com\/celebrate<\/a>. Register online using the link, or call 604-277-6427. Everyone is welcome.<\/p>\n

Shelley Civkin<\/strong> is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the <\/em>Richmond Review. She\u2019s currently a freelance writer and volunteer, including at Chabad Richmond.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Manis Friedman is the keynote speaker at Chabad Richmond\u2019s celebration on June 1. (photo from Wikipedia) On June 1, Chabad Richmond will mark 10 years of the weekly Torah studies class. A special event celebrating the past and launching the future will feature guest speaker Rabbi Manis Friedman, a renowned lecturer, counselor and author […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7368,3076,20532,20528,20529,20503,20531,20530,2172,3626],"class_list":["post-36842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-chabad-richmond","tag-education","tag-grace-jampolsky","tag-manis-friedman","tag-maria-hughes","tag-milestone","tag-ralph-blasbalg","tag-stevie-steiner","tag-torah","tag-yechiel-baitelman"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}