Passover is coming next week, yet it seems to have been with us in spirit a great deal this year. Many Jewish individuals and congregations in Vancouver and elsewhere have been involved in welcoming Syrian and Iraqi refugees fleeing tyranny and violence. And, almost inevitably, part of the justification for helping has been the Exodus story.
Through our religious teachings and rituals, we are engaged in applying the experiences of the past to the events of the present. The Pesach story is certainly applicable when a people is in need of refuge. So is the more recent, and less triumphal, story of the Jewish experience in the 20th century, which saw every nation on earth shut its doors to desperate refugees until it was too late. (See “Refugee policy evolves.”)
As we join together at seder tables around the city and around the world, let us continue to invite the lessons of the past to illuminate our path to the future.
At moments during the holidays, we are encouraged to seek out the transcendent values in our traditions and integrate them into our lives so that we can make a better world. It is clear from the work being done to aid refugees that these values are already well entrenched in so many individuals and congregations. Let this Passover be a time of rededication for all of us to the values that welcome the stranger, show gratitude, celebrate freedom and hasten the world we seek.
Participants in the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ annual convention, which took place in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in February. (photo from Dan Moskovitz)
Among the approximately 400 Reform rabbis who gathered in Israel in the last week of February for the 127th annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), which is the rabbinic leadership organization of Reform Judaism, were Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Dan Moskovitz and Rabbi Carey Brown.
Of the rabbis who attended, about 100 of them were from Israel and Europe, the rest from North America. Moskovitz traveled from Vancouver, while Brown was in Israel at the time on her rabbinic sabbatical.
“It’s important for Reform rabbis to have a presence in Israel, to show that we are committed to an Israel that is based on our shared the values of democracy, pluralism, peace and inclusivity,” said Moskovitz in a press release before the convention. “This valuable on-the-ground experience in Israel, including with Israeli leaders, will enable me to share the insights I gained with my community and deepen our ongoing learning and relationship with Israel.”
“The highlight of our time there, for me, was the egalitarian Torah service at the new prayer space, Ezrat Israel, at the Western Wall,” Moskovitz told the Independent after his return. “We had the privilege of being present at the first official Torah service, which was officiated by Rabbi Ada Zavirov of Israel and Rabbi Zach Shapiro of Los Angeles.” That the Torah service was led by a woman and a gay man increased its poignancy for many. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the head of the Reform movement, addressed the crowd after the service.
Moskovitz also participated in a fact-finding mission about poverty and women’s rights in the Orthodox community. They met with Hamutal Guri, chief executive officer of the DAFNA Fund: Women Collaborating for Change, a group that works on a broad spectrum of issues facing women in Israel. They also met with Efrat Ben Shoshan Gazit and Liora Anat-Shafir, who are both leaders in the ultra-Orthodox community. Their contacts highlighted many of the unseen struggles that women face in order to succeed in Israeli society, and the many issues they face in the ultra-Orthodox world in particular.
Gazit led the successful No Voice, No Vote Campaign, which told Orthodox men that unless women can run in Orthodox political parties they will not vote for Orthodox political parties. Anat-Shafir was instrumental in banning tzniyut (modesty) squads, which policed how women dressed in her community of Beit Shemesh.
In Hebron, Moskovitz met with members of the Jewish community. Hebron, traditionally a spiritual destination for religious pilgrims, is now a divided city. Israel Defence Forces checkpoints, barbed wire and fences restrict Palestinian movement and protect the Jewish population and holy sites. The rabbis arrived minutes after a terror attack that killed one Israeli soldier at a checkpoint outside the city. “As our bus arrived, the carnage and crime scene were right before our eyes,” said Moscovitz.
On a more positive note, Brown met with representatives of the Israel Religious Action Centre to discuss racism and incitement in Israel, and studied an IRAC project that examines locations in Israel where there is a high level of coexistence between Arabs and Jews in order to find patterns of success for the future. “One particular area of focus is the health-care field,” she said, “one area which serves as a wonderful example of Arabs and Jews working together in Israel.”
Knesset members representing eight different political parties addressed more than 300 of the Reform rabbis at a special meeting of the Israeli-Diaspora Knesset Committee on Feb. 25. MK Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union and leader of the opposition) told those assembled: “I congratulate all of you for the recent decisions on the Kotel to create an egalitarian and pluralistic prayer space and the Supreme Court decision giving rights to Reform and Conservative converts to use state-sponsored mikvaot. The decisions of the Israeli government and the High Court of Justice are not acts of kindness. They are based in Jewish responsibility and democratic principles, which is what the state of Israel is meant to advocate. Religion in the state cannot be monopolized by the ultra-Orthodox. You in the Reform movement are our partners and will always be our partners.”
Similar statements came from MKs Tamar Zandburg (Labor), Tzipi Livni (Tenua), Amir Kohana (Likud), Rachel Azariah (Kulanu), Dov Khanin (Arab List), Michal Biran (Labor), Nachman Shai (Labor), Michal Michaeli (Meretz), Michael Oren (Kulanu) and others.
The convention wasn’t all meetings. To support Reform Judaism in Israel, CCAR rabbis participated in the Tel Aviv Marathon (running or walking five or 10 kilometres). Everywhere they went, they were warmly welcomed and cheered on, said Moskovitz, and the rabbis saw the marathon as a chance to promote the benefits of the Reform movement to Israeli society.
“The Reform Movement in Israel, which is growing daily, aims to create an Israel that is democratic, pluralistic and inclusive,” stressed Moskovitz. “Those are values which many Israelis strongly identify with.”
Both Moskovitz and Brown were impressed with the growing profile of Reform and Masorti (Conservative) Judaism in Israel, and the increasing strides being made for religious liberty and pluralism. Since the rabbis’ return to Vancouver, the agreement on the egalitarian prayer space has hit some roadblocks, but the momentum seems clear. The extreme statements coming from ultra-Orthodox politicians – such as Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism’s recent call to throw the Women of the Wall “to the dogs” – are likely an indication of a growing desperation in the face of a loss of power to dictate the course of Judaism in Israel.
“Every day we were there,” said Moskovitz, “we were vilified in the press by ultra-Orthodox rabbis and politicians. I was happy to see that: if they’re not talking about you, you’re irrelevant.”
Matthew Gindinis a writer, lecturer and holistic therapist. As well as teaching holistic medicine, Gindin regularly lectures on topics in Jewish and world spirituality, and has a particular passion for making ancient wisdom traditions relevant in the modern world. His work has been featured on Elephant Journal, the Zen Site and Wisdom Pills, and he blogs at Talis in Wonderland (mgindin.wordpress.com) and Voices (hashkata.com).
Left to right: Gyda Chud (co-chair), Serge Haber, Jackie Weiler (co-chair) and Dr. Kendall Ho. (photo by Binny Goldman)
Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver’s annual spring forum – this year with the topic An App a Day Keeps the Doctor Away – drew a large and curious crowd to the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture on April 3.
JSA president Marilyn Berger welcomed attendees and thanked pianist Stan Shear for opening the forum. Shear would add the harmonica and his voice to his later performance, but first shared that his wife, Karon Shear, JSA coordinator, had suggested the opening song, “Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative,” by Johnny Mercer, as she thought it embodied the message JSA tries to instil in its approach to helping others.
Berger then surprised the audience by introducing Dan Ruimy, who is the Liberal member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, where he owns and operates Bean Around Books and Tea.
Dan Ruimy, Liberal Party of Canada MP for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge. (photo by Binny Goldman)
Ruimy said that living in Maple Ridge doesn’t give him much opportunity to meet many Jews, so it was only on a recent trip to Israel as a parliamentarian that he rediscovered his Jewish roots. He said he was especially happy, honored and touched to talk to a group of his “compadres,” referring to those gathered at the forum. He said that seniors have given their life, blood sweat and tears to the building of Canada and he hopes to help the government become better equipped to meet the needs of seniors.
JSA is run by volunteers, said Berger – from peer support to education programming to advocacy – and its membership is diverse. As she called upon Larry Shapiro to introduce the forum’s keynote speaker, Dr. Kendall Ho, she noted that Shapiro had been volunteering with JSA since his arrival in Vancouver from Montreal. Smiling, Shapiro denied he had volunteered to be part of JSA, but rather had been shlepped in – and now would have to be hauled away from doing what he loves.
A practising emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital, Ho is founding director of Digital Emergency Medicine within University of British Columbia’s department of emergency medicine. He praised the creativity of the day’s topic title – An App a Day Keeps the Doctor Away – which was penned by Berger. Ho said he was turning to mobile apps as a way of helping patients help themselves. There are many new ones in the market, he said, that can help people achieve better health and even strive for excellent health. Some of these apps are free.
Mobile technology can also supply life-saving information and provide immediate access to life-saving help. About the use of such technology by seniors, Ho gave some of the statistics from a recent study: 63% use wearable data for monitoring, 76% read online reviews to select a doctor, 74% book online appointments and pay bills, 73% of doctors use mobile devices to share information, 61% are interested in 3-D printing for prosthetic and hearing aids, and 57% use cutting-edge devices.
In choosing an app, Ho advised asking yourself the following questions: Is this a worthy tool and how effective is it? Is this technology good for me? Is it safe? Is my privacy/identity protected? Is it easy?
Ho demonstrated how easy it is to download a free app and encouraged the audience to download it as he went through the procedure step by step.
Of the available free apps, he recommended:
Canadian Red Cross’ First Aid app, which helps users maintain their life-saving skills
Medisafe Medication Reminder, available for a free trial period, which helps people manage the pills they have to take, including sending an alarm to their phone or watch as a reminder
MindShift, which was developed in British Columbia to track the symptoms of anxiety and offers ways in which to cope with anxiety
BellyBio Interactive Breathing, for relaxation
Instant Heart Rate, monitors users’ heart rate
Sleeptime, detects users motion while they’re sleeping, and can be programmed to allow you to complete your dream, as it can detect when you are in REM
My Fitness Pal, a calorie counter and diet plan, and one of Ho’s personal favorites – it helped him lose 10 pounds.
Ho also suggested some important websites: healthlinkbc.ca to connect to a nurse or a health professional, myehealth.ca to get the results of a blood test (deleted after 30 days) and medlineplus.gov (research) for basic health information written in everyday language.
He advised the audience to ask their medical advisor which apps would work best for them, and to discuss results with the medical professional, so as not to cause themselves unnecessary anxiety by misinterpreting the data.
There are sensors available now, he said, such as wristbands, orthotics, helmets that detect concussions, a UV patch, a wand that monitors hydration (for cyclists) and T-shirts with sensors in the fabric.
Patient engagement, said Ho, is the blockbuster “drug” of the century. Using these types of technology, 88% of patients feel engaged in their health care. Using wearables shows a reduction of cardiac-related deaths and there is a 76% reduction in overall mortality when a patient is involved in his or her own health care.
Ho said that studies show that two out of three seniors 65 and over want to use technology to support their own health and access outcome-related data. Seniors now are tech savvy, he said.
Ho would like to see the use of health-related technology spread to the entire province; involve doctors, nurses, patients, governments and tech companies; be studied for its benefits, patient satisfaction and safety; and be further developed, with new sensors and devices over time.
The audience was reluctant to allow Ho to end his talk. Nonetheless, event co-chair Gyda Chud, who along with Jackie Weiler convened the forum, stepped in to ask if there were any questions for the doctor.
Ho was visibly moved when Al Stein said he would be forever grateful to Ho, as Ho had saved his life when he was having a cardiac problem and was admitted to emergency. Others who had been similarly helped thanked Ho fervently, as well.
Questions included whether there was an app for drug interaction and, yes, there is, but only for professionals. Attendees were also concerned that apps would reduce the amount of time doctors would spend with them. Ho said that apps were there to help both patients and doctors, but there was still the need for the right doctor to guide patients on their health journey.
It is safe to say that many in the audience felt that Ho would be the best guide and that the best mobile app would be Ho.
Chud thanked Ho, coining a slogan that Ho enjoyed: “Beat the stats, use more apps.”
Barbara Bronstein and Shapiro organized the refreshments, which Chud provided, and countless volunteers were everywhere from set-up to shalom. Karon Shear and Rita Propp also were integral to the whole event, while Stan Shear not only performed but, with son David, recorded the proceedings. The video can be found at jsalliance.org.
Binny Goldmanis a member of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver board.
Spring is the time of nature’s reawakening, when we are treated to so many vibrant and beautiful colors and shades. Spring is also when Jewish communities around the world celebrate the unique and important holiday of Passover. So why don’t we combine the two and make a festive Passover postcard with a spring butterfly against flowery background?
In making our postcard, we can unleash our imaginations! There are so many beautiful butterflies in the world – it is impossible to count them all. And there are no strict rules in art projects, so feel free to be creative, dear young artists. But, if you want to try and make your butterfly look like a real one, you will need to choose a design you can repeat, as both wings of a butterfly are the same in design and texture.
So, gather all the brown, black, blue, yellow, purple, green, pink and other colors of Plasticine you have at home. You will also need toothpicks. Now let’s get started!
1. Take brown Plasticine and make the butterfly’s head, thorax (torso) and abdomen.
2. Put all the butterfly body parts together. Make black antennae (a butterfly’s “whiskers”). After that, make and attach blue eyes and a pink mouth.
3. Take yellow Plasticine and make one wing, attach it to the body on the top left side. Make one more wing – purple – and attach it underneath the yellow wing.
4. Use your fingers to make the wings smooth.
5. Now make and attach identical wings to the right top and bottom sides. Make them smooth, too.
6. Make beautiful ornaments for the top left yellow wing using, for example, green, blue, purple, red and pink colors, just like we did. You can use other colors, if you’d like.
7. Repeat the same design on the top right yellow wing.
8. Using the same technique, make colorful ornaments for the two bottom wings on both sides. You may use yellow, orange and blue colors to do that. Now your butterfly is ready!
To make the postcard, you can put your butterfly in front of some flowers, attaching it using a piece of wire or a thin stick, and take a picture of it with this flowery background. You can then print out the image, and you will have your own beautiful Passover postcard with a fluttering butterfly.
Happy Passover, dear Jewish Independent readers – to you and your families!
Lana Lagooncais a graphic designer, author and illustrator (lunart.ca). At curlyorli.com, there are more free lessons, along with information about Curly Orli merchandise.
Although it seems like just yesterday that many of us were making our New Year’s resolution to hit the gym more often, the first day of spring has already come and gone and summer is just around the corner. Yet much work still lies ahead to achieve that “beach bod.” Not to worry, Ariel Ziv, a Vancouver-based health educator, fitness trainer and developer of Warrior Kickbox, can help.
Ziv, 31, was born in Calgary and lived there until the age of 6, when his Sabra parents, educators at Jewish day schools, returned home after 30 years in Canada. Raised in Jerusalem, Ziv completed his schooling and then did the mandatory stint in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), serving in an elite unit in the navy. As an officer, he trained new recruits for combat, ensuring that they could cope mentally as well as physically in high-pressure situations that require integrity and teamwork. Ziv described his five years of military service as a “life-changing opportunity where I met my best friends for life. It is a privilege to serve our country and contribute as best we can.”
Like many young Israelis, Ziv went traveling upon completion of his IDF service, embarking on a four-month trip to South America. However, he was atypical in that, “I was the only backpacker that was working out!”
In Bolivia, he went to a gym for a drop-in session despite the “crazy altitude” that made it hard to breathe. Also in Bolivia, his travel buddies were chauffeured from site to site on a three-day jeep tour of the salt flats while Ziv ran alongside the vehicle. In Colombia, he ran on the beach every day.
Ziv returned to Israel from his post-army trip and enrolled in an intensive, six-month personal training course at the Wingate Institute, Israel’s National Centre for Physical Education and Sport. All aspects of the education were holistic in scope and took into consideration the different needs and abilities of diverse clients, including pregnant women and those with many different types of injuries. Ziv complemented his personal training certification with further accreditation at Wingate in group training for kickboxing, spinning, pilates, core and stretch classes.
From there, Ziv pursued an undergraduate degree in business management at Ben-Gurion University. However, “before I even set foot on the campus, I applied for a job as a personal trainer at Great Shape, the largest gym in Beersheva!” Ziv worked there for two years, during which time he met Chen, his wife, who is a dietician and yoga instructor. He was subsequently promoted to the position of gym manager at the Rehovot branch, where he supervised 20 personal trainers and hired and trained new instructors. Ziv also taught at fitness conventions across Israel. In fact, in 2014, he was one of only four kickboxing instructors from across Israel selected to participate in the first annual Kickboxing Convention in Tel Aviv, where he was voted best instructor by attendees.
Ever committed to continuing education, Ziv traveled to Finland to study CrossFit, a fitness regimen based on constantly varied functional movements – the core movements of life – performed at relatively high intensity. At the time, CrossFit – now a global phenomenon – had not yet arrived in Israel, so Ziv received his Level 1 and Gymnastics certification in Helsinki.
Back in Israel, Ziv channeled his passion for health and fitness with his education and training into developing a unique fitness concept called Warrior Kickbox. The practice combines simple, non-contact martial arts movements with functional training exercises that mirror daily actions – sitting and standing, pushing and pulling, lifting and carrying, bending and squatting. According to Ziv, Warrior Kickbox highlights the importance of “how to use one’s body correctly in day-to-day life” to prevent injury. He taught Warrior Kickbox in Israel until his move to Vancouver in late 2014.
Ziv had decided that he wanted to share his fitness talents outside of Israel. Although it was hard to leave “home,” he and his wife had visited Vancouver several times (his sister lives here) and he said it “was always in my mind to move here,” in part because of the health-conscious, fitness-oriented lifestyle of Vancouverites. His goal is “to do the maximum and have a positive impact on the community.”
Certainly, Ziv has kept busy since arriving here. He acquired his mortgage broker’s licence and works with Averbach Mortgages, he volunteers with the Canadian Red Cross and, of course, he is a personal and group fitness instructor to clients of all ages and abilities. He teaches fitness classes for seniors at the Legacy Senior Living retirement community – and was interviewed on CTV Morning Live about the benefits of fitness for seniors. He leads a family-oriented fitness class at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCCGV) and has taught krav maga (Israeli self-defence) to elementary school-aged children through Temple Sholom. Ziv also teaches his Warrior Kickbox at the JCCGV twice a week and, recently, Inside Vancouver recognized the class as one of Vancouver’s top workouts.
The fun, high-energy, calorie-burning workouts attract a diverse group of people of different ages, gender and abilities. Accordingly, Ziv provides options for each exercise, catering to the range of different fitness levels in a class. He circulates regularly among clients to ensure that they are employing the correct technique.
A 60-minute class at the JCCGV passed quickly because of Ziv’s motivating enthusiasm and that of those in the class, including one middle-aged woman who amusingly shouted out general words of encouragement throughout the hour. The upbeat workout music, which ranged from Israeli classics to club electronica, also helped.
Rachel London, a 33-year-old mother of two and a JCCGV member, started personal and group training with Ziv approximately three months ago because she “saw him training other clients at the gym and was so impressed by how hard they worked and by the results they were getting.” She said, “Since starting training with him, I have not only gained physical strength and increased my fitness level, I have also gained confidence in my ability and potential to surpass what I thought were my limits. He is a master of creating just the right workout for you, whether you are a first-time exerciser or an advanced athlete.”
Ziv is committed to the success of his clients and finds personal training meaningful and rewarding.
“For me,” he said, “that’s the main thing – changing people’s lives [and helping them] keep healthy lives.”
One exceptionally noteworthy success story is of an overweight middle-aged man in Israel with whom Ziv worked for several months to help lose 40 pounds responsibly so that he could donate a kidney to his son.
Of teaching fitness in Vancouver and in the Jewish community, in particular, Ziv said, “I want to have a positive impact in the community [and] I really feel that [the JCCGV] is home for me. I love coming here. I love the people. I love saying Shabbat shalom, speaking in Hebrew, and playing Israeli music in my classes.”
Alexis Pavlichis a Vancouver-based freelance reporter.
It is a master storyteller who can make you feel like you’ve met someone you never knew, visited a city to which you’ve never been, make you long for a people, place and culture you’ve never experienced but from a generation, location and language once, twice or thrice removed. Abraham Karpinowitz (1913-2004) is such a writer. And, thanks to local master storyteller and translator Helen Mintz, more of us can now visit Karpinowitz’s Vilna – a city full of colorful characters, both real and not, and share in a small part of their lives.
Vilna My Vilna (Syracuse University Press, 2016) is a collection of 13 short stories and two brief memoirs by Karpinowitz, translated from Yiddish into English by Mintz. For context and a better understanding of Karpinowitz and his work – notably one of the main “characters” in his writing, Vilna – there is a foreword by Justin Cammy, an associate professor of Jewish studies and comparative literature at Smith College in Massachusetts, and an introduction by Mintz. These two scholarly essays are invaluable, but if you’re completely unfamiliar with Karpinowitz, perhaps jump ahead and read a few of the stories before heading back to these parts of the book. It’s kind of a Catch-22, in that their insight enhances the enjoyment of the stories, but the stories enhance the understanding of the analysis and history.
Romantics will appreciate most the linked stories of “The Folklorist” and “Chana-Merka the Fishwife.” In the first tale, Rubinshteyn heads to the Vilna fish market to collect material for YIVO (the Yiddish Scientific Institute) because he knows that, if the “genuine language of the people” is not documented, “it would be a great loss for the culture.” Dedicated to his work, and a dedicated bachelor, he fails to notice that Chana-Merka has fallen in love with him and, once his research is complete, he stops visiting the fish market, much to her – and his – sadness. In the second tale, Chana-Merka heads to YIVO herself to make sure that Max Weinreich, its director, knows from whom all of Rubinshteyn’s material came: she makes lists of curses for Weinreich, such as “May you speak so beautifully that only cats understand you,” and “May you be lucky and go crazy in a more important city than Vilna.”
Weinreich is one of the real people who appear in this collection where fiction and non-fiction meld. Yoysef Giligitsh, a teacher at the Re’al Gymnasium, is another. Most readers will not be able to identify all of these people and, while there will be added realism for those who can, the characters stand on their own. Besides, these people are secondary to the protagonists, who are the fishwives, the prostitutes, the criminals, the poor.
Despite that everyone is trying to eke out an existence, even the criminals follow a moral code. For example, Karpinowitz notes, in “Vilna, Vilna, Our Native City” that the Golden Flag criminal organization’s constitution includes the admonition, “Our members should behave properly and not forget that even though we are who we are, we are still Jews,” and that “[t]here was a directive for the general treasury to provide dowries for poor brides.”
Karpinowitz pokes fun at communism, capitalism, politics in general. His descriptions put readers right into the scene, almost as if they’re standing on the opposite street corner watching events unfold. And he has some wonderful turns of phrase. In “Shibele’s Lottery Ticket,” for example, Sheyndel’s husband goes off to fill the water bucket and never returns: “Sheyndel missed her husband, the shiksa chaser, less than the bucket.”
Or, in one of the two memoirs, “The Tree Beside the Theatre,” Karpinowitz writes about his father’s choice to sell his print shop to run a theatre, “If he’d stayed in the print shop, he’d be a rich man. My mother reminded him of this every time she couldn’t cover expenses. But everything in the print shop, including the machines and the letters, was black, and everything in the theatre was colorful, even the poverty.”
Karpinowitz’s characters have self-dignity and hope. They are not passive, for the most part, but are actively trying to change their situation for the better or to help someone else. Not surprisingly, many of the stories have bleak endings, with the narratives going from charming and/or humorous to horrific, illustrating just how abruptly and brutally this world came to an end.
These stories that turn on a dime are so moving. They emphasize just how little people at the time understood that most of them would soon be murdered. As Karpinowitz writes in “Vilna, Vilna, Our Native City”: “For years, a Jew with blue spectacles stood on Daytshe Street begging, ‘Take me across to the other side.’ His plea was so heartrending that, rather than asking to be taken across the few cobblestones separating Gitke Toybe’s Lane from Yiddishe Street, he sounded like he needed to cross a deep and dangerous abyss. Maybe he was the first Jew in Vilna with a premonition about the Holocaust. Just the name of the street, Daytshe Gas, German Street, drove him from one side to the other. We could all see the little water pump and Yoshe’s kvass stall on the other side of the street, but through his dark spectacles, that Jew saw farther. Fate didn’t take him to the safer side. He ended up in the abyss at Ponar with everyone else.”
Karpinowitz survived the Holocaust in the Soviet Union, having left Vilna in 1937. He briefly returned in 1944 and then, after two years in a displaced persons camp in Cyprus, moved to Israel. Mintz notes that he wrote seven works of fiction, two biographies, a play and five short story collections. He was awarded the Manger Prize (1981), among several other honors.
In the stories of Vilna My Vilna, the geography of the city is integral, and the maps included are useful in situating the action. The glossary is also an essential part of the book: kvass, for example, is a “fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread.”
Adding even more value to this collection are three illustrations by Yosl Bergner that were in the original 1967 Yiddish publication of Karpinowitz’s Baym Vilner durkhhoyf and the painting “Soutine Street” by Samuel Bak is the cover of Vilna My Vilna. Both artists (and the Pucker Gallery, in the case of Bak’s painting) gave permission for their work to be used at no charge, which is an indication of the translation’s import beyond entertainment.
Mintz’s acknowledgements are many, and that she accepted so much input into the book speaks volumes about her integrity and the quality of her work. “Translating these stories brought me great joy,” she writes. “While never swerving from the truth, Abraham Karpinowitz answered genocide with love: love for his characters and love for his craft as a writer.” With Vilna My Vilna, Mintz adds her love, and that of many others, to ensure that Vilna, its people and its stories will not be forgotten.
The 23 authors in editor Liz Pearl’s latest collection of essays – Living Legacies: A Collection of Narratives by Contemporary Canadian Jewish Women, Vol. 5 (PK Press, 2015) – come from a range of backgrounds. They work in fields as varied as medicine, education, the arts, philanthropy, event planning and graphic design. They have served in the army, immigrated from Africa and led all manner of enterprises in business, education and community service. Their essays are brimful of passion, wisdom and intellect.
Among the writers are Victoria’s Vicki Davidoff and Vancouver’s Ada Glustein.
In her essay, Davidoff describes her journey from good friend and wife to skilled caregiver and, finally, “death doula” for terminal cancer patients. Losing her own husband, Ken, to cancer in 2008, Davidoff learned what it means to create a “conscious death.” Together, she and her husband crafted a space for reflection, writing letters to family members as well as his obituary. She describes this space as “sacred,” and she has established a respectful, spiritual program for patients and their families, one that gives structure and meaning to an otherwise terrifying ordeal.
Glustein, the daughter of Russian immigrants, was raised in a kosher home where Yiddish was spoken and the festivals of Canadian society ignored. Defining herself through her religion and culture, she was presented with a challenge growing up. Every young adult longs to blend in with her peers, but this felt impossible. She once made an Easter card at school. Knowing that it could not go home with her, the teacher tore it up, “her best artwork ever tossed in the wastebasket.” It was like an act of violence; combined with the hurtful comments from well-meaning but ignorant peers, Glustein felt like an impostor.
Times have changed, she notes. Nowadays, we understand that a person’s culture is less like a cold, unchanging monolith than a soft, woven, multi-textured fabric. Coming to understand and respect her parents’ reasons for raising her as they did, Glustein’s values as a teacher and a mother are grounded in the principle of inclusion.
The desire to connect with family is a thread that runs throughout Living Legacies, but the narratives also capture the essence of an organic form of Judaism, in which we all play a role in nurturing bonds both within and beyond our nuclear families. Rituals and traditions are opportunities to slow down long enough to celebrate each other, such as Ruth Ladovsky’s mother exclaiming over the Shabbat dinner table, “Did I ever tell you how lucky I am?”
When Marlene Levenson’s mother was afflicted with early onset Alzheimer’s, which created a sense of “chaos and confusion” in her childhood home, Levenson transformed her anger and grief with chesed, deciding to serve the Alzheimer’s community as a volunteer. Writes Levenson, “I have fallen in love with each and every client…. Being able to give back love and caring to these people is a dream.”
The collection also celebrates the making and eating of food shared with friends and family – blintzes, egg noodles, latkes, the knishes and shtrudel made by Dorothy Rusoff’s mother. Rusoff’s prose is positively delicious, jam-packed with references to cookies, soups, meringues and pastries. The vivid description of her mother and aunt cooking together is served with humor and affection, as well as reverence.
Living Legacies reveals the constant search for growth and inspiration, as modeled by Jewish women who, like Lori Palatnik, observe that “tikkun olam is in our DNA.” These vibrant, dynamic and driven individuals have clear goals for their and their families’ spiritual development. There emanates from this collection the sense of an assembly of leaders.
The stories are entertaining, like the story of the apple pie contest reported by Linda Rosenbaum, as well as challenging and uplifting, like L. Deborah Sword’s account of her unplanned pregnancy. It’s a book best served in small dishes, with lots of room between courses to allow for contemplation.
As is evident from the biographies of these well-traveled writers, many of us are separated from our extended families. Many of us keep a close watch on the clock at certain times of the day, only reaching for the phone when our loved ones in other countries have woken up. Living Legacies is a lovely way to bring the voices of mothers, grandmothers, aunts and sisters into our minds as we sip our coffee and wait for the golden moment when we can call home and hear our own mothers’ voices.
Brenda Morgenstern’s reflection on her mother’s legacy sums up the collection perfectly: “My mother left me with pride. My mother left me with love for Friday nights, Shabbos. Long tables at Rosh Hashanah and Passover. Tables filled with her legacy, her many children and grandchildren, sharing what was most important to her. Each other.”
Like the communal ring described by Rhonda Spivak, the collection is a symbol of the “core values of which Judaism is based – strength of community, love, family and tradition.”
Kids4Peace youth present religious items to friends at an interfaith session. (photo from Kids4Peace)
Kids4Peace (K4P) started in 2002 as a two-week summer retreat/camp in the United States for 12 kids: four Muslim, four Christian and four Jewish. It is now a global movement that works year-round to “break down stereotypes and foster supportive, mature friendships rooted in spiritual values of equality and respect.”
K4P was the brainchild of a Vermont Christian, Dr. Henry R. Carse, who, at 18, left the United States, not wanting to be drafted into the Vietnam War. He moved to Israel and became a citizen. Having done his mandatory service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), he served in the IDF during the First Intifada (1987-1993). By the time of the Second Intifada (2000), he had been in Israel for about 30 years, was married and had four children. He wanted things to change so, with the help of some American friends, he created K4P, and the first camp took place in the States though Carse lived in Israel.
In 2004, Yakir Englander joined the organization as a volunteer. He did so for a few reasons.
A student at the time, Englander had grown up in Israel’s Bnei Brak area in a modern, Chassidic family. However, he left the Orthodox community at the age of 22.
“I decided to leave my community with a lot of love … some criticism, but mostly with love, and a huge desire to find more ways to be connected to spirituality and the divine,” he said.
When he left orthodoxy, he was drafted into the IDF, serving in an educational capacity, later spending most of his reserve time in a unit that had to identify dead bodies.
In his first month of studies at Hebrew University, in Jerusalem, in 2002, a bomb exploded and he found himself carrying the bodies of students, some of whom were American. He said that he felt lost, as did “many other Israelis,” feeling that the way toward change was through meeting with Palestinians.
“I went to a few meetings with different organizations,” he told the Independent, “but what I felt was that there’s this huge criticism of Israel in words and language that blames me. Yet, I didn’t have an opinion…. I didn’t know. It wasn’t just because I was Orthodox in the past. At the end of the day, there are many things we don’t know and also life is much more complicated.
“Another thing is that religion is always blamed as the reason for the conflict. For me, my religion was a source of love, a source that gave me energy, a source that gave me courage to go meet with Palestinians.”
When Englander heard about K4P, he joined as a Jewish advisor, and then later as a director until 2012.
Englander found it intriguing that two-thirds of K4P participants are Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian. “The fact that they are the majority in K4P, in a way, gives them the first opportunity to be in the majority,” said Englander. “This created new sets of power of dynamics, which are very interesting.”
About K4P’s goal, he said, “I think, today, when we hear the word ‘Islam,’ some people hear ‘ISIS.’ When some hear the word ‘Judaism,’ some people think ‘settlements.’ We want to change that.”
The transition is difficult, however, said Englander. He said some of the kids lose their bearings after the experience. “They no longer knew what to do or how to act, as they no longer hated Israelis or Palestinians,” he said.
Kids4Peace youth speak at annual Kids4Peace winter event. (photo from Kids4Peace)
In 2006, K4P changed to a year-round model. Throughout his time there, Englander continued his studies, culminating with a PhD in gender studies, sexuality and Jewish theology. His schooling led him to Northwestern University. He became a Fulbright scholar, and spent a year as a visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School.
“During these years, I served as a vice-president for K4P International, working a lot on creating connections with many moms, rabbis, priests, government people, and doing a lot of lectures all over North America, including Canada,” said Englander.
Last year, Englander, together with the board, decided to end his term as vice-president to instead lead K4P graduates. Englander created a new program for 18-to-25-year-olds, working with them to shift from a dialogue-only model to a dialogue-to-action one.
“The idea with the kids and teenagers is we do a lot of dialogue and volunteering and other things in between, but we can’t put them at risk,” said Englander. “But, if you really want to create change, you must take some risk. So, dialogue-to-action is an answer for these needs.”
Children join K4P in Grade 6 for a six-year program with summer camps along the way. “It’s amazing to have two weeks together, but they work all through the year for six years, so it’s a very long process,” said Englander. “Because of this, it lets us dig deeper with them, step by step, in the conflict.”
For now, the program in Israel only operates in Jerusalem, due to financial constraints.
“Last year, the U.S. Institute for Peace gave us a very nice amount of money, so we have enough now for all the families who join K4P,” said Englander. “When the kids have a meeting, the parents, too, must come.
“We now have chapters in eight or nine cities around the world, with some [others] in the process of establishing chapters. Each one has two therapists, Israeli and Palestinian, who do the full journey with the parents and kids. So far, Toronto is the only Canadian chapter, but we also have [groups] in Houston, Seattle, New Hampshire, Vermont, Atlanta and a new one in Lyon, France.”
The Israeli chapter currently has about 150 kids, with the capacity to add another 65 new kids and their families this year.
“Hopefully, by next year, we’ll grow by 80 new families,” said Englander. “But, we also need to take into account that we are building a new program for 18-to-25-year-olds, with 15 amazing, serious young people. Some of them are graduates from K4P and some have parents who would never [have] consider[ed] sending them for K4P – settlers who grow up in settlements – [but] something very deep broke in them last year.
“It’s important for us that people will see Palestinians and Israelis together, hand in hand, helping in hospitals. But now, with the young adults, we want to take it further.”
Englander said that, in today’s situation, Israelis and Palestinians do not generally mix in public places. But, on Feb. 29, he said, K4P challenged that reality, having these young adults meet in a public space in Jerusalem.
“So, this group of people with a lot of courage decided they [were] going to do it,” said Englander. “Half of the meetings are going to happen in public spaces … that we choose very carefully … spaces where normal people from east Jerusalem and west Jerusalem are going to see them in their public space – Palestinians and Israelis together, body next to body, and dealing with the crucial, most important questions.
“We are planning to record and share these meetings,” he continued. “It’s very important to bring the voices and pictures to the world, to see how Muslims are opening themselves, how Jews are opening themselves – so they can see that it’s not just shalom/salaam, they care about their Jewish identities, their Muslim identities, their Christian identities … though they struggle with that, they still decide to work for peace.
“It’s a huge responsibility,” he said, “And, I will be honest and say that we feel a failure sometimes, thinking why didn’t we reach out to all the kids of Jerusalem and offer them this opportunity.”
In 1999, Israeli-born longtime Winnipegger Talia Syrie spent her summer working as a tree planter in British Columbia. Trained as a heavy diesel mechanic, she was tree planting to pay off her student loans. A month into the summer, Syrie stepped on some broken glass and injured herself. Not yet ready to leave, however, she found work in the kitchen, helping feed 90 planting staff.
“I kind of endeared myself to the kitchen staff and they let me stay on,” said Syrie. “I realized, doing that, that I really enjoyed it, really liked cooking. I came back to Winnipeg and did that for the next year or two.
“I really liked the bush-camp cooking experience, when you’re out in the middle of nowhere and you don’t have the resources available to you that a regular kitchen provides. I liked that challenge.”
With this newfound passion, Syrie started working in the catering world. Then, a friend suggested that she open her own catering business.
With that, Syrie began searching for a commercial kitchen from which to work, eventually finding a small one at a downtown hotel. The owner offered her the kitchen, as long as she also agreed to open a restaurant at the hotel.
“There wasn’t anything like that in the neighborhood, on Main and Logan,” said Syrie. “It’s now the Red Road Lodge, but it used to be the Occidental Hotel. I had grown up in the North End, where my grandfather on my father’s side had a business. Today, too, I live quite close to there (in North Point Douglas).
“It felt nice to be working in that neighborhood, I was happy to do it. I didn’t really think that anyone would come into the restaurant. I thought it was going to be mostly for show and then we’d run the catering company and have this ‘fake’ restaurant.”
When Syrie first opened the Tallest Poppy, they only had three or four tables. As it turned out, these tables were always occupied, so they had to add more. In no time, the restaurant was so busy that Syrie did not have much time for catering.
“It was very challenging at the beginning, the restaurant industry,” she said. “Having little to no restaurant experience, there was a pretty steep learning curve. It was exciting and there was a lot of fun and a lot of things were great, but, in a lot of ways, it was pretty messy.
“I always say that I’m really grateful that we started out where we did. The North End is pretty forgiving, pretty gentle with us, so we were able to make mistakes and learn things.”
After a few years, Syrie found enough time to start developing the catering part of her business, doing office lunches, barbeques and small parties. “We also cater a lot of funerals,” she said.
“I love making party sandwiches,” added Syrie. “If I could do anything, I’d probably just make party sandwiches. That would be my dream job. I like the practical nature of a lot of catering. You have a whole bunch of people and they have to eat, people working that have to be fed.”
Syrie said her primal drive to feed people has its roots in her Jewish upbringing, being taught at an early age that the only way to really show someone you care is by feeding them.
“That’s the only way that really counts,” she said. “You buy somebody a car, it doesn’t matter. If you make them soup when they’re sick, that’s how they know you actually love them.”
About three years ago, a new community marketplace, Neechi Commons, opened in the neighborhood. The owners asked Syrie for help setting up their restaurant. She agreed, as she was happy to help a worthwhile project in her neighborhood. She ran both places for awhile and, later, decided to close the Tallest Poppy.
Once the Neechi Commons restaurant Come ’n Eat was up and running, Syrie opted to move on. She returned to British Columbia to do some consulting work for a friend and then returned to Winnipeg to find a new location to reopen the Tallest Poppy.
“I was walking down Sherbrook Street with a friend one day,” said Syrie, “and, as we were passing by the Sherbrook Hotel, he said, ‘I think that’s a restaurant … I think you should check that place out.’ All the blinds were shut. My friend said it used to be a Chinese food restaurant, but that there is nothing in there now…. I called and made an appointment to come down and take a look. The rest is history, as they say.”
Syrie reopened the Tallest Poppy in its new location last September. Not knowing the neighborhood well, she did not know if her concept would be a good fit, but she has found the people to be very welcoming, generous and kind.
Wanting to give space to the arts community, Syrie has offered her restaurant walls to local artists.
“I don’t know if I support the artists or they support me,” she said. “It’s important to me to have art around me all the time. It makes me feel better. It’s kind of selfish. The Winnipeg arts scene is so exciting. I work a lot and I’m stuck in my restaurant a lot of the time. I can’t always get out to gallery openings or go to shows. It’s really convenient for me to have them come do it right at my place.”
Syrie has formed a connection with a local company that displays art in public places, called Synonym Art Consultation, and the company organizes and programs all the restaurant’s art-related happenings. This includes a residency project that brings in an artist once a month to the restaurant to create art in the restaurant, while also interacting with clientele. “They are these super people doing this wonderful work,” said Syrie. “We sort of ride on their coattails. I’m very privileged and honored that they’re willing to work with us.”
The artists are varied, and some are performers.
“They come for two to three days, generally on the weekends, and people are able to engage them, which is a lot of fun,” said Syrie. “So, regular people having breakfast can come and talk to the artist about the work they’re doing.
“The artist has an opportunity to engage a lot of people they may not normally have access to. Their work is shown in the restaurant for a month, whatever it was that they built or did.”
The Tallest Poppy also hosts an after party on the first Friday of every month for people who go from gallery opening to gallery opening, including food and an arts presentation with DJs.
“A lot of things about Winnipeg make it really hospitable for independent business,” she said. “Our economy is pretty stable and there’s a bunch of hardworking people who are generally pretty down with jumping on board if you have a good idea. If I was going to do something else, this is the only place that makes sense for me to do it.”
1. Take brown Plasticine and make the butterfly’s head, thorax (torso) and abdomen.
5. Now make and attach identical wings to the right top and bottom sides. Make them smooth, too.
Romantics will appreciate most the linked stories of “The Folklorist” and “Chana-Merka the Fishwife.” In the first tale, Rubinshteyn heads to the Vilna fish market to collect material for YIVO (the Yiddish Scientific Institute) because he knows that, if the “genuine language of the people” is not documented, “it would be a great loss for the culture.” Dedicated to his work, and a dedicated bachelor, he fails to notice that Chana-Merka has fallen in love with him and, once his research is complete, he stops visiting the fish market, much to her – and his – sadness. In the second tale, Chana-Merka heads to YIVO herself to make sure that Max Weinreich, its director, knows from whom all of Rubinshteyn’s material came: she makes lists of curses for Weinreich, such as “May you speak so beautifully that only cats understand you,” and “May you be lucky and go crazy in a more important city than Vilna.”
Times have changed, she notes. Nowadays, we understand that a person’s culture is less like a cold, unchanging monolith than a soft, woven, multi-textured fabric. Coming to understand and respect her parents’ reasons for raising her as they did, Glustein’s values as a teacher and a mother are grounded in the principle of inclusion.
