Moishe New makes a point while Rabbi Yitzchak Wineberg and other attendees listen. (photo by Lior Noyman Productions)
Rabbi David Aaron at the event. (photo by Lior Noyman Productions)
On June 21, more than 200 people came to King David High School to hear Rabbi David Aaron, founder and dean of the Isralight Institute on Awakening to Your Divine Purpose, and Rabbi Moshe New, director of the Montreal Torah Centre, at Evening of Inspiration and Connection, which also featured music by Itamar Erez and Liron Man. The farbrengen was held in honor of the 22nd yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, which this year is observed July 8-9 (3 Tammuz). The June event was co-hosted by Chabad Lubavitch BC and the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel, and more photographs can be found on both groups’ Facebook pages, facebook.com/LubavitchBC and facebook.com/kollel, respectively.
Ben Harrington churns the wheat while Joel Harrington and Sara Basya Mochkin look on. (photo from Chabad of East Vancouver)
On April 10, Chabad of East Vancouver hosted a packed Model Matzah Bakery at its Centre for Jewish Life on Fraser Street. Following a week of similar events at Chabad Lubavitch, children had an opportunity to make their own matzah from scratch. They began by winnowing the wheat kernels, then grinding and sifting them into fine flour. Water was then added to make dough. The kids rolled out the matzah, scoring it with dockers before handing it over to the grownups for baking.
The children managed to get the dough kneaded, shaped and into the oven in under 18 minutes to prevent the dough from rising. This would have made it chametz, a fermented grain, which is forbidden over Passover.
This process only began after a careful eye was cast over all of the ingredients and tools, from start to finish: whether keeping the grains and flour completely dry, to the meticulous cleaning of the tools used in the matzah production.
When 18 minutes were up, an egg timer went off, to cheers from the kids and applause from Rabbi Mendy Mochkin of Chabad North Shore.
The finished matzot were pulled from the oven by Rabbi Schneur Wineberg of Chabad East Van. After savoring the matzah with cries of “Mmm, delicious!” oranges were served, followed by knishes from Shuk restaurant.
Extra hands-on supervision was provided by Maggie Karpilovsky and the staff of North Shore Hebrew School.
Shula Klingeris an author, illustrator and journalist living in North Vancouver.
Nine B.C. Chabad rebbetzins were among the 3,000 women attending the annual conference of Chabad shluchos. (photo from Lubavitch BC)
The annual conference of Chabad shluchos (female emissaries) ended on Feb. 1 with an affirmation of the preeminent place of the woman in Jewish life and community. Some 3,000 women from 87 countries attended the International Conference of Shluchos at Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn.
Nine Chabad rebbetzins from British Columbia participated in the five-day conference: Henia Wineberg of Vancouver, Chanie Baitelman of Richmond, Simie Schtroks of Surrey, Malkie Bitton of Downtown Vancouver, Miki Mochkin of North Vancouver, Esti Loeub of the University of British Columbia, Fraidy Hecht of Kelowna, Chanie Kaplan of Victoria and Blumie Shemtov of Nanaimo.
Each embracing multiple roles and responsibilities, the women explored relevant issues and learned from professionals and colleagues with years of experience. Among the diverse topics were raising a large family, mental health issues, events marketing, understanding troubled relationships, fundraising, inclusion, and a conference within the conference for Hebrew school and preschool directors.
Sessions were targeted to address the different demographics served by Chabad. Campus leaders, for example – there are at least 240 women serving in leadership positions on campuses in the United States and abroad – attended sessions on raising a family on campus, life on campus, psychodynamic counseling for anxiety, and Chabad House on a budget.
Organized and planned by a board of women, each a Chabad representative, the conference included a parallel track for lay leaders. “These are the pillars of our community who are true partners with us,” said a Chabad representative from Argentina who was joined this year by two members of her community.
Lectures and workshops aside, the opportunity to spend time with other like-minded women from so many disparate countries and cultures who are part of a worldwide project inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, gave the participants, especially those going back to far and isolated outposts, an exhilarating sendoff.
“This was truly a larger-than-life experience that will sustain me for a long time,” said Sashi Fridman, an American who is now a Chabad representative in Moscow. “It illuminated the power of the Jewish woman to lead – drawing on the strength of our tradition – with wisdom, as it focused on women who effect real, meaningful change with courage and creativity.”
Among the many Shabbat 100 volunteers were, from left to right, Ben Felstein (Chabad Jewish Student Club and Israel on Campus), Daniella Malpartida (Jewish Students Association), Anna Kapron-King (Progressive Jewish Alliance), Lior Bar-el (JSA and PJA), Michelle Levit (CJSC), Sydney Switzer (CJSC), Katrin Zavgorodny (CJSC board), Jennifer Brodsky (CJSC) and Becca Recant (Hillel BC). (photo from Chabad at UBC)
More than 140 students, faculty and alumni gathered in University of British Columbia’s newly built AMS Student Nest on Jan. 22 for Shabbat 100, which was organized by Chabad Jewish Student Centre-Vancouver.
Prepared for the 140 guests to arrive for Shabbat 100. (photo from Chabad at UBC)
The event was co-sponsored by Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Lohn Foundation, Chabad of Richmond and Great Canadian Superstore on Marine Drive, and co-hosted by Chabad Jewish Student Club, Hillel BC, and all of the Jewish clubs at UBC: Jewish Student Association, Progressive Jewish Alliance and Israel on Campus.
Guests enjoyed a three-course Shabbat dinner by Forty One Catering, and the evening included ice-breaker games, Shabbat songs and a presentation from each club.
Chabad hopes this will become an annual gathering. “It was so nice to see so many Jewish students coming together for this event,” said Rabbi Chalom Loeub of Chabad UBC. “We are on a high and look forward to bigger and better next year!”
Shuk owner Alon Volodarsky, left, and chef Evy Swissa. (photo by Lauren Kramer)
Shakshuka is not a dish that’s easy to come by in Vancouver. Until recently, that is. When Shuk opened its doors on Oak and 41st in early December, this favorite Israeli breakfast item made it to the menu, among a host of other Mediterranean foods, including house-made hummus, Moroccan fish, falafel, borekas, labneh and hatzilim.
Shuk’s owner is the multi-talented Alon Volodarsky, 35, an Israeli from Haifa who moved to Vancouver eight years ago and has had careers in professional dance choreography, carpentry and home renovation. He also has owned a store selling remote-controlled toys.
In addition to great food, Shuk has space in the large dining room to keep the 2- to 6-year-old crowd entertained. (photo by Lauren Kramer)
Soon after he arrived here, he tasted the food of chef Evy Swissa, who worked at Café 41, and quickly recognized his expertise. Volodarsky also noticed a dearth of establishments where parents could shmooze, enjoy good food and know that their kids were playing safely within eye- and earshot. So, when the opportunity arose to take over Café 41, he jumped at it. He invested $100,000 in a complete remodel and added a space for kids, with climbing structures in the large dining room to keep the 2- to 6-year-old crowd entertained. Then, he found a slab of cedar, cut and varnished it and made it a centrepiece bar in his new restaurant, Shuk. It’s a fabulous piece of carpentry.
Volodarsky hasn’t spared any expense transforming Shuk into a more sophisticated space, adding a state-of-the-art coffee machine, excellent lighting, a beautiful color scheme and quartz countertops. Dairy products are all chalav Yisrael and many of the ingredients he uses come from Israel, including
Israeli rosewater, tehina, za’atar, Moroccan spices and Turkish coffee by Elite. The kitchen is under Chabad supervision.
My shakshuka ($14.50) arrived on a skillet, presented on a wooden board accompanied by French fries in a neat stainless steel basket. (photo by Lauren Kramer)
My shakshuka ($14.50) arrived on a skillet, presented on a wooden board accompanied by French fries in a neat stainless steel basket. It was also served with pita that Volodarsky was quick to point out is deliberately Israeli-style, sourced from Toronto, and hummus, which Swissa makes in five-litre quantities daily and was so good I had to bring a container of it home. Other items on the menu included the $7 boreka plate (three borekas served with boiled egg, tahini and pickled cukes), the $14.95 falafel plate (seven balls with a side of hummus, fries, Israeli salad and pita), hatzilim ($14.50, served on top of tahini with tomato salsa and pita) and za’atar focaccia ($14.50). There’s also poutine ($7.50), French toast ($8.95), eggs benedict with salmon and avocado ($14.50), pasta and wraps containing fish or falafel.
The food is a mix of Mediterranean, Russian and Yemeni influences, Swissa said. “It’s comfort food that brings you back to Israel,” he confided, adding that the menu is fairly simple with daily specials bringing new items to the mix. The two specials the day I came in were Persian fish balls with couscous, spinach and carrots ($17.30) and flatbread with caramelized onion, goat cheese and pesto ($14).
Volodarsky looked pensively towards the children’s area, where his 3-year-old often releases energy on rainy Vancouver days. “The idea is to attract families with kids,” he said quietly. “Out front we have a quiet area for coffee and meetings, but in the back are most of our 76 seats, and Sundays it’s packed in there.”
The fact that the restaurant is kosher is a big drawcard for Vancouver’s Jewish community and Volodarsky and his team of nine are fighting the perception that kosher means “super expensive.”
“We’re really trying to keep our costs reasonable,” he said. Still, some 55% of diners are not Jewish, Swissa noted. “And they love hummus!”
Don’t miss the desserts – there’s a fabulous selection of delicacies including tahini ice cream, chocolate-banana mousse cups and butter popcorn mousse.
And, if you don’t have the time or energy for a Friday night meal, Swissa can handle that in a heartbeat, complete with the challah, for any orders, even as small as a family of one or two. “I need just 20 minutes forewarning,” he said. He makes 12 challot each Friday in three different flavors, and they disappear fast, so pre-orders are crucial.
Shuk is open Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fridays, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sundays, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. There is free underground parking and free wifi. Before Feb. 10, Shuk’s grand opening, access to the kids play area is free. After that date it’s $5 per child, $2.50 per sibling or $30 for a month-long unlimited membership. For more information or reservations, 604 563-4141.
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.
Chabad Nanaimo Rebbetzin Blumie and Rabbi Bentzion Shemtov with their children. (photo from Chabad Lubavitch BC)
All around the world, Chabad houses welcome Jews of all ages and stages to participate in a variety of activities from social Jewish identity gatherings to serious Torah study. According to chabad.org, “4,000 full-time Chabad emissary families direct more than 3,300 institutions.” Traveling in China and yearning for a Shabbat dinner? Nine cities have Chabad houses. Thailand has four, Sweden has three and even Armenia has a chief rabbi in the capital city, Yerevan.
This fall, two new areas locally are being served by Chabad because the organization saw a need. In early September, just in time for the High Holy Days, Rabbi Mendel Mochkin, his wife Miki and their three young children arrived in West Vancouver to begin their outreach work on the North Shore, as well as in Squamish and Whistler. The rabbi had spent time in Vancouver in 2008 and again in 2011 so, when he was asked to return by Rabbi Yitzchak Wineberg, executive director of Chabad Lubavitch BC, Mochkin jumped at the chance to start his own Chabad House in British Columbia.
Chabad of North Shore Rabbi Mendel and Rebbetzin Miki Mochkin. (photo from Chabad Lubavitch BC)
“I love it here. I feel very privileged to have moved here and to raise my family here,” said Mochkin about his new home. “I love every day, meeting new people, starting new programs.” He said his wife is also working hard to start programming for women. Miki Mochkin hosts, for example, Chabad’s Loaves for Love, which is a women’s circle; participants meet in her home and make challah as a group. The couple also hosts people every week for Shabbat meals, which is not an easy task, considering their own children are ages 3, 2 and 1.
The programming is not only out of their home. With a wide geographical area spanning the Sea-to-Sky corridor, Rabbi Mochkin said they have big plans for the winter. On the North Shore, they had a menorah lighting and festive food at Lonsdale Quay on Dec. 9 and they have a weekend planned at the Pan Pacific hotel in Whistler Dec. 11-12 to celebrate Chanukah, as well.
Even more freshly arrived in the province is Rabbi Bentzion (Bentzi) Shemtov and his wife, Blumie. They and their 3-and-a-half- and 2-year-old children are still adjusting to life in Nanaimo. They arrived in Victoria on Oct. 20, where they stayed briefly with her brother, Rabbi Meir Kaplan, who is the Chabad rabbi in that city. On Nov. 10, they moved fully into their house and they hosted their first Shabbat meal with guests just over a week later. Shemtov spoke with the Jewish Independent as he was driving to meet Nanaimo’s mayor to confirm plans for a Chanukah party at city hall along with a menorah lighting scheduled for Dec. 8.
“In the past, my brother-in-law has driven up to Nanaimo to light the menorah. He was there for half an hour and then he’d take it down and move on. This year, it will be a real Chanukah party, with hot latkes inside city hall,” said Shemtov.
Although he’s been in town just a few weeks, he has already met quite a few people who are Jewish.
“Every time I walk into a grocery store, someone new approaches me and tells me that they’re also Jewish and that there are no other Jews in Nanaimo,” Shemtov said. He estimated that, in the central Vancouver Island area, which is his new turf and includes Parksville and Qualicum Beach, there are between 1,000 and 1,500 Jewish residents. There are Jews but no Jewish community.
As they plan programs in Nanaimo and the surrounding area, the Shemtovs will serve as the only full-time, functioning Jewish presence. “We were worried that, at first, there wouldn’t be enough to do but the response has been so amazing, far beyond what we had imagined,” said the rabbi. “There is a need and a thirst for a Jewish connection.”
As did Miki Mochkin, Blumie Shemtov started a Jewish women’s circle in her home. The first session, called The Miracle of Oil, was on Dec. 1 and it was filled to over-capacity. Her husband explained that his wife had “bought supplies for 15 to be safe but she had over 20 women register.”
While neither new Chabad family know each other, they have a great deal in common. All four adults grew up in homes that were Chabad houses. They also all have siblings who are running Chabad houses around the world. Once married, members of Chabad are eligible to go out and fill a need for a Jewish presence. The Mochkins have siblings in places as far apart as St. Petersburg, San Francisco and St. Denis, just north of Paris, the neighborhood from which the recent Paris attacks were organized. For the Shemtovs, there are siblings in Pu Dung, China, and, notably, Malmo, Sweden. “My brother-in-law just received the unfortunate title of most persecuted Jew,” explained Bentzi Shemtov. “He lives in Malmo, Sweden, and he has reported over 600 hate crimes against him, but there are Jews who need him there so he stays.”
Chabad of Vancouver Island Rabbi Meir and Rebbetzin Chani Kaplan at the Aug. 23 groundbreaking. (photo from lubavitch.com)
Announced in April 2014, Chabad’s plans to build a centre in Victoria proved a relevant and exciting development for locals. The day after he shared his vision with the community, Chabad of Vancouver Island’s Rabbi Meir Kaplan got a call from a local woman. “I was up all night thinking about how much the building will change Jewish life on the Island for my daughter, compared to the way it was when I was growing up,” she told the rabbi.
Two hundred and fifty guests turned out to celebrate the groundbreaking of the centre on Sunday, Aug. 23, and all that represents for the Jewish community led by Kaplan and his wife Chani. Then-prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, sent greetings: “The new larger Chabad, with its expanded facilities for worship, study and family activities, will help meet the needs of your growing community for many years to come. I commend everyone responsible for making this day possible.”
His words were echoed by many who joined, among them Mayor Lisa Helps, members of Parliament and the Legislature.
“The vision was ours, but so many helped us bring it to fruition,” said Kaplan, grateful for the steady support of local community members. Ahead of the groundbreaking, various individuals offered to participate in the fundraising campaign and share their enthusiasm with others.
George Gelb escaped Hungary with his family in 1956, and was welcomed into Canada. In retrospect, he was impressed that his parents sought out a synagogue in Toronto after surviving Auschwitz. When they later moved to Vancouver Island, they discovered the Kaplans and found a family in Chabad. “This is the second synagogue in 150 years on Vancouver Island,” he said, referring to Congregation Emanu-El, which was built in 1863. “It’s a very historic event that I feel really quite privileged to participate in. It’s sort of like carrying on a family legacy.”
An artist’s rendering of the new Centre for Jewish Life and Learning. The building’s east wall, facing a main street, will feature a permanently illuminated menorah. (photo from lubavitch.com)
The projected $3.5 million project is slated for completion in time for the 2016 High Holidays. The building plot at 2995 Glasgow St. is located on a quiet street, close to a popular area park. It will be a home to a library, an industrial-sized kosher kitchen, new offices, synagogue, community hall and a mikvah, giving Chabad the ability to expand all of its current projects and begin new ones, according to the community’s needs. It will also include a facility for the Jewish preschool and Hebrew school, currently housed in the annex of a local school building.
“History is in the making as we gather in this place at this moment. You are now an integral part of this auspicious and historic occasion,” said community member Lindy Shortt at the groundbreaking event. “The Centre for Jewish Life and Learning, Chabad of Vancouver Island and the Kaplan family will be right here for you and your children and your children’s children, G-d willing, for generations to come.”
The building’s east wall, facing a main street, will feature a permanently illuminated menorah. Dedicated by the sponsors to victims of the Holocaust, it promises to radiate Jewish pride and raise the profile of Jewish life on the Island, proving yet again, as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, insisted, that living as a Jew is possible and relevant everywhere. Even on an island.
The original version of this article was published on lubavitch.com. The version here has been edited to reflect the time that has passed since the orginal’s publication on Aug. 26, as well as a local readership.
The Confucius temple is a must-see in Beijing. (photo by Thyristorchopper)
On Sept. 7, I arrived in Beijing for a 10-month adventure – teaching Hebrew at Peking University. (Yes, this is what it is still called.)
Among the many preparations I had to make for this journey were learning some basic Mandarin, downloading and scanning for the students a huge amount of Hebrew material that would not be accessible from China, and packing clothes for three seasons. I also had to think about celebrating the High Holidays away from my family.
On the internet, I learned that Beijing’s Jewish community enjoys two congregations: Chabad, as one would expect almost anywhere in the world, and Kehillat Beijing, “an egalitarian, unaffiliated, lay-led Jewish community organization.” The latter has a rabbi, but only a guest one, and only during High Holidays. This year, they invited, for the second time, Rabbi Jack Shlachter, a physicist-rabbi from Los Alamos, N.M. What a small world! His wife, Bruria (Beverly), who would accompany him, was one of my mini-ulpan students in Santa Fe last year! In an email exchange, she assured me that Kehillat Beijing is a warm and welcoming community and, by the way, would I mind taking part and reading a passage during the Yom Kippur service?
The first few days on campus are full of bureaucratically required errands, and they are a good way to get familiar with the geography of my new and fascinating environment – a beautiful campus, part of which was the southern edge of a huge imperial garden. Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel as foreign as I expected it would. Global village? Still, there are enough things, even those on the mundane side, which are so different and curious, they promise more surprises.
Three days after arrival, I venture into the super-modern subway, heading to the Israeli embassy. The ambassador’s wife had invited Israeli women in Beijing for an informal potluck evening to welcome the New Year, and I am on the list. The instructions I receive from a student are clear: change from Line 4 to 10, take Exit B, walk two blocks into the diplomatic part of the city, and I am there.
There are about 20 women from what seems to be a close-knit group. Among them, a now local restaurateur, an architect, some businesswomen, an event planner, the Chabad rebbitzen, embassy employees, and wives of businessmen or embassy workers, taking time off from their jobs in Israel and enjoying all that Beijing has to offer – a good group for a newcomer to get her first tips about life in China. Late at night and after a rainstorm, I safely walk to the subway and back to my campus residence.
Kehillat Beijing has transformed a Chinese antique piece into a small ark. There are Magen Davids on its doors. (photo from Rahel Halabe)
On Friday night, I head to Kehillat Beijing. I take the same subway station, but Exit A gives me my first glimpse of a busy downtown street, a shopping centre, hotels, the construction site of a large and creatively shaped tower, many tiny little – some elegant – stores (are all stores in Beijing so small?) and street food prepared and sold in small carts.
KB meets every Friday evening on the third floor of the Capital Club Athletic Centre. Local Jews, fluent in Mandarin, living in China for periods ranging from a few years to a couple of decades – business owners, financiers, ESL teachers, people working in the American, Canadian and Israeli embassies, students of Chinese or Chinese medicine, and others – get together with local Chinese who are searching for a new spiritual path, as well as with visitors. These visitors are tourists, exchange students and university professors, here temporarily, or those with great ideas, who come to explore business potentials.
The service this time is led by the guest rabbi in front a Chinese antique piece that has been turned into a small ark. If you look carefully, you will notice the probably unintentional Magen David-like decorations on its doors.
The KB logo has a Magen David that replaces one element of the word Beijing. (image from Rahel Halabe)
The KB logo, embroidered on their kippot, also has a Magen David in it, only here it replaces one element of the Chinese characters denoting the word Beijing. It is something to take home for your kippa collection.
After the service, there are announcements – and a surprise. One of the organizers of Limmud China, which alternates yearly between Beijing and Shanghai, tells us about this year’s event in November, and invites potential presenters to apply. I approach him and offer to do so, in this way compensating for having had to withdraw my offer to present at Limmud Vancouver 2016.
Friday and holiday services at KB are usually followed by dinner. Attendees buy a ticket but, for students, it is subsidized. The social mix at every table ensures interesting and lively conversations.
Saturday is my first day as a real tourist. I visit the Confucius temple site, with its ancient trees and long library “avenue” – all the Confucian wisdom engraved in close to 200 stelas, each more than twice a man-size tall. At the end, a class of university history students stages their version of an ancient bow and arrow shooting competition in historical clothing.
The next day is erev Rosh Hashana and Rabbi Jack leads the service in a meaningful, beautiful way. At my dinner table sits a British journalism professor, an American government envoy here to discuss drug issues with Chinese officials, a father visiting his Chinese-language-student son and an American university librarian hunting for both Jewish and Arabic publications produced in China, accompanied by two young guests: a Chinese woman writing her master’s thesis on Cynthia Ozick’s work and an Arabic-Chinese translator working in Chinese television. For both, it is their first time in a synagogue. The translator speaks to me in the formal literary Arabic he learned at Peking U and in Sudan, and I answer in my colloquial Arabic, explaining the meaning of the various Jewish New Year customs.
The next day, after Kiddush and a bite of challa dipped in honey, we head to nearby LiangMa (Bright Horse) River for Tashlich, right beside a few fishermen sitting patiently, waiting to hook a fish. From there, we walk for a few blocks and sit on the roof of a brewery, reserved today especially for the KB community to share in vegetarian pizza and drinks. It is an enjoyable, almost family-like, holiday gathering that extends to the late afternoon. By now, I feel quite at home. I speak Hebrew and English at this table and another and, from a trilingual (English, Chinese and Hebrew) 10-year-old girl, I get a detailed explanation and demonstration of the different tones and, hence, meaning of two Chinese words that sound equal to my ear.
On the second day of Rosh Hashana, KB does not hold services, and I join Rabbi Jack and Bruria at Chabad for another warm welcome. I am surprised to find a few of my new acquaintances from KB now here at Chabad. Dividing your “Jewish time” between the two very different congregations is not uncommon, I am told. In Beijing, the two communities collaborate, especially when it comes to the local Sunday school.
In between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, school starts, and I meet my new students, as well as sprinkle in another couple of outings. I witness the locals dancing, playing games and singing, individually and in large groups, in their historical, beautifully preserved parks, taking advantage of the still nice weather and the unusually low pollution levels.
The Saturday between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is a musical Shabbat at KB. The service is accompanied by a group comprised of members of the congregation and of Moishe House, with their instruments. Moishe House in Beijing seems to be very active, their events include dinners, movie nights, cultural discussions, speakers, holiday celebrations and community service events. They are also central in the preparations for Limmud and host its organizing meeting.
Yom Kippur I spend again with KB, starting with the meal before the fast and ending with the break fast, but for the first night of Sukkot, I head again to Chabad to sit in the sukka. This evening is busy. On top on their usual varied crowd, they are hosting a group of Chabad followers from New York, a tour organized by the Beijing rabbi as a fundraiser for the local day school, Gannenu. As erev Sukkot coincides this year with the Chinese Mid-
Autumn (Moon) Festival, the sukka, which usually would not be decorated, after the Chabad custom, now has bright, red Chinese lanterns hanging from its schach (covering), and traditional (kosher) moon cakes are served for dessert in small, red paper bags.
Barely three weeks and so much to remember already, with the Jewish aspects only being a part of my experiences so far, albeit a significant part. And there are nine more months to go. For the first time in my life, I have started writing a diary, lest I forget.
Rahel Halabeteaches biblical and modern Hebrew in Vancouver and, this year, in Beijing. She is the author of Hinneh: Biblical Hebrew the Practical Way, and a translator of Arabic literature into Hebrew.
Jewish Icelanders preparing and celebrating Pesach with Chabad last month. (photos from Rabbi Berel Pewzner via Karen Ginsberg)
During a trip to Iceland in 2010, I had the pleasure of talking with a small number of Jews who called Iceland home. My connections were facilitated by a former colleague who had served from 2006 to 2009 as Canada’s ambassador to Iceland and happened to know that one of her locally employed staff members had Jewish family roots. From that initial serendipitous connection, came several more and, with each interview, I was able to gain some perspective on what kind of Jewish community exists in contemporary times in the country. I titled the article, “Like driftwood from Siberia,” because it seemed the most poignant metaphor – like driftwood, most of the Jews known to be in Iceland sort of washed up on the country’s shores as a result of a marriage or where they had been taken by their studies.
Shortly after the original article was published in 2010 by the Jewish Independent and by the national Icelandic newspaper, which serves the Icelandic diaspora in Canada, I received a phone call from an American Chabad rabbi, Berel Pewzner, seeking information about my experiences.
I have come to know that Rabbi Pewzner is drawn to Jewish life in remote and unique locations around the globe, so I am not sure whether Iceland was already on Chabad’s radar in terms of a small Jewish population in need of support or whether something in the JI article struck a chord. Whichever it might have been, a recent note from Rabbi Pewzner informed me that Chabad student rabbis have been visiting in Iceland for Yom Kippurs and Pesachs for the last five years, “bringing the warmth of Judaism to all.” He shared with me that during these annual visits, the student rabbis have been able to identify and visit with more than 100 Icelandic Jews, including 15 individuals who were new to the rabbis this particular year.
On Pesach, Chabad provides matza for all among those 100 Jews who wish some and then, to everyone’s delight, they hosted more than 60 participants for a full seder this year. Some of these newly located Icelandic Jews have been located as far from Reykjavik as the Faroe Islands.
In 2010, when I first traveled there, Iceland’s economy was in very rough shape. Many Icelanders felt that the recession they were then in would not reverse itself as quickly as other recessions had, and that they simply had to get used to the fact that their assets, both financial and real, were worth very much less than they would have liked. For some – particularly those who had family or business connections in other countries – it was easier to leave Iceland and begin again elsewhere. Rabbi Pewzner tells me that this sentiment is much less in evidence today. To the contrary, there is a now higher level of in-migration to Iceland than in the past. According a 2013 Statistics Iceland report, migration into Iceland is highest from Poland and Lithuania, but the next highest migration comes equally from Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the United Kingdom and the United States. While it is impossible to know for certain why people migrate, this report suggests living conditions, family reunifications, policies around gender equality and because of the natural splendor of the country. In Rabbi Pewzner’s recent experiences, he finds that American Jews of all levels of practice have included themselves in the recent upswing in migration to Iceland.
A May 1, 2015, article by Jenna Gottlieb, published in the Forward, supports Rabbi Pewzner’s observations. It reports that about 50% of the Jews now known to be in Iceland gathered for Rosh Hashanah services. The Ashkenazi food is undoubtedly a draw but so, too, is the rather unique opportunity during the Days of Awe to see the aurora borealis over the nighttime Icelandic sky.
It is very much the case that the Jewish population in Iceland continues to come into the country “like driftwood from Siberia,” to study, work, or because they are part of an interfaith marriage. Most are more secular than religious, but the common thread running through the community is the desire to retain and, with Chabad’s help, maintain a connection to their Jewish heritage. While Icelanders are considered accepting of Jews as individuals, Rabbi Pewzner noted that the Icelandic government in recent years has been deeply critical of Israel for its recent military incursions into Gaza.
It was truly a gift to receive the recent communications from Rabbi Pewzner about how things are moving forward in Iceland, with Chabad’s support, for the Jews within the country.
On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the Jewish Independent, it is also a reminder that the information that is shared through a community newspaper helps to build community in many places, near and far.
Should anyone wish to contribute financially to the costs of these activities in Iceland or learn more about Chabad’s work there, visit jewishcayman.com/donatetoday for more information.
Karen Ginsberg is a travel writer living in Ottawa.
Vancouver colleagues and friends, Rabbi Binyomin Bitton, left, and Rabbi Eliezer Lipman (Lipa) Dubrawsky, spent many hours discussing scholarly Torah subjects, and the 300-page Hebrew volume by Bitton titled Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol was released in time for the second anniversary of Dubrawsky’s passing. (photo by Noam Dehan)
Rabbi Binyomin Bitton shared a unique bond with the late Rabbi Eliezer Lipman (Lipa) Dubrawsky, who was educational director of Chabad-Lubavitch of British Columbia in Vancouver. In addition to being personal friends, they spent many long hours discussing scholarly Torah subjects across the board.
In time for the second anniversary of Dubrawsky’s untimely passing at the age of 56, Bitton, co-director of Chabad of Downtown, released a book of in-depth research and analysis on the opinions and mindsets of two talmudic sages, Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, based on the unique approach and teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.
“The idea first came to me shortly after Rabbi Dubrawsky’s passing,” explained Bitton. “His first name was Eliezer, and his father’s name was Yehoshua. I felt it would be a fitting memorial for two men who dedicated so much of their lives to Torah to explain the positions of two sages whose names they bear.”
While he was not initially sure if he would have enough material for a book, Bitton’s research yielded a robust, 300-page Hebrew volume titled Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol (The Great Rabbi Eliezer), an honorific often used for the talmudic sage, which Bitton said aptly described his great friend and mentor, as well.
Rabbi Binyomin Bitton’s new book is dedicated to Rabbi Lipa Dubrawsky.
Following a pattern championed by the Rebbe, the author identifies the prototypical approaches of the two first-century sages, and then goes on to apply those same underpinnings to seemingly unrelated arguments of theirs dotting the talmudic landscape.
“The Rebbe had a unique way of learning, of leshitasayhu” – the notion that the rulings of talmudic sages on disparate subjects are related to one another, explained Bitton, “and this forms the basis of the book. The widely accepted approach to leshitasayhu is that the ruling on one particular subject evolves from another one.
“By the Rebbe, it works on a different, deeper plane. In his view, many opinions evolve from a quintessential point in which the two sages essentially disagree and, from there, their opinion evolves in numerous subjects, which, at first glance, may not be related at all. Accordingly, the Rebbe further explains how the approach of each sage evolves and/or is connected to their Hebrew name, soul, place of residence, responsibilities, position and more. This, too, was incorporated in the book with regards to Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua.”
In 45 chapters, Bitton masterfully weaves common threads through the full gamut of human experience, demonstrating how the sages approached dozens of subjects that can be traced to the same fundamental axioms.
The book was released just in time for 27 Nissan, the second anniversary of the rabbi’s sudden passing in 2013. Thus, the book’s second part deals with the two sacrifices that frame the time of year: the Omer barley offering that was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem on the second day of Passover, and the two loaves brought seven weeks later on Shavuot.
Expounding upon a discourse of the Rebbe, Bitton applies the Rebbe’s principles to a number of different aspects of the two offerings – even explaining how they reflect through the kabbalistic lens of Chabad Chassidic tradition.
“Rabbi Dubrawsky dedicated his life to learning Torah and teaching Torah every single day,” said Bitton, “and I truly feel that through sharing Torah with others, we can perpetuate his special life.”
