The Jewish Regional Communities Conference April 27-28 brought together Jewish communities from throughout the province to network, engage and learn. (photo from Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver)
The Jewish Regional Communities Conference was the first of its kind. The April 27-28 event included Jewish communities from throughout the province and was a time for everyone to come together, connect, hear various speakers and participate in workshops.
The conference kicked off with a message from Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. He talked about how the conference was 10 years in the making.
“This conference started with a simple question, how do we support Jewish life, everywhere in BC, in every place where people are trying to connect, trying to build community on their own?” he said. “How do we support them? For years, we’ve been hearing that regional communities want more connection to each other, more access to resources and more chances to share what’s working. So, we listened, we had conversations, we showed up, we learned a lot, and now we’re here together to move the conversation forward – because vibrant Jewish life doesn’t look the same everywhere, and it shouldn’t. What matters is that it reflects you – you in this room, your people and your values. Federation’s job is not to decide what that looks like. Our job is to walk alongside you, to listen and to help open doors.”
Shanken’s statement encompassed what the conference was about: having regional communities coming together to network, engage and learn. The conference had numerous breakout sessions where attendees could learn about different subjects.
One session was on developing leaders in small communities, which was led by Lyssa Anolik, community connector, Squamish/South Sea to Sky, at Jewish Federation. In the workshop, attendees brainstormed on various questions, and ideas were discussed on how to motivate and support volunteers, create visions for each community, and event planning.
Another keynote speaker was Rabbi Mike Uram, chief Jewish learning officer for Jewish Federations of North America. The presentation was held over Zoom and questions were welcomed throughout. One person asked how to maintain relationships within a community, especially if they are challenging. Uram, who had worked with the late John McKnight and John Kretzmann at Northwestern University, said they had advice on this topic.
“If you make a map of everything that’s wrong and then try to fix it, it creates a whole bunch of unanticipated negative consequences,” said Uram. “One of those consequences is that, when you’re thinking about things from a position of scarcity, then there’s always a debate about what is the one magic bullet answer that’s going to solve the issue, and both of them talked about [how,] just by flipping the conversation and beginning with the assets that you have – like, how do you map out what works? – that it actually dispels some political infighting, because you’re not approaching what is the future of the community. So that, I think, works across the board as a way of preventing burnout in leadership.”
He added, “One of the tricks is to make sure that you’re pitching the future and the conversation you’re having as a community way off at the horizon and thinking about all the things we could do, rather than fighting about how we’ve divided the pie as we have it, because that actually does, I think, tend to bring out people’s fear and a little bit of animosity and that kind of zero-sum thinking.”
The rest of the presentation talked about different theories or strategies that can build lasting and prosperous regional communities.
In addition to other speakers and breakout sessions, there was a conversation with Nova music festival survivors Raz Shifer and Inbal Binder, who participated in many activities when visiting Vancouver from Israel. Both talked about who they are and their own experiences on Oct. 7. (See jewishindependent.ca/healing-from-trauma-of-oct-7.)
Having had trouble getting back to work after the horrific tragedy, the two attended a program at Healing Space Rishpon.
“We went there three times a week … and we made ceramics and candles,” said Shifer. “From just creating with our own hands, it helped us process all the trauma and just feel useful…. For me, it really made movement again in my life and then I met Inbal – we’re good friends now.”
Speaking at the conference was challenging, said Shifer.
“Almost the day before I came here,” she said, “it was like, oh my God, how am I going to do it? I think the twist that came after is the power of the group. I heard that you all came from different places – but we are all Jewish, and it’s something that I expect here in many kinds of communities.”
Chloe Heuchert is an historian specializing in Canadian Jewish history. During her master’s program at Trinity Western University, she focused on Jewish internment in Quebec during the Second World War.