Tag: tikkun olam

NCJW Canada is honoured

At the Oct. 23 ceremony for the unveiling of a plaque honouring National Council of Jewish Women of Canada’s 120 years of service are, from the left, Sharon Allentuck, Gloria Roden, Debbie Wasserman, Dr. Richard Alway, Councilor James Pasternak and Eva Karpati. (photo from NCJWC)

On Oct. 23, National Council of Jewish Women national president Debbie Wasserman accepted a plaque honouring the work of NCJW. It was from Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and it was unveiled at the Toronto offices of NCJW Canada. The recognition came on the council’s 120th anniversary.

“NCJWC in Vancouver has an enviable track record of working with disadvantaged elementary schools, funding programs of nutrition, hygiene, cooking, farm visits and street safety,” NCJWC Vancouver’s Debby Altow told the Independent. “We have received heart-stopping letters of thanks from the kids and their teachers; they inspire us to do even more in our fight to alleviate poverty…. Our Operation Dressup delivers thousands of items of good clothing, plus shopping certificates for teens every year, and our Books for Kids program reaches into daycares, preschools, doctors’ offices and other sites…. We hope to expand these programs into other nearby communities.”

Altow said, “Vancouver section president Catherine Stoller is following in the footsteps of her mom, Sheilah, serving as president of the section for the past three years. Our section has been an integral part of the community for over 90 years, and the Heritage designation, while it rests in Toronto, really applies to every province where council has been active.”

Of the Oct. 23 event, Wasserman said, “The ceremony was very moving. We began by proceeding into the auditorium…. The Canadian flag was dominantly displayed and the plaque was draped. We all sang O Canada. The master of ceremonies then introduced all the dignitaries and all spoke about the importance of NCJWC over its 120-year history. The ceremony’s highlight was when we all came off the stage to unveil the plaque displayed on an easel.”

Wasserman and NCJWC Toronto president Eva Karpati unveiled the plaque. Ena Cord, immediate past president of the Toronto section, read the inscription in English and Dahlia Rusinek, a past Toronto section president, read it in French. There were many photos taken, and a reception followed.

“Parks Canada contacted us earlier this year to tell us that NCJWC was to be recognized as an organization of national significance to Canada, seeing that we were the first Jewish women’s organization in Canada,” explained Wasserman. “The plaque will be permanently installed at 44 St. George St. in Toronto, the former head office of NCJWC.”

Dignitaries at the ceremony included Eric Nielsen of Parks Canada (master of ceremonies), Dr. Richard Alway of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Toronto City Councilor James Pasternak (York Centre), NCJWC Toronto member and historian Gloria Roden, and Sharon Allentuck, NCJWC immediate past president and Winnipeg section member.

“As a passionate advocate for social justice and equality since 1897, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada has forged an enduring legacy of community service across Canada,” Nielsen noted in his remarks. “It’s incredible to think that the council was founded right here in Toronto and has been growing steadily for over a century.

“The birth of the council came at a truly interesting time in Canadian history,” he continued. “During the late 19th century, urbanization, industrialization and immigration were causing social disruption in many cities across Canada. It was at this time that a pioneering group of Jewish women united to effect social change. Led by Meldola de Sola, wife of a distinguished Montreal rabbi, women of the Holy Blossom Synagogue in Toronto began meeting in private homes to study Genesis and the teachings of Judaism in preparation for beginning philanthropic activities in their communities.

“At the time of its founding in Toronto, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada focused on supporting young girls and new immigrants. They provided shelter, training, and other forms of assistance, all while strengthening the Jewish community.”

Nielsen said that, through NCJW, Jewish women across the country “gained a voice in Canadian society and the women’s movement.”

The oldest Jewish women’s organization in Canada, NCJWC has evolved, said Nielsen, “to meet the changing needs of the most vulnerable in society.” And it “continues to work tirelessly to promote social justice, freedom, equality and tolerance at home. Equally concerned with the well-being of people outside of Canada, the council’s members have also collaborated with aid organizations, such as the Red Cross, to contribute to humanitarian efforts abroad.

“Thanks to their efforts, we are creating a rich mosaic portraying the greatest moments of our nation’s history. Future generations will better understand their history through this mosaic and, hopefully, better understand themselves and the values of our country.”

Nielsen congratulated NCJWC. “The council’s invaluable legacy,” he said, “is a source of inspiration for all who work to promote meaningful social change, at home and abroad.”

Noting that NCJWC “began in 1897 with 20 women studying and learning Bible,” Roden said the council “realized there was an urgent need to help immigrants arriving daily in Toronto. And so, by 1909, a place was needed for the growing group to expand their activities. Two rooms on Walton Street in the Ward were rented, but, by 1913, there was a move to new larger headquarters on McCaul Street.

“With the outbreak of the First World War,” she said, “young council members took an active part and McCaul Street was transformed into a Red Cross centre, providing hospital supplies and other necessities for wartime aid. In 1918, with the Spanish flu epidemic, council volunteers carried meals to 800 flu victims from our kosher kitchen and provided home nursing care.

“In 1919, council women became big sisters to children and working girls, and bought Fairview Cottage at Whitby Beach to provide these girls with an oasis for much-needed fresh air and sunshine. By 1937, council continued their involvement with the Jewish Camp Council to included Camp Camperdown near Orillia.”

The offices on St. George were “purchased with a modest down payment,” said Roden. “It was called Community House, with the Jewish community using the much-needed premises for a variety of activities. It operated classes, including cooking, sewing, journalism, language, dance and art. Sports teams were formed … [to help newcomers to Canada], a daycare centre, English classes, and even a legal storefront service was established. A club for handicapped girls was formed to teach sewing and social skills, and there were interpreters to translate for the newly arrived.

“The NCJW has continued with our motto of ‘Faith and Humanity,’ and the voluntary participation as our civic responsibility as citizens of our great country. We continue to study, educate ourselves and participate with pride.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Feeling lucky, grateful

Aiden Cumming-Teicher celebrated his bar mitzvah by organizing Our Voices. (photo from Aiden Cumming-Teicher)

Aiden Cumming-Teicher got his start in acting at the age of 9. In the four years since then, he has played leading roles in numerous films and documentaries, receiving several Joey Awards nominations for his acting and winning a Young Entertainer Award in Los Angeles. For Beyond the Sun, he spent two months shooting in Argentina last year. He describes the film as “a religious adventure movie for kids.” The film – which features Pope Francis – was a highlight of his career so far, he said.

This year, Aiden celebrated his bar mitzvah in a novel way: by organizing Our Voices, a film festival that put child and youth filmmakers in the spotlight. Said Aiden of his unusual choice, “I wanted something that wasn’t all about me, something that gave back to other people, gave them the chance to express themselves and the opportunity to be heard and celebrated.”

Our Voices received more than 200 submissions from around the world and the contest culminated in a screening at Hollywood 3 Cinema in Pitt Meadows on Nov. 4. The entries represented a wide range of

genres and narrative styles: documentaries, films about relationships, films about giving kids the tools to deal with anxiety, music videos, comedies. The selections were judged by a panel that included professionals in the movie industry, with Aiden having the final say on the winners. His favourite movie was A Pencil, a satire on Apple. “It didn’t really fit in the categories so we created a Wildcard Award,” said Aiden. “We also made a Tikkun Olam Award for another wonderful film from Australia, Today?, which was about giving kids the tools to express themselves, finding solidarity against bullying.”

Admission for the screening of the 60-plus films was by donation, with the proceeds being donated to B.C. Children’s Hospital. Aiden presented a cheque for $610 to the hospital on Nov. 7, to show his gratitude for the care they have provided him, his friends and family.

“A big part of my life is finding ways to give back, because I know that I have been blessed,” said Aiden. “My family has faced difficult times – such as my mom’s cancer diagnosis a few years back – but we have always found ways to make it through.”

With his parents, Chris and Apis, Aiden helps others, despite whatever adversity he might be facing. “When my mom was sick, we made a kids book to help others going through the same thing. It’s available as a free PDF to anyone that needs it, and some printed copies have been given away too.”

Regarding his approach to tzedakah, he said, “A big part of this is feeling that we are helping to heal the world, even a little. I can’t fix everything, but being a kid doesn’t mean I’m helpless. I can still make a difference, even if it’s a small one.”

He credited his family for his sense of agency. “I am really thankful that I have a very strong, loving family, and that we tackle all challenges together, perform mitzvot together.”

This was certainly the case with a documentary he made on Vancouver Island, about saving at-risk salmon fry during a brutal drought.

Some of Aiden’s philanthropic work has brought him into contact with the harsh potential realities of life as a young adult. In 2016, he received an award at the Wall of Stars, an annual event that celebrates excellence in entertainment, with an emphasis on mutual support among artists. “The best part was that it was presented by Ms. Carol Todd, mother of Amanda Todd,” he said, referring to the teen who committed suicide in 2012 after relentless bullying. “My mom was there to see it,” he said.

Reflecting on the personal rewards of his work, Aiden said, “Making this film festival made me very happy. We got to see so many perspectives from around the world and see so many different lives.”

The big picture, though, is the impact of all this on the world around him. “I have been lucky,” he said, “to be in projects that all have a positive message.”

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at shulaklinger.com.

Improving our inclusivity

Rabbi Becky Silverstein, left, and Joanna Ware facilitated the Keshet program held in Vancouver last month. (photos from northeastern.edu and Jordyn Rozensky Photography, respectively)

Last month, a group of Greater Vancouver Jewish organizations sponsored a Keshet program for members of the community. Keshet provides training and support for Jewish clergy, educators, youth workers, counselors, allies and lay leaders to ensure that LGBTQ+ Jews are affirmed, celebrated and included in all Jewish educational and community settings.

The Oct. 22-23 weekend of training had its genesis in the efforts of Shelley Rivkin of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and Kevin Keystone, a former board member of Temple Sholom Synagogue, who has since moved to Toronto.

After the Union for Reform Judaism passed a resolution affirming the rights of LGBTQ+ people at their biennial meeting in 2015, Keystone brought a motion to the synagogue board to pass a supporting resolution, and recommended bringing Keshet to Vancouver.

“One of the most important reasons to bring in Keshet,” said Temple Sholom Rabbi Carey Brown, “was to present this important inclusion work within the framework of Jewish values and to address specific challenges within Jewish language and culture.”

When Keystone approached Federation, he found a sympathetic ear in Rivkin, who had previously attended a Keshet program. After being approached by the Vancouver Police Department about declaring the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver an LGBTQ+ safe space, Rivkin had become interested in supporting just such an initiative as Keshet, which she felt was long overdue.

Temple Sholom and Federation met with representatives of the JCCGV, Beth Israel, Or Shalom, Beth Tikvah, Har El, the Jewish Family Service Agency, Yad b’Yad, Hillel BC, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. An agreement was reached to sponsor a training weekend, with Federation committing to contributing a significant amount of the funding.

“One of the most heartwarming things was to see how many synagogues and institutions said, ‘We want to be there, we want to help sponsor it,’” said Brown.

The two-day program was facilitated by Keshet’s Rabbi Becky Silverstein and Joanna Ware. It featured five sessions, including Beyond the (Cis)Gender Binary, which focused on youth workers and others interested in supporting youth in a variety of settings; and (Not So) Straight Talk about LGBT Inclusion, which was for Jewish communal professionals looking to explore LGBTQ+ inclusion from a Jewish perspective, and how it applies to their work. On the last day, there was a lunch and learn with Keshet at Hillel House on the University of British Columbia campus, which was open to students, faculty and community members, and two evening sessions. The Tachlis of Inclusion was billed as a more advanced look at LGBTQ+ inclusion, focusing on how board members can make their institutions more inclusive and embracing of LGBTQ+ families and individuals – participants took home an institutional self-assessment resource for further conversation within their organization. The other session, held at Suite Genius Mt. Pleasant and open to LGBTQ+ members of all ages and allies, was titled Intersections: Sharing Stories at the Intersections of Queer Jewish identities.

The community’s response to the training was favourable, with a post-event survey garnering positive responses and many people expressing gratitude for the training, said Rivkin. “Moving forward,” she said, “one thing we want to do is figure out where organizations are on a continuum towards inclusivity, and we need to look at that inventory and see where we want to be and what are some steps we can take.”

Alicia Fridkin, who self-identifies as a Jewish, queer, white settler activist and works as LGBTQ+ counsel for CIJA, had positive things to say about the event. “It was important to make some space for queer and trans Jews in Vancouver to come together around their identities, and to see that communities are committing to having a space for them,” said Fridkin. “It was a good reminder that we all have work to do, and also that we all have come a distance. It is important to give the LGBQT+ community more visibility. Also, the different Jewish communities in Vancouver tend to operate in silos. This was a good example of people coming together.”

Participants in the program are hoping to carry what they have learned into their institutional and personal lives. A group for queer and trans youth is in the planning stages at the JCCGV. Brown said Temple Sholom has begun a review of its infrastructure and communal language, and noted how the synagogue has already made some changes, such as calling people up to the Torah for aliyot according to their preferred pronouns.

Fridkin celebrates those kinds of initiatives. “People are very interested in being in a religious place that is inclusive,” she said. She hopes that these communal discussions about LGBQT+ people can be a model for becoming more inclusive and progressive on other issues, such as interfaith marriage and Israel/Palestine.

“We need to be open,” said Fridkin, “to the experience of the hurt that people in the community have who have been excluded for any reason, and work to address that.”

Matthew Gindin is a freelance journalist, writer and lecturer. He writes regularly for the Forward and All That Is Interesting, and has been published in Religion Dispatches, Situate Magazine, Tikkun and elsewhere. He can be found on Medium and Twitter.

And the JI’s 18 Under 36 are …

Congratulations to all of the JI’s 18 Under 36 awardees!

(in alphabetical order)

Rebecca Baron
Ezequiel Blumenkrans
Erin Brandt
Marcus Brandt
Ayelet Cohen Weil
Courtney Cohen
Aaron Friedland
Sam Heller
Talya Mallek
Ariel Martz-Oberlander
Logan Presch
Maya Rae
Mike Sachs
Allie Michelle Saks
David Schein
Rotem Tal
Carmel Tanaka
Rabbi Levi Varnai

Thank you to all of the people who submitted a nomination. We received so many incredible entries. There really are a lot of all-around awesome people under the age of 36 in our community. Choosing only 18 was a difficult task.

Special thanks to our external adjudicator Kara Mintzberg, B.C. Regional Director, Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC).

Now that the hard part is done, we hope you will come and help us celebrate these amazing young people and our community. Tickets are only $18 and the event is sure to sell out.

Looking for nominees … the nominated and the winners

The Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley is looking for nominations for its annual Lamplighter Award, which honours a young person who has performed an outstanding act of community service.

Candidates must be between the ages of 6 and 18 and submission of potential recipients must include two references describing the child’s community service. The chosen lamplighter will receive the award during Chanukah at an evening ceremony at Semiahmoo Shopping Centre.

“Chanukah celebrates the victory of light over darkness and goodness over evil,” said Simie Schtroks. “This is a most appropriate opportunity to motivate and inspire young people to make this world a brighter and better place. By filling the world with goodness and kindness, that light can dispel all sorts of darkness.”

To nominate a candidate for the award, contact Schtroks as soon as possible at [email protected].

* * *

This summer, David Granirer received a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada. The award recognizes a deed or activity that has been performed in a highly professional manner, or according to a very high standard: often innovative, this deed or activity sets an example for others to follow, improves the quality of life of a community and brings benefit or honour to Canada.

Granirer is a counselor, stand-up comic and mental health keynote speaker. Granirer, who himself has depression, has taught stand-up comedy to recovering addicts and cancer patients, and founded Stand Up for Mental Health, a program teaching comedy to people with mental health issues, in 2004. He has trained Stand Up for Mental Health groups in partnership with various mental health organizations in more than 50 cities in Canada, the United States and Australia. His work on mental health is featured by media worldwide and has garnered several awards.

Granirer also teaches Stand-Up Comedy Clinic at Langara College, and many of his students have gone on to become professional comics.

* * *

This year’s Mayor’s Arts Award for Community Engaged Arts went to Earle Peach. A singer, songwriter, composer, conductor, arranger, teacher and performer, Peach leads four choirs in the city and hosts a monthly community coffee house in Mount Pleasant. He teaches privately, and records musicians for demos and albums. He performs with Barbara Jackson as a duo called Songtree and also has a band called Illiteratty.

The emerging artist honour went to Ariel Martz-Oberlander, a theatre artist, writer and teacher. As a Jewish settler on Coast Salish territories with diasporic and refugee ancestry, her practice is rooted in a commitment to place-based accountability through decolonizing and solidarity work. She divides her time between theatre and community organizing, and specializing in creative protest tactics on land and water.

Martz-Oberlander is a facilitator with the True Voice Theatre Project, producing new shows by residents of the Downtown Eastside and vulnerably housed youth, in collaboration with the Gathering Place and Covenant House. Her most recent work, created with support from the LEAP program, won a research and development prize from the Arts Club. Martz-Oberlander is also the associate producer for Vines Festival, presenting accessible, free eco-art in Vancouver parks. Good art is accountable to the community, raises up voices rarely heard and is vital to repairing our world.

* * *

On Oct. 3, the Koffler Centre of the Arts announced the four winners of the 2017 Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature, all of whom were on hand at the award luncheon at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto.

Winners in two of the categories are based in Vancouver. Miriam Libicki won the non-fiction award for Toward a Hot Jew (Fantagraphics Books Inc.), which the jury described as, “An admirably complicated response to being a woman and a Jew in our time, a thrilling combination of memoir, journalism and art.” And Irene N. Watts and Kathryn E. Shoemaker took the prize in the children’s/young adult category for Seeking Refuge (Tradewind Books), which the jury described as, “A superb graphic novel dramatizing the Kindertransport, a powerful story enhanced by firsthand experience and beautiful black-and-white illustrations.”

The other winners were Peter Behrens’ Carry Me (House of Anansi Press) for fiction and Matti Friedman’s Pumpkinflowers (McClelland & Stewart) for history.

The history shortlist included Max Eisen’s By Chance Alone (Harper Collins Publishers) and Ester Reiter’s A Future Without Hate or Need: The Promise of the Jewish Left in Canada (Between the Lines). Runners-up in the fiction category were Eric Beck Rubin’s School of Velocity (Doubleday Canada) and Danila Botha’s For All the Men (and Some of the Women) I’ve Known (Tightrope Books). In non-fiction, Sarah Barmak’s Closer: Notes from the Orgasmic Frontier of Female Sexuality (Coach House Books), Judy Batalion’s White Walls (Berkley/Penguin Random House) and David Leach’s Chasing Utopia (ECW Press) were runners-up, while Deborah Kerbel’s Feathered (Kids Can Press) and Tilar Mazzeo and Mary Farrell’s Irena’s Children (Margaret K. McElderry Books) were on the children’s/young adult short list.

* * *

In September 2017, local community member Dr. Arthur Wolak was elected for a three-year term to the board of governors of Gratz College, a private liberal arts college in suburban Philadelphia. Founded in 1895, Gratz is the oldest independent and pluralistic college for Jewish studies in North America. Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Gratz is also recognized by Israel’s Ministry of Education and Culture. Through its undergraduate and graduate programs, Gratz educates students to become effective educators, administrators and community leaders.

Win 2 free film tickets!

A Heartbeat Away follows Save a Child’s Heart pediatric cardiologist Dr. Akiva Tamir to Africa on a medical screening mission to find children in need of lifesaving heart surgery. (photo from Save a Child’s Heart Canada)

Jewish Independent readers can win two tickets to the Nov. 2 Vancouver premiére of the documentary A Heartbeat Away at Scotiabank Theatre. Simply email [email protected] by Wednesday, Oct. 25, 5 p.m., to be entered in a draw. The winner will be contacted.

A Heartbeat Away, by Tal Barda and Noam Pinchas, follows Save a Child’s Heart pediatric cardiologist Dr. Akiva Tamir to Africa on a medical screening mission to find children in need of lifesaving heart surgery – surgery that is not accessible in Tanzania, where, every day, five children die from heart disorders and rheumatic heart disease. In the documentary, Tamir and his team examine hundreds of children, although only a handful can receive the treatment that will save their lives. When 6-year-old Julius arrives at the clinic in critical condition, Tamir is forced to choose whether to operate on the child, who has very little chance of surviving. Tamir and his team take viewers on an emotional rollercoaster, as they deal with the most serious question of who to treat. The experienced physicians find it hard to detach from the emotional bond they share with their small patients.

The documentary focuses on the challenges of receiving adequate health care in developing countries, and the challenges providers face when so many are in need – how do they pick who to treat?

According to Marni Brinder Byk, executive director, Save a Child’s Heart Canada, “Congenital heart disease is responsible for more deaths in the first year of life than any other birth defect. Due to a high prevalence of acquired and congenital pediatric heart disease in developing countries, and a lack of skilled medical personnel dealing in pediatric cardiac care, there are thousands of children in need of cardiac intervention, and hundreds of medical personnel living in developing countries that require advanced training.”

To date, she said, the Israel-based Save a Child’s Heart has “provided care to over 4,400 children from 55 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, South and Central America, and the Middle East.”

In an interview with Eretz Magazine, Barda, who also directed the documentary, said, “The first thing that the documentary film needs to give the viewer is information. However, for me, the next move is touching the individual’s story…. My dream is to have as many people as possible watch this movie. The story comes from a different world, creates a sense of acquaintance and a better way of coping and looking at things…. There is something very powerful in this story, which is happening in the current dire reality of Israel and the world. It is about people who are taking their professional skills and doing something good with them. They go out of their comfort zone and do something for the benefit of the other. These doctors are taking care of all hearts, simply because they are beating hearts.

“The message here is very powerful, in my opinion,” she continued. “The organization is taking care of all children: Israelis, Africans, Palestinians….” To view the official trailer of A Heartbeat Away, visit vimeo.com/151644429.

The Nov. 2 screening event in Vancouver is chaired by Lana Pulver. It starts at 6:30 p.m. with a wine and cheese reception, followed by the screening of the documentary and a question-and-answer period with a panel of experts on pediatric global health and cardiac treatment. Tickets are $36, with all proceeds benefiting Save a Child’s Heart. To purchase tickets or make a donation, click here or call toll-free 1-844-924-9113.

Promoting sanitation

A handwashing workshop in the village of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India. Sydney Kamen started SOAP in 2012, with the goal of cutting in half the number of children under the age of 5 who die around the world from diarrhea and respiratory infections. (photo from Sydney Kamen)

Every year, 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die from diarrhea and respiratory infections. This number could be cut in half with proper sanitation and handwashing – which is precisely the goal of a 20-year-old Jewish woman from Washington, D.C., Sydney Kamen.

Kamen is working to achieve this target via the nongovernmental organization SOAP (So Others Are Protected), which she established in 2012.

“If you reduce the number of cases and number of deaths, then you reduce the burden on the international public health system … and that funding can go elsewhere to build infrastructure, etc.,” Kamen told the Independent. “It’s inspiring to me to think about the incredible impact one simple solution could have on a global scale.”

Raised in a Reform Jewish home that stressed community service, Kamen is a junior at Dartmouth College, majoring in geography with a minor in global health and ethics.

“When I was in middle school,” she said, “I was in a club and it was about girls’ education. We partnered with this school in Kenya. Once a week, we’d Skype with them and get to know each other. That was my first exposure to the different life experiences of my age group around the world…. It became girls’ and women’s health later, which really segued into this world of global health and wealth disparities … which then led me to the field of development, where I am now.”

In high school, Kamen joined a team of college students in rural Thailand to study marginalized, at-risk youth on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

“What does a white, Jewish girl from Georgetown know about not having access to clean water or not having access to sanitation?” said Kamen. “Nothing at all. So, this was a very eye-opening experience for me.”

Kamen stayed with a host-family in which the mother worked as a nurse clinician at a small rural health clinic. The host-mom explained how frustrating it was to see so many kids coming into the clinic with diarrhea and respiratory infections, but not being equipped to help – there was not enough access to sanitation.

In this remote community, which was, in a sense, an unofficial refugee camp, the people repurposed many things made from plastic and found ways to reuse many items. So, when Kamen came to them with the idea of repurposing unused shards of soap from local hotels, the idea was well-received.

“When I first arrived in Thailand, I was staying at a hotel, getting acclimated,” said Kamen. “I used to always bring home the soap, shampoo and conditioner. And then, I was exposed to this disparity and was told that, no, they don’t have soap. I thought, this is a problem … perhaps with a very simple solution. Simple things are sometimes the hardest things to identify, just because they are so simple.

“It’s something that took some time to come together. It was something I felt strongly about and it was an issue that I saw as a grave injustice. I think access to sanitation is a human right. Of course, this is not something unique to rural Thailand, it’s a global problem – lack of access to sanitation is a huge problem.

“I saw this as something well worth exploring. I came home and started talking to people in Washington about it … and it all came from that. It was definitely a collaborative effort and it’s something that’s very important. You can’t make big changes alone. It’s all about the collaborative group effort.”

Kamen made the link between the hotels and the community and created a win-win situation. The hotel reduced its disposal costs and the community created a business from the repurposed soap. So far, 13 communities and 14 hotels have joined the project and each community has their own way of making it work.

“It’s all about community ownership,” said Kamen. “That’s very important to me. Some communities recycle it one way and do different things with it, and others do other things.”

Once the hotel reaches a sufficient amount of collected soap, the shards are transported to SOAP’s partner communities who then recycle the shards by melting and reshaping them. Ultimately, the product is used to promote sanitation and handwashing in the communities.

Besides providing a platform to support sustainable economic growth and financial independence, this initiative is also helping train women in business, building cooperatives, as well as offering the women some funds to learn about sanitation and how to clean the soap bars. This allows them to become health ambassadors of a sort in the community.

To date, more than 50,000 bars of soap have been distributed.

As for Kamen, while she hopes to one day work full-time on the project, her current goal, she said, is to “learn my place in this field and how to do it to the best of my ability … and to do so humbly and mindfully. Something I’ve become hyper-sensitive to as a student is the ‘white saviour complex’ … and I’m fearful of it becoming a part of my efforts, as I see [it] very prominently in other development initiatives.

“In school,” she added, “my hope is to become aware and knowledgeable of these practices as much as possible. But, my role now is to support the partnerships that have already been made.

“The thing is, it’s a very simple solution to a very large problem. This soap model, if you will, is very mobile. It’s easily tailored to meet community needs, which is very important to me. I want it to be a self-ownership type of thing, where communities support each other and do it themselves. It’s not a hand out. It’s not some white young American going over and teaching people how to wash their hands because there’s this ‘primitive’ divide.”

Interest in Kamen’s idea is growing in general, but most important to her is that one of her partner communities has reached out, saying they want to establish something like this in the community next door.

“It was their own initiative, not something I sought out to implement, which, to me, is the whole point,” said Kamen. “Hopefully, the ownership is assumed by the people who need it and the people who benefit from it. That’s all that matters to me.”

Recently, Kamen was named one of the 15 recipients of the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.

“I was incredibly honoured and excited,” she said. “The kind of support that award offers is incredible and generous. At the same time, as wonderful as this attention is, I think it’s important you do something good with it. It feels great, but it’s easy to get caught up in the accolades and what other people see and want for you.

“I really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to share this story, but, also, I want to encourage my peers to learn about some of these global issues and think more deeply about our actions – especially those interested in development or international volunteerism.”

In her international development studies, Kamen found out that the U.S. military is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the world. As a Dartmouth student, she had the opportunity to become a reserve officer training corps cadet, which she opted to take to learn about the army.

“I grew up with the image of the military being a bunch of uneducated white guys who were trigger-happy and oil-hungry … which is not the case,” said Kamen. “This was the image I grew up with culturally.

“I figured it was time to learn the system from the inside and to humanize it. You can read all about the military and army in books, and you can talk to people about it, but why not try and understand it through experience? So, I joined the program with the hope of learning how it works and learning how they train future generations of leaders.

“I’ve been a part of it for just over two years now, and love what I’ve learned. The whole experience has been very humbling. I’ve learned about patriotism and what it means to serve, especially from my peers. But, I haven’t signed my contract yet, and that’s something I’m thinking about.”

For more information about SOAP, visit the NGO’s website, soothersareprotected.org.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

“M” magicians will mystify

Illusionist Vitaly Beckman can make people’s images disappear from their driver’s licences. Beckman will take part in “M” – The Magic Show at Michael J. Fox Theatre Oct. 21. (photo from eveningofwonders.com)

Vitaly Beckman can make objects levitate. He can transport the image of a person in a photograph to another photograph. And he can predict the future. I know this because I’ve seen him do all those things, and more.

In 2014, the Jewish Independent participated with Beckman in what he would probably call an illusion, but what seemed magical to me. On March 21, 2014, at Havana restaurant, he locked his predictions of what the news would be a few weeks hence – and what I and co-witness Mia Zimmerman, a radio and TV host, would be wearing – in a small box. I held the key to the box, which remained chained up in public view at the restaurant. At Beckman’s April 10 show, the vast majority of his predictions were proven correct, including my and Zimmerman’s chosen outfits.

Beckman is a consummate performer, and his busy schedule and numerous accolades are proof of that. But the best proof is to see one of his shows. He uses humour and charm to involve as many audience members as possible, and even the shy among the crowds seem to want to join in, though many may not get the chance at his next show, just for its sheer size – and that he’ll be one of five performers.

At “M” – The Magic Show on Oct. 21 at Michael J. Fox Theatre, Beckman will be sharing the stage with four other acclaimed and award-winning magicians: Kel, Wes Barker and the team of Trevor and Lorena Watters. The promotional material assures “cutting-edge illusions, mystery, music, comedy, audience participation (you’ve been warned!) and precision sleight of hand.”

It’s not very often that there’s a performance of this magnitude, Beckman told the Independent. “We all have our own shows but this is the first time we have a chance to collaborate,” he said. “Each of us has a different style and it’s exciting to combine into one show.”

In addition to the illusions already mentioned, Beckman’s An Evening of Wonders show includes “Super Vision,” where he reads books and newspapers from a 50-feet away. He writes all of his material and has invented all of his tricks.

“The latest illusion involves turning back time, as an old branch becomes young and fresh again, while I become old,” he shared.

Beckman has been practising magic since the age of 14, when he was inspired, he said, “by a David Copperfield special and started performing for friends and family, and inventing my own illusions. I felt like magic brings out all of my strengths and talents and that I can express myself in the best possible way by creating and performing illusions, by bringing my imagination to life and sharing it with an audience.”

However, notes his bio, it would only be years later, that Beckman “would abandon a career in engineering to focus on rebuilding people’s childlike sense of wonder and bridging the gap between dreams and reality.”

“I am naturally an optimist but also a realist,” he told the Independent. “I believe in good news but also stay grounded. Every new idea I conceive seems impossible at first, but then I can find a way to achieve it. I think that makes me think that it can be true for anything and, with effort and imagination, anything is possible.”

Partial proceeds from “M” – The Magic Show will be donated to the YMCA; funds will go to helping people of all ages access community programs, including swimming, childcare and education. “M” starts at 8 p.m. on Oct. 21 and Michael J. Fox Theatre is at 7373 Macpherson Ave., in Burnaby. Tickets are $39 (plus tax and service charges) from vtixonline.com or 604-241-7292.

Magic to amaze and educate

Partial proceeds of Randy Charach’s Oct. 14 show at the Rothstein will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association. (photo from Randy Charach)

Anyone who has seen Randy Charach perform will swear he can read people’s minds. He certainly is attuned and sensitive to his audience, and those brave and lucky enough to become part of his high-energy, humour-filled show, which he will be bringing to the Rothstein Theatre Oct. 14, at 7 and 9 p.m.

“It has been five years since I’ve done a public show in Vancouver,” Charach told the Independent. “Most of my work is in the United States, as a corporate speaker and entertainer. The performances I’ll be doing at the Rothstein Theatre on Oct. 14th is my newest show. I’ll be blending my life’s work as a comedian, mentalist, magician and hypnotist. I’m looking forward to providing a memorable experience for my Vancouver audience.”

According to the press material, Charach has been entertaining people since he was 5 years old, “inspired by his uncle, a Las Vegas magician.” He has performed around the world, including on major television networks and even in film. A certified practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming and a certified hypnotist, Charach invites people to join him on stage: “As the excitement grows, the crowd watches in amazement as other audience members enter a hypnotic state and become stars of the show.”

“I love to amaze people,” said Charach about what he enjoys most about performing. “The art of magic has been a passion since childhood, and something I see as analogous to life. As a society, we constantly thrive to have our expectations met. When we are surprised, delighted and amazed, we often become elated. This feeling occurs in performance, in personal interactions and in business. When we surprise people, we become memorable.

“I write of this in my latest business growth book on Amazon, Client Centric,” he said. “I teach it in the book and at my corporate presentations, All Business is Show Business and All Life is Show Business. When we continue to amaze others by exceeding their expectations, it’s not magic, but it works like magic. This is an example of how art imitates life and my analogy of how magic is present in all our lives.

“Performing magic has evolved for me to the point where I have taken my interpretation of the art to a new level. While on stage, I am in a heightened state of consciousness, which I am unable to replicate any other way. Magic is present in every aspect of my life, and it pleases me to share it during my performances.”

Despite this love of entertaining, Charach said there were years when he didn’t perform at all.

“My decision to return to the stage,” he said, “was made at a group event hosted by Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman of Chabad in Richmond. The rabbi stated we must share our talent with others. It was at that moment I looked at my wife Chana and said I would be performing again. I suppose it’s in my blood. Entertaining and educating is part of my life’s purpose.”

Partial proceeds of the Oct. 14 show will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“Mental illness is prevalent in our society, and I don’t feel this condition receives the attention it requires,” said Charach. “I’ve personally dealt with depression over the years, and am aware I am not alone. I do my best to raise awareness and plan to do more. I hope the stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination stop.”

For more information, videos and to reserve your seats at one (or both) of the Oct. 14 shows at the Rothstein, visit randytickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are $36 (plus service charge).

Wosk, Lederman honoured

ORT Vancouver will honour Rabbi Dr. Yosef Wosk and Shelley Lederman on Oct. 18 at Congregation Schara Tzedeck. (photos from ORT)

For nearly 140 years, ORT has been equipping people around the world with skills to succeed. The history of the organization in Canada is being celebrated at a gala luncheon next month honouring Rabbi Dr. Yosef Wosk and Shelley Lederman.

The Vancouver region of ORT began in the 1970s and was led by Lederman, who served successive terms as president of the local region and later became co-president of ORT Canada. Carrie Katz, who was Lederman’s co-president, will be the keynote speaker at the event on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

ORT (a Russian-language acronym sometimes translated as the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training) is the world’s largest Jewish education and vocational training nongovernmental organization. Beginning in Russia in 1880, World ORT now operates in 37 countries and engages 300,000 students per year. Originally focused on developing skilled trades among the people, the organization now focuses on high-tech education.

It is ORT’s origin and history – and his own family’s roots – that attracted Wosk to support the organization.

“My father’s family is from Odessa, so I felt a personal connection to the history of the organization and the people they help,” Wosk told the Independent. “Also, the appreciation for the memory of the Jewish community who would not abandon others who needed assistance.”

ORT is founded on the axiom that if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day but if you teach him how to fish he will eat for a lifetime. This is another factor that appealed to Wosk.

“What I was impressed with historically was that it’s not just giving funds,” he said. “It was also educating the people, whether in agriculture or trades and other skills, so that they would be able to eventually help take care of themselves and sustain themselves.”

Local regions, like Vancouver’s, raise funds for ORT educational initiatives in Metro Vancouver, in Israel and around the world.

When Lederman was founding president of the region, there were actually three local branches created, including a Hebrew-speaking group and a Spanish-speaking cohort.

“We created a very strong organization here in Vancouver,” said Lederman, adding that local regions support vital initiatives worldwide, projects that change according to needs over time.

“When people were under duress in Europe during the war and they couldn’t sustain themselves, ORT teachers taught them how to survive as tailors, electricians, as plumbers,” Lederman told the Independent. “And then, in Israel, ORT schools continue to do the same thing. They are teaching those who weren’t going to university but who wanted to come out of high school and be able to support themselves and their families. ORT schools provide education plus trade teachings.”

While she herself did not go to an ORT school, she saw the good works the organization does while growing up in Israel. Being honoured by the organization now means a lot, she said.

“It means a lot because being recognized by your friends and fellow members is really a recognition of all of us,” she said. “By recognizing one person, it’s recognizing the many people who contributed to the success of ORT in Vancouver.”

photo - The honourary chair of the Oct. 18 ORT gala is Dr. Saul Isserow
The honourary chair of the Oct. 18 ORT gala is Dr. Saul Isserow. (photo from ORT)

The theme of the gala is Building Minds Through Inspiration. While ORT began as an educational body teaching skilled trades and crafts, it is now a leader in high-technological training and education. Keeping with this commitment, a percentage of the revenue from the gala will support an ongoing Smart Classrooms initiative at Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS), as well as provide scholarships for students at the Technological College of Beersheva, in Israel.

Smart Classrooms integrate learning technologies that allow increased interactivity. “The investment by ORT is about allowing Jewish day schools and Jewish schools in Israel to keep pace with technology,” said Abba Brodt, principal of RJDS. “It allows us to marry the best of educational practice with the best of technology for the best possible outcome for students.”

Without the Smart Classrooms funded by ORT, he said, “our students will get a great education but would not be as technologically literate as they should or could be, and they would not be keeping up with changes.”

The gala luncheon takes place at on Oct. 18, 11 a.m., at Congregation Schara Tzedeck. Honourary chair is Dr. Saul Isserow. Master of ceremonies will be Howard Jampolsky. Tickets are available from 604-276-9282 or [email protected].

Pat Johnson is on the organizing committee for the ORT gala.