Vancouver Island

Running on core values

Nina Krieger is the BC New Democratic Party candidate in the riding of Victoria-Swan Lake on Vancouver Island. (photo from ninakrieger.bcndp.ca)

Nina Krieger, former executive director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, will be the New Democratic Party candidate for Victoria-Swan Lake in the Oct. 19 provincial election. She will be vying for the seat vacated by the minister of transportation and infrastructure in the present cabinet, Rob Fleming, who announced this summer that he will not be seeking reelection.

Krieger told the Independent that her work at the VHEC and her decision to seek public office were inspired by having grown up in a family of teachers, with a father who was a union leader, and the values that permeated her home: education and helping others.

“In my household, I learned about the importance of institutions in society, such as unions, that support people when they are facing challenges,” said Krieger, who believes that the BC NDP have acted on this philosophy while in government.

Krieger was the VHEC’s executive director for 12 years and its education director for six. Under her stewardship in recent years, she has positioned the VHEC, located in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, to be part of JWest, the redevelopment of the JCC, which will mean increased availability of childcare, more seniors services, and expanded arts and cultural spaces, among other things.

“The forward-looking and hopeful work of VHEC and the JWest project speak to the shared responsibility to uplift one another, which is at the heart of my values, Canadian values and the BC NDP’s values,” Krieger said.

Her choice to enter the political arena during this, in her view, critical election is led by a desire to bring people together in this era of increased social and philosophical polarization.

“I would like to use my voice, and my experience as someone who has led and bridged communities, to work to build a better BC for all. Times are challenging right now, and I believe that we need a government that is fighting for you and your family and your ability to live a good life,” Krieger said.

Similar to ridings throughout the province, housing, health care and the cost of living are top-of-mind for voters in Victoria-Swan Lake. Krieger points to plans the NDP has put in place to build hundreds of thousands of new homes and dozens of new hospitals, to reduce ICBC rates and to lower the costs of childcare. Each of these items, she warned, could be on the budgetary chopping board were John Rustad and the BC conservatives to take power.

“We all want the same things: to afford the costs of everyday life, to have access to quality health care when we need it, and to have strong services that we can count on, from childcare to long-term care. We want to be part of strong, safe, prosperous and caring communities,” Krieger said.

One consistent thread in the NDP’s campaign has been to draw attention to the propensity of some in the BC Conservative Party to lend to too much credence to, if not openly adhere to, conspiracy theories.

“As a Holocaust educator, I know about the danger of conspiracy theories. Students of history and observers of politics know that conspiratorial rhetoric has real consequences. It sows distrust in government and distrust between communities and between neighbours,” Krieger said. “Unfortunately, John Rustad and several BC Conservative candidates have a track record of peddling untruths and conspiracies, something that is dangerous to the fabric of civil society.”

Krieger is one of two Jewish candidates known to the JI among the more than 300 people competing for 93 seats in the 2024 race. In this capacity, and as someone who has led a Jewish organization, founded by Holocaust survivors, she believes she can serve as a connection between government and the Jewish community, so that government understands the experiences of Jews in the province, and can act in a way that is guided by this understanding.

“I am committed to bringing my experience and insights to the vital task of building a more just and inclusive society, where the safety, security and well-being of Jewish people and all people are prioritized,” she said.

Amid the surge in antisemitism across the province and around the world since the Hamas attacks on Israel a year ago, Krieger sees a role for an MLA to connect with Jews in British Columbia. She said she has experienced the same pain and anxiety many in the Jewish community have felt in the wake of Oct 7.

“Countering antisemitism requires a whole-of-society commitment that includes the active participation of governments and civil society. If I am elected, I will do my part and will connect with Jewish constituents to ensure their lived experiences are brought forward in provincial discussions,” Krieger said.

Premier David Eby understands these concerns, Krieger said, pointing to a hate-crime prosecution policy that includes fighting antisemitism and the provision of anti-hate security funding to the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. Nonetheless, she and Eby agree that more needs to be done to ensure everyone in the province feels safe.

Although foreign affairs are not a provincial matter, Krieger said MLAs play a critical role in listening to local communities affected by global conflicts and in supporting people in British Columbia by providing a sense of security. Moreover, she stressed, many in the province are deeply affected by the Israel-Hamas war and it is distressing for all people of good conscience to witness suffering and the loss of life.

“While the conflict in the Middle East will not be solved at the provincial level, there is a responsibility to counter antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate of all forms in our society, and to ensure that people feel safe in our public spaces and public institutions,” Krieger said.

As head of the VHEC, Krieger consulted with the Ministry of Education and Childcare about making Holocaust education mandatory for high school students in the province, starting in the fall of 2025.

“We know that learning about the Holocaust can help young people be more resilient to antisemitism, xenophobia and conspiracy theories,” she said. “If elected, I would welcome an opportunity to contribute to ongoing efforts to strengthen Holocaust education and combat antisemitism.”

Should she win a seat, Krieger imagines that she also will have a role to play in ensuring that there is a diversity of lived and professional experiences around the caucus table, and in bringing her expertise with intercultural work, as well as countering antisemitism and hate, to the role of MLA.

There is a great deal at stake in this election, Krieger said, and this was her motivation to seek office under the NDP tent. The NDP’s seven-year tenure, she said, has made strides in improving housing, health care and affordability.

“Now is not the time for cuts to programs and services. Now is not the time to take away cost savings. Now is not the time to cancel initiatives that are starting to make a difference in the lives of people. Now is not the time to question climate science or make decisions based on conspiracy theories,” Krieger said.

Since its formation in 2009, the Victoria-Swan Lake riding has voted solidly in favour of the NDP, with Fleming obtaining a sizable majority in each of the last four provincial elections.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

My Way Bikery expands

My Way Bikery owners Moshe and Leah Appel. (photo from My Way Bikery)

Vancouver Island’s only kosher bakery started the new secular year with new owners, Moshe and Leah Appel, and a slightly new name. What was formerly known as the Bikery is now My Way Bikery. The Victoria location, at 8-1701 Douglas, inside the Public Market at the Hudson, remains the same, though the selection has expanded to include more than baked goods.

Certified pareve kosher by Kosher Check and supervised by Rabbi Meir Kaplan from Chabad of Vancouver Island, My Way Bikery encourages customers to “challah” at them anytime. The bakery also delivers to customers and businesses all around Victoria, and people throughout Greater Victoria can place orders using SkipTheDishes, DoorDash and Uber Eats. Beyond Victoria, the bakery delivers as far up Island as Parksville and Qualicum Beach every Friday, with a minimum order of $25 placed by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

“I’m the baker,” Leah Appel told the Independent.

“I’m everything else,” followed Moshe Appel.

photo - My Way Bikery lemon poppyseed muffins — My Way Bikery lemon poppyseed muffins (photo from My Way Bikery)

Originally from Montreal, the couple have known each other since they were 7 years old, but only got together after being in and out of each other’s lives for decades.

“My background is essentially in call centre work – inbound sales, inbound customer service and inbound security, things like that. But I’m extremely active in the Jewish community here in B.C., especially since first moving to Nanaimo,” said Moshe Appel.

“The idea for the business really didn’t come to fruition until I reunited with my childhood friend (and now wife), who is a classically trained baker and someone who has been in market research and management. Coming from Montreal as we both have, we were shocked at the lack of good Jewish food in B.C., and on the Island in particular.”

The Appels, who have always enjoyed cooking traditional Jewish recipes for their friends and family, started selling their goods at local markets a couple of years ago. The realization soon struck that they would need a larger space for their production. Serendipitously, they came across an opportunity last year when their friend Markus Spodzieja, founder of the Bikery, announced his intention to sell the business. The Appels purchased it, merging their original bakery name (My Way Bakery) with the Bikery to, as they say, “keep the nostalgia of Markus’s brand alive while adding our own recipes to the mix.”

According to the Appels, Spodzieja will be moving home to Nova Scotia to care for his grandmother.

The business obtained its first name, the Bikery, in 2017, when Spodzieja sold baked goods out of a 250-pound mobile vending bicycle as part of a pilot project for the City of Victoria’s Mobile Bike Vending Permit. It moved to its present location in 2021.

photo - My Way Bikery challah — My Way Bikery challah *(photo from My Way Bikery)*

“I met Markus when he first opened the Bikery and I was one of his first customers, but it was purely luck that I asked his advice for starting a business in Nanaimo and he handed us the business in Victoria. Unwilling to miss this G-d-given opportunity, we jumped on the chance,” Moshe Appel recalled.

“We are keeping much of the same menu as Markus did, but expanding it to include soups, salads, more breads and Jewish dishes and, in a few months, plan to expand it to include cholov Yisroel dairy products as well.”

The menu lists dozens of items. There are savoury pastries and shakshuka, halva and combos (including pita and Leah Appel’s hummus). Some of the popular items are the My Way Sandwich, potato salad, kimmel rye, peanut butter cookies and Israeli salad. A current hit is Those Darn Cookies, a sweet made with chocolate chips and almonds.

photo - My Way Bikery tahini cookies — My Way Bikery tahini cookies *(photo from My Way Bikery)*

Among the new touches are jelly chal-nuts, Leah Appel’s take on a jelly donut; challah dough stuffed with sweet jelly and topped with raw cane sugar; and Oyvegg, a roll with Daiya “cheese,” an egg, garlic aioli, lettuce and tomato.

The Appels are even offering goodies for canines – Dunstan Donuts. “Named after Dunstan, who was a very good boy,” the menu reads, “these certified-kosher pareve dog treats are made with oats and bananas and taste amazing! Dunstan’s Donuts are delicious enough for you, but made just for your four-legged friend!”

Favourites from the Bikery, including numerous varieties of pretzels and bagels, lemon-poppyseed muffins and challah in all shapes, sizes and flavours, are still available.

The Appels say they are in preliminary talks to open a storefront location in Nanaimo.

My Way Bikery is located toward the back of Victoria’s Public Market, which is situated close to City Hall and Centennial Square – a few blocks away from the Empress Hotel and Parliament – in a building that operated for several decades as a Hudson Bay department store. It is open Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday hours will be extended in the spring, as the days grow longer.

For more information or to place an order, visit mywaybikery.ca, call 778-430-2453 or email [email protected].

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Vancouver Island campaign

Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island will extend its hours for the Sept. 18 community resource fair that launches the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island’s annual campaign this year. (photo from jfsvi.ca)

The Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island (JFVVI) is trying something a little different for its annual United Jewish Appeal campaign launch this year. On Sept. 18, they will celebrate Jewish diversity in British Columbia with a community resource fair. The event will be held at the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria, from 1 to 4 p.m., and will feature presenters from both Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

“We are changing things up this year,” said Coral Grant, executive director of JFVVI. “Usually, we have a guest speaker. The past few years, it has been on Zoom. This year, we wanted to reach the wider community by having a launch we could do in person. We are really hoping that, with this fair, we can encourage people to come out and see what is available in the Jewish community in British Columbia, as well as locally.”

As it does every year, the JFVVI campaign runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31. Mailings and outreach through fliers to members of the community are currently underway and, soon, volunteer canvassers will continue these fundraising efforts. For 2022/23, the campaign’s objective is to raise $175,000 – or $10,000 more than it did in 2021/22. The previous year’s campaign exceeded its target, as it included a separate campaign raising funds for Ukraine.

The response to the call for fair presenters was tremendous – JFVVI quickly ran out of available display space at the Victoria JCC. The fair will take place in the main area of the building, the same location as the Lox, Stock and Bagel Deli, which ordinarily operates Tuesdays to Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Many of the 20 tables will be operated by representatives from Vancouver-area organizations, such as the Jewish Museum and Archives, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, the pluralistic Jewish teen movement BBYO, the Canadian Jewish Political Action Committee (CJPAC), Birthright Israel and March of the Living.

Among the local groups will be the JFVVI, the Victoria Jewish Choir, PJ Library, the Victoria Shoah Project, Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the Jewish Burial Society, the theatre group Bema Productions and the Hebrew school from Congregation Emanu-El. All of the Victoria congregations – Chabad of Vancouver Island, Congregation Emanu-El and Kolot Mayim Reform Temple – will be participating and the Mekorah Institute, co-founded by Rabbi Matt Ponak and dedicated to bringing integrated and sustainable spiritual transformation to individuals and religious lineages, will be there, too.

At the fair, the Victoria JCC will highlight the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival, now in its eighth year, which takes place both online and in person at the Vic Theatre in downtown Victoria Nov. 1-6. Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island, which sells fresh produce at wholesale prices every second Sunday in the summertime from the JCC parking lot, will extend its hours for the occasion.

Recent estimates on the size of the Jewish community in Victoria range from 1,500 to 3,000 people. One point on which most can agree, however, is that, whatever the number, it has been increasing. The city is now home to three synagogues, a secular humanist group, a kosher bakery and numerous other organizations and social and cultural activities.

“There are a lot of folks who have moved here recently, and it may be interesting for them to find out what is happening here,” Grant said. “For the locals, having some of the organizations from the Mainland may be an eye-opener. We are really hopeful that, in covering a broad spectrum of organizations, the community will find something which is new and exciting for them.

“I am really excited,” she said, “because this is an in-person gathering and I’m excited that we have been able to collaborate with people on the Mainland to showcase the diversity in the province and bring some of that to the Island. To do this as a campaign launch is kind of a novelty for us and, hopefully, it will all come together and work.”

About to embark on its 36th year of operation, JFVVI is the umbrella organization of the Jewish community in the capital region and Vancouver Island. It raises funds for local groups and supports organizations, individuals and families both regionally and in Israel with grants and scholarships and through partnerships with community leaders. It coordinates, plans and promotes social, educational, cultural, health and welfare programs and activities in the Jewish community. The JFVVI is committed to building strong, vibrant Jewish communities throughout the Island.

For more information about how to donate to the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island, visit jewishvictoria.ca.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Litman shares stories

Storyteller Shoshana Litman. (photo from maggidah.com)

Shoshana Litman, Canada’s first ordained maggidah (storyteller), kicked off Kolot Mayim Reform Temple’s 2020-21 monthly lecture series on Nov. 1 with a talk entitled Building Jewish Culture Through Stories and Song.

“We humans are a storytelling species,” Litman told the Zoom audience. “That’s what we do. Whether it’s the conversations we have with each other about what’s going on in our lives or the stories we tell ourselves in our own minds, whether they’re true or false, we are always doing this.

“And we Jews are a storytelling people,” she said. “This is what we do, too. If you look at our core text, it is full of stories. The first two Books of Moses are full of stories.”

Litman’s path towards being a maggidah began as her children grew older and she rejoined the workforce. At the time, she started to become ba’al teshuvah (a secular person who “returns” to Judaism). Based in Victoria, she attended conferences run by the Mussar Institute, which was founded by Vancouverite Alan Morinis, and, ultimately, located a program that trains maggidim.

In the mid-2000s, Litman connected with maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum, a student of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, in Brooklyn, and she embarked on a two-year program that was taught via conference calls and semi-annual workshops. Upon completing the program in 2008, Buxbaum said to her, “Shoshana, I see how good you are. Now go, save our people.”

Litman regaled attendees of the Victoria synagogue’s event with a story about the Baal Shem Tov from Buxbaum’s Storytelling and Spirituality in Judaism. It happens in the time just before the Baal Shem Tov’s passing, when he told his disciples what they should do when he was no longer with them.

To his follower Rabbi Yaakov, the Baal Shem Tov advises that he go off and become a storyteller. Rabbi Yaakov is skeptical. How can someone make his living as a storyteller? he wonders.

After two-and-a-half years as a peripatetic purveyor of tales following his teacher’s death, Rabbi Yaakov gets wind of a magnate in Italy who would give a gold coin for each story of the Baal Shem Tov he heard.

When Rabbi Yaakov arrives at the gate of the rich man’s villa, he says to the servant, “Tell your master that the personal assistant of the Baal Shem Tov has come, and I have many wonderful stories to tell from experience and not from hearsay.”

The rabbi is invited in and, after a week of good food and relaxation, Shabbat comes. Following a festive meal replete with songs, it is time for stories. But, just then, something peculiar takes place. All recollections of the Baal Shem Tov evaporate from Rabbi Yaakov’s memory. Every trick he tries to elicit the stories fails. The host tells him not to worry, to go to sleep and try again the next morning.

The next day arrives and nothing has changed. Shabbat passes. The other guests at the magnate’s home grow increasingly doubtful. As it comes time to leave, still no tales have sprung from Rabbi Yaakov’s mouth, yet the magnate gives him a bag of gold anyway.

When the rabbi suddenly recalls everything, as he enters his carriage, the magnate asks him to return and Rabbi Yaakov tells the story of a journey he had taken with the Baal Shem Tov.

The group ended up in a town where angry crowds were drawing lots to carry out violent acts against Jews. Everyone was scared, except the Baal Shem Tov. They came to their lodgings in the town and the great Chassidic master went upstairs and opened a window looking out to the main square. The Baal Shem Tov pointed to a house across the square and out of that house walked a bishop, the man responsible for inciting the townspeople against Jews. The Baal Shem Tov told Rabbi Yaakov to bring the bishop to him.

Rabbi Yaakov went to the stage where the bishop was speaking and told him that the Baal Shem Tov wanted to talk to him. At first, the bishop refused, but, after much pressing, the bishop relented and went to see the Baal Shem Tov.

Rabbi Yaakov admits that he doesn’t know what the bishop and his master discussed. Nonetheless, as he finishes his story, tears are streaming down the rich man’s face.

“I can tell you exactly what the Baal Shem Tov said, for, you see, I was that bishop,” says the magnate. “Fortunately, I had holy relatives who convinced the Baal Shem Tov to save my soul. To do so, I had to do many mitzvot. He said I would know when I had been forgiven when someone comes to me and tells me my story.”

During non-pandemic times, Litman performs at schools (from nursery to university), libraries, senior facilities, theatres, houses of worship and other local, national and international venues. To hear her recent talk in full, including the entire Baal Shem Tov story, visit kolotmayimreformtemple.com/shoshana-litman. For more information on her, visit maggidah.com.

The next Kolot Mayim lecture, which takes place Dec. 6, at 11 a.m., features Jonathon Orr-Stav on the topic Arabic Hebrew: An Introduction to How Modern Israelis Really Speak. For more information, visit kolotmayimreformtemple.com/lectures.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

עליבאבא מגיעה לקנדה

ראש ממשלת קנדה, ג’סטין טרודו, הצליח להביא לקנדה מסין מספר בשורות עסקיות משמעותית, בביקורו המתקושר שם. (צילום: pm.gc.ca)

עליבאבא מגיעה לקנדה: הענקית הסינית תקים מרכז טכנולוגי שיאפשר לחברות הקנדיות נגישות לסין

ראש ממשלת קנדה, ג’סטין טרודו, הצליח להביא לקנדה מסין מספר בשורות עסקיות משמעותית, בביקורו המתקושר שם. טרודו והבעלים של קבוצת עליבאבא הסינית, ג’ק מא, הגיעו בסוף השבוע להסכם להקמת מרכז טכנולוגי גדול בקנדה. המרכז של עליבאבא יאפשר לחברות הקנדיות נגישות טובה ומהירה יותר לשוק הסיני הענקי. בפועל יאפשר הפרוייקט החדש לחברות קנדיות קשר עם כארבע מאות מיליון צרכנים סינים, ובמקביל יאפשר לסינים למצוא מוצרים קנדיים. לדברי טרודו שיתוף הפעולה בין עליבאבא לקנדה צפוי לקדם גם תיירות מסין לקנדה.

קבוצת עליבאבא למסחר אלקטרוני הוקמה של ידי מא ב-1996. הקבוצה מספקת שירותי תשלום מקוון, פורטלים בין חברות, פורטלי חיפוש ושירותי מיחשוב ענן. כשמונים אחוז מהקניות המקוונות בסין מתבצעות בעיקר על ידי עליבאבא. ב-2005 רכשה יאהו שלושים ותשעה אחוז ממניות עליבאבא תמורת מיליארד דולר. בחודש ספטמבר 2014 ביצעה עליבאבא את את ההנפקה הראשונה, שנחשבת לגדולה ביותר בהיסטוריה של הבורסה לניירות ערך בניו יורק. הקבוצה הצליחה לגייס לא פחות מעשרים וחמישה מיליארד דולר. מייד לאחר ההנפקה שוויה של עליבאבא הוערך בכמאתיים שלושים ואחד מיליארד דולר. וכשלושה חודשים לאחר מכן שווי הקבוצה הגיע כבר לכמאתיים ותשעים מיליארד דולר. כיום נחשבת הקבוצה לפלטפורמת העסקים (ביזנס טו ביזנס) הגדולה בעולם. בישראל מיוצגת עליבאבא על ידי חברת גיים און. בחודש יוני האחרון פורסם כי קבוצת עליבאבא השקיעה כחמישה מיליון דולר בסטראט-אפ הישראלי טוויגל, שמפתח מנוע חיפוש מתקדם לאתרי קניות מקוונים. עליבאבא השקיעה בחברות נוספות בישראל בהם: כחמישה מיליון דולר בחברת הסייבר התעשייתי טטהריי, וכשמונה מיליון דולר בחברת טכנולוגיית הברקודים ויז’ואל-ליד.

סביב העולם בחמש שנים: זוג מוונקובר איילנד שט בסירת מפרש קטנה וחזר הביתה בשלום

רבים המתינו על החוף וקיבלו בצהלות שמחה את קאתי וביל נורי, שהשיטו את סירת המפרש הקטנה שלהם אל הנמל של סידני שבוונקובר איילנד. ועל מה מהומה הזאת? הזוג נורי סיים משט ארוך ומייגע סביב העולם שנמשך מחמש שנים. וזאת בסירה באורך 11.3 מטר בלבד שעשוייה מפיברגלס ושיוצרה לפני עשרים וחמש שנים. בסירה הפשוטה לא הותקנו שום אמצעי ניווט אלקטרוניים ואף לא מתקן מיים. אך הנורים עם הרבה תעוזה ותושייה הצליחו במשימה הקשה.

לביל נורי ניסיון רב בהפלגה והוא פשוט רצה להגשים חלום ישן ולשוט ברחבי העולם ולאורך זמן. קאתי שאף פעם לא הפליגה הסכימה להצטרף איך שהוא למסע המתיש והארוך בים, אותו החלו בחודש יוני של שנת 2011. בימים הראשונים היא מאוד נבהלה מהים הבלתי נגמר והגלים הגבוהים, ולא הבינה מדוע הסכימה בכלל להרפתקה הזו. לאחר מכן החלה במסע הארוך להירגע ולהינות מכל רגע, שלא היה משמעמם כלל ועיקר. השניים שטו לאורך חודשים ארוכים ועצרו למנוחה על אחד החופים שמצאו וחוזר חלילה. ביל ניווט את הסירה במשך שמונה עשרה שעות ביום, בעוד שקאתי עזרה במה שיכלה. ובעיקר בישלה, וטיפלה בכל מה שנמצא בתוך הסירה. הזוג חוו סערות קשות וגלים גבוהים, דגים מדהימים מכל הגדלים והסוגים ואיים אקזוטיים שונים ומשונים. בדרך פגשו מפליגים כמותם וארגנו עימם מסיבות חוף שמחות רוויות באלכוהול. את המסע ליוו השניים בבלוגים ארוכים וקטעי ווידאו שתיארו את החוויות המרגשות וכל מה שעברו. למרבית הפלא, הזוג נורי לא מתכוון לשכון על האדמה בקביעות ובקרוב החל יחלו לתכנן את המסע הארוך הבא שלהם. פרטים עדיין אין.

Chabad expands in Victoria

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.”

photo - 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 — 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.