Yosef Wosk

Community milestones … Order of Canada, Indspire, SFU Gerontology, JCC Jewish Book Awards

Rabbi Dr. Yosef Wosk speaks at a Vancouver Public Library event in 2017. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

The Order of Canada is one of our country’s highest civilian honours. Its companions, officers and members take to heart the motto of the order: “Desiderantes meliorem patriam” (“They desire a better country”).

Created in 1967, the Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. This year, among the 114 new appointees, are Vancouver Jewish community members Dr. Carol Herbert and Rabbi Dr. Yosef Wosk. Each recipient will be invited to accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

photo - Dr. Carol Herbert — Dr. Carol Herbert *(photo from schulich.uwo.ca)*

Herbert was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to the fields of clinical and academic medicine, as a family physician, medical educator, researcher and administrator. She and three colleagues were appointed.

“The appointment of Drs. B. Lynn Beattie, Joseph Connors, Carol Herbert and Roger Wong to the Order of Canada is a demonstration of their incredible commitment to the health and well-being of all Canadians,” said Dr. Dermot Kelleher, dean of the University of British Columbia’s faculty of medicine and vice-president, health, at UBC, said in a press release. “We are very proud of each of their contributions, and deeply moved by their passion for improving the lives of patients and families here in B.C., and across the nation.”

Herbert, an adjunct professor in the School of Population and Public Health, “is internationally known for her leadership in primary care research, and for her work in clinical health promotion, patient-physician decision-making, and participatory action research with Indigenous communities, focused on diabetes and on environmental effects on human health,” notes the UBC release. “She was formerly head of the department of family practice, founding head of the division of behavioural medicine and a founder of the UBC Institute of Health Promotion Research.”

This only touches on Herbert’s extensive experience. She also was dean of medicine and dentistry at Western University in London, Ont., from 1999 to 2010, was a practising family physician from 1970 to 2013, and has been involved in medical education since 1971.

Yosef Wosk, PhD, was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for his far-reaching contributions to his community as a scholar, educator and writer, and for his generous philanthropy. BC Booklook (bcbooklook.com/2020/11/27/41941) cites the governor general: “Yosef Wosk is a Renaissance man of the 21st century. A rabbi, scholar, businessman and art collector, he is a revered educator and community activist who inspired many to become engaged in global issues and local challenges. Former director of interdisciplinary programs in continuing studies at Simon Fraser University, he founded the Philosophers’ Café and the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. A poet, explorer and dedicated philanthropist involved with museums, the arts, social services, publishing, nature and heritage conservation, he has endowed hundreds of libraries worldwide.”

Wosk has established more than 400 libraries, including 20 libraries in remote Himalayan villages and 37 in Jewish communities throughout the world. (See jewishindependent.ca/many-milestones-for-wosk-in-2019.) He has supported a range of local building preservation, public garden and other civic enhancement projects. He has helped fund the production of more than 250 books and videos, and has written numerous works, most recently Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal and the forthcoming GIDAL: The Letters of Tim Gidal and Yosef Wosk (Douglas & McIntyre, 2021). He supports several literature, writing, poetry, art and design initiatives, and is founding benefactor of the Dance Centre.

In addition to other honours, Wosk has received the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals and a Mayor’s Arts Award, as well as the Order of British Columbia.

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As part of its belief in and commitment to supporting emerging architecture practitioners, the Arthur Erickson Foundation and the Yosef Wosk Family Foundation recently announced a $110,000 donation to Indspire – Canada’s national, award-winning Indigenous registered charity – in support of Indigenous youth in Canada. The donation will fund an awards program focused on increasing Indigenous student success by growing the number of Indigenous architects and landscape architects in Canada.

Central to Arthur Erickson’s work as an architect and theorist was his belief in and commitment to education and research. Having served on the faculties of architecture at the University of Oregon and the University of British Columbia, Erickson understood the need of each generation to contribute to the training of the next. One of the ways the foundation honours Erickson’s belief is by working with donors to develop prizes and scholarships intended to reward and assist students studying architecture and landscape architecture.

“The Arthur Erickson Foundation and Yosef Wosk Family Foundation, along with Indspire, are pleased to announce the establishment of an awards program supporting Indigenous education in architecture and landscape architecture,” said Michael Prokopow, vice-president (East) Arthur Erickson Foundation. “The organizations recognize the profound importance of the shared work of decolonization and reconciliation in Canada for the transformation of society. These awards recognize the deep power of Indigenous thinking and wisdom around the making of habitation and space for well-being across generations and the vitally important stewardship of the natural world.”

Mike DeGagné, president and chief executive officer of Indspire, stated, “This new investment is a significant step in supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis architecture and landscape architecture students to achieve their potential through education and training. They can in turn enrich their communities and create positive change in Canada. We are grateful for the support of the Arthur Erickson Foundation and the Yosef Wosk Family Foundation for investing in Indigenous achievement and education.”

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photo - Dr. Gloria Gutman — Dr. Gloria Gutman *(photo from sfu.ca)*

Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre (GRC) founder Dr. Gloria Gutman and her team – Avantika Vashisht, Taranjot Kaur, Mojgan Karbakhsh, Ryan Churchill and Amir Moztarzadeh – received the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Gerontechnology, held Nov. 25-27. SFUGero tweeted the news Dec. 1, noting that the paper was a “[f]easibility study of a digital screen-based calming device for managing BPSD [behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia] during bathing in a long-term care setting.”

A brief biography for Gutman, PhD, appears on the conference website. She is president of the North American chapter of the International Society for Gerontechnology, vice-president of the International Longevity Centre-Canada, past-president of the Canadian Association on Gerontology and the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. She is co-editor (with Andrew Sixsmith) of Technologies for Active Aging (Springer, 2013) and has published widely on seniors housing, long-term care, health promotion, prevention of elder abuse, and seniors and disasters. She is on the advisory of MindfulGarden Digital Health and is the principal investigator on the first feasibility clinical studies for MindfulGarden, which is a digital treatment of hyperactive dementia in long-term care setting. She established the GRC and department of gerontology at SFU and is recipient of many awards and honours, including the Order of Canada.

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The third edition of the Western Canada Jewish Book Awards, presented by the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival in Vancouver, took place Dec. 6. Daniella Givon, chair of the awards committee, opened the evening on Zoom and the five honours were awarded by five different presenters.

Winning the Nancy Richler Memorial Prize for Fiction was Rhea Tregebov for Rue des Rosiers, in which a young Canadian woman’s search for her own identity brings her to Paris in 1982, and face-to-face with the terror of an age-old enemy. Tregebov (Vancouver) is the author of fiction, poetry and children’s picture books. She is associate professor emerita in the University of British Columbia creative writing program.

The Pinsky Givon Family Prize for nonfiction went to Naomi K. Lewis for Tiny Lights for Travellers. When her marriage suddenly ends, and a diary documenting her beloved Opa’s escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands in the summer of 1942 is discovered, Lewis decides to retrace his journey to freedom. Lewis (Calgary) is the author of the novel Cricket in a Fist and the short story collection I Know Who You Remind Me Of.

Ellen Schwartz was awarded the Diamond Foundation Prize for children’s and youth literature for The Princess Dolls, a story about friendship between a Jewish girl and a Japanese girl, set against the backdrop of 1942 Vancouver. Schwartz (Burnaby) is the author of 17 children’s books, including Abby’s Birds and Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels.

The Lohn Foundation Prize for poetry was given to Alex Leslie for Vancouver for Beginners. In this collection, the nostalgia of place is dissected through the mapping of a city, where readers are led past surrealist development proposals, post-apocalyptic postcards and childhood landmarks long gone. Leslie (Vancouver) is the author of two short story collections and the winner of the 2015 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers.

The Kahn Family Foundation Prize for writing about the Holocaust was given to Olga Campbell for A Whisper Across Time, a personal and moving story of her family’s experience of the Holocaust through prose, art and poetry, creating a multi-dimensional snapshot of losses and intergenerational trauma. Campbell is a visual artist whose media include photography, sculpture, mixed media painting and digital photo collage.

The jury for the 2020 Western Canada Jewish Book Awards comprised Shula Banchik, arts and culture manager of the Calgary JCC; Judy Kornfeld, former librarian at Langara College; Els Kushner, author and librarian; Norman Ravvin, writer, critic and Concordia University professor; and Laurie Ricou, professor emeritus of English at UBC.

After short acceptance speeches and readings from the authors, Dana Camil Hewitt, director of the JCC Jewish Book Festival, concluded the evening thanking the sponsors, the judges, the awards committee and the extended virtual audience, and inviting everyone to purchase and enjoy the books.

A shidduch like none other

Brad Chenkis shows off a couple Sonovia masks. (photo from Tikva Housing)

It all began when Boris Chenkis, owner of After Five Fashions, was watching Israel Daily TV (ILTV) and saw an interview with Liat Goldhammer, the chief technology officer of an Israeli startup called Sonovia. She was talking about a new fabric-finishing technology for textile manufacturing developed at Bar-Ilan University, explaining that the technology could repel and kill bacteria located on clothing. Because it was in early January, a few weeks before COVID-19 became a worldwide pandemic, Chenkis just listened with interest.

On ILTV March 18, Dr. Jason Migdal, a microbiology researcher in Israel, discussed how the Sonovia technology mechanically impregnates metal nanoparticles into masks that destroy microorganisms in fabric. This was verified by two independent labs. It was also durable and washable. Now Chenkis was very interested.

With COVID becoming widespread, Sonovia had positively impacted Israeli doctors and health professionals by providing them with the technologically advanced masks. On May 12, Chenkis saw another interview about the Sonovia mask technology on ILTV – and an opportunity to get involved.

During his teenage years, Chenkis lived in Israel, studying and working at Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra. With this connection to Israel that never left his heart, he wanted to support an Israeli startup and so he purchased some masks to keep his family, friends and community safe. Soon after, he received an email from Sonovia, offering him an opportunity to help distribute the masks in Canada. Chenkis said yes. The masks were shipped from Ramat Gan to Vancouver and, within days, he was delivering hundreds to friends and family.

One of those who received the Sonovia mask was Yosef Wosk. Being both pleased and impressed with the technology, Wosk, like Chenkis, saw an opportunity to help not only the community here but also Israel. Wosk wondered how the masks could be made available locally to community members who might not be able to afford them, as they cost $65 each.

Wosk spoke with Shelley Karrel, chair of Tikva Housing, who contacted Tanja Demajo, chief executive officer of Jewish Family Services Vancouver. The need for the masks was confirmed and the shidduch almost complete.

Working with Chenkis’s son, Brad Chenkis, and with Wosk’s help, Tikva has acquired and will distribute 500 masks to residents of Tikva Housing, as well as clients of Jewish Family Services. It’s a win, win and win – tikkun olam, tzedakah and chesed.

For more information about the Sonovia masks, contact Brad Chenkis directly at [email protected].

Many milestones for Wosk in 2019

Dr. Yosef Wosk, right, with Max Wyman, 2017. (photo by Fred Cawsey)

The Yosef Wosk Poetry Initiative at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, which began in 2009, marked its 10th year with a celebratory gathering of artists and poets and with the publication of a commemorative book earlier this year. In addition, the Yosef Wosk Poets’ Corner, along with the adjacent Poet Laureates Garden, was inaugurated on the newly renovated top floor of the downtown central Vancouver Public Library – it was named in recognition of Dr. Yosef Wosk’s decades-long support of the VPL.

Wosk was an early major donor to the redevelopment of the eighth and ninth floors and the roof of the central branch of VPL and was asked to serve as honourary chair of the VPL campaign in 2018/19. The architect for the renovations, as for the library itself, was Moshe Safdie, while Cornelia Hahn Oberlander designed an extensive garden to complement her roof garden that crowns the award-winning structure.

In the library world, Wosk – who has established more than 400 libraries on all seven continents over the past 20 years – was able to fund more than 50 new initiatives in 2018/19, including 20 libraries in remote Himalayan villages and 37 in Jewish communities throughout the world.

As a writer and publisher, Wosk’s work has appeared in a number of publications. Most recently, these include having curated and written the preface for Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal, featuring photographs by Gidal from Wosk’s and the Israel Museum’s collections (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem and New York, 2019). He also initiated and funded a biography, written by Christopher Best, of Faye Leung, the effervescent pioneer in the Chinese and real estate communities, affectionately known as the Hat Lady (Warfleet Press, 2020).

Wosk’s essay “On the Wings of Forever” was published in the online Ormsby Review this year in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. The editor’s preface notes that: “With prose as profound and learned as it is clear and accessible, here Wosk examines and appreciates the role of museums and museum workers in the digitizing modern world. It’s not gloom ’n’ doom. Instead, he outlines what he calls ‘a stirring vision, one of innovative technology on a human scale, heart-centred and soul-sized.’”

In collaboration with the Canadian Museums Association, Wosk helped transform the President’s Award into the President’s Medal; he also commissioned the medal and wrote the introduction in the booklet that accompanies the honorific, which was first awarded in 2019.

The province-wide Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing in the Arts, which was inaugurated by Wosk in 2017, formed an alliance this year with the VIVA Awards (the Shadbolt Foundation), which will begin in 2020.

In academia, Wosk was reappointed this year as an adjunct professor in humanities at Simon Fraser University and completed four years as a Shadbolt Fellow at SFU, where he was recently named a Simons Fellow.

During the year, Wosk served on 11 boards in the Jewish and general communities in areas such as education, medical research, museums, libraries, literature, business and the arts. These boards have included the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Schara Tzedeck Cemetery Board, CHILD Foundation, Museums Foundation of Canada and Pacific Torah Institute. He was also an ambassador for the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale and is completing a second term with the B.C. Arts Council.

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.

The art of creative criticism

Dr. Rabbi Yosef Wosk, right, presents Max Wyman with the inaugural Max Wyman Award for Cultural Commentary. (photo by Fred Cawsey)

In the program of the inaugural Max Wyman Award for Cultural Commentary, Dr. Rabbi Yosef Wosk describes Max Wyman as “a cultural paragon whose clear vision, incisive writing and fearless voice have both grounded and encouraged us. In his half-century here in British Columbia, he has been an unparalleled personality, a cultural critic and midwife of creativity whose influence is sure to be modeled by future generations.”

In establishing the biennial, province-wide award – which will include a $5,000 honorarium and allow the recipient to choose an emerging commentator, who will receive $1,000 – Wosk will help ensure Wyman’s continuing influence, as well as “catalyze the art of creative criticism.” The award will be “presented to a writer for an outstanding piece or body of work that will raise the level of cultural conversation and, ultimately, human creativity.”

Wyman was the first recipient of the award that bears his name. He received the honour at a gala at Vancouver Playhouse on April 18 – 50 years plus a day after Wyman’s first shift at the Vancouver Sun. “Pure, lovely serendipity,” Wyman told the Independent about the timing.

Born in England, Wyman immigrated to Canada in 1967. He was a longtime arts columnist, dance and theatre critic, and books editor with the Sun and with the Province. He is an actor, radio and television personality; cultural commentator; arts policy consultant; author of several books; educator and arts advocate; former mayor of Lions Bay; and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Among other things, he was involved with the Canadian Conference of the Arts, Canada Council for the Arts and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. He was a juror for numerous competitions, chair of several cultural committees and served on the board of the British Columbia Achievement Foundation.

That Wosk wanted the cultural commentary award to be in Wyman’s name “brought a tumult of responses,” said Wyman.

“I was astonished, deeply touched, profoundly humbled and, of course, delighted,” he said. “Delighted not just for the personal recognition (every ego likes to be stroked, after all), but, more importantly, because the award would lead us to a clearer understanding of how serious and intelligent criticism – creative criticism, the informed observation and contextualization that is an essential tool of the examined life – could best function in these momentously changing times.

“My joy, astonishment and gratitude have not diminished now that the project is up and running. I have been in awe of Yosef’s social activism for years: he seems to live the essence of the Hebrew phrase tikkun olam, the notion that we should perform acts of kindness to repair the world. He puts his resources where his idealism is.”

The idea for this type of an award was first raised some years ago at a dinner at Wosk’s home, said Wyman. “The topic came up again more recently at the inaugural meeting of another of Yosef’s initiatives, the SFU [Simon Fraser University] Jack and Doris Shadbolt Community Scholars, and, early in 2016, Yosef brought forward the proposal to establish a prize to stimulate and recognize creative criticism in various disciplines.”

“I have thought about championing the idea and the ethical practice of criticism for many years,” Wosk told the Independent.

Shying away from criticism when he was younger, Wosk said, “In our tradition, we are told that God created the world through words. Rabbinic teachings emphasize guarding our tongues, not speaking badly about others and not spreading rumours. Life and death, we are reminded, is often controlled by words. Just look at the prevalence of bullying in schools and the tragedy of so many youth who are driven to suicide in an effort to escape the unbearable embarrassment of verbal abuse. I had to work through numerous stages of emotional and intellectual maturity before learning that intellectual opinions or personal preferences were not the same as lashon ha’rah, derogatory speech about another, nor was it the same as moral rebuke.

“Criticism, I learned, could be a gift. It involved courage, clear sight and expression. Saying ‘no’ to one thing also means saying ‘yes’ to something else. I rejected mean-spirited criticism but embraced creative criticism.”

Wosk first heard of Wyman when Wyman was at the Sun. “I admired his work,” said Wosk. “From the sound of his name, I thought he was probably Jewish. Later, I found out that he wasn’t but, as I got to know him, I realized that he certainly had ‘a Jewish soul’: he was kind, smart, sensitive, humble and active in helping the world be a better place. I got to know him better when we were both involved in the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars at Simon Fraser University. When I was appointed a Shadbolt Fellow at SFU in 2015, I invited Max and his wife, Susan Mertens – also a critic and a brilliant scholar of esthetics with a doctorate from Cambridge – to be in the first cohort of Shadbolt Community Scholars, with a mandate to knit together the academy, the arts and the community.”

Wosk said he approached Scotiabank Dance Centre with the idea for the Wyman Award because, although “Wyman was recognized as a culture critic in general, he was most famously known as a dance critic.”

Wosk sought the advice of the centre’s executive director, Mirna Zagar, and was introduced to associate producer and chair of the Dance Foundation, Linda Blankstein, who was hired to research the feasibility and nature of a possible award.

“Not only did Linda produce an excellent report that became the basis for future planning,” said Wosk, “but we also subsequently hired her to produce the inaugural event. With considerable advice from the organizing committee, she assembled a professional team from the Dance Centre, the British Columbia Alliance for Arts + Culture, a filmmaker to produce a video on Max, found the appropriate venue, worked with a graphic designer, publicist, assembled mailing lists, arranged for media interviews, and so on.”

In addition to the award presentation, the program at the Playhouse featured Bard on the Beach’s Christopher Gaze as the emcee, various speakers, video greetings and several dance performances.

Among Wyman’s publications is the first on Canadian dance history, Dance Canada: An Illustrated History (1989), as well as The Royal Winnipeg Ballet: The First Forty Years (1978), Evelyn Hart: An Intimate Portrait (1991) and Revealing Dance (2001).

“If you only knew me to look at me, and tried to work out what I did for a living, a career in dance is of course the first conclusion you would jump to,” said Wyman. “In fact, when they hear that I spent my life writing about dance, the first thing people say to me is, well, of course, you must have been a dancer. And I’m reduced to explaining that, in fact, no, I have only ever danced once. But it was for the Queen.

“I was 8 or 9, living in Nottingham, where I grew up. She was Princess Elizabeth, and she was on a visit to the city to open a gasworks or cut a cake – anyway, every kid for miles around was rounded up and taken to a clearing in Sherwood Forest, where we were made to do country dances around the maypole as part of her program of entertainment. I can still remember her vividly: coming down a slope into the clearing in an open car, beautiful pink dress, big pink hat, the famous wave. The memory has stayed with me all my life, so you can imagine how disappointed I was when I finally got to meet her – she had no memory of me at all.”

Wyman believes that “dance is the most moving and communicative of all the artforms.”

“It crosses the borders of language and logic, lets you see beyond the interacting bodies on the stage and, through the interplay of rhythm and pattern and energy, to an idea, or an emotion, or an intuition within yourself that the dancing has provoked – puts you in touch, at the best of times, with the intuitive, the spiritual, the transcendental, and you go away refreshed, thoughtful, energized.

“What makes all this so hugely poignant, at least to me,” he said, “is the transience of it all. The body, such an impermanent scrap, moves, and the dance is gone. No other artform speaks so directly about the fragile, temporary quality of life, or about the human instinct to cast off its physical bonds and aim for that perfect moment of self-realization. It exists in the realm of the transcendent and the truly brave.”

On May 14, Wyman turned 78. He has been intermittently writing his memoirs over the last few years, he said. They are “currently at 325,000 words and counting – and I post bits quite often to my website, Notes Toward a Life: essays, diary entries, pen-portraits, maxwyman.com.”

He is also working on a variety of other projects. At the time of his interview with the Independent, he was preparing a paper for a conference at the University of London. In an interview with the Sun in the days leading up to the award ceremony on April 18, he reminisced about his early years at the paper.

“We covered everything,” he told writer John Mackie. “Everything professional in theatre and music, dance, visual arts. It was a wonderful time. The Sun sent me off to Stratford and Shaw (in Ontario) every summer for the opening weeks. They sent me to Europe for the summer festivals one summer.”

The industry has changed since then, but Wyman is optimistic about the future of newspapers.

“The steady coarsening of public discourse, the shallowness of what passes for debate, the polarizing of political thought, the pernicious crudeness of public taste mean that our need for mediated, trustworthy information and informed opinion can only intensify,” he told the Independent. “Traditional media are flailing around to find their footing and their market in the shifting digital landscape … but I believe this is an interim period. What will emerge will be a leaner, cleaner delivery service that will give informed context to events and issues that affect their readers. However, the splintering of reader interests will mean that the one-paper-fits-all model is over. Given the way technology is evolving, it’s not hard to envision tailored-to-the-individual e-publication at a workable price.”

And the future need for cultural commentary – that which the Wyman Award hopes to perpetuate?

“The whole point of engagement with art, it seems to me, is to expose yourself to something that has the possibility to change you,” said Wyman, whose books include The Defiant Imagination: Why Culture Matters (2004). “I always want to come out of a theatre or a gallery or a concert hall a different person, even just slightly: I hope to have been shown a different perspective on how the world works, understand better the ways other people think or feel or express themselves. Many of us have stood before a painting, listened to a piece of music or watched a play and felt – along with the pleasure of the experience itself – a sense of inexplicable, even inexpressible, understanding or revelation.”

He acknowledged, “Cultural commentary will not produce a cure for cancer. It will not take us to Mars: not physically, at least. But, in its constant probing of new ideas and its ceaseless explorations of the human spirit, it gives us ways to rethink who we are and contemplate how we can be better. We are privileged and passing occupiers of this marvelous earth: books, plays, paintings, ballets, music – they guide us to the hidden truths of our daily being.

“So it is time – beyond time – to relocate creative activity and engagement at the heart of the social agenda, with an imagination-based education as the keystone. Engagement with arts and culture, the humanities, helps develop the flexible thinking that lets us see our world in fresh ways. In ways that allow us to build resilience, vision, innovation and generosity into our thinking so that we can cope with the unpredictable and adapt to rapid and complex change. If society is the Petri dish, culture is the, well, the culture that catalyzes change: makes us a better society, makes us more empathetic people, lets us understand our neighbours, civilizes us. It is the way we realize and communicate our shared humanity.”

Contemplating the JI – on the occasion of the JI’s 85th

Editorial in the Jewish Independent’s predecessor, the Jewish Western Bulletin, March 20, 1931.

The JI spoke with four friends of the newspaper from longtime Vancouver Jewish community families about the value and future of a Jewish community newspaper: Gary Averbach, Shirley Barnett, Bernie Simpson and Yosef Wosk. We asked each the same four questions and they replied by email. Their responses are printed below.

image - Not only are the community members interviewed here longtime Vancouverites but they have been involved in communal life for decades. The announcement on the right is from 1959, and comments on how a group of youth including Gary Averbach brought “AZA No. 119 back to its strength of a decade before.” — Not only are the community members interviewed here longtime Vancouverites but they have been involved in communal life for decades. The announcement on the right is from 1959, and comments on how a group of youth including Gary Averbach brought “AZA No. 119 back to its strength of a decade before.”

GARY AVERBACH

1. Is it important to have a Jewish community newspaper? If so, what are some of the reasons?

It’s difficult to answer this question because it seems so obvious that having a community newspaper is vitally important. We need a forum and a notice board for opinions and events in the community and, if there was not a publication dedicated to providing that forum and bulletin board, our community would suffer an irreplaceable loss.

2. What do you think the JI/JWB specifically has contributed (contributes) to the community?

For the most part, the JI/JWB has always been a bulletin board for the Jewish community, informing us about major – and minor – events and happenings. Whether they be reports on events that have occurred in the community – including the greater Canadian and worldwide Jewish community – or just informing us of births and deaths, b’nai mitzvahs and weddings, or local upcoming happenings. If not the JI/JWB, where would this come from?

3. In what ways, if any, is having a print version of value, versus only having an online publication?

For the next decade at least there will be a demand – albeit likely a decreasing one – for a printed version of the JI. That isn’t so much to provide for the very few people who still don’t or can’t use a computer, but to those of us who still prefer to hold a newspaper in their hands

4. Do you think that a Jewish community paper will be relevant for your grandkids’ kids?

I don’t even know what my grandchildren will be using to access their news in 10 years’ time, never mind what my great-grandchildren will prefer. But I’m fairly certain it won’t be print media as we now understand it. However, that in no way diminishes the need for a community forum and bulletin board giving a Jewish viewpoint on matters of local, national and international events – specifically items that directly involve Jews and, of course, Israel. So, whether it’s an online version, as we now know it, or some further refinement that we can barely imagine now, there will still be a need to inform our local Jewish community by the JI or some similar outlet.

SHIRLEY BARNETT

1. Is it important to have a Jewish community newspaper? If so, what are some of the reasons?

Yes, for sure. I would like more reporting of issues in the community rather than just of events.

2. What do you think the JI/JWB specifically has contributed (contributes) to the community?

Exactly that – a sense of community and interaction.

3. In what ways, if any, is having a print version of value, versus only having an online publication?

For me, for sure. I like to read it over a morning coffee, and still cut and clip.

4. Do you think that a Jewish community paper will be relevant for your grandkids’ kids?

Probably not.

BERNIE SIMPSON

1. Is it important to have a Jewish community newspaper? If so, what are some of the reasons?

It is extremely important for the Jewish community, which is spread throughout the province, particularly the Lower Mainland, to have a Jewish community newspaper. There is no question that the viability of printed media has been affected by easy access to online papers, however, it is noted that just about every ethnic community in British Columbia still has printed media, which is read primarily by the older generation.

image - This article from 1959 is but one of many recording Bernie Simpson’s participation in Habonim and other community organizations, including the Jewish Western Bulletin. — This article from 1959 is but one of many recording Bernie Simpson’s participation in Habonim and other community organizations, including the *Jewish Western Bulletin.*

For example, in the Indo-Canadian community there are at least one dozen papers, half of which are in Punjabi. However, two of the most prominent papers, the Voice and the Link, have been in existence for more than 30 years, and are able to attract substantial advertising and are thriving within the community.

The Korean community has at least six papers, primarily in Korean. The Vietnamese community has at least four papers. The Chinese community has a countless number of newspapers, which attracts readers from the various regions from where the Chinese community has come, including Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Admittedly, however, those communities have far more significant numbers than the Vancouver Jewish community, and that may be the reason why those papers are more economically viable.

The Jewish community newspaper, by definition, helps promote a community by giving news as to various events that are happening, not only in Vancouver but in outlying areas.

It is also a vehicle to announce important fundraising activities and to give proper recognition to those who are honored in the community.

The reporting of international news particularly as it relates to Israel is important, and also the editorial content. I believe that we are fortunate in having editorial content that is objective. The letters to the editor, by and large, are articulate and represent, on occasion, a different view than the mainstream Jewish community may have, particularly with regards to Israel, and this view should be welcomed as it serves as a catalyst for thoughtful thinking on sensitive subjects.

The stature of the Jewish community would be diminished considerably in the eyes of the non-Jewish community if there was not a Jewish community paper. There is still the view that the Jewish community is well organized, speaks with one voice on contentious issues, is socially active in liberal causes and even responds to tragedies throughout the world, and I would think that the image of the community will be tarnished considerably if a community paper did not exist.

2. What do you think the JI/JWB specifically has contributed (contributes) to the community?

To a certain extent this question is partially answered by my response to Question 1.

I believe that this paper helps keep the community focused and together, and it takes into consideration all aspects of the political spectrum as it relates to the three levels of government and objectively reports what is happening in Israel.

We are indeed fortunate to have the publisher (working with various editors), who is an outstanding journalist as is evident by the many awards that the Jewish Independent has won.

If it would happen in the future that the Jewish Independent did not exist, then that void very well could be filled with a community publication that lacks the objectivity that the present Jewish Independent has. For a brief period of time several years ago, such a paper did exist, and it was quite clear what the agenda of that paper was. In the Jewish Independent’s small way, it does help the debate with regards to the peace process in Israel between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the concept of a two-state solution.

3. In what ways, if any, is having a print version of value, versus only having an online publication?

I think, at this point, the majority of the readership are still of the generation where they don’t naturally gravitate every day to their computer or their mobile to see what news comes out this week in the Jewish Independent.

Longtime members of the community have had ingrained in them that towards the end of the week, the Jewish Independent will arrive. It often stays around the house until the next edition. I would think also that it would be harder to get advertising revenue if you’re only online.

4. Do you think that a Jewish community paper will be relevant for your grandkids’ kids?

Frankly, I’m not terribly concerned about the answer to that question, nor is it really relevant to the present situation. I am a senior member of the Jewish community now; my grandchildren are 6, 3, 2 and 1. It’s impossible for me, who on my best of days has difficulty directing my attention to the immediate past, to focus on whether the paper will be relevant for my grandkids’ kids, which would be around 30 years in the future.

I don’t think that we should be too concerned about that question, but what we should be concerned about is how we can make the Jewish Independent more economically viable.

One obvious answer is an increase in subscriptions. Perhaps, an active volunteer campaign could be conducted by members of the community to try to sign up more subscribers. This will make it easier to get advertising revenue.

It may be that there should be “an advisory board” set up to advise the present publisher as to how to make the paper more attractive to advertisers and to readers.

There is a great deal of talent within the Jewish community (well-known reporters who are still active, retired reporters with national papers, etc.); this is a resource that perhaps should be called upon.

Also, an advisory committee of individuals – businesspeople – can lend help financially, if the situation arises.

RABBI DR. YOSEF WOSK

1. Is it important to have a Jewish community newspaper? If so, what are some of the reasons?

image - Yosef (“Jerry”) Wosk’s decision to donate funds to Vancouver Talmud Torah on the occasion of his bar mitzvah in 1962 drew the attention of editor Sam Kaplan. — Yosef (“Jerry”) Wosk’s decision to donate funds to Vancouver Talmud Torah on the occasion of his bar mitzvah in 1962 drew the attention of editor Sam Kaplan.

Yes, I feel it is important to have a community newspaper. It helps to gather and focus information about the extended family that is the community. It covers diverse topics, such as social events, politics, education, births and deaths, special interest groups, as well as emotional and intellectual concerns.

2. What do you think the JI/JWB specifically has contributed (contributes) to the community?

The newspaper has tried to be a neutral newsgathering and dissemination site. It carries articles that represent the full spectrum of the community, thereby fostering information and conversation.

3. In what ways, if any, is having a print version of value, versus only having an online publication?

The value of a print edition is that it can be read on Shabbat, it is easily accessible to everyone, including technophobes. It is always open and easy to read. Articles can be cut out and distributed. Having a hard copy on your desk or table gives it an immediate physical presence and material voice. In addition, a newspaper or magazine laying around in a public common area or even in a private home will attract readers who may not open an electronic device and search for a particular media address. The electronic edition may provide a number of supplementary links and also be available through a quick search, but it does not negate the value of a printed edition.

4. Do you think that a Jewish community paper will be relevant for your grandkids’ kids?

Who knows? However, newsgathering and dissemination in one form or another has always been of interest to the human condition and, so, I project that a community newspaper will still maintain its value in the future.

Leiren-Young first literary laureate

In 2013, the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival in partnership with the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library announced a new initiative: the Jewish literary laureate project.

“It is a vision of Yosef Wosk,” said book festival director Nicole Nozick in an interview with the Independent. “He came to me at the end of last year, and we talked about it. The City of Vancouver has its poet laureate, Evelyn Lau. It’s a similar concept, only belonging to our Jewish community. The post is a two-year position, selected by our laureate committee, to be a literary ambassador to the community, spread love of the written word, raise the profile of Jewish writers, encourage reading and writing and promote multicultural exchange.”

Wosk described how he came up with the idea. “I remember hearing about England’s poet laureate when I was in high school. I was intrigued by the idea of poetry playing such an important role in society. A few years ago, I was privileged to be able to endow the position of poet laureate for the City of Vancouver. This helped to champion the place of poetry in our midst. Poetry presents us with a surprising rhythm that moves and inspires us in many ways. Poetry also has the power to condense a great deal of information and emotion into a few well-chosen and often surprising words.

“Once we witnessed the success of the Vancouver poet laureate initiative, I thought it was a natural extension to also stimulate poetry in more particular communities, such as the Greek, Chinese, Jewish, Italian, Korean and so on. Although poetry was my initial inspiration for this program, we concluded this was an opportunity to extend the program to include all forms of literature, such as non-fiction and fiction prose, plays, theatre, etc. Working with the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library and the Jewish Book Festival, we have taken the first step towards modeling a literary laureate program for one particular community. If this is successful, it can be replicated in other communities.”

Wosk discussed this project in relation to the current state of the publishing industry.

“Poetry partakes of the eternal,” he said. “In some ways, poetry is an antidote to a plethora of electronic media. Whether reading in the privacy of your home, in a café or in a gathering of poets, we are transported to surprising realms of mind and matter, emotion and spirit. Other forms of literature, like a family of diverse relatives, compliment poetry…. Today, more is being published than ever before. It doesn’t matter whether text is handwritten, printed or electronically mediated: they are all related forms of communication. It still serves the same purpose of transmitting information in one of several forms.”

The benefits of this program are manifold. “Certainly the laureates themselves will benefit by being able to share their creativity with the community,” said Wosk. “They will also receive an honorarium in recognition of their work and appreciation for their time. The community, from school students to other published poets, will be stimulated by the encounter with the literary laureate, who … we hope might act as a catalyst for writing in the community.”

Nozick emphasized that, despite the growth of digital media, people are still reading. “We want our laureate program to take reading to the next level, inspire more participation,” she said. “The particular activities are up to the laureate himself. Each laureate will bring his or her own unique strength and interests to the project. He will have a permanent office at the Waldman Library and work in collaboration with the library and the Jewish Book Festival. Our inaugural laureate is Mark Leiren-Young.”

photo - Mark Leiren-Young is the Jewish community's first literary laureate — Mark Leiren-Young is the Jewish community’s first literary laureate. *(photo from Mark Leiren-Young)*

The committee came together last year and brainstormed who would be the best writer for the position, she explained. “We selected Mark because he is a gifted, award-winning writer. He has experience writing across different genres, including playwriting, memoirs, documentaries, humor, and he is also good with people, able to connect with different generations.”

Leiren-Young commented on how important the position of laureate is to him. “For someone who grew up in Vancouver – and the JCC – it’s a completely unexpected and very cool honor. Yosef Wosk has launched several amazing programs, and I hope I can do justice to his vision for this one. The timing was amazing too. My latest book, Free Magic Secrets Revealed, actually starts at the Jewish Community Centre, and many of the key scenes take place in the JCC.”

Leiren-Young’s pilot laureate initiative is the Multi-Generational Media Lab Storytelling Project. It pairs King David High School students with seniors to share and hone their storytelling in a digital format.

“I recently served as the writer-in-residence for Vancouver Community College,” said Leiren-Young. “While I was there, I spent a bit of time with the oldest student on campus. I think he was in his mid-seventies. From the moment I met him – my first week at VCC – I kept asking if he had any stories he wanted to share. He kept telling me he didn’t have anything.

“Naturally, in my last week, he finally handed me a story about growing up in a small town. He had all these rich, detailed memories about his childhood, so after my residency was over, I contacted the community archive for the town Trail, B.C., so they could have access to and share his stories. But I kept thinking that if I’d known he was willing to tell his stories, I could have set him up with a student who could have interviewed him.”

The multi-media project is in the planning stage now. “Over the summer, we’ll be recruiting seniors, and I’ll work with them to focus on specific stories they want to share,” said Leiren-Young. “In September, when the school year begins, the high school students will be introduced to the project and will prepare their interview questions. The final presentation will take place during the Jewish Book Festival week in November.”

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].