Books – Page 2

Two different kinds of magic

It’s almost a new year. We’ve been taking stock more than usual throughout the month of Elul. It’s a valuable skill – being able to do regular cheshbon hanefesh, accounting of the soul, reflecting on our views and actions, with an eye to self-improvement, maybe even creating a positive ripple effect that extends beyond ourselves.

Two new children’s picture books introduce – or reinforce – the Jewish values of Shabbat (taking a break from work and technology, thereby recharging our physical and mental selves) and tikkun olam (taking care of ourselves, our homes, our neighbourhoods, and so on). They remind us that making the world better starts with us, what we do, how we treat ourselves and others.

Seattle publisher Intergalactic Afikoman released Fairy GodBubbie’s Shabbat by Ann Diament Koffsky this month. Koffsky has written and illustrated more than 50 kids books, with many about Judaism, its holidays, foods and symbols. Her website is worth checking out: there are reading guides, you can see her many artistic styles, download colouring pages featuring scenes from her books, as well as other images, and, of course, there are links to purchase her books.

In Fairy GodBubbie’s Shabbat, the Mazel family is busy and seems happy enough, Dad on his laptop, Mom on her phone, Sara playing games on a tablet. But, “Why is no one schmoozing?” wonders Fairy GodBubbie. “Noshing?? Kibbitzing!”

“Unlike regular fairy godmothers who come only when called, Fairy GodBubbies just show up to fix things.

“Even when they’re not invited,” writes Koffsky.

So, poof! With a couple of Shabbat candles and a frequency jammer, Fairy GodBubbie helps the Mazels experience a different kind of Shabbat, a much more fulfilling one, a magical one. And readers can create the experience at their own homes, trying out what Koffsky calls a “a Tech Shabbat – a day away from screens.” She asks, “If your family does choose to try out a Tech Shabbat, what would you most like to do during that time?” And offers some choices – “Will you eat a family meal? … Curl up with a good book?” – and encourages readers to come up with their own ideas to make their “next Shabbat feel magical.”

The Collective Book Studio’s Ruby Finkelman Finds the Real Magic, written by Mike King with illustrations by Shahar Kober, which came out earlier this year, also features a young heroine and, as the title indicates, “magic.” But there are no magical GodBubbies; rather, a self-realization that a beautiful village, a beautiful life, don’t just happen by magic – happiness, cleanliness, kindness, etc., require not only effort, but sometimes doing things you don’t enjoy doing. In Ruby’s case, she “especially didn’t like brushing her teeth,” so, one night, she decides, “I’m never going to brush my teeth again.”

Even such seemingly inconsequential actions have repercussions. Other kids stop brushing their teeth. Then they decide not to wash their faces, tidy up after themselves or treat one another kindly. Parents nag, children kvetch. The grownups become so exhausted, they have “no strength left to lift a toothbrush, do the laundry, take out the garbage, and on and on.” Kvellville soon turns into what neighbouring villages start calling “Schmutzville.” A town meeting devolves into several arguments, everyone turning on one another.

Seeing the madness, and realizing how it all started, Ruby sets about to right the situation.

“Mensch is a Yiddish word that means ‘human,’ but when used in the sense of ‘being a mensch,’ it means being a human in the best possible way, or being the best human that you can be,” writes King in an author’s note at the end of the story. “But it’s not only a Jewish thing – it’s a universal value, an idea of how to act in a way that makes the world a better place, simply because you behave in a good and kind way.”

While the toothbrushing premise is a little bit of a stretch, King is a pediatric dentist, so it’s no wonder, and he does manage to make the story work. It’s a wonderful message, of course, and Kober’s artwork is delightful.

Ruta’s Closet reissued

Lady Esther Gilbert speaking at Vancouver City Hall April 8, when Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim proclaimed Ruth Kron Sigal Day in the city. (photo by Keith Morgan)

Ruta’s Closet, the Holocaust narrative of the late Vancouverite Ruth Kron Sigal, is being reissued for a new generation of audiences – and the book’s author is ensuring the survivor’s inspiring story of survival and resilience reaches the widest possible global audience.

Vancouver journalist Keith Morgan, who completed the book shortly before Kron Sigal’s passing, at age 72 in 2008, has updated the publication – and created an extensive range of multimedia projects to expand the impact of the written volume.

First issued as a fundraising initiative for the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Ruta’s Closet was later published in the United Kingdom, with distribution there reaching new audiences.

The book recounts the harrowing survival story of the Kron family, imprisoned in the tiny Shavl (Šiauliai) ghetto in Lithuania, through the eyes of the youngest daughter, Ruta (later Ruth). Their survival against Nazi persecution hinged on the courage and resourcefulness of her parents, Meyer and Gita Kron, as well as the bravery of non-Jewish rescuers. Depicted with novel-like narrative power but rooted in rigorous research and eyewitness testimony, the memoir vividly portrays atrocities such as mass murder, a Nazi ban on Jewish births and the deportation of children to Auschwitz, while also shining a light on courage, compassion and human resilience amid the evil.

Kron Sigal didn’t live to see the book in print but she saw the final draft.

“She said to me shortly before she died, ‘You are going to carry on telling my story, Keith, aren’t you?’ And I said, of course I am,” Morgan told the Independent. “So, I took that on as a mission.”

Surveys indicating widespread ignorance of Holocaust history, combined with skyrocketing antisemitism, motivated Morgan to launch a series of Ruta’s Closet-related projects.

“We updated the book and decided it was time to go basically worldwide with this,” he said.

In addition to the re-release of the hard-copy, Morgan and his small team of colleagues recorded an audiobook and released an ebook. They revamped the existing Ruta’s Closet website and made it more interactive.

Working with Bill Barnes, a local radio producer, Morgan developed a 25-segment podcast.

“We are doing Zoom interviews with people around the world who are a part of a driving force behind an imaginative, creative initiative in spreading Holocaust awareness and education,” he explained. “I’ve got Ruth’s kids – Michael, Marilee and Elana – each week doing an introduction for book clubs.”

The VHEC has produced a downloadable guide for book clubs, as well as a teacher’s guide to the book, which makes it additionally relevant as British Columbia’s education curriculum mandates Holocaust education this year for the first time as part of the Social Studies 10 coursework.

“The beauty of it, for British Columbia, is it’s technically a local story,” Morgan said. “It’s about Ruth. It’s about somebody who came here and did a lot for her adopted society.”

photo - Journalist Keith Morgan, author with Ruth Kron Sigal of Kron Sigal’s memoir, Ruta’s Closet, is ensuring that her story of survival and resilience reaches the widest possible audience — Journalist Keith Morgan, author with Ruth Kron Sigal of Kron Sigal’s memoir, Ruta’s Closet, is ensuring that her story of survival and resilience reaches the widest possible audience. *(photo from Keith Morgan)*

Morgan, who spent many years as the crime reporter at the Province newspaper, met Kron Sigal when his editor asked him to take on a more uplifting assignment and begin a series about people doing good works at home and abroad.

“Somebody said, ‘Oh, you should talk to Ruth Sigal,’” who was sharing her Holocaust story with students. “I went to meet her. I was very impressed. She told her story and it had an amazing impact on me. I just knew this was an important story to tell.”

He found immediate support from Dr. Robert Krell, the founding president of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

“Robert Krell kind of took me under his wing – he was a close friend of Ruth – and he said, ‘I’ve got just the guy to introduce to you, who will be really helpful to you for pulling the story together.’”

The person was renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert.

“The British schoolboy in me thought, ‘How do I curtsy?’” Morgan joked.

Morgan met Sir Martin in London and got a one-on-one master course in writing about the subject.

“He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘You have to tell the story as though you were writing it for your newspaper and make it accessible to all people,’” Morgan recalled. “Sadly, Martin died [in 2015], but Lady Esther Gilbert took up his mantle and, since then, she’s been an ally and was very important in this edition in terms of going through it, adding bits here and there.”

She spoke at a ceremony at Vancouver City Hall on April 8 this year, when the mayor proclaimed Ruth Kron Sigal Day in the city.

Kron Sigal’s story resonates profoundly with people, according to Morgan.

“We can all relate to what happened to Ruth and her sister Tamara,” he said. “It also tells us compelling stories about how, through their own devices, they basically survived and helped others along the way. We also see what other members of the family did to help the broader community.… We get this family story, which, in itself, is very dramatic, but we also get this wider picture of how a community in the ghetto work with each other, help each other.”

Morgan sees Kron Sigal’s narrative as an inspiration not only because of her survival against the Nazis but in all she did after becoming a Canadian.

“Ruth came here, an adopted country, and spent 25 years at the Women’s Resource Centre and the VHEC Child Survivors Group,” said Morgan. “That’s an example to everybody: come into a new society, an adopted country, and just roll up the sleeves and get working. Isn’t that an example to anybody that comes in?”

No less a triumph, Morgan said, is the family Ruth and her husband, Dr. Cecil Sigal, created.

“You look at that family and you think, ‘Victory!” he said. “Because they beat Hitler.”

Power of propaganda

Understanding the past, including the darkest eras, can help people recognize the symptoms of a society going off the rails.

A forthcoming book for young readers, titled Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II, by Torontonians Jerry Faivish and Kathryn Cole, explores how propaganda and racist imagery desensitized a society to atrocities.

Faivish, a retired lawyer, has collected Jewish posters since young adulthood, building one of the world’s largest private collections. The son of Holocaust survivors, he created this book with Cole, an illustrator, art director, editor, designer and publisher, to educate young people about the dangers of hatred and the powers of persuasion used for evil ends.

The richly illustrated publication spotlights how vivid imagery and repetition intended to evoke fear, distrust, loyalty or revulsion served to influence populations to accept (even collaborate in) barbarism.

“By understanding the visual language of propaganda from the past, we can learn to recognize and resist messages of hate – an essential skill in a digital world where information is spread in seconds,” according to the publisher, Second Story Press.

Aimed at readers 13 and up, this book about the past has its purpose firmly planted in the present and future.

“Like social media today,” write the authors, “visual communication in the ’30s and ’40s – from movies to newspapers to paper posters – was clever and interesting, engaging and effective. But, under Nazi manipulation, it became deadly.”

The focus of the book is visual, befitting a volume of this topic, with just enough copy to contextualize the imagery and point out salient aspects that the reader might not have noticed. It is also perhaps a perfect mix of text and graphics for the generation it aims to reach.

The authors provide a brief overview of the post-First World War economic conditions in Germany, the impacts of the Treaty of Versailles, and Hitler’s rise to power. This history tilled the soil for the hate-messaging showcased.

“A false message, when repeated often enough, can become the truth in the minds of people who are frightened, oppressed and searching for someone to blame for their misfortune during hard times,” the book warns.

Can Posters Kill? also delves into how graphic design played into the success of the brainwashing – “clever use of different typefaces grabs the attention of passersby,” among other innovations.

Joseph Goebbels, the Nazis’ minister of propaganda, who more than any other individual is associated with this sort of material, did not overestimate his audience.

“The rank and file are usually much more primitive than we imagine,” he is quoted in the book. “Propaganda must, therefore, always be essentially simple and repetitious. In the long run, only he will achieve basic results in influencing public opinion who is able to reduce problems to the simplest terms and who has the courage to keep forever repeating them in the simplified form, despite the objections of intellectuals.”

The messages his department imparted were subtle as sledgehammers.

In one poster, a doctor or scientist is looking through a microscope at a vicious “Jewish” disease devouring healthy tissue. Jews are characterized as sexual deviants and blamed for spreading tuberculosis, syphilis and cancer.

“It’s a chilling message because it can quickly turn into ‘kill or be killed,’” the book says.

In another poster, a Jew hovers menacingly over the globe, spinning a web from his index finger.

“This reinforces the Nazi-supported notion that Jews are power-hungry and backed by secret cabals or conspirators,” the authors write.

Jews are depicted as the mortal enemy of Christianity and the Star of David is equated alongside the communist red star, implying a dual-pronged threat to German society.

Faivish shares his family’s story: his mother’s experiences in various ghettos, work and concentration camps, and at extermination sites such as Auschwitz, and his father’s defiant escape from a cattle car headed for the gas chambers. Faivish’s father lost his parents and his eight siblings in the Holocaust. His mother had just one surviving brother and one remaining sister out of a family of 10.

Faivish goes into some detail about the experiences of his mother in the constellation of Nazi ghettos and camps, and his father’s unlikely survival in hiding, thanks to a gentile Polish family. He places significant emphasis on the heroism of non-Jews.

“After the war, my parents met in Bergen-Belsen, the DP camp where they married and started a family,” he writes. “My older sister was born there in 1949.… In 1952, my parents immigrated to Canada. In 1953, I was born in Montreal. For my parents, the question of how to deal with recurring hate, and what could be done about it, was more than philosophical. It became a guideline for how to live their lives and what to pass on to their children. The lessons they taught us are still applicable and valuable today.”

He includes nine values his parents instilled in him and that he hopes the book will pass on to others, including: be proud of who you are and embrace your faith and culture [because the] aim of the “Final Solution” was to annihilate Jews and to destroy Judaism; respect your fellow human beings and treat them well; and recognize and eliminate hate and evil as much as possible.

A timeline of historical events and an excellent glossary of relevant terms are included at the end of the book.

As British Columbia and other provinces institute mandatory Holocaust education in school curricula, books like Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II provide powerful resources for educators to convey the lessons of history in ways that are impactful but age-appropriate, with undeniable and clear lessons around critical media consumption for contemporary generations.

While not formally related, the book is also a valuable complement to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre’s current exhibition, Age of Influence: Youth & Nazi Propaganda, which is being reconfigured into a traveling exhibit.

Love and learning

People from many cultures show love via food and, of course, Jews are no exception. And what a palate our culture has, since we have lived in so many places. Two children’s books from Collective Book Studio, one new and one from recent years, highlight the flavourful diversity of Jewish culture, while teaching other valuable lessons.

Coming out this August, Tali and the Timeless Time by Mira Z. Amiras, with illustrations by Chantelle and Burgen Thorne, shares the love of a granddaughter for her grandmother, and vice versa. Every Friday, Tali helps her nona get ready for Shabbat. Nona gives hugs, tells stories, still tries to get Tali to nap, even though she’s older now. When Nona dozes off, Tali explores in the backyard, cleans up the small fountain there, feeds the goldfish. When Nona awakes, it’s time to cook.

“We bake!” says Tali. “Today, it’s bourekas, yummy for eating. Nona makes them with filo (which it turns out is cheating). She says her nona let her ’cause it doesn’t need kneading.”

The week before, the pair made stuffed grape leaves – yaprakas, dolma or dolmades. Nona’s favourite dish is huevos (eggs) cooked in tomatoes with feta and arroz (rice).

While Tali’s grandmother might get Tali’s name wrong, or forget a word or two, she has these recipes ingrained in her.

“I’m having big thoughts,” says Tali, “but Nona’s not listening – she’s singing ‘chakchouka,’ it’s sometimes called, not just huevos, in the Holy Land, Tunisia and the land of the pharaohs. In Mexico, it’s a lot like huevos rancheros….” But Nona loses focus, she starts dancing with “her zills and her fans.” Tali finishes making dinner, the pair eat together, then dance some more.

In another role reversal, Tali tucks Nona into bed for the night, not sure she should leave her alone. Luckily, Tali and her family live nearby.

It’s a lovely book, “timeless time” being a beautiful description of a day spent with a loved one, doing this and that, in no particular order, sharing stories, mixing up past with present, making memories that will adapt over time.

Family and food are also at the heart of 1, 2, 3 Nosh with Me, written by Micah and Joshua Siva, and illustrated by Sviatoslav Franko, which was published a couple of years ago. In it, the dog Buckwheat shows us the yummy food the family eats, starting with the “One golden challah, to celebrate Shabbat…” We work our way up to “Ten crispy latkes, served by candlelight.” In between, we have matzah balls, matzot, kugel, knishes, apples for a sweet new year, sufganiyot, bagels and hamantashen. (It’s not clear why the Hanukkah treats are separated, but that’s a quibble.)

Tali covers a few Sephardi staples and Buckwheat has the Ashkenazi favourites down. Between the two books, the breadth of world Jewry, as seen through just some of its traditional foods, is impressive.

Deborah Wilde makes magic

Writer Deborah Wilde is more public now about the Jewish elements in her novels, which have always had a Jewish sensibility. (photo from Deborah Wilde)

East Vancouver author Deborah Wilde has been a writer since childhood, when she filled countless notebooks with her stories. Born and raised in Greater Vancouver, she also spent some years in Kitimat; hers was the only Jewish family in town. She read Isaac Bashevis Singer and watched Neil Simon movies. It was an upbringing she describes as being “rich in tradition.”

Wilde started her writing career in TV and film. “I loved it. I got to be in writers’ rooms, it was a real privilege,” she said. However, she added, screenwriters are “part of a machine: you’re hired to work on other people’s stories. I wanted to tell my stories.” These stories, as it turns out, are ones with strong Jewish representation and tough, sassy female protagonists.

With the movie industry being in what she describes as “a terrible state,” Wilde took the leap into young adult fiction. In writing the Nava Katz series, she was pleased to find that many of her screenwriting skills were transferable to this new genre. “Dialogue is my happy place,” she laughed. “I had a great time doing it.”

She knew that she had to have Jewish protagonists. “I was an avid reader as a kid but I only saw myself in Holocaust stories,” she explained. “Where was the Jewish girl falling down the rabbit hole or going through the cupboard into Narnia?”

In Wilde’s books, we meet a Jewish mom from Mumbai, and the love interest in her current series is a Mizrahi Jew. Diversity even within the Jewish community is vital, she said. “I want smart Jewish women who have adventures, who are the object of desire.”

Having embarked on her career in fiction, Wilde has reached her initial goal of publishing five books in three years. It took a lot of stamina and she learned that being an independent (or “indie”) young adult author was “not sustainable.” Setting her sights on an adult audience, she took inspiration from her “love of old Hollywood – it was the banter. And I’d always read romances,” she said, “so I wanted to include that as well.”

Wilde settled on first-person, urban fantasy. A relatively new but extremely popular genre, urban fantasy tales are set in the world we live in but with magical and supernatural elements. Ordinary or “mundane” activities are constantly disrupted by these troublemaking nasties, sometimes with deadly consequences.

And that is where we meet Jewish heroine Ashira Cohen, private investigator. Walking down a Vancouver street, Cohen comes across a “grimy convenience store selling long-distance phone cards and bongs.” A Vancouver scene we probably recognize, but she might also run into a bodyguard who’s been possessed by a demon or a delinquent teen with a talent for vanishing into thin air. Cohen is fast-talking, feisty and funny, but she’s also “someone you’d want to run into at Café 41,” said Wilde.

Meanwhile, Cohen’s finances are in a state, her love life is stagnant and she’s extraordinarily (and creatively) accident prone. The character is unsentimental, caustic and cynically bored. An interview with a young adult client gave her, she says, “all the details about their nauseatingly cute courtship and very little useful information.”

Wilde’s novels bring a big helping of zany chaos, a nod to the screwball comedies of the 1940s, staple viewing in the author’s childhood home. But, while the books conform to established genres – such as the “chosen one” trope, the terribly attractive and just as infuriating nemesis – they’re also full of little winks at the reader: neurotic elders, Jewish idioms, references to Jewish traditions.

Wilde’s talent lies in her ability to layer elements of regular life – like an eye-rolling teen whose statements sound like questions, or the intrusive badgering of Ash’s mother at a moment when tensions are already running high – over the frenzied dangers of the world inhabited by Cohen. The result is fiction that is absurd, surreal and peppered with rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of the classic film His Girl Friday.

There is also a serious undercurrent. The author seasons her prose with references to history. For example, one of the magical characters, Meryem, is a Turkish magic refugee who has fled the “purges.”

Jewish representation is very important to Wilde. “There is so little fiction and television with strong, tough Jewish characters,” she said. The Jezebel narrative isn’t a Jewish story but, explained Wilde, “it has a Jewish sensibility – because that’s my own. It’s authentic to my experience.”

There has always been a Jewish flavour to Wilde’s writing, but it was more subtle; it could be found in the humour. “Readers would find the Jewish stuff eventually,” she said. “But now I’m talking about it in my ads, or even in certain interviews. I’m more public about it now.”

This is one of the aspects that makes Wilde’s work original. While Greek, Celtic, Roman and Norse tales have been all the rage for years, Jezebel’s Jewish folklore and mythology make it stand out. “I won’t write it if I don’t have something original to say,” said Wilde. And that’s where we find a magical organization called Nefesh, or, in Hebrew, “soul” or “life.”

Wilde is both a prolific writer and a businessperson. Talking about the switch to indie authorship, she describes it as “exhausting and a huge learning curve.” She is now both an author and her own publishing house. She has learned about search engine optimization, how to print and distribute books, the advantages of the different platforms and the wizardry required to publish ebooks online. But, despite all the technology that runs behind the scenes, Wilde finds that “word of mouth is still the best form of advertising – many people comment on my ads with things like, I just bought this book because of all the comments, so it had better be as funny as you all said!”

But she’s not alone in her work: her team now includes her husband (who designed the back end of her online store), an editor, cover designers and a slew of peers on whom she has depended for critical (but kind) feedback, moral support, professional insight and companionship.

Wilde sells her books directly to readers. She explained that, when you buy from Amazon, “you’re actually leasing the book.” Instead, she said, “When you buy digitally from an author, you actually own the book – it’s yours, not just a link you have access to while you have that device.”

Past and present intersect with Wilde’s writing. Most of her grandfather’s family was killed in the Warsaw Ghetto. Of those who survived, she said, “They ended up in a displaced persons’ camp in Germany. My mom was born prematurely in that camp, delivered by a former Nazi doctor.” So, stories about how Jews once lived in Russia, which invaded Poland in 1939 and fully occupied it at the end of the Second World War, “that was my childhood.”

Having been raised by her grandparents, Wilde said, “I know there is absolutely an aspect of me working through this generational trauma, baggage, but, at the same time, there’s also me working through the patriarchal aspect of Judaism.”

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver.

With the help of friends

“‘You’re dead, Weiss!’ Declan shouted. He turned back to his friends. ‘This is our chance. Let’s get him!’”

And so the chase after sixth-grader Matthew Weiss begins, led by bully classmate Declan Bollard, with Declan’s three followers right behind. It leads to an adventure all the kids might have been happy to forego, but also a lesson in humanity that they all needed, even the bullied Matthew, who discovers not only his self-worth, but that people who seem to have everything going for them probably don’t.

Michael Seidelman’s latest novel for readers around Matthew and Declan’s age – called Imaginary Heroes – is propelled by fear and anger but resolved by putting those feelings to constructive use, refusing to be defined by others, trusting in ourselves and braving the day, whatever challenges we face.

Like the character of Matthew, Seidelman has Tourette’s Syndrome and was bullied growing up because of it, which makes his descriptions of Matthew’s feelings so realistic that readers’ hearts will break a little.

Most kids ignore Matthew’s involuntary actions and sounds, a few laugh, but Declan menaces, with Booker, Booker’s twin sister Sam, and Cricket as an audience. After a particularly nasty incident at lunch, where, thanks only to Booker’s intervention, Declan steals Matthew’s dessert instead of beating him up, Seidelman writes:

“The bell rang, and Matthew did his best to hold back his tears until the lunchroom was empty. Then he let it all out. Every day, he had to deal with those jerks, and this wasn’t even one of the worst days. At least Declan hadn’t hurt him physically this time. So far, at least.”

Arriving just in time for class nonetheless, the teacher berates Matthew for not getting there earlier. The adults – teachers and other kids’ parents – are little help to Matthew, just as they were to Seidelman as he was bullied growing up.

“Though many teachers and school administrators were of little to no help with the bullying I endured, there were a few who stood up for me, and those individuals have not been forgotten,” writes Seidelman in the acknowledgements. “And again, I must thank my parents and family; without their support, I truly don’t know where I would be today.”

The character of Matthew also has a supportive, loving family. And he has two imaginary friends, who not only help get him through the school days, but really step up when he, Declan, Booker, Sam and Cricket find themselves in a literal hole, with no apparent way out. The journey that ensues is a danger-filled adventure during which all the kids find out more about themselves and one another, and what bravery and humanity entail not only in life-threatening moments, but also in life in general.

To purchase an electronic or hard copy of Imaginary Heroes, or Seidelman’s Garden of Syn trilogy, visit michaelseidelman.com.

Celebration of Jewish camps

The bright, happy cover of The Scribe Summer Camps Issue, which was released last month by the Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia (JMABC), draws readers right in. The 95-page magazine-format journal is packed with colour photos of campers having a great time, doing some amazing things in the beautiful place we live, the Pacific Northwest.

The issue features seven camps. In the order they are presented, they are overnight options Camp Miriam (Gabriola Island, BC), Camp Hatikvah (Okanagan Valley, BC), Camp Solomon Schechter (near Olympia, Wash.), Camp Kalsman (Arlington, Wash.) and Sephardic Adventure Camp (Cle Ulum, Wash.), and day options Camp Gan Israel (Vancouver) and the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s Camp Shalom. The basic structure of each profile is an overview of the camp and its history, then oral history segments from camp directors; all the overnight camp sections include interviews with former campers, as well.

Many Jewish Independent readers will recognize the names at least of most of the former attendees of the BC overnight camps: Bernie Simpson, Selina Robinson, Robert Krell, David Levi, Danya Rogen, Sam Gutman, Ted Zacks, Arthur Dodek, Stephen Glanzberg, Susan Fine and Kayla Cohen. And, from the Jewish Independent’s annual Camp Guides, many of the directors and staff might even be familiar: Leah Levi (Miriam), Liza Rozen-Delman (Hatikvah), Zach Duitch (Solomon Schechter), Rabbi Ilana Mills (Kalsman), Rabbi Dovid and Chaya Rosenfeld (Gan Israel) and Ben Horev (Camp Shalom).

The one camp that was new to the JI was a long-established one, Sephardic Adventure Camp, whose director is Rabbi Kenneth Pollack. It’s been around for decades and yet hadn’t crossed our radar. There are always things to learn!

In the interviews, people talk about how they became involved with their camp, how it is/was to work there, what makes/made their experience special. They are also asked why Jewish camps are important in their view, what they have learned, in what ways camp inspired them, and more.

Interviewees share some of their personal history, as well as answer more light-hearted queries, like “Your favourite food served at camp?” “Your favourite day at camp?” “If you were still attending camp, what activity would you want to excel at?” “If you weren’t working in the career you’re in, what would you be?”

As unique as all the camps are, there is overlap of such things as activities offered, lessons learned, inspirations gained, even though some camps are more ideological, some place more emphasis on Judaism and religious observance, others prioritize sports and outdoor life.

“Regardless of ideology or format,” writes Elana Wenner, the museum’s director of programming and development, in her introduction, “the camps are united in their intention to organically build community through immersive and engaging experiences.”

She observes: “Through the articles in this publication, three overarching themes emerge that serve to unite the experiences shared at all seven camps. They are: 1. The role of the personal camp experience as a grounding point for Jewish self-identity; 2. The influence of Jewish camp experience on personal values and ideals; and 3. The integral link between Jewish summer camp attendance and Jewish community involvement, both in childhood and later in life.”

While there is much data to support the personal and communal benefits of Jewish camp, there’s nothing like personal expressions to bring that message home.

“The personal stories shared by alumni and staff and supporters reveal how these camps forge deep, lasting connections that extend well beyond the summer months,” writes archivist Alysa Routtenberg in the journal’s concluding section. “These connections create a network of relationships that continue to enrich participants’ lives and bolster their sense of belonging.”

And Routtenberg underscores the need to preserve, as the JMABC does, these experiences through oral histories.

“By recording and sharing these stories,” she writes, “we ensure that the essence of Jewish summer camps is preserved for future generations, offering them a window into a cherished aspect of Jewish life.”

That includes the serious and the less serious of life. Reading about how Jewish summer camp allowed people to connect more deeply with their Jewish identity, learn valuable personal and professional lessons, make lifelong friends and more, is as interesting as discovering that anyone has a favourite camp food and what camp activity people would have wanted to excel at.

Carol Crenna was the managing editor and features writer for this edition of The Scribe; Sonia Bishop, graphic designer. Among the many people who donated their time and skills to getting the journal to publication were Heather Glassman Berkowitz, as copy editor, and Helen Aqua and Judith Gurfinkel, who chair the Scribe committee, were editorial consultants. Other volunteers acted as interviewers and transcribers. The journal committee is Aqua, Gurfinkel, Glassman Berkowitz, Gary Averbach, Debby Freiman, Daniella Givon (president of the JMABC board), Barb Schober and Ronnie Tessler.

The Camp and other issues of The Scribe can be purchased from the museum and archives for $20. Call 604-257-5199 or email info@jewishmuseum.ca.

Mastering menopause

Michelle Biton has released a new book. Written in the same style as The Instant Anxiety Solution: 5 Simple Steps to Quiet the Mind & Achieve Calm, her recently released The Menopause Weight Loss Solution: A Woman’s Guide to Menopause Without Pounds offers six steps to help women live their best lives during menopause. Both books are published by Hatherleigh Press Ltd.

The mnemonic device that anchors this book is SHRINK. After an introductory chapter about what menopause is, some of its symptoms, the role of cortisol (“the body’s primary stress hormone”) and a couple of other topics, each section explores one of the letters. So, chapters 2 through 7 are (italics added): Stimulate Your Metabolism; Harness the Power of Your Vagus Nerve; Reinforce the Eight Nutritional Strategies; Incorporate Daily Pelvic Floor and Core Exercises; Nurture Mindfulness and Mindful Eating; and Know Your Female Powers with Confidence.

“Menopause is a natural process,” writes Biton. “You officially hit menopause when you do not get your period for 12 consecutive months. The ovaries stop making estrogen and progesterone and the period disappears. It signifies the end of the reproductive years and the beginning of the wise ‘goddess’ years.

“But that is the easy version. Menopause, or pre-menopause, can feel like a rollercoaster ride of hormones or a symphony of fireworks.”

Pre-menopause, or perimenopause, can start in one’s 30s or 40s and last up to 10 years, writes Biton. “At least 80% of women will experience menopausal symptoms of varying degrees and severity.” And there are many symptoms or changes, including but not at all limited to: slower metabolism, poor memory or brain fog, weight gain around the middle, thinning hair, increased irritability and moodiness, night sweats, increased sadness, diminished sex drive and itchy skin.

Weight gain during menopause apparently affects 65-70% of women, who gain an average of five to 10 pounds. One reason for this is that “women’s ability to burn calories gets cut by 30% or more,” says Biton. “By the time she reaches middle age, she will have to work almost twice as hard to burn the same amount of calories as she did in her 20s.”

Biton recommends many different types of exercise to build muscle and kickstart one’s metabolism. “Simple things like lifting your body weight against gravity does the job perfectly,” she writes. “You can do them anywhere; they are easy to do and very effective. This includes exercises like push-ups, triceps dips, lunges and squats.” She gives a description of how to do lunges and planks, and talks about things like ideal intensity levels: “Regular physical activity [like walking], versus doing one intense workout on the weekend, will be more beneficial at increasing your metabolism long-term.” She notes that adding protein to every meal can help boost metabolism, as can eating the “right kind of fat,” such as omega-3 and omega-6.

A moderate approach to exercise and eating is, not surprisingly, the recommended approach and she dedicates Chapter 4 to nutritional strategies. Chapter 5 is about ways to increase core strength (“namely, your corset and girdle muscles”), to combat weight gain around the midsection, and exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles to keep incontinence at bay.

The chapter on the vagus nerve – the “key” to activating the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), which helps us “calm down, handle stress better, regulate your mood and feel more relaxed, connected and compassionate” – takes a lot from Biton’s previous book on dealing with anxiety. (See jewishindependent.ca/ways-to-tackle-anxiety.)

“During menopause, it is common to feel stressed and overwhelmed, not to mention disconnected, irritable, worried, anxious, depressed and questioning a lot of things in life,” she writes.

She advises: “If you’re having a hard time regulating your emotions, feeling overwhelmed or overly emotional, it’s a good idea to activate your PSNS right away.” And she offers many ways to do that, from splashing cold water on your face, to running on the spot as long as you can, to deep breathing, to immersing yourself in nature, and more.

The chapter on mindfulness focuses on differentiating between physical and emotional hunger. The former “begins in the stomach” and is “a physiological need,” while the latter is “when you eat in response to feelings…. Emotional foods tend to be high in carbohydrates, as they allow more L-tryptophan, a mood-regulating amino acid, to enter the brain. Carbohydrates (and sugar) help the body to make serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter, so it makes sense why emotional eaters tend to consume foods that give them a ‘sugar high.’” Biton suggests practices like mindful eating (slowing down, chewing your food well); trying “to eat out of physical hunger 95% of the time,” while allowing yourself occasional treats; and, again, adding protein to meals “to feel full for longer.”

The last chapter of The Menopause Weight Loss Solution is about retraining our minds to think more positively and reduce negative thoughts about ourselves. It also tackles perhaps sensitive topics like changes to the vagina, body odor, breast tenderness, skin and more that happen during menopause.

There’s nothing revolutionary or in-depth in this book, but rather it provides an overview and the basics of what a woman can do to understand and get through menopause more easily.

Biton has a master’s in holistic nutrition, a bachelor’s in psychology, and a certificate in kinesiology and fitness studies. She is a former Vancouverite who now lives in Los Angeles. For more information, visit michellebiton.com.

Scribe camp issue launches

The Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia (JMABC) is releasing the 41st edition of The Scribe – which has a summer camps theme – on April 24, 6 p.m., at the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture.

The JMABC’s flagship publication celebrates the lives and traditions of British Columbia’s Jewish residents by focusing on one sector each edition. This year’s journal features personal memories from seven Jewish summer camps in the Pacific Northwest, highlighting the lasting impact that camp experiences have had on the development of lifelong connections to Jewish culture and community.

First published in 1989, The Scribe’s mandate is to link the Jewish community’s past with the present to inspire future generations. The publication has documented all aspects of the Jewish experience in British Columbia. Past issues have focused on prominent medical pioneers who have improved the lives of Canadians; top restaurateurs who cultivated Vancouver’s social scene; and ready-to-wear icons who helped British Columbia become an international fashion centre.

“The Scribe: Summer Camps Issue is by far one of the most endearing and nostalgic issues in [the journal’s] 41-year history,” said Daniella Givon, president of the JMABC. “Jewish summer camps have long represented a unique form of organic community-building and Jewish connection. Through the iconic summer camp experience, generations of Jewish youth have developed a sense of resilience and belonging that has strengthened their own connections to Jewish community, personal identity and cultural continuity.”

“The impact and success of Jewish communities in Canada have been significantly enhanced by the collective experiences of summer camp attendees,” said Elana Wenner, JMABC director of programming and development. “We look forward to taking a walk down memory lane with Jewish communities throughout BC with this new issue!”

The launch at the Peretz Centre will be an immersive evening of nostalgia, song and stories, as the summer camp communities of the Pacific Northwest are brought together under one roof.

Tickets are $54 each, and include dinner, a program and a keepsake T-shirt. All proceeds are in support of the JMABC. Copies of The Scribe: Summer Camps Issue will be available for purchase at the event for $20 each. (JMABC members in good standing will receive one free copy per family.) For tickets, visit tinyurl.com/ANightAtCamp.

– Courtesy Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia

Ellis gives needed context

Author Israel Ellis with his new book, The Wake Up Call, after a Feb. 10 talk at Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto, where he joined journalist Dave Gordon in conversation. (photo by Dave Gordon)

In his new book, The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone MAD, author Israel Ellis brings the events of Oct. 7, 2023, into a compelling, fact-based and easy-to-read focus.

Backed up by scores of footnotes and references, the book is a no-nonsense look at the Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7 and, poignantly, the attack on democracy Ellis believes happened in the months prior to them. The addition of personal stories from Oct. 7 survivors and family members adds another level of documentation to an already all-encompassing book.

Ellis weaves in his own lived experience and perspective as a Jewish Canadian in the diaspora with firsthand accounts of contemporary antisemitism and his reflections on being the father of an Israel Defence Forces lone soldier fighting in Gaza. His personal observations allow the reader to connect with him, as well as better understand the interconnectedness of Jews, no matter where they live, and Israel.

For non-Jews, it can be daunting to begin learning about what happened on Oct. 7, and the global repercussions. Many non-Jews do not know the history of the Middle East, how the state of Israel fits into this history, or what the definition of “antisemitism” is. Ellis helps fill in these blanks, and this is why I am so excited to introduce this book to my friends.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Canadians (and people from other countries) have seen large pro-Palestine protests in the streets of all the major cities and in academic spaces, with large university encampments set up across the country. Most people in the Jewish community see these protests for what they are: pro-terror and anti-democratic. But, for a Canadian with little knowledge of what the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is, these protests and encampments can look like a fight for human rights. No doubt, some individuals believe they are marching for human rights while chanting “intifada revolution,” but many are there to show support for Hamas, to some degree or another. This is why the knowledge, geopolitical insight and historical context Ellis brings with his writing is so vitally important.

I read a lot of books on Israel, as a non-Jewish Canadian interested in educating myself, and Ellis’s new book has become a favourite. One of the reasons is that Ellis writes about many protests and political events that are still fresh in our minds. He discusses protests that took place in Toronto and the encampments at McGill University (and others). He shows the utter incompetence of Canadian politicians, such as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, in handling the rise of radical Islam. He strongly condemns Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Mélanie Joly, who shook the hand of Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, in what is a now-famous Ramallah photo-op. These events, along with many others, are documented in Ellis’s book, illustrating a pattern of political complicity and complacency that he says has contributed to the eroding of Canada’s moral backbone.

As a Canadian university student, I have experienced firsthand my peers sympathizing with and rallying for terrorist organizations. The university institutions have been complacent in protecting neutral academic spaces, allowing terrorist propaganda to infiltrate our lectures and giving some professors the ability to promote hatred of Israel and the Jewish people.

A quote from The Wake Up Call that gave me chills reads: “There is no coming invasion. It is already here. Jihad has already been invited into our universities, professions, communities and public institutions. October 7 was a wake-up call. It is an example of the hunger for Global Jihad, and what can happen if it is allowed to be satiated. To think that these events are restricted to a narrow strip on the Mediterranean is a complete miscalculation of reality.”

The Wake Up Call should be read by anyone – uninformed or well-informed, Jew or non-Jew – who wants to better understand the political, social and historical context behind the current rise in anti-democratic, pro-terror narratives that have taken over many Western spaces.

Zara Nybo, a fourth-year student at the University of British Columbia, is a StandWithUs Canada Emerson Fellow. Connect with her via Instagram: @zaranybo.