Temple Mount Western Wall on Shabbat. (photo by David Shankbone via en.wikipedia.org)
Robin and Jon Sirkin prepared to celebrate their son Eitan’s bar mitzvah in Jerusalem last weekend. There was a Dr. Who theme and an ice-cream bar planned for the reception at the synagogue after the services. As part of the celebrations, Robin Sirkin’s brother, sister, aunt and cousin were planning to make their first trip to Israel. She booked a trip to southern Israel and a meal at one of Jerusalem’s most expensive restaurants for 15 people.
Four weeks ago, just after the ceasefire was declared between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, they all canceled their trips. Sirkin, who moved to Israel from Cleveland three years ago with their four children, said she tried to convince her relatives that the ceasefire would hold, but to no avail.
“It’s devastating and heartbreaking and feels unsupportive,” Sirkin told the Media Line. “I think they’re overreacting, but we have a different sense of security here.
She said they held off telling their son that his relatives had canceled, hoping that as the big day he approached he would be more excited about the ceremony and the party, and less disappointed.
“He was a little sad, but he’s trying not to focus on that,” she said.
The Sirkins are not alone. Mark Feldman, CEO of Ziontours, said that the seven weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas over the summer has devastated tourism for the rest of the year, except for the Jewish holidays this month, and Christmas. Feldman said they lost about 2,000 bookings, and most of the time waived the cancellation fees.
“Tourism for the rest of 2014 simply doesn’t exist,” Feldman said. “Now we’re looking toward 2015, and hoping the government will begin to lay the seeds to allow tourism to begin to come back.”
World ORT’s Nechama Kenig, a Kadima Mada professional from Israel, was here in May with colleague Udi Gibory. (photo from ORT Vancouver)
On Wednesday, Oct. 22, ORT Vancouver hosts its Annual Card Party at Richmond Country Club. All funds are designated to the ORT Vancouver Smart Classroom Program.
Vancouver has been chosen by ORT Canada to introduce the ORT Israel-designed Smart Classrooms. This is a grassroots, first-of-its-kind joint venture in education between Israel and Vancouver, which is being locally implemented at King David High School and Richmond Jewish Day School.
This project provides significant educational enrichment to both primary and secondary students, preparing them for a future of technological advancements. The students have hands-on interaction with the Smart Classroom equipment and they work in collaboration with their teachers and their fellow classmates. An added benefit of the program is that students feel more positive about learning, and gain greater confidence and fulfillment from their educational experience.
The Oct. 22 ORT card party happens 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Admission is $50 (lunch included) and a partial tax receipt will be issued. Abba Brodt, principal at RJDS will offer a Smart Classroom update. For table reservations and information, contact Lois Gumprich, 604-731-0507, [email protected]; Beverly Pinsky, 604-538-9597 (until Oct. 20), [email protected]; or Mary Tobin, 604-276-9282, [email protected].
Sandy Chernoff, left, with honoree Bonnie Belzberg. (photo from CHW Vancouver Centre)
On Sept. 21, Vancouver Centre council of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) held its opening event, a brunch with a fashion show and a program honoring volunteer Bonnie Belzberg. The event drew more than 120 women, who came to offer kavod (honor) to Belzberg, as well as to see the fall fashions from Stepin Out, a ladies store in Steveston.
Bev Corber, the council president gave opening remarks followed by a tribute given by Belzberg’s lifelong friend Sandy Chernoff.
Babs Cohen on the fashion runway. (photo from CHW Vancouver Centre)
According to Chernoff, Belzberg has been an ardent Zionist since her early years at Camp Biluim and as a counselor at Camp Hatikvah. Although she moved to Edmonton to earn her bachelor of education from the University of Alberta and subsequently moved to California and Seattle with her husband and young family, they found their way back to Vancouver, where Belzberg’s participation in CHW began in earnest.
She has used her organizational skills, sense of humor and people skills in the leadership roles she has taken on since her early years in her chapter, chairing the Hadassah Bazaar and as a president of the Vancouver council. Recognized as a natural leader, Belzberg ultimately rose to become a national vice-president of CHW, where she proudly and ably represented Vancouver and British Columbia.
Belzberg remains an involved, integral part of the organization in Vancouver. She continues to contribute in many ways to support the many projects Canadian donors make possible, helping women, children and funding health care in Israel.
In her remarks, Belzberg expressed gratitude to CHW for giving her an outlet for her great interest in problem solving. She mentioned the friendships that she enjoyed with the women in the organization and, of course, thanked her family for their support.
The event concluded with an eclectic group of “Hadassah Ladies” from a range of age groups acting as models for 18 different ensembles. From shoes to hats and everything in between, the women of CHW showcased fashions that included Canadian-made clothing and shoes made in Israel. Fashion show coordinator Toby Rubin described the clothing, adding interesting details about the composition of fabric, where the clothing was designed and manufactured, as well as pointing out fashion trends for this fall. Three pointers: hearts are a big motif in jewelry, grey is the go-to color this season and boots with bling on the heel match everything.
Keep an eye out for future CHW Vancouver activities, including a Chanukah party. Although CHW has traditionally been organized into chapters, locally the organization is offering events that are open to all women. Visit chw.ca/vancouver for more information.
The new LEED Gold-equivalent synagogue now faces 28th Avenue. (photo by Jan Lee)
The energy was palpable last Sunday, Sept. 14, as congregants from Vancouver’s oldest Conservative synagogue gathered outside the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Everything was ready for the procession. The ark, which had been rolled out of its temporary home in JCCGV’s senior centre sat nearby, housing the synagogue’s three Torahs. Congregants were dressed in their best sun hats, and everyone had their walking shoes on.
Baalat Tefillah Debby Fenson and congregants escort the Torah to its new home. (photo by Jan Lee)
Even Vancouver’s weather was cooperating, with warm temperatures set for the unprecedented celebration. The members of Congregation Beth Israel, who had trepidatiously turned their synagogue over to architects and builders almost two years ago, were ready to return home.
A little more than a kilometre away, a new building sat in the final stages of construction, with a new address and a sweeping landscaped entrance facing the quieter side street. The makeover, which had been more than a decade in planning, was coming to fruition.
For the congregation’s 630-plus families, its upgrade represents more than the loving reconstruction of a 1940s landmark. As BI president Peter Lutsky lightheartedly said, the makeover is BI’s latest stage in “re-jew-venation,” a process that has been a part of the synagogue’s life and identity since the 1970s, when the first major retrofit took place to accommodate an aging building and a burgeoning membership. And it’s a process, said Lutsky, that has built itself upon the congregation’s belief that more than 80 years after its founding, it can still transform itself to meet new needs and new perspectives of what makes a Conservative Jewish community.
For today’s BI community, said Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, that concept is embodied by its inclusiveness; a divergence from the synagogue’s earlier image when elevators were added “as an afterthought,” where the bima towered high above the congregants and families had to decide between the responsibilities of child-minding and the desire to attend services.
Cantor Lawrence Szenes-Strauss leads the community in song. (photo by Jan Lee)
Those elements have now been factored into the synagogue’s structure. “We have a play-and-pray space right next to the sanctuary so that young families will be able to have their children playing in a room that is right next to the sanctuary,” said Infeld.
It’s a vision that keeps pace with today’s Canadian concepts of inclusiveness as well, in which mobility needs don’t restrict one’s ability to participate in community. All areas are physically accessible, including the bima, which is set low to the ground.
“This is certainly part of our consciousness: making sure everyone feels welcome and is able to enter and utilize the building is certainly important,” Infeld explained.
Getting to this point, however, has taken much more than planning. It’s taken constant fundraising, almost all of which has been raised within the BI community.
“We’ve raised over $16 million from our Beth Israel community,” much of which was done, said Lutsky, through the strength and dedication of its fundraisers, who applied themselves round the clock for years to raising the necessary capital for each stage of the reconstruction. He likened each gradual success to completing “another link in the chain” of progress.
Rabbi Jonathan Infeld and Cantor Lawrence Szenes-Strauss celebrate outside the synagogue. (photo by Adele Lewin Photography)
Lutsky credited Gary Averbach, who spearheaded the capital campaign, and Shannon Etkin, the synagogue’s executive director, for the far-sightedness that allowed the congregation to raise the funds and, at the same time, meet the opening deadline on time, with a Torah procession and a gala dinner to follow.
Later, Etkin told the Jewish Independent that the day went on without a hitch, with some 400 people at the opening, and a sold-out 500-seat dinner.
“We hope that’s a good portrayal of things to come for BI in the future and all other events we have here,” said Etkin, who added that the greatest gratification was seeing “the surprise on the faces of our members who couldn’t believe this new synagogue was actually here.”
Cantor Lawrence Szenes-Strauss said that, from his perspective, the greatest takeaway from the opening was the engagement he saw on people’s faces as they accompanied the Torahs the last block and a half to the shul. Due to the distance from the JCCGV, the Torahs were accompanied to two vehicles in the JCCGV parking lot, and then escorted by car to the corner of Willow and 28th, where the community reunited and joined in song the rest of the way to the shul.
“It was fun,” he said. “People were excited. [They] were dancing all the way up there; it’s the way it ought to be.” He said he hoped the excitement that he saw would carry forth into future events as the community settled into its new surroundings.
Beth Israel executive director Shannon Etkin lifts the Torah during the dedication of the new building. (photo by Adele Lewin Photography)
“I think what we saw there was a hint of how Simchat Torah could be, for example,” added Szenes-Strauss, who was optimistic that the move would encourage more turnout. “If we treat the chaggim, and even Shabbat, with that much anticipation, then we can boost our already high energy levels to a new point. And I think we’re going to have a natural boost now that we’re here.”
Infeld said that amid the festivities, it was important to remember the point of this reconstruction, which was to provide a home and a place for the community to come together, to celebrate, to grow, but always with the cognizance that “building is the container of the spirit” that embodies Judaism. “Ultimately, we are more concerned about the soul of the synagogue; that is why we exist,” he said. “And we are delighted to have a physical building that will facilitate all of the important and hard work we are doing, all the programming and building of community…. Ultimately, whatever the building is, wherever we are, Congregation Beth Israel is dedicated to bringing Jews closer to God, Torah and Israel. That is our primary existence, [and] we must not lose sight of this.”
Demonstrators protest the New York Metropolitan Opera’s production of The Death of Klinghoffer on Monday. (photo by Amelia Katzen via jns.org)
Several hundred protesters gathered at New York’s Lincoln Centre on Monday to protest the opening night of the New York Metropolitan Opera’s production of The Death of Klinghoffer.
The opera depicts a 1985 cruise ship hijacking by members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) and the killing of disabled Jewish-American passenger Leon Klinghoffer. Critics of the 1991 John Adams opera say that it promotes antisemitism and glorifies terrorism.
At the rally, protesters held signs reading “Klinghoffer Opera: Propaganda Masquerading as Art” and “The Met Opera Glorifies Terrorism.”
High-ranking New York politicians – including former New York governor George Pataki, former U.S. attorney general Michael Mukasey, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind – joined the protesters.
Additionally, several Jewish and Christian organizations, such as the Zionist Organization of America, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, the Catholic League and the Christians’ Israel Public Action Campaign, co-sponsored and attended the rally.
The protesters read a letter that was written by Judea Pearl, the father of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal journalist who was executed by terrorists in 2002. “We do not stage operas for rapists and we do not compose symphonies for penetrating the minds of ISIS (Islamic State) executioners,” the letter reads.
“This antisemitic opera viciously falsifies history to malign and incite hatred against Israel and the Jewish people. The opera is a disgrace and should be canceled immediately,” said Morton Klein, national president of the ZOA, in a statement.
Gardening is just one of the new activities keeping kids engaged on land at Camp Hatikvah. (photo from Camp Hatikvah)
Fun on water and land Located on a stunning peninsula in the Okanagan and surrounded by water on three of its four sides, Camp Hatikvah has always had the reputation of being a water-based activity camp. “Our natural surroundings allow us to offer a plethora of waterfront activities, including swimming, waterskiing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding and more,” said camp director Liza Rozen-Delman.
Historically, the waterfront was the most popular place to be at Hatikvah, as a result of the numerous water activities offered, but that changed this summer when the camp unveiled a host of new land-based program options. While still taking advantage of the spectacular weather and waterfront, campers are now equally as engaged on land.
During summer 2014, Camp Hatikvah launched several new programs, including ceramics, drumming, gardening and nature, karate, outdoor adventure, self-defence and volleyball. Camp Hatikvah hired specialists to provide instruction in basketball, dance, fitness, tennis, yoga and various other sports.
Danna Marks, president of the Camp Hatikvah Foundation, explained, “The goal of the program change is to offer our campers a more well-balanced selection of activities to choose from. We are still offering all of the old camp favorites like arts and crafts and tzofiut (scouting), but have added additional options and improved old models to really engage our campers in a more meaningful and rewarding way.”
Hatikvah has also recently updated its program facilities, adding an archery field, a gaga pit, a baseball diamond and an outdoor garden. Additionally, the camp added a new water jungle gym, all new sailboats and eight new paddleboards.
When asked about the benefits of the new programming,
Rozen-Delman said, “The new program options are great and everyone was thrilled by the changes. The true value of the program, however, is not measured by what participants do all day but how they do it. The new programs encouraged campers to try new things and challenge themselves in meaningful ways. Through this, their confidence has grown and their feeling of accomplishment soared. This is what I am most excited about and proud of, because I believe that this is what a camp experience is really about.”
Registration for Hatikvah 2015 opens Oct. 1. For more information, visit camphatikvah.com.
A study for the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness led by a Simon Fraser University master’s student has found that a disproportionate number of people chronically staying in Victoria’s emergency shelters are seniors.
Hannah Rabinovitch conducted the longitudinal study on emergency shelter use patterns in Victoria under the MITACS Accelerate Program, in partnership with the Centre for Addictions Research at the University of Victoria. The SFU public policy master’s student examined data collected between April 2010 and May 2014.
The study tracked 4,332 individuals and examined nearly 46,000 shelter records. More than 85 percent of users accessed shelters for short periods, meaning only once or twice – findings that point to the need for affordable housing and preventative measures, according to the study.
Another 13.6 percent accessed the shelters five times over the four years with average stays of 30 days. The remaining 1.5 percent, many of them seniors, had stayed four to five times with average stays of six months.
As a former emergency shelter worker in Victoria, Rabinovitch, now a Vancouver resident, said she finds these results worrisome but not shocking. “I was stunned by the number of seniors with complex physical and mental health problems regularly seeking refuge in emergency shelters. I kept thinking emergency shelters aren’t supposed to become discharge plans for hospitals that aren’t equipped to keep them long term.”
She said the data also indicates that “women and youth are underrepresented in this study,” meaning their numbers don’t reflect the extent to which they are homeless. “For example, it’s widely known in research that homeless women avoid emergency shelters for fear they’re unsafe and that their children will be apprehended, and because they lack women’s beds.”
Rabinovitch conducted the study under the supervision of Bernie Pauly, a scientist at UVic’s Centre for Addictions Research and associate professor in UVic’s School of Nursing, and Doug McArthur, a professor and director of SFU’s public policy program.
Pauly said it’s important to maintain strategies that address the needs of different groups and make efficient use of resources. “Those experiencing temporary homelessness would benefit from rapid re-housing, more emergency cash assistance and rental subsidies to prevent or quickly address homelessness. Those with re-occurring episodes of homelessness would benefit from programs that combine intensive supports with housing.”
Rabbi Carey Brown presents at LimmudVan ’14. (photo from Limmud Vancouver)
The inaugural event of Limmud Vancouver received rave reviews for its diverse and engaging presenters. The second annual festival of culture, creativity and learning promises to be even better.
Would you like to be part of this fascinating, thought-provoking and inspirational event? Organizers are now searching for presenters with ideas for sessions at LimmudVan ’15.
Here is an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with eager learners. A teaching certificate is not necessary. Limmud especially values the notion that everyone has something to teach and much to learn from others.
The Limmud weekend will begin with an interactive evening program on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, followed by a full day of sessions on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Eric Hamber Secondary School.
It is the daylong program for which Limmud is inviting proposals for presentations. Submissions from presenters will be accepted until Oct. 15. The program will be confirmed in November. Tickets for the event will go on sale soon afterwards.
What is your passion? The sessions could be on any topic with a Jewish component. Proposals for sessions for families and children are welcome. How you share your knowledge is up to you – lecture, study group, storytelling, panel discussion, dance or maybe poetry slam.
An important aspect of Limmud is that volunteers run the event. Presenters at the front of the room in one session become participants in other sessions. Everyone pays the registration fee; no one is paid or receives an honorarium for sharing their knowledge at Limmud.
The full array of sessions at LimmudVan ’14 are on the Limmud Vancouver website. New and seasoned presenters are invited to submit proposals to limmudvancouver.ca/present – Share. Learn. Teach.
Are you concerned about the cost of living and the lack of affordable housing in Vancouver? Is it preventing you, or someone you know, from feeling connected to the Jewish community? Tikva Housing Society in collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and with the support of the Jewish Community Foundation is conducting a housing needs assessment to understand and address the growing concern about affordable and appropriate housing options for the Greater Vancouver Jewish community.
The Jewish community includes you. Affiliated or not, your thoughts and stories of your experiences are important because they will help determine how we can best support the diverse and widespread Jewish population. Since the late 1870s, our community has settled in Vancouver and moved within the city as new immigration and neighborhoods were established. By the 1960s, the heart of the Jewish community stretched the Oak Street corridor, into Kerrisdale and Marpole. In recent years, families are transferring to more affordable areas, such as Richmond, White Rock, Burnaby, Coquitlam and the Fraser Valley.
The housing climate and overall population growth in Vancouver is impacting every ethnic and cultural community. According to the 2011 Statistics Canada Census, there are 26,245 members of the Jewish community living in Greater Vancouver. Of these, 4,220 Jewish people are living in poverty, including 450 children. For most, housing is often more than 50 percent of a person’s income, leaving little left for food, clothing, transportation and other costs that enable a balanced lifestyle with connections to the Jewish community. People with mental health concerns, disabilities, seniors, single parents and women fleeing abuse are among those struggling most to get by. Also vulnerable are young adults attempting to become independent while still remaining connected to the communities they call home.
Since 1948, Vancouver Jewish community organizations have successfully contributed land, buildings and grants towards affordable housing. Many of these initiatives have been in partnership with government and private partners, resulting in the management of close to 700 affordable housing units. Tikva Housing is very aware of the current issues and is working towards accessing opportunities for safe, affordable housing primarily for working-age, Jewish, low-income adults and families.
Your voice is extremely important for us. We would like every Jewish person in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to tell us how to address their housing concerns, to enable them to either remain in, or move to, the community that best meets their needs.
Tikva Housing will also be holding focus groups throughout the Greater Vancouver area to complement this information. If you need help completing the survey, would like to participate in a focus group or speak with the housing researcher, contact Hazel Orpen at [email protected] or call 604-563-3309.
Beth Tikvah Congregation has hired Rabbi Howard Siegel as interim rabbi for the coming year. Siegel is no stranger to the Vancouver and Richmond Jewish community. He served as assistant and associate rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel from 1978-81 and 1986-88. He also served Beth Tikvah as rabbi from 1983-86.
Rabbi Howard Siegel will be with the congregation through June 2015. (photo from Beth Tikvah)
After leaving Vancouver in 1988, Siegel served congregations in Minneapolis and in Houston. In addition to his congregational work, he was the founding director of the Solomon Schechter Day School in St. Louis and the Jewish Information Centre of Texas (an outreach program to unaffiliated Jews in the Houston and Austin communities). In recent years, he has been an interim rabbi in Los Angeles and San Antonio. Siegel and his wife, Dr. Ellen Lefkowitz, currently make their home in Austin.
Beth Tikvah will be looking to Siegel for advice and counsel in revitalizing their religious school, enhancing religious services, and preparing to search for another full-time rabbi.
“My role is to offer Beth Tikvah continuing rabbinical presence while assisting in strengthening their Jewish presence in Richmond and the Lower Mainland,” said Siegel, who is currently officiating at Beth Tikvah and will be with the congregation through June 2015.
