It's a Vancouver thing

PAT JOHNSON

The Jewish tradition is centred around the turning of the days – sunrise, sunset; shacharit, ma'ariv – as well as on the pages of the calendar. Each month, Rosh Chodesh, literally "head of the month," marks the first day of a new month. It is this monthly cycle and its parallels with the female cycle that has made Rosh Chodesh, since ancient times, associated with womanhood.

Now, girls in the Vancouver area are joining young women around the world in an innovative program celebrating this ancient kinship with the cycle of the moon and the joys of Judaism.

Rosh Chodesh: It's a Girl Thing is a monthly program that has been brought to British Columbia by the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC). Each month, teen and preteen girls meet to discuss issues of significance in their lives and to work on projects that reinforce Jewish values, self-esteem and intellectual development.

Wide-ranging topics are addressed in the group, from the impacts of commercial culture on female body image to the struggles and joys of sisterhood, ancient

and contemporary heroines, consumerism versus tzedekah, nurturing nature and many others. Participants learn skills of co-operation, communication, life-planning and self-imporovement.

Vancouver's is one of 175 girl groups operating this year. The program is in its fourth year worldwide and in its second year here. It is co-ordinated by Moving Traditions, a transdenominational educational organization dedicated to the belief that men and women are equal participants in Judaism. (More on Moving Traditions and Rosh Chodesh is available online at www.roshhodesh.org.)

"We thought it would be something great for our girls," said Debbie Tabenkin, director of adult and family programming for the JCC. "This is a place where girls can have support and guidance. They can say things in this group that they might not [say elsewhere]."

At present there are two groups, each with 11 members, operating out of the JCC.

Brady Winrob, a 12-year-old Grade 7 student at Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS), said she was introduced to the group by her teachers.

"I heard about it because Janet Kaplan, my English teacher at RJDS, and my gym teacher, Karla Gurvis, told me I should see what it's like," said Winrob. "So I went to the open house and I just had to see what else was going on with Rosh Chodesh."

The Rosh Chodesh group, which meets on the Sunday closest to the beginning of the Hebrew month, has allowed Winrob to discuss issues she might bring up with her mom or close girlfriends, but which she would never approach if boys were adjacent.

"It's really fun and I like it because I can relate to a lot of the things we talk about and that's what it's meant for," she said. "Every time when I leave, I get a sense that there are girls like me who have the same problems and who are wondering the same thing and sometimes aren't able to speak about it. But now, when there's a group of girls who are all feeling the same way, it's nice to let them know what you're dealing with in your life."

Shira Druker is a schoolmate of Winrob's at RJDS and a fellow participant in Rosh Chodesh.

"It's really fun because you get to meet new Jewish girls and we learn about situations that we need for life, like in advertising not everything is true," said Druker, an 11-year-old Grade 6 student. "We learn a lot of stuff that we wouldn't have known before and we do a lot of fun things that make you feel good about being Jewish."

Tabenkin, who is a walking advertisement for the enthusiasm of the program, said a support group like Rosh Chodesh is invaluable for girls and young women growing up in a complex and often sexist world.

"This program is important for our daughters, our girls, so they can become strong women and have their voices and not fall into the traps," said Tabenkin.

Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.

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