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June 8, 2007
Honors given to Yosef Wosk
University, library thank philanthropist and scholar at special
event.
PAT JOHNSON
By the time the final words of admiration and thanks had drifted
into the stillness of a candlelighting ceremony, the summer sun
had set through the high windows of the Morris J. Wosk Centre for
Dialogue in downtown Vancouver.
The facility, named for the late Vancouver philanthropist, was the
site of an honor for another Wosk, a son whose unique contributions
to Vancouver and the world were heralded by a diverse crowd of artists
and activists, academics and friends on May 31. Rabbi Dr. Yosef
Wosk, whose support for Simon Fraser University and the Vancouver
Public Library was the reason for the evening, was acclaimed for
his work in a massive and eclectic range of fields.
"He is someone who really defines what it is to be a scholar,"
said Dr. Michael Stevenson, president of Simon Fraser University.
"He builds institutions that enable education and that enable
dialogue."
Stevenson described Wosk as someone who "reads widely and thinks
deeply."
Dr. Richard Hopkins, with whom Wosk works in an organization called
Libraries Across Borders, said Wosk has done much to build libraries
in rural areas, in the developing world and among Canadian First
Nations.
Ann Cowan, executive director of SFU Vancouver, presented Wosk with
a lapis lazuli, commonly known as the philosopher's stone, in recognition
of his creation of the Philosopher's Café series, which has
introduced thousands of people to the world of ideas in informal
settings.
Business ethicist Prof. Mark Wexler said Wosk exemplifies a harmonious
balance between the profane world of materialism and the realm of
the sacred – one of contemporary society's greatest conflicts
– "with elegance and grace."
Dr. Ron Burnett, president of Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design,
thanked Wosk for his creation of the book arts program there and
said Wosk goes below the surface, into the essence of a thing, whether
it is a book or a work of art.
"I see Yosef as an archeologist," Burnett said.
"He is the city's angel and he is my angel," said Vancouver
city councillor Elizabeth Ball, who thanked Wosk for his support
of the arts.
John McAvity, executive director of the Canadian Museums Association,
met Wosk only a couple of years ago. But McAvity related how Wosk,
an avid collector, hit it off immediately with the museum bureaucrat
who collects antique doors, hinges and toilets.
McAvity commended Wosk, a leading supporter of museums and libraries,
as "one of those people who believes in public institutions."
Vancouver's poet laureate, George McWhirter, who owes his position
to Wosk's enthusiasm for poetry, prepared a sonnet to mark the occasion.
As the evening came to a conclusion, Wosk thanked those who had
come to fete him, as well as crediting his father, in whose honor
the venue was named.
"Without his guidance and generosity, I know I would not be
here tonight," he said.
Wosk shared a story in which Moses, a leader faced with a diversity
of opinion among his followers, concluded: "Would that all
people were prophets," an idea Wosk said has informed his life.
In addition to creating the Philosopher's Café, Wosk was
also the man who created the Academy of Independent Scholars.
After members of the audience shared their own reflections on Wosk
– from his most important job as a devoted parent to the unheralded
work he has done for countless agencies and institutions –
Wosk brought a spirit into the room with a Havdalah-like ceremony
in which he lit candles around a circle of items from his cherished
collections. The crystal peal of a gong and the peaceful glow of
candles in the hushed, darkened old building transformed the space
and the people in it.
Wosk, who is an ordained rabbi and who holds doctorates in psychology
and in religion and literature, as well as master's degrees in education
and theology, was being honored for decades of support by the Vancouver
Public Library and Simon Fraser University Library.
"Vancouver, you are very fortunate to have Yosef Wosk,"
said McAvity.
Pat Johnson is, among other things, director of development
and communications for Vancouver Hillel.
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