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March 21, 2008
Words of consequence
Speaking competition offers insightful eloquence.
ALLEGRA LEVY
Once again, the annual Public Speaking Contest drew hundreds to the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver to learn about Judaism, current events, personal history, the Middle East conflict and other topics – from kids in grades 4-7.
This year's event, held on Tuesday, March 11, celebrated its 20th year and drew a turnout that filled the JCCGV's Wosk Auditorium. Some 150 children signed up to speak and, once separated by age group, each child gave a brief speech on a topic of their choice.
The event was organized by Larry Barzelai, who has been chair since its inception. The contest is held in memory of his father, Morris Black, who passed away in 1970. Black, an Ontario native, had left money in his will for an essay contest prompting children to write about important figures in Jewish history. Eventually, the contest expanded to include the entire province of Ontario and Vancouver. The speaking contest is still being run in Hamilton, Ont., by Barzelai's brother.
This year's competition at the JCCGV drew applicants from all over Greater Vancouver and presented a rare opportunity for children from public and private schools to mingle, one of the things Barzelai said that he had hoped to achieve for the community.
Shira Potter, a sixth-grader, touched on that very aspect of the Jewish world in her speech. As one of the few public school students in the contest, she offered a well-written and clearly delivered insight into the difficulties and payoffs of being a Jewish child in a secular school. She mentioned the confusion of Christmas and the joy of knowing who you are. Potter explained that public school strengthens her Jewish identity by reminding her constantly that she is different. Only 12 years old, she seemed to understand the subtle differences between community-building and built-in community.
Barzelai said that he designed most of the pre-set topics, but that if they wanted to, children could choose their own topic with the help of a parent or teacher. Among the best of the evening, although not a prizewinner, was seventh-grader Melanie Tabakman. Tabakman, a student at Richmond Jewish Day School, discussed the difficult relationship between Jews and Muslims. In her speech, she searched for solutions that could be enacted by members of both faiths, emphasizing the importance of trust and wishing for a future that held understanding instead of hatred.
One of the favorite themes of the evening was tikkun olam (repairing the world), an idea that children learn about on a regular basis, but which, as one of them pointed out, parents often easily forget.
Moderator Maayan Kreitzman has been around the contest for about a decade, formerly as a contestant and this year as a moderator.
"The contest gives them a chance," she said. "I like that the kids have to put themselves out there and create something on their own that they have to stand by in a public setting. It's exciting to watch them have to come up with that."
Many of the children were speaking for the first time in a public forum. There was palpable nervousness, as well as beautiful parental shows of support. For some of the veteran speakers, however, this contest was no sweat. They stood up straight and spoke like they had been doing this for years. Barzelai said, jokingly, that it has come up before that some of these kids are going to be big-time politicians one day and they will have started out right here.
Contest winners received trophies, and first-prize winners delivered their speeches again to the much larger crowd that gathered in the auditorium after the various age competitions were finished. First-prize winners included Joelle Moses, Grade 4; Daniel Milton and Sadie Sirlin, Grade 5; Rivka Leah Kamin, Grade 7; and, in the Hebrew as a second language category, Kira Smordin, Grade 6; Hebrew as a first language, Lior Elizur.
The annual event is organized by the Israel affairs department of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the JCCGV. Additional support is provided by the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library, with prizes sponsored by Hadassah-WIZO, the JCCGV and Support our Troops, and it is held in memory of Black and Jacob Gordon.
Allegra Levy is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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