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Oct. 28, 2005
Lubavitchers celebrate 30th
Upcoming Chai Gala will feature comedian Don Rickles.
KYLE BERGER
If you want to catch a rare moment of speechlessness on the part
of Rabbi Yitzchak Wineberg, just ask him what the highlight of his
and wife Henia's 30 years in Vancouver has been. Then be ready to
listen.
"It's very hard to point to one thing," he eventually
said in an interview with the Independent, just a couple
of weeks before the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Chabad-Lubavitch
in British Columbia. "[We have had] a constant stream of activity
that's made a difference in a lot of people's lives.
"We have what we call spiritual grandchildren that we brought
Yiddishkeit to - people who were drug addicts or hippies that had
zero interest in Judaism. We brought them back to Judaism and they
have become contributing and involved members of the Jewish community.
There are hundreds of people whose lives we have changed."
Sitting down with the Winebergs and talking about their three decades
in Vancouver was like, well, asking proud grandparents to talk about
their grandchildren. They could have gone on forever.
It was November 1974 when the rabbi first came to Vancouver on a
mission directed by the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel
Schneerson. Once he found a place for his family to live, Wineberg's
job was to develop outreach programs and bring Yiddishkeit to the
Jewish community of Greater Vancouver, which included approximately
8,000 members at the time.
"Schara Tzedeck was quite active and there were one or two
adult education classes going on, but the situation with Torah study
was quite dismal and outreach was nonexistent," Wineberg explained
of his original impression of the community. "Vancouver was
really the centre for all the hippies in Canada."
"When the rabbi walked down the street in his long black coat
and black hat, people in the community were embarrassed by him,"
added Henia Wineberg. "That was how people felt 30 years ago.
And I think the main thing is that we brought awareness of Judaism
to the community. I think the Jewish people are more proud today
than they were when we first came."
Wineberg elaborated on his wife's point by recalling some of the
reactions they received from the Jewish and non-Jewish communities
when they tried to make Judaism part of mainstream Vancouver.
"It wasn't always appreciated or understood," he said,
seguing into one of the many stories he has at the tip of his tongue.
"I remember when we were fortunate to get the property at 41st
and Oak. It was in late 1979 when we applied to the city and there
was opposition to our development on that corner. One person said
in a letter, 'We don't need any synagogues in this city. We have
enough and we'll never need any more.' For him to say that we'll
never need any more gives you an idea of how people were thinking.
"So we became sort of the conscience of Yiddishkeit in the
community. We weren't going to be satisfied with the status quo."
As the community grew and began to spread around Greater Vancouver
and the rest of the province, so did British Columbia's Chabad-Lubavitch
movement.
Today, there are Lubavitch rabbis stationed on Oak Street, in Richmond,
on Vancouver Island and in downtown Vancouver. And Wineberg hopes
soon to have leadership based at local universities and even in
Kelowna.
Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman has led the Chabad house in Richmond since
1998. He said the Winebergs' dedication to the Vancouver community
is clear by the number of lives they have touched and inspired during
their time here. Baitelman also echoed Wineberg's message about
the inclusive nature of Chabad.
"Chabad-Lubavitch is built on the important mitzvah of Ahavat
Yisrael – love and concern for a fellow Jew," said
Baitelman. "Some people who have never had personal contact
with [the Winebergs] have a misconception about who we are and what
we are here to do. We were sent here by the Rebbe to build, encourage
and inspire Jewish living, learning and involvement. We are not
here to judge or assess the value of any Jew. We are open to Jews
of all levels of knowledge and backgrounds."
The one consistent attribute shared by all the Chabad houses is
the desire to accept any Jew.
"I remember this guy with long hair arrived on a motorcycle
in 1983 wearing all leather and parked his motorcycle right in front
of Chabad on Yom Kippur," Wineberg reflected. "He walked
in and asked if he could come in and someone at the door said, 'Sure,
come in.'
"Turns out he had been to every synagogue in the city and each
one either told him he didn't have a ticket or that he couldn't
come in because he was dressed inappropriately, wearing leather,"
he continued. "He came in and stayed with us for four months
and then went to yeshivah after that. He is now married and is very
involved with Chabad in Alberta. That's typical of what went on."
Another story of the inclusiveness Chabad-Lubavitch strives to achieve
centres around a request Wineberg once received to facilitate a
funeral in Kelowna for a Jewish member of a biker gang who was openly
gay and had died from AIDS.
"A whole group of bikers in leather and chains came to the
funeral," he said. "So I decided to take the time and
explain to them what a Jewish funeral is, what it means and what
the value of a person is. And one of the guys, who was about six
foot, four inches, with a crew cut, came up to me afterwards and
said, 'You took the time to talk to us, rabbi. Most people run away
from us. I really appreciate it.' It was very rewarding."
The rabbi went on to explain the Lubavitcher Rebbe's teaching of
loving your fellow Jew.
"You can't just love a fellow Jew only spiritually," he
said. "You have to love him physically and materially, too.
If a guy is in trouble and needs a job, you can't just say that
I am only good to help you with Torah study or a Shabbaton and that's
it."
Wineberg won't take credit for the decades of continued growth and
success on his own. He considers himself very fortunate to have
had support from several business leaders in the community who saw
the value in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
"People like Gordon and Jack Diamond, Sid Belzberg, Arnold
Silber, Max Fugman and Morris Wosk were all people who had vision,"
he said. "Although they didn't live my kind of Lubavitch life,
they saw the value in what we were doing. They would say, "Rabbi,
it's not for me, but we really need this stuff.' "
After 30 years of outreach, adult education, counselling, Shabbatot,
singles parties and too many other programs to list, Chabad-Lubavitch
B.C. will celebrate its success Nov. 6 with the Chai Gala.
After that, Wineberg and the rest of the Lubavitch rabbis in the
province will continue working for the same mission that started
in the small Russian town of Lubavitch more than 250 years ago.
"When you build a house," said Wineberg, " you have
a beginning, you have a middle and you have an end. What we came
for was a mission that the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent us for, which
was to establish Lubavitch in Western Canada. We know the beginning.
That was 30 years ago. But there is no end in sight. Until the Mashiach
[Messiah] comes, we're here working."
Taking place at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, the Chai
Gala will feature the comedy of Don Rickles and include a dinner
reception with an open bar, as well as a silent auction. For more
information, call 604-266-1313.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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