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When Jews Were Funny promises less and more than it delivers

Director Alan Zweig, right, and Marc Maron. (photo from Sudden Storm Entertainment)

When Jews Were Funny is a seemingly straightforward title that promises both less and more than Alan Zweig’s unexpectedly provocative documentary delivers.

The Toronto filmmaker’s stab at closing the book on American Jews’ enormous contribution to 20th-century comedy is funny ha ha, all right, but the laughs are more of the chuckle variety than outright guffaws. At the same time, the film is also a tad funny-weird, shot through with a personal streak that’s disarming and discomfiting in equal measure.

Yet, when all is said and said – there’s no doing in this film, only talking – When Jews Were Funny is oddly satisfying. Zweig may be seeking answers but, instead of a mood of finality, his film has a catalytic effect. It invites every Jewish viewer to weigh in – personally and anecdotally, emotionally and sociologically – on the sources and state of Jewish humor on the long road from immigration to assimilation.

Zweig achieves this unusual level of reflection by structuring When Jews Were Funny so that it feels like its viewers are party to a succession of conversations. Instead of buffeting the viewer with punchy sound bites delivered via rapid-fire cutting between interviewees, he serves up chunks of real-time interaction.

It would normally be the smooch of death for a talking-head documentary to linger at length on the faces of its interviewees. But when they include Shecky Greene, Ed Crasnick, Howie Mandel, David Steinberg, Judy Gold, Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Epstein and Stewie Stone, we await with anticipation the next insight, witticism or off-the-wall remark.

Paradoxically, and somewhat perversely, Zweig doesn’t lead with his best material. To the contrary, he makes the risky and self-effacing choice of opening with Shelley Berman, who’s baffled into near-silence by Zweig’s earnest questions.

A legendary figure, Berman saw himself as a comedian who had to appeal to everyone – he didn’t do “Jewish” material. So, while it’s factually accurate to call him a Jewish comic and he takes pride in being Jewish, he doesn’t see himself as a purveyor of Jewish humor. So, he asks, what does Zweig want from him?

At first, it seems that Zweig is on a quixotic quest to identify and define the qualities of Jewish humor, and Berman represents an awkward, inauspicious beginning, but we’re intrigued by a filmmaker who showcases his own pratfall – in the crucial opening minutes, no less – rather than leaving it on the editing room floor.

Things improve for Zweig (and the audience) from here, and we’re treated to a variety of incisive analyses, off-the-cuff musings and entertaining meanderings from comics who span three generations. They pinpoint various characteristics of Jewish humor, from clever wordplay to an off-centre worldview to droll melancholia (which, depending on your perspective and the joke in question, might express defiance or fatalism).

The bottom line? “Jews own comedy,” declares Steinberg, speaking more directly and less diplomatically than most of his peers. “I’m proud to say that’s true.”

As a form of proof, and for classic straight-ahead laughs, Zweig intersperses brief, delectable clips of Alan King, Rodney Dangerfield, Harvey Stone, Henny Youngman and Jackie Mason performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in the mid-1960s. This was the golden age of Jewish stand-up, when Borscht Belt vets found mainstream success, and it coincided with Jews across America transitioning from outsiders to insiders.

The viewer gradually realizes, however, listening to Zweig question and interact with his subjects, that he is propelled less by ethnographic interest than by some nagging personal dilemma. Almost imperceptibly, When Jews Were Funny begins to feel like a first-person documentary in which we continually hear but never see the protagonist (that is, the filmmaker).

Zweig desires reassurance that the bittersweet experience and restless personality that drove so many wonderful Jewish comedians is not disappearing.

It’s not giving too much away to say that Zweig remembers the joy of growing up with extremely funny uncles (never aunts) and grandparents, and frets that his young daughter will never know “old Jews.” He desires reassurance that the bittersweet experience and restless personality that drove so many wonderful Jewish comedians is not disappearing.

A few interviewees call Zweig on his not-so-hidden agenda, pointing out good-humoredly that even his angst-fueled inquiry is uniquely Jewish.

“Look at you,” says the New York stand-up comedian Modi. “We got a camera crew to discuss your Judaism. It’s so self-obsessive. What goy, what Christian in the world is running around now with a camera crew, ‘Talk to me about being Christian!?’ No one cares.”

When Jews Were Funny taps into a large reservoir of affection and tenderness, which is not the first thing you’d expect to encounter with urban Jewish performers. Perhaps the film’s generous heart explains its award for best Canadian documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, since there’s nothing innovative or especially adroit about the filmmaking.

That generosity extends to the audience. Zweig’s implicit concerns about the future of Jewish identity evoke, and include, our own. And what could be more Jewish than a large plate of jokes with a side order of gnawing doubt?

JI readers can get $1 off the digital download of the film, which screened last fall in both the Vancouver International and Vancouver Jewish Film Festivals, at whenjewswerefunny.com by using the discount code JEWISH.

Michael Fox is a San Francisco film critic and journalist.

Meet Sara Dent: co-founder of Young Agrarians

Sara Dent of Young Agrarians, which hosts farm tours, potlucks, workshops and a website with networking tools like connecting retiring farmers with land to young farmers seeking it. (photo from Sara Dent)

Whether it’s visiting a farmers market, signing up for a CSA (community-supported agriculture) box or just paying attention to where the produce in the grocery store was grown, local and sustainable eating has been in the zeitgeist for nearly a decade and it shows no signs of flagging. For many North Americans, food has proven an accessible entry point into issues of consumption, environment, community and health. All this, of course, doesn’t happen by itself.

Meet Sara Dent, one of British Columbia’s behind-the-scenes farm organizers. Dent is the co-founder of Young Agrarians, a network and community that supports young farmers as they attempt to start and develop farming businesses. She is also starting to do farm business development consulting, and teaches workshops in permaculture, a design philosophy focused on long-term sustainability. On top of that, she maintains a photography blog, mainly documenting the farmers with whom she visits and works.

As anyone who speaks to Dent will soon realize, the vibrancy and growth of Young Agrarians can be largely attributed to her specific abilities: as a fundraiser, organizer and speaker. Dent is perhaps predisposed to seek respite from some of the harsher aspects of urbanization. Her parents relocated to Vancouver in the 1970s, seeking a healthier, less crowded environment.

In her twenties, Dent did administrative work for nongovernmental organizations around youth, social change and community building. But, in 2006, she said she was broke and decided to take a break from the city, volunteering on three farms over four months. That summer, a light bulb turned on. Since then, Dent has photographed and volunteered on dozens of farms, completed the Linnaea Ecological Garden Program on Cortes Island and become a certified permaculture design teacher. All through this period, she continued to do contract fundraising work.

“We want to look at agriculture as a dynamic entrepreneurial sector where people have many on-ramps to farming.… New farmers need to marry business skills with production skills. People are starting their farming careers in all different stages on the spectrum, with different levels of experience.”

But all this was just a warm-up to co-founding Young Agrarians, which was dreamed up in 2011. The group – which is a partnership with the Vancouver nonprofit Farm Folk City Folk – has turned into a vibrant community with regular activities for both farmers and for the interested public. The main target, however, remains building capacity with young farmers. Dent explained, “We want to look at agriculture as a dynamic entrepreneurial sector where people have many on-ramps to farming.… New farmers need to marry business skills with production skills. People are starting their farming careers in all different stages on the spectrum, with different levels of experience.”

Young Agrarians hosts farm tours, potlucks, workshops and a website with networking tools like connecting retiring farmers with land to young farmers seeking it. The next big project is building a program to offer business coaching for farmers and startups. That program will provide 20-50 hours of human resource support essentially free, or on a sliding scale.

In order to do this, and to expand Young Agrarians beyond its current B.C. focus, Dent is trying to broaden her funding base beyond goal-oriented grants from foundations that require specific program deliverables. According to Dent, a challenge for many NGOs is to raise enough funding for general operations. Eventually, she hopes, Young Agrarians will increase donations from individuals and through public events, which can more easily provide operating funds.

When asked whether starting her own farming business is in her future, Dent matter-of-factly said, “I have no equity. You can get 10 acres outside of Montreal for $100,000-$200,000. Those 10 acres cost one million in the Lower Mainland.”

Aside from the financial reality of buying land, Dent said that the farmers she works with don’t want her to stop being an organizer. As a person with a background in fundraising, and general macher qualities, the value she provides as a consultant and community builder may well exceed that of starting her own farm. And this is where she sees her future: Dent said that, in her 40s and 50s, she would like to make her primary living from consulting.

The term permaculture was coined in 1978 by Australian Bill Mollison as a contraction of “permanent agriculture.” The term has since expanded into a set of principles for all aspects of human planning, design and engineering, which emphasize long-term sustainability through modeling human systems on natural ecosystems. A common theme of permaculture designs are concentric zones around the home from the most frequently used herb and vegetable beds, to main cropping areas, to perennials, to the semi-wild and wild. Permaculture principles are applicable on multiple scales, from small gardens that only contain one or two zones to larger farms that contain all zones. Permaculture emphasizes maximum collection and storage of abundant resources (energy, water, calories) in order to be financially viable and sustain a year-round system.

Critics of permaculture contend that the concept has devolved into quaint urban gardens with herb spirals and flowers, instead of modeling economically viable production systems that grow food for the masses. Dent didn’t disagree, but emphasized that the incorporation of permaculture concepts into agriculture is fairly new territory, and can create success. “Things can get lost in the conceptual realm if people are trained in permaculture, but have no agricultural training,” she explained. “But the people that are hybridizing those models are having a lot of success…. Joel Salatin, a permaculture agriculturalist, is very much modeling that out on the ground.”

“On any sustainable organic farm, you’re going to want to have both annual and perennial systems running at the same time.”

An example of holistic management using a permaculture approach is to look at perennial plants as a savings account (longer maturity, high-value yield) and your annual plants as a chequing account (for cash flow in the early years of the business). “Farms right now can have really interesting diversified revenue streams, like cut flowers, edible flowers, herbs,” she said. “On any sustainable organic farm, you’re going to want to have both annual and perennial systems running at the same time. These are new territories in terms of practitioners being able to adapt and use the ideas together and in different combinations.”

Other permaculture concepts are on their way to becoming mainstream, said Dent. As concentrated areas of food production like the central valley of California face severe drought and uncertain climate changes, land contouring techniques like keylining and swales, which capture rainwater and soak it into the soil instead of allowing it to flow over the surface, will be essential, and will be incorporated widely, she said.

As for her Jewish heritage, Dent said that she does the work that she does because of the work that her grandmother did and that which her father did. “I very much come from an activist, Yiddish, left-wing, socialist family tradition. Those values, of culture, unions, education, affordable university, all of those things were things that my family fought for … my grandmother was a union organizer and was a member of the communist party.” Her family history, “from poverty to solidarity,” is a source of pride for Dent.

There are a handful of other Jewish food organizers that she gets to work with from time to time, as well. “As someone who very much grew up in a non-Jewish society, it’s nice to work with other people that have that shared cultural background,” she said.

For details on Young Agrarian activities, visit youngagrarians.org.

Maayan Kreitzman is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.

Granville Island gastronomy

Terra Breads’ Granville Island Market location is one of four in Vancouver. (photo by Joanne Leung)

When the first Terra Breads opened in Kitsilano 20 years ago, owner Michael Lansky would probably not have expected to be part of a food tour that includes truffle salt, fireweed honey or slices of Rathtrevor cheese. But Terra Breads’ Granville Island location is one of the culinary stops on the Granville Island Market Tour – billed as a combined “food tasting and educational walking excursion.”

Presented by Vancouver Foodie Tours and Edible Canada, the tour has been recognized by the Canadian Tourism Commission as a unique Canadian experience. It was one of the first such activities to be inducted into the Canadian Signature Experiences collection in 2011. Edible Canada supports local and Canadian food producers, and the tour reflects this commitment.

You may have visited Granville Island Market with limited time and/or an agenda to pick up a specific item, so you’ve bypassed various market stalls because their products weren’t on your list. This tour will give you pause to spend a little more time getting to know the local food that’s available. Whether you decide to go back and purchase what you’ve tasted is up to you but, at the least, you’ll have more options the next time you want to impress visitors with exceptional cuisine that’s farmed or made here, or close by.

Meeting at the Edible Canada retail store and restaurant on Johnston Street, we were treated to our first tasting on the tour and given some history of the island and the market.

On the menu for the nosh were fish cakes, salad, wine and flavored sea salt. The local ingredients in the meal were Pemberton-grown potatoes. Of particular interest was Amola flavored sea salt, which Edible Canada sells in small packets with flavors such as black truffle and cabernet sauvignon.

photo - Use Amola flavor-infused sea salt from the Edible Canada retail story and your guests will think you’ve slaved away over dinner with special ingredients. — Use Amola flavor-infused sea salt from the Edible Canada retail story and your guests will think you’ve slaved away over dinner with special ingredients. *(photo by Baila Lazarus)*

On the menu for the history was a discussion of the creation of Granville Island and the market. The size of 22 soccer fields, the island was originally dredged out of False Creek in the early 20th century. The reclamation project was to establish an industrial park. Saw mills, steelworks and cement plants went through booms and busts in the area. In the 1970s, the island was redeveloped by the federal government to create the cultural and business destination it is today. The cement factory that still exists on the island is the last heavy-industrial business.

In 1972, the administration, management and control of the revitalization of Granville Island were transferred to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. According to CMHC, the island is now home to approximately 275 businesses that generate more than $130 million annually.

Granville Island Public Market opened in 1979. They offered Sunday shopping as a way to draw people to the location. The structure that houses the market is the old B.C. Equipment Ltd. building, a wood-framed machine shop. The market has 50 permanent vendors and a rotating roster of approximately 40 farmers and culinary artisans.

After our first taste and chat, we were off to JJ Bean, a local roaster since 1945. Along with our medium roast, we were given some education on coffee, such as the drawback of “aggressive blooming.” (Hint: If you buy freshly roasted coffee, let it sit for a couple of days before putting them through a French press.)

Then, it was over to Terra Breads, where we were treated to olive/rosemary bread and pecan fruit crisps. Considered Vancouver’s first artisan bakery, the two-decade-old institution first opened on 4th Avenue in Kitsilano and now has two other locations – on 5th Avenue near Ontario and in the Village in False Creek. (Hang on to a crisp or two, so that you can eat it with foods later in the tour.)

Next stop was Oyama Sausage, where the charcuterie is infused with Okanagan red wine or sake made around the corner on Railspur Avenue.

For cheese aficionados, a six-year-old cheddar from Armstrong and a Swiss-like Rathtrevor from Little Qualicum on Vancouver Island were very well received by our tour group. These were presented by Benton Brothers Fine Cheese.

Apples and cherries from #1 Orchards in the Okanagan were used to cleanse our palate before heading over to Granville Island Tea Co. They have created a smooth chai that comes in a two-package mix you can make yourself easily at home. (Ask them what the secret ingredient is. You’ll be surprised at the answer.)

In a far corner of the market, Chilliwack Honey offers a tasting of fireweed honey, named for the flowering plants that grow in areas ravaged by forest fires. The B.C. company has been raising bees in the valley for more than 35 years.

After the smorgasbord of gastronomic glee, you might not think you’d have any room for dessert. But one whiff of the heavenly scent at Lee’s Donuts will have you thinking twice. Go before 2 p.m. for hot old-fashioned glazed doughnuts. The melt-in-your-mouth decadence is a perfect end to the “class.”

In addition to the market tour, other offerings are the World’s Best Food Truck tour and the Guilty Pleasures Gourmet tour. Visit ediblecanada.com.

Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, painter and photographer. Her work can be seen at orchiddesigns.net.

Take a virtual tour of Jewish Montreal

The three current Museum of Jewish Montreal tours can be taken online or while in Montreal, either self-directed using a mobile device or led by museum staff.

The Museum of Jewish Montreal was created when the city’s Jewish community turned 250 years old in 2010. While it may contain material dating back to the 1760s, it presents the information using the latest technology.

An online and mobile museum, its activities include “connecting exhibits to personal stories, narrations, songs, poems and films”; and “creating a virtual museum and mobile applications so that the viewer can interact with our community’s history at home or on the street.” So, if you’re in Montreal, you can take the museum’s tours with museum staff or self-direct your own. From Vancouver, you can simply go online.

One of the current tours, Work Upon Arrival, gives visitors an idea of the challenges faced by immigrants who worked in Montreal’s garment industry from 1914-1941. It does this through the stories and photographs of six people, supplemented by archival images and text/audio providing the broader historical context.

The oral history excerpts in the exhibit were recorded in the 1970s by Vancouverite Seemah Berson. They are among the interviews Berson conducted with Eastern European Jewish immigrants to Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver in the first part of the last century, which form the basis of her book I Have a Story to Tell You (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010).

Berson’s work came to form the foundation of the exhibit when Montrealer Harold Gordon wrote Berson to praise her book. They kept in touch and he introduced her to a friend, who introduced her to museum director Zev Moses. Later, Berson was introduced over the phone to museum research director Stephanie Tara Schwartz and exhibit curator Sarah Woolf. For them, she told the Independent, she was “available for queries and questions. I suppose were I younger and more agile, I would have loved to be on the spot and physically part of this. They were amenable to my suggestions, etc. Essentially, I needed to keep in mind the important fact that a great part of the purpose of my book was to disseminate these stories and keep the voices of my storytellers alive.”

Berson explained that Schwartz and Woolf “researched and found children and grandchildren – one in Israel – which was so great for me because his grandmother was not known to me when I went to Montreal to interview people. I had walked into a nursing home where she lived and she talked to me. I didn’t know anyone in her family, so it was great to connect.”

The six interviewees and locations featured in Work Upon Arrival are Hyman Leibovitch, Midway Photo Play, 1229 St. Laurent (1914); Jennie Zelda Litvack, L. Holstein and Co., 1475 Bleury (1925-26); Rose Esterson, International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, 395-397 Ste. Catherine O. (1933-1954); Sidney Sarkin, Sam Hart and Co., 437 Mayor (1925); Ena Ship, Jacobs Building, 460 Ste. Catherine O. (1934); and Norman Massey (aka Noach Puterman), Parkley Clothes, 372 Ste. Catherine O. (1937-1941).

image - Work Upon Arrival exhibit takes visitors along Rue Ste. Catherine Ouest and through its garment-industry history. — The Work Upon Arrival exhibit takes visitors along Rue Ste. Catherine Ouest and through its garment-industry history.

“Exploring the open expanses of downtown Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles, it’s difficult to believe this was once a bustling garment district. Packed with factories and sweatshops, tailors and seamstresses, manufacturers and union executives, the relatively small Rue Ste. Catherine corridor between University [Street] and Boulevard St. Laurent was a hotbed of clothing production, class confrontation and radical politics,” the exhibit begins.

“Picture Ste. Catherine on a busy day in the 1920s and 1930s: steam billowing out of factory windows and grey snow covering the muddied streets; children ferrying newspapers and bales of cloth from building to building; thousands of weary workers flooding the streets for a brief lunchtime break; the mingling sounds of French, English, Yiddish, Italian, Russian….”

Work Upon Arrival explores such questions as “… how did these immigrants find work with little financial support and few personal connections at their disposal? How did so many Jews end up in the garment industry, working as cutters, machine operators and even as manufacturers? And how did so many Jews get involved in labor politics?”

Each oral history section has a summary of the subject’s arrival to Canada and their first jobs (at least), how much they were paid, the working conditions, etc.; a couple of brief excerpts from Berson’s book, along with their transcriptions; and photos of the interviewee and relevant buildings and/or documents. The parts between each oral history provide a broader context, and direct tourists (virtual and literal) from one location to the next. The combination of the personal and more general makes for a memorable learning experience. There is something special about hearing someone’s voice, even if you don’t know them, and it gives the exhibit more impact than images or text alone would have provided.

Work Upon Arrival has 20-odd sources, and Berson’s recordings appear courtesy of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Seemah C. Berson Collection. Among those thanked are Berson and the Betty Averbach Foundation.

The other current MJM tours are Between These Walls: Hidden Sounds of Hazzanut in Montreal (1934 to 1965) and A Geography of Jewish Care: A Virtual Tour of 150 Years of Jewish Social Services in Montreal. The website is imjm.ca and in-person visits can be scheduled by emailing [email protected].

Winnipeg’s garment industry still going strong

Marissa Freed (photo by Rebeca Kuropatwa)

The garment industry has played a vital role in the development of the Jewish community, the city of Winnipeg, and even the province of Manitoba over several generations.

On May 8 at Rady Jewish Community Centre’s Berney Theatre, the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada hosted a panel discussion on Winnipeg’s Garment Industry – Past, Present and Future. CBC Radio’s Terry McCloud was the moderator, panelists were Bill Brownstone, Marissa Freed, Howard Raber, David Rich, Bob Silver and Gary Steiman. From the discussion, it seems as though most of the panelists did not plan to get into the industry, but stumbled into it by chance.

Brownstone, for example, took over for his father after his father had a heart attack. “I was home for the summer, in June, and was to make one trip to his territory…. So, I made the one trip and, 55 years later, I made the last trip,” said Brownstone. “That was how I got into it.”

Freed also grew up in the business. “It was around all the time, certainly because of my father and, more so, because of my grandfather and my great-grandfather,” she said. “I’ve always loved fashion, so that was the exciting part, but certainly not the business part.”

Freed’s great-grandfather started a sewing and pad factory, which was, over the years, transformed into more of an outerwear and ladies wear company, also offering tailored items, like uniforms.

“Something we’ve been doing for a long time is government uniforms,” said Freed, listing some of their clients, such as the RCMP and Parks Canada. “For the Canadian Olympic teams, we made the opening ceremony jacket for the athletes. And in the HBC stores, we did all the replicas.”

Raber’s grandfather started in gloves in 1924. “My zaida started being a glove cutter,” he said. “In 1934, the partner came to the realization that no one was manufacturing dress gloves in Western Canada. So, they started a company, called Perfect Fit Glove [and he was involved there from] around 1934-1941, manufacturing the majority of the dress gloves for people like the Eaton’s bale order, which at that time hosted 90 percent of the retail shares in Canada.”

In 1941, when Raber’s grandfather’s partner’s son and Raber’s father finished school, his zaida suggested they buy him out, which spawned the company Raber Glove that same year.

“Now, we make all domestic leather gloves and mitts for many uses, for many customers: the RCMP, the military, police departments across Canada,” said Raber. “We also supply a lot of independent stores from coast to coast that stick to [us because of] the quality we make, and we’ve existed that way … 99.99 percent of all gloves coming into North America come from offshore.”

Rich’s father started his business, with four operators and himself, in 1939. It was called Winnipeg Pants and Sportswear, with one of the main buyers at the time and for many years following being Eaton’s.

“Today, we have a factory in Winnipeg,” said Rich. “We still manufacture high-quality work outerwear. We also deal in Asia, Bangladesh, China and Cambodia. People ask us how we can make a living dealing with people [worldwide] like that. I tell them I come from the North End [of Winnipeg] … [so] if I can’t deal with these guys, nobody can.”

Silver recalled his closest neighbor driving up at eight o’clock in the morning, informing him that his dad had died. “I made my way back to Winnipeg and a lot of people were pointing fingers and wondering who would take care of the business,” said Silver. “I said, ‘Not me. I’m going back to B.C.,’ but my great-uncle, who was around at the time, asked me to come in and help him sell the business. That was 37, 38 years ago and I have yet to be able to sell it.”

Silver discovered that no one was willing to buy unless he was willing to stay and manage the company, spurring him to do just that. “So, I bought it with some partners and then the drive for success kept me going,” he said.

Weston Glove Works was established around 1921 by Silver’s grandfather and three great-uncles and, in the beginning, exclusively manufactured gloves.

“In 1921, gloves were one of the most important parts of work wear, because all work was outside with your hands,” said Silver. “Then, they branched off into coveralls, overalls and other types of work wear. Then, they got into casual wear, and then into polyester leisure suits.

“I was interested in developing a brand that could sell a large volume of merchandise for Victoria Beckham, and the jeans were about $300. I thought we could do about 20 to 25 million dollars globally.

“At the same time that I was making garments for Victoria Beckham that sold for $300, I was making jeans for Walmart that sold for $15. People would ask what the difference was between the two, and I’d say $285 – except the ones for Walmart would last longer.”

“At the same time that I was making garments for Victoria Beckham that sold for $300, I was making jeans for Walmart that sold for $15,” he continued. “People would ask what the difference was between the two, and I’d say $285 – except the ones for Walmart would last longer.”

Last but not least, Steiman spoke about how he got into the industry. His grandfather started one of the first garment companies in Winnipeg, making, among other things, buffalo coats for the Winnipeg police force as early as 1900. Steiman came into the business in 1962.

“I remember, as a young boy, I hated to go up to his shop to get a leather jacket, which I had to do every two years, because it stunk, was noisy, was sweaty, and people yelled at each other. It was the last place I could envision myself having a career.”

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Mystery photo … June 27/14

Group of women holding honor scroll certificates, State of Israel Bonds, Marjorie Groberman second from the left, Vancouver, B.C., 1971. (JWB fonds, photographer Franz Lindner, JMABC L.14624)

If you know someone in this photo, please help the JI fill the gaps of its predecessor’s (the Jewish Western Bulletin’s) collection at the Jewish Museum and Archives of B.C. by contacting [email protected].

Tooshaaya all natural

Tom and Tzameret in studio. (photo by Galit Reismann)

An Israeli mother and daughter duo have combined to create designer pieces that use exclusively natural textile, with a focus on nature, and creations that become an extension of the wearer of any shape or size.

Tzameret, 50, and Tom, 28, began their business from home when Tom was at Israel’s Shenkar College of Design, in her second year of studies (2009). Tzameret, an art therapist by profession, was looking to do something different, and building this business with her daughter was the perfect fit.

The pair began the work little by little while Tom was finishing school. After Tom graduated with honors in 2011, with a bachelor of design, she and Tzameret invested all the time, energy and resources they could into their brand. For the past 18 months, they have been working out of a studio in Jaffa.

Tooshaaya is a design studio for eco-textile accessories with the driving concept of “body, home, soul.” For now, they create accessories like scarves, shawls and cardigans, but they plan to soon also design accessories for the home and soul.

“I’ve wanted to have my own business since I was a little girl,” said Tom.

During the summer between her second and third year at Shenkar, Tom said, “I wanted to make my own products, like scarves, and sell them. My mom was at a point when she wanted to take a small break from therapy.

“As always, I shared my prototype with my mom. We started talking about it and the idea to work together came up. I thought it was a great idea.

“Me and my mom are complete opposite in a lot of things. That can make us feel crazy sometimes, but it also makes us perfect business partners and designers. Also, we always know how much we love each other and that we want the best for each other.”

photo - A Tooshaaya bamboo cardigan modeled by Lior Sachar — A Tooshaaya bamboo cardigan modeled by Lior Sachar. *(photo by Ami Bornstein)*

Tzameret has always loved art, creation and design. Also, she said, “I love Tom, believe in her, and appreciate her talent. Since she was four or five years old, it has been very clear she is gifted in art and has her own unique way of looking at things.

“We decided to join forces and talents, and create an exciting journey together. Although it’s not always simple to be a business partner with your daughter, it’s a huge privilege. I’m very proud.”

When Tom was in college, she “learned the textile industry is the second-most-polluted industry in the world.” She said, “As a textile designer, I see it as my responsibility to design and create ecological textile.” Tooshaaya’s motto is “Touched by nature.”

Tom and Tzameret chose to work only with natural materials, especially with new eco-fibres like bamboo and soy. “These fibres, in addition to the eco part, have special and very important qualities, like UV protection, hypoallergenic, temperature adjustments and [the] creation of amino acids, which is healthy for the skin,” explained Tom. “They’re good for the world and the body. Of course, we also believe in sustainability and love the energy of natural materials around our bodies.”

Tooshaaya designs are inspired by the sights, shapes, textures and colors of nature. “With each of our designs, even when there are few similar items, no one [item] is the same,” said Tom. “Each has its own unique design and process of production, which is mostly handmade.

“We believe that, when we feel comfortable, it’s easier to be connected to nature and express who we are.”

It has proved challenging to find natural materials, however. “Yarns are imported by us,” Tom said. “Also, producing natural materials is slower and more complicated than it is with synthetic or mixed yarns.

“Israel is a small and challenging market, in general, and particularly for niche designers,” she added. “We’re glad to have local [from Israel] and international loyal and return clientele who love our designs, appreciate our work and share our concepts.

“When I look at nature, I see infinite organic beauty composed of stability and softness, a tension between order and disorder, and the changes wrought by time, giving everything its unique character.

“My art and designs are a constant search for this organic esthetic. When I design an item, like a scarf, I create a second skin that looks organic and feels like a natural continuation of the body. The item’s unique character comes from the person who wears it, through movement and over time.”

Each item is made using special knitting techniques, with fine and delicate threads, hand dying, embroidering, weaving and felting. The items can be worn with a variety of clothing types and styles. Most are one-size-fits-all, suitable for sizes 36-44 (EU).

“Our ability to create custom-size orders, including plus sizes, is also somewhat unique,” said Tom. “Our items can fit almost anyone. And our ability to ship worldwide is very exciting. We send packages to all continents of the world, from the U.S. to Turkey, Russia, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and Italy.

“We love our work. What is most satisfying is when customers tell us how much they enjoy wearing our items, and we can see how our ideas are reflected in reality and bring happiness to others.”

For more information on Tooshaaya, visit toosha.com, toosha.com/#!video/c65q, or like them on Facebook, facebook.com/toosha.eco.design.

Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.

Waves of Jews to East Asia

Shanghai’s famous Bund district, where most of the buildings were built and owned by wealthy Sephardi Jewish families. (photo by Anthony Hartman via Wikimedia Commons)

It was a long trek: 6,000 miles by boat from central Europe to East Asia. But the towns of East Asia opened their gates for the waves of Jewish emigrants who had to find shelter from the tragic problems they faced first in Russia and, later, in Europe.

Though some believe their story still flies under the radar when compared to the prevalence of other Holocaust-related discourse – perhaps because most of Shanghai’s Jewish residents viewed their time in the city as a transient stage – historians now know there once was a large and thriving Jewish community in China. Records of immigrants kept by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which operated in Asia from 1917-1950, paint an inescapable picture of Jewish refugees who survived the war in Shanghai.

“The United States, Canada, Australia closed the doors to Jews and other immigrants in the 1920s.… HIAS had to … find other places that were willing to allow Jewish refugees to live there,” explained Mark Hetfield, HIAS president and chief executive officer. “Desperate measures called for creative thinking.”

photo - A plaque at a house in Shanghai that was formerly the residence of Jewish refugees, including W. Michael Blumenthal, who went on to serve as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Jimmy Carter — A plaque at a house in Shanghai that was formerly the residence of Jewish refugees, including W. Michael Blumenthal, who went on to serve as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Jimmy Carter. *(photo by H. Barrison via Wikimedia Commons)*

The first Jews, Silk Road traders, arrived in China in the eighth century and settled in Kaifeng. The next Jews were those who arrived under British protection following the First Opium War. Many of these Jews were of Indian or Iraqi origin, due to British colonialism in these regions, and they became the largest dealers in opium. These included David Sasson (the “Rothschild of the East”), philanthropic businessman Sir Eli (Eliazer) Khadori and real estate lord Silas Herdoon. According to most accounts, the number of Sephardi Jews in China totaled around 1,000.

Around 4,000 Jews would then arrive as refugees from the Russian Revolution of 1917. Finally, a surge as large as 18,000 Jews arrived as refugees from the Holocaust in the late 1930s and 1940s. According to Peter Nash, a child survivor from Berlin who found refuge in Shanghai from 1939-1949, about 8,000 of these refugees originated from Germany and about 4,000 came from Austria.

How LGBTQ inclusive are Toronto shuls?

Created in 1984, Holy Blossom Temple’s “rainbow chuppah” was inspired by imagery from the story of Noah’s Ark. (photo from cjnews.com)

Had they gotten engaged one year later, Orrin Wolpert and his husband, Mitchell Marcus, would have been married by the rabbi at the downtown Toronto synagogue to which they now belong, the First Narayever Congregation.

The traditional egalitarian synagogue changed its policy on allowing same-sex weddings in June 2009, 10 months after the couple planned their ceremony. At the time, Wolpert and Marcus were involved with the Narayever, but weren’t members, unwilling to belong to a shul that disallowed gay weddings. They asked a Reform rabbi they both knew to officiate at their August 2009 wedding, and subsequently joined Narayever in accordance with the synagogue’s new stance.

“I feel really strongly about the shul,” said Wolpert, who comes from a traditional background. “It’s an amazing community of passionate Jews who are very traditional in their practice yet very inclusive in their approach … the membership is very intellectual, very socially progressive … we feel totally included there.”

Wolpert worked on the Narayever’s board for two years, ran its social action committee, helped draft the language on its website and attends services with his husband and their two-year-old twins about once a month. The congregation honored them with an aufruf prior to their wedding, a brit milah for their son and a simchat bat for their daughter.

Wolpert and Marcus’ sense of total acceptance by their synagogue is not anomalous, but neither is it the norm.

Given the traditional Jewish view that homosexual sex is biblically prohibited, the issue continues to be sensitive for many synagogues and, in some cases, one that requires an overhaul of entrenched values.

Over the past decade or so, as Canadian legislation and large swathes of public opinion have come to recognize the rights of homosexual couples to marry and access attendant legal benefits, Canadian synagogues across denominations have been confronted with the expectation to assert where they stand on LGBTQ inclusion. Given the traditional Jewish view that homosexual sex is biblically prohibited, the issue continues to be sensitive for many synagogues and, in some cases, one that requires an overhaul of entrenched values.

And it’s not just the question of whether to allow same-sex marriage. Synagogues and rabbis across the board are increasingly establishing – both formally and informally – positions on their overall approaches to including LGBTQ congregants in matters such as ritual participation, educational programming and use of language.

While levels of acceptance vary widely among synagogues and rabbis – even within the bounds of a given denomination – there appears to be a general shift toward emphasizing practical inclusion of LGBTQ congregants above rigid adherence to biblical text. Reform, Reconstructionist and progressive, non-denominational synagogues across North America have generally embraced LGBTQ members as equal participants, both by officiating at same-sex weddings and offering full involvement in ritual and executive proceedings.

In 1999, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the principal association of Reform rabbis in Canada and the United States, green-lighted same-sex marriages, but left the decision whether to officiate at them up to individual rabbis. For some Reform leaders, therefore, change has been more gradual.

This past April, Rabbi Yael Splansky became senior rabbi at Toronto’s Reform Holy Blossom Temple and the first rabbi in the synagogue’s history to perform same-sex weddings. “For years here [as an associate or assistant rabbi], I wouldn’t, out of respect for my senior colleagues, officiate at same-sex weddings,” she said.

Splansky explained that Holy Blossom has long supported the LGBTQ community in other ways. The shul is an ongoing sponsor of Jewish LGBTQ group Kulanu’s Pride Parade float and it supported gay Jewish men afflicted by AIDS in the 1980s and early 1990s.

While gay marriage itself remains a sticking point for a lot of rabbis, there are many who nonetheless view the welcoming of LGBTQ Jews as both an ethical and practical imperative.

The drawing of lines around “acceptable” and “unacceptable” forms of inclusion continues to be quite common among synagogues. While gay marriage itself remains a sticking point for a lot of rabbis, there are many who nonetheless view the welcoming of LGBTQ Jews as both an ethical and practical imperative.

“If someone with an interest, commitment or curiosity about Jewish life knocks on our doors, we’ve got to let them in,” Splansky said. “Some [rabbis] do it with full pleasure, while others do it grudgingly, but everyone’s got to do it … just looking at the numbers, we can’t afford to lose anybody.”

Her comment is in reference to the 2013 Pew report on American Jewry, a survey that indicates rising rates of secularism and intermarriage. Perhaps for this reason as well, the Modern Orthodox world has also seen a shift toward shelving views on homosexuality as sin and ushering LGBTQ Jews into the fold.

In 2010, close to 200 Orthodox rabbis signed a statement of principles regarding homosexual Jews. Drafted by Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot, a member of one of the largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis, the Rabbinical Council of America, it affirms that although same-sex unions are “antithetical to Jewish law,” individuals with “homosexual inclinations should be treated with the care and concern appropriate to all human beings,” including acceptance in synagogues. It further acknowledges that homosexual Jews in the Orthodox community often face serious emotional and psychological challenges and that, especially among teenagers, the risk of suicide is greater.

Rabbi Aaron Levy, a Modern Orthodox rabbi at Makom, a non-denominational, grassroots Jewish community congregation in downtown Toronto, won’t perform gay marriages, but he said Makom is “a very queer-inclusive community,” with a number of active LGBTQ members. Last summer, Makom held a Shabbaton to honor the upcoming same-sex wedding of two members, which included an aufruf and learnings on queer issues and Judaism.

“Nature provides a minority of people whose sexuality is different, and halachah has to, at some point … come up with a credible response.”

“In terms of where I am vis-a-vis my own approach to traditional Jewish law and my understanding of where the Orthodox community is in grappling with LGBTQ issues … I don’t think I can perform a gay wedding,” said Levy. Still, he noted, “Nature provides a minority of people whose sexuality is different, and halachah has to, at some point … come up with a credible response…. Even if communities aren’t thinking as much about queer issues on the level of possible reinterpretations of halachah, they’re thinking about the social dynamic of becoming more welcoming.”

Boston-based Rabbi Steve Greenberg has garnered recognition for being the only known, openly gay Orthodox rabbi. Author of Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition and executive director of Eshel, an American organization that functions as a national support network for LGBTQ Orthodox Jews who wish to remain committed to tradition, he has performed a same-sex, halachically observant wedding for a Toronto couple and will officiate at another one in Toronto in August.

“ … it’s premature to expect the Orthodox world to sanctify or celebrate what most in it still believe is a prohibition…. I think it’s sufficient to have Orthodox rabbis support a same-sex couple’s Jewish life once they’re married.”

“I do it because, being gay myself, I feel a responsibility for young people, that there should be some way to commit in a fashion that’s real and that your family can celebrate,” Greenberg explained. “But I think it’s a mistake to presently expect [other] Orthodox rabbis to do this … it’s premature to expect the Orthodox world to sanctify or celebrate what most in it still believe is a prohibition…. I think it’s sufficient to have Orthodox rabbis support a same-sex couple’s Jewish life once they’re married.”

Greenberg emphasized that Orthodox rabbis have a responsibility not to dismiss LGBTQ individuals by telling them to pursue a heterosexual marriage or to opt for a life of celibacy. Such responses, can, particularly for young people, cause extremely harmful outcomes, such as depression, self-harm or substance abuse, he said.

“This cannot be a process by which we throw arguments at each other. We need to take a human read of what it is to discover oneself to be gay, lesbian or transsexual and figure out if the community can find ways – either within halachic norms or within a sense of responsibility to shift them – to make way for people who aren’t choosing their sexual or gender identity, but living it.” He suggested that Orthodox rabbis can instead say things such as, “God is merciful. There are 612 mitzvot you can still try to do to the best of your ability … join my shul.”

Aviva Goldberg is the ritual leader at Shir Libeynu, an unaffiliated, inclusive congregation that formed in the late 1990s in Toronto as a place for LGBTQ Jews to worship comfortably. Raised in a Modern Orthodox home, she turned to Reconstructionist Judaism as an adult and came out as a lesbian at age 38 (she’s now 65). Goldberg recalled how, two decades ago, even at a Reconstructionist synagogue, she and her partner weren’t allowed to come up for an aliyah together to mark their anniversary. While great strides have been made, she said, the community still has a way to go overall.

“I’ve heard some rabbis say, ‘Anyone can come to our shul.’ Sure, but do you talk about issues affecting LGBTQ members? Do any of your liturgies relate to them? Do you perform same-sex weddings? The answer is, of course, ‘No.’ It’s more like, ‘You can come to our shul, but leave your life behind.’”

“Toronto’s Jewish community is generally very conservative…. I’ve heard some rabbis say, ‘Anyone can come to our shul.’ Sure, but do you talk about issues affecting LGBTQ members? Do any of your liturgies relate to them? Do you perform same-sex weddings? The answer is, of course, ‘No.’ It’s more like, ‘You can come to our shul, but leave your life behind.’”

For some LGBTQ Jews, this perception sparks a rejection of “mainstream” synagogues in favor of wholly inclusive, non-denominational congregations like Shir Libeynu. For others, like Wolpert, a more traditional synagogue that accepts LGBTQ congregants, but doesn’t strictly define itself as a “gay shul” holds greater appeal.

“My gay identity is only one part of me,” he said. “The rest of me also has to be satisfied by my religious home.”

– For more national Jewish news, visit cjnews.com.

Take a day drive to Port Moody

When driving in the area, be careful, as deer sometimes meander across the roads. (photo by Lauren Kramer)

I’ve lived in Vancouver for just 14 years, so I know I’ve just barely begun to discover all the beauty in the Lower Mainland and beyond. But recently, when I suggested to friends who’d lived in the city all their lives that they join us in Port Moody, their response stunned me. “What’s there?” they asked. It occurred to me then that though I’ve been taking the (close-to) hour-long drive to Belcarra every year I’ve called British Columbia home, for many, even locals, it remains one of the Lower Mainland’s best-kept secrets.

Be warned: the beauty doesn’t start until Barnet Highway, when you leave the congestion of Vancouver and Burnaby behind and enter a landscape of lush forests and ocean vistas. The trees tower on both sides of the highway as you turn onto Port Moody’s Ioco Road and any residue of stress is replaced by a clear sense of joie de vivre, or what I like to call “B.C. moments,” those rare times of year when you sigh in wonder at the sheer exquisiteness of this province and say to yourself, “This is why I live here.”

The curvaceous Ioco Road is home to some of Port Moody’s most luxurious homes, many of them nestling the sloping hillside and prefaced by rolling lawns, manicured flowerbeds and, for those perched overlooking the ocean, private docks. Between the acreages are forested sections with wildflowers and towering trees aplenty. With our car’s sunroof open, we saw eagles glide gently in the blue skies above us, the sun warm on our shoulders.

One of my favorite summer destinations in this area is the Village of Anmore, a semi-rural residential community that’s home to White Pine Beach on Sasamat Lake. The lake’s sandy beach and warm waters are a perfect playground for kids building sandcastles, athletic swimmers and those who want nothing more than to drift away on an inflatable mattress and soak up the sunshine. The air is filled with the delighted shrieks of children playing in the shallows as families grill their meals on portable gas barbeques, the smells lingering in the air. Our sandwiches didn’t seem quite so tempting!

You have to be organized if you’re headed to White Pine Beach and, in my house, that means preparing the night before for the day ahead, packing picnic baskets, shopping for food, and ensuring that towels, swimsuits and beach paraphernalia are ready for an early departure. On weekends, the parking lot fills up by 9:30 a.m., and those spots are coveted. Once they’re all occupied, the gate on Sunnyside Road closes to vehicular traffic and access to the lake requires a long walk. Still, it’s well worth it to have a rejuvenating day on the lake that reminds you how good it is to be alive.

photo - The options are numerous at White Pine Beach: you can rest and absorb the serenity, take a swim or or build a sandcastle — The options are numerous at White Pine Beach: you can rest and absorb the serenity, take a swim or or build a sandcastle. *(photo by Lauren Kramer)*

If you’re keen to kayak, canoe or challenge yourself to a long hike, continue north up Sunnyside Road until you reach the glacial waters of Buntzen Lake, a larger body of water surrounded by numerous hiking trails. The Buntzen Lake Trail, an eight-kilometre route that circles the lake, is a glorious walk through the shady forest and one of the shorter hiking paths in the area. The massive lake offers an off-leash canine beach, a large grassy picnic area shaded by towering hemlocks, a swimming beach and a dock from which kids can learn to fish – a skill they’ll be able to use every summer. For $45 you can rent a kayak for a full day from Anmore Grocery ($60 for a canoe, 604-469-9928) and, if you’ve not stocked up on provisions, call ahead to order croissants, muffins and/or sandwiches.

After a day on the beach, it felt glorious to drive around Port Moody, soaking up its views. As we careened along Bedwell Bay Road, we admired the mansions, envious of their ocean views. While at the Belcarra picnic area, Burrard Inlet glimmered before us, a rocky beach begging to be explored at low tide, preferably with ice cream in hand.

Sure, we got lost on those winding roads, but that was all part of this glorious day drive. At one point, we slowed for two deer that cautiously picked their way across the road right in front of us, posing cooperatively for photos before they disappeared into the forest. The road clear, we headed back into Port Moody, stopping at Suter Brook Village to replenish on smoothies and healthy snacks. Then, we reluctantly traded the wonderfully rural ambience in Port Moody for the road construction, stoplights and heavy traffic of Burnaby and Vancouver, knowing one thing for certain: we’d be back for sure this summer.

For maps and information on Belcarra Regional Park, which encompasses Belcarra, Anmore and Port Moody, call 604-520-6442 or visit metrovancouver.org.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond, B.C. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.