1. religion and spirituality
2. judaism

MONTREAL EDITION december 18, 2014 • 26 kislev, 5775
$2.00 • 28 PAGES • WWW.CJNEWS.COM
42ème année volume 1 - mars 2014 - AdarII/ Nisan 5774
Inside
LVS is now included
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Partnership aims to increase
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PAGE 14
The politics of conversion
For some, joining the Jewish People involves pitfalls and heartache. How can we
get it right? page 5
shutterstock photo
Rencontre avec un Éditeur
passionné d’Histoire
Le Roi Mohammed VI du Maroc félicite Joseph Cohen.
Page 16
Miketz
Jewish students
More funds
mobilize against BDS for survivors
Would it kill you
to see this play?
Activists fight anti-Israel
motions on three campuses.
Haven’t Got a Clue promises an
evening of murder, mayhem and
fun. PAGE 25
PAGE 13
Claims Conference to triple 2015
allocation for 11 agencies that
help Holocaust victims. Page 17
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Trending
Chanukah story comes to life
vessel and any embedded swastika design
was unintended. The drugstore chain
Walgreens said Dec. 15 it would remove
the paper from its shelves after a Los
Angeles woman complained. “I couldn’t
believe my eyes, I had no idea what to do,”
distressed shopper Cheryl Shapiro told
KNBC in Los Angeles. “I came home and
spoke to my rabbi. He couldn’t believe it.”
An electric menorah outside the Chabad
centre in Waterloo, Ont., was repaired after
it was vandalized last month. Rabbi Moshe
Goldman told CTV News the main stem was
snapped and some branches were broken
off, but he doesn’t blame anti-Semitism. “I
think it was… a very stupid drunk person
who shouldn’t have had that last beer.”
He said repairs plus new security cameras
would cost $10,000, which he hopes to pay
for with donations. But he said the fact the
menorah, like the one in the time of the
Maccabees, would be ready for the holiday,
was for him a “tremendous personal reexperience of the Chanukah story.”
Can you spot the Nazi imagery in an L.A.
shopper’s photo of the offending paper?
made aware of the situation, we began
taking steps to remove the gift wrap from
all store shelves,” Hallmark said. “We
sincerely apologize for this oversight and
for any unintended offence.” Hallmark
said the silver and blue paper’s intricate
design was meant to represent a type of
Hallmark Cards Inc. apologized and
ordered wrapping paper with a pattern
resembling a swastika removed from
U.S. stores last week. “As soon as we were
78
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20
Feldman Messias
We are just continuing what we
forwith
generations,
OK as is have been doing
OK
corrections
which
is
buying
the
Land
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The number of men arrested last week for
making online threats against a shul in
Herault in southern France. Five people
were also arrested in France last week in
connection with the killing of four people
at Brussels’ Jewish museum last May. One
man was extradited to Belgium to face
murder charges.
A 45-year-old neo-Nazi activist dressed in
a full military-style uniform was mauled
by three lions at the Barcelona Zoo Dec. 14 The age of former Israeli Labor party leadafter climbing into their enclosure. Justo er Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who resigned
Jose was taken to hospital with serious from the Knesset last week, citing a medbut non-life-threatening injuries after ical condition.
firefighters used hoses to distance the
animals from him. Zookeepers said the Quotable
Dear: ..................................................................................................................
lions were just trying to play with him.
It’s unclear if Jose was
staging E-Mail
a political or fax (514-484-8254) your proof
Please
protests similar to others he’d held this fall,
during which he was arrested
police. n
Pleasebyrespond
by the above date, otherwise we w
Inside today’s edition
Letters 3
Rabbi2Rabbi 4
Cover Story
5
5
They don’t like neo-Nazis, either
Swastika gift wrap flap
.
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
DECEMBER 18, 2014
Gematria
Chabad menorah vandalized, and lions make political statement
ulating
air pockets.
ockets.
M
Commentary 6
Perspectives 7
News
8
Opinion 10
International 18
Seniors 21
Arts Scene
Parshah Books ❍
24
25
— Jerusalem city councillor Arieh King, the
director and founder of the Israel Land Fund.
See full interview on page 26.
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
DECEMBER 18, 2014
3
M
Letters
to the Editor
Israel and democracy
In the article “What you need to know
about Jewish state bill,” (Nov. 27) there is
one item that needs to be addressed. The
article states that “Israel’s declaration of
independence defines it as a Jewish and
democratic state.”
No, it does not. The declaration of independence does not contain the word
democracy or democratic at all. It does
state the following:
“The State of Israel will be open for
Jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit
of all its inhabitants; it will be based on
freedom, justice and peace as envisaged
by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure
complete equality of social and political
rights to all its inhabitants irrespective
of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee
freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and
it will be faithful to the principles of the
Charter of the United Nations.”
To be sure, these are understood as
democratic principles by most people.
There is nothing in the proposed Basic
Law that reduces or negates any of these
principles, without mentioning the word
democracy.
Alas, some of these principles are being
violated by the same people who oppose
the bill. A pending bill, referred to as the
Israel Hayom law, aims at shutting down
the widest circulation Israeli newspaper.
It seems the word democracy has different meanings to different people.
Michael Salamon
Toronto
the police officer, Darren Wilson. That
was confirmed beyond any reasonable
doubt by Michael Brown’s autopsy, and
finally put to rest by the grand jury from
which no testimony or evidence was held
back.
Those who ignore all this are actually
perpetuating against Wilson what they
claim to care about: a social injustice.
The cause was right, but the case was
wrong.
Steve Mitchell
Toronto
Rescue vs collaboration
Right cause, wrong case
Jewish groups rushing in to the Ferguson, Mo., situation in a misguided drive
for social justice bring shame upon our
community (“Are Jews and blacks still allies?” Dec. 4).
Our tradition teaches that we must
judge fairly and blindly based on the facts,
which very early in this case showed the
angry mob in the streets and on the airwaves to be bearing false witness against
In our rush to judgment, it behooves us
all to reflect on the difficult choices Reszo
Kasztner faced in negotiating with Adolf
Eichmann (“When rescue is not collaboration,” Dec. 4). Yes, he did rescue many
Jews, but his conduct still raises many
questions.
The Nazis did not want another messy
Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Kasztner’s job
was to lull most Hungarian Jews destined for extermination into a false sense
of security. In return, Kasztner could pick
For more letters this week, please see
www.cjnews.com.
a handful of Jews for safe passage out
of Nazi-occupied Europe. Could he not
have been a little more ambiguous about
the perils and the fate that awaited most
Hungarian Jews?
And why did he feel compelled to testify in favour of SS Col. Kurt Becher and
other Nazi officers at Nuremberg after
the war?
It is not true that Jews judge their own
kind to a harsher standard than the Righteous Gentiles, as Gaylen Ross would have
us believe.
Moshe Kraus worked with Carl Lutz, the
Christian Swiss diplomat, to save tens of
thousands of Hungarian Jews. He was
probably one of many unsung Jewish
heroes who laboured tirelessly to save
their fellow Jews and at much greater personal risk than Kasztner.
If Gaylen Ross sees Kasztner suspended
in limbo between the desperate Jew and
Lutz, the guardian angel, then place
Moshe Kraus, a real Jewish hero, standing
right next to Carl Lutz.
Joe Ronn
Outremont, Que.
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
RABBI•2•RABBI
Bad behaviour and lashon hara
Where do we draw the line between gossip and slander, and calling out misdeeds?
Perhaps the answer lies in a return to the fundamentals of humility.
Rabbi AVI Finegold
FOUNDER, THE JEWISH LEARNING LIBRARY, MONTREAL
Rabbi PHILIP Scheim
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BETH DAVID B’NAI ISRAEL BETH AM CONGREGATION, TORONTO
Rabbi Scheim: We are currently confronting an
over-abundance of bad behaviour. From the rabbinic
world to media personalities, from parliamentarians to
renowned celebrities, stories of abusive sexual and interpersonal conduct have been filling the front pages of our
media.
On one level, we are gratified that victims of abuse and
assault are finding the courage to confront their perpetrators. Nobody should be able to hide immoral and potentially criminal behaviour behind the mask of celebrity or
power – or even worse, religious authority.
But we must also be mindful of our tradition’s concern
with lashon hara – gossip and slander – and recognize the
ease with which one’s reputation can be damaged, or even
irrevocably destroyed, by accusations that have not yet
been subject to judicial process.
Where do we draw the line between calling out terrible
behaviour and exercising restraint?
Rabbi Finegold: It’s a fine line. Lashon hara, though, is
not a tool designed to protect the guilty.
We need to create an environment where victims do
not feel ashamed to speak out. At the same time, we must
remind our communities not to be back-seat drivers to
the judicial process.
This latter point is far more damaging in the long term,
in my view, because not only does the alleged crime get
blown up to epic proportions by people who know few, if
any, relevant facts, it also puts the victim in the spotlight
repeatedly, which might prevent future reporting of similar or related incidents. I wonder how we might change
the tenor of social discussions of pending cases if we
only say things we would be willing to say directly to the
alleged perpetrator.
Emmanuel Levinas speaks of the face of the other as
the beginning of ethics – facing the other is akin to facing
the humanity of the other and recognizing one’s social
obligation to the other. I think of this when I hear rabbis
denounce others in different denominations for not
being authentic Jews. Would they be able to walk up to
someone, look them in the eye, and say, “You are not an
authentic Jew because you pray in a congregation that
gives women aliyot”?
Perhaps a reminder that believing someone is guilty
does not rob them of humanity would be a good first step.
Rabbi Scheim: Face-to-face encounters would definitely
prevent some of the terrible behaviours that occur behind
the veil of anonymity. The incredibly vicious comments
on online news sites would rarely be presented in so
cruel a fashion were the writer not able to hide behind a
pseudonym and a computer screen.
Perhaps what is needed in this age of terrible celebrity
behaviour is a return to the fundamentals of humility.
Moses is described by our Torah as “the most humble person in the world,” and today’s mighty and powerful might
follow his example and refuse to allow their celebrity to
overcome their humanity.
Several years back, Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein visited a
Jerusalem synagogue. A friend in attendance shared with
me his shock when the great scholar was given the honour of ptichah (opening the Ark). Obviously, the gabbai
must have not recognized Rabbi Lichtenstein, for someone of his stature would have merited a much more major
Torah honour. But Rabbi Lichtenstein happily opened the
Ark and wasn’t the least bit troubled by being treated as
“one of the people.” Clearly he understood, as did Moses,
that greatness and humility are not mutually exclusive.
Rabbi Finegold: It is unfortunate, but many celebrities
– rabbinic or otherwise – choose to exploit their fame
rather than channel it toward something more positive.
Maimonides advises that a person who has a tendency
toward bloodshed should gravitate toward shchitah (the
practice of ritual slaughter) so as to not sublimate something that might be harmful to them and others. Similarly, he says that one who is drawn toward theft should
become a tax collector and thereby take other people’s
property in a legal and acceptable manner. Perhaps we
need to ask ourselves why we became rabbis, and find
ways to negate any excessive sense of self-importance.
Lashon hara, on the other hand, seem to be much more
pervasive. Perhaps we need a collective brainstorm to
figure out how to channel into something productive,
instead of gossiping among ourselves in the pews. n
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS DECEMBER 18, 2014
Cover Story
M
5
The politics of conversion
Process can be political and flawed, critics say
LILA SARICK
lsarick@thecjn.ca
C
onversion has become the most contentious issue in modern Judaism.
Both in Israel and in North America, tensions simmer over who can join the Jewish People, and what the standards are for
admission.
While the majority of candidates convert to Judaism with few difficulties, the
community’s internal politics can trip up
the unlucky. The most egregious reports
of converts being mistreated surfaced recently in Washington D.C., where Rabbi
Barry Freundel was charged with voyeurism after a hidden camera was found in
his synagogue’s mikvah. He has pleaded
not guilty to the charges.
Complaints about his treatment of
converts, including demanding donations and requiring unpaid clerical work,
which had been reported to the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) two years
earlier, have also emerged.
Though the scandal has raised issues
beyond conversion, it underscores the
fact that potential converts can find
themselves in a tenuous position, because they must rely on their sponsoring
rabbi to help see them through the process of becoming a Jew.
“There is a vulnerability that exists between a spiritual guide and a congregant.
And for the convert, the rabbi is also a
gatekeeper,” says Rabbi Adam Cutler, who
oversees conversions at Toronto’s Beth
Tzedec Congregation. “There’s a real power
piece. Rabbis are certainly aware of it.”
The allegations concerning Rabbi Freundel are unprecedented, and rabbis are
as dismayed by the unfolding story as
their congregants. But in other ways, the
conversion process can have potential
pitfalls.
Rabbi Jarrod Grover, at Toronto’s Beth
Tikvah Synagogue, says he sees the fallout in his office. Some of the people he
counsels are candidates who have spent
time and money on unaffiliated rabbis
who don’t end up converting them. Others have had run-ins with a beit din that
makes unreasonable demands. “I have
felt for a while we could be doing more
to protect them [converts],” Rabbi Grover
says.
Rabbis, and particularly those who are
members of beit dins (rabbinic courts),
must walk a fine line between wanting
to encourage converts and maintaining
high standards. But in Toronto, critics
claim the city’s Vaad Harabonim, the only
body that can perform Orthodox conversions, has veered too far from community
norms.
The Orthodox Vaad is far from transparent about the process, and its standards
are “out of touch with reality,” Rabbi Grover says. The Toronto Vaad has no website,
an uneven record of replying to candidates
and is not welcoming to converts, he adds.
One Toronto Orthodox rabbi, who did
not want to be named, says he has seen
a number of serious candidates who were
discouraged by the beit din.
“Some of the requirements they make
go well beyond what Halachah requires.
They are reflective of the religious and cultural norms within a particular segment of
Orthodoxy, but are not reflective of more
modern Orthodoxy,” he says.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
Beit din called out of touch
Members of beit dins must walk a fine line
between wanting to encourage converts and
maintaining high standards. FLASH 90 PHOTO
Why I became Jewish: converts tell their stories
LILA SARICK
lsarick@thecjn.ca
Converts’ stories about their journey to
join the Jewish People are as varied as the
individuals themselves.
Whether the decision to change one’s
religion and by extension one’s identity
is triggered by the birth of a child or marriage to a Jewish partner or the result of individual exploration, it is not taken lightly,
For many, it involves both heartache and a
sense of homecoming.
Ashley, who is due to convert in Toronto
this winter (and who declined to give her
full name), studied a variety of religions
before stumbling upon Judaism.
“I fell into discovering Judaism accidentally,” she said. “The more I read about it,
the more it made sense.”
But when the 24-year-old told her family
she was converting to Judaism, her formerly “not religious” parents began going
to church and told her they were praying
for her.
Raised in a community east of Toronto,
she and her family didn’t know any Jews. “I
guess it’s just foreign to them,” she said. As
she studied in conversion class, she experimented with how observant she was going
to be. “That was alarming for them,” she said.
The Jewish community, meanwhile, has
been welcoming, she said. “I do get the
question ‘Who’s the guy?’ and when they
hear there’s no guy, they’re very excited,”
she said. Still, she harbours some reservations that she won’t ever be fully accepted
as a Jew. She notes that on applications
for Jewish schools and camps, the question of whether an applicant’s mother is
born Jewish is always required. “I do worry
that if I have children, would they be discriminated against?”
Despite her concerns, choosing Judaism
was the right decision, she says. “I felt like
there was something missing always and
now there isn’t.”
Russell Copeman, a Montreal city councillor and a former member of the Quebec
National Assembly, began considering
conversion when his first child was born
to his Jewish wife, and he started to consider the implications of raising a child
with two religions.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
Finding a home in Judaism
6
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
DECEMBER 18, 2014
President Elizabeth Wolfe
Editor Yoni Goldstein General Manager Tara Fainstein
Managing Editor Joseph Serge News Editor Daniel Wolgelerenter
Operations Manager Ella Burakowski Art Director Anahit Nahapetyan
Directors Steven Cummings, Michael C. Goldbloom, Leo Goldhar,
Robert Harlang, Igor Korenzvit, Stanley Plotnick, Shoel Silver,
Ed Sonshine, Pamela Medjuck Stein, Elizabeth Wolfe
Honourary Directors Donald Carr, Chairman Emeritus.
George A. Cohon, Julia Koschitzky, Lionel Schipper, Robert Vineberg,
Rose Wolfe, Rubin Zimmerman
An independent community newspaper serving as a forum for diverse viewpoints
Publisher and Proprietor: The Canadian Jewish News, a corporation without share capital. Head Office: 1750 Steeles Ave. W., Ste. 218, Concord Ont. L4K 2L7
From the Archives | Menorah lighting
Rabbi Samuel Cass lights a
menorah on the first night
of Chanukah in Holland, in
1944 or 1945. Rabbi Cass was
born in Toronto and served as
senior Jewish chaplain in the
Canadian Army during World
War II and its aftermath, from
1942 to 1946. He went on to
assist in the reorganization
of Jewish communities in
Belgium and Holland that
were liberated by the Canadian
forces, and he also worked
with concentration camp
survivors.
ONTARIO JEWISH ARCHIVES, BLANKENSTEIN FAMILY
HERITAGE CENTRE PHOTO
SeeJN | From generation to generation
Grade 5 students from Akiva
School met with seniors
at Congregation Shaar
Hashomayim’s Open Gate
program to learn about
their life stories for a Midor
Ledor (From Generation to
Generation) project. In front,
Jake Lang interviews Rose
Rozansky.
From Yoni’s Desk
Fake it till you make it
I
n 1993, Maclean’s magazine contracted Jerusalem-based photographer
Ricky Rosen to illustrate a cover story about the Oslo accords. The photo
she turned in to the Canadian news weekly was unquestionably striking:
two young boys standing with their backs to the camera, arms around each
other’s shoulders. One had on a kippah. The other wore a keffiyah.
The image suggested hope for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and
Palestinians. If these children could see beyond a history of violence and
hatred to discover true friendship, the picture implied, surely the people they
stood in for would see the light – if not immediately, then eventually.
Last week, Rosen’s famous shot was revealed as a fake. The two boys, it turns
out, were both Israelis, residents of the Jewish section of Jerusalem’s Abu Tor
neighbourhood. The keffiyah was a prop supplied by Rosen – she usually kept
it in her car so that Palestinians wouldn’t throw rocks at her vehicle when she
was on assignment in the West Bank.
The kippah was a prop, too. The purportedly “Jewish” boy did not usually
wear one.
Rosen argued in the Jewish Daily Forward, which broke the story of the
photograph’s origin, that her image was never meant to depict real life and,
therefore, shouldn’t be considered a hoax. “My photo is not fake, because it
doesn’t pretend to document an actual time, place or personality,” she said.
“Rather it is a symbolic illustration of peace and coexistence.”
The veteran photographer suggested that she herself was little more than
a prop in the picture’s germination. Rosen told the Forward that Maclean’s
requested that exact shot: “The magazine’s art director was so specific in what
he wanted that he even drew her a picture – one boy in a yarmulke, the other
in a keffiyah shot from the back walking down a long road, which was supposed to symbolize the road to peace. He didn’t care whether the boys were
actually Israelis or Palestinians.”
In fact, Rosen told the Forward she didn’t even attempt to find a Palestinian
boy for her picture. “I didn’t look, because I thought it would be a very difficult thing,” she said. “The relations had completely broken down after the
first intifadah, and Palestinians were very fearful of being seen as collaborating with Israelis, because collaborators were being killed.”
The origin story of Rosen’s photo calls into question the level of trust
consumers place in the media. Readers and viewers expect – rightfully – that
reporters, editors and photographers will present the plain facts. If dramatic
license is to be invoked, as was the case with Rosen’s image, it’s only fair for
that to made clear at the outset. Otherwise, the way the information is processed can be irreparably skewed.
And yet, the image of the two boys lives on, only with a different sort of
power. It is no longer a factual document, but an aspirational one. It may
have been staged, but it offers a degree of hope that, at some point, Jewish
and Palestinian children will stand together for real, arms entwined, their
dark history a thing of the past. Sometimes you have to fake it till you make it.
n — YONI
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
Perspectives
M
7
ESSAY
Talmudic Encyclopedia looks to an online future
Toby Klein Greenwald
A
Rabbi Avraham Steinberg receiving the Israel Prize in 1999.
Ovadia Yosef, Rav Avraham Shapira, Rav Yehezkel Abramsky, the Novominsker, Belzer
and Lubavitcher Rebbes and others.
Rav Zevin died in 1978. He was replaced
as editor-in-chief by Rav Avraham Farbstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Chevron in
Jerusalem. In 2006, Rabbi Prof. Avraham
Steinberg accepted the position of head of
the editorial board of the Talmudic Encyclopedia and director of Yad Harav Herzog.
He is spearheading the development and
completion of the Talmudic Encyclopedia.
Born in a displaced persons camp after
World War II, Rabbi Steinberg immigrated
with his parents as an infant to Israel in
1949, studied at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav
and Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and served as a medical officer
in the Israeli Air Force. He also trained in
pediatric neurology at the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine & Montefiore Hospital
Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.
Today he is a senior pediatric neurologist
and director of the medical ethics unit at
Shaare Zedek Medical Center and a world
recognized expert in medical-halachic
research. His major, groundbreaking work
is the seven-volume Encyclopedia Hilchatit
Refuit (in Hebrew) for which he received
the Israel Prize in 1999. He has served as
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an adviser on medical ethics to the Knesset
and to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and has
been involved in halachic aspects of modern medical issues with the most prominent rabbinic authorities, particularly with
the late rabbis S.Z. Auerbach, Y.S. Eliashiv
and E.Y. Waldenberg.
The speed with which the project is
moving forward is partly stimulated by the
recent substantial contribution by Dov
Friedberg of Toronto. The project directors
say they hope that others like Friedberg,
will recognize the significance of having
their family names, or those of their loved
ones, connected with this momentous
project.
Since Rabbi Steinberg took over the
leadership, they began to publish one
volume a year, and last year they published
two volumes. In the coming years the objective is to publish three to four volumes
annually in order to complete the entire
project by the year 2024.
“I think the Talmudic Encyclopedia is
one of the most important works in our
generation, and perhaps beyond. It has no
competitor. Its uniqueness is in its breadth,
its clarity of style, and especially its credibility, thanks to the meticulous methodology with which it is created, with ongoing
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modest doorway on a tree-lined Jerusalem street, the side entrance to the
elegant 90-year-old Yeshurun Synagogue,
leads to Yad HaRav Herzog, which hosts,
among other projects, a venture that is a
momentous historical milestone in Torah
scholarship.
This is the home of the Talmudic Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia Talmudit).
The importance and popularity of the
Talmudic Encyclopedia is in its accessibility
to both scholars and lay people who want
to understand concepts within the world
of Torah knowledge. Its reliability, accuracy
and condensed style, is unparalleled in
halachic literature.
In1942, Rabbi Meir Berlin (Bar-Ilan), the
son of the Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda
Berlin), envisioned assembling all of the
Torah texts written and transmitted from
the time of revelation at Sinai to the present
day, primarily out of fear of losing the Torah
together with the Jews in the Holocaust.
Rav Berlin engaged Rabbi Shlomo Yosef
Zevin, one of the greatest scholars of that
generation, who had the phenomenal
ability to summarize and organize complicated material into a form that would be
easily understood. It was Rav Zevin who
determined the over 2,000 entries that
would comprise the Talmudic Encyclopedia, and who decided on the writing
style and the extent of comprehensiveness.
He was joined by some of the most erudite
scholars alive. The first volume of the Talmudic Encyclopedia was published in 1947.
To date, 33 volumes have been published,
and the number will reach about 70 when
the project is completed.
The Talmudic Encyclopedia has garnered
the praise of rabbinic scholars from across
the spectrum, including Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav
internal critique, and a team of outstanding scholars,” Rabbi Steinberg says.
The chief editor is Rav Zalman Nechemia
Goldberg, and the others are Rav Meir
Shmuelevitz and Rav Saar Meisel.
“We want the encyclopedia to be more
interactive than it is now, and that is only
possible through the Internet. The ideal is
to have the Talmudic Encyclopedia on four
levels,” Rabbi Steinberg said.
“Level I of the online version will include
entries that have not yet been written, that
will be [in the] format of Wikipedia; everyone can contribute freely and our editors
will moderate it. Level II will be the final
versions of the entries which will be closed
to editing by the public. They will, however,
be able to add comments and quotes.
“Level III will be the Talmudic
Micropedia, which will consist of condensed entries from the original, in a
user-friendly style and format that will be
targeted at the general population. The
Micropedia [of which Rabbi Steinberg is
the editor-in-chief ] is being developed and
written by different people, and it comes
from a different budget. It will be extensive
enough for readers who are seeking a first
resource. It also includes added information, which had been previously omitted
for some reason. Rav Goldberg reviews it
all to be sure everything is accurate.
“At Level IV, hopefully, we’ll be able to
translate the Micropedia into different languages so it will be accessible to everyone.”
“It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it,”Rabbi Tarfon said (Avot
2:21) It is deeply inspiring to witness how
a 72-year-old project, so greatly admired
throughout the world of Jewish scholarship, is progressing rapidly so that current
and future generations will be able to more
easily immerse themselves in the treasures
of the Torah. n
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8
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
News
Blicker’s hit ’70s novel Shmucks re-issued
Janice Arnold
jarnold@thecjn.ca
The New York Times called it “an original and engrossing work of fiction. A little
gem.”
Publisher’s Weekly said it was “alternately funny and perceptive…an exploration
of today’s spirit of alienation and violence,
with a surprise ending.”
That was 37 years ago. Young Montrealer Seymour Blicker’s short novel Shmucks
was being hailed on both sides of the border for its wit and astute observation of
human nature.
He’s “possibly the funniest Canadian
ever,” hailed the Hartford Courant; a
work that “should ensure Seymour Blicker’s promotion to the first rank of North
American humorists,” trumpeted Quill
and Quire.
A new generation will have a chance
to judge for itself with the re-issue of
Shmucks as an e-book by HarperCollins.
Shmucks, set in downtown Montreal one
night, is about two men who each stubbornly refuse to give way when they drive
into opposite ends of an alley. To locals at
the time the scene was unmistakably the
lane next to the popular Carmen restaurant on Stanley Street.
One character is a Romanian immigrant
taxi driver and the other a property manager, clearly Jewish.
While Blicker, now 74, maintains it was
just intended as a funny story with a touch
of the absurd and the ribald, critics read
all kinds of profundities into it, in sum,
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The story is relevant for any age.
In a way, it’s more relevant today
with what is going on.
Seymour Blicker
that it reflected an increasingly hurried,
impatient and impersonal urban society.
The Montreal Gazette enthused: “Never
has a Canadian author managed through
a simple story to suggest a much broader,
indeed, universal theme: the determination of Everyman to stick to his own stubborn position no matter how self-defeating – even potentially tragic – the results.”
Shmucks fan Glen Rotchin, a novelist
himself, is thrilled that the novel is getting
a second life.
“The premise is as ingenious as it is
simple,” he says. “What ensues is a highnoon standoff: two equally angry, equally
self-righteous [men], both perennially unable to catch a break in life, have decided to make this confrontation their last
stand.”
In other words, both are shmucks and
neither realizes it, he said.
Shmucks, Blicker’s second novel, was
published in 1972 in Canada by McClelland & Stewart. W.M. Morrow & Co. of New
York published it five years later. HarperCollins bought out Morrow.
Soon the movie producers came calling
and the rights were optioned. Blicker and
his wife Susan moved their family of four
to Los Angeles to work on the script. The
well-known director Cy Howard was hired.
But the option expired, and nothing
came of it. A series of other producers
bought the rights, and even comedian
Jackie Mason expressed an interest. Elliott
Gould and Telly Savalas were among the
actors touted for lead roles.
The last producer bought the rights in
1976.
“He’s still sitting on it,” said Blicker,
who moved back to Montreal after a year
(“Los Angeles wasn’t a place to bring up
a family”) and has been living quietly in
Côte St. Luc for some 20 years.
“All the attention didn’t really change my
life. I live a simple existence,” he said.
“I don’t think Shmucks is dated,” he added. “As far as I’m concerned, the story is
relevant for any age. In a way, it’s more relevant today with what is going on.
“There’s a lot of aggression and misunderstanding, a greater fear of danger in
our lives than there was in the ’70s, when
it was reasonably sane.”
The term “road rage” had not yet been
coined.
Blicker wrote one more novel The Last
Collection a few years after Shmucks, another comedic work about a compulsive
shopper that was well received, if not
quite as enthusiastically hailed. It, too, is
being re-issued as an e-book by HarperCollins this month.
Blicker’s debut novel Blues Chased a
Rabbit, published when he was in his 20s,
was inspired by his travels through the
American south as a musician in the early
1960s. Set in Mississipi, it is a serious exposé of the racism of the time.
“That book took a lot out of me; it took
me five years to write, so I decided to write
something lighter, something comedic,”
said Blicker.
Blicker, who grew up in Snowdon and
graduated from Baron Byng High School,
was also a film and television writer (he
worked on the Barney Miller series).
From the 1980s, he has been writing for
the stage. His most successful play, he
thinks, is Don’t Judge a Book By its Cover,
which has a “Woody Allen like” protagonist. It premiered at the Gene Frankel Theater in New York, and had surprising success in the Netherlands, Belgium, Vienna
and Germany through the 1990s. n
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
News
M
9
Un roman magnifique sur les Hassidim d’Outremont
Elias Levy
elevy@thecjn.ca
Yiosh! (Éditions Hamac Classique, 2014)
de Magali Sauves est l’un des plus beaux
­romans sur le monde juif hassidique qu’il
m’a été donné de lire ces dernières années.
Émouvant, pénétrant et magnifiquement
bien écrit, ce récit enlevant, porté par un
souffle romanesque impressionnant, nous
plonge dans un univers très singulier et fort
méconnu, celui de la Communauté hassidique d’Outremont.
En effet, la grande majorité des Québécois, et bon nombre de Juifs aussi, ne
connaissent le monde hassidique juif
montréalais qu’à travers le prisme déformant, véhiculant des stéréotypes tenaces,
de médias en quête de scoops sensationnalistes.
Juive traditionaliste, Magali Sauves a
fait la découverte du monde hassidique
montréalais par pur hasard. À son arrivée
au Québec, il y a une dizaine d’années,
elle cherchait un emploi d’enseignante de
français. Une école juive ultra-orthodoxe
hassidique d’Outremont l’embaucha. Pendant dix ans, elle a enseigné le français à
des fillettes membres de la Communauté
hassidique.
“J’ai hésité avant d’accepter ce premier
emploi d’enseignante à Montréal. J’ignorais complètement tout du monde hassidique. À cette époque, j’avais aussi des préjugés sur les Juifs hassidiques. Aujourd’hui,
avec le recul, je réalise que si j’avais refusé
l’offre d’emploi que cette école ultra-orthodoxe d’Outremont m’a faite peu de
temps après mon arrivée à Montréal, ça
aurait été sans aucun doute la plus grande
erreur de ma vie. Cet emploi m’a permis
de découvrir une Communauté juive magnifique et très généreuse. Ma rencontre
inopinée avec le monde hassidique a été
indéniablement l’une des expériences les
plus marquantes de ma vie”, nous a confié
Magali Sauves en entrevue.
Magali Sauves.
L’héroïne principale de Yiosh!, Alexandra
Ackerman, est une jeune fille russe intelligente et très vaillante qui n’a pas été épargnée par la vie. Dénigrée, battue et violée
depuis qu’elle était une enfant, Alexandra
a grandi, avec son inséparable frère Gének, dans un univers lugubre et très miséreux ravagé par l’alcool, la prostitution et
le banditisme. Un jour, sa mère Roizy, une
prostituée à pied d’œuvre dans les grandes
artères de Saint-Pétersbourg, somma ses
enfants, après une violente altercation
entre l’un de ses clients saouls, qui essaya
de violer Alexandra, et Gének, qui vint à la
rescousse de sa jeune soeur terrifiée, de
quitter sur le champ sans rechigner la demeure familiale.
Ce jour très lugubre, l’âme slave d’Alexandra prit un coup lorsqu’elle comprit qu’elle
était fille d’une prostituée et petite-fille de
rescapés de la Shoah.
Alexandra et Gének s’enfuirent vers le
Canada. Le jeune homme fut accueilli dans
une Yéchiva, à Toronto, et sa sœur trouva
refuge chez des Juifs hassidiques d’Outremont, à Montréal.
Complètement déracinée, Alexandra est
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juives millénaires qu’elle ne cesse de remettre en question. Par ailleurs, la jeune
fille comprendra rapidement que la famille
qui l’héberge cache plusieurs lourds secrets, que ses membres portent en eux des
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C’est un “commentaire fortement interpellateur” d’une de ses jeunes élèves hassidiques qui a motivé Magali Sauves à écrire
ce roman à relents biographiques.
“Un jour, une jeune élève de 15 ans m’a
dit: “Vous ne pouvez pas savoir Madame
comment ça me frustre que les gens
pensent que les Hassidim n’ont pas les
mêmes problèmes que les autres êtres humains”. Cette remarque percutante a été le
déclencheur de ce roman.”
Magali Sauves a fréquenté des familles
juives hassidiques d’Outremont durant dix
ans, six jours sur sept.
“La découverte du monde hassidique a
été pour moi un immense enrichissement
qui m’a obligée à réfléchir sur mon Identité juive, et aussi sur mon Séphardisme, ditelle. Depuis, je ne cesse de me questionner
CHABAD OF MILE END
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CHABAD MONTREAL WEST
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CHABAD RUSSIAN YOUTH CENTRE
514.777.9161
CHABAD OF THE TOWN
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CHABAD UNIVERSITÉ
DE MONTREAL
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CHABAD VILLE S. LAURENT
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CHABAD OF WESTMOUNT
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JEWISH RUSSIAN
COMMUNITY CENTRE
jrccmtl.com
sur ce que signifie réellement être orthodoxe? Les Hassidim vivent un très grand
dilemme, que beaucoup de gens qualifient
de schizophrénie. À leurs yeux, le monde
qui les entoure s’est arrêté de tourner. Eux,
en tout cas, tournent dans le sens inverse
du monde. Dans le roman, Alexandra
pose avec acuité la question de l’avenir de
l’Identité juive.”
Magali Sauves déplore la “perception très
erronée et caricaturale” que beaucoup de
Québécois ont des Juifs.
“Très souvent, pour un Québécois, un
Juif c’est un Hassid aux longues papillotes
arborant une redingote noire. Cette vision
très réductrice et stigmatisante du Juif ne
rend pas justice à la riche diversité qui prévaut dans le Judaïsme. Les Juifs sont un
peuple multiple et très bigarré”
Avec Yiosh! Magali Sauves confirme son
grand talent littéraire.
Son premier livre, Bleu Azreq (Éditions
Sémaphore, 2011) est une fresque romanesque très poignante relatant l’Histoire
des Juifs de Tunisie durant la Deuxième
Guerre mondiale. Un premier roman écrit
d’une plume alerte et assurée. Une réussite absolue tant sur le plan romanesque
qu’historique.
Magali Sauves est née à Pantin, dans la
région parisienne, d’une mère Juive tunisienne et d’un père aristocrate Catholique.
Détentrice d’une Maîtrise en Éducation de l’Université du Québec à Montréal
(U.Q.A.M.), elle poursuit des Études doctorales sur les mécanismes de la compréhension de lecture à l’Université de Montréal.
Magali Sauves est actuellement Coordonnatrice des Études françaises à l’École Akiva de Montréal.
Son prochain livre: un Polar qui paraîtra
en 2015. n
In an interview, Magali Sauves talks
about her latest novel, Yiosh!, which was
based on a true story she heard from one
of her chassidic students.
MADA – MERKAZ DOVREI IVRIT
madacenter.com
MONTREAL TORAH CENTER – BAIS
MENACHEM CHABAD LUBAVITCH
themtc.com
SOUTH
CHABAD OF NUNS ISLAND
chabadnunsisland.com
CHABAD OF SOUTH SHORE
chabadsouthshore.com
ROHR CHABAD JEWISH STUDENT
CENTRE AT MCGILL AND
CONCORDIA
chabadmcgill.com
EAST
NORTH
CHABAD OF SHERBROOKE, QC
514.820.6770
CAMP GAN ISRAEL
cgimontreal.com
CENTRE CHABAD L’ESCALE
CHABAD DU NORD
escalechabad.com
CHABAD OF LAVAL
514.512.1493
CHABAD OF MONT-TREMBLANT
chabadmonttremblant.com
CHABAD OF ST. SAUVEUR
chabadsauveur.com
CHABAD ON CAMPUS
LAVAL-QUEBEC CITY
jquebec.com
WEST
CHABAD DOLLARD
dollardchabad.com
CHABAD OF KIRKLAND
chabadofkirkland.com
CHABAD ST. LAZARE & HUDSON
chabadstlazare.com
CHAI WEST
thechai.com
DORVAL JEWISH CENTER
jewishdorval.com
A P R O J E C T O F C H A B A D L U B AV I T C H YO U T H O R G A N I Z AT I O N O F M O N T R E A L E S TA B L I S H E D B Y T H E R E B B E I N 1 9 5 5
Đīč
10
Comment
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
Carlebach and Cosby: can we separate art and artist?
Asher Lovy
R
abbi Shlomo Carlebach touched so
many lives with his music and his
apparent utter devotion to God and the
Jewish People. He helped return souls to
Judaism at a time when religion seemed on
the decline. But there was another side to
Rabbi Carlebach that forces us to ask the
uncomfortable question: can we separate
the man from the legacy, the art from the
artist?
A few weeks ago, my synagogue held its
annual Carlebach Shabbos. Some 1,500
people showed up to sing, dance and
celebrate the legacy of Rabbi Carlebach.
The room was filled with people from all
walks of Jewish life – from the far-right to
the far-left, observant and non-observant,
all singing the same music, all united in a
way they have rarely, if ever, been before. I
found myself singing along with everyone
else, my feet tapping to the melody, a smile
tugging at the corners of my mouth. It was
impossible not to be swept up.
And yet I felt a little dirty, because there
is another side to the legend of Rabbi
Carlebach, a much darker side. Allegations
and accusations that he fondled women
who came to him for guidance, that he
masturbated on a women, and that he
covered it all up by telling these women
that they were holy and special, have been
widely disseminated. I’ve even heard some
of them first hand.
As I sat there, a battle was raging in my
head: how could I listen – even participate
– in the celebration of Rabbi Carlebach’s art
when I knew what he did to those women?
At that moment, I started thinking about
the recent resurgence of rape allegations
against Bill Cosby. I loved Cosby, loved his
show, his comedy, his smile. I loved what
he represented – just like I loved Rabbi
Carlebach. Of all the people who had to be
sexual abusers, it had to be Carlebach and
Cosby.
They got away with what they did for so
long because of how loved and cherished
they were for their work. But can their work
They got away with what
they did for so long because
of how loved and cherished
they were for their work.
stand alone? Is it possible to separate the
art from the artist?
It’s an ongoing question for me.
On the one hand, I see the beauty Rabbi
Carlebach brought into the world, and
I don’t want the world to suffer the loss
of that because of his sins. Perhaps the
beauty and holiness he facilitated were
there already, waiting only to be discovered
and brought to light – maybe he was only
a conduit. Perhaps the world might have
been able to access that magic through
someone else, someone less flawed. And
maybe for that reason we should allow
what he revealed to stand alone. Maybe
there’s a message, some truth, a little
good that can be salvaged. And might
the message not be valid regardless of its
source? Can we not hang on to the love and
acceptance exhorted by Rabbi Carlebach
while distancing ourselves from the man
himself and his actions, or keep the moral
values Cosby preached while damning the
damage he caused to 17 (and counting)
women?
On the other hand, what if we do more
harm than good by perpetuating the tools
of these people’s abuses? Perhaps we are
contributing to the pain felt by both men’s
victims, who for so long were denied
justice, by touting the instruments of their
abuse as something worthy of praise and
enjoyment. Maybe we render those men
that much more acceptable by refusing to
give up what they created.
There are countless answers to these
questions. But frankly, I haven’t found
mine yet. It’s something I struggle with
every time I hear one of Rabbi Carlebach’s
songs or see Cosby’s face. I find myself
moved and repulsed at the same time. I
don’t know what the balance should be. I
don’t even know if there is one to be had. n
Asher Lovy lives in New York and blogs at
hareiani.com.
Putting Hebrew at the centre
Daniel Held
H
ebrew is the gateway to Judaism. Hebrew opens doors to Jewish peoplehood
– to relationships with Jews in Israel and
around the world. In my travels through
South America, Ukraine and Europe, Hebrew gave me access to Jewish communities
I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Hebrew provides an entrance to meaningful tfillah. It affords us facility to understand traditional liturgy used for generations and reinvent our own, personal tfillot.
Hebrew is a gateway to the sea of Torah,
Mishnah and centuries of rabbinic literature. Proficiency in Hebrew opens up the
world of the classical rabbis, their debates,
logic, stories and thinking.
Hebrew is an equalizer. It reverses roles
of newcomer communities from Israel and
the FSU, empowering them as teachers
and guides.
Connect with us:
E-mail: cjninfo@gmail.com
And Hebrew is an entry point to a deeper
relationship with Israel. Although it’s easy
to travel, see and know Israel in English,
a deeper understanding of the people,
politics, ideas, history and granular feel of
Israel can only be achieved in Hebrew.
Hebrew proficiency across North America is dropping, with fewer young Jews able
to understand and speak the language.
This drop in proficiency closes the doors
that Hebrew opens.
To some extent, this drop is because Hebrew education, which once took place in
numerous settings of learning, has, by and
large, been restricted to schooling.
Throughout middle and high school, I
struggled with Hebrew. There were years
where I’m sure I only passed because of
the mercy of the teacher. The summer after
Grade 11, however, I worked at a Jewish
summer camp in Ukraine with Russian-,
Hebrew- and English-speaking staff. By
default, our common language was Hebrew – forcing me to live in the language
I had struggled with. When I returned to
school in September, my Hebrew was at
a new level. After graduating high school,
I studied in Israel. Again immersed in the
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language, my Hebrew grew to fluency.
Learning Hebrew in day and supplementary schools is important, but it
does not suffice. It’s time for us to create
immersive Hebrew environments in early
childhood centres, day and overnight
camps, and other settings of non-formal
learning. It’s in these settings that there’s
the time and space to make Hebrew into a
living language used throughout one’s normal experiences – at wake-up and meals,
during sports and study.
A number of summers ago, I was part of a
team which studied the potential for Hebrew-immersion summer camps. In years
gone by, many Jewish summer camps were
immersive Hebrew environments. In recent decades, however, most lost their immersive zeal and ended up with a language
of nouns - “We’re going to the chadar.”
Our team studied both Jewish camps that
still do Hebrew and non-Jewish programs
that create immersive environments in
other languages. I saw camps where, after
a month of living in a foreign language,
campers were not only able to understand
and converse in a new language, but were
excited about their new knowledge and
Twitter: @TheCJN
skills, and proud to use them.
As a result of the study, and with support from the Steinhardt Foundation and
others, last summer, Centre Camp, a day
camp in Toronto, launched a pilot Hebrew immersion section at the Schwartz/
Reisman JCC, a program organizers hope
to expand this summer and grow into the
future. Two dozen campers – both Israelis
and Canadians- lived their summer in
Hebrew.
We need more Hebrew immersion programs. We need early childhood centres
where toddlers live Hebrew, sports leagues
where play and refereeing is in Hebrew,
and residential summer camp where Hebrew is the language of swimming lessons
and ropes courses.
Hebrew is a gateway to multiple forms
of Jewish expression, but the only way to
access it is to immerse yourself in it, living
the language and opening doors through
it. n
Daniel Held is executive director of the Julia
and Henry Koschitzky Centre for Jewish
Education at UJA Federation of Greater
Toronto.
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
Comment
M
11
Beware the perfect building called the past
Jean M. Gerber
E
very year at Chanukah, we celebrate
with latkes and songs. We consume
a shocking amount of fried dough with
jelly inside, all the while telling ourselves
that this menu fits the holiday, with its
emphasis on oil.
We may no longer believe the story of
the miraculous oil, but there is always
food, glorious food.
Like belief in the Tooth Fairy, this is
fine for children. So are heartwarming
stories, of which, over the years, I have
read many at children’s bedtimes (with,
I admit, ill-concealed resentment, as
the latke-machine Grannie wears a jolly
apron, her hair in a bun, but I digress).
True, the Maccabean revolt put Israel
on the map. Victory over Greek armies
(albeit weakened by internal strife)
restored a Jewish state. This allowed the
rise of Pharisaic strength and the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism, using tools of
Greek thought without the accompanying pagan praxis. True that as a model of
resistance to assimilation, we acquired
a vital perspective on identity and faith,
one that outlasted the destruction in 70
CE and the dispersion.
The miracle of the oil? Good for the
kids, but as adults, we must look beyond
the miraculous to the real. What happened after the Temple was restored to
its purity?
It wasn’t so good. In fact, if we look at
the history books, succeeding generations of the Hasmonean dynasty, rather
than upholding the religious elements
for which the war was fought, gradually
transformed itself into a typical Hellenistic kingdom. Having usurped the high
priesthood (for which they were not
genealogically qualified) they anointed
themselves kings (but not Davidic ones).
They squabbled among themselves,
made treaties with Greek rulers and
then Rome, and were castigated by their
erstwhile Pharisaic allies. One story has
Alexander Yannai asking the Pharisee
leadership what they wanted and basically being told, “We want you to die.”
It took queen Shlomzion HaMalkah to
smooth things over, and they were never
the same.
Finally Rome devoured the Jewish state
and put Herod on the throne. That’s
Herod the Idumean, whose people had
been forcibly converted by the Hasmoneans when Idumea (Edom) was annexed during the wars.
Judah, Hammer of God, is ignored by
the rabbis, who knew the history too
well. They had seen the Hasmoneans
become despots, rather than liberators.
Rather, the rabbis gave great credit, in
their midrashic world, to Judith, heroine
of the apocrypha, as “part of the miracle.”
Intent on reframing the story to emphasize the miraculous, and also to include
women in the mitzvah of lighting the
candles, the rabbis moved away from
history and into creative memory mode.
Lesson learned? Maybe not. Today
Maoz Tzur may be sung as a rousing
anthem, but as a message from history
for the future, it is dangerous. Now Israel
casts eyes on the occupied territories,
with many hoping that somehow the
whole area will become part of Israel
– as it was for a time under the Hasmoneans. Those wishful thinkers seem to
have read only the first chapter of the
book. Or maybe their book only has one
chapter.
If we use only part of the story, we construct a past that never really happened.
We are like the protagonist in Alistair
MacLeod’s No Great Mischief, who “felt
that if you read everything and put the
pieces together, the real truth would
emerge. It would be, somehow, like
carpentry. Everything would fit together
just so, and you would see in the end
something like ‘a perfect building called
the past.’” Alas, there is no past perfect
– except maybe in French. (But at least
MacLeod’s character had read “everything.”)
For me, the lesson is that you have
to be very careful about which historic
event you base present policy on. Relying
on children’s tales and on a simplistic
account – that perfect building called the
past – can be very, very dangerous if used
as fact upon which to build a nation. n
Is Israel’s proportional electoral system preventing peace?
Arie Raif
S
ince 1948, Israel has had 33 governments. Only three of them have
completed the full four-year term in office, and Israel’s proportional electoral
system is the reason for that troubling
record. It is imperative that the system
be reformed, because the survival of
Israel is at stake.
The Israeli system of government
requires wide-ranging coalitions, often
creating divisions and inhibiting progress. Israeli politicians must constantly
monitor the status of coalitions cobbled together in the aftermath of each
election. Sometimes the price paid to
keep these improbable arrangements
intact is billions of shekels used to buy
the co-operation of coalition members.
As Israelis find themselves thrust
into another election campaign, the
very nature of Israeli politics raises an
important question: Is the proportional
electoral system preventing peace?
In Israel, each party creates ranked
lists of Knesset aspirants. Once the
votes are tallied, each party is allocated
seats based on its performance in the
popular vote. Members of the Knesset
are not elected directly, and because of
that some may feel they don’t owe any
obligation to the Israeli public. Their
real loyalties are to their parties, and
the real decision-makers are the merkazei miflagot (party centres) and va’adot
mesadrot (organizing committees). Meanwhile, coalition maintenance
requires massive concessions and elaborate backroom dealings. Often, smaller parties find themselves wielding the
balance of power, able to prop up a
government or bring it crashing down.
In particular, the religious parties –
Zionist and non-Zionist alike – end up
punching above their weight, and can
wrangle support for their pet issues.
As such, Israel’s unresponsive electoral
system holds crucial implications for
the peace process and regional stability.
Case in point: In 1987, Israel was led
by a coalition government formed in
the wake of the election of 1984. Under
the terms of the coalition deal, Shimon
Peres would become prime minister
and Yitzhak Shamir would assume the
roles of deputy prime minister and
foreign minister. After 25 months in
office, Peres and Shamir would switch
roles. (Issac Herzog and Tzipi LIvni, the
leaders of Israel’s Labor and Hatnua
parties respectively, announced a similar agreement last week.)
In April 1987, Peres, who by now was
foreign minister, and Jordan’s King
Hussein reached several agreements,
which became known as the “London
Accord.” The deal recognized three
entities: the State of Israel and Jordan,
which were to remain as they were, and
a new entity that was to include the
West Bank and Gaza Strip in the context
of a Jordanian-Palestinian federation.
Under the terms of this agreement, Israelis living in the territories could have
held onto their Israeli passports and
Jerusalem would have remained united,
with each religion taking responsibility
for its own holy sites.
It was the best peace deal Israel could
have ever achieved and would have
changed the face of the Middle East
forever. But prime minister Shamir torpedoed the plan, arguing that it would
not stand up to the test of time. Some
have called this decision the biggest
political mistake since the establishment of the State of Israel. If this is true,
then the rotating arrangement between
Peres and Shamir, and the proportional
electoral system that fostered such a
deal, are to blame.
Israel’s electoral system resembles
more a “market of hagglers,” than
a serious ideological arena. And in
addition to endangering peace prospects, the system may very well impede
high-quality Israelis from venturing
into politics. Some conclude it’s simply
best to avoid the charade of wheeling
and dealing. I’ve seen it first-hand.
Meanwhile, some voices for reform
are arguing that Israelis should adopt
a passive approach to change ahead of
the next election. If the Knesset cannot, or will not, adopt electoral change,
voters might have to take another approach and refuse to vote altogether. n
Arie Raif is vice-chairman & CEO of
the Canadian Peres Center For Peace.
In 1974, he won the nomination of the
Independent Liberal Party for the Israeli
parliament.
12
News
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
DECEMBER 18, 2014
M
Cotler leads all-party appeal for political prisoners
CJN STAFF
Justice Minister Peter MacKay joined MPs
Irwin Cotler (Liberal), Scott Reid (Conservative), Tyrone Benskin (New Democratic
Party), and Elizabeth May (Green Party) at
a Dec. 4 press conference to call for the release of three imprisoned dissidents in different parts of the world.
It was the first anniversary of the death of
South African prime minister Nelson Mandela. The three, being held in Venezuela,
Mauritania and Iran for their outspoken
advocacy of human rights, are said to be
inspired by Mandela’s courage.
Cotler, who acted as legal counsel to the
South African anti-apartheid activist, has
taken up the cases of the three men, whom
he describes as political prisoners, at the request of their families and representatives.
“Nelson Mandela was a heroic role model, and the impact of his release after years
of political imprisonment demonstrates
the potential transformative effect of freeing political prisoners,” Cotler said. “Each
of these three prisoners embodies the Mandela ethos, and is a heroic role model in his
own right.”
Leopoldo López of Venezuela is the
founder and leader of the opposition party
Voluntad Popular (Popular Will), and has
been imprisoned since February for his role
in pro-democracy protests. His wife, Lilian
Tintori, and his international counsel, Jar-
ed Genser, were in Ottawa last month and
secured the support of all parties, including
Foreign Minister John Baird.
The Foreign Affairs subcommittee on
international human rights unanimously
adopted a resolution condemning his imprisonment and calling for his release.
Biram Dah Abeid of Mauritania was arrested for his anti-slavery advocacy in a
country that has the largest percentage of
enslaved people in the world, Cotler said.
At the time of his arrest, Dah Abeid was
participating in the Caravan of Liberty, an
initiative of IRA-Mauritania (Initiative for
the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement) of which he is president.
The Iranian Ayatollah Hossein Kazamani
Boroujerdi is a senior cleric and longtime
advocate for the separation of religion and
state in Iran, said Cotler.
“He has been imprisoned since 2006 on
a series of trumped-up charges, has been
threatened with execution, and is being
denied urgent medical care as a form of
passive execution,” he said.
Later that day, Cotler, the Liberal human
rights critic, raised the cases of the three
prisoners in the House of Commons.
“I invite colleagues in the House to join
me in calling for the release of these three
political prisoners to let them know that
they are not alone, that we stand in solidarity with them, that their cause is our cause:
the cause of freedom.” ■
Family dramas dominate Israeli Film Festival
CJN STAFF
The Jewish Public Library’s ( JPL) 2015
Israeli Film Festival, opening Jan. 17, features five recent award-winning films in
Hebrew with English subtitles.
All films will be presented on consecutive
Saturday nights at 8 p.m. at the Dollar Cinema in Décarie Square, which offers free indoor parking and is wheelchair accessible.
The schedule is as follows:
❱ Jan. 17: A Place in Heaven (2013) by Joseph Madmoni.
An Israeli historical epic spanning 50
years in the life of both a nation and an
individual, this is a modern take on a biblical story that explores the confrontation
between the materialistic and the spiritual
through the broken relationship between
a father and his grown son. The father is
a cynical and arrogant non-believer who
is also a revered military officer, while his
son becomes a ba’al tshuvah, returnee to
Judaism, choosing God over his own parent’s way of life.
THIS IS NOT A
CONTAINER
❱ Jan. 24: Arabani (2013) by Adi Adwan.
After divorcing his Jewish wife, a Druze
man returns to his village with his children after not having seen his mother for
17 years. His attempt to reconnect with the
love of his youth and plans to settle down
in the village leads to friction within the insular, conservative Druze community.
Arabani won best screenplay for a fulllength feature at the 2013 Jerusalem Festival.
❱ Jan. 31: Magic Men (2014) by Guy Nattiv
and Erez Tadmor.
This road movie is another story of a
father and a grown son with opposing
religious views. When the father, a Greek
Holocaust survivor and an atheist, is sent
to Greece for a twin-city ceremony, he decides to search for the man who sheltered
him during World War II. His chassidic rap
musician son tags along in the hopes of
reconnecting with his father. The journey
opens old wounds and forces the pair to
confront each other and search for reconciliation.
THIS IS NOT
PACKAGING
Makram Khoury, left, Ariane Labed and Zohar
Shtrauss star in the awarding-winning Israeli
movie Magic Men.
Makram J. Khoury, who plays the father,
Avraham Kopins, won the Ofir Prize – Israel’s Oscar – for best actor.
❱ Feb. 7: Present Continuous (2012) by
Aner Preminger.
During the height of the second intifidah
in 2002, a mother is witness to a suicide
attack in the Machane Yehuda market.
She decides to take action and protect her
THIS IS NOT
PRINT
family from the violent reality in which
they live. Preminger presents the civilian’s side of coping by showing how each
family member reacts to the situation.
❱ Feb. 14: Waiting for Surkin (2013) by
Jonathan Paz.
The director of a kibbutz amateur theatre
challenges his 50 fellow kibbutzniks to perform a Yiddish play in Hebrew and wants
Israel’s most famous actor, Aharon Surkin,
to attend. While the director is focused on
elevating his status from an amateur to a
professional artist, his fellow kibbutzniks
begin to view him as a heretic. The question is: Will the great Surkin come to his aid
and fulfil the small-time director’s dream?
Admission per movie is $10 for JPL members and students and $15 non-members. A pass for all five movies is $45
for JPL members and students and $65
non-members. Call 514-345-6416 or for
more information visit www.jewishpubliclibrary.org. The festival is presented by
the Chaim and Clara Spilberg Endowment
Fund of the JPL. ■
CONTAINERS
PACKAGING
AND PRINTS
THAT’S ALL THAT
GOES IN THE BIN
TO FIND THE DROP-OFF POINT FOR EVERYTHING THAT DOESN’T GO IN THE BIN
RECREER.CA
The advertising placement of this campaign falls under the Environment Quality Act (Chapter Q-2) and its related
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
News
M
13
GUEST VOICE
Jewish students mobilize against anti-Israel motions
Jonathan Mamane,
Hanna Sonigo, Jeff Bicher
and Ariel Shapiro
W
hen push comes to shove, students
respond. Just when we think that
campuses are losing their Jewish activists, we are pleasantly surprised. The
leadership, passion and mobilization of
Jewish, pro-Israel and pro-campus unity
students on campuses in Montreal of late
has been inspiring.
Recently, an anti-Israel motion was put
forward at the Students’ Society of McGill
University’s (SSMU) general assembly.
After a long debate, McGill students
voted to table the motion indefinitely,
and thus no anti-Israel resolution was
passed. After the tabling of this motion,
pro-Israel students called on the SSMU
to bring parties together to talk about the
conflict. We are hoping that they will convene interested students next semester.
A month later, the Vanier College Students’ Association held its own assembly.
At first, a mostly one-sided resolution
was to be presented. Thanks to the efforts
of students and campus partners, the
original motion was amended. What
was intended to be a hostile motion
against Israel became a motion for Vanier
students to stand in solidarity with all
victims of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
calling on all sides to exercise restraint.
This motion passed.
Most recently, during Concordia
Student Union’s (CSU) byelections, a
referendum question was posed, asking students if the CSU should join the
boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)
movement against Israel. Byelections at
Concordia get very low voter turnout, but
for this referendum, after intense mobilization by all parties, more than 2,500
students exercised their right to vote.
While the motion passed, it is worthwhile to highlight that more than 50 per
cent of the voters did not support the
BDS motion, as the votes against plus
the abstentions added up to more than
half the votes cast. This proves what the
“NO to BDS” campaign had been saying
all along – this motion is divisive and
should not be supported by the CSU or
its students.
The Concordia administration rightly
and unequivocally said “no” to academic boycotts. In a statement released by
university president Alan Shepard after
the results were released, this sentiment
was undeniable. Boycotts stifle academic freedom and have no place at quality
institutions.
The university’s board of governors, at
its Dec. 10 meeting, supported Shepard’s
statement. Holding this referendum
question was futile, as it will have no influence on the direction of the university.
It did manage to do two things, though:
divide the campus and frustrate some
alumni and other stakeholder groups.
To the many readers who have taken
issue with the leadership on our campuses, we say thank you for your concern but the sky is not falling. After
speaking with the many concerned
professionals on our campuses, it was
clear that our schools will continue to
have strong relationships with Israelis
and Israeli institutions.
We thank Concordia, McGill and Vanier
for their support and their commitment
to our community on and off campus.
It was truly refreshing to see that at all
of our schools, the senior professionals
with whom we worked were just as concerned about campus unity as we were.
It is pretty obvious that the leadership of
our schools feel the same way we feel.
This was not solely a Jewish issue.
This was not solely an Israel issue. This
was, respectively, a McGill, Vanier and
Concordia issue. We were frustrated with
student groups on campus who seem
to think that passing a hostile motion
against Israel is the ideal segue to dialogue. We feel that passing such motions
in advance of discussions seems to make
the discussions pointless. None of us are
interested in singling out one country
or one people to demonize. As universalists, we are intent on breaking down
barriers between us, and the only way to
get there is through mutually respectful
conversations. n
Jonathan Mamane is co-president of Hillel Concordia. Hanna Sonigo is president
of Hillel Vanier. Jeff Bicher is executive
director and CEO of Hillel Montreal. Ariel
Shapiro is co-president of Hillel McGill.
‫בס"ד‬
´£²›¬ž³²¨
HEBRE W ACADEMY
Hebrew Academy salutes beloved High School Principal and Teacher
Dr. Laura Segall
Recipient of the Bronfman Jewish Education Centre’s prestigious
Pearl Feintuch Award
In recognition of her outstanding contributions
as a professional Jewish Day School educator
(l to r:) Hebrew Academy Executive Director Linda Lehrer, Dr. Laura Segall and Hebrew Academy
Board Member Dale Boidman, who established the Pearl Feintuch award in her mother’s memory.
Mazel Tov on this well-deserved honour!
May you go from strength to strength.
west_end_gym_OCT.indd
1
2014-09-23
3:42 PM
14
News
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
CJN-LVS partnership will benefit both publications
Janice Arnold
jarnold@thecjn.ca
Montreal subscribers will find a bonus with
the delivery of the Dec. 18 edition of The CJN.
La Voix Sépharade, better known as LVS, a
publication of the Communauté Sépharade
Unifiée du Québec (CSUQ), is now being distributed with The CJN, while maintaining its
editorial and financial independence.
The partnership between the two publications has the benefit of greatly increasing
the circulation of the French-language LVS,
while enlightening anglophone, mainly Ashkenazi Montreal Jews on a significant segment of their community.
LVS has been appearing three or four
times a year, mailed free of charge to CSUQ
members, and distributed in Sephardi synagogues, CSUQ president Sylvain Abitbol said.
Under the new partnership, which he described as a pilot project, LVS may come out
up to six times a year, because of the savings
on postage, co-operation on printing with
The CJN and the possibility of higher advertising revenue through wider circulation.
The CJN is also enjoying an increased circulation with the addition of LVS subscribers
who were not receiving The CJN, Abitbol
said.
ING
T
C
E
N
N
CO
CJN president Elizabeth Wolfe said the
distribution of LVS with The CJN is “the first
phase in our combined effort to explore how
best to extend the reach of both LVS and The
CJN and expand circulation and readership.
At this stage, both issues remain independent. LVS continues to generate its own editorial content and revenues and be responsible
for its costs.”
Both emphasized that the main impetus
for the partnership was not economic but in
the spirit of reducing barriers between the
two main components of the Montreal Jewish community.
“Those in the anglophone and Ashkenazi
community are not aware of what is happening in the Sephardi community, of its culture
or the programming of the CSUQ,” Abitbol
said. “We just had the Festival Séfarad, attended by thousands of people. How many
outside our community knew about it? This
is a tremendous opportunity to change that.”
Abitbol has been a trailblazer in attempting
to eliminate divisions between Sephardim
and Ashkenazim. “I have always been in favour of one community,” he said.
He was co-president of Canadian Jewish
Congress from 2007 to 2009 and president
of Federation CJA from 2004 to 2006, the first
Sephardi to hold those posts.
Sylvain Abitbol
Elizabeth Wolfe
Wolfe concurs. “This initial collaboration
between LVS and The CJN represents new
communication between the French- and
English-speaking Jewish communities in
Quebec,” she said. “It is a recognition that
Quebec Jewry no longer has linguistic barriers and our readership overlaps.
“It demonstrates the breadth of interests
of the Jewish community in Quebec. As our
two organizations explore means of further
partnership, we will all benefit from greater
understanding and engagement.”
As for the longer term, Abitbol sees the
possibility of further integration between the
two publications, depending on the reaction
to the new arrangement.
Wolfe elaborated: “We will monitor community reaction to the joint distribution…
and look at opportunities either for continued joint distribution or, possibly, the
publication of a combined periodical that
would maintain LVS’s unique brand.
Federation CJA welcomed the new partnership.
“Federation CJA is pleased to continue to
count on The CJN as a partner in communicating with the Jewish community in Montreal and beyond,” said chief executive officer Deborah Corber. “The inclusion of LVS,
which is published by one of our affiliated
agencies, in The CJN is another example of
our strong relationship.”
The CJN board member Stanley Plotnick
of Montreal hailed the partnership as a
significant step forward in the integration
of the Montreal Jewish community’s two
main branches, a dream he has shared
with Abitbol for many years.
“I’m delighted this is taking place…We
no longer need to be identified as Ashkenazi or Sephardi, or primarily Englishor French-speaking,” he said. “This is
another step in saying we are one community, despite our differences in approach to religious practice or language.”
“With [The CJN-LVS partnership] one
last aspect of that separation is gone,”
Plotnick said. n
ITY
N
U
M
M
OUR CO
‫בה ומתוקה‬5‫טו‬
577
‫שנה‬
42ème année
volume 2 - sep
4 - Tishri 577
tembre 201
5
ons
Nous partagdee
la prière
l
Leah, au Kote
This issue of The CJN *
brings you a special
partnership with LVS.
More news, stories
and perspectives
from our community.
One of the many common goals LVS and the CJN share celebrating the community’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity.
Sylvain Abitbol, President Communauté Sépharade Unifeé du Québec
We are very pleased to collaborate with LVS to broadly communicate
the breadth and scope of Jewish life in Quebec. We believe that this is an
important first step to further connect and engage our community.
Elizabeth Wolfe, President The Canadien Jewish News
* Door to door delivered only. Canada Post delivered CJN subscribers log in to www.cjnews.com to read the digital edition of LVS.
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS DECEMBER 18, 2014
Cover Story: Conversion
M
15
Beit din called out of touch
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
For instance, one potential convert, who
was already observing Shabbat and kashrut,
was told she could never shake hands with a
man, which would pose a problem for her in
the business world where she worked. The
demand was the final straw, and she ended
up not pursuing conversion.
After a number of such incidents, the
rabbi decided to stop sponsoring conversion candidates to the Toronto beit din and
now suggests that they travel to a religious
court in another city.
By comparison, Montreal has two rabbinic courts that perform Orthodox conversions. Both groups, one modern Orthodox, the other haredi, have websites and
publish codes of conduct outlining exactly
what is required of candidates. Both beit
dins in Montreal offer formal classes.
Leah (not her real name) learned first
hand of the difficulties dealing with Toronto’s Orthodox beit din when she converted
a few years ago.
She had converted through the Conservative movement when she was in her early
20s, shortly before she was married. Two
decades later, she and her husband were
attracted to an Orthodox shul, but they
could not join and hold their son’s bar mitzvah there until she completed an Orthodox
conversion. Although the family was living
a committed Jewish life – the kids were in
day school, their home was kosher – she
found it to be a gruelling process.
The lowest point in her conversion
journey was when the beit din told her
to change one of her children’s Hebrew
names to a more biblical one. “They didn’t
like the Hebrew name we chose,” she says.
But the biggest obstacle was the beit din’s
attitude. “They were disrespectful of my
time.” Meetings were cancelled, and “quite
often it was on the spur of the moment.”
With three young children, a job and
elderly parents living out of town, time was
her most precious commodity.
Not only did she feel vulnerable, she felt
the reputation and credibility of her sponsoring rabbi and his wife, who was her
teacher, were also riding on the conversion.
“I considered going to Buffalo. I didn’t
want to deal with the politics of the Toronto
board,” she says.
Rabbi Asher Vale, director of Toronto’s
Orthodox beit din denies that the body is
out of touch with communal standards.
“In Toronto, most of the rabbinate is
haredi. We accept people if they come from
a modern Orthodox shul or from a haredi
shul,” he says. “Our main thing is whether
the person is going to make a commitment
to Halachah. If they’re part of a community
and have a sponsoring rabbi, we feel comfortable with that.”
For example, the beit din would not tell a
convert that a knitted kippah was unacceptable, or that they could only wear white
shirts, he says. Questions such as whether
women are permitted to wear pants or must
cover their hair would need to be addressed
by the sponsoring rabbi, he says.
The beit din sends prospective candidates a description of the process and
what it entails, and tries to give people an
approximate timeline of when they will be
ready for conversion, he says.
In response to the Freundel allegations,
the RCA has said that every beit din under
its auspices (which includes Toronto’s Vaad
and one of the beit dins in Montreal) “will
appoint” an ombudswoman to handle female converts’ concerns about the process.
In Montreal, where the position will be
added, the ombudswoman can “go over
our heads to the national office,” says
Rabbi Michael Whitman, head of the beit
din. Converts “can give feedback that will
not affect the conversion process.”
Toronto has yet to discuss the issue,
Rabbi Vale says. “We haven’t had any major
issues,” he adds. “Every person has a sponsoring rabbi. If an issue comes up, we are in
touch with them.”
Rabbinic spokespersons for the Conservative and Reform movements say that
an ombudsman is not necessary, because
their process is quite different. Candidates
are taught during a year-long course by a
variety of rabbis and are free to switch from
one sponsoring rabbi to another if a there
is a bad fit.
Sometimes a mismatch occurs not because of personality, but because of ideology. While Rabbi Grover says he steers
many of his candidates toward the course
run by the Rabbinic Assembly, the governing body for the Conservative movement, sometimes candidates are unsure of
the level of commitment they will adopt.
For them, he recommends a new course
offered by a group of rabbis with a variety
of affiliations.
“In the RA [classes], people feel like they
cannot be honest. We put so much pressure to be up to a high standard, so they
fake it,” he says.
The alternative class lets candidates discover where they are on the Jewish spectrum before making a commitment to a
sponsoring rabbi or denomination, instead
of deciding at the outset of the program.
As conversion loses its stigma in the Jewish community, rabbis are finding more potential Jews in their offices and classrooms.
“We’re working hard to not turn people
away. We want to create more Jewish families, to welcome people into the Jewish
community and at the same time be honest with people,” Rabbi Grover says.
“I spend a lot of time doing conversions.
We’re overwhelmed with it,” he adds. “We
have to get it right.” n
Jenn Soer and her
husband Michael and
their two daughters,
Abbie, left, and Emma, on
her father’s shoulders.
LIL’ ONE PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO
Finding a home in Judaism
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
He converted while working in political life in Quebec City. “I had a couple of
acquaintances who said it [conversion]
would harm your political career. I never
felt that. I never felt any prejudice or discrimination. People were very accommodating,” he recalls.
Educating potential converts and making synagogues more welcoming is something Rabbi Adam Cutler, who oversees
conversions at Beth Tzedec Congregation,
a Toronto Conservative shul, thinks deeply about. At his synagogue, a conversion
support committee ensures that people
in the process of choosing Judaism have
someone to sit with at services and to invite them for holiday meals.
“I think we are a welcoming and inclusive place,” he said. “But we’re pretty
white. Those who convert who aren’t
white, I wouldn’t be surprised if they feel a
sense of otherness.”
Jenn Soer, a second-generation Chinese-Canadian who converted to Judaism
four years ago through the Conservative
movement, agrees. She and her Jewish
husband visited a number of shuls before
finding one where they felt they belonged.
“I obviously don’t look Jewish. It was difficult at times,” she said. “Going to certain
shuls, sometimes people would whisper.”
Older people who have seen with her children have on occasion assumed she was
their nanny. “That hit me hard,” she said.
But both her husband’s and her own
family were supportive of her conversion,
which was easier than she had anticipated.
Today, with her little girls enrolled in a
Hebrew-speaking daycare and Jewish after-school programs, she feels part of the
community. “We’re surrounding ourselves
with the right people, and we’re very comfortable,” she says.
Steve McDonald was raised in a Christian evangelical home, but wasn’t religiously observant when two life-changing
events happened. “I met a Jewish girl and
I went to Israel.”
McDonald, who was working in the Jewish community, studied with a Conservative
rabbi and converted. “I spent a year studying and I fell in love with Jewish ethics.”
Conversion is the most contentious
issue in Jewish life, tapping deep into the
community’s fears about assimilation, he
says. “People often look at the denomination you’re converted [with] and make
a judgment. People have no concept of
what the Halachah requires.”
McDonald’s Conservative conversion
isn’t accepted in Israel, but that’s a matter for Israelis to decide, he says.“Overwhelmingly, the majority of Israelis welcome me if you say you’re Jewish and live
a Jewish life.”
Erin Bolling, of Ottawa, began considering conversion when her son was born,
but like McDonald, it was Judaism’s ethical values that ultimately attracted her. The
final push came when she and her Jewish
common-law husband discussed her elderly father moving in with them. Her partner
said “the most important thing is to honour
your parents. It just touched me deeply.”
Bolling converted two years ago, and
while her father rejoiced with her, an uncle
refused to attend her Jewish wedding.
“That’s life,” Bolling says. Her siblings
have been very supportive of her new religious identity and attended pro-Israel
rallies with her this summer.
“Sometimes people talk about having a
Jewish soul. I really think that speaks to
me. Judaism makes me feel at home.” n
16
News
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
Le Roi du Maroc rend hommage à Joseph Cohen
Elias Levy
elevy@thecjn.ca
Le printemps dernier, l’Ambassadrice du
Maroc au Canada, Nouzha Chekrouni,
contacta Joseph Cohen pour lui deman­
der de se rendre à l’Ambassade du Ma­
roc à Ottawa car elle devait lui remettre
en mains propres une missive que venait
de lui adresser personnellement le Roi du
Maroc, Mohammed VI.
Dans cette lettre, signée par Moham­
med VI et portant le sceau royal alaouite,
le souverain marocain rendait un élo­
gieux hommage à Joseph Cohen pour le
remarquable travail d’Édition qu’il a ac­
compli pour pérenniser et transmettre le
riche Héritage culturel judéo-marocain.
“J’apprécie vos Travaux de Recherche
sur la Communauté juive marocaine, son
Histoire et son Héritage, et leur caractère
de témoignage pour les générations ac­
tuelles et futures… Nos sincères remer­
ciements pour nous avoir envoyé vos ou­
vrages qui témoignent de l’excellence des
relations d’indéfectible attachement, de
dévouement et de fidélité qui ont de tout
temps lié les Juifs marocains à nos glo­
rieux ancêtres. Nous sommes déterminés
à perpétuer par notre bénédiction ces re­
lations en entourant nos fidèles sujets de
confession israélite de notre constante et
haute sollicitude”, a écrit le Roi Moham­
med VI dans la lettre qu’il a adressée à
­Joseph Cohen.
Joseph Cohen a été l’Éditeur de livres
majeurs sur l’Art, l’Histoire des Com­
munautés juives du Maroc, l’Histoire du
Québec et de biographies consacrées à
des figures marquantes du Judaïsme ma­
rocain.
Né à Mazagan, ville côtière du Maroc,
appelée aujourd’hui El Jadida, édifiée par
les Portugais au début du XVIe siècle, Jo­
seph Cohen a émigré à Montréal en 1968.
Il est le descendant d’une presti­
gieuse lignée rabbinique. Petit-fils du
Grand Rabbin Chlomo Ha-Cohen Sab­
ban (1881-1949) et fils du Rabbin Aaron
Cohen (1913-1961), Joseph Cohen est le
troisième d’une famille de douze enfants
tous nés au Maroc.
En 1973, il a fondé les Éditions Élysée,
spécialisées dans la publication de livres
d’Histoire et d’Art.
Les Éditions Élysée ont publié des livres
somptueux et très importants sur le Sé­
phardisme marocain, l’Histoire des Juifs
Congratulations!
In honour of your marriage,
The Canadian Jewish News
is pleased to present you
with a 6 month subscription.
du Maroc et l’Histoire des Juifs du Qué­
bec: un ouvrage collectif sur l’Histoire
des Juifs de Fès; Les Juifs du Sahara de
l’Historien français Jacob Oliel; l’ouvrage
collectif Juifs de Debdou. Maroc. Histoire
et Généalogie; Le Dictionnaire biographique du monde juif sépharade de Jo­
seph Levy; Les Juifs de la Ville de Québec
de Raymond Vézina; Histoire de la famille
du Grand Rabbin Chlomo Ha-Cohen Sabban. Debdou, Mazagan, Azemmour, Oujda, Casablanca, Montréal de Raymond
Vézina; Mardoché Aby Serour (18261886), Rabbin caravanier et guide au Sahara de Jacob Oliel; un magnifique livre
d’Armando Elbaz édité en espagnol, Ritos
y Costumbres de los Judios Españoles del
Norte de Marruecos…
Dès son arrivée au Québec, en 1968, Jo­
seph Cohen se passionna pour l’Histoire
des Canadiens-Français. Il s’intéressa tel­
lement à la Culture canadienne-française
au point de se lancer dans un Projet d’Édi­
tion très ambitieux: rééditer des livres
rares, souvent complètement épuisés,
écrits à l’époque de la Nouvelle-France.
Comme le rappelle l’Historien qué­
bécois Raymond Vézina dans la remar­
quable biographie, bellement illustrée
avec des photographies et des documents
provenant des Archives personnelles de
Joseph Cohen, qu’il lui a consacrée en
2013 -Joseph Cohen, Éditeur (Éditions Ély­
sée), “pendant plusieurs années, Joseph
Cohen a joué un rôle important dans la
Culture québécoise avec ses rééditions
d’ouvrages rares: Sixte Le Tac; les volumes
du Baron de Lahontan…”
Ce Sépharade affable et très humble, qui
a à son actif un imposant travail d’Édition
ayant pour finalité de perpétuer les riches
Héritages culturels et socio-historiques
judéo-marocain et québécois, se soucie
beaucoup de l’avenir de ces deux Patri­
moines identitaires.
“Dans le monde de plus en plus globa­
lisé où nous vivons, les Québécois et les
Joseph Cohen.
Sépharades marocains doivent mener un
dur et inlassable combat pour perpétuer
leurs Héritages culturels respectifs. Sur­
tout, n’oublions jamais notre Histoire car
seule celle-ci peut éclairer le présent et
nous guider vers un avenir prometteur”,
nous a dit Joseph Cohen en entrevue.
Joseph Cohen est inquiet pour l’avenir
du Séphardisme marocain au Canada et
en Amérique du Nord.
“Aujourd’hui, les jeunes Sépharades
marocains ont de moins en moins d’at­
taches avec la Culture judéo-marocaine
de leurs grands-parents et parents. Dans
les événements culturels organisés par
la Communauté sépharade marocaine,
il n’y a pas de jeunes. Ces derniers sont
branchés sur une autre Culture, très
nord-américaine. Ce phénomène me
préoccupe et m’attriste. Comment pé­
renniser l’Héritage culturel millénaire sé­
pharade si les jeunes Sépharades ne sont
pas au rendez-vous?”, se demande Joseph
Cohen avec un brin d’amertume. n
An interview with Joseph Cohen, who has
edited several books on Judeo-Moroccan
culture and history.
CJN Mazel Tov
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS DECEMBER 18, 2014
News
M
17
Claims Conference boosts funds for Canadian survivors
PAUL LUNGEN
plungen@thecjn.ca
Eleven Canadian social service agencies
that provide services to elderly victims of
the Holocaust will see their allocations
from the Claims Conference triple in
2015 compared to 2014.
The Conference on Jewish Material
Claims Against Germany, known more
commonly as the Claims Conference,
announced last week it will allocate
$18.6 million (all figures US) to Canadian agencies, up from $6.4 million in
2014. Most of the funds are slated for
home care, but they can also be used for
medical care, food and transportation.
Agencies in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver and in smaller Jewish centres, including Halifax and Windsor, are
expected to benefit from the allocations.
Among the recipient agencies are
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto; Jewish Family & Child Service,
Toronto; Jewish Family Service Agency,
Vancouver; Jewish Family Services of
Ottawa; Jewish Family Services, Edmonton; and the Cummings Centre, Montreal. The Cummings Centre administers
funds to Jewish Child and Family Service, Winnipeg; Jewish Family Service
Calgary; and the Windsor Jewish Federation, among other agencies in Canada.
A first-time direct allocation of $1.1
million will be made to Jewish Family
Services of Edmonton.
“All Shoah victims should be able to
receive the help and support that they
need to live the rest of their lives in
dignity, after having endured indescribable suffering in their youth,” said Julius
Berman, president of the Claims Conference.
“I think it’s very encouraging,” said
Toronto lawyer Keith Landy, one of two
Canadian representatives on the Claims
Conference board.
“It’s so important for the dignity of survivors as they reach their golden years,”
Landy said. “The money is not simply
going to be left for posterity but will provide a meaningful assistance for survivors.”
Holocaust survivor Sidney Zoltak, a
member of the Claims Conference board
of directors, said, “The substantial increase for needy Holocaust survivors for
home care was obtained after [Claims
Conference negotiators] explained to
German government representatives
that the elderly survivor, when he or she
is moved from their home, experiences
additional traumatic shock.
“I believe the additional funds that
were made available to these survivors
will enable them to experience a calmer
and more comfortable life,” Zoltak said.
I think it’s very
encouraging...the
money will provide a
meaningful assistance
for survivors
Lawyer Keith Landy
Sydney Zoltak
Canadian agencies are expected to
make their own pitch for funding, based
on the number of survivors they reach as
well as the services they provide, he said.
“Funding for 2015, to social service
organizations working with survivors is
based on the projected unmet needs that
such organizations have reported to the
Claim Conference,” a Claims Conference
statement said.
The Claims Conference estimates there
are between 14,000 and 16,000 Holocaust
survivors in Canada, though recent census data suggests the number is lower
and dwindling, Landy said.
The allocation for home care includes
a variety of services that allow Holocaust
survivors to remain in their own homes.
Home care services include light housekeeping, cooking and even help getting
dressed and with hygiene.
The Claims Conference represents
world Jewry in negotiations with European nations for compensation and
restitution for the Jewish victims of Nazi
persecution, along with their heirs.
The increased allocations in 2015 resulted from negotiations with Germany,
which has agreed to provide $1 billion to
be allocated by the Claims Conference
through 2017.
Total Claims Conference distributions
in 2015 are expected to reach $365 million, a 21 per cent increase over 2014.
Holocaust survivors in 47 countries will
benefit from the allocation.
In addition to German government
funding, the Claims Conference is funded through the proceeds from recovered
Jewish properties in the former East Germany, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg
Foundation, the government of Austria
and from a settlement with Swiss banks.
The allocations announced last week
are separate from compensation payments distributed to individual victims
of the Holocaust. n
an English bookshop
Holiday Gifts
The Organized Mind:
Thinking Straight in the Age
of Information Overload
Daniel J. Levitin
The Organized Mind
Daniel Levitin
Keith Landy, left, and Claims Conference executive vice-president Greg
Schneider at a 2012 meeting in Washington.
CLARIFICATION
In the story “Concordia president swiftly denounces pro-BDS
vote” (Dec. 11), Concordia University spokesperson Fiona Downey points out that, although the university’s website lists the total
number of undergraduates at over 36,000, fewer than 31,000 were
eligible to vote in the Concordia Student Union byelection/referendum held Nov. 25 to 27. Therefore, the turnout was about eight per
cent. The 36,000 figure represents the number of undergraduates
registered throughout the year.
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry
Gabrielle Zevin
My October
Claire Holden Rothman
(514)
Open Sunday
bibliophilemontreal@yahoo.ca
18
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
DECEMBER 18, 2014
INTERNATIONAL
Israeli election now a two-way race
HAVIV RETTIG GUR
JERUSALEM
It doesn’t make sense. Labor party leader
Isaac Herzog polls at a steady 15 Knesset
seats. Hatnua’s Tzipi Livni, meanwhile,
struggles to hold on to the four-seat minimum required to pass the Knesset’s electoral threshold.
So when one tries to understand the
new rotation deal inked between the two
politicians on Dec. 10, and unanimously
adopted by the Labor party last Sunday,
the key question is not why Livni thought
it was a good idea, but why Herzog did.
Why would the Labor chief concede so
much – half his term if he is elected prime
minister – to a political partner with so
little to offer?
It is a question that goes to the heart
of Herzog’s strategy for finally unseating
three-term prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Under the terms of the deal, the two
will share the prime ministership on rotation, with Herzog as prime minister the
first two years and Livni the last two years,
should they win the upcoming elections.
The left has lost five consecutive national elections. But it didn’t lose them to the
right. Since the outbreak of the second intifadah in 2000, many left-leaning Israelis
have voted centre and even centre-right
as a signal of their distrust of Palestinian
intentions – and of Israeli politicians who
urge them to rely on those intentions.
Netanyahu, who will be in his seventh
consecutive year in power by election day
on March 17, won the last two elections
on the strength of those centrist votes. As
a September poll by the Knesset channel
(Israel’s C-SPAN) noted, only one-quarter
of Israelis believe Netanyahu’s views represent the Israeli right. Most Israelis believe he is a centrist.
In the Knesset, it was the 25 centrist
seats of Livni’s Hatnua and Yair Lapid’s
Yesh Atid that gave Netanyahu his commanding majority in the outgoing coalition, and centrists such as Moshe Kahlon
and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party who,
if all goes according to Netanyahu’s plan,
appear slated to give him the necessary
seats to form the next. (Shas has sat in
Labor governments before; Kahlon, a former Likud minister, has emphatically said
he is not wedded to a Likud-led coalition.)
Yet Israel’s political centre is actually
Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni hold a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on Dec. 10, announcing a
unity deal. FLASH90 PHOTO
far larger than the parties who formally
declare themselves to be “centrist.” On
the key issue that defines the left-right
axis, Palestinian statehood, polls have
shown that as many as half of those who
vote for the explicitly right-wing parties
Likud, Yisrael Beitenu and even Jewish
Home actually support Palestinian statehood. Countless polls suggest that Israeli
centrists – usually defined by pundits as
those who support Palestinian independence while distrusting Palestinian willingness to reciprocate with peace – vote for
the right because they hear their skepticism reflected in the rhetoric of right-wing
leaders.
For 20 years, Herzog’s predecessors –
Labor has seen 11 leadership changes in
22 years – have been fighting a losing battle against this vast, inchoate centre.
But last week, Herzog launched the left’s
most dramatic bid since the 1990s for the
Israeli centre’s trust.
The Labor leader has largely abandoned
the left-wing rhetoric about reconciliation
and peace, and argues for the simpler and
more widely supported idea of separation.
Without the two-state solution, he tells Israelis in speeches and media interviews,
Israel will remain entangled in Palestinian
affairs – and in Palestinian political dysfunction and extremism.
Now Herzog is solidifying that strategy,
and made a dramatic show last week of
sacrificing his personal ambitions for
the benefit of the cause. A vote for him,
he now says, is literally also a vote for the
centrist Livni.
And even as he cemented the centrist
strategy of his own party, a move that early
polls suggest will find favour with voters, he
headed off a significant threat to his dominance of the centre-left: Yair Lapid. Herzog,
not Lapid, now sits squarely atop what is by
far the largest anti-Netanyahu bloc.
In one fell swoop, Herzog pushed ahead
of the pack and transformed a lacklustre
political position into the most significant
threat to Netanyahu in a crowded field.
From this position of strength, Herzog
hopes to attract centrists who have come
to dislike Netanyahu, leftists who voted
for other parties or causes because they
did not believe a Labor vote would bring
a Labor victory, and perhaps even liberal
Arabs who may find their political voices
sidelined in a new unified Arab list.
And since few Israeli governments survive past their third year – the next government will be Israel’s 34th in 67 years
– simply by taking the first two-year turn
in the rotation, the Labor leader made
certain he was probably not giving up as
much in reality as the terms of the rotation agreement might suggest.
The first signal of the potential threat
that Herzog’s shrewd manoeuvre may
signify for Netanyahu came in the Likud’s
official response to the announcement:
“Now Boujie [Herzog] and Tzipi can compete over who will surrender and concede more,” came the unusually acerbic
response. “To the citizens of Israel, it is
clear that these elections are between
the left camp headed by Herzog and Livni, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud leading the national
camp.”
The accusation that the new alliance
would “surrender and concede,” and the
emphatic labelling of the pairing as “the
left camp,” almost certainly presage the
Likud’s counter-campaign to the new Herzog strategy – and signal that both sides
understand the significance of Labor’s
gambit for the centre.
Indeed, the very fact that it is now possible to speak of “both sides” is significant.
For the first time in a long time, polls suggest there are now two sides in an Israeli
election. It is hard to overstate how dangerous this is for Netanyahu. The prime
minister has a primary race to win in the
next three weeks, and his primary voters,
by and large, are not centrists. But after
(and of course, if ) he wins the primary,
he will face a complicated challenge. Jewish Home is attracting hundreds of thousands of voters on his right flank; Kahlon
and Lapid, through sheer personal charisma, draw perhaps 10 seats each on his
left; and now a growing electoral power
has emerged on the other side of the aisle
that could form a credible anchor for an
alternative coalition to his own.
Pulled simultaneously to the right and
to the left, Netanyahu must find a way to
please everyone or risk losing it all.
Until last week, both right and left saw
the election as a referendum on Netanyahu. While the race is still Netanyahu’s to
lose – his electoral path to a coalition is
still shorter than Herzog’s – Labor’s dramatic move to the centre has broken the
old rules and brought an unexpected degree of uncertainty to the race.
And Herzog, seen by most Israelis as a
grey, uncharismatic public servant, has
shown a new side to his personality, a
streak of political cunning and strategic
ability more often associated with the
man he is trying to unseat.
The race, at long last, is on. n
Times of Israel
timesofIsrael.com
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
International
M
19
OPINION
You can take the Canadian out of Canada…
Rachel Cook
I
f you asked me a year ago what
“Flexigidity” was, I would have
thought you were crazy. Flexibility and
rigidity, two opposites, together? In one
word? Madness!
But this year, my placement is supporting the Flexigidity Project. So, in
a matter of months, I went from not
knowing anything about the Flexigidity
movement to spending a large portion
of my day talking about how Judaism,
as a society as well as a religion, needs
to be open to change and, at the same
time, needs to cling to our roots.
As I spend a year away from Canada
participating in the MASA Israel Government Fellowship Program, I have
discovered that there are many rewards
to be had from being “flexigid” at a
personal level as well. I expected to
find some differences between Toronto
(where I attended university) and Tel
Aviv. The shuk has replaced Honest Ed’s
as my shopping go-to, “sababa” has
replaced “cool” in my daily vocabulary,
and rugelach have replaced Timbits
for breakfast. Those little things are the
easiest to be flexible with, easy to enjoy
and adjust to.
The more difficult things to get used
to, such as feeling walked over when
my Canadian politeness is mistaken by
Israelis for weakness, feeling uncomfortable with strangers striking up a conversation with me on the bus, and feeling
annoyed with the very relaxed approach
to customer service here, have required
more flexibility in my willingness to adjust, but have given way to amazing new
experiences.
The first time I was able to buy a bag
full of fruit for a handful of shekels, the
Friday evening when a woman on the
bus invited me home that evening for
Shabbat dinner, or chatting with the
shop attendant and hearing about his
issues. By discovering which values I am
willing to negotiate on, and which ones
I am not, I am learning more about myself as a woman, as well as what I want
to do with my life after my year in Israel
concludes. My ties to family, faith and
belief in justice have become stronger
than ever while living here.
As a people, we Jews are currently
facing an unknown and terrifying future.
We in the Diaspora are becoming more
critical of Israel, less likely to stand up
for Zionism. Israeli Jews are currently grappling with the idea of being a
nation-state for the Jewish People and
which adjective to use to define themselves as, Jewish or Israeli.
It is my hope that my year here will
enable me to contribute to both discussions and bring our people together to
face a dangerous and uncertain world,
to teach my peers on both sides of the
Atlantic to be “flexigid” when evaluating
each other. n
By discovering which
values I am willing to
negotiate on, and which
ones I am not, I am learning
more about myself
experience in the army all came about
because of my ability to adapt and be
flexible.
I have found, however, that I have to
be more rigid in some areas of my life
as well: my core values, my commitment to my friends and family back
home, my connection to Judaism have
all felt challenged during my stay so far.
But sticking to these core truths about
myself has made me stronger, and I feel
more adaptable in other areas of my life
as a result of my rigidity on these few
Rachel Cook is a Begin fellow, currently
interning at the Reut Institute in Tel Aviv.
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International
M
Australia’s Jewish community
on alert after hostage drama
JTA
Sydney
Australia’s Jewish community went into
official lockdown last Monday after a gunman held hostages inside an inner-city
café in Sydney.
Television images showed two hostages
holding a black-and-white flag with the
Arabic text of the Shahada – the affirmation of Islam – at the window of Lindt cafe.
Counter-terror agents swarmed the city
centre, evacuating the Opera House and
other key sites as Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the media the gunman had a “political motivation.”
“This is a very disturbing incident,” he
said. “It is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an
armed person claiming political motivation.”
By nightfall, five hostages had escaped
or been freed. At The CJN’s press time
Monday, more than a dozen hostages reportedly remained captive over 12 hours
after the siege began.
“Jewish institutions across Australia are
in lockdown, excursions have been can-
celled and tight security measures are in
place,” a senior Jewish official said.
At least one major Jewish institution in
Sydney issued a “code red” emergency
alert; the building was sealed with no one
allowed to enter or exit for several hours
before the alert was lifted.
Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon
said it was “most likely the work of an
Islamist terrorist organization.”
“We have excellent relations with Australia, and help in whatever way we can,”
Yaalon told Army Radio. “There are things
that can be done from a distance.”
Gad Elbaz, an Israeli Sephardi singer
who played a concert in Sydney on Sunday, was inside Lindt café with his father
moments before the hostages were taken
captive.
On Facebook, Benny Elbaz described it
as a “Chanukah miracle.”
“The worst almost happened,” he wrote.
“A few minutes before the attack on the
cafe in Sydney my friends and I left there.”
“While thankful, my father and I are
praying and hoping for a quick release of
all the hostages safely and without harm,”
Gad Elbaz said. n
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
Jets scramble after Hamas launches drone
Marissa Newman
Jerusalem
Hamas’ military wing launched a locally
manufactured drone at a Gaza City march
in honour of the founding of the group
Dec. 14, prompting the Israel Air Force to
raise its alertness level.
The drone activity led the air force to
summon jets to the area, but no shots
were fired at the unmanned aircraft,
Channel 2 reported.
The drone demonstration was held at
the terror group’s 27th anniversary march,
with thousands in attendance, including
senior members, as the Gaza terror group
ramped up its rhetoric against Israel.
The protest also featured a rare appearance by members of the Hamas naval
commando unit. Weapons were on display, including R-160 rockets of the sort
fired at Haifa during the summer’s Operation Protective Edge, and another drone
which the terror group said was an Israeli
Defence Force (IDF) craft grounded during the 50-day conflict.
Earlier, the terror group released a video
which they said showed Muhammed Deif,
a Hamas military leader targeted by the
IDF over the summer and whose condition is unknown. Hamas has maintained
that terror chief Deif survived the Aug. 19
assassination attempt, in which his wife
and child were killed.
In the new footage, a silhouette is
shown, which the terror group said is Deif,
but the audio is drawn from a November
2012 clip, Channel 2 reported.
Speaking at the rally, a Hamas official
threatened that a “moment of explosion”
was near.
“We warn of the moment of explosion
which won’t be in the interest of the occupation,” a spokesman for the military
wing, Abu Ubayda, said at the rally, according to the Palestinian Ma’an News
Agency. He also turned to the Palestinian
prisoners held in Israeli prisons and said:
“The day you will see the light of freedom
has become closer than any point in the
past.”
In a separate Gaza Strip protest two
days earlier, members of the terror group
burned a life-sized stuffed model of a
haredi Jew over a number of coffin-like
structures bearing the faces of the four
victims of the Har Nof synagogue attack.
A paper replica of the Temple was burned
in the same blaze as well. n
Times of Israel
Timesofisrael.com
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
Seniors
M
21
Beat the blues and have
fun at Wellness Centre
ELAINE COHEN
Supplements Co-ordinator
Leave hibernation to the bears this winter, suggests Annette Vezina, co-program
manager of the Wellness Centre at Cummings, 5700 Westbury Ave. where men
and women 50-plus exercise, boost brain
power and beat the blues.
Benefits await those who brave the cold
and make exercise part of their winter lifestyle. “Exercise has a two-prong effect on
mental and physical health,” says Vezina,
a certified kinesiology and health science
specialist. “The mental component helps
people cope with emotional stress.”
Most people are familiar with the
importance of diet and exercise for a
healthy heart, strong bones and muscular strength, but Vezina says not everyone recognizes other perks that physical
fitness offers. Studies have proven that it
boosts brain power, puts people in better
moods and improves sleep.
“The reason is exercise has a positive
effect on mood endorphins, that is good
brain chemicals.” Conversely, staying inactive at home increases isolation, contributes to gloominess, and makes it difficult to fall asleep.
“Even if it means taking a cab and walking in a mall, or better still enrolling in one
of the many programs we offer, people will
invariably feel better,” says Vezina, who
along with co-manager Maria Fragapone,
oversees a seasoned core staff and brings
in certified specialists for yoga, pilates and
certain programs.
Today’s 50-plus age group is extensive
and very diverse. “People are actively involved in courses from their early 50s
until well into their 80s. We have courses
for active adults, frail older adults and
many adapted programs for post-stroke
patients, people with Parkinson’s, orthopedic and other muscular conditions.”
Exercise acts as a distraction and takes
the mind off negative thoughts. “Most of
our activities are done to music,” Vezina
points out. “Rhythm helps participants
focus on movement rather than on their
aches and pains.”
A fitness consultation is necessary and
it’s extremely beneficial for participants.
They receive an expert evaluation and
subsequently decide which activity would
suit them best. They may try out a couple
before making a choice.
“Our gym programs are tailored to the
needs and capacities of individuals. They
may focus on balance, get the heart rate
up, and go in for higher aerobics or chair
aerobics. We design courses to serve the
entire spectrum. We have strengthening
classes for muscular conditions. We work
with weights to maintain muscle mass because we begin losing it at 30. The winter
session is 12 weeks long and most of the fitness classes are twice a week but we try to
be flexible and work it into their schedule.”
Vezina is eager to start a new series of
Drum and Dance sessions. “It’s a good cardio and brain workout. Participants must
pay attention and keep moving. They
form a circle and face one another, so it’s
fun and a way to interact. They drum on
fitness balls and do aerobic moves.”
Fridays are never dull for the Snowshoe
Pilates class at Wellness Centre
and Cross-Country Ski Club. The group
boards a bus at Cummings Centre and
heads for invigorating scenic sites such as
Val David, Ste- Agathe, Gailuron and l’Esterel. Vezina looks forward to leading the
contingent every season and registration
is on for six outings at the aforementioned
venues starting in January.
“We have 20-30 and while some people
have been before, we all welcome new
participants,” she said. “It’s a good opportunity to get out in the fresh air and interact with others. Everyone brings lunch
and skiers need to bring their own skis.
Those who snowshoe usually bring their
own snowshoes but we also have some
they can borrow.”
Brain Boosters is another innovative
activity that draws eager participants.
Vezina is constantly working on new material, so the course is always evolving and
fresh. “Brain health can be optimized by
exercising your neurons and dendrites,”
she explains, adding “brain boosters is
challenging because we introduce brain
teasers, problem solving, work on memory and mental flexibility.” She also gives
handouts to complement sessions. n
For information, phone the Wellness
Centre at Cummings, (514) 342-1234,
local 7305.
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M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
Murder and mayhem makes for fun evening
Arts Scene
by Heather Solomon
Judy Kenigsberg plays a widow with inheritance on her mind, and Hannah
Scheffren takes the role of the dead man’s
former mistress, a silent film star whose
grating voice has stymied a career in the
talkies.
Their characters and the other members
of the cast of 25 in Haven’t Got a Clue have
almost all been accused of murdering
the late Theodore Covington (Sam Goldbloom) during a dinner party. At the reading of his will, they are dropping like flies,
as a possible heir tries to narrow the field.
Of course, everyone present is trapped in
the manor while a hurricane rages outside.
This is the premise for Anisa Cameron’s
upcoming project with the Côte St. Luc
Dramatic Society (CSLDS), set to run at
the Harold Greenspon Auditorium, 5801
Cavendish Blvd., Feb. 12 to 15, and fun is
promised during the murder and mayhem.
The play is hung on one of Cameron’s favourite periods in history, the Cold War, if
only for its plethora of plot sources.
“The play takes place in 1954 at the
height of McCarthyism, when there was a
lot of suspicion in the United States about
Communist sympathizers,” says Cameron.
“Theodore Covington is a war profiteer
in cahoots with McCarthy. There was a lot
of fear-mongering going on, so we play on
that as well. The death and dying happens
all over the place, so you really get a bang
for your buck in this murder mystery.”
Adding to the suspense is the ingredient
of audience participation. “The audience
will have the option of three different endings determined by which scenario they
choose on a ballot to be filled in at intermission,” says Cameron.
“I’ll count the ballots, then go backstage
and say, ‘We’re doing ending No. 2,’ for example.”
Of course, viewers will have to wait until
the final curtain to find out whodunit.
Both Kenigsberg and Scheffren are veterans of the CSLDS, as well as the Showtime Players, with whom they performed
this past September in I Still Remember…,
the touching tribute to the late lyricist
Dave Bercovitch.
Kenigsberg is a character actor who’s al-
From left, Anisa Cameron, Judy Kenigsberg
and Hannah Scheffren.
Heather Solomon photo
ways had a foot onstage. From day camp
to the Actor’s Studio and on to evening
courses in theatre at Concordia University, she developed her mischievous yet
realistic role-playing.
In another CSLDS production, Bedtime
Stories, she was also paired with Goldbloom as they vocally made love to fulfil a
radio shock jock’s offer of money.
Scheffren is a theatrical firecracker who
enjoys “being a ham.” She brought down
the house with her ode to Chinese food in
the Showtime production.
Her Yente the Matchmaker was also a
highlight of the CSLDS’ Fiddler on the Roof.
r
Weddings etc.
For information and rates call
514-735-2612
or write to adscjn@gmail.com

Deadline to RSVP your AD
Tuesday, January 27
Tickets for Haven’t Got a Clue are available at 514-485-6806, www.ShowTix4U.
com or at the Eleanor London Cote St. Luc
Public Library.
Mark you
CJN’s
February 12, 2015
Issue
She has the enviable reputation of being an amazingly quick study, sometimes
learning her lines at the last minute to
step into a role vacated by an ailing cast
member. She’s already got her lines down,
and even plans to squeeze in a Florida vacation during the rehearsal period.
Cameron is not only rehearsing the Clue
cast, but has just surfaced from directing her students at Bialik High School in
Legendary and is concurrently rehearsing
for the Jan. 15-18 CSLDS remount at the
Segal Centre of the stellar Catch Me If You
Can, starring 18-year-old singing powerhouse Brandon Schwartz.
That production was deservedly nominated for outstanding community production at the 2014 Montreal English Theatre
Awards, or METAs.
Marshalled by Cameron since its founding in 2011, the CSLDS has been on a path
leading ever upward, and Kenigsberg and
Scheffren are happy to be part of its success story. n
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a
S ate
D
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a
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THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
23
M
About Town
by Janice Arnold
held at Shaare Zedek Congregation for
the month of Tevet at 9 a.m. Children
welcome. 514-484-1122, ext. 101.
...Et Cetera...
.
Saturday, Dec. 20
muslim discovers jewish roots
Kuwaiti-born Mordechai Halawa, who
is studying at a Jerusalem yeshiva, talks
about how he discovered his Jewish roots,
at Chabad of Westmount following 9:45
a.m. services. Raised a Muslim, Halawa
learned that his maternal grandmother,
who was born Jewish, married a Jordanian soldier in 1946, ran off to Nablus and
converted to Islam. A rabbi he met while
studying at the University of Western Ontario helped him discover his own Jewish
identity. 514-937-4772.
for jewish singles
Jewish singles over 30 are invited to a
“Latkes and Vodka” Chanukah party at
Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem at 7:30 p.m. Hosted by Connexion
Clique, the evening includes speed-dating, martini mixing, refreshments, candle-lighting and even yoga to kick things
off. Ten per cent of profits go to the Jewish
General Hospital’s Hope & Cope program.
Tickets, connexionclique@gmail.com.
dorshei’s got talent
Congregation Dorshei Emet presents a Chanukah celebration starting with a Havdalah
service and candle-lighting at 5:30 p.m.,
followed by a potluck vegetarian dinner and
a talent show. Musicians, dancers, comedians, magicians and even jugglers are welcome. CJAD radio announcer Dan Laxer, a
Dorshei member, is MC and the house band
The Good Buddies performs. To book your
act, email danlaxer@gmail.com.
Sunday, Dec. 21
A Frozen chanukah
The Friendship Circle holds a Frozen-themed Chanukah party from 4-6
p.m. at its centre, 4585 Bourret Ave. Dairy
dinner, dancing, games and free professional family portraits are scheduled.
www.FriendshipCircle.ca.
a south shore chanukah
The South Shore Jewish Community
celebrates Chanukah at its centre in Place
La Citière, 50 Taschereau Blvd., La Prairie
at 4 p.m. There’s holiday storytelling for
kids with Heather Solomon-Bowden and
songs by Jennifer Rose. 514-296-6076.
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Rosh chodesh services
A women’s Rosh Chodesh service will be
oldies but goodies
Don Felder, former lead guitarist of the
Eagles, Grammy Award winner and Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, was the
guest performer at the 12th edition of
Battle of the Bands, held over two nights
at the Metropolis and benefiting research
in aging at Maimonides Geriatric Centre.
Felder, now a solo artist, performed a set
with each of the amateur bands and then
played some of his hits on his own at the
end of each evening.
As usual, the Battle is a chance for middle-aged professionals, businesspeople
and even a couple of cantors to unleash
their alter egos as rock stars and play on
stage with a rock legend. Andy Nulman,
MC since year one, announced that the
event has raised more than $3 million
over its history. The bands had names
like Past Their Prime Time Players and
New Kids on the Ward. This year’s theme
was “Welcome to the Hotel California.”
d’arcy mcgee medal
The creation of the annual D’Arcy-McGee Citizenship Medal was announced
by that riding’s MNA David Birnbaum.
Up to three residents who exemplify
“outstanding achievement in community involvement” will be selected
as medal recipients and honoured at
a ceremony on June 22. They will be
chosen by a jury composed of three
past Liberal D’Arcy-McGee MNAs, all
cabinet ministers: Victor Goldbloom,
Herbert Marx and Lawrence Bergman.
The deadline for submissions for the
2015 medals is May 29 at 3 p.m. Entry
forms are available at the riding office,
5800 Cavendish Blvd., Suite 403, Côte
St. Luc, or by emailing david.birnbaum.
dmg@assnat.qc. ca. Applicants will be
considered for either a single initiative
or long-standing commitment having
an impact in the riding or beyond and
“most substantially” in a volunteer
capacity.
grief support group
Beginning in January, the Jewish General
Hospital’s Hope & Cope is offering a free
eight-week grief support group for those
who have lost a loved one to cancer.
Registration, Robyn Wilkenfeld, 514-9732254.
Hope & Cope also runs other support
groups for anyone who has been affected
by cancer. Separate patients and caregivers groups meet every second Wednesday of the month, while both groups
meet together every fourth Wednesday.
Sessions are held at the Hope & Cope
Wellness Centre, 4635 Côte Ste. Catherine
Rd., from 7-8:30 p.m. Registration, 514340-8255.
...About Ourselves...
new b’nai Brith residence?
Residence B’nai Brith has received the
green light from Côte St. Luc council to
buy land owned by the city for the construction of a second B’nai Brith House, a
low-rent apartment for seniors. The land
is located near the Côte St. Luc Shopping
Centre, not far from the existing B’nai
Brith House. The non-profit Residence
B’nai Brith offered to pay more than $1
million for the property and plans to build
a 100-unit residence for autonomous
seniors. The sale is conditional upon the
city council’s approval of the architectural
plans and rezoning of the property.
Outremont borough councillor Mindy
Pollak was selected as one of 10 “Orthodox
Jewish All Stars” for 2014. For the third year,
New York-based Jew in the City recognized
proudly Orthodox Jews who by excelling
in their profession or social involvement
dispel misconceptions about what religious
Jews can achieve The awards ceremony
took place at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York on Dec. 2.
“I am very honoured that Jew in the
City has chosen to recognize my work
in the community,” said Pollak who was
elected in November 2013 at age 24,
becoming the first chassidic woman to
hold public office in Quebec. “The first
year of my mandate has been one of
learning and has been full of challenges.
I hope that, over the coming years, I will
continue to grow closer to the different
communities in my neighbourhood”…
Hebrew Academy high school principal
Laura Segall was awarded the annual
Pearl Feintuch Award in recognition
of her outstanding contributions as a
Jewish day school educator by the Bronfman Jewish Education Centre. Segall,
who holds a PhD in biochemistry from
McGill University, is the former head of
the school’s mathematics and science
department. She has been especially
effective in enhancing science education.
Under her leadership, Hebrew Academy
students came first in this year’s Jerusalem Science Competition. Segall also
spearheaded Hebrew Academy’s annual science fair in 2009 and initiated a
Sunday science enrichment program for
especially keen students. n
kids’ mental health
The Irving Ludmer Family Foundation
has donated $2.9 million for child and
adolescent mental health research at
the Montreal Neurological Institute
and McGill University. The gift boosts
collaboration between these institutions and the Jewish General Hospital
and Douglas Mental Health University
Institute. The Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health was
established last year with a $4.5-million
donation to those hospitals. The goal is
to better understand why some children
are vulnerable to such conditions as
autism, attention deficit disorder and
social anxiety, and what can be done to
prevent them from developing. The new
money will enhance the brain imaging
and other computational capacity of
the researchers as they explore different
genetic and environmental factors in
brain development.
Top students
Renewable energy entrepreneur Stephan Ouaknine, a 1991 Herzliah
High School graduate, third from left, congratulates some of the
current students whose 2013-2014 overall averages in general and
Judaic studies was 85 percent or higher. At right is vice-principal
Shelley Mann.
24
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
Miketz | Genesis 41:1 - 44:17
Maharat Abby Brown Scheier argues we must be inspired by the women of Chanukah
Rabbi Denise Handlarski interprets Jacob’s story as a reminder to feed the hungry
Rabbi Yirmi Cohen says when the world gets dark, Jews need to provide a light
Maharat Abby Brown Scheier
Rabbi Denise Handlarski
Rabbi Yirmi Cohen
R
J
oseph’s brothers are suffering from famine and
go to Egypt to ask for help. Joseph recognizes his
brothers but they do not recognize him. Joseph sets
up a test for his brothers, telling them to return with
their youngest brother, Benjamin. Benjamin, replacing
Joseph as Jacob’s favourite son – for he is the last remaining son of Rachel as far as Jacob knows – did not
accompany his brothers the first time.
Though Jacob is reticent to let him go for the second
journey, he realizes they all may starve, and thus he
consents. Consider the story from Jacob’s point of view.
He has lost his favourite son and now is threatened
with the loss of another. While showing favouritism for
a child is never a good parenting strategy, we can have
some sympathy for Jacob in the choice he has to make.
He either lets Benjamin go, or he risks starvation.
There is a midrash that speaks of Jacob’s dilemma:
“You may learn from the story of Jacob that it is a
man’s worst trial to have his children ask him for food
when he has nothing to give.” Hunger is devastating,
and there is still far too much of it. Jacob reminds us
of our responsibility to feed the hungry. The midrash
about Jacob works nicely in conjunction with something Rashi noted about this portion. He makes the
link between the word for corn/food in the Joseph story (shever) with the word for hope (sever). It’s difficult
to have hope without bread. This week we celebrate
Chanukah, a time of joy and, for many of us, abundance. Let us, in gratitude and generosity, support
food banks and soup kitchens. Let all of us work for a
world in which both bread and hope are in abundance
for all. n
A
Rabbi Denise Handlarski is assistant rabbi with Oraynu
Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Toronto.
Rabbi Yirmi Cohen is rabbi of Ohalei Yoseph Yitzchak
Congregation in Toronto.
ecently, a friend said to me, “Aren’t you lucky you
don’t have boys!” The context was a conversation
about how elaborate and expensive bar mitzvahs have
become and how, as the mother of four daughters, I
wouldn’t incur these expenses.
My friend’s innocent comment reflected a reality of
our communities: our ritual expectations and (subsequent) financial standards are different for boys and
girls as we celebrate their spiritual and educational
growth, in particular when it comes to bar and bat
mitzvahs. Do we not want to encourage both our sons
and our daughters to participate equally in Jewish ritual,
study and communal life?
The Talmud states (Shabbat 23b): “A woman certainly lights [Chanukah candles], as Rabbi Yehoshua ben
Levi said: Women are obligated concerning Chanukah
candles, since they, too, were part of the miracle.” Where
are the women?
A fascinating story is found in the Talmud (Gittin
57b), which describes a woman whose seven sons are
martyred before her eyes. We also read of Judith, who
deftly beheads the Syrian-Greek general Holofernes.
One woman demonstrates the strength of speaking up
for her religion and not allowing its spirit to be defeated.
The other courageously seduces her way to the enemy
camp and demonstrates ingenuity and gutsiness. Additionally, the Book of Maccabees also describes women
who took it upon themselves to ensure Jewish continuity at the risk of death by circumcising their sons. These
stories teach us that women have been part of the Jewish story all along. They, too, cared about Judaism and
stood up for their beliefs in physical and spiritual ways.
If we want our daughters to be proud, strong Jews
who contribute in meaningful ways to our religious
and communal life, let us be inspired by the women of
Chanukah. We must ensure that our daughters – with
the same sense of ceremony and importance that we
reserve for our sons – are always an integral part of the
story. n
Maharat Abby Brown Scheier is a Judaic Studies teacher
in Montreal, where she lives with her husband and four
daughters.
lthough on Chanukah we savour those delicious,
crispy latkes, primarily, we celebrate by lighting the
menorah. This is how we commemorate the miracle of
the oil that lasted for eight days. The victory of Chanukah was a victory of the spirit, so our observances are
more “spiritual.” The Greeks wanted us to forget the
Torah and transgress the mitzvot, so we celebrate with
an emphasis on the spiritual.
Chanukah is also related to the word chinuch, education. Chanukah is a time to focus on the educational
needs of our children. We should provide them with a
holy environment. According to Jewish law, under the
circumstances, the Jews could have lit the menorah with
impure oil. But they wanted the very best. So, too, must
we offer our children the best Jewish education.
The Chanukah lights commemorate the menorah of
the Temple. Yet there are major differences between
them. In the Temple, the menorah was lit in the afternoon and on the inside, whereas the Chanukah candles
are lit facing the street and after dark. This teaches that
a Jew must not only light up his home, as with Shabbat
candles, but must illuminate the “outside” – his social
and business environment.
As the Lubavitcher Rebbe asked us to share the joy of
Chanukah, my son and I have a custom to light a menorah with many of our neighbours on our street.
When it is “dark” outside, in exile or as we saw recently
with the very dark events in Jerusalem and in Israel, we
need to light up the world and be more unified, with
more Torah and more mitzvot.
May we see the lighting of the Chanukah menorah in
the third Temple with the Mashiach in our days. n
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Hardwood
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legwww.romanshardwood.com
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hen
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In
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References
Metropolitan
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reas.
reas.
416-630-6487.
416-630-6487.
Jack
Kennedy
ingly
detailed,
hour-by-hour
deshort
shortnotice,
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home,apt.,
apt.,
apt.,in his office. I was
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insured,
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office,
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scriptions
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kitchen
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416-747-7082
Commission
after returning on an overdays
in
office
–
June
10
and
11,
1963
415
home
Specializing
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in
in
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touchups.
kits.,
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bsmts.,
&
elec.
&
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Two Days in June:
John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours
mit, Does personal care, cook- Hope to hear from you soon. 416That Made History,
ing, cleaning, shopping, laundry, 223-7250
by Andrew Cohen
everything a Senior needs to stay
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happy, healthy & safe. Call 416- Replying
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on
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ered the speech on “world peace” as before the president was to deliver
the
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with
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a commencement address at Wash- it on national television. Ultimately
the
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ing,
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ington’s
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Cohen
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the
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morning
of June 10, 1963. Only draft and extemporized – which he
speeches
that
Kennedy
gave
on
repairs onRoman
premi
ses.
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eight
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ESTIMATES.
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PAINTHOUSE
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www.romanshardwood.com
Before signing
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homes. Eng. & Polish-speaking.
Before
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the
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Glutathione
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isdeclining.
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405
furniture
He knew well their treach- great speech,” said Cohen. “In fact,
nuclear
arms
with the U.S.S.R.
–residential,
make
sure
cleanest,
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ery,
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interior/exterior.
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The speeches from those days, I
their
prisoners,”
Cohen
writes.
But
domestic
concern
of
civil
rights
and
Repairs,
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he
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theyour
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of the American
contractor
MILE’S
MILE’S
PAINTING
PAINTING
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reas.
416-630-6487.
licensed
short notice,
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As Cohen details, JFK’s oration on
Professional
Professional
painting
painting
.
.
interior
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knowing
that
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South.
Both
were
central
and
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maker & RPN avail. to work any
business.
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ESTIMATES.
PAINT
HOUSE
The Canadian
ishome
Marcantonio
Furniture
Repair office,
415
415of
home
Metropolitan
&& exterior.
exterior.result
Over
Overin
16
16annihilation
years
years
nuclear
arms became the basis for
on
both
sides.
ing
issues
America
in
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’60s.
Specializing
in touchups.
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shift FT/PT. W/car. 647-351-2503 Replying
improvementS
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for
All
an ad
experience.
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GTA.
GTA.References
References
appropriately
the
Limited
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Almost
for
the
first
time,
he
used
lanJewishtoNews
An
admitted
“JFK
junkie”
ever
Restoration,
refinishings & gen. E&M450
Painting.
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fastest,
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Commission
upon
upon
request.
request.
Reasonable
Reasonable
of
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and
his
speech on civil rights
guage
that
humanized
rather
than
since
he
first
heard
the
news
of
the
on premises.
416-654-0518.
Glutathione
level isSpecializes
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with
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cleanest,
And
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led
to
the
Civil
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Act of 1964, a
demonized
the
Russians
–
never
Dallas
assassination
while
a
thirdkitchen
kitchenrepairs
repairs&&refacing
refacing&&new
new
Your
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can
pay
the
price!
with
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Number?
kits.,
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fin.
fin.
bsmts.,
bsmts.,
&
&
elec.
elec.
&
&
plumbplumbwatershed
in
American
history.
as
eloquently
as
in
this
memorable
grade
pupil
in
Montreal,
Cohen
was
avail. European. Experienced
painting in GTA. Commercial
and
Concord, Ont.
Ceramic Tile &
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health
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ing,
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Metropolitan
Cohen uses many other intriguing
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References. 416-655-4083.
ResidentialReasonable.
Eli. 647-898-5804
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FREE
beauty
L4K 2L7
Odd
Odd
jobs,
jobs,
small
small
repairs,
repairs,
paintpaintdown
and
view
hours
of raw film input from the Defense Department sources to chronicle the events devn3545@gmail.com
Licensing
ESTIMATES. PAINT HOUSE
ing,
ing,
etc.
etc. Please
Please
call
call Fred
Fred
scribed in Two Days in June. He visfootage
of for
Kennedy
andatat
others shot or the CIA.
Body
All
E&M Painting.
The fastest,
Reliable, hard working and
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MILE’S
PAINTING
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Don’t forget to put Healthy
ited historian-diarist Lady Antonia
“If
we
cannot
end
now
our
differin
the
White
House
and
other
key
Glutathione level is declining.
cleanest, And most professional
Your
Body
can
pay
the
price!
Fraser in London, who opened her
ences,
at
least
we
can
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during
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in
416-392-3000 painting
in GTA.painting
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and
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safe for diversity,” intoned JFK diaries to him and vividly recounted
June. Cameramen working with
film- Eli.world
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Before
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signing
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able. Please call 416-546-5380.
& exterior.
Over
your envelope.
one 16
of years
its most memorable pas- her conversation with JFK at a
maker Robert Drew shot the
footMILE’Sin
PAINTING
any
any
contract,
contract,
sages.
“For
in the final analysis, our Georgetown dinner party on June 10.
ageimprovementS
and accompanying
soundtrack
Professional
painting
. interior
experience.
GTA.
References
TO
PLACE
AN
AD CALL
Harmonia Maid & Janitorial. We
415
home
most
basic
common link is that we Cohen also drew upon the recently
while
compiling
a
52-minute
docu& exterior. Over 16 years
make
make sure
sure
CJN Box #’s are valid
Monday
to
Friday
improvementS
upon
request.
Reasonable
experience.
GTA.
References
all
inhabit
this
small planet. We all opened letters and diaries of Arthur
mentary,
Crisis,
one
of
the
earliest
provide affordable high quality
your
your contractor
contractor
for 30 days.
A-1
Handyman.
Specializes
in
upon request.
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breathe
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American
films
in the cinema-verite
A-1 Handyman. Specializes in rates!
rates!Phone
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maid & janitorial services. For
416-303-3276.
Please
note
our new
number:
our children’s future. And we are all presidential assistant, as well as
style,repairs
which
on&&American
teleis&isaired
kitchen
&
refacing
new
kitchen
repairs
refacing
new
those of Charles Ritchie, then Canmortal.”
vision
in
October
1963.
kits., fin.
bsmts., & elec. & plumbdetails call 416-666-5570.
appropriately
appropriately
kits.,In
fin.
bsmts.,
& elec. with
& plumbing,
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Call
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Just as the president appealed to ada’s ambassador to Washington. He
an
interview
The CJN, Colicensed
licensed
ing,henetc.
Call
647-533-2735.
explained
that painthe was curious the American people to start seeing also uncovered a draft presidential
Odd
jobs,
small
repairs,
about
any
unused
from the Russians in a new way, so too speech written by the gifted young
ing, etc. with
Please
call Fredfootage
at
with
the
the
All
Classified
ads
require
416-420-8731.
he appealed to the nation to begin novelist Richard Yates.
Crisis
and
telephoned
Drew
in
2012.
Odd
jobs,
small
repairs,
paintMetropolitan
Metropolitan
265 people
A teacher at Ottawa’s Carleton
to see “Negroes” as full-fledged citThe aging
director,
who
was
then
prepayment
before deadline.
ing,
etc.
Please
call
Fred
at
Licensing
Licensing
University
and former Washington
izens,
entitled
to
equal
rights
and
about
88
years
old
and
who
died
last
SearCh ANDREW PLUM
The
CJN
accepts
Visa,
Mastercard,
Before
signing
correspondent
for the Globe and
privileges
in
all
spheres
of
life.
His
July,
told
him
that
at
least
26
hours
Commission
Commission
416-420-8731.
American
Express,
Cheque
or
Cash.
Mail,
Cohen
is
the author of six
June
11
speech
on
civil
rights
was
of raw
footage
had
been
shot
for
the
any contract,
416-392-3000
416-392-3000
film
and that it was being preserved delivered amidst an emerging crisis previous books on Canadian submake sure
Bored? over 75? looking for gin
cannot beas
responsible
Alabama governor Wallace vowed jects, including Why Canada Slept:
at the Pickford Centre The
forCJN
Motion
your
contractor
for
more
than
one
incorrect
insertion.
to
stand
in the doorway to keep How We Lost Our Place in the World
Picture
Study
in
Hollywood.
rummy/poker players downtown.
Please
bring any
problems
to
the
Carvings, Snuff Bottles, Ivory, Cloisonné,
black
students
from attending the (2003) and biographies of Lester
“I went out
there
for
five
days,”
he
is
attention of your saleshitherto-segregated
representative
contact Cari at 416-606-5898
paintings, etc. Over 35 years experience,
University of Pearson and Pierre Trudeau (with J.
recalled.
appropriately
before your ad is repeated.
professional and courteous.
L. Granatstein). Two Days in June is
The many hours of grainy,
black- Alabama.
licensed
his first major foray into American
Incredibly,
Kennedy
and
Sorenson
and-white
16mm-film
that
Cohen
Call: 416 669 1716
viewedwith
were the
focused largely on the began drafting separate versions of history. n
250 DomeStiC
275 perSonal
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ury conI can clean your home and apt.
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com647-859
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ed in meeting an educated lady,
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Call 647.867.6144.
umS
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munity.
mo
min
begin
12-1-14
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avail.
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any will share
250
250
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The
ne.ca
myCanadian
passion for movies,
81-8380.
Experienced,
loyal, Filipina,
care ISLES,
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SPECIALIST
IN SUNNY
umS
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rmbaker@aol.com
shifthelp
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helpBAL
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Jewish
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cook- BEACH
HARBOUR,
Hope to hear
from you soon. 416wanteD
wanteD
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ing, cleaning, shopping, laundry,
223-7250
1750
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and
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ury
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ed
edinReplying
inmeeting
meeting
an
an2L7
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785-2500
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et ravine Call
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ntS
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homes.
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e.ca 1/2 English
will
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avail.
todrive
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any
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call
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The Canadian
your
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3600
or car
shift
FT/PT.
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mit,
mit,
Does
Does
personal
personal
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cookcookJewish
News
Hope
Hope
to
to
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hear
from
from
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soon.
soon.
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DRIVE
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Metropolitan
26
Q&A
M
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
Arieh King: redeeming the Land of Israel
Sheri Shefa
sshefa@thecjn.ca
A
rieh King is a Jerusalem city councillor, director and founder of the Israel
Land Fund (ILF) and one of the 10 original residents of the Ma’ale Zeitim neighbourhood on the Mount of Olives, where
he lives with his wife and six children.
Through the ILF, King works to recover
and preserve Jewish land in east Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel. King is considered by some to be an expert on the
Mount of Olives and aims to block illegal
building in the area.
In advance of his Dec. 7 lecture at
Chabad at Flamingo, King spoke to The
CJN about the recent terrorist attacks in
Jerusalem and the current security challenges in the capital, as well as his vision
for the Holy City and how kidnap and
assassination attempts are not enough
to deter him from moving forward with
that vision.
Arieh King, Jerusalem city councillor and founder of the Israel Land Fund
What are your ambitions regarding
your work with the Israel Land Fund?
After working in the field of reclaiming
and purchasing land from non-Jews in Israel since 1997, after nine years, I understood… what the Arabs were doing. They
have a few funds and their goal is like that
of the Jewish National Fund, to buy the
land of Palestine for the Arab people, and
they bring in… millions of dollars every
year to buy land from Jews.
They are succeeding in the Galilee, in
Jerusalem, succeeding in buying not just
one house here and there – I’m talking
about neighbourhoods.
[The ILF isn’t doing] something new. We
are just continuing what we have been
doing for generations, which is buying
the Land of Israel. Because we have a
state, and a government, and police, so
what was obvious to do before 1948, Jews
stopped doing and now, Arabs are doing
what Jews did before 1948.
What is the message you’re bringing
to Canada’s Jewish community?
What’s happened and still happening in
Jerusalem in the last few months, [we
must understand] how we got to this
situation. During the election more than
a year ago, I said then that what we are
facing today was going to happen. It was
part of my election campaign, that if Israel, and the municipality of Jerusalem,
will not change its attitude to east Jerusalem, we will face a terrible security
situation, which is exactly what we are
facing in this wave [of terrorism]. We are
not over it.
The main thing is that Israel does not
I cannot accept that
the government of
Israel is freezing the
building for Jews
because they are Jews.
enforce the laws in east Jerusalem. This
is where everything started. You cannot
expect any human being that you are
educating for years that he can build illegally whenever he wants, he can drive
without a license, whenever and wherever he wants, he can steal electricity, he
can steal water, he can not pay taxes, and
this is today the situation and the reality
in east Jerusalem.
What can we expect from a child who
grows up to be 18 years old who was in
a school where the government sponsors
schools where teachers are teaching him
that there is no State of Israel, it is one
place called Palestine? And how can we
expect from these Arabs not to throw
stones on the people who stole their
land, according to what is being taught
at a school that we are sponsoring?
The main issue is that the government
of Israel and the municipality needs… to
enforce the law. I’m talking about every
law – parking, driving, taxes – every law.
Most of the Arabs in east Jerusalem, if
you will ask them one on one, they will
tell you that it would be a nightmare for
them for their neighbourhood to become
part of the Palestinian Authority…. Instead of strengthening these Arabs who
think like that, by not enforcing the laws,
we are allowing the anti-Israeli powers to
become stronger.
Your own home was the subject of an
attack?
Two and a half months ago, there was
an attempt to assassinate me, to kill me.
They shot [at my home], but I didn’t notice it, because it was during an evening
that they fired firecrackers.
The morning after this attack, my wife
went to do laundry, and she went to the
laundry machine and she found bullet
holes and the bullets on the floor. Then
we understood that the firecrackers were
a cover for someone. I was standing on
the balcony during the firecrackers, but
thank God, they didn’t [shoot me].
Aren’t you scared?
Of course I am. In 1999, there was an attempt to kidnap me in a neighbourhood
called Abu Dis in east Jerusalem.
I got a report from a resident from
Ma’ale Adumim… that he saw Palestinian
police in uniform and with weapons in a
part of Jerusalem, so I went there… with
a video camera, and I saw 26 policemen,
walking… in Jerusalem… so I convinced
[a government] minister to come, and
with them came the media, and they saw
that the Arabs were inside Jerusalem, so
the army came and took six of them out,
but I said, I have video of 26 of them, why
are you only taking six out?
I went looking for them, and when I
found them, they gathered around my
car… They broke into the car, and they
asked me to come out. They wanted to
take me to Jericho, so what I did was took
their officer hostage, and I had my own
pistol.
I took him in my car, and I had my pistol to his head, and they were surrounding my car, and after 45 minutes… a Palestinian policeman, who was involved in
removing the six other policemen told
them to leave… I told him I would take
the guy who was in my car until I got to a
curve in the road where he could not see
me, and that’s what happened.
Since then, I’ve been much more aware
about what is happening. When we found
the bullets in my house and when they
attempted to assassinate [my friend and
colleague Rabbi] Yehuda Glick, so I’m
much more aware. I need to check my car
every day… and do things that the police
gave me instructions to do.
This doesn’t deter you?
I cannot allow myself [to be deterred],
until the government or the municipality
of Jerusalem will not take it as their own
project, to do what I’m doing, redeeming
the land. There is no other choice. Of
course, you need to be careful. I do not
go into Arab areas like I did before. Now
I’m taking more steps to secure myself.
What is your vision for Jerusalem in
the next 10 years?
I want to see that there will be no difference between east and west Jerusalem
– meaning, the same freedom of movement that Jews have in west Jerusalem
and the same freedom of movement that
Arabs in west Jerusalem, I want to see
Jews have in east Jerusalem. I want to
see the same rights that the Arabs have,
I want to see the Jews have.
I cannot accept that the government
of Israel is freezing the building for Jews
because they are Jews. There are areas
in Jerusalem… where Arabs can submit
plans and build, but Jews cannot. Jews
who are living in the United States, in
Canada, cannot build because they are
Jews.
If you ask what my vision is… the development, the road development, light
infrastructure, sewage, electricity –
everything will be equal in the east and
the west. This is my vision. n
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014
Social Scene
M
27
Let your heart be contrite
Backstory
Jonathan L. Milevsky
A
s the holiday season approaches, one
can already hear the predictable fever
pitch of pundits on both sides of the “war
on Christmas.” Jews are often caught in
the middle of the Scylla and Charybdis of
this struggle.
On the one hand, for the sake of darchei
shalom, the ways of peace, we accept it if
Chanukah gets pushed to the sidelines,
but there is also a required element of
pirsumei nisah, the promulgating of the
miracle, which is lost as a result.
On the other hand, we don’t want to
be too forceful in promoting the holiday.
We are aware of the resentment that can
come from this type of approach. What is
needed, then, is some common ground
that represents a way out of this struggle.
Surprisingly, the common ground is
the call to repentance at this time of year,
found in the intellectual history of both
religious traditions.
In chassidic thought, this is a very strong
theme. Chanukah is seen as an extension
of the High Holidays and the time when
our fates are finally sealed. It is seen as a
time for renewal, a concept that connects
to the new month that comes during
the holiday and the midrashic idea that
the placing of the month was one of the
points to which the Greeks objected, and
it is perceived as a time that hints at God’s
forgiveness.
These ideas are found in the literature
of the Lubavitch, Sanz and Karlin dynasties, among others. The idea is also found
in Moses Chaim Luzzatto’s Way of God,
in which he calls the Hasmonean victory
a “return” to Torah and worship. Moreover, the link to forgiveness can be seen
in Rabbi Shlomo Yitshaki’s prayer book.
There, Rashi explains that the reason the
portion read in synagogue on Chanukah
relates to the gifts of the princes is that it
was the commandment to build the Tabernacle that assured Moses he was forgiven (according to several midrashim,
the Tabernacle was complete on the 25th
day of Kislev, the first day of Chanukah,
but was only consecrated at the beginning of Nisan.)
Perhaps underlying this link to forgiveness is the slight element of solemnity on
Chanukah. Unlike the festival of Purim,
there were no festive meals instituted
on Chanukah. For this reason, Rabbi
Meir of Rothenburg (13th century) says
meals that celebrate Chanukah do not
have the status of a seudat mitzvah, a
meal that celebrates the fulfilment of a
commandment. This idea is echoed by
Rabbi Mordechai Yaffeh (16th century),
who says that, unlike Purim, Jewish lives
were not in danger during Chanukah.
The only threat was that Jews would turn
away from their faith, and their military
success prevented that from happening.
Thus, the holiday is one that commemorates the Hasmoneans’ submission to
God.
The idea of forgiveness is also found in
relation to the Christmas season. For example, as American author B.D. Forbes
has noted, the Puritan English Parliament
in 1644 declared the holiday a day of penance instead of a feast day. Dietrich Bonhoffer, a German theologian at the turn
of the 20th century, repeats this idea and
says Christmas is a time for repentance,
not rejoicing. Moreover, German author
Christoph Dohmen suggests that there is
even a similarity between the liturgy of
Christmas and that of Yom Kippur.
In an interesting conceptual parallel,
the call for repentance comes against
a backdrop of a recognition of the seriousness of the holiday. Pope Leo (fifth
century) saw the holiday as a time for reflection, not for “dull carnal joy.” Indeed,
even gift-giving could be seen in this
context. As American management Prof.
Jean M. Bartunek and student Boram Do
demonstrate, framing the consumerism
of the holiday as profane is a misrepresentation. Bartunek and Do say the practice of gift-giving was originally associated with charity, a way of thinking about
those who are less fortunate, and that it
had the benefit of preventing rowdiness
by keeping people off the streets.
Now, I am not saying either holiday
should be celebrated any differently than
it has been, nor am I promoting syncretism. All I am saying is that there is a basis
for common ground, and that should be
emphasized at this time of year. n
in-depth interviews that involve written
reflections, face-to-face meetings and
thought-provoking questions that prompt
meaningful responses. Each ceremony
is written from scratch for each couple,
including material on the pair’s story, what
drew them together and what keeps them
united.
In one ritual for the ceremony of a wineloving couple, she instructed them to select
a case of wine that would age well. Bride
and groom were told to write one another
letters wherein they reflected on their love
for each other, and to seal those letters and
place them in the wine case.
“They’ll open it on a pre-specified anniversary date, or if their marriage runs into
trouble before then,” she told me. “At that
time they’ll share a glass of good wine, read
the letters they wrote each other before
their wedding and remember what drew
them together.”
Davidson’s ceremonies are months in the
making, and they’re not cheap, “but each
one is like a commissioned work of art,” she
says. “There’s not a boring second in there.”
Her words took me right back to the hot
synagogue and the rabbi at my wedding,
who had no idea who we were as individuals or what had drawn us together. He was
just a man in a long black coat who’d been
hired for the occasion and considered our
ceremony a platform for his ideas of what a
marriage should be.
“Often religious officiants have an agenda
for the wedding and insist the couple fall
under their agenda,” one officiant said. “We
believe the ceremony is about what our
couples believe, and most of them want
something soulful, spiritual and personal.”
I’m not planning a second marriage, but
if I ever renewed my vows, I’d choose an
officiant like Davidson to create that ceremony in a heartbeat. I’ve sat through more
than my share of rabbinical soliloquys,
memorable only for their lengthy duration,
speeches that are seldom “on my level.”
I’m certain I’m not alone. I think couples
everywhere are ready for a fresh breeze
that heralds a more innovative wedding
ceremony, one that celebrates who they
are as individuals, what values they share
and how bright their future will be should
their love and trust persist. If there’s a rabbi
who can deliver that, I’d love to meet him
or her. n
Jonathan L. Milevsky is a PhD candidate
at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
Married with kids
The wedding speech
Lauren Kramer
I
f I’m ever inclined to slide my wedding
video into the old dinosaur that is my
trusty VHS, the idea of listening to the
rabbi’s speech is the fastest deterrent imaginable.
Delivered on a sweltering day in a
synagogue with no air conditioning, the
rabbi hired for the occasion droned on for
40 minutes in a long-winded soliloquy to
which I doubt very much anyone really
listened. As I fidgeted beneath the chupah
in impractically high heels and many layers
of silk and tulle, I remember thinking “Will
this ever end?” Our trusty videographer
determined he’d capture the entire monologue on video and save it for posterity
– though why I cannot imagine. We didn’t
listen to it on our wedding day, and we certainly don’t have any intention of reliving
that speech 18 years later.
The rabbi was only doing what he
thought was his job – marrying an ex-South
African couple who’d flown back home for
their wedding – by imparting the gravity
of the wedding ceremony and the roles
we would play as chattan and kallah. That
he knew nothing about us was a fact that
never entered the equation because that
speech, I’m fairly certain, had been delivered at many other weddings in slightly different forms. It wasn’t about the individuals
standing beneath the chupah with lovestruck eyes. It had something to do with the
spirituality of man and woman uniting and
each of their respective roles. I’m not sure
of this, though, because as I said, I wasn’t
listening intently at the time.
Recently, though, I had cause to reflect
on that speech and how different it might
have been had today’s bridal trends held
sway back then. When a bridal magazine
asked me to research wedding ceremonies
and how they were changing, I came into
contact with Michele Davidson, a wedding
officiant with Modern Celebrant in Vancouver. She described the custom wedding
ceremonies she creates for couples after
she’s come to know them over months of
28
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
December 18, 2014
M
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light to those who are still
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