MONTREAL EDITION december 18, 2014 • 26 kislev, 5775 $2.00 • 28 PAGES • WWW.CJNEWS.COM 42ГЁme annГ©e volume 1 - mars 2014 - AdarII/ Nisan 5774 Inside LVS is now included with your CJN Partnership aims to increase exposure for La Voix SГ©pharade. 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 Г‰diteur passionnГ© d’Histoire Le Roi Mohammed VI du Maroc fГ©licite 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 Candlelighting, Havdalah TIMES Halifax Montreal Toronto Winnipeg Calgary Vancouver 4:17 p.m. 3:54 p.m. 4:24 p.m. 4:10 p.m. 4:12 p.m. 3:57 p.m. 5:26 p.m. 5:04 p.m. 5:32 p.m. 5:26 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 5:11 p.m. WWW.CJNEWS.COM Canada Post Publication Agreement #40010684 GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE AT MIRVISH.COM 2 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 B1E3R 2 0 1 1 JOuCl yT O 20 Feldman Messias We are just continuing what we forwith generations, OK as is have been doing OK corrections which is buying the Land of Israel. 22 .............................................................................................. Approved by: вќЌ OUT Inspiring design. ng design. 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 вќЌ 24 25 — Jerusalem city councillor Arieh King, the director and founder of the Israel Land Fund. See full interview on page 26. COVER PHOTO BY FLASH90 Rebate Up to 50% of a home’s heating and cooling energy e’sВ®heating and cooling energy В® is lost through its windows. e, Duette ndows. В® eRise. 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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. Letters to the editor are welcome if they are brief and in English or French. Mail letters to our address or to [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit and condense letters, which must bear the sender’s name, address and phone number. Creative Optimists created daily. 9:30 ~5:30 : 9:30 ~1 11 4 4058 (514) 875-4800 514 842 7615 [email protected] NoonooPinslerDonato.com Noonoo Pinsler Donato Family Office is a part of TD Wealth Private Investment Advice. Noonoo Pinsler Donato Private Office consists of Clifford Noonoo, Investment Advisor, Jonathan Pinsler, Investment Advisor and Christopher Donato, Investment Advisor. TD Wealth Private Investment Advice is a division of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. – Member Canadian Investor Protection Fund. В®/The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. 4 M Show Israel You Care! Volunteer as a Civilian worker for 2 or 3 weeks 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 on an Israeli army supply base Free: accommodations, kosher meals, trips, events. Cost: air fare, $100 registration, weekend expenses. 416-781-6089 or [email protected] 514-735-0272 or [email protected] www.sarelcanada.org Programs start approximately every 3 weeks. Snowbirds GOING SOUTH? TAKE THE CJN WITH YOU! Read the eCJN online and put your delivery on hold until you return. OR Arrange delivery to your destination for $10/month. 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 (Payable by cheque, or major credit card) CONTACT SUBSCRIBER SERVICES 416 932 5095 / 1 866 849 0864 or Go to bit.ly/CJNContact and complete the online form Please notify us at least 10 days prior to your departure How to reach us Vol. XLIV, No. 49 (2,175)* Head Office: 1750 Steeles Ave. W., Ste. 218, Concord, Ont. L4K 2L7 mOntreal Office: CarrГ© DГ©carie Sq., 6900 boul. DГ©carie, Ste. 3125, CГґte St. Luc, QuГ©. H3X 2T8 tel: 514-735-2612; fax: 514-735-9090 editorial e-mail: [email protected] advertising e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cjnews.com Subscription inquiries: 416-932-5095 fax: 416-932-2488 toll free: 1-866-849-0864 israeli advertising representative: IMP, Tel: 02-625-2933. E-mail: [email protected] circulation: Total circulation: 33,717 copies Total paid circulation: 25,011 copies CCNA verified circulation: August 5, 2014 Postmaster: Please return 29Bs and changes of address to: CJN, 1750 Steeles Ave. W., Ste. 218, Concord, Ont. L4K 2L7. Postage Paid at Toronto Canada Post Publication Agreement #40010684 *Under current ownership We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Canadian Jewish News reserves the right to refuse advertising that in its opinion is misleading, in poor taste or incompatible with the advertising policies of the newspaper. Acceptance of advertising does not imply endorsement by The Canadian Jewish News. The CJN makes no representation as to the kashrut of food products in advertisements. 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 вЂ�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 Gift certificates available in stores www.curyeux.com THE H O L I DA Y S A L E ! Great brands at low prices ST-LAURENT MEDICAL COMPLEX 1585 B o u l. M a r c e l L a u r i n 514.735.1111 ST -JГ‰RГ”ME 450.431.3381 STE-MARTHE-SUR-LE-LAC 450.491.6000 SL070_dec-horiz_eng.indd 1 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 Up to 75% on all frames in store! SL070-1214 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 *This unique event takes place once a year. Promotion includes the leading brands in store. With the purchase of a pair of ophthalmic lenses including scratch-resistance and anti-reflective coatings, get between 50% and 80% discount on the frame! Also receive a maximum of 50% discount on sunglasses! Lens thinning is additional. Some restrictions may apply. More details in store. Offer valid from December 15, 2014 to January 11, 2015 14-11-26 7:24 AM 8 M THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014 News Blicker’s hit ’70s novel Shmucks re-issued Janice Arnold [email protected] 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, ISRAEL th 2i5 ry versa Ann 2014 / 2015 SPECIAL Best Family Tours in North America Flights to Israel From $255 + taxes www.israelfamilytours.com Bar/Bat Mitzvah Tours • • • • • call us for recent testimonials Winter Break Summer Dec. 18, 2014 – Jan. 01, 2015 Jun. 28 – Jul. 9, 2015 Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ceremony Incl. 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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 CГґte 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 exposГ© 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 [email protected] Yiosh! (Г‰ditions Hamac Classique, 2014) de Magali Sauves est l’un des plus beaux Вromans sur le monde juif hassidique qu’il m’a Г©tГ© donnГ© de lire ces derniГЁres annГ©es. Г‰mouvant, pГ©nГ©trant et magnifiquement bien Г©crit, ce rГ©cit enlevant, portГ© par un souffle romanesque impressionnant, nous plonge dans un univers trГЁs singulier et fort mГ©connu, celui de la CommunautГ© hassidique d’Outremont. En effet, la grande majoritГ© des QuГ©bГ©cois, et bon nombre de Juifs aussi, ne connaissent le monde hassidique juif montrГ©alais qu’à travers le prisme dГ©formant, vГ©hiculant des stГ©rГ©otypes tenaces, de mГ©dias en quГЄte de scoops sensationnalistes. Juive traditionaliste, Magali Sauves a fait la dГ©couverte du monde hassidique montrГ©alais par pur hasard. ГЂ son arrivГ©e au QuГ©bec, il y a une dizaine d’annГ©es, elle cherchait un emploi d’enseignante de franГ§ais. Une Г©cole juive ultra-orthodoxe hassidique d’Outremont l’embaucha. Pendant dix ans, elle a enseignГ© le franГ§ais Г des fillettes membres de la CommunautГ© hassidique. “J’ai hГ©sitГ© avant d’accepter ce premier emploi d’enseignante Г MontrГ©al. J’ignorais complГЁtement tout du monde hassidique. ГЂ cette Г©poque, j’avais aussi des prГ©jugГ©s sur les Juifs hassidiques. Aujourd’hui, avec le recul, je rГ©alise que si j’avais refusГ© l’offre d’emploi que cette Г©cole ultra-orthodoxe d’Outremont m’a faite peu de temps aprГЁs mon arrivГ©e Г MontrГ©al, Г§a aurait Г©tГ© sans aucun doute la plus grande erreur de ma vie. Cet emploi m’a permis de dГ©couvrir une CommunautГ© juive magnifique et trГЁs gГ©nГ©reuse. Ma rencontre inopinГ©e avec le monde hassidique a Г©tГ© indГ©niablement l’une des expГ©riences les plus marquantes de ma vie”, nous a confiГ© Magali Sauves en entrevue. Magali Sauves. L’hГ©roГЇne principale de Yiosh!, Alexandra Ackerman, est une jeune fille russe intelligente et trГЁs vaillante qui n’a pas Г©tГ© Г©pargnГ©e par la vie. DГ©nigrГ©e, battue et violГ©e depuis qu’elle Г©tait une enfant, Alexandra a grandi, avec son insГ©parable frГЁre GГ©nek, dans un univers lugubre et trГЁs misГ©reux ravagГ© par l’alcool, la prostitution et le banditisme. Un jour, sa mГЁre Roizy, une prostituГ©e Г pied d’œuvre dans les grandes artГЁres de Saint-PГ©tersbourg, somma ses enfants, aprГЁs une violente altercation entre l’un de ses clients saouls, qui essaya de violer Alexandra, et GГ©nek, qui vint Г la rescousse de sa jeune soeur terrifiГ©e, de quitter sur le champ sans rechigner la demeure familiale. Ce jour trГЁs lugubre, l’âme slave d’Alexandra prit un coup lorsqu’elle comprit qu’elle Г©tait fille d’une prostituГ©e et petite-fille de rescapГ©s de la Shoah. Alexandra et GГ©nek s’enfuirent vers le Canada. Le jeune homme fut accueilli dans une YГ©chiva, Г Toronto, et sa sЕ“ur trouva refuge chez des Juifs hassidiques d’Outremont, Г MontrГ©al. ComplГЁtement dГ©racinГ©e, Alexandra est REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS CHABAD LUBAVITCH YOUTH ORGANIZATION chabadmontreal.com got menorah? MONTREAL Perfect The World - One Mitzvah At A Time CHABAD OF NDG AND LOYOLA CAMPUS jewishmonkland.com CHABAD OF OLD MONTREAL chabadoldmontreal.com CHABAD QUEEN-MARY chabadqueenmary.com BETH CHABAD C.S.L. chabadcsl.com CHABAD CHABANEL MAISON BELFIELD MOSHIACH RESOURCE CENTRE 514.385.9514 CHABAD CHAI CENTRE thechai.com CHABAD OF LASALLE chabadlasalle.com CHABAD LIFELINE chabadlifeline.com Chabad obligГ©e de se fondre dans des traditions juives millГ©naires qu’elle ne cesse de remettre en question. Par ailleurs, la jeune fille comprendra rapidement que la famille qui l’hГ©berge cache plusieurs lourds secrets, que ses membres portent en eux des cicatrices profondes laissГ©es par l’histoire de leurs ancГЄtres en Europe… C’est un “commentaire fortement interpellateur” d’une de ses jeunes Г©lГЁves hassidiques qui a motivГ© Magali Sauves Г Г©crire ce roman Г relents biographiques. “Un jour, une jeune Г©lГЁve de 15 ans m’a dit: “Vous ne pouvez pas savoir Madame comment Г§a me frustre que les gens pensent que les Hassidim n’ont pas les mГЄmes problГЁmes que les autres ГЄtres humains”. Cette remarque percutante a Г©tГ© le dГ©clencheur de ce roman.” Magali Sauves a frГ©quentГ© des familles juives hassidiques d’Outremont durant dix ans, six jours sur sept. “La dГ©couverte du monde hassidique a Г©tГ© pour moi un immense enrichissement qui m’a obligГ©e Г rГ©flГ©chir sur mon IdentitГ© juive, et aussi sur mon SГ©phardisme, ditelle. Depuis, je ne cesse de me questionner CHABAD OF MILE END chabadmileend.com CHABAD MONTREAL WEST 514.996.6770 CHABAD RUSSIAN YOUTH CENTRE 514.777.9161 CHABAD OF THE TOWN chabadtmr.com CHABAD UNIVERSITГ‰ DE MONTREAL chabaduniversitedemontreal.com CHABAD VILLE S. LAURENT chabadvsl.com CHABAD OF WESTMOUNT chabadwestmount.com JEWISH RUSSIAN COMMUNITY CENTRE jrccmtl.com sur ce que signifie rГ©ellement ГЄtre orthodoxe? Les Hassidim vivent un trГЁs grand dilemme, que beaucoup de gens qualifient de schizophrГ©nie. ГЂ leurs yeux, le monde qui les entoure s’est arrГЄtГ© de tourner. Eux, en tout cas, tournent dans le sens inverse du monde. Dans le roman, Alexandra pose avec acuitГ© la question de l’avenir de l’IdentitГ© juive.” Magali Sauves dГ©plore la “perception trГЁs erronГ©e et caricaturale” que beaucoup de QuГ©bГ©cois ont des Juifs. “TrГЁs souvent, pour un QuГ©bГ©cois, un Juif c’est un Hassid aux longues papillotes arborant une redingote noire. Cette vision trГЁs rГ©ductrice et stigmatisante du Juif ne rend pas justice Г la riche diversitГ© qui prГ©vaut dans le JudaГЇsme. Les Juifs sont un peuple multiple et trГЁs bigarré” Avec Yiosh! Magali Sauves confirme son grand talent littГ©raire. Son premier livre, Bleu Azreq (Г‰ditions SГ©maphore, 2011) est une fresque romanesque trГЁs poignante relatant l’Histoire des Juifs de Tunisie durant la DeuxiГЁme Guerre mondiale. Un premier roman Г©crit d’une plume alerte et assurГ©e. Une rГ©ussite absolue tant sur le plan romanesque qu’historique. Magali Sauves est nГ©e Г Pantin, dans la rГ©gion parisienne, d’une mГЁre Juive tunisienne et d’un pГЁre aristocrate Catholique. DГ©tentrice d’une MaГ®trise en Г‰ducation de l’UniversitГ© du QuГ©bec Г MontrГ©al (U.Q.A.M.), elle poursuit des Г‰tudes doctorales sur les mГ©canismes de la comprГ©hension de lecture Г l’UniversitГ© de MontrГ©al. Magali Sauves est actuellement Coordonnatrice des Г‰tudes franГ§aises Г l’École Akiva de MontrГ©al. Son prochain livre: un Polar qui paraГ®tra 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 ДђД«ДЌ 10 Comment M 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: [email protected] 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 Facebook: facebook.com/TheCJN 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 вЂ�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 LГіpez 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.” в– 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 DГ©carie Square, which offers free indoor parking and is wheelchair accessible. The schedule is as follows: вќ± 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 вќ± 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. вќ± 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. вќ± 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. вќ± 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. в– 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 regulations. Newspapers subject to these regulations are required to contribute their fair share of advertising space. 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 [email protected] Montreal subscribers will find a bonus with the delivery of the Dec. 18 edition of The CJN. La Voix SГ©pharade, better known as LVS, a publication of the CommunautГ© SГ©pharade UnifiГ©e du QuГ©bec (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 SГ©farad, 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 ומתוקה‬5‫Ч�ו‬ 577 вЂ«Ч©Ч Ч”вЂ¬ 42ГЁme annГ©e volume 2 - sep 4 - Tishri 577 tembre 201 5 ons Nous partagdee la priГЁre 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 CommunautГ© SГ©pharade UnifeГ© du QuГ©bec 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 Г Joseph Cohen Elias Levy [email protected] Le printemps dernier, l’Ambassadrice du Maroc au Canada, Nouzha Chekrouni, contacta Joseph Cohen pour lui demanВ der de se rendre Г l’Ambassade du MaВ roc Г 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, signГ©e par MohamВ med VI et portant le sceau royal alaouite, le souverain marocain rendait un Г©loВ gieux hommage Г Joseph Cohen pour le remarquable travail d’Édition qu’il a acВ compli pour pГ©renniser et transmettre le riche HГ©ritage culturel judГ©o-marocain. “J’apprГ©cie vos Travaux de Recherche sur la CommunautГ© juive marocaine, son Histoire et son HГ©ritage, et leur caractГЁre de tГ©moignage pour les gГ©nГ©rations acВ tuelles et futures… Nos sincГЁres remerВ ciements pour nous avoir envoyГ© vos ouВ vrages qui tГ©moignent de l’excellence des relations d’indГ©fectible attachement, de dГ©vouement et de fidГ©litГ© qui ont de tout temps liГ© les Juifs marocains Г nos gloВ rieux ancГЄtres. Nous sommes dГ©terminГ©s Г perpГ©tuer par notre bГ©nГ©diction ces reВ lations en entourant nos fidГЁles sujets de confession israГ©lite de notre constante et haute sollicitude”, a Г©crit le Roi MohamВ med VI dans la lettre qu’il a adressГ©e Г ВJoseph Cohen. Joseph Cohen a Г©tГ© l’Éditeur de livres majeurs sur l’Art, l’Histoire des ComВ munautГ©s juives du Maroc, l’Histoire du QuГ©bec et de biographies consacrГ©es Г des figures marquantes du JudaГЇsme maВ rocain. NГ© Г Mazagan, ville cГґtiГЁre du Maroc, appelГ©e aujourd’hui El Jadida, Г©difiГ©e par les Portugais au dГ©but du XVIe siГЁcle, JoВ seph Cohen a Г©migrГ© Г MontrГ©al en 1968. Il est le descendant d’une prestiВ gieuse lignГ©e rabbinique. Petit-fils du Grand Rabbin Chlomo Ha-Cohen SabВ ban (1881-1949) et fils du Rabbin Aaron Cohen (1913-1961), Joseph Cohen est le troisiГЁme d’une famille de douze enfants tous nГ©s au Maroc. En 1973, il a fondГ© les Г‰ditions Г‰lysГ©e, spГ©cialisГ©es dans la publication de livres d’Histoire et d’Art. Les Г‰ditions Г‰lysГ©e ont publiГ© des livres somptueux et trГЁs 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 FГЁs; Les Juifs du Sahara de l’Historien franГ§ais Jacob Oliel; l’ouvrage collectif Juifs de Debdou. Maroc. Histoire et GГ©nГ©alogie; Le Dictionnaire biographique du monde juif sГ©pharade de JoВ seph Levy; Les Juifs de la Ville de QuГ©bec de Raymond VГ©zina; Histoire de la famille du Grand Rabbin Chlomo Ha-Cohen Sabban. Debdou, Mazagan, Azemmour, Oujda, Casablanca, MontrГ©al de Raymond VГ©zina; MardochГ© Aby Serour (18261886), Rabbin caravanier et guide au Sahara de Jacob Oliel; un magnifique livre d’Armando Elbaz Г©ditГ© en espagnol, Ritos y Costumbres de los Judios EspaГ±oles del Norte de Marruecos… DГЁs son arrivГ©e au QuГ©bec, en 1968, JoВ seph Cohen se passionna pour l’Histoire des Canadiens-FranГ§ais. Il s’intГ©ressa telВ lement Г la Culture canadienne-franГ§aise au point de se lancer dans un Projet d’ÉdiВ tion trГЁs ambitieux: rééditer des livres rares, souvent complГЁtement Г©puisГ©s, Г©crits Г l’époque de la Nouvelle-France. Comme le rappelle l’Historien qué bГ©cois Raymond VГ©zina dans la remarВ quable biographie, bellement illustrГ©e avec des photographies et des documents provenant des Archives personnelles de Joseph Cohen, qu’il lui a consacrГ©e en 2013 -Joseph Cohen, Г‰diteur (Г‰ditions Г‰lyВ sГ©e), “pendant plusieurs annГ©es, Joseph Cohen a jouГ© un rГґle important dans la Culture quГ©bГ©coise avec ses rééditions d’ouvrages rares: Sixte Le Tac; les volumes du Baron de Lahontan…” Ce SГ©pharade affable et trГЁs humble, qui a Г son actif un imposant travail d’Édition ayant pour finalitГ© de perpГ©tuer les riches HГ©ritages culturels et socio-historiques judГ©o-marocain et quГ©bГ©cois, se soucie beaucoup de l’avenir de ces deux PatriВ moines identitaires. “Dans le monde de plus en plus globaВ lisГ© oГ№ nous vivons, les QuГ©bГ©cois et les Joseph Cohen. SГ©pharades marocains doivent mener un dur et inlassable combat pour perpГ©tuer leurs HГ©ritages culturels respectifs. SurВ tout, n’oublions jamais notre Histoire car seule celle-ci peut Г©clairer le prГ©sent et nous guider vers un avenir prometteur”, nous a dit Joseph Cohen en entrevue. Joseph Cohen est inquiet pour l’avenir du SГ©phardisme marocain au Canada et en AmГ©rique du Nord. “Aujourd’hui, les jeunes SГ©pharades marocains ont de moins en moins d’atВ taches avec la Culture judГ©o-marocaine de leurs grands-parents et parents. Dans les Г©vГ©nements culturels organisГ©s par la CommunautГ© sГ©pharade marocaine, il n’y a pas de jeunes. Ces derniers sont branchГ©s sur une autre Culture, trГЁs nord-amГ©ricaine. Ce phГ©nomГЁne me prГ©occupe et m’attriste. Comment pé renniser l’HГ©ritage culturel millГ©naire sé pharade si les jeunes SГ©pharades 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 Getting married? Celebrating a special birthday or anniversary? Just had a Bar or Bat Mitzvah? Please fill in the requested information and mail to PO Box 1324 Stn K Toronto, ON M4P 3J4 or fax to 450-445-6656 Name ___________________________________________________________________ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS!! Upload your digital photo along with your maximum 25 word description to: Address _________________________________________________________________ www.cjnews.com City_____________________Province___________ Postal Code________________ click on the Family Moments banner. (preferred method) Phone number ___________________________________________________________ Email ____________________________________________________________________ Doc key: W14FXCJN If you do not have a digital photo mail a photo with your maximum 25 word description to: CJN Mazel Tov, 6900 Decarie Blvd., Suite 3125, Montreal, Quebec H3X 2T8. Label the back of all photos and enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE! THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS DECEMBER 18, 2014 News M 17 Claims Conference boosts funds for Canadian survivors PAUL LUNGEN [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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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To register, please visit www.thomasmore.qc.ca or call 514-935-9585 20 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 cafГ© 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 cafГ© 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 Need a Great Chanukah Gift? Give The CJN! Connecting Our Communities вќЏ 2 YEARS $78.84* вќЏ 1 YEAR $59.13* вќЏ 1 YEAR DIGITAL (eCJN) $34.44* CHK ode S14 Quote C 2014 ber 31st m e c e D Expires How to Subscribe Log on to: cjnews.com/promotions *TAXES INCLUDED New subscribers only. Within Canada. Mail this form to: PO Box 1324, Stn Main, Toronto, ON M4P 3J4 вќ‘ YES, I would like to give a CJN subscription to Call us: 416-932-5095 or 1-866-849-0864 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NAME ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS CITY TELEPHONE вќЏ Cheque Enclosed Charge my вќЏ Visa вќЏ MasterCard вќЏ Amex _____________________________________________________________________ __________ ________ /________ ____________________________________________________ _____________________________________ вњ” Payment: $____________ ____________ ________________________________ PROV. POSTAL CODE CARD NUMBER CVC EXPIRY ________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL SIGNATURE Doc key: S14CHK Special Chanukah Offer 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. Better care for a better life 2X THE CARE* Purchase 2 hours of home care service and get 2 extra hours for FREE! Our clients say it’s the compassion and professionalism of our caregivers that makes the difference – and allows them to live with independence and dignity in the comfort of their own homes. Find out how a personalized care plan can help you or your loved one. For more information, please call 514.879.5657 / 1.800.322.9228 • • • • • • • • • Nursing Personal Care Home Support Companionship Palliative Care Funding Investigations Free Assessments Nurse Supervised Staff 24 Hour/7 Day Service 4142 rue Ste-Catherine Ouest, Westmount, QC H3Z 1P4 * This discount offer applies only to new clients who are privately purchasing a minimum of two hours of home care service for the п¬Ѓrst time from Bayshore HealthCare. It cannot be used in conjunction with services provided by third-party funders such as government care programs and insurance companies. It is valid only on services purchased from Bayshore HealthCare’s Montreal ofп¬Ѓce until December 31, 2015, and is limited to two free hours of care per person. www.bayshore.ca HealthCare ISO 9001 Quality Management System Registered Company 22 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 CГґte 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, вЂ�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 [email protected] пЃ№пЃє 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 e v a S ate D the dar n e l a C 5 201 in our luded to be inc s Etc. Wedding ents lem CJN Supp May 21 r5 Novembe 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, [email protected]. 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 [email protected]. 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 CitiГЁre, 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, CГґte St. Luc, or by emailing david.birnbaum. [email protected]. 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 CГґte 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 CГґte 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 CГґte 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. 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JEWELLERY JUDAICA LEASING LANDSCAPING/LAWNCARE LAWYERS LESSONS LIMOUSINE/TAXI LIQUIDATION LOCKSMITH MAKE-UP MISCELLANEOUS MUSICAL SERVICES MORTGAGES MOVING PEST CONTROL PAINTING/WALLPAPERING PARTY SERVICES PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEO PLUMBING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RENOVATIONS RETIREMENT HOMES ROOFING SATELITE & EQUIPMENT SECURITY SYSTEMS SEWING SNOW REMOVAL TABLE COVERING TAILORING/ALTERATIONS TILING TRAINING TRAVEL & TOURISM TUTORING UPHOLSTERY WAITERING SERVICES WATERPROOFING WEIGHT LOSS/FITNESS WINDOW SERVICES WORKSHOPS 25 MILE’S PAINTING Professional painting . interior & exterior. Over 16 years experience. GTA. References upon request. Reasonable rates! 416-303-3276. any contract, Best Prices!!! Two Kennedy speeches are among make sure Best Quality!!! your Bestcontractor Service!!! his most momentous Paintingisand home www.romanshardwood.com CJN Box #’s are valid 30 days. 405forfurniture Earl Bales Sr. Woodworkers. Chair Repairs, Caning, Regluing, Custom, reas. 416-630-6487. improvementS G&M Moving and Storage. Apts., homes, offices. Specializes Short notice. A-1 Handyman. in Large orrepairs small. We carry supplies. kitchen & refacing & new 905-738-4030. kits., fin. bsmts., & elec. & plumbing, Call 647-533-2735. SRMetc. Movers-Call Stanley! A-1 shortjobs, notice, insured, home, apt., Odd small repairs, paintimprovements office, business. ing, etc. Please416-747-7082 call Fred at Licensed charismatic and youthful president, 416-420-8731. appropriately 445 moving licensed his brother, attorney general Robert and Bonded. 450with painting/ Kennedy, speech writer Ted Sorenthe Attentive Hardwood floors & stairs. New or We schlep Call... shlomo for Less. wallpaper son, Alabama More than half a century afterBefore the signing governor George Wal404 445 moving Metropolitan 416-804-1706 old;presidency refinish orflooring install. Affordable, service. rates. 416-999Painting, residential, commercial, lace and other aides and individuals of John F. Kennedy endedReas. any contract, Licensing interior/exterior. Ceramiclocations Tile & 410 health & at various who were part of in a tragic hail of bullets, Ottawa hisreliable. Roman - 416-716-9094 6683, BestWayToMove.com Drywall. Reasonable. FREE beauty make sure dramatically unfolding events durtorian and university professor An404 404flooring flooring 445 445moving moving Commission 405 furniture ESTIMATES. PAINT HOUSE www.romanshardwood.com ing those two days. drew Cohen has mined some poweryour contractor Hardwood Hardwood floors floors stairs. stairs.New Neworor G&M Healthy Body for&&All Moving and“ILess. Storage. Apts., We We416-392-3000 schlep schlep for for Less. Attentive E&M Painting. TheAttentive fastest, guess what I want to convey is fulrefinish but previously neglected material Glutathione is declining. old; old; refinish orlevel orinstall. install. Affordable, Affordable, service. service.Reas. Reas. rates. rates. 416-999416-999cleanest, And most professional is Short homes, offices. the sheernotice. sense of immediacy that on JFK and a book that could Your Body canwritten pay the price! reliable. reliable. Roman Roman --416-716-9094 416-716-9094 6683, 6683, BestWayToMove.com BestWayToMove.com painting in GTA. Commercial and 405 furniture www.max.com/502436/chuck you have as a voyeur when dropped change the shape of his political legwww.romanshardwood.com www.romanshardwood.com appropriately Residential Eli. Large orMoving small.painting/ We647-898-5804 carry supplies. 450 G&M G&MMoving and and Storage. Storage. Apts., Apts., [email protected] wallpaper into the White acy and legend in substantial ways. homes, homes, offices. offices. Short Short notice. notice.House in 1963,” Colicensed MILE’S PAINTING 905-738-4030. 405 405 furniture furniture hen said of his experience with the In Two Days in June: John F. KenEarl Bales Woodworkers. Large Largeororsmall. small.painting We Wecarry carrysupplies. 410 Sr. health & Professional .supplies. interior beauty with the 905-738-4030. 905-738-4030. footage. “This nedy and the 48 Hours That Made 415 Earl EarlBales Bales Sr. Sr.home Woodworkers. Woodworkers. & exterior. Over 16 yearsis unscripted, this is Chair Repairs, Caning, Regluing, SRM Movers-Call Stanley! A-1 just cameras History, Cohen Chair ChairimprovementS Repairs, Repairs,Caning, Caning,presents Regluing, Regluing, painstakSRM SRM Movers-Call Movers-Call Stanley! Stanley! A-1 A-1 rolling, this is just experience. GTA.the References Metropolitan Custom, Custom, reas. reas. 416-630-6487. 416-630-6487. Jack Kennedy ingly detailed, hour-by-hour deshort shortnotice, notice, notice, insured, insured, home, home,apt., apt., apt.,in his office. I was upon request. Reasonable Custom, reas. 416-630-6487. insured, home, Licensing A-1 Handyman. Specializes in short rapt.” office, office, business. business. 416-747-7082 416-747-7082 scriptions of two of Kennedy’s 1,036 rates! 416-303-3276. Marcantonio Marcantonio Furniture Repair kitchen repairsFurniture & refacingRepair & new office, business.Soon 416-747-7082 Commission after returning on an overdays in office – June 10 and 11, 1963 415 home Specializing Specializing in in touchups. touchups. kits., fin. bsmts., & elec. & plumbMarcantonio Furniture Repair 404 flooring Marcantonio Furniture Repair Bill Gladstone Specializing in touchups. Special to The CJN Restoration, refinishings & gen. repairs on premises. 416-654-0518. CJN Box Number? JODI PUDER I can clean your home and apt. Educated gentleman interestquickly and nicely. Good prices. ed in meeting an educated lady, Call 647.867.6144. 72-76 for a L/T relationship. You Experienced, loyal, Filipina, care will share my passion for movies, Giver for senior, has open per- theatre, cultural evnt & fine dining. 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 (McClelland and Stewart) happy, healthy & safe. Call 416- Replying Replyingtotoan anad ad ing, improvementS night flight from Hawaii, JFK deliv- the speech at 6 p.m., only two hours – and asserts that they were among etc. Call 647-533-2735. Restoration, Restoration, refinishings refinishings &&gen. gen. 450 450painting/ painting/ 416-392-3000 534-7297 Specializing in touchups. repairs repairs on on premises. premises. 416-654-0518. 416-654-0518. ered the speech on “world peace” as before the president was to deliver the most momentous of his days at with withaa wallpaper wallpaper Odd 404 jobs, flooring small repairs, paint445 moving a commencement address at Wash- it on national television. Ultimately the White House. ing, etc. floors Please call Fred Restoration, refinishings & claim gen. Painting, Painting, residential, residential, commercial, commercial, & stairs. New orat We CJN CJNBox BoxNumber? Number? Hardwood 450 painting/ schlep for Less. Attentive Exp. personal caregiver for the ington’s American University on Kennedy relied upon an unfinished Cohen bases the on two 416-420-8731. interior/exterior. interior/exterior. Ceramic Ceramic Tile Tile&& old; refinish install. Affordable, 410 410orhealth health && service. Reas. rates. 416-999the morning of June 10, 1963. Only draft and extemporized – which he speeches that Kennedy gave on repairs onRoman premi ses. 416-654-0518. 6683, elderly. Homes, hospitals, ret. wallpaper Drywall. Drywall. Reasonable. Reasonable. FREE FREE reliable. - 416-716-9094 beauty beauty BestWayToMove.com eight months after the Cuban Missile was extremely good at – through those days, one on the most urgent ESTIMATES. ESTIMATES.PAINT PAINTHOUSE HOUSE www.romanshardwood.com Before signing G&M–Moving and Storage. Apts.,“not naГЇve about the part of the 13-minute oration. “It’s a homes. Eng. & Polish-speaking. Before signing Crisis, he was foreign-policy matter of the era the Healthy Healthy Body Body for forAll All any contract, E&M E&M Painting. Painting. The The fastest, fastest, homes, offices. Short notice. Painting, commercial, Glutathione Glutathione level levelisrace isdeclining. declining. 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, cleanest, And AndRussians. most most professional professional Large or small. We carry supplies. any contract, Live in & out. 647 739 7138 – cell. Your Your Body Body can can pay pay the the price! price! your contractor it’s a flat-out masterpiece, I think. ery, their brutality, and the other on the equally pressing painting paintingininGTA. GTA.Commercial Commercial and 905-738-4030. interior/exterior. Ceramic Tileand & their gulags, andSERVICE 410 health & Earl Bales Sr. Woodworkers. www.max.com/502436/chuck www.max.com/502436/chuck DIRECTORY is make sure Residential Residential Eli. Eli. 647-898-5804 647-898-5804 The speeches from those days, I their prisoners,” Cohen writes. But domestic concern of civil rights and Repairs, Caning, Regluing, SRM Movers-Call Stanley! A-1 [email protected] [email protected] appropriately Reliable PSW, cleaner, home- Address your mail to: Chair Drywall. Reasonable. FREE beauty he craved new approach to peace, think, are JFK’s best.” theyour desegregation of the American contractor MILE’S MILE’S PAINTING PAINTING Custom, reas. 416-630-6487. licensed short notice, insured, home,aapt., As Cohen details, JFK’s oration on Professional Professional painting painting . . interior interior knowing that nuclear warfare could South. Both were central and definwith the maker & RPN avail. to work any business. 416-747-7082 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 the ’60s. Specializing in touchups. Licensing shift FT/PT. W/car. 647-351-2503 Replying improvementS improvementS Healthy Body for All an ad experience. experience. 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. The fastest, painting/ Commission upon upon request. request. Reasonable Reasonable of 1963, 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 declining. inin rates! licensed with A-1 A-1416-392-3000 Handyman. Handyman. Specializes wallpaper rates!416-303-3276. 416-303-3276. Ave.aW., Ste. 218 repairs Good cook/housekeeper 1750 Steeles cleanest, And most professional led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a demonized the Russians – never Dallas assassination while a thirdkitchen kitchenrepairs repairs&&refacing refacing&&new new Your Body can pay the price! with the Painting, residential, commercial, CJN Box Number? kits., kits., 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 & 410 health & person interior/exterior. ing, ing, etc. etc. Call Call 647-533-2735. 647-533-2735. www.max.com/502436/chuck Metropolitan Cohen uses many other intriguing reportedly the first to track speech, written covertly and without References. 416-655-4083. ResidentialReasonable. Eli. 647-898-5804 Drywall. 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 [email protected] 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 Commission MILE’S PAINTING 416-420-8731. 416-420-8731. 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 help make the locations during those two days in 416-392-3000 painting in GTA.painting Commercial and experienced caregivers avail- the Box Number on www.max.com/502436/chuck Professional . interior Residential 647-898-5804 safe for diversity,” intoned JFK diaries to him and vividly recounted June. Cameramen working with film- Eli.world [email protected] Before Before signing signing 415 home 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. Reasonable breathe the same air. We all cherish M. Schlesinger Jr., the historian and American films in the cinema-verite A-1 Handyman. Specializes in rates! rates!Phone 416-303-3276. 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, etc. Call 647-533-2735. 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, CloisonnГ©, 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 CompanionS Suits help regular daily journeys. Book wanteD Live in Boynton & out.available 647Beach 739 7138 –55+ cell. home now, limited spaces.. CallFLLee’s ury conI can clean your home and apt. k, 3,000 cell: Educated gentleman pendent Address your mailinterestto: Gate guarded all amenities com647-859 -0501 or at home: Reliable PSW, cleaner, homequickly and nicely. Good prices. ed in meeting an educated lady, South Florida Real Estate 785-2500 ,umS 3 bath, 905-884-5755. 275 275 perSonal perSonal Call 647.867.6144. umS 72-76 for a L/T relationship. You munity. mo min begin 12-1-14 maker &6RPN avail. to work any will share 250 250 DomeStiC DomeStiC The ne.ca myCanadian passion for movies, 81-8380. Experienced, loyal, Filipina, care ISLES, CompanionS CompanionS SPECIALIST IN SUNNY umS Giver for senior, has open pertheatre, cultural evnt & fine dining. 702-233-2711 [email protected] shifthelp FT/PT. W/car. 647-351-2503 helpBAL available available Jewish News Does personal care, SOUTH cook- BEACH HARBOUR, Hope to hear from you soon. 416wanteD wanteD D R I V E mit, ing, cleaning, shopping, laundry, 223-7250 1750 Steeles Ave. W., Ste. 218 and AVENTURA Goo d coo k/hou seke eper k, indoor a Senior needs to stay xury ury concon- everything 250 DomeStiC Country arge kit, healthy & safe. Call 416Ihappy, Ican can clean clean your yourhome home and andapt. apt. Educated avail. European. Experienced Educated gentleman gentleman interestinterestConcord, Ont. 245 employment pendent pendent 380 534-7297 s, bright, quickly CONTACT ME to an ad help available 416-655-4083. quickly and and nicely. nicely. Good Goodprices. prices. ed edinReplying inmeeting meeting an an2L7 educated educated lady, lady, Exp. personal caregiver for the 785-2500 85-2500 References. L4K wanteD et ravine Call with a elderly. Homes, hospitals, ret. Call647.867.6144. 647.867.6144. ntS 72-76 72-76 for for a a L/T L/T relationship. relationship. You You www.jodipuder.com homes. Eng. & Polish-speaking. Reliable, hard working and Don’tBox forget to put TTC. CJN Number? Live in & out. 647 739 7138 –care cell. ne.ca e.ca 1/2 English will will share share my my passion passion for for movies, movies, Experienced, Experienced, loyal, loyal, Filipina, Filipina, care gentleman w/reliable caregivers availk, 3,000 the Box your Number Address mail on to: rm. avail. experienced [email protected] Reliable PSW, cleaner, homeNHI-NursINg &perumS ,umS 3 bath, Giver Giver for senior, senior, has has open open pertheatre, theatre, cultural cultural evnt evnt&&fine finedining. dining. & for spare time will maker & RPN avail. todrive work you any able. Please call 416-546-5380. The Canadian your envelope. 81-8380. 3600 or car shift FT/PT. W/car. 647-351-2503 mit, mit, Does Does personal personal care, care, cookcookJewish News Hope Hope to to hear hear from from you you soon. soon. 416416around to shops, errands, etc. Homemakers. INc. 888.291.8810 DRIVE 1750 Steeles Ave. W., Ste. 218 G oo d c oMaid ok / h&oJanitorial. usek e e pWe er Harmonia ing, ing, cleaning, cleaning, shopping, shopping, laundry, laundry, Country Suits regular daily journeys. Book CJN Box #’s are valid 223-7250 223-7250 avail. European. Experienced • Private companions Concord, Ont. s, bright, provide affordable high quality k, k, indoor everything everything aaSenior Seniorneeds needs to stay stay References. 416-655-4083. spaces.. Callto Lee’s forL4K 30 2L7 days. forindoor Rent, now, et ravine •limited registered Nurses maid & janitorial services. For arge largekit, kit, cell: Reliable, hard working and happy, happy, healthy healthy & & safe. safe. Call Call 416416Don’t forget to put TTC. 1/2 Ritz-Carlton Managed Residences 647-859 -0501 or at home: 2 bdrm, experienced caregivers availthe Box Number on Highestcall standards of care from rm. 380 80 avail. details 416-666-5570. 534-7297 534-7297 905-884-5755. SARASOTA-FL able. Please call 416-546-5380. your envelope. 3600 or t, 2 prkg, general attendant care Harmonia Maid & Janitorial. 5 STARWe RESORT CJN condominium Beach. Box #’s on arethe valid Exp. Exp.personal personal caregiver caregiver for forthe the 50/mnth provide affordable high quality to acute injury care for 30 days. for Rent, Sunset-City maid & janitorial services. For Lights-Sunrise Views. Epitome of 2 elderly. Homes, Homes, hospitals, hospitals, ret. 81-2319 275 perSonal details 416-666-5570. casual ret. elegance. Gourmet kitchen-wood and ntS tSbdrm, elderly. call call 24/7--365 days/yr umS t, 2 prkg, 265 people 250 DomeStiC homes. homes. Eng. Eng. &&Polish-speaking. Polish-speaking. marble floors- deep, 60 ft. wrap-around 50/mnth CompanionS Tel: 416-754-0700 SearCh 81-2319 help available terrace. World class location & amenities with people Live Live inin&&265 out. out. 647 647 739 7397138 7138 ––cell. cell. wanteD www.nhihealthcare.com a SearCh concierge-theater-guest suites-2 parking spaces & rk, k, 3,000 3,000 a Address Address your your mail mailto: to: ury conReliable Reliable PSW, PSW, cleaner, cleaner, homehomepets welcome. 3,017 sq. ft. 3 bed-3 bath Bored? over 75? looking for gin Educated can clean your home and apt. over 75? looking for gin ,endent 33bath, bath, I Bored? gentleman$2,500,000 interestrummy/poker players downtown. maker maker&and &RPN RPN avail. avail. toto work work any any The The Canadian Judy Kepecz-Hays ~ Canadian 941.587.1700 quickly nicely. Good prices. rummy/poker players downtown. 81-8380. 1-8380. ed in meeting an educated lady, 85-2500 contact Cari at 416-606-5898 on Rental shift shift647.867.6144. FT/PT. FT/PT. W/car. W/car. 647-351-2503 647-351-2503 website: LongboatKeyLuxury.com Call Jewish Jewish News News You FL 55+ contact Cari at 416-606-5898 72-76 for a L/T relationship. on Rental D D R R I I V V E E es comemail: [email protected] 1750 1750 Steeles Steeles Ave. Ave. W., W., Ste. 218 218 Goo Goo d d coo coo k/hou k/hou seke seke eper eper e.ca 12-1-14 will share my passion forSte. movies, Experienced, loyal, Filipina, care FL 55+ Country Country @aol.com umS avail. avail.for European. European. Experienced Experienced Concord, Concord, Ont. Ont. Giver senior, has open pertheatre, cultural evnt & fine dining. es coms, , bright, bright, References. References. 416-655-4083. 416-655-4083. mit, Does personal care, cook- Hope to hearL4K L4K 2L7soon. 416from2L7 you ent 12-1-14 et iet ravine ravine ing, cleaning, shopping, laundry, @aol.com Reliable, Reliable, hard hard working working and and 223-7250 Don’t Don’t forget forget to toput put TTC. 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Book Reliable PSW, cleaner, home781-2319 81-2319 3 bath, all Lee’s 265 265 people people maker & RPN avail. to work any The Canadian 1-8380. at home: shift FT/PT. SearCh W/car. 647-351-2503 SearCh Jewish News aDaR I V E 1750 Steeles Ave. W., Ste. 218 Goo d coo k/hou seke eper FLORIDA PROPERTY FLORIDA PROPERTY ountry Bored? Bored? over over 75? 75? looking looking for for gin gin avail. European. Experienced Concord, Ont. FOR RENT FOR RENT/SALE , bright, References. 416-655-4083. rummy/poker rummy/poker players playersdowntown. downtown. L4K 2L7 et ravine contact contactCari Cariatat416-606-5898 416-606-5898 on n Rental Rental Beach Great Don’t forget to55+ putcomTC. 1/2 Reliable, hard working and Boynton beautiful 3/bdrm villa w/ FL FL 55+ 55+ SOUTH FLORIDA REAL ESTATE avail- munity, the Box Number on m. avail. experienced caregivers all ammenities. 516 641-7795 Fort Lauderdale/Pompano to es iescomcomyour envelope. 600 or able. Please call 416-546-5380. 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Odd jobs, small repairs, painting, etc. Please call Fred at 416-420-8731. Classified advertising 416-922-3605 Before signing any contract, make sure Metropolitan 26 Q&A M THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS December 18, 2014 Arieh King: redeeming the Land of Israel Sheri Shefa [email protected] 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 Help Bring the Sweetness of Rosh Hashana toSeder. Others. Rosh Hashana with MADA Passover with MADA Help usthis give others a seat at a MADA Thanks You. Chanukah, make a difference B”H B”H B”H B”H B”H B”H “The Chanuka candles This Chanukah you can make a difference in express the duty to bring a child’s life and light up a home. light to those who are still Start Start the the New New Year Year with with the the joyjoy and and warmth of of family. family. Join Join the MADA MADA Community Center Center forfor the our traditional traditional full The MADA family invites you towarmth join the warmth and joy ofCommunity our traditional Seders conducted The MADA Community Center extends its sincere gratitude tothe our generous donors and dedicated volunteers for Be part of MADA’s city-wide Rosh Hashana celebration. The MADA family invites you to join the warmth and joy of our traditional Seders conducted in darkness.” Join us in the fight against hunger and poverty. course festive meals, symbolic Rosh Hashana foods, rabbinical inspiration, singing and dancing. byYears Rabbi and Chazzan. Full festive meal, company, truethe joy and spirituality. New Meals. Fullacourse festive meal, symbolic New Years good foods, rabbinical inspiration, singing dancing. helping usato serve 5,000 Passover Meals atcourse the Passover Community Seders and through Shabbat toand Share program. by a Rabbi - Lubavitcher Rebbe and a Chazzan. Full course festive meal, good company, true joy and spirituality. Be partSupport of MADA’s city-wide seders. the shabbat tocommunity share campaign May we continue to fulfill the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s teaching: “Let no Jew be left behind”. Monday, April 14,24, at at 7:30PM & & Thursday, Outremont Wednesday, Sept. 7:30 PM OutremontSept. 25, at 7:30 PM Hosted Mile-End, Rue Dinner April Sponsors &7:30PM Location&Hosts Tuesday, Hosted by by Chabad Chabad Mile-End, 5704 Rue Waverly Waverly Gifts in Kind Monday, April15, 14,atat 7:30PM Tuesday, April 15, at5704 7:30PM First night sponsored by the Helen Kornreich Charitable Foundation FirstCote night sponsored by the Helen Kornreich Charitable Foundation CГґte desNeiges Neiges Luc Altius Spices and Seasonings Second nightSt. sponsored by Allan Weizmann & Family • MADAHeadquarters • BethIsraelBethAaron CГґte des Second night sponsored by Allan Weizmann & Family CГґte des Neiges BassГ© Nuts MADA Headquarters Hosted by C.S.L. Community Center Allendes Spector & Family MADA Headquarters, Corrine andCГґte Evan Zuckerman & Family CГґte Neiges 6700 des Neiges MADA Headquarters, 6700 CГґte des Neiges Botsis Cote St. Luc Family Joieshop.com 6700 Rodney CГґte desSuliteanu Neiges &6700 5794 Parkhaven Avenue MADA Headquarters, CГґte des Neiges Cote St. Luc First night sponsored by Allen Spector & Family Des Sources First night sponsored by Allen Spector & Family Share the Light Will Sara go to bed Provide a Meal hungry? Hosted by Israel Aaron Congregation Second night sponsored by Rodney Suliteanu & Family Gelber Centre, 2 CarrГ©, Cummings Square Hosted by Federation CJA, Hosted by Beth Beth Israel Beth Beth Aaron Congregation Evan Feldman Second by Rodney • night TheGelberCenter • TheChevra Hosted bysponsored Federation CJASuliteanu & Family Snowdon 6800 Mackle Samuel Gewurz &CJA, Family Debbie and Robert Cutler & Family 6800 Mackle Hosted by Federation Gelber Centre, Gelber Centre, 2 CarrГ©, Cummings Square First night sponsored byDГ©carie Corrine and Evan Zuckerman & Family HostedStephen by Federation CJA, Gelber Centre, Hosted The Chevra Residence, 5900 Gross & Family Hosted by Salomon Anonymous First nightby sponsored by Corrine and Evan Zuckerman & Family 22 CarrГ©, Cummings Square Second night sponsored by Joieshop.com CarrГ©, Cummings Square Second night sponsored by Joieshop.com 5237 Clanranald Fruits et LГ©gumes GaГ©tan Bono Global MJL Inc. 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Hosted Chabad of Montreal West, 54995237 Robert Burns 4020 Hingston Ave Residence, Hosted by Salomon Salomon Residence, 5900 by DГ©carie Hosted byMachon The Chevra, 5237 Clanranald Hosted Ufarazta First nightby sponsored by Debbie and Robert Cutler & Family First night sponsored by Susan & Aaron Lieberman Foundation Protection Always First night sponsored by Susan & Aaron Lieberman Foundation First night sponsored by Debbie and Robert Cutler & Family 265 Alexis-Nihon • ChabadofN.D.G., • ChabadofKirkland Second night sponsored by Anonymous Second night sponsored by Isaac Sachs & Family Servicorp Inc. Second night sponsored by Isaac Sachs Hosted & Family by Chabad Mile-End, 5704 Rue Waverly David Klauber & Family Abie Goldberger - TheCholentShack.com Sysco QuГ©bec For sponsorship Peter Klauber & Hosted by Chabad ofFamily Montreal Westopportunities, contact Tamir Farkash Hosted by Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation, 6800 Mackle Hosted by Beth Ora Congregation, 2600 Badeaux MADA at 514-342-4969 x229 or 5499 Robert Burns N.D.G., 4020 Hingston Ave Hosted by Beth by Ora Congregation, 2600 BadeauxWalmart Plaza CГґte des Neiges Hosted by Hosted Chabad LaSalle • ChabadofMontrealWest Hosted by Chabad Chabad of of N.D.G., 4020 Hingston Ave First nightby sponsored Avshalom Elyahou & Family www.MadaCenter.com First night sponsored by Avshalom Elyahou & Family First night sponsored by David Klauber & Family 1666 Rue Thierry #101, LaSalle Wiseman First nightRobert sponsored by David Klauber Hosted & Family by The Chevra,Second night sponsored by David Douek & Family 5237 Clanranald Second night sponsored by David Douek & Family in loving memory Second night sponsored by Peter Klauber & Family Second night by Peter Klauber & Family Jeff sponsored & Adele Altmann & Family Anne Applebaum’s Group, Aviva Orenstein Kalin’s Group, Diller Teen Fellows, Hebrew Academy, of Roslyn Glickman Hashomayim Bat Mitzvah Program, Shabbat to Share Volunteers, and the many individuals Hosted by Chabad Mile-EndHosted by Beth Ora Shaar Congregation, 2600 Badeaux and families that volunteered hours of help. • Ducharme ChabadMile-End Every week beforeofofShabbat, a team of MADA volunteers visits Jewish 1495 Hosted by Chabad Kirkland Hosted by Chabad Kirkland Helen Kornreich Charitable Foundation Hosted by Chabad of Montreal West households in need, with a beautifully designed box, containing a complete Hosted Kirkland, 4491 Blvd. Saint-Charles HostedAllan by Chabad of &Montreal Westby Chabad of 4491 Blvd. Saint-Charles 4491 Weizmann Family We Hosted thankBlvd. those who may of have been unintentionally omitted. bySaint-Charles Chabad Kirkland 5499 Robert Burns 5499 Robert Burns Sponsored by Abie Goldbergermeal. - TheCholentShack.com and4491 uplifting Shabbat Presently, 500 Shabbat boxes are being delivered Blvd. Saint-Charles First night sponsored by Anonymous Hosted bypartial Chabad Dorval weekly, yet there are so more homes to be reached, deserving of a by Abie Goldberger - TheCholentShack.com Special thanks the Dym Family Foundation forSponsored their generous generous support of many this project. project. Second night sponsored JeffDym & Adele AltmannFoundation & Family Special thanks totoby the Family for their support of this N.D.G. N.D.G. Snowdon Snowdon Ville St-Laurent Help Us Reach Our Goal. No, she won’t. Please Give Generously. Outremont Montreal West Montreal West Ville St-Laurent Thanks to MADA’s FoodVille Bank, Sara and St-Laurent N.D.G. LaSalle N.D.G. Cote St. Luc her family will haveVolunteers a pantry full of Snowdon Outremontwholesome and nutritious food. West West Island Island West Island Ville St-Laurent Montreal Montreal West West West Island Dorval Shabbat to Share 1975 Cardinal Ave., Dorval Donate Sponsoraameal. meal. Special thanks to the Dym Family Foundation for their generous support of traditional this project. Shabbat meal! Volunteer your time. To donate: 514-342-4969x229 orcharge www.madacenter.com No to attend but reservations For resevation & tickets, 6700 CГґte des Neiges, #218, MontrГ©al, QC H3S 2B2 7,000 2,500 Holiday Passover meals We Are We Aremeals We Are ________ All all All We Are Family Family 11 locations 9Family locations Family ALL are but needed. reservation is&needed. For resevation tickets, “The Chanukah candles express the•duty to bring light to those who are stillacross in darkness.” Montreal Tel.: (514) 342-4969 www.madacenter.com Best wishes for a Happy Chanukah - Lubavitcher Rebbe 514-685-3310 www.dessources.com www.MadaCenter.com call (514) 342-4969 ext. 223 www.MadaCenter.com For reservations reservation &&tickets, tickets, Cafeterias • Mobile342-4969 Cafeteria • Food • Furniture call (514) ext. 223 (514) 342-4969 ext. 227 orBank ext. 229 (514) 342-4969 ext. 227 or• Clothing ext. 229 or visit www.MadaCenter.com call (514) 342-4969 ext.Family 0 Support • Social Programs Shabbat to Share • Individual and 6700www.MadaCenter.com Cote des Neiges, Suite 218, Montreal, Quebec, H3S 2B2 or visit We are all family. We are all family. 514-342-4969 | www.madacenter.com or visit www.madacenter.com 1-866-685-3428 www.dessourcesfiat.com 3400 boul. des Sources, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux |
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