Bulletin – Mar. / April 2008

Adar/Nisan 5768
Vol. 18, No. 4
March/April 2008
BULLETIN
THE
Website: www.saskatoon.uscjhost.net
Congregation Agudas Israel 715 McKinnon Ave, Saskatoon S7H 2G2 (306) 343-7023 Fax: (306) 343-1244
Rabbi Emeritus Roger V. Pavey
Hazzan Neil Schwartz
President: David Katzman
18th Annual
MONDAY, MAY
12TH, 2008
T.C.U. PLACE GRAND SALON
with Celebrity Guest
Andie MacDowell
Purchase your tickets online at silverspoondinner@gmail.com
or at our
Ticket Sale Wine & Cheese Reception
Mingle with friends and reserve your seat or table for the
Silver Spoon Dinner
Top of the Inn - Sheraton Cavalier
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Ticket Price $125 • For more information call Wendy Ditlove at 374-8848
Please make cheques payable to Silver Spoon Dinner • VISA accepted, courtesy of TD Canada Trust
HOLOCAUST
MEMORIAL
YOM HASHOAH
SERVICE
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
WALTER SALZBERG
Agudas Israel Synagogue
Sunday, April 13
@ 1:30 pm.
Bio on page 4
Come dressed as your favourite Hollywood
personality/star/hero.
The price: $5 in advance, $10 at the door
The price includes E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G !!!
THE FORMAL INSTALLATION OF HAZZAN NEIL SCHWARTZ
Special Guest: Rabbi Paul Drazen – Chief Program Development Officer United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Saturday, April 5th, 2008, 9:30 am
(see page 9 for other details about the exciting weekend)
This Page is Sponsored by Mickey and Lucillie Narun of Toronto.
Deadline for the next Bulletin is April 10, 2008
Editorial
by Steven Goluboff
As we begin a
couple of months of
important religious,
historical
and
cultural events such
as Purim, Pesach,
Yom Hashoah, and Yom Haatzmaut, we have
many other programs that our members seem
to rarely take advantage of. Our Senior’s
group should probably be renamed “Senior
and Adult Education”, so as not to dissuade
some of us who have not yet applied for
Canada or Old Age Pension. These programs
over the last few years have been replete
with topics of extraordinary interest,
delivered by remarkably erudite guests,
some of whom are our own members. On
March 9th, our own Nim and Shirly Solomon,
number seven in what will hopefully be a
long line of Israeli Shlichim will share their
insights about “Israel today”. Our
connections to Israel continue to be strong,
a phenomena reinforced and strengthened
by our Shlichim program. Our UJA campaign
was an unprecedented success. Several of
our youth will attend the March of the Living
and the largest ever Saskatoon contingent
will visit Israel in May for the 60 th
Anniversary. It will also give us an
opportunity to reconnect with our former
Schlichim and their growing families. On
April 6th, our Hazzan Neil Schwartz will share
with the “Seniors”, a sampling of Jewish
music, an area which as a cantor, Hazzan
Neil has tremendous knowledge and
experience. Finally on May 4th, Dr. Lou and
Ruth Horlick will regale us with their
adventures to Machu Pichu and the
Galapagos. Whoever said that people in their
late 80’s can’t still climb mountains and trek
nature’s adventure lands? Another underappreciated and under- attended cultural
program is the “Breakfast Club”, initiated
by Yael and Yishay and perpetuated by Nim
and Shirly. They have brought to us movies
of incredible interest and quality from the
Israeli movie industry. The most recent,
Beaufort, has been nominated for an Oscar
for Best Foreign Film, a poignant film about
Israel’s last outpost in Southern Lebanon,
following the Lebanese war, an expression
of the waste, sadness and futility of war. It
was made even more real as Nim, who served
at Beaufort for several weeks shared his
perspective of those difficult years for Israel.
The next offering is Shlomi, a story likely to
interest our younger members as well,
portraying the life of a 16 year old, struggling
with his own challenges and unrecognized
genius. Finally, I would like to comment on
FROM OUR CONGREGATIONAL FAMILY
The Mission Statement of Congregation Agudas Israel
Congregation Agudas Israel is a spiritual, religious, educational and social home committed to deepening the quality of Jewish life in Saskatoon and district. We are an
evolving link in the historical traditions of the Jewish people. We are a progressive,
democratic and sensitive congregation responding to the widest spectrum of Jewish thought and practice.
Written at the 2002 Kallah by the members of Congregation Agudas Israel
MAZELTOV AND CONGRATULATONS TO:
Zara Gurstein, whose nephew was appointed as Dean of the Law College of
Minnesota.
Monte Floyd, whose Sonata for Violin and Piano, has been recently performed in Vienna
at the Schoenberg Centre. This was the European debut of his Sonata. As well, The St.
Catherine’s Symphony Orchestra has announced it will be performing his Suite for Small
Orchestra in the fall, under the baton of Daniel Swift.
Pauline Laimon, on the engagement of her granddaughter, Talya to Matan Tobolsky.
Talya is the daughter of Rabbi Dov Laimon. The wedding will take place in Jerusalem in
June.
Saskatoon B’nai Brith who are sponsoring the Fallow Deer Exhibit at the Saskatoon
Zoo for a Five Year Term, from the proceeds of the Silver Plate Dinner. An attractive
sponsor sign will recognize the five year sponsorship period. Annual attendance to the
zoo has surpassed the 100,000 visitor mark each year, and it will continue to grow as
new planned exhibits and facilities are completed. In addition, B’nai Brith has
committed funding that will be directed to the development of the new Education Centre
that is scheduled for construction in the fall of 2008. Recognition of the B’nai Brith
contribution to this education centre will also be on a brass plaque at the education
centre along with the other donors.
Dr. Gerry Greenblat on his retirement from his optometry practice. Yasher Koach.
Elie Fenyes who won one gold and two silver medals in the Manitoba Saskatchewan
Short Course Swim Meet in Saskatoon.
Natasha Stubbs who joined our Jewish Family following her Bet Din on February 3rd.
Dov and Etie Harris on the birth of a granddaughter.
Leila Goluboff for receiving the Remax Chairman's Club Award and for being one of the
top four Remax teams for 2007.
Clarice Buckwold on the celebration of her 90th birthday.
BON VOYAGE AND YASHER KOACH TO MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF OUR
CONGREGATION PARTICIPATING IN THE UJA MISSION – ISRAELAT 60: May 1 –
10th, 2008
Steven and Leila Goluboff, Sherry and Elaine Scharfe, Ron and Jan Gitlin, Marsha and
Grant Scharfstein, Randy and Shirley Katzman, Gladys Rose, Wade and Betty-Ann
Heggie, Rob and Kate Gibbings, Ross and Linda Remmer, Richard and Georgina
Goluboff
BON VOYAGE AND YASHER KOACH TO OUR YOUTH ATTENDING THE 2007
MARCH OF THE LIVING PROGRAM IN POLAND AND ISRAEL:
Shira and Noah Fenyes, Andrea Scharfstein, Zack Waldman, Mayah Holtslander.
BON VOYAGE AND YASHER KOACH TO:
Rabbi Emeritus and Patricia Pavey who embark on a world cruise on March 10th. Rabbi
Pavey will function as a cruise Rabbi.
CONDOLENCES TO:
Marla Katz whose father, Bill Katz passed away on February 7th, 2008.
David Miller and family on the recent death of his nephew Tim Ratner.
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS:
Antoinette and Michael Switzer of Prince Albert, Sask.
FOR THE COMMUNITY'S INFORMATION:
If any family or individual is interested in a community Second Seder, please let
Hazzan Schwartz know by calling the office 343-7023 or respond to his email
<cantorneils7@aol.com>
Hazzan Schwartz will offer an Adult Education Course on “Preparing for Passover”,
on March 12th and 19th, and April 2nd and April 9th. Bring your favourite Passover
continued on page 15
recipe.
This page is sponsored by Arnold & Claire Golumbia of Vancouver
2
From the President’s Keyboard
by David Katzman
Members who have
chosen to attend some or
all of the activities
provided by CAI in the
past eight weeks have
been rewarded with outstanding programs
organized by outstanding people. I really
enjoyed the fine food at the monthly shared
Shabbats (fancy way of saying “Pot Luck
Meal”) and was challenged by the articulate
remarks of David Olesker, an outspoken
advocate for Israel. That same morning,
the CBC Sunday program had just featured
David Shulman, the author of Dark Hope
who spoke of his love for the Jewish state
and his criticism for government policies
that appear to deliberately thwart peace with
the Palestinians (and our thanks to
Sisterhood for allowing us to use the Torah
Fund Luncheon as our podium for Rabbi
Olesker). I was truly impressed with the
financial success of the UJA drive organized
by Steven Goluboff and delighted by the
leadership of our Hebrew School students
at services. The presentation by young
Jonah Mink to our Board, describing efforts
by Israelis to provide pediatric cardiac
services, moved many of us to tears. I hope
you will flip to the calendar on the back page
and mark your own calendars, right now, so
you don’t miss the great events that are
scheduled. Better yet, make a point of
inviting a few friends to attend.
Our Board is pleased to be sponsoring a
Muslim/Jewish program at the synagogue.
Thanks to Joanne Jaffee for her continuing
leadership in enhancing the dialogue. The
Holocaust and Human Rights committee
have invited a survivor, Mr. Walter Saltzberg,
to share his story with 1000 students on April
11 and the public on April 13. Mr. Saltzberg
lost his entire immediate family in the
Holocaust and was relocated to Winnipeg
as a 17 year old.
Hazzan Schwartz will be officially
installed April 4, 5 and 6 with the assistance
of Rabbi Drazen from the USCJ. Service times
and content have been adjusted to reflect
the various interests of our members (there
is something for everyone). Hazzan
Schwartz has begun the process of
personally calling all of our members to find
out what is and is not working for them.
The library continues to grow in holdings
(the PBS DVD “Jews in America” looks
particularly interesting). The federal
government has recently changed taxation
rules to stimulate the donation of
investments (there is no tax on the gains
but the taxpayer gets relief for the entire
amount). Please contact Joe Dawson for a
greater and probably more accurate
description.
Michael Gertler, Susanne Kaplan, and
Simonne Horwitz have expressed interest in
convening a meeting (a Kallah) of all
congregants to either redefine or rededicate
ourselves to a common vision of what the
next five years should hold for us. There is
definitely room for other congregants to be
a part of this planning. There has also been
the suggestion that we could redevelop our
property so that the Centre still provides
everything we want and need, but at a
continued on page 16
Hazzan’s Notes by Hazzan Neil Schwartz
What can be done
to
make
our
Prayerbook, Siddur
Sim Shalom, come
alive for all of our
members? As a start,
let me share the
basic structure of our
main services, and perhaps that can help
our liturgy become more meaningful.
Every evening and morning service,
whether Shabbat or Weekday, has the same
basic structure. There is a Preliminary
section for “warm-up”, a Sh’ma section, an
Amidah or Standing Prayer, and some
additional prayers which lead to the
Conclusion. This last portion of the service
is very short at a Weekday evening Shiva
Minyan, and it contains the Torah Reading
and Musaf Amidah on Shabbat morning.
The Preliminary Service for Shabbat is
mostly Psalms, both on Friday evening and
Shabbat morning. Called Kabbalat Shabbat
(Receiving the Sabbath) on Friday evening,
this “warm-up” section is Psalms 95 - 99,
Psalm 29, L’cha Dodi, and Psalms 92 and 93.
On Shabbat morning the opening blessings
are called Birchot HaShachar (Blessings
of the Dawn), and a different set of Psalms
are called P’sukei D’Zimra (Verses of Song)
including Psalms 145 – 150.
Every Sh’ma section has a Creation –
Revelation – Redemption cycle built into
the prayers surrounding the actual Sh’ma
paragraphs. After the Bar’chu “Call to
Worship”, there are Creation and Revelation
prayers both evening and morning. The
Sh’ma itself has three paragraphs, and these
are followed by a Redemption prayer which
includes Mi Chamocha. The evening
service adds a prayer for God’s Protection,
and some verses from the Hebrew Bible.
There are seven distinct prayers in the
Shabbat Amidah (Standing Prayer), and
each of these seven ends with a “Baruch
Atah ...” summary sentence. Every Amidah
begins and ends with the same three prayers,
and the part that changes from service to
service is in the middle. Friday evening the
middle prayer is about Creation, Shabbat
morning it speaks about Revelation, and
Shabbat afternoon it is about Redemption.
On Weekdays these are replaced by thirteen
petitionary prayers on both peoplehood and
individual themes.
After the Amidah on Friday evening,
there are only a few more prayers leading to
the Conclusion of Aleinu and Mourners’
Kaddish. However, this same additional
section on Shabbat morning includes the
Torah Service and the Musaf Amidah, where
the middle prayer is about the extra sacrifice
brought to the ancient Temple in Jerusalem
on Shabbat. While together these take
another hour to do during morning services,
structurally they are part of the same
Concluding section as the few short prayers
after an evening Amidah.
Various Kaddish prayers are used to
separate the sections of our liturgy. Here is
a brief outline to summarize the basic
structure of our prayers:
1. Preliminary Service
a. Morning Blessings
b. Psalms (p.m. & a.m.)
2. Sh’ma Section
a. Bar’chu
b. Creation
c. Revelation
d. Sh’ma 3 paragraphs
e. Redemption
f. Protection (evening)
3. Amidah
a. first three prayers
b. middle prayer
c. last three prayers
4. Conclusion
a. Torah (morning)
b. Musaf (morning)
c. Concluding prayers
This basic introduction just scratches
the surface of this subject, and I am happy
to speak with anyone who would like to
know more about our prayers. If there is
sufficient interest, perhaps this would be a
good subject for an Adult Education class.
Please let me know if that would be a good
class for you.
This Page is Sponsored by Grace, Steven, Leila, Sarah & Shaina Goluboff
3
Holocaust Memorial Service
The Holocaust
committee, and
Congregation
Agudas Israel
proudly welcomes
Walter Salzberg as
the guest speaker
for our annual
Holocaust
memorial service.
Walter is a graduate of the University of
Manitoba department of Civil Engineering.
During his career he has been Director of
Bridges and Structures for the Manitoba
Department of Highways, and various other
assignments including Acting Assistant
Deputy Minister. He is past president of
the Association of Professional Engineers
and Geoscientists of Manitoba, and a
recipient of many awards from the
Association of Engineers of Manitoba and
the Canadian Council of Professional
Engineers. Currently, Walter is technical
consultant and International Liaison officer
with the ISIS Canada Research Network, as
well as an Engineer in Residence with the
rank of Associate Professor at the University
of Manitoba.
Walter was 17 years old when he came
out of hiding and made his way in 1947 to
Winnipeg after losing his immediate family.
He was one of about 135-orphaned teens
who came to Winnipeg as a result of the
efforts of Canadian Jewish groups and the
United Nations Rehabilitation and Relief
Administrations.
Please come and meet Walter Salzberg
and hear his story at the 2008 Holocaust
Memorial Service at Agudas Israel
Synagogue on Sunday, April 13 @ 1:30 pm.
Cemetery Report
by Ralph Katzman
I would like to bring to our members attention some of the Board requirements with
regards to the Agudas Israel Hebrew cemetery.
Memorial stones require a foundation
which according to Board requirements shall
not be more than 3" on each side larger than
the
base
(which will sit
upon it). All
foundations
will be of granite effective
January, 2008.
The base shall
be no larger
than 42' long by
24' wide for single stones and 84' long by 24' wide for double stones. Pillow block memorial stones or
flat markers are the only memorial stones approved, except in exceptional circumstances,
which will need Board approval. The memorial stone shall not exceed the size of the
base upon which it sits.
All funeral costs - both to the Community and Saskatoon Funeral Homs must be
paid before a memorial stone will be allowed
to be placed upon a grave. We request that
members arrange memorial stones to be
placed in the cemetery between June 15 and
September 1, since the water is connected
during this portion of the summer, and any
necessary turf repairs can be effected. In all
cases, it would be
helpful to contact
myself (Ralph at
931-2468) before arranging for a memorial stone to be
placed, since the
foundation will
need to be erected
first. Flowers - both
real and artificial will be removed from grave sites when they
become unsightly.
Each grave site is to have a potentilla bush
planted at its' head. We will be planting more
potentillas this year, in this regard. Why
potentillas? Because they resist our harsh
winters , and are drought resistant and the
deer don't eat them. As well,there has been
a wish for the past 15 or so years to create
f
a Golubof
LeilMember
of REMAX
Chairman Club
Lifetime Achievement Award
2006
#4 Remax Team 2007
For
RESULTS,
SERVICE &
EXPERIENCE
call me today.
I look forward to working with you!
Bus: (306) 242-6000
Saskatoon
Cell: 241-1900
some uniformity in the cemetery.
There are two flower boxes with pebbles,
one in the middle of the cemetery, around
row M and another near the old pump at row
K. Please feel free to use these to mark your
having attended at a grave.
We are hoping that one or two
congregants will offer to donate one or two
additional benches for the use of visitors.
Please call Ralph if you are interested in donating a bench. We would be pleased to put
a plaque on each bench to acknowledge the
contributor.
Visitors will notice that the stucco wall
which surrounded the original entrance has
been painted last fall.
And finally, after a great deal of difficulty
all last summer because of flooding, we will
be erecting dirt berms on both the East and
West perimeters of the cemetery this summer, in order to keep the neighbours' water
out.
Jay Avivi is now looking after the Yahrtzeit
Board at the Synagogue.
If you have any questions in regard to
the cemetery, please call me (Ralph) at 9312468, or phone the JCC and leave a message.
Sharing Sacred Music
moderated by Dr. David Kaplan
Hasbara Fellowships, a
program spearheaded by Aish
International, educates and
trains university students to
be effective pro-Israel
activists on their campuses.
www.israelactivism.com/
This Page is Sponsored by Leona Wasserman
4
Annual General Meeting of
Multi-Faith Saskatoon
Sunday, March 2nd
Christ Church Anglican
515 - 28th Street West
4:15 Annual General Meeting
5:00 Vegetarian Meal ($10)
6:00 Program of music from many
different faith communities.
UIA Federations Canada
by Perry Romberg
Shaun Wovnach From Ethiopia to NASA
Dear Friends,
This has been a snowy winter in Toronto,
like the ones I remember from my youth. From
seeing weather forecasts from Saskatchewan
and Regina in particular, I can only hope you
have stayed warm, enjoyed whenever
possible and have your mind’s eye on Purim
and Pesach and therefore Spring.
The UJA Campaign was again very
successful this past year. UIA owes a debt
of gratitude to you and your leadership
(Campaign chair, Steven Goluboff ) for
always being so supportive of the services
and programs UJA supports in Israel,
Canada and the FSU. It is always important
for donors to see how and where their gifts
have made a difference. Following is an
article about a program we support that is
impacting Ethiopian young adults whose
families made Aliyah to Israel through funds
donated by our generous Canadian donors
- like all of you in Saskatoon. I hope you
enjoy and share in the “naches” you have
made possible.
To all of you and your families- a very
happy and joyful Purim.
Perry
Merging his Ethiopian heritage with his
Israeli childhood, Shaun Wovnach excelled
in science and, with the help of the Jewish
Agency Sparks of Science program, is
among Israel’s next generation of
promising students in engineering and the
exact sciences.
At the age of three
when Shaun Wovnach
made aliyah from
Ethiopia, he could
have never imagined
the bright future that
awaited him in Israel.
The youngest of six
brothers and sisters,
Shaun and his family
were welcomed at the
Jewish Agency’s Beit
Canada Absorption
Center in Ashkelon,
where they lived for
five years before
settling in Rehovot. “It was easy for me to
adjust because I was so young,” says
Shaun, 19. “I always felt like an Israeli even
though we spoke Amharic at home.”
One of Shaun’s most influential
experiences was his participation in the
Jewish Agency’s Sparks of Science program
during high school. As part of the program,
Shaun attended special classes at the
prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science,
receiving enrichment in math, science,
technology and English. “I was immediately
attracted to the program because of its
connection with science and the
opportunity to learn at the Weizmann
Institute,” he says.
As one of the
program’s outstanding
students, Shaun was
selected to attend a
special summer camp in
Turkey run by NASA.
“We learned about the
international space station,
participated in simulations
and talked with astronauts.
Everything was based in
science and philosophy,”
he remembers. Sparks of
Science is made possible
through the generosity of
the UJA Federation of NY and the UJC, the
communities of Keren Hayesod and donors
in Israel. “The Jewish Agency’s Sparks of
Science program really influenced me in a
positive way. Not only did I meet a lot of
friends there, but it pushed me to learn in a
different way and to think outside the box,”
Shaun recalls fondly. The program is
continued on page 16
SASKATOON UNITED JEWISH APPEAL 2007
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED GENEROUSLY TO OUR 2007 UNITED JEWISH APPEAL. WE HAVE
RAISED ALMOST $120,000 THIS PAST YEAR. NOT ONLY DO WE CONTINUE OUR SUPPORT OF THE WORK OF THE
JEWISH AGENCY WE CONTINUE TO GUARANTEE THE VIABILITY OF THE SHLICHIM PROGRAM WITH ONE HALF OF
THE FUNDS RAISED RETURNING TO OUR CONGREGATION TO FUND THIS PROGRAM. YASHER KOACH TO ALL.
Steven Goluboff, Campaign Chairman
Avivi, June
Berenbaum, Errol and Shawna
Blum, Martha
B’nai Brith Lodge - Saskatoon
Bornstein, Eli
Brewster, Elizabeth
Broudy, Harry
Broudy, Harry and Rhoda
Buckwold, Bruce and Tamara
Buckwold, Clarice
Buckwold, Ian and Mary Ellen
Buckwold, Rich and Carol
Cameron, Bruce
Cohen, Cindi
Corber, Emily
Davidner, Hershel and Jean
Dawson, Joe and Karen
Ditlove, Mark and Wendy
Dolgoy, Sarah
Erickson, Jan
Fenyes, Les and Heather
Frimer, Hershel, and Boeur, Crystel
Gibbings, Rob and Kate
Gitlin, Jan and Ron
Gitlin, Josh and Nicky
Givelichian, Lawrence and Aydel
Goluboff, Grace
Goluboff, Leila and Steven
Goluboff, Sarah
Goluboff, Shaina
Gonor, Saul
Grant, George.
Gurstein, Zara
Heggie, Wade and Betty Ann
Henry, Jeff and Rachel
Hesselson, Leila
Holtslander, Gord and Francie
Horlick, Lou and Ruth
Horowitz, Simonne and Dwight Newman
Jacobsen, Perry and Jordana
Jewish Student’s Association
Kaplan, David and Susanne
Katzman, Daniel
Katzman, David and Susan
Katzman, Ralph
Katzman, Randy and Shirley
Laimon, Pauline
Landa, Petty
Lavery, Medbh
Levine, Michael
Levitt, Terry and Stromberg, Allison
LIs, Doron
Maor
Pollak, Mirka
Raz, Tal and Karin Ahronson
Remmer, Ross and Linda
Rose, Gladys
Rosenberg, Alan and Leslie Ann
Sasko, Bryce and Robin
Scharfstein, Grant and Marsha
Scharfstein, Jean
Scharfstein, Jim and Jan
Schwartz, Neil
Shapiro, Danny and Marie Lanoo
Sharfe, Sherwood and Elaine
Shaw, Arnie and Linda
This Page is Sponsored by Elizabeth Brewster
5
Shiffman, Jack and Bev
Simpson, Steven and Rebecca
Singer Barry, and Janice Gingell
Singer, Julie
Sofer, Eileen
Solzberg, Al
Stein, Jeff
Stromberg, Robert and Sandra
Stubbs, Natasha
Waldman, Ron and Shannon
Waldman, Toba
Wasserman, Leona
Wolfe, Henry
Thoughts on the Halakhah (Part I)
by Rabbi Emeritus Roger Pavey
Increasingly
over the last few
years
nonOrthodox Rabbis
have been asked
questions by their congregants along the
lines of What is the halakhah on...? With
the continuing move to the right of the
Reform movement and its renewed
openness to tradition, the halakhah seems
to be becoming more and more important;
and Conservative Jews have always been
interested because, at least in principle,
Conservative Judaism has always regarded
the halakhah, even if open to continuous
reinterpretation, as binding in serious Jewish
life.
What, then, is the halakhah?
The single greatest creation of the Rabbis
is what Jacob Neusner has dubbed the Dual
Torah system. In addition to the written
Torah, there is the ongoing oral tradition
based on interpretation of the text of the
Hebrew Bible so as to bring it into continuing
dialog with the changing circumstances of
time and place. Hence, the Rabbis could
avoid the danger of textual fundamentalism:
they always read the Tanakh very seriously,
but never literally.
They read the text using agreed
hermeneutic methods. They also accepted
that there are dimensions of meaning, so
that a text can be read on four levels. This
they referred to by the mnemonic PaRDeS,
the Hebrew word, from Persian, meaning
garden or orchard. This means that you read
a text first literally, the Peshat; then you read
the Remez, meaning the hints that the text
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gives to a deeper significance; then the
Derash, the application of the text to the
specific situation, from a root that means
investigate; and finally you read in that text
the Sod, the underlying, often mystic,
meaning. At all times they used the agreed
hermeneutic principles, of which the 13
attributed to Rabbi Ishmael are the main
examples.
The Oral tradition, including the
hermeneutic methods, was assumed to have
been revealed at Sinai, together with the
written text. It is therefore authoritative. The
written Torah together with the oral tradition
as defined above constitute the Torah as
such, and that, the Dual Torah system, is
what has made Rabbinic Judaism for the last
2000 years. This, the Judaism that we know,
is a system that depends on the scholarly
elite, Rabbis, who continually interpret and
apply the Torah to the intricacies and
minutiae of Jewish life. The elite is also
intensely democratic, in that any competent
person, nearly always male, could aspire to
join the club through merit.
Torah exists in two forms: Halakhah and
Aggadah. The aggadah is material that is
concerned with ethics and theology; it is
the halakhah, the legal system, that has been
unique to this Rabbinic style of Judaism. A
Jew is basically concerned with the answers
to questions such What does God want me
to do? How does God want me to do it?
When does God want me to do it? That
THE BULLETIN
Editor-in-Chief .......................... Steven Goluboff
Youth Editor .................................... Shira Fenyes
Advertising Manager ........................... Ron Gitlin
Circulation Manager ..................... Myla Deptuck
Proof Reader ............................... Bruce Cameron
Layout & Graphic Design .............. Janet Eklund
Cost of this issue with mailing ................. $1200
Advertisements ...................................... $30/issue
Page Sponsorship ........... $25/issue or $130/year
Issues Published ............................................... 106
Issues/Year ........................................................... 6
If you are happy with the Bulletin and enjoy reading it, please
consider sponsoring a page ($20/issue or $100/year). Contact
Steven Goluboff or Ron Gitlin.
E-Mail Address: s.goluboff@shaw.ca
jteklund@sasktel.net
jewishcommunity@sasktel.net
website: www/saskatoon.uscjhost.net
Printed at Saskatoon Fastprint
God does indeed require a Jew to live in
specific and practical ways in response to
every possible eventuality in life, is taken
for granted. Halakhah is the answer to those
questions, the way in which a Jew shall
“walk” through life, from the root hlkh
meaning walk, go.
In modern times, this consensual
understanding of what Judaism is has come
under stress. There has always been an
underground opposition to the halakhic
system, usually the mystic tradition that has
always existed throughout Jewish history.
But increasingly there has grown a feeling
that the content of the system, and, more
important, the very concept that underlies
it, is no longer the reality of Jewish life, nor
indeed should it be. Huge areas of halakhah,
such as criminal and civil law, now fall under
the law of the land and dina de malkhuta
dina, the law of the land is law for Jews too.
Fewer and fewer Jews are willing to live by
the halakhah, even that which remains
possible for them; and most Jews do not
accept that the halakhic system is even a
theoretical ideal for them. In short, we live
increasingly in a post halakhic world, and
for most Jews concern with halakhah as
binding law is purely academic. We look to
halakhah as an interesting part of our Jewish
history that most of us do not accept, even
in theory, as being the will of God, and most
of us have no interest whatever in being
commanded by.
So, where do we go, and what can we
make of halakhah for us today?
Seniors’ Meetings
2:00 p.m., Gladys Rose Board Room.
You don’t have to be a “senior” to attend. If
the topic interests you, just come and join
us. Presentations will last about 45 minutes.
Refreshments will be served following the
talks.
March 9th, 2008
Nim and Shirly Solomon
"Israel Today"
April 6th, 2008
Jewish Music with Hazzan
Schwartz
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6
Hadassah-WIZO News
Canadian Hadassah-WIZO is a volunteer women's Zionist organization that provides material and moral support
to enhance the lives of women, children and youth in Israel through its health care, education and social services
projects. It fosters and strengthens Jewish ideals and highlights the role of Israel in today's world.
Our 2007 Youth
Aliyah Campaign
was another great
success. It was launched at the Family Fun
Day Dec. 2nd and wrapped up at the end of
December and once again our small but
mighty community raised close to $10,000.
Well done!! I’m proud and deeply grateful
to all of you who contributed this year.
Youth Aliyah, the schools we support in
Israel and the children we help are a huge
part of what we do in Hadassah-WIZO.
Thank you very much for helping.
Congratulations to Mr. Chris Eyerly, the
winner of our “Jewish Dinner for 8” Raffle.
We’re working on a date in spring to hold
the dinner at his home and we’re hoping
that all of you “balaboosta’s” will bake/cook
for the event. Thank you to Jennifer
Hesselson, Leona and everyone who sold
and bought tickets.
Our next meeting/event is our annual
Pesach Tea. This year it will be held at the
home of Rebecca Simpson, 158 Whiteshore
Crescent, Sunday, April 26th at 2 p.m..
Come and see her new kitchen and discuss
“Renovations”. The Pesach Tea is a
fundraiser for our chapter, so please try to
donate $18 or more, if attending or not. Come
and have a treat-filled afternoon!
It’s Silver Spoon Dinner planning time
again and we’re excited about this year’s
Dinner. It will be held at TCU Place, Grand
Salon, on Monday, May 12th. We’re going
for glitz and glamour as our guest speaker is
the award-winning actress and model, Andie
MacDowell. The tickets go on sale on March
3rd at a complimentary Wine and Cheese
Reception. Buy them there or call Wendy
@ 374-8848 or by e-mail at
silverspoondinner@gmail.com . Be sure to
volunteer to help.
YOUTH ALIYAH CAMPAIGN - 2007
Thank you to all who so generously contributed to the 2007 Youth Aliyah Campaign. This is our major annual fundraiser for the good
work of Hadassah-WIZO in Israel. It’s never too late to donate. Call Linda Shaw.
The following is a list of current donors:
Elaine & Sherwood Sharfe
June Avivi
Saul Gonor
Linda & Arnie Shaw
Rachel & William Barkaie
Dianne & Gerry Greenblat
Bev & Jack Shiffman
Helen & Marvin Bernstein
Lois & Walter Gumprich
Rebecca & Steven Simpson
Elizabeth Brewster
Zara Gurstein
Barry Singer
Rhoda & Albert Broudy
Jennifer & Jeff Hesselson
Julie Singer
Harry Broudy
Kayla Hock
Eileen Soffer
Bruce Buckwold
Franci & Gord Holtslander
Albert Solsberg
Clarice Buckwold
Ruth & Louis Horlick
Veronica Valenzuela
Mary Ellen & Ian Buckwold
Jordana & Perry Jacobson
Leona Wasserman
Richard Buckwold
Susanne & David Kaplan
Henry Woolf
Mary Cameron
Susan & David Katzman
Lesley-Ann Crone & Alan Rosenberg
Shirley & Randy Katzman
* If I have missed listing your name, I
Herschel Davidner
Pauline Laimon
apologize and will rectify the error in the
Karen & Joe Dawson
Petty Landa
next bulletin. L.
Wendy & Mark Ditlove
Zoe Litman
Janet Erikson
Mirka Pollak
Jan & Ron Gitlin
Burna Purkin & Manny Sonnenschein
Grace Goluboff
Gladys Rose
Leila & Steven Goluboff
HADASSAH CARDS
Robin & Bryce Sasko
Shaina Goluboff
Marsha & Grant Scharfstein
• From Linda & Arnie Shaw "Sympathy"
Sarah Goluboff
Jean Scharfstein
to Judge & Mrs Barry Singer
Bette-Ellen & Harold Gonick
Hazzan Neil Schwartz
• Front Linda & Arnie Shaw "Sympathy"
to Dr & Mrs David Singer
• Chapter "Sympathy" to Dr. & Mrs Barry
Singer
• Linda & Arnie Shaw "For a special
recovery" to Larry Wine
Sunday, March 2nd
SSD Veggie Cutting
JCC
11:00 am
Sunday, April 27th
Pesach Tea
at the home of
Rebecca Simpson
158 Whiteshore Crescent
2:00 pm
Call Dianne Greenblat @ 652-5916 for all
your card needs. Cost: $10 per card.
Certificates are available for larger
donations in honour of any
special occasion or tribute.
This Page is Sponsored by the United Israel Appeal of Canada
This Page is Sponsored by Saskatoon Hadassah WIZO
7
The Wandering Jews: Israel – A Return Visit
by June Avivi
Ma Nishtana …. What was different
about this trip to Israel from all my other
trips to Israel ? Like the four questions at
the Seder this trip was unlike other trips
because the primary motivation was for Jay
and I to observe the Yahrtzeit of our father /
husband. Secondly it was an opportunity
to visit with both family, friends and
‘adoptive children and grandchildren’.
Thirdly it provided Jay with an opportunity
to visit Israel after an absence of 37 years.
And lastly, as in the fourth ‘question’
presented at the Seder, to find answers to
questions we did not know how to ask.
On the second day after arrival in Israel
we traveled to Netanya and settled into the
Blue Bay Hotel where Abe and I had been
guests last year. The following day, Tu
B’Shvat, joined by 30 friends and family, Jay
and Lior Bachar conducted a Memorial
Service in the synagogue area which faced
the Mediterranean Sea.
In 1969/70 Jay had been a student at
Hadassim – a Hadassah Wizo project. We
were able to meet with the director and have
a tour. Much has changed but he recognized
many buildings and the visit was memorable
particularly his interaction with a security
guard.
From Netanya Jay drove – and you have
to be fearless and aggressive to drive in
Israel – to Tel Aviv. A visit to the Palmach
Museum proved to be a response to
‘questions we did not know to ask’. Upon
arrival we went to the photo archives area
and I recognized the volunteer on duty
someone I had not seen for many years.
After the surprise, he immediately took us
to albums in which there were several group
photos (1946)which included Abe. I had
never seen these photos. Two were on their
website and we now have copies. He then
phoned another person with whom we had
lost contact…it was an amazing happening.
The Palmach Museum itself is well worth
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visiting. We walked the Promenade all the
way to Jaffa, were fascinated by the
craftsmanship at Nachlat Binyamin , a
wonderful craft market and unwound
smelling the fragrances
and getting a sense of
people relaxing and
enjoying life.
We were fortunate to
visit with former shlichim
on three occasions – in
Netanya, Herut B and
Hod Hasharon. Anat
and Moshe live in
Modin near Jerusalem,
Kfir and Roni ( Guy and
Shira) in Herut B near
Netanya, Kerenor and
Lior (Naomi and Alma)in
Palmachim near Rishon
L’Tzion, Ran and Racheli
(Tamar) in Hod Hasharon not too far from
Tel Aviv and Yael and Yishay live in Sivon
which is near the northern border of Israel.
Noa and Natan (Kerenor and Keshet) are
teaching in a Jewish day school in Perth,
Australia. Jen Scharfstein – our Saskatonian
living in Israel – has been ‘adopted’ by the
shlichim, particularly Ran/Racheli and
Kerenor/ Lior. Each of the shlichim said
repeatedly that their time in Saskatoon
influenced them greatly, read the BULLETIN
on line to keep up with news and enjoy
visitors from Saskatoon.
We spent four days in Jerusalem. On the
first we managed to walk from our hotel to
the Jaffa Gate, through the market and down
to the Western Wall and returning via the
path outside the walls. We also got to the
Chagall Windows and then spent over four
hours at Yad V’Shem, the Holocaust
Museum. It is emotionally challenging – and
because the weather was getting colder (and
the museum was about to close) we returned
to our hotel. That night it began to snow
and it snowed off and on for two days.
JERUSALEM SHUT DOWN – streets were
full of cars that did not or could not move,
no busses, no school, shopping malls were
closed. It was beautiful to
look at and some families
managed to get to the parks
to build snowmen, throw
snowballs, slide on plastic
bags and collect snowballs
to store in their freezers! We
went for a wet, slushy walk
and then dried our shoes
with a hairdryer. The weight
of the snow caused the
hotel canopy to collapse
and the night guard kept
himself busy building a
snowman.
We left Jerusalem a day
earlier than planned –
because of flooding in the south, we could
not go to Massada . The next day we visited
Lior at Palmachim. Upon our arrival we saw
several helicopters returning from exercises
in the North. They normally are not airborne
on Friday, and Lior explained that they took
advantage of the weather to practice landing
and take offs in snowy conditions. There
was a positive to all the snow – the country
really benefited from the moisture and water
levels in Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) rose
several centimeters.
In summary – our four questions received
answers. Israel remains a vibrant country.
In spite of everything you read and hear we
felt safe, moved about freely and life carries
on at a hectic pace. When we think of
Israel’s place in the Jewish world and on the
international scene at this time, perhaps
this quote by Kurt Tucholsky best sums it
up “ A country is not just what it does – it is
also what it tolerates”. Israel tolerates a
great deal… but look at what it has
accomplished in 60 years !!
"where it all
began..."
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8
Celebrity Guest
Andie MacDowell
Glitz, glamour and show biz are on the
menu for this year’s Silver Spoon Dinner.
How can it be otherwise with Andie
MacDowell as our featured celebrity guest?
She’s an award winning actress, a former
model and spoksesmodel for L’Oreal
Cosmetics & Haircare and Ovarian Cancer
Awareness.
Andie’s considered one of the most
beautiful women on the planet, and she’s
twice been selected by People magazine as
one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the
World (1991 and again in 2000). She’s got
perfect, delicate features, beautiful, natural
curly hair, and a killer smile. She’s smart,
sophisticated and stunningly beautiful. In
her 3-decade career, she’s starred in many
highly enjoyable films. Andie first gained
notice from her appearances in some sexy
TV ads for Calvin Klein jeans in the early
’80s. Her starring role as a sexually repressed
woman in 1989’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape
made her a movie star. She’s since appeared
in such films as Groundhog Day (1993),
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994),
Beauty Shop(2005) and numerous TV
shows.
Andie MacDowell comes across as a
genuine, down-to-earth lady with a lot of
class. She spent many years amid the hustle
and bustle of New York City, but relocated
to a 1,200-hectare Montana ranch to raise
her family. She grew up in a rural part of the
Southeast, and her down-home charm and
enduring charisma translate through her
many screen appearances. Her dedication
to humanitarian causes earned her an
honorary degree from Lander University in
her native South Carolina in 2001. She will
be sharing her stories and experiences with
the women of Saskatoon and area at this
year’s Dinner in her presentation entitled
“Acting as a Way of Life”, a treat that will
ensure that the Silver Spoon Dinner still
keeps top billing as Saskatoon’s Premiere
Ladies’ Night Out.
Official Welcome for Hazzan Neil Schwartz
Please join us for a weekend of
celebration and learning as we warmly and
officially welcome Hazzan Neil Schwartz to
Congregation Agudas Israel in an
installation service on Saturday, April 5,
2008.
Rabbi Paul Drazen, Chief Program
Development officer for United Synagogue
of Conservative Judiasm (UCSJ) will be
joining us from New York. He will participate
in our service for Neil, and spend a weekend
CUELENAERE, KENDALL
KATZMAN
RICHARDS
&
Barristers, Solicitors and Mediators
RANDY KATZMAN
B.Comm., LL.B.
(306) 653-5000
Fax: (306) 652-4171
with us giving us a taste of what he and
UCSJ have to offer our community.
The weekend will be full of food, fun and
fellowship. We begin with a Kabbalat
Shabbat service and a shared Shabbat
dinner at 6 pm Friday, April 4. Shabbat
morning services will start at 9:30 on April
5th. Hazzan Neil and Rabbi Drazen will create
a service that promises to be meaningful and
interesting. This will be followed by a lunch.
Saturday night all are invited to share
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Tel. 306.955.3373 • Fax. 306.955.5739
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havdallah and dessert.
This weekend allows members an
opportunity to “officially” welcome Neil, and
learn more about UCSJ. Please phone June
Avivi at 374-7859 or email her at
ajavivi@sasktel.net to tell her how you will
contribute to the Shared Shabbat Pot Luck
Dinner. June will also answer any questions
about the weekend’s festivities. Please help
us make this event as special as it deserves
to be through your attendance.
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9
Building The Possible
Sunday, March 30, 2008 • 6-9 pm • Jewish Community Centre
Dinner, Music, and Conversation
by JoAnn Jaffe
Join us for an evening of culture, food
and conversation on March 30, 2008 from
6:00 pm-9:00 pm at the Jewish Community
Centre. With Congregation Agudas Israel,
the Fellowship for Reconciliation and Peace
(FRAP) invites members of the Jewish and
Muslim communities to come together in
order to start to “build the possible.”
Relationships between Muslim and Jewish
communities around the world have
deteriorated; even here in Saskatoon many
of us have become estranged from others in
our own city, suspicious because of events
far away or distant from our control. We fail
to recognize that we have many common
interests including that our children and
by Cindi Cohen
On January 30 th , a
group of physicians,
medical students, and
members of Agudas Israel
and the Jewish Students’
Association at U of S met
at Royal University Hospital to welcome
Jonah Mink from Save a Child’s Heart
(SACH). This wonderful organization brings
children with congenital heart problems from
developing countries to Israel for treatment
not available in their own country.
Founded in 1996 by the late Dr. Ami
Cohen, a pediatric cardiac surgeon, SACH
works in association with the Wolfson
Medical Center in Holon, Israel, a suburb of
Tel Aviv. The organization is run entirely by
a volunteer medical team of physicians,
nurses, and paramedics, headed up by Drs.
Sasson, Tamir, and Houri. SACH considers
their greatest achievement to be that all the
grandchildren will flourish and be able to
live freely. Today there are many groups such
as ours in North America, in Israel/Palestine,
and around the world, who are reaching out
to each other and who believe that peace
will come because the grassroots have
insisted upon it.
We, the members of FRAP, are members
of the Muslim and Jewish communities and
our allies in Saskatoon and brothers and
sisters who came together because of the
ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in an
effort to create a safe space for
conversation and to acknowledge the pain
and grief suffered by innocent Jews,
Muslims, and Christians, Palestinians and
Israelis. We have a strong belief that
reconciliation between our two Abrahamic
faiths can be achieved through frank and
respectful dialogue. We believe that peace
and reconciliation are not just to be hoped
for, but must be built by our active efforts.
As the future becomes today, we
understand that the work we will have done
in constructing relationships, re-imagining
what is possible, and insisting on our rights
to peace will form an important basis for a
new way of living together.
For information and to RSVP, please
contact JoAnn Jaffe at
joann.jaffe@uregina.ca or 652-6309.
Save a Child's Heart
children, regardless of race, creed, color, 2008. The astounding success rate of 96%
sex, or religion are treated free of charge with has been achieved with hardly any publicity,
public relations, and little
the finest medical care at the
money.
cutting edge of technology.
Jonah Mink
But SACH also goes a step
Their patients, ranging in
further. They have a full
age from infants to
outreach program to train
teenagers, receive various
medical personnel in their
types of treatment that is
partner countries. Their ultimate
necessary for their heart
goal is to create centers of
problems. The children
competence in these countries,
come from all corners of the
enabling local medical
world, including China,
personnel to provide needed
Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia,
treatment in their own
Eritrea, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan,
environment. The program
Moldova, Nigeria, the
brings doctors and nurses to
Palestinian Authority,
the SACH center for in-depth
Russia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine,
Post Graduate training in all
Vietnam, and the Island of
Zanzibar (part of the Federation of Tanzania). facets of pediatric cardiology. In addition,
To date, they have treated over 1800 their staff travels overseas to educate and
children, with a further 250 for their goal for to perform surgery in cooperation with local
continued on page 17
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Friends,
As I began to
write this, I had notions of grandeur ; I
would wax poetic
and leave all those
who this is addressed to in awe of
myskills as a writer.
As an English major
I have become adept
at adding flourish to my words- a necessity
to write all those pesky essays. But in this
instance grandiose language is not neces-
sary. Simple is best, and that is what I will
stick with: simplicity. Thank you. Thank you.
To my beloved family and friends who
have stood by me through all the crazinessthe ups and downs and everything in between. Thank you to everyone who gave me
strength to see this journey through. Thank
you to all those within the community who
have welcomed me so warmly. And a special thank you to Simonne, a beloved friend
who has been a pillar of strength in my life in
everyway.
Thank you all. Natasha Stubbs.
Dear Dr. Goluboff:
I happened to be looking at the Congregation Agudas Israel website recently when
I came across its Bulletin. This is the finest
publication of its type I have ever seen. Keep
up the good work.
Best regards,
Jay Cowsill
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
President, Multi-Faith Saskatoon
This Page is Sponsored by Effie (Brook) & Harry Gordon of Vancouver
10
My 60 Years in Harold's Gang
by Henry Woolf
From The Guardian, July 12, 2007
As a schoolboy, Harold
Pinter took on bullies
and fought with fascists. Later, as a playwright, he took on the entire critical establishment. Henry Woolf relives his lifelong
friendship with the writer.
A bunch of determined solipsists is how
I would describe the six of us as we bowled
about Hackney in the late 40s and 50s, our
lives central to the workings of the universe.
We had mostly met at school - a group of six
friends, including Harold Pinter and me encouraged by the shining example of our
English teacher, Joe Brearley, to put our lives
first and the world second.
What does that mean? Well, in 1947 the
world seemed too much with us. The Holocaust loomed over us. Atomic bombs had
incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The
cold war was being manufactured to keep
the American economy going. What lay in
store for us looked pretty bleak. We would
prove to be the last generation. No future.
No children. Us. Did we agonise over this?
Discuss our unhappy fate into the small
hours? Not a bit of it. By silent agreement,
we put the day-to-day world to one side.
Once we breathed its infected air, we were
goners.
"Life is beautiful but the world is hell,"
Pinter said recently. That might have been
our motto, the six of us. In any case, we were
buoyed up with the optimism of youth. We
were ruthlessly engaged in living our lives,
and nothing else mattered.
None of us had any money. We walked
and talked for hours, laughing, arguing endlessly, quoting plays, poems and novels that
took our fancy. Pinter was the frontrunner.
He was always bringing new authors to the
table; Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller, John
Dos Passos. He would drag us, protesting,
to avant-garde films: Un Chien Andalou,
L'Age d'Or, Le Sang d'un Poete - Buneul, Dali,
Cocteau. Then there was the theatre. Joe
Brearley took us to see Robert Helpmann
and Margaret Rawlings in John Webster's
The White Devil. We have never seen anything like it. We rushed about declaiming:
"There's a plumber laying pipes in my guts";
"Oh, I have caught an everlasting cold"; "My
soul is like to a ship in a black storm driven I
know not whither". Sixty years later, Harold
is still likely to come out with "the time is
ripe for the bloody audit and the fatal gripe"
or "I'll go hunt the badger by owl light" from
The Duchess of Malfi.
Were we grateful for Harold leading us
into such rich, unexplored territories? Not a
bit of it. We were reluctant explorers. We regarded him with wary unease as he plunged
forward. We loved and admired him, but we
would rather have died than say so. We were
all fiercely loyal to the group. None more so
than Harold. He still is. Look how he has
stuck by his old codgers. His old mates. He
could have gently dumped us years ago as
the world embraced him, with no hard feelings on our part. But he hasn't. Friendship is
sacred.
In those days, we took ourselves very
seriously and we were shocked, on one occasion, by the defection of one of our group.
We discovered that he ridiculed us behind
our backs, that he regarded us with disdain.
Today, so what? Back then, black treachery.
Harold, the most generous of us, was the
most affronted. He wrote a novel about it all:
The Dwarfs. It is an amazing piece of work
for a 22-year-old. It predates his first play by
about five years, as do scores of his poems.
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like then, how particular, how different from
each other, yet sharing a common language,
a common stance, read The Dwarfs. It brilliantly captures young men in all their pride
and peacock before society closes in and
squeezes the life out of them. The ambiguities of loyalty and betrayal weave their way
through the pages of the The Dwarfs, themes
which recur in Pinter's work.
"What's it like having a famous friend?"
people ask me. What do they mean? Harold
was always famous. He wasn't afraid of anyone. When the Hackney fascists, newly released from war time internment, were harrying us down the back streets of Dalston, he
would turn and fight, or chat them to standstill. Four of our six were Jewish. We lived in
our heads, the only safe place a Jew to be. I
often think that Pinter's characters live in
rooms that are projections of a private, cerebral world.
Pinter hated bullies. There was a teacher
at our school (good old Hackney Downs
grammar school) called De la Feld. He was a
huge man, well over six feet, and his pleasure was to torment the smaller boys by twisting their hair as he made them stand by his
desk, or he would smack their bare legs with
a ruler for minute at a time. In those days,
that sort of thing was par for the course, but
Pinter would have none of it. He was only
15, but he went to the headmaster and refused to take any more lessons from De la
Feld - in exactly the same spirit as he later
took on Uncle Sam with his bullying ways.
(A footnote about De la Feld. In the autumn
of 1944, I found myself in his class one day
with a 60 foot long German V2 rocket plunged
into the park across the road from our school.
Its 2,000 lb. warhead exploded with a roar. To
our delight, De la Feld, in abject terror, flung
his giant frame on the floor. How we chuckled.)
By a bit of luck, I was able to direct the
first production of The Room, Pinter's first
play, at the Bristol University drama department exactly 50 years ago in 1957. I remember the audience waking up from its polite
cultural stupor and beginning to enjoy itself. Something special was going on. Something very funny and at the same time rather
menacing. A new voice was speaking, and
English theatre was never going to be the
same again.
The critics of the time hated it all. How
dare this young man write such baffling yet,
theatrically exciting plays, so different from
anything that had gone before? They would
have to learn a new theatrical language - at
their time of life. So they did their best to kill
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11
continued on page 16
YOUTH
From Our Tel Aviv Desk
by Keren-Or and Lior
Rarely does a democratic regime have
an opportunity to cut deep inside its internal
organs and view from a critical perspective
how it behaved in a certain point and time,
and beyond that, a thorough examination
of how it’s political, military and social
institutions function. This is probably the
case with the Winograd Committee’s final
report on its investigation of the Second
Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.
The national political scene’s tension
was at its peak during the days prior to
Winograd Committee’s report release. Much
attention and a lot of speculation were given
to how the major conclusions of the report
will affect PM Olmert and his government.
Although the committee was prevented
from reaching “personal conclusions” – in
other words, stating whether a certain
political or military leader was to be released
from duty – there was still a lot that could
be said regarding Olmert’s responsibility for
the outcome of the war. The press
concentrated on three main issues: a) how
harshly will Olmert be depicted as the major
person responsible for entering the War and
for how it ended ; b) Olmert’s [and former
Defense Minister Peretz’s] decision to
launch a large scale ground attack during
the last 60 hours of the War (inflicting 33 of
the 119 military casualties) , knowing – or
not – that a UN resolution regarding a cease
fire was about to be approved; c) Defense
Minister Barak’s statement last summer that
if the Committee’s final report would show
that Olmert’s decision making and
leadership on the eve of and during the War
were grave, he as leader of the Labor Party
would withdraw from the Unity government
and demand ending this government’s term
heading for new elections.
The public protest with regard to the War
and to the Winograd Committee is, generally
speaking, caught between two main
viewpoints. The ones in favor of Olmert’s
resignation see his failures regarding the War
as unacceptable for a leader. They regard
the virtues and values that a leader must
have as being the most dominant in deciding
whether such a leader should be in power or
not. In this case, the fact that Olmert was
incapable of making the right decisions - in
their point of view – means he must be held
responsible and resign from office. The other
“half” of the public, in a somewhat more
practical view, fear that if Olmert resigns, the
options for his replacement (mainly Binyamin
Netanyahu, as far as the polls are credible)
are from bad to worse. In other words, those
may even agree that Omert is to be held
responsible, but this is not the right time to
put values before pragmatism. The most
significant representatives of those who
want Olmert to resign are a group of reserve
soldiers, mainly officers, most of whom are
company commanders who took part in the
battles. The other side is most significantly
represented by most Members of the
Knesset, for more cynical self interests than
for national and principle interests, it seems
(they want to keep their seats). Whether on
this or that side of the map, the Israeli public
is definitely being put through a rough test.
Another important part of the report deals
with the way in which the IDF, the Israeli
Army, managed the crisis and performed
during the War. The big picture, as described
in the report and as interpreted by the media,
shows a confused military leadership
headed by a Chief of Staff (who resigned a
few months after the War due to internal and
public criticism of his performance) who
didn’t have a strategy, who thought that air
strikes alone would do the job and who didn’t
Breakfast Club
March 16th, 2008
10:00 am
seem to have a good grip of the situation
and the forces on the ground. Strategies
and tactics can be discussed, one can agree
or disagree about how well or how badly
the military dealt with certain situations. It
seems that the most disturbing of the reports
conclusions is the fact that certain, critical
values that must be every soldiers daily
bread, especially commanding officers, more
so the high ranked ones, were neglected.
The Committee’s report describes the lack
of values such as discipline, maintenance
of objective, and the commander as a model.
Even if the Committee’s report is not a
hundred percent correct, their conclusions
are enough for every one of us as Israelis to
understand that we must change. We have
to create think tanks to figure out how, as a
society, we should react to these findings
so that we will not encounter such
conclusions once more. We can’t afford not
to. We don’t have the luxury of losing a
War.
On a completely different tone,
something personal. We, the former Arevim
(or young Shlichim), had the honor of being
part of Abe Avivi’s yahrtzeit service here in
Israel a few weeks ago. June and Jay invited
us to the service and during the couple of
weeks they stayed here we managed to
gather most of the group and meet once or
twice. To us, the Avivi’s are our
“grandparents” in Saskatoon and we all owe
them a lot of the great feeling of home they
gave us while we were far from home. Their
care and support was always comforting
and we feel like a big “family”. We wish
June many more healthy years of activity
with the future Shlichim and we carry the
sweet memories of Abe in our hearts.
Triumph of the Spirit
On the menu: Coffee, Bagels and the Israeli
movie Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi 16 years old
Shlomi lives with his restless mother, his soldier brother and their
ill grandfather. Although not doing well in school, He is a gifted
cook and takes care of most household chores. One day, the school’s
principal finds out Shlomi is actually a genius and tries to get him
into a more suitable curriculum. However, Shlomi is more interested in taking care of
his family and his new love interest, the beautiful girl next door.
Saskatoon Chamber Singers
James Hawn, Director
Tuesday, March 18th - 7:30 pm
Knox United, Spadina & 24th St.
A variety of sacred music, including
six selections (three in Hebrew) by
Srul Glick, a Canadian composer.
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12
Mah Chadash (What's New)
by Shirly and Nimrod Solomon
We recently had two guest speakers
from Israel, who came to the community.
Surprisingly, they both came separately on
lovely 40 below days, an experience that
left them with a deep impression and a lot
of stories to take back home. Both of the
guest speakers and their accompanies from
various students program organizations
have said so many warm words on our
special and very active community.
It was a great pleasure for us to have
Jonah Mink from Save A Child’s Heart here.
His presentations were fascinating and
very moving. We would like to thank Dr. Alan
Rosenberg for all of his help in creating the
opportunity to have Jonah speak in the
pediatric department. You can read more on
SACH and Jonah’s visit to Saskatoon in
Cindi Cohen’s article.
David Olesker's presentations were also
very interesting. His opinions are not always
main-stream, but a few things that we could
take from those presentations were his ideas,
creative ways of thinking and great sense
of humor. More on Olesker’s presentation
can be read in Daniel Katzman’s article.
In these last months we had a lot of JSA
events: opening the semester at Amigos,
cooking and eating workshop (it is still
controversial if Simonne’s Kosher sushi or
the pita and hummus were the hit of the
night), Israeli program evening (We have
Tal’s secret recipe for the Falafel but we are
not sure anyone can make it as well as he
continued on page 16
A Night With David Olesker:
A Brief History
of Israel
by Daniel Katzman
I attended David Olesker’s discussion
on Israel advocacy Sunday night. He
addressed the crowd of students with force
and conviction. He never faltered and stayed
on point. He was also very well spoken.
While all these things work in his favour,
there were a few ideas I found disagreeable
and confused. He started very early
condemning the usage of buzz-words, but
does). The Birthright spring/summer trips
registration are now open.
We would like to thank everyone who
helped and took part in one or more of the
recent events and left their warm homes and
beds in this colddddddd weather.
On those cold days we are finding
ourselves thinking about the Israeli summer.
There are a few main things that describe
the summer in Israel for us:
· Cold Israeli Goldstar beer on the balcony
· Red watermelon with salt cheese on the
beach
· Walking around with sandals
· The smell of sun-screen in public places
· Collecting shells on shore
· Drinking icy, fresh fruit shakes on every
possible occasion
· Celebrating Shavuot in a kibbutz and
knowing that its going to get much warmer
· Knowing that you can’t move a finger
later used words like “good guy”, “bad
guy”, “saints” and “sinners”. He
worked very hard to separate us from
the rest of the community, as if
isolating us would be the only way he
could give us an identity. Finally when it
came time to answering some very tough
questions, he simply did not. He addressed
the question, and very neatly sidestepped
it. I found myself disagreeing with a lot of
what he said, but he did provoke thought,
which I hope was his main objective. Overall
I was glad I went, even if I didn’t agree with
his ideas.
MERCAZ-CANADA and the
MASORTI/CONSERVATIVE
MOVEMENT
In co-operation with the Jewish
Agency for Israel (JAFI)
Invite you to be part of a special
awareness Shabbat - Shabbat Am
Ha’Yehudi – The Jewish Peoplehood
Shabbat - in recognition of Israel’s
60th Anniversary, on
SATURDAY APRIL 26, 2008.
Participate together with all Conservative
synagogues across Canada and around the
world. Celebrate our success stories as
well as hear about the challenges the
Masorti/Conservative Movement in Israel
is facing and the role that MERCAZCANADA plays within the World Zionist
Organization and the Jewish Agency, in
support of Masorti Judaism in Israel.
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From Isr
ael with Lo
ve
Israel
Lov
by Ran and Rachelli Zarovitch
It has been a while since we wrote
something for the Bulletin. We have a good
excuse as we have brought a baby girl to
the world- Tamar. We can’t express the joy
she brings to our life- and yes, lack of sleep
but we got used to it. We never thought we
could be so happy from a heavy diaper- a
burp and other interesting things that a baby
can do! A month ago she started smilingand since then she hasn’t stopped!
We are very happy that the Shlichim
family has grown, and the second generation
consists of seven children all together! The
new additions from the last three months
are Shira and Guy (Roni and Kfir’s), Alma
(Keren-or and Lior’s) and Tamar (Ran and
Racheli’s).
On a different note, we were privileged
to have June visit Israel again. On Tuesday
afternoon the 22 nd of January, all of us
gathered to commemorate Abe’s yartzheit
in Natanya. For us all it was very important
to be there on that day .
June and Abe were always there for us
the Shlichim. They were the first to be at the
airport when we arrived in Saskatoon and
the last to say goodbye when we didn’t
want to leave. They were like our
grandparents, always there for good advice,
a place to eat Shabbat dinner and get a warm
coat if needed. During the yartzheit we met
again Abe and June’s exceptional family
from Israel.
A week later, we all met June and Jay with
the kids at our apartment. We had a lovely
supper and we enjoyed spending time with
each other. During the visit we also got to
know Jay Avivi better and we were amazed
to hear his fluent Hebrew that came back to
him once he landed in Israel after 40 years.
It was a special reunion. Thanks to Jen
Scharfstein who has been in Israel for the
last six months and has become a member
of the Shlichim family (and is a great
babysitter)!
We hope we will have more gatherings
like this in future. We are already looking
forward to the visit of the Mission in May.
All of us the Shlichim feel fortunate to be a
part of this unique community and wish
Shirly and Nim a fulfilling shlichut!
Miss you all.
Ne
ws fr
om Isr
ael
News
from
Israel
by Kfir and Roni
After a year of silence we are more than
happy to write again to the Bulletin.
A short update at first: we live in a moshav
next to the main highway from Tel-Aviv to
Haifa named Beit-Herut. The Moshav was
established 70 years ago by a group of
immigrants from the Zionist youth
movement Herut America B. Roni’s
grandmother came from Duluth Minnesota
to be a part of creating this lovely agriculture
area.
In the last four months we are proud
MASA provides young
Jewish adults with
connections to programs,
grants and scholarships
towards program fees, as
well as support, activities,
workshops and resources
while here in Israel.
“Jewish” parents of Shira and Guy. As you
probably can understand the last couple of
months were a bit chaotic for us, as we found
ourselves trying to adjust to our new lives.
They are amazing (of course) and they
started to sleep at night a couple of hours in
a row, which gives us the pleasure of being
part of adult society again.
On a different note, we have a kind of a
third son. His name is Rodolfo, and he is a
new immigrant from Brazil. He made Aliya
exactly a year ago. We are the adopting
family of Rodolfo here in Israel as part of a
relatively new project of the Jewish agency
named “home together”. Rodo (as we call
Rodolfo) has very few relatives in the
country, and we try to support him in the
great challenges of building new life in a
new country. We decided to join this project
because of you. We remember our great fears
before coming to Saskatoon, being so far
from our families and friends without
knowing a soul person. We remember the
great relief when you as a community
welcomed us with such warmth and grace
and opened your hearts and your homes for
us. This warm hug, that was there the whole
year, is what made our year so great, and
what makes this project so successful in
Saskatoon. This also was the key motive for
This Page is Sponsored by Dr. Jeff Stein
14
us to join the volunteers’ project. Rodo is
now studying for his PhD in Biology in “BarIlan” University, and he is part of every
family gathering and every holiday
celebration.
We hope that this column will be the first
of many more to come, as we promised to
Abe Avivi last year, during the visit of the
Avivi’s in our home.
Beside enjoying parenthood, we also
have to go to work once in a while... So Kfir
is working as a doctor in Meir hospital in
Kfar Saba. He is doing his internship now
and trying to decide which residency to
choose.
Roni is at home right now with Shira and
Guy, but very soon she is going back to
work as a business counselor all around
Israel (mainly in Tel Aviv - to one of the
largest banks in Israel).
We miss all of you and we miss the
prairies. Take good care…
Sisterhood News
by Karen Dawson - Sisterhood President
How do Jews connect to each other when
we are spread so far and wide across the
Earth? How do we maintain a common
identity, and celebrate together when we are
so far apart? This is exactly what a small
group of individuals wanted to address
when they embarked on the creation of ‘The
Israeli Flag for the Future’ Campaign. They
have organized the creation of an enormous
Israeli flag - which will be sewn together in
quilt like fashion from cloth pieces
decorated individually by participating Jews
around the world. The squares are sent out
to participants around the world, who in turn
send them back to the organizing committee,
who will oversee the assembling and
creation of the Flag - each piece the voice of
one person - each person part of the larger
whole.
‘The Israeli Flag for the Future’ - is a
project that is greatly enhanced by the
variety of Jewish communities around the
world.
Our Sisterhood has been offered a
unique opportunity to participate in The
Israeli Flag for the Future! Our members are
invited to express their thoughts, feelings,
and emotions regarding Israel and Judaism
with decorating markers on a piece of (blue)
fabric.
The pieces will be sewn together to
create an enormous Israeli flag
which will be displayed in Israel in honor of
its 60th year of independence!
Marsha Scharfstein is overseeing the
project in our community - and has reserved
a limited amount of squares for Sisterhood
members. It is a first come first serve basis!
In this year, as WLCJ worldwide honors Kol
Ishah - A Woman’s Voice, it seems timely
and important to express ourselves in our
own unique and individual way - for the
connection to each other, and for the love
of Israel.
For further exploration, see The Israel
Flag Project website: http://www.israelflag4the-future.com/
If you would like to pariticpate in this
Historical Flag - please call or email Marsha
to find out how. Please do it now - before all
the squares are gone!
Library News
by Patricia Pavey
I recently found a gift
on the library desk. The
Azrieli Foundation kindly
donated a package containing five titles to our
library:
Bits and Pieces by Henia Reinhartz,
Spring's End by John Freund, The Violin by
Rachel Shtibel, A Child's Testimony by
Adam Shtibel and Getting out Alive by
Tommy Dick.
These are in the the first series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs, established to preserve and share the written memoirs of those
who survived the twentieth century Nazi
genocide of the Jews of Europe and who
later made their way to Canada. The Azrieli
Series is guided by the conviction that each
survivor of the Holocaust has a remarkable
story to tell and invites submissions.
Submissions are invited and may be made
in any language, typed or handwritten.
Memoirs written in a language other than
English or French will be translated into English and/or French.
The foundation is not-for-profit. Books
are not available for sale and no royalties,
commissions or fees are paid to authors.
For more information or
to submit a memoir:
The Azrieli Foundation
164 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 503,
From The United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism
It shall be the aim and purpose of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism:
While not endorsing the innovations introduced by any of the Constituent Arms of the
Conservative Movement, to embrace all elements essentially loyal to traditional Judaism,
with it objectives being to:
• Advance the cause of Judaism to assure Jewish continuity;
• Maintain Jewish tradition in its historic context;
• Assert and establish loyalty to Torah and its historical exposition;
• Further the observance of Sabbath and of the dietary laws;
• Preserve in the service the reference to Israel’s past and its future;
• Maintain the traditional character of the liturgy, with Hebrew as the language of prayer;
• Foster the home as expressed in traditional observances;
• Encourage the establishment of Jewish religious schools, in the curricula of which the
study of the Hebrew language and literature shall be given a prominent place, both as
the key to the true understanding of Judaism and as a bond holding together the
scattered communities of Israel throughout the world; and
• Stimulate congregations and its members to involve themselves in matters of social
justice, public policy and other social concerns as a reflection of the will of God.
Toronto, Ontario,
M4P 1G4
tel: 416-322-5928
email: memoirs@azrielifoundation.org
I am also listing and documenting some
of Anna Feldman's oral history project on
discs copied by the National Library. Anna's
work is a treasure to our community and I
hope members will take advantage of it when
I have finished cataloguing it.
Editorial... from page 2
what is not unusual for any Synagogue in
the Diaspora, and that of course, is our poor
synagogue attendance. Hazzan Schwartz
has attempted new innovations, some of
which are successful, others not. Friday
night services have often not had a minyan,
Shabbat mornings marginally more
successful. I shudder to imagine what would
happen if we lost our “super seniors”, (80
and over). This is not upon which we can
build a future. Synagogue attendance is not
about observance or religiosity for most of
us. It is about being open-minded about
study, meditation, spirituality and
community support. And more remarkably
than one might believe, participating in
services can actually be enjoyable, fulfilling
and yes, even fun. The Board is considering
a community survey to inquire about the
members’ needs and wants. But before that,
let any Board member or Hazzan Schwartz
know what changes you might want to
expedite better synagogue attendance.
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15
UJA... from page 5
working to significantly increase the number
of Ethiopian immigrants who go on to study
technology and science at the university
level.
After graduating from high school,
Shaun deferred his army service to study
economics and logistics at Bar Ilan
University. He joined Atidim, a program
supported by the Jewish Agency, and
entered their special Academic Reserves
track which enables bright young people,
mainly from Israel’s geographic and
Henry Woolfe... continued from page 11
him stone-dead - this upstart. They savaged
Pinter's first full-length play, The Birthday
Party, in an extraordinary display of collective venom, but there was no stopping him.
He bounced back straightaway, writing The
Hothouse and then calmly putting it to one
ride, to ripen as it were.
The National Theatre is presenting The
Hothouse. Jan Rickson directs a wonderful
cast, with me popping in as head porter Tubb.
The play is fresh as a daisy after all these
years. It crackles with humour and menace
and uncanny reminders of the world we live
in. Those in power jostle each other for the
spoils, while the weak are trampled underfoot. We, the audience, can't help laughing
when perhaps we shouldn't. Echoes of the
play remain long after one has left the thea-
socioeconomic peripheral regions, to pursue
academic degrees in engineering and
applied sciences before entering the army.
As part of the program, Shaun receives a
tuition scholarship, living stipend, academic
and social support, a mentor and a laptop
computer.
When he finishes his studies in June
2008, Shaun will begin five years of service
with the Israel Defense Forces. “My dream
is to be in business and to be an
entrepreneur,” he says.
tre. Echoes of Pinterland, a landscape unlike
any other.
It is a great treat for me to see Harold's
work still so appreciated. To see a bit more
of him, too, now that I've come over from
Canada to be in The Hothouse. The years
have dished him out a few blows to the body,
not to mention the jabs below the belt, but
as I sit opposite him in some cafe of his choosing, sixty years after out first meeting, I can
tell he's still looking the world in the eye,
warm but wary; still ready to take on allcomers, too.
Editor's Note: Henry Woolf, actor and director is an active member of Congregation Agudas Israel.
President's Keyboard... from page 3
considerably smaller cost. Possibilities
include a new building on our property,
demolition and reconstruction, and quite
possibly, doing nothing differently. Both
the Kallah and any potential land
redevelopment obviously require the
overwhelming support of our membership.
Simonne Horwitz is doing fabulous work,
reaching out to families and individuals who
might want to join our congregation. Of
course, every member can do this and it is
much appreciated when you issue that
personal invitation to someone that you
Mah Chadsh... from page 13
without sweating and still loving every
second
And one last question, how come all the
hi-tech industry’s in Israel couldn’t invent
the remote car starter for the Israeli summer?
We could use turning on the AC ten minutes
before entering the boiling car in 40 plus
temperatures…
Our next breakfast club meeting will be
on March 16th, at 10am with the Israeli film
“Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi”. Join us for
coffee, bagels and very touching movie.
This month we hope to start with “CAFÉ
IVRIT” which will be all in Hebrew. This will
be a great opportunity for all who are
interested to talk, chat, hear and think
Hebrew. Please contact us if you want to be
a part of it.
The children’s Purim carnival will take
place on Thursday, March 20th. We will
begin with the reading of the Megilah at
6:00p.m. The Megilah reading will be
followed by an amazing carnival that the
BBYO group will run. There will be stations
with many cool and fun activities, prizes,
games and much more! The kids are invited
to bring friends.
We all waited for it and now it is really
coming- the adult Purim party! The Purim
celebration will take place at Saturday,
March 22nd, 8:00 pm. This year Purim goes
Hollywood! Come dressed as your favourite
Hollywood personality/hero/star. We are
going to have karaoke, dance music,
costumes competition, Hollywood’s famous
Jews trivia, great prizes and more! The price
is $5 in advance, $10 at the door and of course
this includes food, drinks and E-V-E-R-Y-TH-I-N-G!!!
Lehitraot,
Shirly & Nim
know. Please contact Simonne if there is
someone that you feel should be invited.
The May 12th Silver Spoon provides
much needed financial support to worthy
charities, provides a prestigious award to a
very deserving citizen of Saskatoon, and
enhances the relationship of our
congregation to the larger community. Linda
Shaw and her committee are always Save a Child's Heart... from page 10
welcoming new people who want to help.
personnel. However, until their goal is
Finally, it was a great relief to learn that achieved, children with congenital heart
Nim and Shirly have agreed to a second year problems are brought to Israel for surgery
in Saskatoon. I want to say thank you to and other cardiac care.
every member who has made a point of
SACH welcomes volunteers from all over
making our two schlichim feel welcomed and the world, both medical and non-medical.
appreciated. They are now planning a Purim Electives are available for medical students,
party that will continue our awesome and people are also needed at the house
traditions. If there ever was an event that where the children and their families stay
the adults of our community (and invited during their time in Israel. And of course,
guests) might enjoy, it would be “Purim donations are always welcome and very
Goes Hollywood” on March 22. As always, much needed.
the schlichim have served our university
Statistics on those treated, and beautiful
and young adults very well and it is a letters from the children and their families,
as well as additional information on SACH
pleasure to see them at various functions.
Such programming happens because we and how to contact them can be found on
have dedicated volunteers and a community their website at www.saveachildsheart.com
SASKATOON
with a shared vision. We are here to support
810 Circle Dr. E
2105 8th St. E.
the widest possible expression of Jewish Ed Note: Cindi Cohen is a first year
at Millar Ave
at Grosvenor
thought and practice. If you want to get Medical Student and an active member of
933-1986
955-1989
involved, send me a note or give me a call. CAS.
This Page is Sponsored by Frances Bernbaum of Winnipeg, formerly of Saskatoon
This Page is Sponsored by Myrna H. Levin of Winnipeg
16
The Saskatoon Jewish Foundation
gratefully acknowledges the following contributions:
TO
As my father
planted for me
before I was born,
So do I plant for
those who will
come after me.
from the Talmud
GREETING
NATE & GRACE GOLUBOFF FUND
With condolences on the loss
Steven & Leila
of your father, Bill Katz.
Goluboff
Marla Katz
GLADYS & GERRY ROSE FUND
Mazel Tov on your birthday
Maurice Brounstien
Your contribution, sent to:
Saskatoon Jewish Foundation
Congregation Agudas Israel,
715 McKinnon Avenue, Saskatoon
S7H 2G2
will be gratefully received and
faithfully applied.
FROM
SASKATOON JEWISH FOUNDATION
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
David & Susanne
Kaplan
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
Sid Horovitz
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
Lou & Ruth Horlick
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
Helen Campbell
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
Ruth Pink
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
Anna Feldman
Carol & David Stollar
In memory of Julie Singer
Rala, Russell, Peter
& The Singer Family
& Tammy, Mira & Tim
Irene Blum
In memory of Martha Blum
Elizabeth & Ilya Blum
Judith Fogel-Zelig
Mazel Tov on the birth of your
Irene Blum
granddaughter, Nina
The Singer Family
Irene Blum
Mr. & Mrs. Dov Harris
Liz Pearl
In memory of Julie singer
In memory of Martha Blum
Mazel tov on the birth of your
granddaughter
With appreciation
Arnold Golumbia
CLARA GOLUMBIA FUND
Happy Birthday
Glady and her
bouquet of Roses
Glady Rose
Glady Rose
Glady Rose
Gladys Rose
Glady Rose
Gifts of Securities
by Jeff Stromberg, CA
There has never been a better time to
donate publicly listed shares that carry
unrealized capital gains. Recent amendments
to the income tax act now allow taxpayers to
avoid capital gains tax on securities donated
to Canadian registered charities. These charities include Congregation Agudas Israel.
A donor still receives a charitable donation tax credit based on the fair value of securities at the time the donation is made. The
donation tax credit for 2007 in Saskatchewan
is worth 26 cents for every dollar donated
on the 1st $200.00 donated per annum and
44 cents for every dollar on donations in excess of $200.00 per annum. The amount of
savings on capital gains tax will depend
on your marginal tax bracket and amount of
unrealized capital gains on the securities
donated. If the shares have little or no cost
base, the extra savings could be as high as
22%. The end result is that the Jewish Community receives a larger amount than it
would if you were to sell these securities
and donate the proceeds after paying taxes
on the related capital gain.
Seniors members may obtain an extra
benefit if a taxable capital gain on securities could result in Old Age Security payments being clawed back. Younger families with children might obtain higher GST
credits or higher child tax benefits by avoiding taxable capital gains on donated securities . If you have purchased flow through
shares, you will maximize your tax savings
by donating these shares since flow
through shares usually have little or no
cost base. Another tax planning opportunity involves shares you own through a
corporation. If your corporation sells shares
of a publicly listed company with unrealized
capital gains, you may increase your corporation’s capital dividend account by the nontaxable portion of the capital gain. The capital dividend account represents funds that
can be paid out of your corporation to you
tax free.
The tax consequences outlined in this article are based on a assumptions which may
not always apply to a particular situation.
Donors should always obtain competent
professional advice before contemplating
which securities are best to donate in order
to maximize individual or corporate tax benefits.
Editor's Note: Jeff Stromberg is an accountant and member of CAI.
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Yahrtzeits
February 29/March 1
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We should study; Judaism has always insisted that
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but to make them good...
- Rabbi Harold Kushner
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18
The Schlichim and their Babies 2007
Keren-Or, Naomi, Lior and Alma
Tamar
Rachelli and Tamar
Kfir, Roni, Guy and Shira
Top Row - L-R: Rachelli, Tamar, Ran, Jay,
June, Yael, Yishay, Moshe, Anat, Roni
Sitting - L-R: Kfir, Guy, Jenn, Lior, Alma,
Naomi
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19