edmonton jewish news digital edition - march 2015

March 2015Volume 26, No. 3

Publication Mail Agreement Number: 40050628 Cover art by 6 year old Geshem Soifer; background by Talmud Torah School Kindergarten students

EDMONTON

NEWS

Happy PassoverFestival of Freedom

Last month in Kiev, on February 25th, Israel signed aMemorandum of Understanding to support a Canadianfunded agriculture project in Ukraine. The signing waswitnessed by Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy andFood, Mr. Oleksiy Pavlenko. Working together, thegovernments of Canada and Israel will assist farmers andsmall and medium entrepreneurs in the framework of the"Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project(UHBDP).”

The project is implemented by MEDA - MennoniteEconomic Development Associates of Canada with fundingfrom the Government of Canada and the Israeli Agency forInternational Development Cooperation - Mashav. Thebeneficiary of the project is Ukraine's Ministry of Agricultureand Food.

"Canada is steadfast in its commitment to helpingadvance democracy, strengthen human rights and supportsustainable economic growth in Ukraine,” said theHonourable Christian Paradis, Canadian Minister ofInternational Development and La Francophonie. “Oursupport for this project, in collaboration with theGovernment of Israel, will help Ukrainian farmers and smalland medium-sized businesses move from poverty toprosperity."

Rafael Barak, Israel's Ambassador to Canada, reflectedupon its significance to Canada-Israel bilateral ties: "this

agreement is anotherexample of how Canada andIsrael can leverage mutualexpertise to help make theworld a better place." Headded, "internationaldevelopment is one of thekey areas of cooperation - inaddition to energy, security,scientific research andacademic ties - that werehighlighted in the Canada-Israel Strategic PartnershipMOU signed last yearduring Prime MinisterHarper's historic visit toIsrael."

The project involvessharing experiences ingrowing, storage and marketing of agricultural products aswell as teaching best practices in the implementation of newtechnologies in the agricultural industry. An importantelement of the new project is technical assistance andtraining programs for gardening professionals. Specialattention is paid to female farmers and small entrepreneurswho face challenges to the technical development of their

businesses due to a lack offunds.

The Project covers smalland medium farmingentrepreneurs in four

regions of Ukraine - Zaporizhya, Mikolayev, Odessa,Kherson - and includes:

• Provision of equipment, training, both practical andmethodological assistance in establishing effective farmingfor farmers and households (involving Israeli and Canadianexperts).

• Establishment of credit and facilitate access of farmersto finance in order to allow greater opportunities forinvestment.

• Assist local agricultural education institutions in thedevelopment of new courses on efficient and environmentallysustainable management of small farms HorticultureDevelopment.

Canada-Israel relationship extendsto development in Ukraine

Edmonton Jewish News March 2015

Plans are underway for the 2015 Negev Gala which willbe held on June 22, 2015 at the Fantasyland Hotel. Thisyear's honourees are a very special couple, says EdmontonJewish National Fund Executive Director Jay Cairns. "Theyare long time residents of Edmonton and exceptionalmembers of the Edmonton Jewish Community."

Here is some background information about Abe and JoanGoldstein to introduce the couple to new members of thecommunity and to share some insights to help thecommunity "get-to-know" the 2015 Negev Gala Honourees.

Abe and Joan may appear to be quiet, unassuming peoplebut actually:

• Abe survived the Holocaust in the forests of the Polishcountryside, fighting side by side with the Partisans by theage of 10.

• Abe was one of 1100 children who were orphaned in theHolocaust and immigrated to Canada finally settling withthe Dlin Family in Edmonton.

• Joan was born in Leduc, Alberta and became a teacher.She moved to Thorsby, Alberta, where she met a dashing

young immigrant shop owner.• Joan is a past chair of the UJA Women’s Division and

a past board member of the Jewish National Fund ofEdmonton.

• Abe & Joan are committed and loyal Oilers fans. You canspot them at any home town game.

• Abe & Joan are proud parents of 3 children and 7grandchildren.

Over the years, Abe and Joan Goldstein have madetremendous contributions to our community both at homeand in Israel. Stay tuned in next month's Edmonton JewishNews for more information about them and the upcomingJNF Negev Gala.

Getting to know your 2015 Negev Honourees

Last month, the Israeli Ambassador to Canada Rafael Barak signed an MOU tosupport a Canadian funded agriculture project in Ukraine.

March 2015 Edmonton Jewish News

By Uriel Heilman, JTA

There are two Benjamin Netanyahus.

To his detractors, Netanyahu is arrogant, a dissemblerand a racist. To his defenders, he is intrepid, politicallyastute and singularly devoted to Israel’s security.

Netanyahu’s critics blame him for alienating Israel’sclosest ally - snubbing the U.S. president, using Congress asa backdrop for electioneering and hurting bipartisan supportfor Israel. They point to Netanyahu’s statement this monththat he opposes Palestinian statehood as proof that he, notthe Palestinians, is responsible for the failure to reach a two-state peace deal. And when Netanyahu issued his plea onElection Day (March 16) that Israeli patriots had better getout to counter the Arab-Israeli vote, they saw it as the uglyepitome of a campaign marked by fear-mongering andracism.

For these detractors - who include many Israelis andAmerican Jews — Netanyahu is a symbol of everythingthat’s wrong about Israel, and his strong showing on March17 is a distressing sign of the direction Israel is taking.

“Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory is a deep disappointmentto all who hoped that Israel might choose a new direction forthe country in this month's election,” J Street’s executivedirector, Jeremy Ben-Ami, wrote in an email on March 18 tosupporters of the self-described pro-Israel, pro-peacelobbying group.

“The manner in which the Prime Minister secured hisvictory - shredding the broad bipartisanship that underpinsAmerican political support for Israel and preying on fear andracism at home - also demonstrated that he willingly put hisown political interests before his concern for Israel’srelationship with the United States and his commitment toIsrael’s democratic character.”

To his defenders, Netanyahu is a very different figure, onewho makes no apologies for putting Israel’s security ahead ofdiplomatic expediency, is bold enough to deliver hard truthseven when they are unpopular and is clever enough tooutmaneuver political rivals - even the president of theUnited States. Yes, he has his flaws - there’s that penchant

for expensive pistachio icecream - but the viciousattacks against him and hiswife, Sara, are little morethan political mudslinging.

In this view, Netanyahu’s decision to go ahead with hiscontroversial March 3 speech to Congress had a positiveeffect: It galvanized opposition to a bad nuclear deal withIran, as evident in the letter sent by 47 Republican senatorsto Tehran. Netanyahu may have upset some of Israel'sfriends, but the controversy actually served the greaterpurpose of helping focus attention on the deal’sshortcomings.

When Netanyahu said on March 16 that he wouldn’tallow a Palestinian state on his watch, supporters saw it asan honest and sensible assessment of the lessons Israel hasdrawn from the upheaval that radical Islam has brought tothe Arab world.

“I think anyone who is going to establish a Palestinianstate and to evacuate territory is giving radical Islam astaging ground against the State of Israel,” Netanyahu toldthe Israeli website NRG. “This is the reality that has beencreated here in recent years. Anyone who ignores it has hishead in the sand.”

He clarified his position (or backtracked, depending onyour view) in an MSNBC interview on March 19, saying hesupports “a sustainable, peaceful, two-state solution - but forthat, circumstances have to change."

This view holds currency across the Israeli politicalspectrum, though left wingers might articulate it differently- perhaps stressing the desire for an eventual two-statesolution and trying harder to figure out how to get there.After what happened with Gaza and Lebanon followingIsrael’s withdrawals, polls show few Israelis believe it’spossible right now to cede West Bank territory without itbecoming a staging ground for attacks.

Then there’s the matter of Netanyahu’s 11th-hour appealto supporters to counter the Arab vote. Some defenders of theprime minister have downplayed it as campaign politics,noting that Netanyahu tried to soften his tone right after hiselection win, saying he would bring security and socialwelfare to “all citizens of Israel, Jews and non-Jews alike.”

There’s a lot of room between the polar opposite views ofNetanyahu, and many Israelis occupy that space. That’s keyto understanding the election results.

Netanyahu wasn’t the overwhelming favorite in Israel.

His party captured only one-quarter of all votes. Even theright wing as a whole did not capture the majority of theKnesset (44 seats went to the nationalist parties- Likud,Jewish Home and Yisrael Beiteinu - and another 15 to theharedi Orthodox parties).

But Netanyahu was the beneficiary of several factors.Plenty of Israelis who don’t like him or his leadership stylestill agree with the fundamentals of his positions onPalestinian statehood, Iran and the threat of radical Islam.

Netanyahu’s chief rival, Isaac Herzog of Labor runningunder the Zionist Union banner, lacked the securitycredentials that helped elect the only other two Labor Partyprime ministers since 1977 - Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak,both former Israeli Defense Forces chiefs of staff.

While kitchen table issues are increasingly important forIsraeli voters - the two parties focused most intensely onthese, Yesh Atid and Kulanu, won a total of 21 Knesset seats- the results overall suggest that ideology and securityconcerns still remain paramount for most Israelis at theballot box.

And with the ascendance of radical Islamists in the Arabworld, rising anti-Semitism in Europe, deep unease aboutthe emerging nuclear deal with Iran and a growing sense ofdiplomatic isolation in Israel, the right-wing parties - andLikud in particular - were able to capitalize on Israeli fears.

Whether Netanyahu’s premiership will be seen as havingimproved Israel’s security or imperiled it may ultimatelydepend on how history unfolds - and your view ofNetanyahu.

What’s clear is that with Israel facing threats on multiplefronts, including myriad domestic challenges and a crisis inrelations with the U.S. president, Netanyahu has his workcut out for him.

Will the real Benjamin Netanyahuplease stand up?

Benjamin Netanyahu


by Rabbi Kliel Rose

Beth ShalomThe Pesach Seder is one

of my absolute favoriterituals. Nonetheless, I amacutely aware that it is noteveryone’s “cup of tea” or inthis case, “cup of wine”. Assomeone who has beenleading S’darim for manyyears I am always lookingfor ways to enhance the

rituals so that they reach people on many different levels. Ihave maintained that the more action oriented our ritualsare the more likely they are to be enjoyed, remembered andG-d-willing, perpetuated by the generation of Jews who willsucceed us.

In this spirit I offer one example below of a way to bringgreater satisfaction to those who are searching to reenergizethe Seder experience for themselves and the other peoplewho join them on this sacred night.

I start first with the mechanics of the ritual and then willsuggest a valuable insight we can glean from this part of theSeder ceremony.

The fourth step according to the Haggadah isthe Yachatz or the “breaking” section. Traditionally we splitthe middle matzah, hold up the smaller piece, and recite HaLachma Anya – "This is the bread of poverty – let all who arehungry come and eat, let any who need come and makePesach."

An old Syrian custom calls for acting out the exodusnarrative from Egypt whereby we use the larger piece of thebroken matzah which is saved for the Afikoman or thedessert.

The Syrian afikoman ritual works in this way:

Holding up a very broken-looking piece recite the words,"Let everyone who is hungry come and eat”. (This tends towork best with a round hand-made matzah) We then breakthe matzah very carefully into one big piece like the letterdaletד and a small piece (like the letter yud י). The big pieceis then wrapped in a cloth or afikoman cover. Then we act outthe exodus from Egypt in this way: Every person takes theafikoman in their right hand and holds it over their leftshoulder, and recites these words from the Exodus story:

"Misha'aortam ts'rurot b'simlotan al shechmam uv'neiYisrael asu kid'var Moshe."

"What they had left was tied up in their clothing on theirshoulders, and the children of Israel did what Moses had toldthem." (Exodus 12:34-35)

Each person says it according to whatever language they

feel comfortable with. Theneveryone (or the leader)asks them three questionsand they answer, like this:

Q: Where are youcoming from? (in Arabic:)Minwen jaiyeh?

A: From Egypt!Mimitsrayim!

Q: Where are you going?Lawen Raiyech?

A: To Jerusalem! Liy'rushalayim!

Q: What are youbringing? Ishu zawatak?

A: Matzah and maror! Matzsah umaror!

The person holding theafikoman waves the bagover their head three timesin a circle and then passesit to the next person. Theafikoman is returned to theSeder leader, who puts itdown or hides it. Then theleader takes the smallpiece of matzah in handand begins the Magid or “telling” section.

Beyond the “fun” or enjoyment of the ritual as describedin the format above, what is the significance of inviting thehungry to join us in this moment?

Rabbi David Seidenberg, an ordained Conservative Rabbiand student of the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter-ShalomiZT”L, the founder of Jewish Renewal, offers a compellinganswer:

“Some people are most generous when they feel they havemore than enough for themselves…Maybe I gave $200 to acharity knowing that a lot of that would go to taxes if I didn'tdisburse it myself. This act of giving, good as it may be,creates a hierarchy, where one person is a benefactor and arecipient. But even the poorest person is mandated in Jewishlaw to give tzedakah. Economically, sharing the lechemoni (a reference to the matzah) or poor bread means that weinvite other hungry and needy people to truly join us, asequals, in our poverty.”

The haggadah here functions as a way to momentarilybreak down the ordinaryeconomic hierarchy andfinancial disparity betweenus. In addition, it challengesus spiritually to

acknowledge our brokenness, and then go beyond our ownsuffering in order that we may be able to see the generalgood of all.

The Yachatz section begins with holding the matzah, “thebread of the poor” and the circle is closed when we are finallyable to eat the afikoman or dessert (that is assuming we canfind it). If matzah is “the poor person’s bread”, afikoman,that which is hidden and then revealed, is understood to be“the bread of redemption.”

I do not know what redemption looks like exactly, but thisyear when we gather around our Seder tables may we eachrecite the words Ha Lachma Anya – "This is the bread ofpoverty – let all who are hungry come and eat, let any whoneed come and make Pesach" with sincerity and a sense ofpersonal responsibility to reshaping the economic disparityin our society. And just maybe, this will serve as a taste ofredemption so that when we conclude our Seders we can saywith absolute conviction, “This year we are slaves, but nextyear we shall be in Jerusalem", next year may we arrive at aplace of wholeness.

Re-energize your seder experience

Rabbi Kliel Rose

End of Life: Who Decides?

An important panel presentation will be held at Beth Shalom on March 31 at 7pm discussing the ethical issues surrounding the end of life. The panel is partof the Beth Shalom Maimonides Medical Ethics Lecture Series on the topic Endof Life: Who Decides? A panel of specialists that includes Clinical Ethicist GaryGoldsand (pictured right) and Division of Palliative Care Professor Dr. RobinFainsinger (pictured left) among others, is sure to provide thoughtful andthorough discourse on this controversial subject. This program will presentinformation and education as well as varied perspectives from experts whohandle these sensitive circumstances every day. The panel will be moderatedby Howie Sniderman, Q.C. Barrister and Solicitor, WITTEN LLP.

Book all occasion notices in the Edmonton Jewish News. What better way to

celebrate a simcha or commemorate an occasionthan announcing it in the newspaper?

Run a notice to thank your friends and family or towish them well. We'll take care of spreading the wordfor you. Rates vary according to size booked andamount of text and photos desired. For information

call Dan at 780-421-7966 or [email protected].

Todah Rabah!

To all our friends and family, we extend a heartfelt thank you for your gifts and good wishes, welcoming our son Wyatt into the world and into our community.

- Farrel and Cara Greenspan

By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

The Reporter, Vestal, NY One of the themes of Purim, which we just celebrated, is

that everyone wears masks. Esther masks herself as a non-Jew until she is forced to reveal her Jewish heritage. KingAhasuerus never learns the secret hidden beneath his ownmask: that he’s a terrible ruler, easily swayed by whoeverflatters him. Haman’s mask – that of a caring adviser whoseeks what’s best for his king – disguises his desire for powerat any cost.

We still hide behind masks today. Consider, for example,the scandal of Rabbi Barry Freundel, a once respectedspiritual leader who recently pled guilty to 52 charges ofvoyeurism. The count would have been much higher if thestatute of limitations on some of the cases had not run out.Should the people in his community have known somethingwas wrong? Two recent articles in The Forward offerdifferent sides of the debate: Jay Michaelson believessomeone should have recognized the problem, while BethanyMandel objects to his comments, which she sees as blamingthe victims.

Both articles make good points, although I disagree with

Mandel that Michaelson is blaming the victims. Michaelsonwonders if there were warning signs people ignored, focusingon those in power who accepted Freundel at face value.Mandel does an excellent job explaining the mask thatFreundel wore so successfully: that of a caring, consideraterabbi. As for his quirks, no one expects a rabbi to be perfect,so they were easily dismissed.

It’s so easy to accept the masks people wear. After all, weoften have to make quick judgments based on limitedinformation. For example, we look at people’s education,their friends and the community to which they belong todecide if we trust them. Masks by their very nature aremeant to hide what people know isn’t acceptable in society.Sociopaths and psychopaths can be very charming and knowhow to exploit people since that’s part of their psychologicalmakeup.

What can be done is reduce the community power any oneindividual has by putting more checks and balances into thesystem. Perhaps we should assume that every person hasthe ability to do something terrible and act accordingly.That’s a difficult way to live, though. Unfortunately, there isno way to guarantee that we won’t be conned by the nextperson who so carefully hides the harm he or she can do tous and those we love.

The masks we wear


Rabbi D. Friedman

Beth Israel Synagogue On behalf of our

community, I want to takethis opportunity to wish ahearty mazaltov to PrimeMinister Netanyahu on hisre-election. No matter whatone’s personal political bent,I cannot stress enough howvital it is for every DiasporaJew to support the sittinggovernment of the State ofIsrael and to advocate on

behalf of Israel, even if one does not personally agree with aparticular policy.

Just prior to the Israeli elections, the prime ministermade a couple of provocative remarks, including that hewould not be pursuing a two-state solution and that Jewsshould make sure to vote, since the Arabs were coming out tothe elections en masse. Many accused him of ‘racism’ for hiscomments but that was far from his motivation, G-d forbid.Indeed, following his victory, he changed his stance vis-à-visa potential Palestinian state. While much of the mediaattributed this change of mind to his relations with the US,it in fact had nothing to do with the US and everything to dowith the Arabs.

At this time of year, I’m often asked the question whetherone may invite non-Jews to the Passover seder. The generalview that many seem to recall is that non-Jews should not beat the seder and mistakenly attribute this position tosomething unique to Passover. The truth is, it has nothingto do with Passover. The reason we generally don’t invitenon-Jews to a seder is because of the difference betweenShabbat and Yom Tov. On Shabbat, we are forbidden to cook,and so all cooking must take place prior. On Yom Tov,however, we may cook food that we ourselves require for thefestival, but nothing additional. Since inviting non-Jewswould necessitate additional cooking, it is problematic toinvite non-Jews on any Yom Tov, not just Passover. Incontrast, one may always invite non-Jews to a Shabbat meal,since you cannot cook anyway.

As it turns out, this year, first night Pesach is Shabbat

and so there is absolutelyno problem whatsoeverinviting non-Jews to theseder, from a halachic(legal) perspective. Theproblem arises only in theminds of many people interms of the message of theseder. As opposed to mostother religions, Judaismpreaches that G-d loves allHis children, no mattertheir belief system ornation. That’s why, forexample, when we mentionthe plagues, we spill a littlewine to remember that G-d’s Egyptian childrensuffered. The Jewishpeople, however, are G-d’schosen nation. When Heredeemed us from Egyptand brought us to Mt. Sinai,He made a special covenantwith us. And that’s the overarching message we areconveying to our children on Passover. If you can say thatunabashedly with non-Jews at your table, then go ahead,don’t be shy to invite them. If you feel awkward telling yourchildren that they are part of the chosen nation while non-Jews are present, then even though it’s Shabbos, youprobably shouldn’t invite them.

And that, sadly, is what makes many Jews todayuncomfortable with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s positionvis-à-vis the Arabs. When Bibi saw how well they had faredin the elections, it suddenly hit him: if there was but onestate and all the Arabs in Judea and Samaria were to vote inthe national elections for the State of Israel, they could verywell garner the largest number of votes, while we Jewscontinually split our vote amongst multiple parties. (Youknow, two Jews, three opinions!) And that would allow themto form government and tamper with the Jewish character ofthe State of Israel. That’s scary. For thousands of years, ourpeople had no security – we were exiled from one country toanother. Now, we finally have our own country; we’d bettertake care that we don’t vote ourselves into the

Mediterranean.

That’s not racist; it’s common sense. It’s not easy to jugglea State of Israel that is committed to being a Jewish stateand a democratic state. But it’s the same balance that weare constantly striving to strike between our universalisticvalues of tikun olam and our particularistic values of ouruniqueness as the Jewish people. Once we become ashamedof that distinction, G-d forbid, we lose the focus of ourPassover celebration and ultimately, we are at a loss whenour kids ask why they should marry Jewish.

This Passover, invite your non-Jewish friends to yourseder. Trust me, if they are religious in their own right, theyare not embarrassed to tell their children that they believethat G-d has a special place for them. So don’t beembarrassed to tell your children that G-d has chosen us.Your non-Jewish friends won’t feel uncomfortable; they willrespect you for your convictions. And you will inspire yourchildren never to be afraid or uncomfortable with theirJudaism and you will merit sharing the story of Passoverwith your Jewish children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!

Op/Ed: Bibi is not a racist

Rabbi Daniel Friedman

Rabbi Daniel Friedman was the Wizard of Auzzie at the Beth Israel Purim Partyheld earlier this month. His family, pictured above, and over 350 Purimpartyiers enjoyed the awesome event.

Passover is a time for renewal and Edmonton JewishNews is renewing its commitment to serve the Jewishcommunity of Edmonton with the launch of a new andexciting website at edmontonjewishnews.com.

Edmonton Jewish News has been providing local newsand feature articles to the Jewish community of Edmontonfor 25 years and we've had numerous requests for digitalcopies of the newspaper. Now at long last, we are answeringthese requests with a website that not only includes ourcurrent print edition but also has all kinds of otherinteresting and informative features.

Our new facebook page (www.facebook.com/edmontonjewishnews) is already active and we will be postingcommunity events and interesting articles to keep ourreaders informed and involved. Visit us today and visit usoften!

The site’s homepage welcomes readers with a fresh newlook and user-friendly navigation, bold colors, a cleanuncluttered design, with featured content focusing on all ofthe important issues that our readers enjoy and appreciatein our print edition. And so much more…

“Don’t worry,” said Deborah Shatz, Edmonton JewishNews publisher/ editor. “Our website will not be replacingour beloved tabloid newspaper which has been welcomedinto the homes of the Jewish community for 25 years. It willsupplement it and enhance it. The site will allow us totraverse borders and reach a wider audience and providemore content without the restrictions and confines of thetabloid page, the monthly deadlines and the rising costs ofthe newspaper industry: printing, paper and postage.”

“The new website is just the beginning of EdmontonJewish News’ concerted effort to improve user experience,streamline and broaden access to information, while givingus a vehicle for better communication and interactions withall Jewish people who live in Edmonton, regardless of theirlevel of observance or affiliation with the organizedcommunity,” added Shatz. “Advantages of the websiteinclude an attractive page layout, easy navigation and aninteractive experience for readers. All the news will be rightat their fingertips and it will be fully functional on theirmobile devices."

Edmonton Jewish News will continue to provide

interesting and informative articles on local communityevents, national and international news as well as Jewishholidays and lifestyle features.

“Our newspaper has prided itself on being an independentpress,” explained Shatz. “We believe that the newspaper is abusiness that shouldn’t be tied to any government orparticular doctrine. We celebrate diversity within thecommunity.

"We have built an exceptional tabloid newspaper with agreat reputation and edmontonjewishnews.com willcontinue this fine tradition."

Shatz is hoping that the readers and advertisers will bepatient and understanding with any growing pains thatmight be experienced along the way. "We are soft launchingnow, so give us until Rosh Hashanah to iron out any kinkson the site," she said. "We'll be unveiling new featuresgradually but let us know by email if you have any concernsor problems."

She concluded, “Our newspaper is received and enjoyed inall the homes and local Jewish institutions here in the city.We are very excited to bring Edmonton Jewish News on-linein such a meaningful way."

Edmonton Jewish News is going live!


by Rabbi S. Moch

Temple Beth Ora As I begin to think about

Pesach, the Arab world is inutter turmoil and the Israelielectorate has again thrownits support behind BenjaminNetanyahu and his Likudparty. This support reflectstwo things important toIsraelis and the reality

behind those two things in Israeli decision-making. First,Israelis believe Netanyahu when he tells them that Iran isgaining power throughout the region, it wants to achievenuclear weapons production and it wants to use its power tocrush Israel. Israelis also see plainly that the PalestinianAuthority long ago gave up on the idea of negotiating a peacewith Israel, instead trying unilaterally to achieve status as a“recognized nation” among nations. Israelis know too wellthe folly of major unilateral decisions. The Gaza/Hamasmess resulted from Israel unilaterally withdrawing fromGaza, without first negotiating what would happen in theaftermath of that withdrawal.

All of these challenges are real. Iran is a danger, the Arabworld is increasingly unstable and the Palestinian Authorityis not interested in negotiating any peaceful resolution to itsconflict with Israel. The more significant reality, however, is

the fear that Israelis have of those difficult challenges. Theirfears lead them to support policies which make them feelsafer, but which in the end help make peace negotiations anunlikely result. Israeli fears led their government to erectbarriers and check points to screen Palestinians entering orleaving Palestinian territory. It led to the building of anenormous security fence to keep Palestinians out of Israel. Itled to collective punishments including the destruction ofhouses belonging to the parents and relatives of someonewho acted violently against Israel.

All these policies make Israelis feel more secure, but inreality make them less so, because it makes the possibility offinding a negotiated peace with the Palestinian Authorityalmost impossible. It also lessens the ability for anyPalestinian to relate to Israel as a negotiating partner ratherthan a hated power that constantly humiliates and degradesthem.

On election-day, Netanyahu warned Israelis that “TheArabs are coming to vote in droves.” Most leaders shouldwant all their voters to come out in droves, but Bibi wasutilizing fear to increase the odds that Jews trying to decidehow to vote would vote for him out of fear.

Fear is our greatest enemy, when it turns us from ourbasic values of tzedek tzedek tirdof, “Righteousness,righteousness you shall pursue.” Pursue act righteously,even to your own detriment. Fear is our greatest enemywhen it leads us to separate ourselves from those we must

bring closer and get to know better if we ever want tounderstand each other enough to arrive at a settledagreement. Fear, like sin and like the leavening of hametzwe try to clean our homes of for Pesach, froths and multipliesand ferments until it generates distrust, hatred and anger -a very combustible mixture.

When our people left Egypt, the Torah says, “G-d did notlead them by way of the land of the Philistines, though it wasclose, for G-d said, ‘The people may have a change of heartwhen they see war and return to Egypt.” The word for Egyptin Hebrew is Mitzrayim. It means “straits” or “woes.”Whenever we feel attacked, we tend to retreat to what wethink of as the close, narrow place of refuge. Fear drives usright back to Mitzrayim, back to the spiritual slavery welearned and tolerated there. Let us turn from fear andretribution and revenge to getting to know each other. Notdoing so will leave us in Egypt with no sea of salvation tocross.

As we celebrate our people’s Exodus from Egypt, let uspray that we can leave behind us the “straits” of fear thatlead to human hatred. Instead let us take up the wisdom tospeak of the land and the destiny we share and let us affordeach other something of what the other needs withoutsacrificing what we need. May Pesach lead us all out of thenarrow confines of our fear and into a risky future, but onein which seas may be crossed and the promises of our landand the promises of our vision gained. Begin by getting toknow a Palestinian. In fact, you might even begin byinviting a Palestinian to share the Pesach Seder with yourfamily.

Op/Ed: Pesach and the dangers of fear

Rabbi Shimon Moch

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Happy Passover


By Dasee Berkowitz, JTA

Transitions are never easy.You decide to leave one place that is known to you for

some unfamiliar territory. You don’t feel quite like yourself(and probably won’t for a while). You try to act likeeverything is fine even though you know that your whole lifehas just been upended. It will take time until things begin tofall into place — when you start to integrate the “old” youinto your new identity, when you can trust that your life willmake sense as you take this step into the unknown.

And while we all might experience one or two of thesemajor transitions in our lifetime (marriage, divorce,becoming a parent or moving cities), the transition for theancient Israelites, from slavery in Egypt to freedom, was oneof epic proportions.

After suffering under the oppressive yoke of bondage, thepromise of redemption was palpable. With G-d’s guidinghand and Moses in place to lead the way, the Israelites hadtheir matzah in hand and were ready to go. Their transitionto a new life – from being slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt toservants of G-d – was set in motion. While the steps alongthe way may have been unsure and filled with trepidation(there’s nothing like the sound of Pharaoh’s army behind youand a sea that isn’t splitting before you to make you wonderif you made the right decision), the Red Sea did split, andfaith that everything would be OK won out.

While the biblical narrative that recounts the Exodusfrom Egypt has power in the linear nature of its telling, theway that the rabbis ritualized that transition in the PassoverHaggadah is anything but linear. They transformed the rawmaterial of the Exodus story into an associative, sometimesdisjointed pedagogical tool. And in this disjointed medium ofthe Haggadah is the message. Transitions are not astraightforward endeavor. They are a process that can be

meandering, confusing and rife with double meanings andcomplexities. What are the ways that our experience ofPassover can shed light onto how we experience transitionsin our own lives?

Embrace complexity. Eat matzah.The most ubiquitous symbol of Passover, matzah, is in

itself a conundrum. It is the bread of affliction, whichreminds us of the hard bread the Israelites ate in servitudein Egypt. But it is also the food that the Israelites baked onthe eve of their departure. It’s the same substance (just flourand water), but the meaning of the bread changes based onhow we relate to it. When we were passive recipients of thebread it represented our affliction and reminded us of ouridentity as slaves, but when created with our own hands itrepresents the moment of our freedom.

It might have been simpler to have two different kinds ofbread – a flat bread to represent slavery and a fluffier one torepresent freedom. But instead, on seder night we areobligated to eat matzah and imbibe the two identities at thesame time. We hold the complexity – even as we celebratefreedom, we remember our harsh past. More than that, ourpast serves as a moral compass and guides us not to oppressthe stranger because we remembered what oppression feltlike.

When we go through a transition in our lives, werecognize that we don’t negate the past to embrace a newfuture. Our past experiences ground and guide us as we takesteps toward a new identity.

Ask the right questions.The Rabbis put questions and questionings at the center

of the Haggadah’s telling. The nature of asking questions onPassover is in itself an act of freedom. The most powerless —the children — traditionally ask the Four Questions. Thenfour children ask questions based on their own characters:the questions that everyone is thinking but nobody darearticulate.

Only free people can ask, wonder and challenge. Beingable to ask good questions connects us to the bigger pictureand opens doors to life’s possibilities.

Transitions are overwhelming. And when you are goingthrough one, sometimes all you want are the right answers(I’m not sure how many Israelites asked questions when

they were leaving Egypt on that 14th of Nissan).But the Haggadah teaches us to ask questions, even when

it might feel frightening to do so. Our questions might rangefrom the wise and rebellious to the simple, and sometimeswe might find ourselves unable to ask. The questions thatstart with “why did I do this?” may lead to broader ones like“I wonder what awaits me on the other side?” Keep asking.

Offer praise and thanks.In the middle of the Haggadah, soon after Dayenu and

right before we wash our hands to eat the matzah, there is ashortened Hallel (songs of praise). It is smack in the middleof the Haggadah. “Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise theLord’s name. May the Lord’s name be blessed now andforevermore.” We move away from the heady conversationsabout why we eat the pascal lamb, matzah and maror, andthe meta-values that the Haggadah conveys with the line “Inevery generation one is obligated to see oneself as if on hadgone out of Egypt.” Instead we sing, dance and offergratitude that we have made it this far.

This short Hallel stuck in the middle of the Haggadahreminds us how important it is to recognize milestones alongthe journey. When our tendency is to see how much fartherwe need to go, the Haggadah reminds us to recognize how farwe have come, and to give thanks.

Every day our lives are filled with transitions in small andbig ways, from home to work and then back home again.Crises (big and small) happen at these threshold points (kidshave breakdowns, adults feel anxiety). These feelings arereal because they reflect that we are heading into unknownterritory. In our daily lives we ritualize these moments — thegoodbye kiss, the welcome home hug. And for our biggertransitions — changing careers, moving houses, leaving amarriage or deciding to have a child — the rituals becomelarger and more complex.

As we approach each of these transitions, let us movefrom the narrow places, our personal Egypts, to a place ofopenness and expansiveness of the desert. This Passoverseason beckons you.

Marking the passage from slavery to freedom

By Ron Csillag, JTA

In this rendition of the Passover story, the Children ofIsrael do not play ice hockey or drink kosher l'Pesach maplesyrup. But the first-ever Canadian Haggadah does have adistinctly Canuck vibe.

For one thing the Canadian Haggadah Canadienne is inthree languages – English, French and Hebrew. And insteadof the standard illustrations of the Israelites building thepyramids or Moses parting the Red Sea, it features archivalphotographs that trace the history of Canada's Jewishcommunity, the world's fourth largest.

The volume offers "a Canadian perspective on ourtimeless story of freedom – our Jewish history as seenthrough Canadian eyes," states its introduction.

Compiled by Rabbi Adam Scheier of Congregation ShaarHashomayim in Montreal and Richard Marceau, generalcounsel and political adviser at the Ottawa-based Centre forIsrael and Jewish Affairs, the hefty (168-page) Haggadahaims "to deepen the Canadian Jewish identity by presentingsomething that's uniquely Canadian," Scheir told JTA. "It'snever been done."

A unique Canadian gestalt has been brought into sharperfocus for Scheier since he’s an American who came north 11

years ago. Marceau, a French Quebecer who converted toJudaism in 2004, claims a similar cultural awareness,because he was raised "on the border" between English-speaking and Francophone Canada.

"When you have people around the table who speakdifferent languages, even though they understand the other,they are not comfortable enough."

The two talked and concluded, "Maybe we're the ones whoshould be on that bridge, making sure that Canadian Jewscan celebrate together," Marceau said.

Interspersed with commentary from 20 rabbis acrossCanada, spanning all denominations, are some 100 archivalpictures of Jewish life from every region of the country:William Goldbloom stands proudly before his fur-and-hidestore in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in 1921; GrizzledJewish prospector Marco Zimmerman stakes his claim in theYukon Territory circa 1920; a doe-eyed immigrant boyarrives from Lisbon just days before Passover 1944.

And, of course, there's an obligatory hockey momentamong the book's photos: Current Prime Minister StephenHarper hoists a Team Israel jersey on his visit there lastyear. "There so much flavor and so much that should start aconversation about what it means to live as a Jew in Canadaand how deep our roots are," Scheier said.

What makes a Canadian Haggadah, Canadian?

Lego has become more popular than ever. The Lego Moviewas one of the biggest hits at the box office last year,amongst children and adults, and the performance at thisyear’s Academy Awards was nothing less than “awesome.”For 21 year-old Aaron Bercovich, a Talmud Torah graduatewho has autism, Lego is much more than just awesome.

What started as a way for Aaron to build and develop hiscommunication skills, has become an entrepreneurialopportunity, Brick Art by Aaron. Using special software thatcreates a digital grid, Aaron is able to turn any photographinto a beautiful piece of Lego artwork. Finding Aaron apassion, and helping him develop it into a business wasimportant for Aaron’s parents.

“When he got out of high school it was quite obvious hewasn’t going to be going onto post-secondary education so wewere looking for something for him to do that would be acontribution both to himself and possibly the community. Hemay be autistic and he doesn’t talk much, but he’s really goodabout following instructions, particularly anything that hasvisual instructions,” Marvin Bercovich, Aaron’s father told

media last month. From the Brick Art by

Aaron website: “Too oftenpeople with disabilities are not valued for theircontributions in community. Our goal is to help Aaron live afull and meaningful life where he is valued for his real giftsand contributions. Developing his passion into a smallbusiness gives Aaron a life much like any other citizen isafforded - he has a job to go to, things to accomplish and feelsgood about a job well done.

“Aaron's Brick Art business helps him to offer ameaningful and creative service to his community thatbrings people joy and inspires. We are excited to see Aarongrow as an entrepreneur and give him an opportunity tocontribute and help him feel proud of what he hasaccomplished.”

One look at the gallery featured on Aaron’s website andyou can see the beautiful designs and recreations he hasdone. He is able to turn any digital image into a unique pieceof art. Clearly for Brick Art by Aaron, Everything isAwesome!

For more information visit Aaron’s website atwww.brickartbyaaron.com

Lego art becomes a business

Plans are being finalized for a wonderful evening galathat will be hosted by Beth Shalom on April 19 at theFantasyland Hotel to pay tribute to the congregation's PastPresident Jeff Rubin. Please note that the deadline is March27 so if you haven't yet sent in your rsvp reply cards, youshould do so right away. And if you don't have a reply card,or if you didn't receive an invitation, you can still attend bycalling the Beth Shalom office to register at 780-488-6333 ex301.

The gala is sure to be an enjoyable event. The MC is oneof Jeff's long time friends Justice Eric Macklin. Jeff and Erichave known one another for over 55 years as they grew upneighbours in the Glenora area and have remained closefriends ever since. There is no doubt that Justice Macklinwill use his quick wit and intelligent humour to regale cleveranecdotes about Jeff during his formative years, right up topresent day.

Another highlight of the event will be the keynote addressby Edmonton Eskimo legend and CFL hall-of-famer Henry'Gizmo' Williams. Jeff is a lifelong fan and Gizmo is not onlyan exceptionally gifted athlete, but he is highly regarded asa guest speaker for his sincerity and humility as well as hisenthusiasm and comedic style.

One of Jeff's goals when he took over the presidency of theBeth Shalom board in 2010 was to further facilitate a warm

and welcoming ambience tothe congregation. He metthis objective and alsoaccomplished several othergoals. He was instrumentalin the hiring of currentBeth Shalom Rabbi KlielRose. Rabbi Rose, his wifeDorit, and his entire familyhave been a wonderfuladdition to our EdmontonJewish community.

Jeff was alsoinstrumental in the sale ofBeth Shalom’s excess landfor $2.4 million dollars. Thissale will ensure that theSynagogue has sufficient funds into the future. Jeff playedan important role in negotiating the sale of the land to BeitHorim/Our Parents’ Home. This sale of land was approvedby over 95% of the congregational membership at anextraordinary special meeting of the membership.

"We are happy to have this opportunity to honour JeffRubin," said former Beth Shalom Congregation PresidentHowie Sniderman. "His hard work and dedicated efforts on

behalf of the Beth Shalom Synagogue have been exemplaryand we all enjoyed the warmth and personality that Jeffbrought to the bimah. He has made a real difference to ourcongregation that we will benefit from for years to come."

The Beth Shalom will pay homage to Jeff's dedicatedservice as well as his enthusiasm and whimsical sense ofhumour with what is sure to be an enjoyable evening. Sendin your RSVP today and don't miss this special event.


Jeff Rubin and his wife Gaylene Soifer hope to see you April 19 at the GalaTribute Dinner, Fantasyland Hotel. Please get your reply cards in right away.

Beth Shalom honours Jeff Rubin

Aaron Bercovich with his Brick Art

Please send your reply in today!


By Debby Waldman and Ann Goldblatt

Edmonton’s Jewish community is invited to be part ofTemple Beth Ora’s Triple Simcha, coming up on Saturdayevening, March 28.

In addition to the kickoff to commemorating double chai— 36 years as Edmonton’s Reform Jewish congregation —TBO will unveil the first stage of its in-progress renovations,and welcome special guest, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president ofthe entire Union for Reform Judaism (URJ).

The Union of Reform Judaism (formerly the Union ofAmerican Hebrew Congregations, or UAHC) is thesynagogue arm of the Reform movement in North America,and has more than 900 member congregations. His visitmarks the first of any URJ (or UAHC) president to TBO.

Rabbi Jacobs is on a western swing of Canada, as theReform congregations in Vancouver and Calgary are alsocelebrating significant anniversaries. “This is a rareopportunity to have the president of the entire movementcome to this city,” says TBO Board Member Ann Goldblatt,who is helping organize the event. “Temple Beth Ora has animportant role to play in Edmonton’s Jewish community andthe community at large, and we’re welcoming everyone to bepart of the celebration.”

The Triple Simcha will include a Havdallah service,featuring music by TBO’s singing friends, Chavurat HaShir,led by Maita Silver, and an address by Rabbi Jacobs. Therewill also be an opportunity to test your knowledge of TBO’shistory, which began in 1979 when three Edmonton familiesdecided they wanted a Reform Jewish presence in the city.

By the early 1980s, the congregation had swelled to 25families and was meeting regularly at the JewishCommunity Centre. There were more than 50 children in theBeit Sefer, and services were conducted by either student

rabbis from HebrewUnion College, theReform JewishSeminary, or layleaders.

Steve Friedenthal,now TBO’sadministrative assis-tant, was among thefirst to join, alongwith his wife, Cheryl.“We had no sense atall it would last thislong,” he recalls. “ButI remember feelingthat no matter howthings went, this ismy congregation, andI have ownership ofit. I still feel thatway.”

What has changed, he says, is that TBO is no longer onthe periphery, as it was when it was first established and thereception from the city’s Jewish community was mixed. “Ithink we’re more confident,” he says. “We’re movingforward.”

With the exception of short periods following thedeparture of two rabbis during the past twenty years, TBOhas had full-time rabbis since the mid-1990s. Thecongregation, which now numbers 100 families, moved intothe Chevra Kadisha in 2008.

Some initial renovations were done to create office andschool space. The current renovations are focused mainly onthe worship and social areas, and include new carpeting,

upgrading the existing washrooms and adding ahandicapped washroom, and creating a social space in theback of the sanctuary along with a new Chevra office.

When TBO was at the JCC, longtime member VivianManasc, an architect, and her father, Bert Manasc, designedand built stained glass windows for the sanctuary. As part ofthe renovations, the windows are being installed at the backof the current sanctuary.

“This is a special moment when we can celebrate whatwe’ve accomplished over the 36 years,” President Dan Barersays. “We can interact directly with the president of ourmovement and revel in the renovations that will make ourspace even better for building community.”

The event begins at 8 p.m. on March 28. To RSVP, pleasecontact TBO at 780-487-4817 or [email protected]

Temple Beth Ora celebrates aTriple Simcha: March 28

The Beth ShalomWomen's League is pleasedto announce this year’sTorah Fund program onSunday, May 3rd at 1:30 pmat Beth Shalom Synagogue.

We will have a workshopabout "Re-Imagining ourBiblical Heroines." If youcan imagine something itcan become real for you.

Come and visualize someBiblical women in dialoguewith each of us. How do we,like Sarah, set out on ajourney leaving behind the

known and familiar to go to the unknown? Or how do we,like Rebekah, shape destiny according to an internalunderstanding of reality? Through the use of a series of cardspresenting our female ancestors, we will be led through ajourney of our own.

Our leader in this exciting workshop will be Carol Rose(Rabbi Kliel's mother). Carol is a writer, poet, educator andcounselor and has an MA in Theology. Her most recent book(she has written 3) is a poetry collection called "From theDream" published in 2013.

Carol and her husband, Rabbi Neal Rose, were honored in

Winnipeg in January 2015 with the Lieutenant Governor’sAward for the Advancement of Interreligious Understandingfrom the Province of Manitoba.

Please join us at Beth Shalom for this wonderful programon Sunday, May 3rd at 1:30 pm to share this experience andto raise money which goes to Torah Fund and helps with thetraining of Conservative Rabbis, Cantors and educators. Allfunds raised go to three locations: The Jewish TheologicalSeminary in New York City, The Zeigler School of RabbinicStudies in Los Angeles, California, and the SchechterInstitute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

Beth Shalom Women's League re-imagines biblical heroines

Join TBO in celebrating a very special Triple Simcha on March 28. Pictured above:President Dan Barer and congregants rolling out the Torah at Temple Beth Ora'sSimchat Torah celebration.

Carol Rose


By Edmon J. Rodman, JTA

What did I really learn at the seder table? That is, besidesdiscovering that the white horseradish was way hotter thanthe red and that my very worldly uncles couldn’t read a wordof Hebrew.

It’s a question worth considering as we invite newgenerations of participants to sit down at our seder tables.

Today we have a whole Haggadah of apps, texts andwebsites that help us drain every last drop of meaning out ofour yearly dinners remembering the going-out from Egypt.But in the midst of all this learning, have we somehow takenfor granted the childhood lessons simmered into our mealbuilt with a set order?

At my family seders, which were held in my suburbanSouthern California home, I recall that little Hebrew wasread from the red-and-yellow-covered Goldberg PassoverHaggadah we used. Yet I also remember them as a welcomebreak, a time that set me free for a few hours from mychildhood pattern of Koufax, Gumby and all things rockets.

My sister, Wendy, a school district administratorspecializing in literacy and language who is five years older,remembers being uncomfortable due to the behavior of theadults: One relative refused to read anything and othersparticipated with a mocking tone, upsetting my mother. Buteven in that environment, she says that besides learning toendure, she was allowed the space to sit and find her ownmeaning in the proceedings.

I remember having lots of questions, none of themExodus-related: Where did these dishes comes from? Wedidn’t use them any other time of the year. Why was thereplastic all over the floor, to protect the carpet from winespills? And why did my big sister get to sit up near the headof the table? Was it because she had started Hebrew schooland was the only one at the table who could read theHebrew?

The answers were there for even a simple son to see: Theseder was a special time, something you prepared for asindicated by the table settings and plastic. And as for mysister’s raised status, a little bit of knowledge gets you abetter seat.

For many of us, our firstserious encounter with theseder comes when an adulttells you that as theyoungest, it’s your turn tochant the Four Questions.“Why the youngest?” wasmy fifth question. “Why notsomeone older and moreexperienced, like mysister?”

Though my first-gradeHebrew school teacher andsynagogue cantor preppedus in leading the FourQuestions, little did theyknow that this lesson wouldteach us so much more. Or maybe they did. Even though Ididn’t understand completely what I was doing, I did get theimpression that this was serious stuff, meant to be studiedand not messed up, especially in front of my family. I alsolearned that I could repeat it in front of a group of people,and remember feeling how good it felt to finally get it out,down to the last “Mesubin” (reclining). My recitation alsomade me a participant: That was now my page in theHaggadah.

I also realized that I could learn stuff after school and myhead would not explode.

And the answers? They were in a book, and the sedermade it seem perfectly normal to read one before and afterdinner.

I also learned from listening to the adults who did enjoythe seder that it was important to read the words withfeeling — “the mighty hand” was awesome, the plaguessolemn and sorrowful.

My wife, Brenda, who had difficulty reading when shewas a child, remembers at her family seders trying toanticipate which paragraph she would be asked to read, sothat she could prepare and not have to be “helped.”

Yes, I know it’s a Jewish value not to embarrass someone,but we do, and however much the corrections mightmomentarily sting, they do teach another lesson: If someone

corrects you, you won’t die.At the seder, a child also learns how to defeat boredom, an

important life lesson, as anyone who watches cable TV cantell you. I remember my mother saying that "people who saythey are bored are boring." Not wanting to fit into thatcategory, I entertained myself during what seemed likeforever by following the Haggadah’s instructions. I leanedand dipped and pointed and crunched hard, and when thatfailed, I checked out the plague drawings and thought aboutthe weird matzah sandwiches I would be finding in my lunchbag all that week.

Most of all, I think, a child learns at the seder that thereis order in their universe. In a body that changes weekly,occupied by interests that come and go in a flash, order iskind of a relief.

As I recall, the order of our seder was quite simple: Itbegan with my sister singing the Kiddush and me learningwhat wine tasted like. The halfway point was marked by mymother’s brisket, from which I gained a taste for Jewishfood.

And the end? That was when my mother and unclesargued, the lesson being that sweet reason doesn’t alwaysprevail.

Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes onJewish life from Los Angeles. Contact him [email protected].

Crunching the childhood lessonsof Passover

Students, staff members, family and friends came in costume and had awonderful time at the "Under the Sea" themed Shushan Purim carnival held atMenorah Academy. Too bad every day isn't Purim!

Purim festivities at Menorah

By Shannon Sarna, JTA

I am not one of those people who looks forward toPassover each year. I dread it. I love my carbs and Iabsolutely loathe the constant cooking and dishwashing thatsomehow always accompanies the holiday.

Since my husband and I started hosting our own sedereach year for my family and our close friends, we haveworked on an array of Passover-friendly dishes that are sogood, we eat them all year. This has greatly improved thequality of our holiday. Now if only I could find someone towash my dishes all week.

These recipes are easy, elegant and a little different from

the delicious but humdrum chicken soup, brisket and kugel.And with two nights of seders, sometimes you needsomething a little different to keep the seder menuinteresting.

DILL HORSERADISH POTATO CROQUETTES WITH

SALMON ROE

Makes 2 dozenIngredients:

4 large Yukon gold potatoes1 tablespoon salt1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper1 tablespoon horseradish1 to 2 teaspoons dried dill1/2 cup vegetable broth1/2 cup olive oil2 eggsMatzah meal1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon pepperPreparation:

Peel potatoes and place in a large pot of salted water.

Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, approximately 15minutes.

Drain water and immediately place potatoes into a riceror food mill. Add oil, vegetable broth, dried dill, horseradish,salt and pepper to potatoes and mix until smooth andseasoning is even throughout.

Add 1 egg and mix again. Begin forming patties bypacking potatoes lightly into balls and then flattening themwith palms of hand. Place on a platter and put in therefrigerator for a few hours or up to 24 hours.

After patties have finished chilling, beat the other eggwith 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Place matzah meal inanother bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoonpepper. Mix.

Dip each potato patty into egg, then matzah meal.Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high

heat. Fry croquette 3-4 minutes on each side until goldenbrown. Allow the croquettes to cool slightly before toppingwith salmon roe and fresh dill if desired.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH DATES AND RAISINS

Serves 4-6Ingredients:

4 lamb shanks2 teaspoons salt1 teaspoon black pepper1 heaping teaspoon sumac1 heaping teaspoon cumin1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprikaOlive oil1 large onion3 garlic cloves1 teaspoon fennel seed2 cloves1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1 tablespoon tomato paste1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water1 1/2 cups red wine1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in warm water 30 minutes1/2 cup datesFresh parsley and cilantro (optional)Preparation:

Combine the salt, pepper, sumac, cumin and paprika in asmall bowl. Cover lamb shanks in dry spice rub and place ona platter covered in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour or up to 4hours.

Place raisins in a bowl of warm water.Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-safe pot or

Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear shanks on all sidesuntil brown. Remove from pan.

Add onion and garlic and saute, scraping the “good bits”from the bottom of the pan. You can deglaze with a little bitof the broth. Cook for 7-8 minutes, until onion is translucent.

Add tomato paste, clove, fennel seed and cinnamon;continue cooking for another few minutes. Add stock, wine,dates and drained raisins (discard water) and bring to a boil.

Put the lamb shanks back in the pot and reduce heat tolow, or place into a 275-degree oven. Braise for 2 1/2 hours.

Serve with fresh cilantro and parsley, if desired.KALE, APPLE AND ROASTED BEET SALAD

Serves 4-6Ingredients:

3 cups chopped fresh kale, stems removed2 medium beets1/2 apple, diced1/4 cup chopped candied walnuts1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberriesOlive oilBalsamic vinegarSalt and pepperPreparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the beets.Place in tin foil and roast in oven for 45-60 minutes, or untilsoft. Allow to cool. Remove the outer peel of beets usinghands or a vegetable peeler.

Cut beets into bite-sized pieces.Place chopped kale in a large salad bowl. Add beets, apple,

candied walnuts and dried cherries or cranberries. Drizzlewith olive oil and balsamic vinegar or salad dressing of yourchoosing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Adding easy eleganceto seder meals

Recipes


Continued on page 20

from Edmonton Jewish News EditorDeborah Shatz, Accounts Manager DanMoser and Web Manager Josh Moser


This month's update from Talmud Torah School: Purim

Talmud Torah School hosted a very special Purim celebration that included a rousing reading of the Megillah, followed by a fun and frivolous carnival. Everyonewore a costume and everyone had a great time.


Purim and other recent events at Menorah Academy

The Menorah Academy Nursery class painted many of the sea creatures that were on display in the gym for our Purim Carnival. The joyous month of Adar inspiredour youngest students and they put smiles on all of our faces with their creative costumes that they wore proudly to the carnival. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Menorah Academy swam with the dolphins at our community-wide "Under the Sea" Shushan Purim carnival. Filled with games, prizes, jumpy castles, thousands ofsea creatures and a massive shipwreck, the school's life-like aquarium was a huge success.

During the month of Adar, staff and students at Menorah Academy were given the assignment of increasing someone's happiness. Those who experiencedhappiness from another person’s kindness, were given a smiley face decoration, and they posted a note on the Beanstalk poster describing what made them happy.Our hallways have been extra happy this month! Grade One chose a creative way to get reacquainted with the characters in the Purim Story. �We made themourselves - using paper bags and everything else!

Candle Lighting Times March 27.........................................7:42 p.m.April 3...............................................7:55 p.m.April 4 ....................................after 9:09 p.m.April 9...............................................8:06 p.m.April 10 ............................................8:08 p.m.April 17 ............................................8:20 p.m.

Visit us at: edmontonjewishnews.com


Jewish Federation of Edmonton hosts Good Deeds Day: Thank you

Thank you very much to the 30 volunteers who attended our first annual Good Deeds Day! Your work at Edmonton’s Food Bank and Hope Mission made a positiveimpact on hundreds of lives. We hope to do it again next year!


by Tsipora Reboh

Purim is a holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from anti-Semitism in ancient Persia. Today, the events and morals of the Purim story resonateamongst Jewish people throughout the world. We have heroes and heroines who stand upevery day to ensure our existence. After 2000 years, being Jewish remains synonymous withunwavering courage, confidence, heart, and faith. That is why we must celebrate Purimevery year. That is why each year our goal should be to engage more members and continueto unify our community through Purim celebrations.

To me, Purim is one of the most important holidays in our calendar because of what itstands for, the emotion it creates, and, most of all, its attraction to Jews of all backgrounds.Purim events have the largest attendance of any annual Jewish event in Edmonton, drawingout nearly 1,000 community members this year. It is a holiday of feasting and gladness,comedy and libations, spiels and spectacles, costumes and giving.

Inspired by the virtues of Intelligence, Heart, Courage, and Home - this Purim the BethIsrael was transformed into the Land of Oz. From elaborate decor, a Kansas country meal,and an “all-star” production cast featuring the Talmud Torah Choir, no detail was left to theimagination. You can view the play at https://youtu.be/sb27XmnBUCs.

What was once a one day event has now turned into almost a year long process, startingaround the High Holidays and nearly consuming committee members’ days and nights forweeks before. Not to mention some 85 plus volunteers helping make decorations; set-up andtake down; participating in the production; making food; serving and cleaning; making anddelivering Mishlot Manot baskets, and more!

Thank you, Toda Raba, Yasher Koach to everyone who helped and attended the Land ofOz Purim. We could not have accomplished the vision without each of you. Special thanksto the unwavering and carpe diem support of Rabbi Friedman, Beth Israel staff, and BIcongregants, who inspired the creativity and passion of the committee and volunteers.

People can only say, “It was so Ozerific! What are you doing next year?”Well, the bar is set high, so I’ll answer a question with a question: “how will you help us

reach it Purim 2016?” Contact Christina Tsipora Reboh with ideas or to get involved,[email protected].

We extend a hearty thank you to the 2015 Beth Israel Purim sponsors.

Beth Israel congregation hostsamazing Purim Extravaganza

Proving that wonderful things happen when everyone works together, BethIsrael hosted a truly spectacular Purim event that included a noisy Megillahreading, a trip through a wind tunnel, a hearty meal and a musical performanceof the Wizard of Oz story.

Yasher Koach to Tsipora Reboh and the countless other people who worked so hard (both in front and behind the scenes) to make this event a success.


By Ron Kampeas, JTA

Part of the reason Israeli-Palestinian peace talks failedlast year is because the sides were so far apart in theirfundamental visions of what two states would look like.Another reason is that the two sides could barely stand eachother.

Those are two of the contentions contained in a blisteringcritique of the failed 2013-2014 peace talks published March2 by Ilan Goldenberg, the chief of staff for the U.S.negotiating team and now the director of the Middle Eastsecurity program at the liberal think tank Center for a NewAmerican Security.

The 22-page paper, the most public accounting to date ofthe failure of the Obama administration's months-long effortto broker a peace agreement between Israelis andPalestinians, is unusual in focusing less on the policydifferences between the sides and more on the profoundlydysfunctional culture of recrimination and distrust.

Of the nine lessons Goldenberg draws from the talks, onlytwo focus on policy. Goldenberg’s chief takeaway has to dowith the mood in the room.

“Twenty years of inconclusive talks have poisoned theenvironment in the negotiating room, creating anatmosphere equivalent to a nasty and prolonged divorce,”Goldenberg writes.

The latest round of peace talks, launched in the summerof 2013 and slated to last nine months, was the Obamaadministration's second attempt to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Secretary of State John Kerry engagedin intense shuttle diplomacy, meeting dozens of times withIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu andPalestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in anattempt to cajole them into bringing decades of conflict to apeaceful resolution.

In April 2014, the talks collapsed. In their wake, Israelendured a bloody summer war in Gaza, deep wounds to itsalliance with the United States and the furtherentrenchment of a sense of distrust that Goldenberg believesprecludes a return to peace talks anytime soon. Netanyahuand Abbas simply distrust each other too profoundly to get toa deal, Goldenberg said.

“These guys can never do it together,” Goldenberg toldJTA in an interview. “That's for sure.”

The nastiness was expressed in petty insults,brinksmanship and an apparent eagerness by both sides todrive the other side crazy, according to Goldenberg.

“Like any divorce negotiation, the two parties know eachother all too well,” Goldenberg writes. “They know oneanother better than the mediators know either of them. Each

tends to use that knowledgeto ‘press buttons’ on theother side to provoke andannoy.”

In the interview,Goldenberg said the Israelistreated every Palestinianoffer like the openinggambit in a bazaar. ThePalestinians would makewhat they consideredgenerous offers, Goldenbergsaid, but the Israelicontinually insisted onmore.

“When you tell theIsraelis the Palestinians arenot moving, the Israelis say‘Wait, they’re in the souk,’” said Goldenberg, using the Arabicword for market. “But the Palestinians really don’t negotiatethat way.”

For their part, the Palestinians would make makeoutrageous assertions that caused Israel to retrench. In2014, top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israelof killing the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and ofplotting to do the same to Abbas.

“He knew that was ridiculous, the Israelis knew that wasridiculous, but they get all frustrated and high and mightyin the response,” Goldenberg said.

In the paper, Goldenberg outlines how atmosphereaffected policy. On repeated occasions, one side put an offeron the table and the other side would counteroffer withsomething the other side found unacceptable, leading to thewithdrawal of the initial offer.

“It was a nightmare, trying to figure out what was on thetable and what was not on the table,” he said.

The mistrust meant that what should have been easyagreements turned into major obstacles. One example wasIsrael’s insistence that any deal acknowledge Israel’s statusas a Jewish state. At the outset of the Oslo process, in 1993,the term was a given, and Arafat used it multiple times.

Israel began to insist on the phrase’s inclusion during theprevious round of talks, in 2007-2008, just as theinternational movement to delegitimize the Jewish statewas gaining traction. The more the Israelis insisted, thewarier the Palestinians became, fearful that the move wasan attempt to delegitimize the Palestinian historicalnarrative. What was once a small matter joined borders,security, Jerusalem and refugees as one of the crucial issuesin the talks.

Goldenberg, 37, who was born in Israel and speaks fluentHebrew, learned Arabic during his years at the University ofPennsylvania. Even though his American-born parentsreturned the family to the United States when he was 8, hemaintains some Israeli mannerisms, like holding his thumbto his index and middle fingers to emphasize a point.

As in many divorces, the mediator — in this case, theAmericans — took some hits. Among the most painful wasIsraeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's description ofKerry as “messianic” and his accusation that the secretary ofstate was hankering for a Nobel Prize. Those jibes led tofurther American missteps.

“One of the things we tried to do, and didn’t succeed at, isnot get pulled into it,” Goldenberg said, citing theanonymous U.S. official who called Netanyahu “chickenshit”in October.

“We can’t get pulled down into the muck of the politics,”he said.

Through it all, the American Jewish community remained“highly supportive” of the effort, Goldenberg writes. LauraBlumenfeld, a former senior policy adviser on thenegotiating team whose job included strategic outreach toAmerican Jewish groups, agreed, noting how the communityovercame its internal rivalries to back the talks. She recalleda White House briefing in February 2014 that included notonly young Jewish, Christian, Arab and Muslim leaders, butAIPAC and J Street all sitting at the same table. But therelationship between the United States and Israel sufferedduring the negotiations.

“If there was a marriage on the rocks, it was the Israeli-American relationship,” said Blumenfeld, now a scholar-in-residence at Georgetown University. “Some days it seemedthere was more bickering than brokering.”

JTA: Why Israeli-Palestinian peacenegotiations were like bitterdivorce proceedings

ChaBad Rabbi Dovid's station was very popular as he dished out the cottoncandy at the Menorah Academy Purim party.

Purim fun at Menorah


From The Bushewsky Family

From Aubrey & Draytin Rogerville

Happy Passoverfrom

Henry & Lilly Cynamon

Happy Passover from

The Phillips Family

Best wishes to our friends andfamily for a happy Passover,

from Liza, Shalamo and Eric Muradov


fromGaylene Soifer, Jeff Rubin

and family

Best wishes to our friends and familyfor a happy Passover, from Ed, Nikki, Naomi, Jared and

Stephanie Lazar

Wishing the Jewish community

a happy and healthy Passover,

from

David and Na’ama Broesky


fromRachel and Rabbi Nachum

Shifren

Best wishes to our friends and

family for a happy Passover,

from

Abe Peliowski and Sari Schiff

Best wishes to our friends andfamily for a happy Passover, fromMurray, Marilyn, Seth and

Jacki Glick

Happy Passover from

Gillian & Billy Horwitz

Best wishes to our friends and family

for a happy Passover, from

Gail, Kevin, Justin & Alana Milner

and Helen Markovich

Wishing the Jewish community a

happy and healthy Passover,

from

Penny & Philip Hardin

From The Steiner Family

From Denise, Michael, Sarah and Melissa Webster



from

The Fashion Event

from Osnat & Eytan Wine and Itai,Roey and Noam

Happy Passover from the

Silver Bowron Family

From Reisa, Josh and Shayna Segal

Best wishes to our friends andfamily for a Happy Passoverfrom Errol, Rene, Daniel,

Ariella & Aiden Raff

FromHal Zalmanowitz

Best wishes to our friendsand family for a happyPassover, from Brenda &

Gary Nahornick and family

Happy Passoverfrom Lissa Antflick,

Bill Medak & Justin Antflick

From Sharon Abbott

From Melany, Joel, Jakob, Ruth,Micah & Lev Allen

Best wishes to our friendsand family for a happy

Passover, fromDavid & Harriet Arnold


from Dr. Bernie & Miriam Adler


Passover, fromClive & Luba Allen

Best wishes to our friends and family

for a happy Passover, from

Ida, Jerry and Justin Antflick

& Yvette HezMiller



from Tamara, Alex, Slava

& Eva Aronov

Wishing the Jewish communitya happy and healthy Passover,

fromDoreen Albert



from

Ida & Ari Agronin

Wishing the Jewish community ahappy and healthy Passover,

from Dr. Michael & Sylvia Alpern

Na'amat thanks the Edmonton JewishCommunity and Edmonton Jewish News

for supporting this holiday greeting fundraising project.

Happy Passover from

Jodi, Michael and Rebecca Zabludowski

From Barry Zalmanowitz, June Rossand Family

Wishing the Jewish community a happy and healthy Passover,

fromMindy Jacobs & Eoin Kenny

From Robert, Margaret, Joshua & Ariella Pokroy


Happy Passoverfrom

Jane, Hersh, Corey

and Derek Sobel


Passover, fromJudy Edelmann and family

From Doron, Meirav, Na’ama and Shira Or

Happy Passoverfrom

Ron and Marcia Bercov


from The Zwaigenbaum Family

from Chuck & Laurie Mozeson and Family

Wishing the Jewish community a happy and healthy Passover, from Marvin, Donna and

Richard Weislerfrom Robin, David, Max

& Annie Marcus


fromMark and Elaine Salkie



from Harry and Marlene

Warhaft & Family


fromAbe and Joan Goldstein

& family

FromRiva, Howard, Craig and Dean Shein

From Keith, Lauren, Ezra & Shira Tankel

from Manuel & Rhoda Friedman and family



from Freya and Lewis Wasel



from

The Asbell Family

Best wishes to our friends andfamily for a happy Passover, from

Anat, Raffi, Noah, Eva and Maya Sharon

From Jonathan, Zac and Gabriella Tankel

Best wishes to our friends and

family for a happy Passover,

from

Isabel and Lawrence Rodnunsky


Passover, from Sam and Joyce Galante


Passover, from Frida, Greg and Misha Pesin

Best wishes to our friends andfamily for a happy Passover,from Anita, Robert, Zach

and Natalie Ovics


Passover, fromRick and Pauline Uretsky


fromLauren and Adam Baram

Best wishes to our friends andfamily for a happy Passover,from Natalie, Ken, Marlee

and Jenna Soroka

Wishing the Jewishcommunity a happy and

healthy Passover, from Cintia Kezerle

Wishing the Jewish communitya happy and healthy Passover,

from Stan and Rosemary Kitay & family

Happy Passover to all theteams in the EJHL from the HeAtBaGs

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE WITH PECAN CRUST

Ingredients:

For the crust1/4 cup margarine or butter1/2 cup pecans1/4 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon saltFor the filling

8 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick)1 teaspoon instant espresso1/4 cup cocoa powder1 teaspoon vanilla5 eggs1 cup sugar1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jamPowdered sugar for dusting (optional)Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.To make the crust: Melt the 1/4 cup margarine or butter

in the microwave at 20 second intervals.Place the pecans, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted

with blade attachment and pulse until you have courselooking crumbs. Add melted margarine/butter and pulse 1-2more times.

Press mixture into an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Bake7-8 minutes. The crust may look a little funny, bubbly or likeit is ruined. But this is totally fine. Set aside.

To make the filling: Place the chocolate chips andmargarine in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth.Whisk in cocoa and espresso. Cool 10 minutes.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar in large bowl onhigh speed until thick, about 6 minutes. Fold in chocolate

mixture slowly. Then fold in raspberry jam, but don’t mix toomuch. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Bake torte until dry and cracked on top and testerinserted into center comes out with some moist batterattached, about 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 1 hour(center will fall).

Using an offset spatula or butter knife, carefully separatetorte from sides of pan. Remove outer ring of springform pan.Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Kid- friendly Passover breakfast

Passover is bad enough without having to feed your kidstoo. And breakfast during Passover can be pretty tricky: notoast, no oatmeal, no (palatable) cereal, and no traditionalsyrup-drenched pancakes. Aside from making matzah breievery day, the options are somewhat limited for Americankids.

A few years ago we started making egg in hash brownnests from The Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite bloggersand TV personalities, and so I adapted the recipe to includescrambled eggs and even a little color in the form of avegetable. If your kids don’t like peppers, you could also tryspinach, broccoli, or even sweet potato. Or just leave out aveggie altogether.

These little muffins are portable and can be re-heated, soyou can make a big batch to help ease the Passover cookingjust a little.

SCRAMBLED EGG POTATO MUFFINS

Yields 12 potato-egg muffinsIngredients:

2 medium-large Yukon gold potatoes3 large eggs1 ½ tablespoon milk½ cup chopped bell pepper (or other veggie)¼ cup cheese (cheddar, goat, or feta recommended)Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place whole potatoes in theoven and roast until almost totally cooked, but not quiteedible–around 25 minutes.

Cut potatoes open and allow to cool. Peel off skin (itshould come off pretty easily). This step can also be done thenight before to save time.

Grate potatoes and season well with salt and pepper.Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper in a

bowl.Grease a standard size muffin tin. Push shredded

potatoes into the bottom and sides of each cup.Pour about 2 tbsp of egg mix into each cup and top with

diced red pepper. Don’t allow them to sit too long — pop themquickly into the oven.

Bake 12-14 minutes until the eggs are golden and baked,and the sides of the potatoes are starting to brown.

Using a small spatula or butter knife, loosen sides of egg-potato muffins and remove. Serve warm.

Kveller is a thriving community of women and parentswho convene online to share, celebrate, and commiserate theirexperiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens. VisitKveller.com. Shannon Sarna is editor of The Nosher blog onMyJewishLearning.com.

Recipes Cont. from p 12


May the warmand beautiful traditions of

Passover bring joy to you and

your family

FromLeor & Melissa Benjamin and Zoe

from Howie & Debbie, Liz, and Ari Sniderman and Faron Hochman

Happy Passover from

Mel, Liz, and Sara Orenstein


a Happy and Healthy Passover,

from

Clive & Heidi Oshry and familyfrom

Beryl & Mike Nahornick

Wishing the Jewish community ahappy and healthy Passover, fromStacey, Erin, Jordyn, Abby,

and Zoe Wright


from Sondra Grosh and family

Happy Passover to our

friends and family

from Dan, Laura and Josh Moser

and Eve Krolik

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy Passover from

Medina and Esther Shatz & Tom, Aaron and Sam Van Dyck

To advertise your business or

community event, call Dan

780-421-7966 or email [email protected]

Rumors, rumors, how easy they start and propagate; eachday they progress. We all know the story.

The latest community rumor is that Beth IsraelSynagogue is in financial trouble. Bad enough that we wouldapproach Jewish Federation and invite them to site the newproposed JCC on our property. This would then ensureongoing financial stability to our Synagogue.

As President of Beth Israel Synagogue, I wish to dispelthis rumor.

We have been in existence for over 100 years and havealways managed and will always manage our finances.

The Shul is not in any crisis nor are we planning to sell

out in any form. If we, like any other Jewish institution inthis city or country need extra finances, we fundraiseaccordingly. We have gala dinners, casinos and various otherevents to cover our budget.

Please refrain from spreading any more of these rumorsand if someone mentions it to you, please dispel it or havethem contact me.

Many thanks.Dr Stanley KitayPresident, Beth Israel Synagogue

Open Letter To TheEdmonton JewishCommunity:

Letters to the Editor


Montreal, Quebec, February, 27, 2015. Leaders ofNa’amat Canada joined representatives of the organizationfrom USA, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium, Argentina, Uruguay andIsrael for the first NA’AMAT International SolidarityConference in Israel. The delegation, led by nationalpresident Sarah Beutel, were special guests of the Presidentof Israel Reuven Rivlin during the conference’s openingsession on February 10.

President Rivlin welcomed the representatives. "TheState of Israel has always been committed to the value ofequality,” he said. “In the Declaration of Independence, ourleaders committed themselves to the complete social andpolitical equality for all citizens of Israel, without distinctionof religion, race or gender. And when we promise somethingwe then must be committed to working hard to deliver on ourpromises.

“You, the women of Na’amat have always supported theState of Israel, and dedicated so much to the welfare of thecitizens of Israel. You were always proud Zionists, even intimes when people were afraid to show public support forIsrael. Moreover, your support helped, and still helps us, toensure that we live up to our promises and that we keepalive the symbiotic connection between Israel's Jewish anddemocratic identities.”

Liz Raider, national president of Na’amat USA thankedthe President and the First Lady for the opportunity. “Ourcountries may be separated by oceans, but our goals, ourwork and hearts are as one in providing continued supportand expanded programs and services of Na’amat in Israel,”Raider said. “Together we all strive to ensure that thepromise of a brighter future for all Israeli citizens is areality.”

Attendees at the 7-day conference also took part ingroundbreaking ceremonies for a new day care center inCarmiel, a project sponsored by Na’amat Canada

Other highlights included a day at the Glickman Centerfor the prevention and treatment of domestic violence; aspecial evening in the Ayanot Youth Village, one of Na’amat’sboarding schools; and a day in Jerusalem.

Delegates discussed key issues confronting Israel, womenand families, and Na’amat’s role in meeting those

challenges. For members ofNa’amat Canada, theconference provided anexciting opportunity toexperience the fruits of theorganization’s efforts topromote gender equality andto help women withchildcare, legal and familyissues, domestic violence,and employment issues.

“It impresses me that 125NA’AMAT delegates fromthe Diaspora would clear aweek from their scheduleand arrive at their ownexpense for a solidarityconference with the Na’amatmovement in Israel,” GaliaWolloch, president ofNa’amat Israel told TheJerusalem Post. “These arewomen who feel a deepcommitment to the Zionistenterprise and work for thewelfare of women, childrenand families in Israel.”

Delegates came from 8countries. The Canadiancontingent includedrepresentatives from;Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto,Hamilton, Calgary,Edmonton and Vancouver. The Na’amat InternationalConference was followed by a two-day meeting of the WorldZionist Organization, which included representatives ofleading Jewish organizations worldwide.

About Na’amat CanadaNa’amat Canada is an organization striving to enhance

the quality of life for women, children and families in Israel.Originally named Pioneer Women, it was founded as a sister

movement to Na’amat Israel. Na’amat women act locally,nationally and globally in 9 countries. The organization isactively engaged in a wide range of issues, includingreligious pluralism, the status of women at home and in theworkplace and the prevention of domestic violence.

For more information visit www.naamat.com. OnFACEBOOK visit Na’amat Canada and Na’amatInternationaL

NA’AMAT CANADA attendsSolidarity Conference in Israel

Na'amat Canada was well represented at the first Na'amat InternationalSolidarity Conference held last month in Israel. Darlene Bushewskyrepresented Edmonton at this historic conference.


By Penny Schwartz, JTA

When Deborah Bodin Cohen immersed herself inrabbinical school in the early 1990s, she expected to spend ayear in Israel as part of her studies with Hebrew UnionCollege-Jewish Institute of Religion. What she didn't knowwas that a decade later, the experience of living in Jerusalemwould spark her inspiration for a children's book that hasbecome a popular award-winning series.

“Engineer Ari and the Passover Rush,” Bodin Cohen'sfourth book in Kar-Ben's "Engineer Ari" series, is among atrio of new children's books for the eight-day holidaymarking the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Shahar Koberprovides the illustrations.

Passover begins this year with the first seder on theevening of April 3.

Other new books for the holiday include “And ThenAnother Sheep Turned Up,” by Laura Gehl, illustrated byAmy Adele, and a rare middle-reader Passover chapter book,“Scarlett and Sam: Escape from Egypt,” by the popularwriter Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Ivica Stevanovic.

Bodin Cohen, the author of other award-winning Jewishchildren's books, including “The Seventh Day” and“Nachshon Who was Afraid to Swim,” credits the idea for theAri character to her daughter Ariana, who as a preschoolerwas a train enthusiast. Her daughter's train play stirredmemories of living near Jerusalem's historic train stationthat dated back to the 1890s.

“I literally passed it every day,” she told JTA. Bodin Cohen, the director of congregational learning at

Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, Md., realized that shecould create a story of a train adventure based in historicIsrael – one that would also entertain her own daughter andher friends.

Each of theEngineer Aristories has somehistorical ele-ment, she pointsout, with ex-tensive researchand consultationwith a curator ofthe Israel Rail-way Museum inHaifa.

While the book is notabout Israel, it is thebackdrop, one of BodinCohen's goals.

“The idea of anillustrated book exposes kids to some of the beauty of Israel,the wildlife and the agriculture,” she said.

Engineer Ari and the Passover Rush

Deborah Bodin Cohen, illustrated by Shahar KoberKar-Ben ($17.95 hardcover, $7.95 paperback, $6.99

eBook); ages 5-9Engineer Ari is a friendly train engineer, an imagined

character based on Jerusalem's early railway system thattransported people and goods between Jaffa and Jerusalemdating back to the end of the 19th century in prestatePalestine. Like the previous books in the series -- for RoshHashahah, Sukkot and Hanukkah -- this charming tale isset at the eve of the holiday.

In the "Passover Rush," Engineer Ari is in a hurry tomake his last run before the start of the seder. The sense ofurgency to keep track of time for the train schedule is aperfect pairing for the story of Passover, when the Israelitesfled Egypt.

His ride to Jerusalem has neighbors offering him foods forhis seder plate, including a bowl of charoset made withalmonds and dates, a traditional Sephardi custom. Aripromises that on his return route, he'll deliver newly bakedmatzah in exchange. As he arrives back in Jaffa in the nickof time, he and his neighbors swap the Jerusalem matzah forthe seder plate foods.

Young kids will enjoy the fun adventure, which alsointroduces the elements of preparing the Passover seder.

The cartoon-like illustrations by the Israeli artist Koberwill delight young readers, with animated charactersdressed in colorful native garb, and bustling scenes of citylife and rolling hillsides and farms.

For some youngreaders, the biggestthrill will likely bethe red locomotive,with its whistle cordthat regularlyannounces “Toot,toot!”

And Then

Another Sheep

Turned Up

Laura Gehl,illustrated by AmyAdele

Kar-Ben ($17.95

hardcover; $7.95 paperback; $6.99 eBook); ages 3-8As a friendly family of sheep prepares for Passover, one

guest after another arrives, from grandma with themacaroons and wine to uncles and friends who arriveunexpectedly. As the seder progresses from the FourQuestions to hiding the afikomen and dipping the parsley,each page brings another unexpected visitor.

Gehl's delightful rhymes will tickle young ones. Even non-readers will join the repeating refrain, “And then anothersheep turned up.” Kids will be entertained with page afterpage of Adele's colorful, lively illustrations of adorable sheephaving fun at Passover.

Scarlett and Sam: Escape from Egypt

Eric A. Kimmel,illustrated by IvicaStevanovic

Kar-Ben ($15.95hardcover, $5.95paperback, $6.99eBook); ages 6-9

When twinsScarlett and Sambicker about who isgoing to recite theFour Questions atthe seder, theirmagical GrandmaMina cuts thesquabbling short:“Tonight, at theSeder, we don't justtell the story ofPassover. We become part of it.”

So sets the stage for Kimmel's time-travel Passoveradventure that transports the duo to the Egyptian desert,back to the time of Moses and Aaron as they prepare to leadthe Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The Ten Plagues,Pharaoh's palace, and the suffering and indignity enduredby Israelite slaves come alive for the siblings, who manage tomake a podcast of their experience.

Older readers familiar with Kimmel's hugely popularillustrated books ("Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins,""Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock" and "The ChanukkahGuest") will again enjoy his deft humor and flair forstorytelling in the illustrated chapter book that will appealto school-age kids. It's a terrific pairing with Kimmel'searlier “Wonders and Miracles,” a lavishly illustrated sedercompanion that explains and demystifies the customs andtraditions.

Passover children's books addsomething new to something old

by Matthew Levine and Sarah Lallouz

Trees can provide more than just shade in Israel. Anyperson living along or near the Gaza border is in greatdanger from missile attacks. This year’s JNF campaign

focused on planting trees that will serve as green buffers toprotect residents and visitors to the area from missile fire.The screen is formed from a layer of shrubs and eucalyptus

trees. It creates a wide barrier which blocks the view ofanyone trying to launch missiles onto passing vehicles.

Talmud Torah students (along with many othercommunities around the world), under the leadership of theTree Captains, Sarah Lallouz, Roey Wine, and Ethan Buck,

took on the responsibility of

supporting this valuable project. These responsible studentswere busy encouraging other students to buy trees. Thestudents purchased over 130 trees beating their last year’srecord of 130.

If you have not yet supported this worthy cause, contactthe local JNF office at 780-481-7881 or go to www.jnf.ca topurchase your trees.

Matthew Levine and Sarah Lallouz are students atTalmud Torah School.


With Passover rightaround the corner, Jewishfamilies around the worldare busy with springcleaning, Our homes are notthe only places that need aspring tune up; the seasonalweather is also the perfecttime to start a new wellnessroutine, saysphysiotherapist MattCairns.

Matt has been a beacon ofthe community for years.You may know him from his

time as a personal trainer working out of the old JCC; hemay have been your trainer, or your parents’, or even yourgrandparents’! He’s led March of the Living, and Birthrighttrips out of Edmonton, supervised youth in BBYO, and beena counselor at daycamp. Clearly being a part of the Jewishcommunity of Edmonton has always been important to MattCairns, and that is why he is so excited to announce theopening of his new clinic in Meadowlark. As a licensedPhysiotherapist, Matt has opened ‘Renew Physiotherapy &Exercise’ located in the Meadowlark Professional Buildingon 87th avenue and Meadowlark Road.

“Renew Physiotherapy & Exercise represents what Iwould like to experience as a patient seeking informationabout my symptoms, condition or overall wellness from aphysiotherapist,” Matt explains.

“I have spent many years working as a Certified PersonalTrainer (CSEP-CPT), Certified Pilates Instructor andlicensed Physiotherapist in the health, fitness and

rehabilitation industry.Years of personal trainingand teaching Pilates haveexposed me to a widevariety of people, conditionsand abilities. Thisexperience has proven thehealing nature of exercisewhen applied properly.”

Physiotherapy hasprovided Matt with a solidfoundation in musculo-skeletal orthopedic exami-nation, diagnosis andtreatment that has provento be a perfect complementto exercise programdevelopment and Matt’sdedicated passion forfitness and physical well-being.

“I have a particularinterest in the role ofexercise in the rehabili-tation of musculoskeletalinjuries and conditions, and value the importance ofthorough patient education. I strongly believe in tailoringtreatment sessions and exercise programs to the individualneeds of the patient,” adds Cairns.

At ‘Renew Physiotherapy & Exercise’ Matt provides onehour assessments and thirty minute follow-up appointmentsto ensure that each patient gets the appropriate attentionand time for a thorough and positive experience. For those

seeking individual exercise therapy, Matt offers one hoursessions that contain a balanced mixture of strengthtraining, Pilates, Yoga, stretching and cardiovascularexercise.

Matt Cairns encourages you to come by the clinic, have alooks around and a kibitz, or book an appointment. For moreinformation or to book an appointment contact Matt atRenew Physiotherapy & Exercise at 780-298-3555.

Spring is a time for wellness

We pick up! No charge!780.988.1717

Matt Cairns

It has been a really great EJHL season and the 2015 championship finals are setfor March 29 at 7:30 pm at the Argyll arena. Rob Learner's HeAtBags will befacing off against Mike Schayer's Acme Scrappers and it is sure to be a greatgame.

EJHL finals: March 29

Trees can save lives

Tree captains Ethan Buck, Sarah Lallouz and Roey Wine headed up a successfulJNF campaign during Tu B'Shvat last month at Talmud Torah School.


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