Shalom Magazine Winter 2021

Page 40

AROUND OUR REGION : PEI

PEI NEWS BY JOSEPH B. GLASS The Jewish community organized three gatherings for the High Holidays this year. These events were held at the York Community Centre which allowed for proper social distancing. Despite having taken all the recommended public health precautions, people were anxious about COVID-19 and attendance was poor. *** For Sukkot, the Hoersting family—Raquel, Rafael, Amalia, and Joel—constructed and decorated a sukkah in their backyard in Charlottetown. They opened it to members of the Jewish community to fulfill the obligation of sitting and eating in a sukkah. The sukkah was furnished with a lulav and etrog for visitors to fulfill the mitzvah of blessing them. This year, in adherence to COVID-19 measures, visitors were encouraged to stagger their visits and maintain social distancing. The community usually shares a potluck meal in the sukkah but this year, people were asked to bring their own snacks. *** Unfortunately, we could not gather to celebrate Hanukkah. A few of our younger members prepared video clips for the holiday which were shared with the PEIJC membership. Amalia Hoerstring beautifully sang the blessings for the lighting of the candles on the first night of Hanukkah. Eli Opps provided a delightful piano performance for Hanukkah. Eli’s father, Sheldon Opps, added warm greetings and wishes to the community. He shared a special prayer for everyone and for brighter days ahead and the “hope that this Festival of Lights reminds us of how precious life is, how lucky we are, and how delicate the fabric of our lives can be.” A special thank you to Eli’s and Amalia’s Hebrew teacher, Ilana Clyde, for her tremendous generosity and kindness.

Although she is wintering in Maine, we are so grateful for all that Ilana is doing for the community virtually. Two community representatives were interviewed, and they discussed Hanukkah on CBC Radio. Speaker and writer Martin Rutte talked with Matt Rainnie on the program Mainstreet PEI. Martin, a stranded snowbird, enlighten the listeners with his information on the history and traditions around Hannukah. President of the PEIJC, Leo Mednick, chatted with Mitch Cormier on the program Island Morning. Leo provided his insights on how Hanukkah is being celebrated differently on PEI due to COVID-19. The community also shared Hanukkah related photos and posts. The highlights were: Valen, Marley (Miriam Rivkah) Kwitko’s son, eating his first latke; Felix and his mother Shamara Baidoobonso preparing to light the sixth candle; and Leslee Sack’s beautiful display of Hanukkah lights and blow ups. The display, which included a dreidel and two polar bears donning kipahs and tallits, illuminated Stratford and delighted passers-by. *** The PEIJC celebrates that achievements of its members. Our treasurer, Shamara Baidoobonso, a provincial epidemiologist, is on Chatelaine’s 33 Black Canadians Making Change Now list. CBC Island Morning host Mitch Cormier spoke to Baidoobonso about making the list. “I was initially quite speechless when I saw the full list and saw the people that are included on that list. Some names that I was familiar with, people that have been doing very high calibre work for decades,” she said. “I am humbled that someone thought my work was important enough, that my work should be highlighted.”

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PHOTOS: 1. Celebrating Hanukkah 2. Valen eating his first latke 3. Felix and his mother Shamara lighting the sixth candle 4. Leslee Sack’s beautiful Hanukkah display.

As an epidemiologist, Shamara is interested in how different communities are affected by viruses and has a particular focus on how HIV has a disproportionate impact on members of African, Caribbean, and Black communities. *** Congratulations to J. J. Steinfeld on the publishing of Morning Bafflement & Timeless Puzzlement by Ekstasis Editions. The 102 poems continue the dialogue with and a questioning of the human condition as they hover above what the author sees as the absurd, the existential, and otherworldly elements of life, the ordinary and the extraordinary spheres of being, that J. J. Steinfeld embarked upon in his previous Ekstasis Editions poetry collection, A Visit to the Kafka Café (2018). These poems once again attempt to make sense out the way we conduct our lives, to find meaning in our not always meaningful surroundings, to look at individuals caught in the sometimes joyous, sometimes frightening, yet endlessly fascinating moments of existence and being. S

SEND A Partnership2Gether GIFT CARD TO CELEBRATE! HELP SUPPORT OUR VALUABLE PROJECTS IN NORTHERN ISRAEL Contact Naomi Rosenfeld, executive director: 902-422-7493 | norsenfeld@theajc.ca 36

Shalom

W I NTE R 2021

theAJC .ca


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Articles inside

A Very Jewish Issue

2min
page 46

When the Messiah Comes

3min
page 46

Your Life, My Autograph

2min
page 45

Purim and the Coronavirus Era: A Contrast of Times

1min
page 44

Self Sacrifice - Then and Now

2min
page 44

The End of an Era

3min
page 43

Beth El Synagogue News

1min
page 42

Newfoundland News

2min
page 42

Fredericton News

3min
page 41

Saint John News

1min
page 41

PEI News

3min
page 40

Moncton News

2min
page 39

Cape Breton News

6min
pages 38-39

The 2020 Atlantic Jewish Virtual Film Festival

2min
page 36

Studying in Israel

3min
page 34

On the Life of Stephen Rukasin, z"l

3min
page 33

On the Life of Naomi Judah, z"l

2min
page 32

On the Life of Joseph Kohn, z"l

1min
page 32

On the Life of Harold Davis, z"l

1min
page 31

On the Life of Jana Wieder, z"l

3min
page 31

Remembering Molly Rechnitzer, z"l

2min
page 30

David Rubin's Legacy Gift

1min
page 30

Biography of Dr. Jayson Greenblatt

3min
page 29

Speculative Cartographies

7min
pages 16-17

Campus News

1min
page 12

From the Desk of Edna Levine

4min
page 7

From the Desk Of Naomi Rosenfeld

4min
page 5

From the Desk of Marilyn Kaufman

4min
page 4

The AJC is one of six new communities selected to participate in an North American-wide Jewish Legacy Giving Initiative

2min
page 2

The Importance Of Shoah Education

6min
pages 14-17

Message From Jewish Federations of Canada United Israel Appeal

3min
page 11

Warsaw: A City Divided

4min
pages 18-20

Camp Kadimah News

2min
page 13

CIJA Report

4min
pages 9-10

My Hanukkah Celebration With The Canadian Forces Base Halifax

3min
page 21
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