Further to our story about the Ashkenazie Synagogue proposing to repurpose itself, which you can read elsewhere on this site at http://jewishpostandnews.ca/local/983-ashkenazie-synagogue-sees-to-repurpose-itself-into-a-synagogue-museum, we were intrigued at the suggestion that there were, at one time, 14 (or 18, depending which Minuk brother was offering information), synagogues in the North End.
Apparently both Minuks were well short of the mark. If  you click on "Read More" you will find a complete list of synagogues that existed in Manitoba at one time or another, along with a caption giving the names of the synagogues in the montage at left.

By MYRON LOVE You could rightly say that Sidura Ludwig is “over the moon” about being named the winner of the 2021 Vine Award for fiction for “You Are Not What We Expected”, her first collection of short stories.
“This is a huge honour,” says the former Winnipegger. “I am thrilled, overwhelmed, speechless. It was a real surprise. I didn’t even realize that my book still qualified as it was released 18 months ago.”

Reviewed by BERNIE BELLAN In preparing to write this review I searched our archives to see whether we had ever published anything previously about Primrose Mayadag Knazan; sad to say, we hadn’t.

It’s about time we made up for that oversight, as Primrose had already established herself as a playwright of considerable talent, having had her three plays been awarded “Best of Fest” at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival on each occasion she premiered a new play at the Fringe.

By MYRON LOVE Ten years ago or so, Cameron Poitras was at loose ends. He had just dropped out of university and, as with many young people entering their 20s, wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

We received the following communication from Gray Academy, informing parents of any children age 5-11 of a special clinic that will be held at Gray Academy Tuesday, December 7...During School Hours and After School...Register by Wednesday, December 1

By BERNIE BELLAN This article first appeared in the Dec. 23, 2019 issue of The Jewish Post & News. Since being posted to our website almost two years ago, it's become one of our most widely read articles - and the Youtube video of Rabbi Matthew singing xmas songs written by Jewish composers has been viewed hundreds of times.If you want to watch the video, you can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWyZ1djqxaI

Here's my story from Dec/2019:  It's hard to believe, but it was only two years ago that Rabbi Matthew Leibl entertained a packed room of mostly seniors in the Adult Lounge of the Asper Campus with a medley of famous xmas songs - all written by Jewish composers.

Rabbi Matthew Leibl is not your usual rabbi – but he sure can command a room.

By BERNIE BELLAN The Ashkenazie Synagogue at the corner of Burrows and Charles is Winnipeg's oldest synagogue and the last remaining of 18 synagogues which once dotted Winnipeg's North End. Now, like all the other synagogues that once existed contemporaneously with the House of Ashkenazie, it finds itself in a precarious position.

The following is taken from a Jewish Heritage Centre release:
CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper to Deliver the 2022 Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecture
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada is thrilled to announce that the 2022 Sol and Florence Kanee Distinguished Lecturer will be Jake Tapper.

By MYRON LOVE Dr. Marian Khatib is a testament to the inclusive nature of Israeli society – and outs the lie to accusations of no-nothing Israel-haters.
As reported in the October 31 edition of The Jerusalem Post, the 40-year-old mother of two, raised in a small Arab village outside Acre, has just been appointed the director of the Breast Surgery Center at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

By MYRON LOVE As Lyle Smordin tells it, when he was eight or nine years old, his mother Ida decided that he should learn to play the violin.
“At that time,” he recalls, “most Jewish mothers wanted their children to become musicians.”

By GERRY POSNER It started in Winnipeg on August 17, 1934 when a young 23-year-old man named Meyer Klapman married a young 22-year-old woman named Gladys Wiseman. At that time, the young Klapman was a tailor operator. From that union came a story no doubt familiar to many readers and yet, with its own unique character.

By MYRON LOVE Talking to Megan Kravetsky last week reminded me of the line from that once popular song “There you are down in Mexico, living free as the air. Here I am stuck in the city, not going anywhere”.
Three years ago, the veteran chef and restaurant consultant came across a deal she couldn’t refuse when she took advantage of an opportunity to buy Blake’s Restaurant and Bar, an established operation in Puerto Vallarta. Megan is now happily living year round in Mexico.

By BERNIE BELLAN Over the years we’ve had many stories in this newspaper chronicling the stories of brave Jewish men and women who served in various armed forces over the years.
It’s one thing to read history books that describe wars, it’s another thing to read personal accounts of what it was like to be in an actual war.

By DAVID and MILTON AMMEL Special to The Jewish Post & News   Attacks on Jews have seen a sharp upsurge in recent years...indeed, many sources believe the epidemic of violence against Jews is the worst since Hitler.  (In the latest perversion, some are even trying to blame the Jews for the Covid 19 pandemic!)  The fact that 6 million Jews (or more) died in Hitler’s holocaust is beyond question; there are two questions that have faced the world ever since World War Two: 1. Did Allied leaders fighting Hitler know about the death camps long before their existence was known to the world? and 2. If the allies did know about it, then why wasn’t something done to at least limit Hitler’s atrocities?

By IRENA KARSHENBAUM We take for granted that books will always be available to buy, but in fact, many books go out of print. Personally, I prefer rare titles as they are the most interesting.

By BERNIE BELLAN Three years ago I wrote a story about a start-up tech company called Gryd.
One of the subjects of that story was a young entrepreneur by the name of Josh Glow, who was 22 at the time. Back in 2018 Gryd had developed a novel way for property managers to market units in their properties to would-be renters, using the latest in virtual reality technology. What Gryd allowed prospective tenants to do was to experience a 3D tour of any available rental unit – no matter where the viewer was situated.

Two of our community’s best known writers, Carol Matas and Harriet Zaidman, have both launched new books aimed at younger readers.
Carol’s book is titled “A Struggle for Hope”. Published by her long-time publisher, Scholastic Books, the book is available on Amazon. Harriet's book is titled "Second Chances. It's published by Red Deer Press.

By MYRON LOVE Monica Neiman, Congregation Etz Chayim’s new Program and Engagement Director, comes to her new role with impressive credentials.  For the past seven years – up until she landed here in June – she served seven years at her home congregation –Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, Washington – as Assistant Director of the congregation’s religion school.

By BERNIE BELLAN It was a little more than one year ago that the Simkin Centre was hit hard by Covid for an almost two-month period.  As I noted in a daily blog that I kept updating on this website, it was on December 14 that I was finally able to report that “as of today, there are no active cases of COVID-19 at the Simkin Centre. After almost two consecutive months with at least one active case every day - either among residents or staff, there is now reason to believe that the worst is over.”

By GERRY POSNER There I was sitting in a restaurant, my first time in one in over a year. It was inside or face the wasps outside. And since there was no one else inside, my good friend and former Winnipegger Dan Finkleman and I sat down at What a Bagel for our once a month lunch.

By Dr. Phillip Berger Special to The Jewish Post & News

When I was ten years old in Winnipeg, a classmate asked me, “Why don’t you leave the old man alone?” He was referring to Israel’s prosecution of Adolph Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust. As a Jew, I was being held accountable for the actions of Israel.

By BERNIE BELLAN In the October 27 issue of the JP&N, within our preview of Tarbut, we had a blurb about a film that will be shown Sunday evening, November 14, at 7:30 pm in the Berney Theatre.
Here is what the blurb said:

"Ma Nishma Manitoba"
Hot off a highly successful premiere at Gimli Film Festival 2021 – this, playful, funny, and evocative documentary by two local Jewish filmmakers explores the history of Jews in Winnipeg –

We received a note from someone by the name of Haley Turner, who has a  Winnipeg connection and wanted to let us know that she's written a new song for Chanukah.

Read on to read what Haley wrote us (and click on the links to listen both to her Hanukkah song and the original version of the famous Adam Sandler Hanukkah Song - which inspired her to write her own Hanukkah song):

By BERNIE BELLAN Shaarey Zedek Congregation is about to embark on the first major renovation of its building since the 1970s.
We've reproduced renderings that were drawn up by representatives of Number TEN Architectural Group, which is the firm that has been engaged to develop plans for the soon-to-be totally renovated Shaarey Zedek building.

By MYRON LOVE  A few weeks ago, I contacted the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on behalf of a friend to inquire as to the cost of his funeral when the time comes (which hopefully is still quite a ways off). The quote I received was $16,000. That would include the plot, the Chevra Kadishe fees (for proper Halachic preparation of the body), transportation, digging the grave and perpetual care.

By GERRY POSNER With all of the families in Winnipeg that have produced remarkable children in a variety of ways, surely one family that would rank right up at the top would be the Matas family. In this particular case, I refer to the three sons of Harry and Esther Matas. (The other Matas groups have also achieved much, but I am limited in space to cover all of them). The three sons of Dr. & Mrs. Matas - David, Manny and Robert have all reached some rather lofty levels in their respective fields and in fact, still continue to do so even to this day.

By BERNIE BELLAN On Wednesday, October 14, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg presented a conversation between Rabbi Matthew Leibl and CIJA (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel titled: “Antisemitism in Canada: Pushing back against hate”.
In introducting Fogel, Leibl made the following observation about his not having been exposed to antisemitism during the six years he spent as a radio show host prior to his becoming a rabbi at the Shaarey Zedek: “In the six years I spent on the air I never experienced anything like it (antisemitism).”

By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been almost a year since Schmoozer’s in the Asper Campus was closed due to the Covid pandemic and the major drop-off in traffic at the campus.
In one more sign that things are getting back to some semblance of near-normal, Schmoozer’s has now reopened, although with more limited hours than in the past – for the time being (7:30 am – 4 pm, Monday –Thursday, and 7:30 am – 3 pm Fridays).

One of Winnipeg’s top Jewish fund-raisers is being honoured by Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University (CABGU) for his unwavering commitment and contribution to his community. This week, the Canadian fundraising arm of Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) announced the launch of the Sheldon & Florence Zamick Family Fund to support students attending BGU.

In the picture here Adas Yeshurun - Herzlia President Jack Craven, who donated the new Torah to the congregation, can be sign filling in the final letter of the Torah - a “lamed” (the last letter of the last word in the Torah, “Yisrael”).
Craven donated the Torah in memory of his late parents and sister. Rabbi Yosef Benarroch says that the purchase of the Torah represents the culmination of a long search for a new Torah that led to his examining 15 different Torahs altogether.