By GERRY POSNER When you talk psychiatry and Winnipeg Jews, you enter into a remarkable and lengthy area for discussion, perhaps even a book. Prominent among the names of Jewish boys who became psychiatrists is Molyn Leszcz - as in very prominent. He is, among other things, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. How he got there from humble beginnings living on Ellice Avenue near his father’s grocery store and also close to the University of Winnipeg is by itself a compelling story.

By BERNIE BELLAN A number of months back I was introduced, by a mutual friend in the investment industry, whose name is Mark Francis, to the president of the Canada Israel Chamber of Commerce (CICC for short): Oded Orgil.

A Tufts University student stood up to the mob of Israel-haters. His victory won’t necessarily prevent others from being targeted, but it showed how they, too, can prevail.

By JONATHAN TOBIN (March 5, 2021 / JNS) It was a familiar story but with an unfamiliar conclusion. A Jewish student objected to the anti-Semitic slanders promoted by a student organization dedicated to Israel’s destruction.

By ROBERTA SERET, PH.D. Anti-Semitism had always been part of Romanian culture long before the war, but it was in 1927 with the establishment of the Iron Guard, Romania’s fascist party, that their practices publicly centered on eliminating all Jews in Romania by torture and death squads.

Recently I was given some new hair products by the name of Agerios to try.
I was so impressed with the results I got from these products - my hair had more body than it has typically has and I just loved the fragrance -that I decided to contact the company that makes Agerios hair products and find out more about them.

(March 9, 2021; Winnipeg, Manitoba) -- Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (WJT) is now streaming True Colors, a show that was originally created by Jewish Women’s Theatre. True Colors will stream in three parts from March 8 to 28. The show is available for free on WJT’s YouTube channel, as part of Safe at Home Manitoba's Stay Home Initiative.

In March, the Consulate General of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada will join forces with prominent Israeli Director Yonatan Nir to screen his film Dolphin Boy. The film will be available for free from March 17 to 24 and will be accompanied by an exclusive webinar with Nir himself on March 24.

By BERNIE BELLAN History was made at the recent BBYO International Convention, which was a combination of in-person and virtual gatherings held over a four-day period, from February 11-15, when Winnipegger Emma Zentner was elected International N’siah (President) of BBYO.

Max Homa, winners of PGA

By BERNIE BELLAN A story that was was recently brought to our  attention came from reader Peter Mendelson (who told me he reads the paper after he gets it from his mother, who gets it from a neighbour – which leads me to wonder just how often our paper is handed from reader to reader?), has to do with two Jewish golfers: David Berger and Max Homa.

By MYRON LOVE With the financial stress and uncertainty that many people have been experiencing over the past year as a result of Covid lockdowns, there has been a nationwide increase in alcohol and drug use (source: Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction) and – according to Ivy Kopstein, Jewish Child and Family Service’s Substance Use and Addiction Services Coordinator – members of the Jewish community have been affected parallel to the larger community.

By MYRON LOVE As he nears his 80th birthday, Michael Eskin is still going strong. The much-honoured professor in the faculty of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba Department - and a beloved chazan in our community - continues to teach two online classes with over 200 students and has written two more books – his 16th and 17th – over the past year.

By MYRON LOVE Aviva Natural Health Solutions on St. James Street is not your typical health food store just as Aviva’s founder, Nathan Zassman, is not your typical entrepreneur.

By GERRY POSNER Let me be clear. The Ripstein family has been a force in many ways in Winnipeg, in Manitoba and indeed in the entire country of Canada now for almost140 years.

In fact, in 1873, Jacob Ripstein began a series of many firsts in the family.

By MYRON LOVE On Monday, February 22, B’nai Brith Canada introduced its new legal network – the Matas Law Society – to the world with a virtual program – a “fireside chat” – featuring B’nai Birth CEO Michael Mostyn and the eponymous David Matas himself – B’nai Brith Canada’s long time senior legal counsel and one of the world’s best known fighters for human rights.

By BERNIE BELLAN Berdina Shorten has lived in Winnipeg since coming here with her family from the Netherlands in 1953. Although Berdina was Jewish by ancestry (going back to her great-grandmother), she hadn’t been raised Jewish. It was only several years after having come to Canada – and having got married, that Berdina – and her late husband, Ken Shorten, both converted to Judaism.

On Tuesday, March 2, the Jewish Heritage Centre conducted a Zoom program featuring Bernie Bellan & Gerry Posner talking about Bernie's 37 year history with the paper - along with stories about the paper in previous years. You can watch what turned into a mostly light-hearted discussion at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oug6-UvGpbA

When we look at how most companies hire employees, it seems that the basic process has remained unchanged for the past century...

By PHYLLIS LIPSON DANA From 1941 until 1945 I lived on Mountain and Aikins and was a student from Kindergarten to Grade 4 at the Folk School, located in a 3 storey house at the corner of St Johns and Charles.

By MYRON LOVE Healthcare worker Marnie Singer loves what she does. The nursing home worker says that she really enjoys working with seniors.
“I work at a smaller nursing home,” she notes. “We have a great team of workers with low turnover and we thankfully have had no Covid cases among our residents.”

By GERRY POSNER While walking the streets of Toronto in my neighbourhood (What else is there for me to do these days)?, I was suddenly taken aback by someone calling out my name.

By MYRON LOVE Cousins Jacob Wiseman and Jonah Perlmutter appreciate that they have benefitted in adapting to university life because they had mentors in their lives to guide them.

In a new book written by former Winnipegger Zena Simces, titled "You Can Make a Difference: A Guide to Being a Great Consultant",  Ms. Simces offers advice based on her own longtime career as a consultant.

By REBECA KUROPATWA Growing up in Winnipeg, Norah Myers (34) enjoyed spending a lot of her time reading. Born prematurely -when Norah was only eight-days-old, she suffered brain trauma.
As a result one year later, Norah was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, a disability that affects her movement and posture.

By MYRON LOVE Danita Dubinsky Aziza firmly believes that people can be helped to feel better physically and mentally if they are knowledgeable and committed to giving their bodies the right inputs. For over three decades, she has been committed to learning all she can about what can help make people feel well.

By BERNIE BELLAN Every February, Gray Academy opens up priority re-enrollment for current families for the next school year.  In 2019, the percentage of parents who re-enrolled at this point in the year was 62%. In 2020, it was 70.61%.
This year, as of February 10, the percentage topped 90% - almost 30% higher than the same period just two years ago.

We received two interesting emails from readers Lou Billinkoff and Martin Buchwald that harken back to a much earlier time in the existence of the Winnipeg Jewish community: the 1930s. Click on "read more" to see those emails - and some fascinating pictures that are over 85 years old.

By BERNIE BELLAN The first confirmed cases of Covid at one of the day care centres operated by the Rady JCC have occurred at the centre on Grosvenor Avenue.

Submitted by Gray Academy
The Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education (WBJE) is thrilled to announce an exciting new addition to Gray Academy of Jewish Education this winter, one that will bring tremendous benefits to students and the entire community. With the generous support of donors, we have recently unveiled a brand-new outdoor ice-skating rink.

By BERNIE BELLAN
For the first time ever, B’nai Brith Camp on Town Island in Lake of the Woods will be under the direction of a husband and wife team: Jacob Brodovsky and Lexie Yurman. The decision announcing their hiring was made in the fall. As of January 1st, Jacob and Lexie succeeded Jerrod Henoch, who was executive director for two years following the retirement of Brenda Tessler-Donen. (Unfortunately, this past summer, as was the case with sleepover camps everywhere, there was no camp.)

On Feb. 16 the Shaarey Zedek will be offering a Zoom session featuring former Winnipegger Beatty Cohan, a renowned sex therapist, teaching how to "Never Make a Mistake in Love Again!"

On Feb. 21, former Winnipegger Sandy Shefrin Rabin will be holding a Zoom launch of her book, "Prairie Sonata". Read more to find out about both Zoom sessions.