Local News
After a three-year delay Winnipeg Jewish Theatre will finally present the premiere of “Narrow Bridge” by local playwright Daniel Thau-Eleff
By MARTIN ZEILIG Daniel Thau-Eleff was looking forward to seeing his play about a transgender person, “Narrow Bridge, “ on stage back in March 2020.
“But we were interrupted by the pandemic,” the Winnipeg-based playwright, performer, director, and artistic producer of Moving Target Theatre, said during a Zoom conversation with this reporter on January 26.
Ben Baader, an associate professor of history at the University of Manitoba, and the inspiration for his play, was interviewed along with Thau-Eleff.
Narrow Bridge will now premiere March 11 – 19, 2023 (with a preview on March 9) at the Berney Theatre in the Asper Campus.
Thau-Eleff and Dr. Baader will also discuss the play and its history on Sunday, March 12 at Limmud 2023—Winnipeg’s annual Jewish cultural festival at the Asper Jewish Community Centre — in a joint presentation called “TRANSGENDER AND ORTHODOX: TWO FRIENDS, A JOURNEY, AND A PLAY.”
“The play is a moving and engaging story told with heart and humour,” notes the publicity material.
“The main character, Sholem, transitions genders while discovering Orthodox Judaism. Walking the tightrope of family dynamics, history, activism and Talmud study, Sholem wonders if, as Rebbe Nachman said, “‘All the world is a very narrow bridge.’”
Featuring Elio Zarrillo, Alissa Watson, and Rhea Akler in their WJT premieres, along with long-time WJT favourite Harry Nelken, the play will be directed by “Drag Heals” creator Tracey Erin Smith.
Thau-Eleff’s plays are “personal-political,” meaning they explore an issue “usually related to human rights or social justice, through individual characters’ struggles,” mixing documentary and autobiographical elements into fiction, he says.
“My good friend, Ben, was the inspiration and has been on the journey with me the whole time,” he adds.
“This is the first interview we’re doing right now (about “Narrow Bridge”). Ben is both transgender and practices Orthodox Judaism. He wasn’t Orthodox when we first became friends. I’ve been lucky to be part of this journey.”
Thau-Eleff noted that the idea for Narrow Bridge began some 10 years ago after Baader returned from a national retreat in the U.S. hosted by Eshel.
“Eshel’s mission is to create a future for Orthodox lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and their families,” says its website.
“Through its innovative and culturally sensitive programming, Eshel supports LGBTQ Jews, opening hearts, minds and doors in traditional Jewish communities. Eshel envisions a world where Orthodox LGBTQ individuals can live out their lives in the Orthodox communities of their choice.”
Thau-Eleff noted that he met with Baader a short time after the Eshel retreat.
“We were talking about this apparent impossibility that so many people, whom Ben had just met, are living a transgender life within the Orthodox tradition, where there’s a barrier down the middle of the synagogue separating men and women,” he said.
“So, it seems impossible and yet people find a way to make it work. I was really fascinated by that contradiction.”
“Then, I was visiting another city and sitting in a coffee shop with an artistic director, whom I barely knew. We were getting to know each other. At the end of the conversation, he said, ‘Well, I’m interested in your play about transgender Orthodox Jews.”’
Thau-Eleff replied to his interlocutor that it wasn’t a play, just a story.
“Then, I returned to Winnipeg and I told that story to Ben and he said, ‘I would help you write that play’,” the playwright said.
“And, we started talking. I interviewed other trans Jewish and non-Jewish people. I read a few books on the subject and started writing. In 2018, we did a reading of the first draft of the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s “So New Festival.” That was great.
“But, a lot of the writing took place between 2018 and the present. Now, we’re back into things.”
Baader reflected that he came back from the Eshel retreat empowered by the “amazing and beautiful community; and how people, who are deeply committed to two different truths, are insisting on living their lives even though they are often shunned by their communities.
“It’s a space of tremendous beauty and courage,” he said.
“At the time being trans was much more scandalous than it is today. It’s less provocative today than it was ten years ago.”
Thau-Eleff added that at Limmud he’ll be talking about the process he uses when writing a play.
“When I launch a writing project, it’s always an opportunity to learn,” he emphasized.
“In this case, I got to learn from Ben’s and others’ experiences, and to explore my own experiences with gender and Judaism.”
Local News
Fringe Festival star Melanie Gall to appear at Gwen Secter Centre July 16
By BERNIE BELLAN A veteran performer at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Melanie Gall, will be making a special guest appearance at the Gwen Secter Centre on Thursday, July 16.
Melanie will be the featured speaker (and entertainer) for the Remis Speakers’ Series that day. The Remis Speakers’ Series is held every Thursday starting at noon and ending at 1:30. This year’s series began May 7 and will continue through the end of October. This year it has been attracting increasingly large audiences – ranging from 40-60 people, as it offers attendees the opportunity to enjoy a delicious – and kosher lunch, while listening to a very diverse variety of speakers – all the way from Gail Asper talking about returning the Ten Commandments to Assiniboine Park to Rabbi Matthew Leibl performing Christmas songs that were written by Jewish songwriters. At the same time it provides those attending a chance to make new acquaintances – or perhaps bump into old friends they haven’t seen in a long time.
Melanie Gall’s own story is sure to be riveting. I’ve written about Melanie in the past, but the past two summers had been especially nerve wracking for Melanie, as she was subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse over her support for the State of Israel.
You can read my story about what Melanie went through during the Winnipeg Fringe Festival – both in 2024 and again last year, at Melanie Gall subjected to antisemitic abuse.
Melanie, who will be entering her 13th year of performing at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, will be peforming in only one show this year – a departure from her past practice of performing in multiple shows (as many as three different shows) during the Fringe Festival.
Elsewhere on this website we’ll be offering a preview of Melanie’s show (which is called “The Ballad of Isobel Gunn” and which is based on an incredible, but true story), along with previews of several other shows.
In the meantime, if you’re not already a member of the Remis Speakers’ Series group, but would ike to attend this coming Thursday, simply email us at jewishp@mymts.net and we’ll reserve a spot for you. The cost for the lunch is only $20.
The Gwen Secter Centre is located at 1588 Main Street (corner of Smithfield). There is parking available on a lot behind the centre or on the street.
Local News
Folk Festival Report
(Posted July 10) During this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival we’re going to be running an ongoing blog report – with photos and blurbs from the festival, sent to us by our Folk Fest correspondent Heather Silbert.
Here’s Heather’s first entry (sent Friday at 3:33 pm): “It’s a hot hot day at the 51st Winnipeg Folk Festival! Lots of people; lots of good vibes; and an abundance of awesome music!!”
“We just moved to spruce hollow. Nice and shady. listening to Jacob Brodovsky.”
4:21 pm: “Jacob just announced that he lost his job and received a lot of vitriol from the Jewish Community because he’s a Jewish person who believes that Palestinian and Jewish lives are intertwined, and he is against genocide. He is very deeply feeling, and expresses all these big feelings through his songs. I want to give him a hug, but it’s so hot outside!”
5:33 pm: The inscription in the plaque below begins with some lines from a Bruce Cockburn song called “Joy Will Find a Way (A Song About Dying)”: and continues with: “Memory Lane honours those who are no longer with us but whose presence lives on in the music, memories and moments we share here…”
7:06 pm “Gorgeous hand made polymer clay jewelry! Amanda Greisman makes gorgeous pieces that can be worn across many occasions! And she’s so so nice!” (See her booth called “Blue Sky Jewelry.”)
(Posted July 11, 4:20 pm) “Would you drive your bike to BHP for FF in this weather? I would drive here, but not sure if I’d have enough steam to bike home!”
“There’s aren’t any flower/leaf art installations this year(that I’ve found!) but loving the fairy village!!”
“It’s another sweltering day. Bright blue sky and a light Breeze. Cat Clyde is rocking it out at Bur Oakbank!! Loving it!!”
8:04 pm: “Snacktime! Excellent energy, good time! We’re sitting 2 tarp rows in front of the frog to the left of the Canadian flag. (Total FF directions! LOL!)”
Local News
New GrowWinnipeg “Grow Together” highlights diverse origins of our growing Jewish community
By MYRON LOVE On Monday, June 11, about 120 younger Jewish Winnipeggers from diverse backgrounds came together at the Asper Campus for an evening of food and music, games and prizes and, most important, the opportunity to socialize with their peers from a growing community that reflects the long term success of our community’s 26-year-old GrowWinnipeg initiative.
“We are gathered here to celebrate your and your parents’ decisions to come to Winnipeg, build families and raise families here,” noted Dalia Szpiro, GrowWinnipeg’s director, in addressing the young adults in attendance.
To summarize, the GrowWinnipeg Initiative arose when our past community’s leadership recognized that our Jewish population was an aging and shrinking community with aging infrastructure.
The first stage was the planning and construction of the Asper Campus, which brought our major institutions and organizations under one roof in an attractive new building.
The next challenge was to attract more people to our community. GrowWinnipeg was created to take on the challenge. The initiative, which was officially launched in 2000, is unique in its efforts to reach out to young Jewish families throughout the Western world.
The first outreach efforts were directed at Argentina’s sizeable Jewish community at a time when the South American country’s economy was going through a very difficult period. Several of our community leaders visited the Jewish community in Buenos Aires and a website was established. Arrangements were made for local families to host Jewish Argentinians here on exploratory visits and the community helped the prospective immigrants navigate the then new Provincial Nominee Program, find jobs and establish themselves here.
Since then, many young families – from Argentina, as well as a great number of other countries – have chosen to make Winnipeg their new home. The young people at the recent GrowWinnipeg evening were reflective of the diversity of our growing community. During the course of the evening, I had the opportunity to speak with not only Israeli-born participants, also young people from Russia and Ukraine, Turkey and Uruguay – and a young lady who grew up in Ottawa.
Naomi Kirshenblatt Palansky originally came here from Ottawa to go to university. She met and married local entrepreneur Noah Palansky in 2023. (We wrote about Noah in the December 19, 2025 issue). That same year, the former competitive swimmer who competed in the Maccabiah Games in 2009 and 2013 served as manager of the Canadian Junior swimming team participating in the games. She is currently the director of operations and strategy for a company called CoinFlip.
Although born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Yael Borovich grew up in Winnipeg. She is the daughter of Dalia Szpiro and Eduardo Borovich (and younger sister of Vanessa) all of whom moved here in 2002. She is a graduate of the Asper School of Business and works as a senior client relationship manager for Scotia Bank’s commercial branch.
Siblings Igal and Edem Avimelek arrived here from Turkey six years ago with their parents, Etel and Moris. Edem is in her second year at the University of Manitoba while Igal is studying engineering at UBC.
They report that their father, Moris, has established the Upperwear Textile Agency – marketing textile products online – while their mother Etel, is senior IT Director, software development and data analytics and enterprise architecture at Standard Aero.
“Our parents were looking to move to a new country and came across the GrowWinnipeg webpage,” Edem says. “GrowWinnipeg has been really supportive of us in helping us move here and become established.”
More recent arrivals Alex Tsmokaliuk and Jane Hin are from Ukraine and Russia respectively and have been together since 2022. “We were looking for a peaceful place to start a family,”: Alex says. “We heard about GrowWinnpeg and here we are.”
Alex is a fitness trainer while Jane is working for WRE Development as a property manager.
Dora Bronstein, who is originally from Beersheva, is also a recent arrival to our community. “I came to Winnipeg because I wanted to get away from war – and I heard about GrowWinnipeg,” she says.
She is currently working for L.C. Taylor Licensed Insolvency Trustee as an estate manager.
Erele Tzidon and Daniel Mejnov
Last October, GrowWinnipeg introduced its new Youth Ambassadors program.
“Since October, we have been working to create an organized system and opportunities to help young newcomers find their people within our community,” wrote Youth Ambassador Erele Tzidon on Facebook.
“Our mission is to help young immigrants find a sense of home in Winnipeg and support a smooth and welcoming transition.
We are excited to help bring our young Jewish community together.
As reported in the Jewish Post about 18 months ago, Tzidon is originally from Moshav Ginaton in central Israel. She came to Winnipeg in 2018 with her parents Ofer – formerly regional manager for a car rental agency in Israel and now an RBC branch manager – and Sharon – an emotional therapist in Israel who is currently working as an educational assistant at Gray Academy – and three younger brothers.
The 20-year Gray Academy graduate has recently completed her third year in Science at the University of Manitoba. For the past three years, she has also been a member of Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin’s research team at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICS), researching the link between pregnancy complications and the risk for heart disease.
In November, 2024, Tzidon was presented with the Dr. James S. McGoey Student Award – based on the quality of her cardiovascular research at the ICS, which operates out of the St. Boniface Hospital campus’s Albrechchtsen Research Centre.
Tzidon’s fellow Youth Ambassador is Daniel Mejnov. He was born in Beersheva but moved to Winnipeg with his parents, Dennis and Victoria (and younger brother Alon) 14 years ago. He is currently enrolled in an IT program at the University of Winnipeg.
Mejnov welcomed all those in attendance at the celebration and thanked the volunteers who helped him and Tzidon organize the event.
“It has been great being able to bring so many people together,” he said. “This is a good way to unite our community.
Two other individuals of particular note that I spoke with at the event were Orit Agabayev and Alina Plis, partners in three year old A and O Event Décor, who provided the balloon arches and walls, table settings and centre pieces for the evening.
Agabayev is originally from Netanya and Plis is from Yeruham (in southern Israel). The latter has been here for 18 years and operates a daycare. The former came 16 years. Her principal career is working in the field of animal nutrition.
In an Instagram PosI from four years ago, Plis noted that “I have always been passionate about planning parties and events. I started out with planning big surprise birthday parties for my kids. Eventually I began planning and decorating events for family and friends. Now I am taking the next step with my friend, Orit, who shares the same level enthusiasm as me. What drives me to go above and beyond is simply the excitement my creations bring to those who see my work.
On Facebook, Agabayev added that “Alina and I are so excited to start A&O event decor. We both love decorating and planning different events. We hope that you can put your trust in us to create or decorate an event for you. We do Birthday parties, anniversaries, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proposals, weddings and more..
“Message us with your ideas to get a free quote and you’re one step closer to having an unforgettable event.”
