Local News
Congregation Etz Chayim transition south now well under way
By MYRON LOVE Congregation Etz Chayim’s relocation to south Winnipeg is moving along smoothly, according to the transition team’s co-chairs, Kim Hirt and Myron Schultz.
In an update emailed to synagogue members in mid-December, the pair reported on the activities of transition team members in charge of different aspects of the move to the new location at 1155 Wilkes, which has been the home of the Shriners’ Khartoum Temple.
Committee leaders include Denny and Mel Hornstein, who are in charge of honouring the past by developing ways to preserve the history of the three congregations – the former Rosh Pina, Bnay Abraham and Beth Israel synagogues – that joined together in 2002 to form Etz Chayim.
Sabrina Bokser’s committee is responsible for assessing the congregation’s functional space requirements, which will impact how the new Etz Chayim will be reconfigured for the immediate and long term future This group’s first job, noted Hirt and Schultz, “is to look at all the activities that have historically been held in the current building and the space required to accomplish these activities, as well as to consider functions and programs that we would like to host. In the end, there may be some activities that we will not be able to host when we move or will perhaps be achievable in a phased approach. These are matters to be assessed and will be determined with consultation with our membership”.
Gord Steindel and his team, they further point out, have begun the important job of inventorying Etz Chayim’s artifacts and objects to prepare for the first stage of a move.
And, as Etz Chayim is a holy space, the ritual team, led by Steven Hyman is working closely with the synagogue’s clergy, in regard to the religious requirements for the new space.
“We look forward to welcoming more congregation members who might want to volunteer to join our Transition Teams,” Hirt and Schultz wrote.
As reported earlier in The Jewish Post & News, the Etz Chayim board put out the “for sale” for the 70-year-old former Rosh Pina building on Matheson Avenue three months ago – after at least a decade of looking into a move south.
In that earlier interview, Etz Chayim president Avrom Charach noted that the great majority of the congregation now lives south and – more importantly – after 70 years, the current building needs a lot of work.
”We think it makes more sense to spend the money where most of our members are living instead of where we are now,” Charach observed.
The plan, he said, was to purchase and renovate an existing building – or rent temporarily if need be until a suitable building could be found.The goal was to find a location within a 10-minute drive of most of the shul members. That would be a location accessible to residents of River Heights, Tuxedo, Lindenwoods and Charleswood.
“We would like to be in our new home by next summer – in time for next Yom Tov.”
In a follow-up story in the Post, we reported that the congregation purchased the former Shriners headquarters on Wilkes Ave for a reported $4.75 million.
As the Shriners building is about the same size as the current synagogue’s sanctuary, Charach noted, the new synagogue will reflect the former Beth Israel building wherein the sanctuary doubled as the social hall.
In such a case, after services on Shabbat morning, the daveners would go out into the hall while the chairs inside the sanctuary would be rearranged around tables and food stations for the Kiddush.
(How the pews will be incorporated into the new building is to be determined.)
Charach also suggest that enlarging the space by pushing back the building’s western wall is under consideration.
In that earlier JP&N interview, Charach suggested that the sale of the current building might bring in $10 million. “We have had quite a bit of interest – but no solid offers yet,” he reports. “We are planning a capital campaign and are prepared to consider bridge financing if required.”
Whereas Charach noted earlier that the congregation is expecting to be in the new shul by yom tov, the ideal, he says, would be to be able to conduct services shortly after taking possession at the end of May.
Local News
Sid Green – famed labour lawyer, one of the first Jewish provincial cabinet ministers, and first director of BB Camp – passes at age 97
By BERNIE BELLAN Sid Green, whose name was well known in so many different circles in Manitoba, passed away on Sunday, June 7, at the age of 97.
Green was perhaps best known as one of three Jewish Members of the Legislature who were part of the first ever NDP government, which came to power in 1969 under the leadership of Saul Miller. (The other two Jewish members were the late Saul Cherniack and the late Saul Miller.
Green, who had first been elected as an MLA in 1962 representing the riding of Inkster, led a challenge to then-NDP leader Russ Paulley in 1968, which eventually led to Paulley resigning as leader. The subsequent leadership race saw Green, who was only 39 at the time, facing off against a 32-year-old Ed Schreyer.
Although Green and Schreyer were later to part ways over a number of issues – especially over the issue of aid to private schools, Green and Schreyer were actually good friends.
In fact, Ed Schreyer, who is now 90, spoke at Green’s funeral, which was held Tuesday, June 9, at the Chesed Shel Emes (with interment following at the Hebrew Sick Benefit Cemetery).
In his early years, Sid Green was a very active member of the YMHA on Albert Street, serving as president of the house council for several years. A fierce athlete, Green competed in basketball and volleyball at the Y. At the age 50 he took up ice hockey – and was known for his fierce competitiveness.
Green was also the quarterback for the University of Manitoba law school football team during the 1940s – and led them to two school championships. In a 2019 interview I conducted with Green about his early years at the YMHA, he noted that he was the only 5’6″ 150 pound quarterback in the inter-faculty league.
In 1952 Green became the first director of BB Camp, which had just moved to Town Island from Sandy Hook.
Also in 1952, Green graduated from the U of M law school, winning the gold medal in law that year.
He went on to become one of Manitoba’s most successful labour lawyers, subsequently pairing with another famed labour lawyer, Leon Mitchell,later to be joined by Sam Minuk (who was to become a provincial court judge) in what became the firm of Mitchell, Green, Minuk.
During his time as a labour lawyer, Green often represented employers – which might seem a little surprising for someone who went by the moniker “labour lawyer.” But Green was staunchly opposed to entrenching laws such as anti-scab legislation or secret ballot voting to unionize. He thought it important to represent any client, no matter how much he might have disagreed with that client’s position and because he was so skillful in arguing a case, he was much sought after by employers to represent them in labour disputes.
He was so respected as a lawyer, moreover, that he was often asked to represent other lawyers in cases before the courts.
Green was also a committed Zionist and extremely proud of his Jewish roots. Although not a religious man, during his many years at the Y – first on Albert Street, then later on Hargrave, Green was involved in developing many Jewish cultural programs.
In days to come we will have much more about the life of Sid Green. In the meantime, if you want to watch a video interview I did with Sid about his experiences at the Y on Albert Street, you can go to Sid Green reminisces.
Sid Green was predeceased by his wife Shleema in 2009 and is survived by his five children: Arthur, MIndy, Cathy, Sharon, and Marty, as well as 15 grandchildren.
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Local News
First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
