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Conservative, Reform synagogues see continued expansion in number of online Yom Tov viewers
By MYRON LOVE In a full page ad on the back page of the August 4 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Shaarey Zedek Congregation let it be known that there would not be any in-person high holyday services come September, but all members of the community would be welcome to participate online.
The ad also said there would not be any charge to join online and that no tickets or passwords would be needed. In addition, the machzorim were to be digital, the aliyot virtual, and viewers would be able to chat online with other viewers.
The result, Ran Ukashi, the congregation’s executive director reports, is that over 16,000 viewers – from around the world – tuned into services at one point or another – a number that is about ten times the number of people who normally attended in person in pre-covid days.
“While the province did loosen restrictions, we felt it better – with conditions constantly subject to change – to take a safe rather than sorry approach,” Ran observes. “Our membership was really understanding.”
The Shaarey Zedek has been a leader among our community’s synagogues in livestreaming services, a technology that has been in use at the synagogue for several years.
“Everything went very well,” he adds. “It was nice to see our viewership continuing to grow.
”Maybe next year, we will be able to return to in-person services for the Holidays.”
While Congregation Etz Chayim opted to return this year to limited in-person attendance – in contrast to last year’s almost entirely virtual service(with the exception of ten people to form an in-person minyan ) – our community’s second largest congregation also increased its online presence.
“We were very pleased with how High Holy Days went this year – given the circumstances and the amount of uncertainty leading up to it,” says Jonathan Buchwald, Congregation Etz Chayim’s executive director. “We offered on-line services for the second year in a row but also included limited in-person attendance. Congregants could choose to attend either for Rosh Hashanah or for Yom Kippur in order to maximize attendance. For the first two days of Rosh Hashanah we had 50 people attend and for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur we had 100 people attend. We were able to follow all of the safety protocols and everyone was extremely cooperative. It was so nice to have our congregants back in the building for the first time in a very long time. It was actually quite emotional for many of them and they were so grateful that they could attend.”
In terms of the on-line audience, Buchwald estimates that close to 200 screens were watching services daily, including many from out of town. “This would translate into about 500-600 people watching our services at any given time,” he notes. “Congregants were also able to offer special readings live via Zoom.
“Rabbi Kliel, Cantor Tracy and the entire Etz Chayim team deserve a huge Yasher Koach for delivering such uplifting and inspiring services during these most extraordinary times.”
As with Etz Chayim, Temple Shalom, our community’s only Reform Congregation, combined limited in-person services and livestreaming.
“A lot of people still feel uneasy,” observed Rabbi Allan Finkel in an earlier interview. “We are working to make sure that everyone will feel incredibly safe here.”
That included pre-registration – with members being priorized, limited seating, vaccinations and masks, and a shortened service.
Finkel reports that in-person services were limited to 100 congregants -in addition to clergy and technical staff. “We were close to capacity for Rosh Hashonah morning and Yom Kippur,” he says. “We estimate that we had between 400 and 600 people viewing us online. We had a lot of positive comments about our service both from people who attended in-person and those who watched online.”
For our community’s other shuls, livestreaming of Yom Tov services is not an option. While for Orthodox shuls, it goes against Halachah, the Chevra Mishnayes, a Conservative congregation in Garden City, doesn’t have the technology in place.
In a pre-High Holiday interview, Murray Greenfield, a member of the congregation’s executive, reported that “we are going beyond the government Covid guidelines. We are asking people to register ahead of time and we will be assigning seating.”
Social distancing was enforced – although family members could sit together.
As with last year the Adas-Yeshurun Herzlia, our community’s largest Orthodox congregation, limited in-person attendance to a maximum of 50 – but with two services a day for Rosh Hashonah. Congregation members hoping to attend had to register in advance and be able to show their vaccination cards (a scan or photocopy sufficed).
Congregation President Jack Craven reports that everything went well.
The Orthodox House of Ashkenazi in the North End and the Lubavitch Centre in south Winnipeg were the only shuls open to non-members for the High Holidays. The Lubavitch Centre does not actually have a “membership” category.
“While we had to limit our numbers, we had a nice group in attendance,” notes Rabbi Avrohom Altein, our community’s Lubavitch Rabbi for the past 50 years. “For Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur, all of our tables were full.”
Only family members were allowed to share a table, he adds.
And Gary Minuk, the president of the House of Ashkenazi, reports that there were about 30 men and a few women in attendance for Yom Tov services – around the same number as last year.
“We had a nice service,” he says.
The Ashkenazi, he adds, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The synagogue is the last of the old time shuls in the old North End – with a women’s section upstairs. Until Covid restrictions, the Ashkenazi was still offering daily morning minyans. Currently, the congregation is trying to have minyans Thursday mornings.
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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.”
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Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
