Local News
Construction of new home of Chesed Shel Emes complete – on time and on budget!
By BERNIE BELLAN It was just over a little over two years ago that the Chesed Shel Emes (the Winnipeg Jewish community’s burial society) launched a capital campaign, with the intent to build “a new facility to meet the needs of the Jewish community for many years to come,” an announcement in the May 10, 2019 issue of this paper said.
That announcement went on to say that the “Chesed Shel Emes’s south building is 114-years-old. It was built in 1905 as a private residence, and was purchased by the newly established Chesed Shel Emes in 1930. The building has met the needs of thousands of families over the years, and is showing its age. The attached chapel, built in 1947, is in good repair and will be a beautiful complement to the new building.
“The new building will provide a better and more comfortable experience for mourners and other visitors,” said Rena Boroditsky, Executive Director of the Chesed Shel Emes. “And for our volunteers, we are designing this new space with safety top of mind.”
“Having an effective and dignified infrastructure to prepare the deceased for burial and to support mourners is something a strong community does for itself.
“The funds raised will be used to: demolish the existing south building; build the new structure; protect the north building during demolition and construction; and furnish the new building with new equipment. The vision is of a building that is handsome, durable, and comforting and that includes state-of-the-art equipment for the care of the deceased. “The new 4,000-square-foot building will include the following features:
“A new, larger tahara room with stainless steel counters and more room for volunteers to perform their work safely (“tahara” is the ritual washing and dressing of a Jewish person in preparation for burial);
“new, state-of-the-art refrigeration units;
“new mechanical lifts for transferring bodies more safely;
“enhanced safety features to improve the experience of volunteers and ensure the dignity of the deceased;
“expanded storage space for caskets, shrouds, and supplies;
“an elevator for guests and volunteers with mobility issues;
“wheelchair access to the building;
“private meeting spaces for mourners, extended family, and friends to gather (currently, mourners use the boardroom);
“more comfortable accommodations for shomrim (“shomrim” are guards who watch over the deceased, so that they are never alone); (When I met with Rena on April 8 this year she added that now that there is quite a comfortable room for “shomrim” to guard over the deceased, she is hoping that family members themselves will partake of the mitzvah of serving as “shomrimr” for the deceased.)
“a safer, more accessible back staircase and entrance way;
“enhanced washroom facilities;
“refurbished office space;
“refurbished basement crawl space for additional storage (the current basement is undeveloped);
“state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems; and other features to create better conditions for mourners, staff, and volunteers, and to ensure the dignity of the deceased.”
Now, in less than one year, the new building is finished – on time and on budget.
According to Rena Boroditsky, the capital campaign, which was under the direction of the Jewish Federation’s former CEO, Bob Freedman, ended up raising $3.25 million.
In our May 13, 2020 issue we noted that, as of that date, there had been 400 individual donors who had contributed a total of $2.8 million. Bob Freedman said at the time: “The capital campaign has raised $2.8 million – that’s pretty darn good. Remember, in a capital campaign we give donors several years to pay off their pledges. In some cases we give three-five years – if it’s a larger pledge. Cash wise we’re doing pretty well. One of the reasons we’re starting (work on the demolition of the old house and eventually construction) is we have money to pay the contractor going forward – so it’s not just pledges. Close to half the pledges have already been redeemed.”
Fast forward to April 8, 2021 and, in a conversation with Rena Boroditsky, she told me that in the end there were 800 donors to the capital campaign. As well, the City of Winnipeg contributed $25,000 toward the construction of an elevator in the new building.
As Rena said, “For us to make a plan, raise the money and build it on time is quite an accomplishment.” (What is even more remarkable is that the City of Winnipeg has actually already given the Chesed an occupancy permit! For anyone who has dealt with the city on occupancy permits, that in itself is a minor miracle!)
Rena paid special tribute to Akman Construction for the speed and efficiency with which both the demolition of the old house that had served as the prior home of the Chesed was demolished and the construction of the new building was accomplished.
“We still have to buy some furniture,“ Rena noted, but the move back into the new home of the Chesed from what had been a temporary relocation to Chapel Lawn Funeral Home is proceeding rapidly. (Rena showed me her desk, which is situated for the time being in the middle of the floor in the Chesed chape, saying that she can hardly wait to move into her new office.)
As I toured the new building with Rena, she proudly showed me all the enhancements that will make the new Chesed something about which the entire community can be proud. Most notable perhaps is the additions of three – count ‘em, three washrooms! (No more waiting around to use a washroom before driving out to one of the cemeteries.)
Then, in one room that we entered, Rena said: “Here’s a surprise” – and she opened a special compartment housing the old safe that is a relic going back almost 100 years.
When I spoke with Bob Freedman last May, he explained what the safe is all about:
Bob: “Bernie, have you seen the safe? It must weigh 500 pounds.”
“So, what’s in the safe?” I asked.
“Not cash, unfortunately. When I first opened the doors, I opened a bunch of little books. People who passed away were recorded – by pencil or pen, by name – their Hebrew name, the date they died. So I looked up my mum, I looked up my dad. It’s really a history of the Jewish community. There was a big picture of the machers from the 1930s – all men, of course. There was a big picture of the ladies’ auxiliary – all looking very stern.
Bob added this observation: “By the way, if those men knew that the place was being run by a woman, they’d all be spinning in their graves.
“When you ask someone how do you define a Jewish community, as opposed to a community with Jews living in it, there are three things: A shul, a school, and a chevra kadisha – a burial society.
“Burial is one of the first things people thought about when they came from the old country. They looked for a place to bury people.”
Once the Chesed is fully functioning, Rena told me on April 8, it can be expected to handle between 115-140 deceased in a year. Last year was an especially bad one for deaths in our community, with 140 deaths recorded to the end of November – which is the end of the Chesed’s fiscal year, Rena noted. December – February was an even more brutal period for the number of Jewish deaths, she observed, with 68 deaths in those three months alone. (That number seems to have finally tapered off, thank God.)
And, while the Chesed serves as the home for Winnipeg’s Jewish community’s burial society (except for Temple Shalom’s own “chevra kadisha”, known as “Mikdash Shalom”, which is located at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home), very few funeral services actually take place in the Chesed chapel itself.
“Typically, we’ve only had about 30 funeral services a year held in the chapel here,” Rena noted. “But now that we have the new building, with a handicap ramp for the first time and three washrooms, once pallbearers are allowed to come back and funerals can once again allow guests to attend, we expect that there will be more funerals held at the Chesed itself,” Rena said.
She added that, as more and more members of the community remain unaffiliated with a synagogue, Rena anticipates an even greater use of the Chesed Shel Emes.
Local News
Winnipegger featured in Apple commercial highlighting new adaptive technology
By MYRON LOVE The year just past has been a memorable one for Melissa Shapiro. In recent weeks she and her boyfriend moved into their new home in East Kildonan and – in September, the daughter of Cory and Goldelyn Shapiro – was one of the featured guests at Apple Headquarters in Las Vegas for the premiere of an advertisement – produced by the tech company – highlighting Apple’s newly developed adaptive technology.
“I was flown out to California by Apple’s PR team,” recalls the 26-year-old policy analyst with the Education and Early Childhood Learning Department. “The event was held at Apple Park. It was really exciting seeing all the newest products and features.”
Shapiro, who was born missing her left arm, came to the attention of Apple as a result of Instagram videos she made demonstrating her ability to work out as an adaptive athlete. Last May, Shapiro reviewed the Apple watch’s accessibility features in a video, and it caught Apple’s attention.
“I was contacted by a casting agency in July,” she reports. “Next thing I know, we are filming in Toronto in August. I was the only Canadian involved in filming the commercial.”
Shapiro has never let her disability define her life- thanks in part both to her parents and the War Amps of Canada Child Amputee program, which reached out to her family three weeks after she was born.
“We received a lot of support – financial, recreational and emotional – from the War Amps,” she says. “Through the program, my family was able to connect with other families with similar challenges.
As well, the War Amps helped me to integrate in school and participate in sports while I was growing up by providing me with different prosthetics paid for by donations to the program.
Over the years, Shapiro ha been able to give back to the non-profit organization by appearing in War Amps public service spots highlighting such tips as playing safe in order to avoid accidents that could result in amputations. She has also been featured n War Amps-organized seminars and media appearances promoting the work of the War Amps in helping to improve the quality of life for children like Shapiro who were born missing a limb or those who lost limbs due to an accident.
“I still enjoy doing ‘playsafe’ presentations and public events for the war Amps,” she says.
Readers who may be interested in supporting this worthwhile program can donate by phone (1800 250-3030) or go online (waramps.ca).
Local News
Jewish community members among King Charles III Coronation Medal Recipients
By MYRON LOVE In stating that she was “honoured by the recognition, beyond grateful and truly humbled to receive the King Charles III coronation medal,” Carrie Shenkarow is no doubt sharing the sentiments felt by her fellow honourees. The next president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg – her term begins next year – was one of 55 recipients of the award – including several members of our Jewish community – who were presented with the medallions by Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville on October 24 at the Legislature .
“It was an honour to be in the room with so many remarkable Manitobans,” notes Shenkarow.
She reports that, after the photo was taken, the honourees were invited back to Government House for a reception. “The Lieutenant-Governor spoke and we were encouraged to mingle with other recipients,” she recalls. “It was an incredible evening that I will never forget.”
The medal – which commemorates Charles III’s coronation on May 6, 2023, is described on the website as “a way to recognize outstanding individuals from all ages and from all walks of life who have made a difference in our community.”
The award recognizes those “who have made a significant contribution to Canada, a province, territory, region, or community in Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada”.
The other six members of our Jewish community who among the medal recipients include several individuals some who have made outsized contributions to society overall. Included among the medal recipients were Larry Vickar and Gail Asper, whose contributions both to our Jewish community and the overall community are well known.
Other recipients of the KIng Charles medal also have established records of service to the community: Harvey Secter has an impressive history of community leadership. The former businessman who – in his 40s – turned to a career in law, has served as both Dean of Law and then Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. His resumé further includes leadership roles with such diverse institutions as the United Way, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, the Law Society and Manitoba Law Foundation, several hospital boards, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba.
In the blurb accompanying the King Charle III medal presentation, it was noted that Harvey Secter “has been recognized for a decades long commitment to organizations dedicated to increasing access to quality services in education, health care, social services, and recreational facilities while motivating others to engage in building an inclusive and welcoming society.”
The other three Jewish medal recipients’ contributions to society have been more narrowly focused. Michel Aziza has been most closely associated with Operation Ezra, a successful effort led by several members of our Jewish community some years back to bring members fo the persecuted Iraqi minority Yazidi community to Winnipeg and help them settle here in the aftermath of the attempted genocide of the community at the hands of the murderous ISIS terrorists in 2014.
Over the past year, Aziza and his wife, Danita, along with Einat Paz, have been organizing weekly rallies on Kenaston and Grant (by the Superstore) aimed at keeping alive the awareness of the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza.
Medal recipient Louis Trepel has focused much of his philanthropic work on the Manitoba chapter of Variety, The Children’s Charity – of which he was one of the founding members while still in his teens. Over the years, Trepel, whose family owned Ben Moss Jewellers ((Lewis’s grandfather), has – in addition to Variety – contributed to numerous other nonprofit boards and committees. Among the highlights of his philanthropic career have been co-creating the first Empty Bowls Gala for Manitoba Harvest, pioneering the first COVID-era virtual gala in Manitoba for St. Boniface Hospital Foundation, and co-chairing the 50th Anniversary Gala for Manitoba’s Rainbow Resource Centre, which garnered national attention.
According to the write-up accompanying the medal presentation, Louis Trepel’s “lasting legacy is his ongoing mentorship and inspiration of the next generation of philanthropists.”
Noam Gonick was recognized for his work as an artist and filmmaker. He has premiered and won awards at the Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Hot Docs film festivals. His features, which explore rave culture and Indigenous youth, were released theatrically in Germany, France, the US and Canada, streamed worldwide and collected by the Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Canada. He has directed for MGM, CBC and APTN. At London’s Serpentine Gallery Gonick lectured on his artwork about the semaphore of prison architecture and Queer utopias. He is currently collaborating with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on “The Regulation of Desire” for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.
Circling back to Carrie Shenkarow, she notes that she became involved with the Jewish Federation over 20 years ago. In recent years, she has held several positions on various committees. In 2022, she chaired the CJA campaign. She currently chairs the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Public Affairs Task Force, established after October 7, 2023, to advocate for the community and collaborate with other local organizations.
“One of the things I’m most passionate about is March of the Living,” she says. “I have been chairing the committee since 2017. I chaperoned the program in 2018. I really enjoy giving back.”
The Lieutenant Governor was not the only official allowed to nominate deserving recipients for the King Charles Medal. Members of Parliament were also encouraged to put forth nominees. A further four member of our Jewish community were thus nominated by Marty Morantz, Conservative MP for Charleswood-St. James: Einat Paz, Jessica Cogan, and brothers Robert and Sandy Shindleman from Shindico.
The medal was presented to the two commercial real estate professionals in their office in December. “We were honoured to have received the medals,” says Robert, who reports that the brothers are major supporters of the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and Alzheimers research – a condition that afflicted their mother for many years.
Morantz presented King Charles III medals to Cogan and Paz in his office on November 14. “I am proud to present Einat Paz and Jessica Cogan with the King Charles III Coronation Medal today,” he wrote n his Facebook page. “Their dedication and contributions have truly enriched our community, and it’s a privilege to congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”
For Paz, it was her second major honour in two months. At our community’s annual Kavod evening – on September 26 – the Israeli-born social worker who is currently the Jewish Child and Family Service’s Manager of Volunteer Services became the inaugural recipient of the Federation’s new Magen David Award. She was recognized in particular for her leadership in helping – along with Michel and Danita Aziza – to organize and co-ordinate the weekly vigils – now in their 11th month – on Kenaston by the Superstore – in support of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. She has also been prominent in fostering ties between Israelis in Winnipeg and the local community.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the King Charles Medal for my community work advocating for the release of hostages and raising awareness that the rape of women is never resistance,” Paz said. “There is no justification.
“This recognition also highlights the vital importance of food security for the Jewish community, a cause close to my heart.
“I remain committed to these efforts, striving to bring justice, dignity, and support to those in need.”
Local News
Karina Gould – vying to be next leader of the Federal Liberals, has a Jewish father – and her parents met on a kibbutz!
By BERNIE BELLAN In January 2018 I conducted an interview with the late Jim Carr who, at the time, was Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. I asked Carr whether there were any other Jewish members of the Cabinet?
Carr said that Karina Gould, who was the Minister of Democratic Institutions in 2018, had a Jewish father. I didn’t know much about Gould back then, beyond recognizing her name, but the recent announcement that she has decided to enter the Liberal leadership race might be of particular interest to Jewish readers.
Gould has held a number of portfolios within the Trudeau government, most recently as House leader.
Now 35, while Gould’s entry into the Liberal leadership race would be considered something of a long shot, her relative youth – along with her experience (she has been a Member of Parliament since 2015), might make her a plausible alternative to the two more prominent candidates in the race: Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney.
With Gould’s decision to enter the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, I thought it might be interesting to explore her Jewish roots.
In a 2021 article on the CJN website, the following was written about Karina Gould:
Gould, the member for Burlington, was first elected in 2015. She has previously served as Minister of International Development and Minister of Democratic Institutions.
Jewish on her father’s side, Gould told The CJN in 2015 that while she’s not “an active practitioner of Judaism,” she maintains her heritage through celebrating Hanukkah, Purim, and Yom Kippur.
Her paternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia. Her grandfather was deported to Theresienstadt, then to Dachau and Auschwitz. Separated during the war, her paternal grandparents were reunited afterward.
Her father met her mother, who is from Germany, while both were in Israel volunteering on Kibbutz Naot, where the sandals are made.
Gould visited Israel on a Birthright trip and stayed longer for a personal visit. “Israel is a beautiful country,” she said. “It’s unique in the world. It has difficult challenges.”
She said she believes her family heritage plays a big role in shaping her political values.
“My family was accepted and welcomed into Canada after a difficult experience,” she said. “Canadian values of tolerance and diversity were not just important for my family, but for others. Canada provided the opportunity to grow and to thrive.”
Gould was front and centre during the 2019 visit to Canada of then Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
She noted to Rivlin that since the free trade agreement between Canada and Israel was signed in 1997, the value of two-way trade had tripled, to $1.9 billion.
And under the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation, the two countries have funded close to 60 projects over the last dozen years, she added.
Ties between Canada and Israel “are long, deep and mutually beneficial,” she said.
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