Local News
Former Melfort Torah scroll donated to Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada
By MYRON LOVE As a result of the closure of the South Shore Jewish Community Congregaton in Montreal in December 2021, an historic Torah scroll which used to grace the ark of the former Beth Israel Synagogue in Melfort, in northeastern Saskatchewan, has been returned to Western Canada.
On Tuesday, June 25, about 60 former residents and descendants of the Melfort and District Jewish community gathered at the Berney Theatre to celebrate the donation of the Torah scroll to the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.
At its peak in the 1950s and early1960s, the Melfort and District Jewish community numbered 40 to 50 Jewish families. The Jewish Heritage Centre’s new Torah scroll possibly arrived in Melfort by way of the Jewish farm colony in nearby Edenbridge (which was founded in 1906), where some of the Melfort Jewish families came from.
The gifted Torah was one of three that were at Melfort’s Beth Israel Synagogue, which was opened in 1952. After the shul closed in 1986, Melfort Jewish community member Anita Levitt Lefevre looked after the Torah scrolls until they could be placed in new homes. One was placed in a shul in Richmond, B.C. in 1986 and a second made its way to a synagogue in England. The third scroll – which was the one donated to the JHCWC had been given to the Montreal South Shore Congregation.
It was in the early 1990s, according to a story by Janice Arnold in the Canadian Jewish News on December 23, 2021 – reporting on the closing of the South Shore Jewish Community Congregation in the Montreal suburb of the same name – that the late Walter Lee, the founder of the South Shore community, drove to Saskatoon to pick up the third Melfort Torah to bring back to his new congregation.
David Vickar, who organized the two-day celebration of – and served as emcee for – the presentation of the Torah to the JHC noted that it was he who first learned about the location of the Torah through the article in the Canadian Jewish News in the course of researching Vickar family history for the family reunion in Melfort and Edenbridge last summer.
“Our Torah scroll was mentioned in the second last paragraph in the article,” noted the Edmonton-based radiologist. “I took the initiative of travelling to Montreal and arranging for the Torah scroll to be returned to Winnipeg.”
As reported by the Shaarey Zedek’s Cantor Leslie Emery –who is also a Torah reader – the Torah scroll was most likely written in the late 18th century somewhere in central Europe – either in southern Germany, Austria or what is now the Czech Republic.
“I have had a chance to look at this scroll,” she said. “Rabbi (Yossi) Benarroch (the Adas Yeshurun Herzlia’s spiritual leader) and two sofers (scribes) were shown images of it. The scribes considered the layout and style of script to determine the location in which the scroll was written. The date was determined by the faded Hebrew dedication written on the disc of the scroll, which included a date.”
She pointed out that this Torah scroll is different from modern Torah scrolls in that it pre-dates the more modern Vavei Ha’amudim style characterized by the letter “Vav”at the beginning of most columns. She noted some other differences as well.
“There are very few Torah scrolls like this in North America or the world,” she said. “So much of our heritage was lost in the Holocaust.”
David Vickar noted that the JHCWC was the appropriate place for the venerable Torah scroll as the organization was formed in 1998 as an amalgamation of the pre-existing Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada, the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre and the Marion and Ed Vickar Jewish Museum of Western Canada.
The presentation was made by Marion and Ed’s children, Elaine Sharfe of Saskatoon and Dr. Garry Vickar from St. Louis.
In addition to Leslie Emery, there were presentations by JHC President Harlan Abells and Stan Carbone, director of Programs and Exhibits. Carbone spoke of the strong relationship between the JHCWC and the Vickar family historically and praised their generosity.
There were also comments from the Honourable Jacques Saada via zoom from Montreal. Saada, a former Liberal member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister in the Paul Martin Government, had been the president of the South Shore Congregation since 2013.
While the Torah scroll can no longer be used in synagogue services due to imperfections that have developed over the decades, Leslie Emery observed that it can still be used for study.
The Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada is the repository of our community’s history in Winnipeg and Western Canada. Its archives contain over 70,000 photos, more than 4000 artifacts and 1,300-plus recordings and oral histories in its archives. Its mission is to document, preserve and share information on the culture and historical formation of Jewish communities in Western Canada and also serve as an advocate for anti-racism and education on the Holocaust and Antisemitism.
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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.”
Local News
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.”
