Local News
Gayle Charach one of featured local artists at upcoming JFest Winnipeg
By MYRON LOVE After a life journey of over 40 years – with stops in Israel, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Kitchener, Gayle Charach has finally found her artistic voice back in her hometown – a voice she is looking forward to sharing with the community as part of this year’s upcoming JFest Winnipeg (November 1-9).
Charach will be sharing the spotlight with three other local Jewish artists – Dimitri Melman, Dmitry Kirshner, and Ashley Segal – each with their own distinct approach to art. The exhibit – entitled “Structure and Imagination” – will kick off with an opening reception on Sunday, November 2, from 3:00-5:00 – in the Rady JCC Adult Lounge.
The daughter of Barney and the late Ruth Charach, Gayle aspired to pursue a career in the fine arts from an early age. Her parents, she recalls, were concerned about the precariousness of earning a living as an artist. In deference to them, following graduation from Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate, Charach enrolled in a program for Hebrew teachers at York University.
Her teaching career included a year teaching Hebrew in Saskatoon and several years teaching Hebrew in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. In between the two, she served throughout the 1980s as the old YMHA’s co-director of Youth Services. About 25 years ago, she changed careers and became a sales trainer aimed at enabling technology sales reps to improve their results.
The latter career, it turned out, was quite volatile in terms of longevity. After four times becoming a casualty of mass layoffs, Charach fell victim to serious burnout.
“I came back in 2020 during the pandemic to look after my aged parents,” she recalls. “Between the move and the layoffs, I also needed to heal and figure out what I wanted to do with my life.”
Charach took an online course in 2023 which encouraged her to return to her original passion – art.
“Art became my medicine,” she notes. “I found my joy again.”
She took a course in making collages. “I am a tactile learner,” she observes. “Producing collages helped me wrap my head around important artistic concepts. I know that if you do something over and over again, you keep getting better at it. I committed to creating 100 collages in 100 days on Instagram (@gfc.art).”
But Charach found that that wasn’t enough. So she began adding written components to her art – which she then curated to music.
“When I found my joy, I rediscovered my artist’s voice,” she concluded.
Last July, Charach recalls, she was contacted by Amy Karlinsky, the Rady JCC’s volunteer art adviser, who invited her to participate in something called “Structure and Imagination”.
“Amy had seen some of my stuff and was particularly interested in how I was using art as a vehicle for story-telling,” Charach says.
Karlinsky is a long time art educator as well as a consultant. “I am passionate about the visual arts,” she says, noting that she has previously organized several “ART at the ZEDEK” exhibits highlighting the works of local Jewish artists at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue..
Of the other artists participating in “Structure and Imagination”, Karlinsky points out that each has their own distinct medium. Dimitry Melman (of whom I have written about in the Post in the past) creates beautiful mosaics that, in the words of “Structure and Imagination” curator Hanna Ferris, “turn pure form into dynamic visual poetry”.
Dmitry Kirshner is a talented photographer who captures landscapes and fine art who, Ferris observes, “excels in transforming the familiar into the abstract”.
Ashley Segal is a modern abstract artist whose works, Ferris says, “radiate playful energy and intuitive linework”. Her custom work can be found in the homes, offices, and galleries of Winnipeg and beyond.
“Together,” she adds, “the artists represent various points of connection between structure and imagination,” Ferris adds.
In addition to the four artists being exhibited, JFest invites readers to sign up for artist Ruth Livingston’s workshop, “Scribal Hebrew Blessings in Watercolour.” According to the JFest website, Livingston “will guide you step-by-step as you craft a personalized Hebrew house blessing framed by an abstract watercolour background either for your own home or a heartfelt gift for someone near and dear to you”.
The visual arts are not the only pleasures available for JFest attendees. The festival kicks off on Saturday, November 1, with an exclusive performance by Keren Peles, one of Israel’s most popular female performing artists and a multiple award winner. She will be on stage at the Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre in Garden City.
A second Israeli import will be Hadar Maoz, who brings 2,500 years of Jewish-Persian tradition to life with a modern twist. Hadar, who will be appearing at the Berney Theatre on Tuesday, November 4, according to the JFest website, “blends sacred drumming, chanting, and the ancient Tar instrument with blues, groove, and electronic beats for a performance that’s both spiritual and electrifying”.
Also on tap is a program called “The Jewish Soul of Rock and Roll” – on November 6th – also at the Berney Theatre – featuring Winnipeg’s own Flatland Famous Band performing the greatest hits of Jewish rock legends, from Geddy Lee to Bob Dylan.
The festival also includes two movies: “The Ring” – on November 3 – featuring Israeli comedian and actor Adir Miller in a moving, multi-generational story – based on his real-life experience involving a journey to Hungary to find a mysterious ring that saved his Holocaust-survivor mother’s life; and “Bad Shabbos” – on Saturday, November 7 – a comedy involving a Shabbat dinner, family introductions and murder.
Rounding out JFest will be a Shabbat supper (November 6) in the multipurpose room featuring an evening of music, stories, crafts, and community led by award-winning children’s entertainer Dr. Marky Weinstock.
Readers seeking more information about JFest can contact Laura Marjovsky at 204 477-7539 or lmarjovsky@radyjcc/com
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.”
Local News
Team Schvesters teammates Benji Harvey, Kim Gray once again among top ten fundraisers in this year’s CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life event
By MYRON LOVE This year’s annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk at Assiniboine Park is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 – and, once again, in terms of fundraising, Team Schvesters is sitting in second place overall – having raised just over $30,500 as of May 26 – which is $5,000 more than the team members had raised by the same time last year.
As well, team members Benji Harvey and Kim Gray are once again in the top ten among individual fundraisers. Harvey this year sits in fifth place, having raised a little over $16,000 as of May 17 – while Gray has raised just above $8,000 – putting her in seventh place.
Harvey reports that, -over the past 18, years participating in CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life, she has personally raised $180,000 for cancer research, while her team as a whole has brought in $367,000. In discussing her success as a fundraiser, Harvey says that she has made a lot of friends over the years and believes in giving back to the community.
The “Schvesters” are the Greenfeld sisters: Harvey and sisters Lesly Katz and Debra Lewis – the daughters of Lil and the late Ike Greenfeld. Two of the sisters are cancer survivors.
There is one other team member – in addition to Kim Gray. Judge Rocky Pollack first joined Team Schvesters in 2023. After a year away in 2024, he returned last year. Pollack lost his wife, Sharon, to cancer in 2014 after a multi-year struggle.
Nancy’s Nightingales has been a top 10 community fundraising team for Cancercare Manitoba and the Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008. As a team, they have walked together since 2006 when they walked 60 km in two days in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
Last year, the team – including Louise Raber, Joanne Katz, Rhonda Youell, Connie Botelho and Harriet Lyons – finished fifth in fundraising. So far this year, the team is again sitting in fifth place –having raised just under $12,500 (as of May 26) – a couple of thousand dollars more than last year, and just about $300 behind the fourth place team.
The Nightingales are named after a nurse who is a cancer survivor- and a friend of Louise Raber, Nancy’s Nightingales team leader.
“Our goal, as always, is to raise at least one dollar more than last year,” says Raber.
Team Jason’s Journey team leader Jason Gisser has experienced a more intimate and longer-lasting relationship with cancer than many of the other Challenge for Life participants. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 18. “I am a proud cancer fighter, having lived and battled a chronic cancer diagnosis for the last 23 years,” he said in an earlier interview. “I participate in the Challenge for Life not only to give back for the care and treatment which I have and continue to receive through CancerCare Manitoba, but to ensure that others do not have to endure the journey which I have endured.”
This is the ninth year that Gisser has taken up the Challenge for Life. His teammates are returnee Nora Fien, as well as friends Danial Sprintz, Wendy Martin White and Jason Roberts, also his mother, Judge Freda Steele. He has personally raised about $5,500 this year, while the team as a whole has raised just over $7,000.
“The Challenge for Life is great opportunity to raise valuable dollars for cancer research and treatment,” Gisser notes.
Readers can make donations to their preferred team by going online to CancerCarefdn.mb.ca and click on Challengeforlife.ca.
