Local News
Shaarey Zedek details where it will relocate during reconstruction
On June 30, the Shaarey Zedek released detailed plans of how it will handle operations during the reconstruction of the synagogue. Following is that announcement in full:
Dear Friends,
The number one question we’ve been asked in 2022 is about the relocation of synagogue operations during construction. We appreciate your patience with us — it has been a challenging process to assess options, reach consensus, and negotiate lease terms. Today we are pleased to provide you with the plan! After exploring countless options from commercial spaces to hotels, we chose to keep close to the Jewish community — our new temporary homes will be at Temple Shalom and the Asper Jewish Community Campus, and we will operate there fully beginning Monday, July 25.
Our friends at Temple Shalom (1077 Grant Avenue) have graciously leased us space for:
• Administrative Offices.
• Sanctuary for Daily Minyan (Sunday to Friday, and Saturday Evenings).
• Sanctuary for Funerals and other Life Cycle Events.
• Space for small to medium-sized Programs and Meetings.
Our friends at the Asper Jewish Community Campus (123 Doncaster Street) have also generously leased us space for:
• Friday Evening and Shabbat Morning Services in the Berney Theatre.
• Shabbat Luncheon (Kiddush) in the Adult Lounge or other spaces depending on attendance.
• High Holy Day Main Service in the Gymnasium (will be decorated for ambience).
• High Holy Day Children’s Activities.
• Spaces for some Programs and some Meetings.
• Our Catering and Takeout operations will share space with Schmoozer’s Cafe. We will therefore only offer pareve and dairy-only options for the foreseeable future.
A few other things to know:
• Saturday morning Bar and Bat Mitzvahs will be held at the Berney Theatre. Bar and Bat Mitzvahs that are on other days such as Rosh Chodesh, Thursdays, and Saturday Evenings, will have venue options based upon availability of the Berney Theatre, and Temple Shalom. If you select to have your simcha at a hotel or other venue, we will now provide clergy to officiate the service. We have also invested in new audio and visual equipment so we can be flexible for your event and offer streaming almost anywhere. The catering we can offer at hotels and other venues will be based upon their policies and your independent arrangements with them. For instance, you may be able to order desserts from Shaarey Zedek that we can deliver to the facility, but the venue will cut and serve.
• Funerals will continue to be offered graveside as they always have, and at Temple Shalom with our clergy team. We will not have funerals at the Asper Jewish Community Campus. We do not have a set location for Meals of Consolation; however, we can provide options based upon availability or cater at a venue you privately arrange such as a house, condo/apartment lounge, or other location.
• Sisterhood Gift Shop will become virtual! An online store is being developed so you can select and pay for items – then pick them up from our administrative offices at Temple Shalom when we receive them, or we can ship to you for a fee.
Our staff are beginning to pack offices, and we are working with a company to assist in packing up, moving, and storing items. Much care will go into packaging our ritual items, and historical artifacts and documents.
Important Dates:
• Week of July 17 – Administrative offices will transition to Temple Shalom. It is best to email or call us first before coming to Shaarey Zedek or Temple Shalom as there will be downtime as we set up our workstations, network, and equipment. Updates will be posted on the main page of our website.
• Saturday, July 23 – The final in-person Shabbat Morning Service at Shaarey Zedek will be at 10:00 AM.
• The final in-person Daily Minyan at Shaarey Zedek will be at 6:00 PM.
• Sunday, July 24 – Morning and Evening Minyan will be virtual only as we transition equipment to Temple Shalom.
• Monday, July 25 –
• Our first in-person Daily Minyan Services will take place at Temple Shalom – Morning Service at 7:30 AM and Evening Service at 6:00 PM. Our service schedule will remain the same but will be held at Temple Shalom from that day forward.
• Administrative offices open officially at Temple Shalom.
• Saturday, July 30 – Our first in-person Shabbat Morning Service will be at the Berney Theatre at 10:00 AM.
All the above updates will be posted on our website, social media, and reminders will be sent by email. Additional information will also be sent out in July.
The combined efforts of our professional team and volunteers to make this transition happen has been significant. Many hours of work and the unwavering commitment of our group has brought us to this point and will continue to propel us forward. We appreciate your commitment to the congregation, this project, and thank you for your patience with us.
Local News
Join the Sewing Circle at Chesed Shel Emes
Local News
Talented Winnipeg composer Sara Kreindler teams up with her mother Reena Kreindler to create new satirical show to premiere here in May
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been many years since I’ve heard from Sara Kreindler. Sara’s name first appeared in The Jewish Post & News in 2002 when a satirical musical titled “A Touch of Class” was reviewed by the late Arnold Ross. That particular production featured songs from popular Broadway shows that touched upon themes such as “greed, poverty, oppression, and social unrest.”
When she appeared in that show, Ross noted, Kreindler had just recently returned to Winnipeg from England, where she had obtained a doctorate in Social Psychology from Oxford University.
While at Oxford, Kreindler found time to compose a satirical musical titled “Charity,” which played to rave reviews there, and was performed five times.
Continuing in the theme of writing satirical musicals, Sara has now teamed up with her mother, Reena, to write a new musical titled “A Perfect Man,” which is set to run at the Gargoyle Theatre from May 6-17.
According to a press release we received, “A Perfect Man” is “a satirical musical, set on a fictional analogue of ‘The Bachelor’.
“The story follows an anthropologist who arrives to research TV’s hottest reality-dating show — only to discover she’s been made a contestant, and the bachelor is her high school crush. Past and present collide against an exuberant pastiche score that uses vintage musical styles to highlight modern absurdities.”
“Praised as ‘a musician [who] can make biofuels funny’ (CBC), Sara is known for whip-smart satire on a panoply of topics. Her digital musical, ‘Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System, created during her former life as an academic, has garnered over 84,000 YouTube views. Naturally, she had a field day with the subject of reality dating.
“The topic just begs for campy zaniness, which I think we all need in these times — but also for a more cerebral critique of what these shows say about the culture that spawned them,” says Kreindler. And thanks to the romance context, the satire is woven into a deeper, more personal story. “It’s satire with a heart.”
Here is some more information about Sara Kreindler, taken from a 2009 article I wrote about her:
“Born in Israel, Sara’s precocious talent was nurtured by her mother, Reena, whose own particular talent is literary, not musical. According to Reena, however, Sara was singing from the time she was a baby, and she began to study piano at the age of four.
“As a young girl, Sara began writing her own songs and poems, along with the “occasional musical”, notes Reena. Yet, Sara’s rare talent put her at odds with the typical interests of other children her own age, on top of which she attended a school to which she was exposed to a fair degree of antisemtism.
“As a result, Sara says, being bullied was a common aspect of her childhood. On one occasion, when she was nine, she notes, Sara fought back against one particular bully by reciting the following little ditty:
“I write so many epigrams to you that all the people laugh.
I’m tired of writing epigrams.
I want to write your epitaph!”
“Sara went on to compose a musical titled ‘Flutesong’ while she was a student at Vincent Massey Collegiate, she says. After doing her undergraduate work at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology, Sara won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University.
“Sara eventually earned a doctorate in Social Psychology and returned to Winnipeg, where she began teaching at the University of Manitoba, but she said she didn’t enjoy the “mass production” style of teaching upwards of 300 students at a time, so she switched careers and began doing health research for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.”
All the while Sara has been continuing to compose and perform her own songs, often teaming up with her mother, as she has for “A Perfect Man.”
Showtimes and ticket information for The Perfect Man are available at:
http://www.thegargoyletheatre.com/upcoming-events/the-perfect-man
Local News
Rabbi Kliel Rose to leave Congregation Etz Chayim for new post in Ottawa
The following email from Congregation Etz Chayim Executive Director Morissa Granove was sent to members of the congregation on Friday, April 10:
“Dear Members and Friends,
“As we know, Rabbi Kliel recently spent a weekend with Kehilllat Beth Israel where he has since been offered a position. After much thought and consideration, he has made the decision to sign a contract in Ottawa. He will continue to lead our congregation through Yom Kippur.
“This news marks a significant ending for our Etz Chayim community, and at the same time with change comes opportunity. Congregation Etz Chayim will soon embark on our own Rabbinical search with excitement as we look for our perfect candidates and explore the new possibilities that will help us to continue to shape a strong future for our synagogue and members.”
Kliel Rose took up the position of rabbi at Etz Chayim in August, 2018.
In an article announcing his appointment to the position in the June 6, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Myron Love wrote:
The congregation has been without a permanent rabbi since last summer when Rabbi Larry Lander chose to retire – after ten years here – and relocate to Toronto.
Kliel Rose is already a well-seasoned rabbi. He was ordained in 2004 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
He previously served as spiritual leader at the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Temple Enamu-El in Miami Beach. His current posting is Beth Shalom Synagogue in Edmonton.
Following the example of his parents, Kliel Rose has been active in interfaith dialogue and human rights work for which he was honoured in 2014 with the Human Rights Hero Award by Truah: The Rabbibic Call for Human Rights.
He has also participated in the Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders program at Northwestern University and was most recently chosen to be among 20 rabbis from different denominations chosen to train in the Clergy leadership Incubator – a two-year program, under the leadership of Ranni Sidney Schwarz, intended to educate younger rabbis in innovative thinking, change management and institutional transformation.
In Edmonton, Rose also served as Jewish chaplain at the University of Alberta and took the lead on a program called “Faith and Inclusion”, whose mandate was to support individuals with cognitive and physical learning challenges to feel more welcome within various faith communities.