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Volunteers from Shaarey Zedek, Unitarian Church, Bear Clan, and others band together to clean up Assiniboine river bank
By BERNIE BELLAN Anyone who had driven, cycled, or walked over the west span of the Sherbrook bridge in the past year was bound to notice that the south bank of the Assiniboine River had become home to a great many homeless people.
With tents having sprung up, along with a wide assortment of possessions that the people who had decided to make that area home – at least temporarily, it wasn’t long before what was once a pristine area was now covered with a great deal of detritus associated with temporary living quarters. We’re not quite sure where the former inhabitants of that particular camp have now moved, but once they did go elsewhere they left behind tents, clothing, a lot of junk, and a huge number of shopping carts.
With the excessive amount of snow and rainfall that Winnipeg received this past winter and spring that area of the riverbank had turned into one heck of a muddy mess.
So it was that one member of Shaarey Zedek Congregation, Ray Singer, hit upon the idea of trying to organize a massive clean-up operation. Ray contacted representatives of the Unitarian Church, which is immediately adjacent to the area of the riverbank that had become one huge garbage dump. He also contacted Rena Elbaze, Engagement & Education Director for the Shaarey Zedek, to see whether Rena might be able to get word out to Shaarey Zedek members, asking for volunteers in the clean-up.
On Wednesday, June 22, the various volunteers, including members of the Shaarey Zedek, the Unitarian Church, also members of the Bear Clan, gathered at the Unitarian Church to begin the quite arduous process of cleaning up the abandoned camp. Volunteers had been asked to bring gloves, goggles, masks, and garbage bags with them, also rubber boots, sunscreen, mosquito spray, and water bottles. Volunteers were also told to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts. They were also told they would work in shifts – with one group working from 9 am – 11 am, while a second group would work from 11 am – 1 pm. As it was, Ray Singer told me the work took much longer than the four hours that had originally been thought would be sufficient.
A local refuse business donated a large bin for the day – and as you can see from the picture accompanying this story, it was filled up. But, as other pictures will attest, the riverbank had become thoroughly softened, not only by the huge amount of snow and rain, but also by the Assiniboine River overflowing its banks this spring. Pulling debris out of the muck was an enormous challenge and, as Ray also noted, many shopping carts were simply stuck in the river and could not be removed.
One of the principal organizers of the clean-up was Michael Thiessen, who is an experienced Bear Clan member, Ray told me, and who has participated in many clean-up operations in the past. Ray also wanted to acknowledge the help provided by “Sonya” of the Unitarian Church, who “was instrumental in getting their volunteers out. Ray added that “Rena Elbaze was similarly effective re marshalling SZ volunteers.”
The volunteers were also joined unexpectedly by River Heights Councillor John Orlikow, along with former City Councillor Jenny Gerbasi.
In a follow-up email we received from Ray Singer, he noted that “We filled a 14 cu. metre bin ( 8x11x4.5 feet high). John Orlikow, along with other members of the community today hauled out almost 2 dozen shopping carts and filled a bin full of encampment debris from the Assiniboine River off of Wellington Crescent (next to the Shaarey).” Ray added that, despite having asked for assistance from the City of Winnipeg’s Public Works Department, the volunteers were turned down. Apparently city workers thought it was too dangerous to bring equipment that would have been very useful in the operation – such as front end loaders, on to the river bank.
In a surprise twist to the story, the next day (Thursday, June 23), Ray says that he was alerted to the fact that somehow, the shopping carts that had been removed from the muck had been fashioned into a shopping cart pyramid. (One can only imagine the effort that would have taken!) Now, if only whoever built that shopping cart pyramid had expended the same amount of energy helping in the clean-up operation itself. (Or maybe they did. Who knows? Perhaps it was some of the volunteers themselves who decided to create that work of art.)
In any event, hats off to Ray Singer and all the volunteers who came out on June 22 to help restore what had become a notable eyesore for the community.
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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.