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For Harvey Minuk, the Ashkenazi Synagogue – and the Minuk family, have remained integral to his life even after he left Winnipeg

By GERRY POSNER When you talk of ex-Winnipeggers who have more than a fond spot in their hearts for the city, their past, their family and identity, look no further than Harvey Minuk, a central figure in that very large and well known Minuk clan so evident in Winnipeg and now beyond. Minuk oozes with what is the essence of Winnipeg life and I suggest he is transforming Toronto one house at a time.
His beginning might have given us a clue as to what would follow since he was delivered at home by his own father at 2 Mellish Avenue on a cold February day. Right away you knew this kid would be different. Dad was Bert Minuk – married to the former Lola Fashler. Minuk grew up in Garden City, later moving from Mellish to Forest Park Drive. Along the way, he not only attended Jefferson Junior High and later Garden City Collegiate, but he developed friends that have remained to this day. These relationships exist because Minuk feels strongly about Jewish traditions, such as justice and welcoming the stranger. His choice of friends represents these two Jewish ideals. He stays in touch with his old Forest Park neighbours, Shelley and Len Hirsch, as well as Chaim Raber. This is very Winnipeg.
Integral to his growing up years were his sporting activities, including playing baseball at the Garden City Community Centre, hockey at the West Kildonan Arena, as well as street hockey on his street. To this day Harvey has cherished memories of walking to play hockey in the dark morning with a stick over his shoulder, blades up and skates dangling from the end.
Now, if you know anything about Winnipeg, you know the Minuks were a large bunch, and a tight one. The High Holidays at the Ashkenazi Synagogue on Burrows Avenue were veritable Minuk- run services, given their numbers and their Kohanim status. This applied to major simchas as well. As Harvey tells it, “My friend Avrum Pollock and I share a joke that, forget the Ketubah, a Winnipeg Jewish wedding needs at least one Pollock and Minuk as witnesses so that it can be considered official.”
And, at most of the Jewish weddings in Winnipeg in the day, that likely was the case. Another place of assembly was Gimli, or more specifically Loni Beach, where Ruthie and Hy Sirkis and Dora and Keppy Steiman, along with Ruby and Sam Minuk and their respective families, all part of the Minuk mishapacha gathered regularly.
Harvey graduated from the University of Manitoba with a BA in both Psychology and Economics. He apprenticed with his father and Uncle Bill Minuk in what was then a premier real estate agency in Winnipeg: Park Realty. (Many readers will recall that name.)
Harvey then headed off to McGill for an MBA programme. As Harvey puts it, “ It was a weird feeling being the only Minuk in the Montreal phone book.” Upon graduating with a Finance major, Harvey headed off to Toronto and the then Midland Doherty company (later Merrill Lynch), followed by a stint at the Bank of Montreal in its real estate group.
About 12 years ago Harvey met Summer Nudel, whom he married five years ago. Harvey is now a step-father to Cleo.
Ultimately, Harvey was recruited to become the first Canadian hire at the GE Capital Real Estate Group. But. in 1988, Minuk decided to start out on his own with his company, First Place Capital Inc., which drew Harvey Minuk into valuations, consulting, development work and in large part, residential renovations. The company evolved and today still involves both Harvey as the general contractor and prime shaker and mover, along with Summer, who handles social media, photography and administration.
Harvey has also brought with him to Toronto his Winnipeg Lubavitch Ahkenazai roots to a Toronto synagogue called the Junction Shul. The impact of the time spent at synagogue in his Winnipeg days and the death of his brother Randy Minuk some nine years ago caused Harvey to take on a more observant lifestyle than in the past.
Surprisingly, he even makes challah and is a proficient cholent maker. How many Minuks can make that statement? But what is the most constant and unwavering part of Harvey’s life is his connection to Winnipeg, his past, friendships and of course, his family. Harvey’s father, Bert Minuk, is still active and once the pandemic has ended, you can bet as sure as there is a Minuk davening at the Ashkenazi on the High Holidays, that Harvey Minuk will be back in town to visit with his friends and the many Minuks.
Features
New Opportunities for XRP in the Trump Era: How XRP Holders Can Earn $7,899 Daily in Passive Income Through FTMINING Cloud Mining in 2026
If you’ve always believed that XRP can only be held long-term and wait for its value to appreciate, then FTMINING cloud mining might bring a completely new way to utilize this asset. Today, there is no need to purchase expensive mining machines or master complex mining techniques. You can quickly participate in digital asset mining through cloud computing platforms, giving idle XRP more application value. FTMINING’s cloud mining service, with its convenient operation process, 24/7 computing power service and flexible product solutions, has attracted the attention of many digital asset users, providing a new option for XRP holders who want to obtain continuous mining rewards. The launched cloud computing service supports the participation of various mainstream digital assets such as XRP, helping users to access the digital asset ecosystem in a more convenient way. Users can generate a passive income of up to $7,899 per day.
From holding assets to participating in cloud mining
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(Please visit the official website for more contract details.)
Contracts take effect immediately upon purchase, with earnings settled daily.
Real User Feedback
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Thomas, an XRP investor from New York:
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Industry Perspectives
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Conclusion
XRP holders are entering a new phase of digital asset application, moving from simply holding assets to participating in the blockchain ecosystem. FTMINING cloud mining provides users with a more convenient path to explore value. With the help of cloud computing power, users can participate in mining services without purchasing professional mining machines or undertaking complex operation and maintenance processes, allowing idle XRP to play a greater role. With the continuous development of blockchain technology, cloud mining is becoming an increasingly important focus for digital asset users, enabling XRP holders to manage their assets more flexibly and efficiently, and helping them explore new opportunities in the digital economy era.
If you wish to explore more revenue opportunities while holding XRP, the FTMINING cloud mining model is worth further understanding and attention.
Official Website: https://ftmining.com
app: https://ftmining.com
Customer Support Email: info@ftmining.com
Features
Musings from Dizengoff Street – by Bruce Brown

(August 8, 2026)
Outside Basimta Café in Central Jerusalem. Love the red shirt against a tiny sea of black. Not sure I am shrugging because of the ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat or the lack of an ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat. For the last six weeks Israeli headlines shouted about the cafe chaos. With the ultra-religious blocking entrances and storming the café. While shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Upsetting the secular amongst us just wanting to enjoy our Saturday iced matchas. So the wife and I thought we would check it out. And. Yes. Buy something to support the business. Uproar. Not. Blocked entrances. Not. Storming the café. Not. Albeit there were police barriers separating the devout protesters from the coffee drinkers. The protesters being just a few dozen black clad, pious Jews. Mostly teenagers. And yes. Shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Certainly underwhelming in its reported mayhem. Reminds me of the famous saying misattributed to Mark Twain – “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you do, you’re misinformed.” But I did enjoy my iced matcha.
(August 6, 2026)

Here we go again. Another round of forever negotiations. As someone who negotiates for a living. The way things are going in the straits. If I had to recommend a book on the subject to a new hire. Between The Art of the Deal, A Presidential Edition by Donald J. Trump or The Real Art of the Deal by the Mullahs of Iran with a special forward by the IRGC. Well. I would choose the latter.
(August 3)

Bravo Yoav Segalovitz, Liberal Yesh Atid MK and Monsour Abbas, United Arab Ra’am MK and party head. For breaking a glass ceiling where a Jewish lawmaker joins an Arab political party. No less a political earthquake in my little shtetl. Which can significantly impact coalition block arithmetic and posturing and strategy in the upcoming elections. Now Ra’am can be considered a legitimate ‘Zionist’ partner when forming coalition blocks and potentially pushing the ‘center left/right’ party over the 60 seat majority threshold. In our crazy parliamentary democracy defined by a multi-party (about fourteen!!), proportional representation system. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Israel’s proportional representation model of governance is the best parliamentary democracy system except for all other forms of working democracies. Stay tuned for more amateurish political musings as we move towards Israel’s 26th national election – five of them held since 2019.
(August 1)

Although both sides say they are open to diplomacy. Neither really trusts the other. And American military action, or its threat, continues. I read headlines in the middle of the night -it’s a nervous habit lately– that the Dynamic Duo of Trump and Netanyahu may again strike in unison. Possibly this weekend. Yikes! Prompting me, at 2:30 AM, to dash around the house stocking my safe room. Bottled water. Canned food. Medicines. Documents. The beat goes on….
If it’s crazy here. It’s insane in Italy. With a recent online ‘Jew Hunt’ in the Milan area. Before being removed, the digital forms urged reportings of Israelis and Italian Jews staying in local hotels. The infamous Global Sumud Movement -yes, the one coordinating ‘peace and humanitarian’ flotillas to Gaza- was somehow connected. Although they deny involvement?! This deranged decree was looking to identify Zionist tourism and Zionist neo-colonization in Italy. I’ll stick with stocking the saferoom.
Then there’s New York Mayor Mamdani, a Global Sumud Movement supporter, threatening to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he comes to New York. But since discovered he has no legal right for such a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic antic. Maybe Mandami should be arrested! Or at least impeached. For being a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic mayor.
Here’s a post Bruce sent us Friday, July 31:
WARTIME MUSINGS
Should credible threats against FLOTUS and ‘FSOTUS’ (first son..) not be justification to attack first.
As for yesterday’s summit. Netanyahu really can’t win. Explainer. If Trump now attacks without victory its ’cause of Netanyahu. If Trump now attacks with victory its ’cause of Trump. And, in Israel, if Trump doesn’t attack -victory or not- Netanyahu failed in his eighth meeting with Trump. And if Trump does attack -victory or not- half the country will vilify Bibi anyway. Missing a permutation?
Ya. I know. Kinda’ need a definition of victory for that musing to work.
And here in my little shtetle. We go to sleep unsure if there will be a code red in the middle of the night. And if not. We wake up thinking it will be tonight. How do you define stress?

Seemed like an appropriate way to end this musing.
Bruce Brown is a former Winnipegger who made aliyah to Israel over 35 years ago. Bruce first began writing for us – in his own inimitable style, in 2012, during what was known as “Operation Pillar of Defense.” His occasional musings on aspects of life in Israel that were far from what you’d typically read in other reports from Israel were hugely popular – both in the print Jewish Post & News and on this website.
We’re now glad to report that Bruce is back writing for us – this time on a regular basis. We will post Bruce’s reports as they arrive – with the date of each post at the beginning of that post.
Here’s some information about Bruce – and awards he’s received for his writing:
Bruce Brown. Canadian born. Now living in Israel (for a long time). Bruce works in Israel’s hi-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. He received the American Jewish Press Association’s award for writing excellence in 2019 and 2025. And wrote the 1998 satire, “An Israeli is….” Bruce’s musings are political, social, economic and personal. With lots of biting, contrarian, sardonic and irreverent insight.
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K-tip placement at Sets on Corydon

