Features
Four young Jewish women join together to create “SIMCHA Zine”
By BERNIE BELLAN Four young Jewish women, three of whom are from Winnipeg, one from Toronto, have joined forces to produce a “zine” aimed at a Jewish audience, titled “SIMCHA Zine”.
The four are: Erin Meagan Schwartz, Adi Farage, (both of whom live in Winnipeg), Sophie Hershfield, (who is from Winnipeg, but currently living in Toronto), and Liesje Rolia (who is a Torontonian – and who is the graphic designer for the zine.
Erin Schwartz said she graduated from the University of Winnipeg “four or five years ago with an Honours B.A. in Women and Gender Studies”. She also has “a background in theatre, specifically improv theatre,” she added.
Adi Farage graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2018 with a B.A. in Sociology. “I’m currently about one semester off from finishing my Bachelor of Social Work,” she noted.
“My background is in Jewish community building,” she said. “I’ve been involved with all sorts of Jewish and general organizations.”
Sophie Hershfield, (who, I recalled, we had profiled previously in this paper as a champion debater), did not go into law – surprisingly – much to her grandparents’ – (Earl and Betty Ann Hershfield) disappointment, she admitted.
“I graduated with an Honours degree in English Literature” (also from the U of W), she said. “I will soon be starting my Masters in English Lit at the University of Toronto,” she added. “I’ll also be doing a special concentration in Jewish Studies,” she noted.
In April, copies of the magazine were distributed to various individuals who had pre-ordered the magazine, but if you are interested in ordering a copy, information is given at the end of this article.
The “zine” is a bound publication, not stapled together – more like a book than a magazine. I wondered whether, considering how much that must have cost, whether the women had incurred a loss producing their first edition.
As it turned out, however, according to Adi Farage, “SIMCHA Zine” had enough pre-orders to actually cover the cost of production.
Recently, I spoke with the three Winnipeg women who are behind the project – Erin, Adi, and Sophie. I asked them what led them to want to create a magazine and what their plans might be for the future.
The three Winnipeg-born contributors to the project have known each other for years, and Liesje was introduced to Erin and Adi through Sophie.
Erin Schwartz said that they first began to talk about doing a magazine in the summer. It was “definitely a ‘labour of love’,” she said – “a passion project”.
Adi Farage explained that the idea for a magazine came about “as a silly joke. We were just playing with the idea and then we realized ‘We can actu-
ally do this’. It was a fun project, then we found out people were actually interested in it, then it turned into a real thing.”
Apparently I was one of the very first individuals to see the magazine – in late 2020, when I was sent a digital preview. At the time I was very impressed with the production values. What I saw was a 30-page blend of serious essays, poetry, and some striking visual pieces (although later I was told the print version is actually 60 pages so what I saw must have been 30 double pages).
In the introduction by Erin Schwartz, she notes that “This zine shares stories of collective identity, personal history, and starting again from where we are.”
One of the pieces, titled “The Smell of Chicken Soup”, is by Farrah Perelmutter, daughter of Toby and Irvin Vinsky, in which Farrah contemplates what being Jewish has meant to her, first as a daughter in a traditional home where Shabbat was an important part of her and her sisters’ lives, later when she married someone who came from a home where religious observance wasn’t important. (Ed. note: My first encounter with a young Farrah Vinsky was when she was a teenage model who was featured in our paper back in the 1980s.)
Other pieces are equally serious. I asked the women, therefore, whether it would be fair to describe “SIMCHA Zine” as a literary magazine?
Erin responded, “I think so.” She went on to explain that the term “zine” derives from “punk culture”.
A “zine”, she said, “is usually a small published work – it can really be about anything.”
“Part of the reason we wanted to do the magazine,” Erin added, “is that we wanted Jewish people to create and submit pieces of work that meant something to them and we didn’t want to be strict about what kind of Jewish content it was.”
As a result, while some of the content is quite identifiably Jewish, she explained, such as “a poem about BBYO”, “there are also poems inspired by whatever” being Jewish means to the contributors.
As far as how the zine found contributors, Erin said “We put out an open call for contributors and we asked a lot of people that we knew, but we also put it out on social media.”
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of SIMCHA Zine should contact the zine’s online shop at simchazine.bigcartel.com
Features
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Features
Ontario Online Casinos Let Players Set Daily, Weekly and Monthly Deposit Limits
A deposit limit sets a ceiling on how much money someone can add to an online gambling account. In Ontario’s regulated market, players can choose limits covering 24 hours, seven days and one month, with the website’s system enforcing the amounts they select.
The settings are straightforward, but the timing deserves attention. A daily allowance may sit within weekly and monthly caps, while an increase can involve a waiting period. For adults using Chrome on a Chromebook, understanding these account rules starts with knowing where to find them.
Finding the Settings and Choosing a Period
Deposit controls sit within the gambling website’s account menus. The Tooniebet Ontario responsible gaming page is an operator-specific resource readers can consult alongside their account settings. ToonieBet is operated by Canadix Limited and regulated by the AGCO under an agreement with iGaming Ontario.
Ontario’s standards require an easy and obvious way to set financial and time limits during registration and afterward. Players must be offered deposit and loss limits when signing up, and the controls must remain easy to reach and change once an account is open.
Menu names differ between sites. Published examples place deposit limits under account settings or responsible-gaming tools, where players can select an amount and a period.
Each type of limit measures something different. Deposit limits cap money added to the account. Loss limits restrict net losses after winnings are taken into account, while time limits govern playing time. iGaming Ontario’s player guidance explains all three.
For Chromebook users, these settings are managed through the website’s account interface. Chrome’s own permissions handle separate browser functions, such as access to location information.
How Several Limits Apply to One Deposit
Players can have daily, weekly and monthly limits running together. A deposit must fit within every active cap.
Take a hypothetical account with limits of CAD $40 daily, CAD $100 weekly and CAD $250 monthly. These figures illustrate the process.
If someone has already deposited CAD $90 during the weekly period, the remaining weekly allowance is CAD $10. That becomes the most they can add, even when the daily limit has more room. Reaching the monthly cap would likewise block another deposit until some monthly allowance becomes available.
This is why checking all active limits matters. A new day may bring fresh daily capacity while the weekly or monthly total remains close to its ceiling. The longer periods continue to apply as the shorter one refreshes.
When Money Drops Out of a Rolling Window
The next question is when previous deposits stop counting toward a cap. Some sites use rolling periods, which track elapsed time from individual deposits.
Published Ontario policies include daily windows of 24 hours, weekly windows of 168 hours and monthly windows of 720 hours, equivalent to 30 days. Under that approach, each deposit frees up its corresponding allowance once it falls outside the window.
Suppose someone has a CAD $100 rolling weekly limit and deposits CAD $25 on Friday, followed by CAD $75 on Saturday. Seven days after Friday’s deposit, CAD $25 becomes available again. The other CAD $75 returns seven days after Saturday’s deposit.
Leaving the restored Friday allowance unused means it combines with Saturday’s restored amount. At that point, the full CAD $100 is available. Reviewing deposit dates and times helps explain how much room remains within a rolling period.
Changing a Cap Takes a Separate Step
A limit refreshing follows the schedule already attached to the account. Raising that limit requires a request and a wait.
Ontario’s standards require at least 24 hours before a player’s request to relax or remove an established limit can take effect. The existing limit remains enforceable during the cooling-off period.
Operators publish their own timings. Documented examples include a seven-day wait for deposit-limit increases or removals. Another published schedule allows increases after one day for a daily cap, seven days for a weekly cap and 30 days for a monthly cap.
Lower limits take effect immediately under these published policies. Some policies also restart the waiting period when a player requests another increase while an earlier change is pending. The effective date shows which amount currently applies.
Other Controls and Support
Deposit limits work alongside loss limits, time limits, short breaks and self-exclusion. Together, these give players ways to restrict account funding, gambling activity or access.
Ontario-regulated online casino play is restricted to adults aged 19 and older who are physically in Ontario. Gambling involves financial risk.
For concerns about your gambling or someone else’s, ConnexOntario offers free, confidential information and referral support around the clock. Call 1-866-531-2600 or text CONNEX to 247247. Standard message and data rates may apply.
Features
What “Best Odds” Really Means When Comparing Gambling Review Websites
The phrase best odds appears frequently in gambling discussions, but it is surprisingly easy to use imprecisely. MonsterBetList is primarily a casino review and rankings website, not a dedicated live sportsbook odds comparison terminal. That difference is central to evaluating what its reviews can and cannot establish. A casino rating may explain payout conditions, licence information and bonus restrictions, while a claim about the best available price on a sporting outcome requires a different kind of evidence altogether.
Odds and ratings answer different questions
Sports betting odds represent a price offered on a specified outcome. A review rating is an editorial judgement built from multiple criteria. These two numerical systems cannot be substituted for one another. A bookmaker rated highly for service may offer a less competitive price on a particular match, while a service with a more attractive price may impose different limits or verification rules.
Similarly, a casino review can discuss return-to-player statistics, but RTP is not the same as sportsbook odds. RTP describes a theoretical long-run percentage built into a game model. It does not tell a reader what will happen in one session and it is not an individually negotiable market quotation.
What makes sports odds comparable?
A fair odds comparison starts with identical selections: the same event, outcome, market rules and settlement conditions. Comparing a three-way football result with a draw-no-bet price is invalid because the products pay under different circumstances. The observation time also matters; displayed prices can change quickly as market information or trading decisions evolve.
The numerical format should be standardised. Decimal odds provide one convenient representation, but American and fractional formats express the same underlying idea differently. Converting these formats is straightforward. What matters is the net price, the operator’s rules and whether the quoted offer remains available when reviewed.
Overround explains the hidden cost of many markets
In a simplified two-outcome market, dividing one by each decimal price produces an implied probability. If the implied probabilities add to more than 100%, the excess is commonly described as the bookmaker’s overround. It is one way of understanding the margin embedded in prices, although individual market structure and adjustments can complicate the interpretation.
This concept explains why the word best should not be attached to a price without context. A strong headline may look appealing yet represent an ordinary margin after calculation. More importantly, any single quote is time-dependent. Genuine comparison requires a dated observation and equivalent market rules; broad editorial praise is not enough.
What casino rankings can establish instead
MonsterBetList publishes casino reviews and guides addressing licences, bonuses, payout experiences and responsible gambling. Those topics are relevant to evaluating consumer risk and service quality. A report about the length of a withdrawal process, for example, can be useful if its methodology is transparent. A bonus review can help identify restrictive wagering requirements that marketing headlines omit.
However, a casino ranking should not be presented as evidence that its highest-rated operator consistently offers the best sports prices. Unless a site publishes repeated market-by-market comparisons, that conclusion is not supported. Readers benefit when publishers clearly distinguish what was measured from what readers might assume was measured.
Bonuses can complicate comparisons
A sportsbook may offer free-bet tokens, cashback or other promotions. Their effective value depends on conditions rather than the largest number printed in a banner. Some credits are not withdrawable as cash; others require qualifying selections, minimum odds or a deadline. Casino welcome bonuses often introduce wagering requirements, game-contribution rules and limits on withdrawals. Combining these products under one generic promotional score can hide important differences.
For instance, a large matched deposit might require extensive play before bonus-related funds become eligible for withdrawal. The required betting volume is not a promise of profit. The presence of a promotion may therefore make comparisons more complex instead of simpler. Clear disclosures should precede any judgement about value.
Editorial independence and methods
Review sites sometimes state that rankings are editorially independent. Such a statement is relevant but does not replace evidence of consistent testing. Readers should look for the criteria used, the date of each review, whether real transactions were examined and how negative findings are treated. If one platform receives detailed testing while another is scored on marketing copy, the ranking loses comparability.
Commercial incentives should also be visible. Referral relationships or sponsorships do not automatically make every observation inaccurate, but they create reasons to ask how rankings are insulated from revenue. A publication that explains its methodology and corrections process gives readers a stronger basis for trust than one that simply declares its winners.
Licensing and dispute rights before price claims
A marginally attractive price is of limited value when the operator is not legally available to the reader or does not provide meaningful avenues for redress. Regulations vary by jurisdiction, and a licence in one country may not authorise service in another. It is prudent to verify the legal entity behind a brand and the current status of any licence through official records.
Consumers should also review identity verification, account restrictions and dispute resolution procedures. These operational conditions influence the actual experience of using a gambling service. A sensible evaluation includes them before discussing promotions or theoretical market advantages.
Why guaranteed-profit language is a warning sign
No ordinary review or odds list can guarantee that an individual will win money from gambling. Claims of certain returns often omit the fact that results are uncertain, prices move and transactions are subject to restrictions. Casino games generally incorporate a house advantage, and sports outcomes remain uncertain regardless of a persuasive analysis. The safest response to absolute promises is scepticism.
Readers should also avoid treating gambling as a means of addressing financial problems. Chasing previous losses and increasing stakes to recover money can deepen harm. Consumer-oriented coverage is more valuable when it explains risk and offers realistic options for stepping away.
Conclusion: define the claim before ranking the service
“Best odds” is a specific comparative proposition, not a synonym for a high casino rating. MonsterBetList can be examined for its published casino research, review structure and risk disclosures, but those materials should not be stretched into claims they have not tested. Clear definitions, dated evidence and honest limitations are the foundations of trustworthy comparison journalism.
