Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) was celebrated with flair in Vancouver, thanks in large part to an Israeli band called Mozaica. The group performed songs in Hebrew and kept the crowd moving. In addition, the night had all the fixings of an Independence Day ceremony; speeches, a moment of silence, and Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem….
Canadians went to the polls today for a federal election and handed the Conservative Party a resounding victory. To be sure, the party’s success was never in doubt. But the magnitude of their dominance was unclear. It certainly is not anymore. The Conservatives (or Tories) claimed 167 seats in Parliament, more than the 155 required…
Last week, spurred on by an excellent article, I mentioned the whole “Jews are the chosen people” thing. This week, Rabbi Donniel Hartman wrote about this same topic, albeit within the context of Passover. It’s short but sweet, definitely worth the read. I am continually impressed by Hartman’s writing because he conveys meaningful messages with…
I came across an article about the concept of Jews being the chosen people via the JTA website. It’s written by Aryeh Tepper, and attempts to tackle what can be one of the most puzzling aspects in Jewish tradition. Tepper was spot on when he said that many modern Jews are almost ashamed of the…
Vancouver turns 125 tomorrow, as April 6 marks the anniversary of the city’s incorporation. And way back in 1886, as Canada’s first transcontinental railroad tracks were laid in the area, a Jewish businessman from Germany arrived as well. Originally settling in Victoria, British Columbia, David Oppenheimer and his brothers used the province capital as headquarters…
Max Keisler’s preceding kosher-by-habit post makes a lot of sense to me. But had he seen the video I did yesterday, I have to wonder if he would consider moving from “semi-traditional” to 100 percent traditional. What did I see yesterday? Probably one of the most revolting yet incredibly entertaining videos on Youtube. It’s called…
I admittedly know little about Yiddish. My great-grandmother spoke it. My grandma can understand it. I used to get called a chazer (pig) on account of my messy room. But I had to pause when I saw this interview with K. David Harrison. A linguistics professor at Swarthmore College, he had this to say about…
Advanced mathematics does have some real world application, even though I like to tell myself it doesn’t (how else can I justify my ineptitude in the subject?). But despite my distaste for anything harder than basic algebra, I was able to appreciate a recent lecture I attended at the University of British Columbia Hillel House….
It’s fund raising season at Vancouver Hillel. Against my initial instincts, I signed up for one night of calling during the telethon. I figured that I take from Hillel (food, internet bandwith, naps on their couch), so it was the least I could do. But let me be clear, asking people for donations is one…
While most were prepping for the week ahead, a contingent of dedicated dancers was breaking it down at Vancouver ’s Commodore Ballroom. It was a chilly Sunday night, but the allure of seeing Israeli band Balkan Beat Box perform live proved to be irresistible. BBB did not disappoint. Their eclectic style of music is innovative…
Tucked away in a comment on my blog post last week was an interesting question that got me thinking. It read: Do you feel like the Canadian Jewish community is on the whole further to the left than the American Jewish community? I have been living in Vancouver for over a year now, and honestly,…
Not everyone has been feeling the love recently, despite the presence of flowers and chocolate for Valentine’s Day. One Jewish cultural center in Toronto is presumably feeling particularly icy. After a recent event which featured anti-Zionist speaker Hajo Meyer, the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) has cut ties with the Winchevsky Centre. Defining itself as a…
It’s been a fairly slow start to 2011 for Vancouver Hillel, at least from my perspective. No George Galloway or UBC student groups to stir things up. Perhaps the weather is to blame. Winter in the PNW is infamously drab, and the overcast skies have a tendency to dampen even the brightest spirits. But as…
Shyne received some much deserved love from the New York Times a while back. And at this point, I would guess that virtually everyone knows Matisyahu. But not everyone knows of Y-Love. A convert to Orthodox Judaism, Y-Love first gained an interest in the faith after seeing a commercial for a Jewish festival on television…
In a literal sense, no. Karl Marx, philosopher and socialist-extraordinaire, most likely refuted Jewish eschatology — if he was even aware of it at all. In his public writings, Marx seemed more concerned about the role of Jewish people in the capitalist system than with their religious doctrine. And it is these writings that have…