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Summer Camp Fair Offers Options
Yesterday, families looking for the best summer camp fit for their children or teens stopped by the annual Jewish Community Camp Fair, presented by Jewish Federation and supported by the JCCGV. Parents and children had the opportunity to meet with a number of camp directors and summer program organizers that represented a variety of camps and interests. This year, the fair included Camp Hatikvah, Camp Kalsman, Camp Miriam, Camp Solomon Schechter, JCCGV Camp Shalom, JCCGV Camp Shalom Specialty Camps and British Soccer, JCCGV Musical Theatre Summer Camp, as well as two newcomers – B’nai Brith Camp Portland, and Camp B’nai Brith of Montreal. According to one parent, “It gives us as parents a chance to check out the options and make an informed choice for our children.”

For more information about the Camp Fair please contact Samara Bordan at sbordan@jewishvancouver.com.

Canadian Cabinet Ministers Visit Israel and Palestinean Authority
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird offered a blunt assessment to Palestinean Authority (PA) leadership this week during his visit to the region: drop the preconditions and start negotiating. His trip included individual visits with the leadership of both Israel and the PA, as well as a major policy speech at the Herzliya Conference. Click here to read a copy of Minister Baird’s speech. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was also in Israel this week for a series of meetings.

Dr. Robert Krell at the UN Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony
Last week I mentioned that Dr. Robert Krell, an outstanding local community leader, delivered the keynote address at the UN Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, focusing on the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. I encourage you to listen to his extraordinary speech. The speech starts at 52 minutes into the video.

Parashat Beshallah
Parashat Beshallach is chock full of miracles. Pursued by the Egyptians during their exodus to the shores of the Sea of Reeds, God commands Moses to hold out his rod and splits the sea. The waters re-join over the Egyptian forces, drowning Pharaoh’s army and cutting off pursuit. In the desert, God provides manna to sustain the Israelites and commands Moses to bring forth water from a rock. At each and every stage, the people complain, Moses carries their complaints to God, and God reacts with a miracle. And it is never enough.

As a parent, this sometimes feels like a familiar experience – no matter how much you do, it is never enough to stifle the complaints for very long. We are fortunate to live in a time in Jewish history where many of us benefit from unprecedented freedom and affluence. Compared with the lot of most Jews in the world even just two generations ago, we are extraordinarily fortunate.

Whether we believe these gifts are by virtue of God’s beneficence, or due to our own hard work, we can each ask of ourselves: do I have enough? Am I okay? Do I need more? Can I spare some for others? The lesson of our time in the desert is that it is incumbent on us to look around, take stock of what has been provided to us, and to consider if we really need to bemoan what we don’t have.

Shabbat Shalom!