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With Hanukkah about to begin, our thoughts turn not just to miracles and light, but to family, food and fun.

Family first. We are in urgent need of host families for each of our wonderful Shin-Shinim - Israeli teen emissaries who are volunteering in our community. Ofir Gady is 18 years old, majored in computer science and physics in high school, and loves to hike, swim, and play guitar. Or Aharoni is 18 years old, majored in dance, diplomacy and international communications in high school, and loves music, yoga, and going to concerts.

Watch our video to see some of the great experiences host families have had. Then, if you have school-aged children and a spare bedroom for three months, email Dan Stern to find out more.

If the aroma of latkes isn’t yet lingering in your home, it will be soon! Food is a way to connect with our traditions, and our partner, the Jewish Museum and Archives of BC, chose it as the theme for the latest edition of their annual journal, The Scribe. Kol hakavod to Susan Mendelson, owner of the Lazy Gourmet, who was the keynote speaker at Wednesday’s launch of The Food Issue. We are proud to support the JMABC’s work, including publication of The Scribe.

Hanukkah brings many fun opportunities to connect with our community. Our young adult program, Axis, in partnership with JNF Future, has their annual Hanukkah party coming up on December 6th. If you’re in your 20s or 30s, All That Glitters is Gelt is the party for you. If not, forward it to someone who is. The party is also a great opportunity meet Anna Labadze, our new manager of young adult initiatives. If ticket pre-sales are anything to go by, the event is going to be packed!

As always, we're supporting Hanukkah celebrations across Vancouver. Check our social media for details.

We are also presenting Hanukkah parties in Langley, Coquitlam, and Squamish through our Connect Me In initiative. Thousands of Jews live beyond Vancouver’s city limits, and this is just one of the many outreach programs you support with your campaign gift. Visit the Beyond Vancouver section of our website for more. You can also contact Hannah Yerington, our new community development manager for the North Shore.

We are very proud to have started supporting the Sunshine Coast Hebrew School, in Gibsons, with a Connect Me In Community Engagement grant. You should feel proud, too, because it’s your gift that made this support possible. It is a terrific example of how our community is changing, and how we are reaching out.

Our partners are reaching out, too, so if you are in Port Moody on Sunday, check out the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival’s screenings of Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel and The Last Suit at the Inlet Theatre. We’re proud to support the festival, which in addition to enriching our community culturally, provides pathways into community for many Jews who are otherwise unaffiliated.

Much of the work you see us and our partners do today has its roots in our collaborative community planning processes. Over 80 community professionals, volunteers, and interested community members attended a planning forum this week called Changing Landscapes: Pathways Ahead, which stimulated discussion about the needs of community members 55 years and older, and focused on key areas where we as a community can make a difference. The seniors population is expected to double by 2030, and keynote speaker Isobel Mackenzie, seniors advocate for the province, challenged many misconceptions about the anticipated impact of this. Sponsored by our Planning Council in collaboration with the JCC, Jewish Family Services (JFS), Jewish Seniors Alliance, L’Chaim, Kehila Society of Richmond, and Louis Brier Home and Hospital, the forum set the groundwork for the important planning ahead.

Shelley Rivkin, our vice president of planning, allocations and community affairs, was instrumental in making this forum a reality, and it was wonderful to see her honoured with the Jewish Community Professional Award by our partner, JFS, on Wednesday evening. Richard Fruchter, CEO of JFS, said that everyone he reached out to couldn’t say enough wonderful things about her. Here’s just one thing he heard: “Shelley has fought to make our city shine as an example to others. She is truly one of a kind. Her commitment to our Jewish community is not just professional but deeply personal. We are lucky to have someone with such depth of knowledge and love for community leading our community affairs operation at Federation.” We couldn’t agree more. Read more here.

One final note: we had the pleasure of meeting with the board and staff of Ballet BC this week, as they gear up for performances in Tel Aviv in January. We know you love seeing connections being built between organizations and people here at home and those in our homeland, and so do we.

Shabbat Shalom.

Ezra S. Shanken
CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver

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