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Passing of Rabbi David Hartman
This week, the Jewish world lost a man who was certainly among the great Jewish philosophers of our time, Rabbi David Hartman. American-born Hartman served Congregation Tiferet Beit David Jerusalem in Montreal for several years before making aliya. In 1976, he founded the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, which has become a major centre of philosophical exploration and learning for rabbis and scholars from around the world. What characterized Hartman’s rabbinic and teaching careers was an authentic personal commitment to observance, balanced with a staunch belief in a pluralistic approach to Jewish life and study. To learn more about this extraordinary Jewish thinker, click here.

Vancouver JCC Hockey Team Wins Gold in Upper Galilee
Our Jewish Community Centre brought a Vancouver team to the 7th Annual Israel Recreational Hockey Association Tournament, which took place in Metulla this week. The unique hockey experience also became a bonding experience with Etzbah HaGalil – the Upper Galilee region that is our partnership community.

While in the region for the tournament, the JCC team spent a day participating in a special encounter with the region. The day included a spectacular jeep tour along the Lebanese border, a visit with students at Tel Hai College and a stop at Beit Vancouver to meet with teen leaders who are doing a year of volunteer community service (through the Vancouver Federation-funded Ma’ase Program) before entering the army. The next day, they got down and dirty at a farm digging up turnips for the food bank, Leket Israel. All of this alongside skating their way to a gold medal at the tournament.

Prior to the official games, the team had the unique opportunity to play an exhibition game and have dinner with members of the Canadian Forces, who are in Israel as part of the peacekeeping force on the border. Bonds with the people, bonds with the land, bonds with the ice.

Camp Fair Promotes Great Jewish Summer Program Options
The annual Jewish Summer Camp Fair, coordinated by our Jewish Education Services department, took place on Wednesday, with representation from all of the residential camps that service our region: Camp Hatikvah, Habonim Dror Camp Miriam, Solomon Schechter Camp, Camp Kalsman, and Camp B’nai Brith Riback. Joining the JCC’s Day Camp Shalom were Camp Gan Israel and the NCSY summer programs in Israel. With camp representatives traveling here for the fair, we also had the opportunity to bring them together for joint discussions and planning around common issues for which we provide resources and support.

Co-Mix - Art Spiegelman Exhibit Opens at Vancouver Art Gallery
I had the opportunity yesterday to preview the new Art Spiegelman exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and it is definitely worth a visit. Spiegelman is widely regarded as the creative force who launched the graphic novel genre with the publication of Maus in 1991. A project 13 years in the making, the Pullitzer Prize-winning Maus tells the story of Spiegelman’s father’s experiences during the Holocaust. The exhibit traces his beginnings as a graphic artist at age 13 to his most recent works, and has over 400 works on display.

Parashat Terumah
This week’s parasha describes the taxes and offerings that Israelites were expected to provide. While there was a required set of taxes, there was also a voluntary component related to the building of the Tabernacle – each person was instructed to give according to what his heart moved him to give.

In our current North American context, every gift to the Jewish community is a voluntary one, as we have no communal capacity or authority for taxation. In working with our volunteer canvassers in the Federation Annual Campaign, we encourage them to engage community members in a discussion about a meaningful gift. We are striving to awaken a sense of obligation while recognizing the voluntary nature of the donor’s gift. Ultimately the right commitment will leave the donor feeling good. In that way, we are building on an approach to meeting communal needs rooted in the wisdom of our tradition.

Shabbat shalom!