Thursday, May 3
LUNG CANCER BENEFIT
The LUNGevity Masquerade Party, a fundraiser for research into lung cancer, presented by the Jewish General Hospital, will be held at Wave in the Complexe Dompark, 5524 St. Patrick St., at 6:30 p.m. “Let’s unmask lung cancer together” is the theme of the evening, which will have a carnival atmosphere. LUNGevity is the initiative of Fraida Saxe and is in memory of her mother, Rozie Saxe, who died of the disease. Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, yet research lags, possibly because it is seen as striking only smokers. But JGH pulmonary oncologist Dr. Jason Agulnik points out that more than 60 per cent of patients have never smoked or quit many years earlier. Tickets, 340-8222, ext. 3986.
AMERICAN POWER
Longtime Atlantic monthly correspondent Robert D. Kaplan speaks on “The Future of American Power,”at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim’s Helen and Sam Steinberg Lecture, 7:30 p.m. 937-9471.
DETECTING DEPRESSION
Psychiatrist Dr. Marc-Alain Wolf speaks on “How to Detect Depression and Treat it,” at a Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue Sisterhood event, 7:30 p.m. Rena Buenavida, 342-0033.
Friday, May 4
MENTAL HEALTH
A panel discussion on mental health, led by staff member Noga Yodelevitch, will be held at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors at 10 a.m. Joyce, 342-1234, ext. 7318.
Sunday, May 6
BOOK LAUNCH
Jake Sivak, a retired University of Waterloo optometry professor, launches his book about his parents, Chienke’s Motl and Motl’s Chienke: A Twentieth Century Story, at Congregation Adath Israel at a 9:30 a.m. breakfast. This is an edited translation from the Yiddish of his father Max (Motl) Sivak’s memoir of a life that took him from the shtetl of Monastrishch to a kibbutz in Palestine in the 1930s to finally settling in Montreal and marriage to Jennie (Chienke). He became the first superintendent of the Adath Israel, then located in Outremont. 482-4252.
GOOD FOR THE JEWS?
Lawyer Max Mendelsohn speaks on “Is it Good for the Jews or Bad for the Jews? A Parochial Perspective on the Evolution of Quebec Society,” at a luncheon at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim at noon. Reservations, 937-9471, ext. 139.
Monday, May 7
ABOUT THE MOSSAD
Dov Shiloah, son of Reuven Shiloah, the Mossad’s first director, speaks at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim at 7 p.m. He’ll discuss the early days of Israel’s intelligence community and show excerpts from the film The Mossad’s First. 7 p.m.
PHARMACEUTICAL BIZ
Irving Smith speaks on “The Pharmaceutical Industry: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” at a Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors event, 96 Roger Pilon St., Dollard des Ormeaux at 7:30 p.m. Ellen Tock, 624-5005, ext. 230.
IDENTITY CRISIS
The humorous movie The Infidel, about a Muslim who discovers his Jewish background, will be shown at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom at 7 p.m. at the Cummings Mini Centre. Tickets, 342-1234, ext. 7201.
READING TOMBSTONES
Experts Hymie Reichstein and John Diener talk about the information that can be gleaned from old Yiddish and Hebrew tombstones, at a Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal event at the Jewish Public Library at 7:30 p.m. You can send photos of stones for their opinion to [email protected], or visit www.jgs-montreal.org.
Wednesday,May 9
SARIT HADAD PERFORMS
Israeli singer Sarit Hadad will perform at the Rialto at 8 p.m. under the auspices of the Communauté Sépharade Unifiée du Québec. Tickets, 733-4998.
DISCOVERING KIN
Jack Hirschberg discusses his discovery of relatives still living in a shtetl in Poland, at at a meeting of the Chomedey chapter of Act to End Violence Against Women, 7 p.m. at the Young Israel Synagogue. 450-681-5335.
TORAH AND TONICS
Young adults are invited to join Rabbi Julia Appel of Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom for a drink and conversation on a controversial Jewish topic, at Saint Viateur Bagel café, 5629 Monkland Ave., at 7 p.m. This is part of the Temple’s outreach series, titled “Torah and Tonics.”[email protected].
SISTINE CHAPEL
Roy Doliner, co-author of the best-selling book The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican, speaks to the Health and Academia Division of Combined Jewish Appeal at 7 p.m. at Pharmascience Inc., 100-6111 Royalmount Ave. He talks about the supposedly hidden Jewish symbolism in Michelangelo’s work. Tickets, 345-2645, ext. 3660. Attendees must be in good standing with CJA.
…Et Cetera…
STREET HOCKEY
The YM-YWHA and the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation hold their first Street Hockey Tournament May 20-21, benefiting underprivileged kids. Open to adults and youths, and going ahead rain or shine outside the Y building, the event will include appearances by Habs alumni, including honorary chair Patrice Brisebois, and other celebrities and activities for the whole family. Event chair Steve Stotland said proceeds will support programs that get youngsters into recreational or educational activities. www.hockeyderue.org.
CREATIVE RECYCLING
The recent works of Montreal artist Nicholas Voeikoff-Erens, whose medium is free weekly newspapers and art magazines, are on exhibit at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts’ ArtLounge until May 24. He coats cuttings with many layers of acrylic paint and often hangs these unframed creations in a scrolled fashion. He describes them as “malleable, reversible and ultimately sculptural.”
SIMPLE PLAN IN ISRAEL
The Montreal-based pop punk band Simple Plan performs May 5 at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena. It’s their third show in Israel since 2008… Another artist with a close association to Montreal, singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright will perform for his second time in Israel June 3 at Ronit Farm, an amphitheatre near Kibbutz Ga’ash.
INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO
If you missed the Donald Berman Yaldei Development Centre’s recent benefit dinner, check out http://youtu.be/bLPkEaFBIYk to see a “graduate,” eight-year-old Maor, speak eloquently about how intensive therapy transformed him. When he arrived at age four, Maor’s behaviour was out of control and he barely communicated. He’s now a top student at a regular Jewish school and attends without assistance.