About Town: Week of April 18

Thursday, April 18

 

LET’S DANCE

Sasha Kleinplatz and Andrew Tay, co-artistic directors of Wants & Needs Danse, present their new work Chorus II at MAI (Montréal arts interculturels), 3680 Jeanne Mance St., at 8 p.m. This contemporary dance draws inspiration from the swaying movements of Jewish men at prayer, and Kleinplatz describes it as a very personal work. Tickets, 514-982-3386.

 

BOOK TALK

Lise Ravary and CJN reporter Elias Levy will discuss their new books – respectively, Pourquoi moi? Ma vie chez les juifs hassidiques and Comprendre Israel  – at a Café Littéraire of the Aleph Centre d’études juives contemporaines at the Segal Centre, 7 p.m. Registration, 514-733-4998, ext. 3160.

 

Friday, April 19

 

JEWS FOR JUDAISM

Rabbi Michael Skobac, director of Jews for Judaism,  an organization that counters missionary and cult activity, is the guest speaker at a Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue Shabbaton, starting tonight with dinner. Tickets, 514-737-3695.

 

Sunday, April 21

 

TEA PARTY

A “Mommy, Bubby and Me Tea Party” will take place at The Chevra synagogue, 2-4 p.m., featuring a sweet table, vendors and family activities. 514-482-3366.

 

ISRAELI AUTHOR

Israeli author Etgar Keret discusses his new collection of stories, Suddenly, a Knock on the Door, at the Jewish Public Library at 7:30 p.m., as part of the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival. He’ll be introduced by Nitza Parry, chair of the JPL’s Hebrew Cultural Committee. Tickets, 514-937-BLEU.

 

Monday, April 22

 

DE SOUSA MENDES STORY

Andrée Lotey, a French literature professor and former Radio-Canada journalist, relates the incredible story of her discovery of her father’s Jewish origins and his rescue by Holocaust hero Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat, at the Gelber Conference Centre, 7:30 p.m. Her lecture, “The Survivors of the Green Suitcase,” is being sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Montreal with the Jewish Public Library. 514-484-0969.

 

POWER OF FORGIVENESS

The film The Power of Forgiveness, featuring Elie Wiesel and Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh, among others, will be screened at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, 7 p.m. It will be introduced by Skype by Anne Marie Hagan in Newfoundland, a storyteller from the Forgiveness Project. Stefani Novick, 342-1234, ext. 7201.

 

Tuesday, April 23

 

DEVELOPING THE NEGEV

Joe King speaks about “Ben-Gurion’s Dream,” at a Beth Ora Seniors meeting, 1:30 p.m. 514-342-1234, ext. 7318.

 

ART WALK

Barbara Weiser, who has a master’s degree in Jewish studies, leads a walking tour of artworks at the Jewish Community Campus, 1 p.m. from the Jewish Public Library circulation desk. Tickets, 514-345-6416. Itinerary includes the JPL, Gelber Conference Centre and  the YM-YWHA, which house impressive collections.

TALMUDIC ATELIER

Daniel Glassman leads a seminar on “La divergence d’opinions dans le Talmud,” open to men and women at  the Beth Hamidrach de Aleph, Cummings House, 7 p.m. Registration, 514-733-4998, ext. 3160.

 

MILGAARD AT CHABAD

David Milgaard, who spent 23 years in a Canadian prison for a wrongful conviction, speaks at Chabad of the Town, 7:30 p.m. about his story and the Innocence Project, which helps others who are seeking exoneration. 514-342-1770.

 

PALLIATIVE CARE

Nurse Sue Britton and social worker Zelda Freitas lead a free workshop on planning for palliative care, sponsored by McGill University’s Council on Palliative Care, at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration, [email protected].

 

Wednesday, April 24

ORAL HISTORY

Historian Sharon Gubbay Helfer and Beryl Moser, a founding Dawson College librarian, talk about Helfer’s interview of Moser for an oral history project at a meeting of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO’s Golda Meir Chapter, at the Chevra Mishnais Jacob Josef Synagogue in Chomedey, 1:15 p.m. Reservations, Evie Applebee, 450-681-9342.

 

LITTLE JERUSALEM

The PBS documentary Little Jerusalem, about the history of the Burlington, Vt., Jewish community, will be screened at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom at 7:30 p.m. It’s to be followed by a discussion with producer Dorothy Dickie. Reservations, Rosie, 514-937-3575, ext. 213.

 

GUN CONTROL

Rabbi Allan Nadler lectures on “Jews Don’t Hunt, or Do They? Some Rabbinic Wisdom Regarding the Debate Over Gun Control,” at Congregation Beth-El, 8 p.m. Registration, 514-738-4766.

 

Thursday, April 25

 

BOOK REVIEW

The Purchase by Linda Spalding will be reviewed by Michael Tritt, who taught English for many years at Marianopolis College, at the Jewish Public Library at 2 p.m. The novel, which won the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, is a Quaker family saga set at the turn of the 18th century. Tickets, 514-345-2627, ext. 3006.

 

…Et Cetera…

 

HONOURS, ETC.

Ira Robinson, a Judaic studies professor at Concordia University, will receive the 2013 Louis Rosenberg Canadian Jewish Studies Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies at its conference in Victoria, B.C., in June. Robinson has been contributing to Jewish studies in Canada for more than 30 years through extensive publications in academic journals and histories. He’s a past president of the Jewish Public Library and currently chairs its J.I. Segal Awards Committee and the Cultural Co-ordinating Committee… Mount Royal Liberal MP Irwin Cotler was honoured for his leadership in the freedom for Soviet Jewry movement at the recent Limmud FSU summit in Princeton, N.J. He was cited  for being “at the forefront of the global struggle for human rights, and for his legendary advocacy on behalf of Soviet Jewry,” especially high-profile Refuseniks… Family lawyer Ian Solloway was re-elected by acclamation to an unprecedented fifth consecutive term as chair of the English-speaking  section of the bar of Montreal for 2013-2014.

 

THINGS TO DO

The Israeli movie Yossi by Eytan Fox is currently showing at the Cinéma du Parc… Rabbi Boruch Perton is leading a “pro-feminist” women’s study group at Beth Zion Congregation. 514-489-8411, ext. 24… A Mom and Tots group and women’s yoga are being offered at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.