Thursday, Oct. 14
BOOK REVIEW
Father John Walsh reviews The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre, Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, 7 p.m. Tickets, 937-3575.
JEWISH SPIES
“The Jewish Spies: Reilly was Really Rosenburg” is Joe King’s topic for the next talk in his lecture series, at the Eleanor London Côte St.Luc Public Library, 2 p.m. 485-6900.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
Michael Lifshitz, who was born with debilitating multiple congenital musculoskeletal abnormalities, speaks on “Oy Vey… The Challenges,” at a Shaare Zedek Men’s Club breakfast, 9:30 a.m. Lifshitz, who has a successful career in finance, also writes a column titled “Sure I Can” for Exceptional Family Magazine and is a motivational speaker. 484-1122.
PIANIST BOURASSA
Jazz pianist François Bourassa and his quartet perform at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts’ Studio, 8 p.m. Tickets, 739-7944.
TECHNOLOGY 101
Marc Saltzman of CTV’s Tech Talk demystifies new technology in a lecture sponsored by the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, at the Hampton Inn & Suites on the West Island, 7:30 p.m. It’s part of the Next Big Thing series, sponsored by the Phyllis and David Caplan Fund. Stefani Novick, 342-1234.
LAUGH OUT LOUD
Filmmaker and columnist Albert Nerenberg presents an evening on the power of laughter, “LOL: Laugh Out Loud” 7:30 p.m., Congregation Beth Ora.
MIDEAST PERSPECTIVE
David Berger, Canada’s ambassador to Israel from 1994 to 1999, and Peter McCrae, chair of the Palestinian Refugee Co-ordination Forum from 2006 to 2008, speak on “Israel and the Palestinians in the Late 1990s,” at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, after an introduction by Rabbi Adam Scheier, 7:30 p.m. Tickets, 937-9471, ext. 139.
MEMOIR LAUNCHED
Ursula Feist, who at 17 escaped her native Germany for England on the eve of World War II on the Kindertransport, launches her memoir, Me and My Passports, 7 p.m. at the Eleanor London Côte St. Luc Public Library.
TENANTS’ RIGHTS
Arnold Bennett discusses tenants’ rights, 10 a.m. at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors. 342-1234, ext. 7207.
BLUES CONCERT
Geneviève Toupin, who grew up in the village of St. Claude, Man., and The Kitchen Shakers perform a mix of blues, country and roots at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts’ Studio 8 p.m., part of the CBC Radio 2 Routes Montreal series. Tickets, 739-7944.
CHW ART AUCTION
Tom Hopkins is the featured artist at the annual Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Montreal art auction at Espace Reunion, 6600 Hutchison St., 7 p.m. Evening includes a cocktail dinatoîre, preview and sale. Hopkins will be introduced by his friend, lawyer and arts patron Roy Heenan. The work of more than 45 established and emerging Canadian artists in a variety of media will be auctioned off by Neil Horowitz. Event co-chairs are Sarah Hutman and Alana Shiveck.. Tickets, 933-8461.
DINE & DISCOVER
“Nourish Your Well-Being” is the topic of a Dine & Discover evening with Sharon Cohen , 5:45 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom. Reserve at [email protected].
COMING TO AMERICA
Jewish immigration to North America in the early 20th century will be discussed by Maxine Jacobson at a meeting of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO Golda Meir Chapter, 1:30 p.m., Chevra Mishnayis Synagogue in Chomedey. Reservations, president Evie Applebee, 450-681-9342.
SERIES ON CANCER
A new series of free public lectures on cancer, sponsored by Rosalind and Morris Goodman, begins at McGill University with “Agents and Diseases that Trigger Cancer: Can you Catch Cancer?” 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Goodman Cancer Research Centre, Room 501. The centre’s director, Dr. Michel Tremblay, leads a discussion among a panel of experts. Registration, Annette Novak, 398-4970.
ISRAELI FILM AT FNC
The grim Israeli feature film Ha’Meshotet (The Wanderer) by Avishai Sivan is being screened at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma until Oct. 24. Sivan’s debut movie is about a shy, confused Orthodox adolescent whose only release from his anxiety over his faith, family and sexuality is wandering alone for hours, mostly at night. He eventually commits rape. Screen Daily describes the 86-minute work as “bordering on the experimental,” with minimal dialogue, a sketchy plot, and immobile camera work. Ha’Meshotet is entered in the festival category open to the first, second or third works of “often underrated” filmmakers. “These are raw, uncensored films that command respect,” the festival says. The Israeli film is vying with 18 other films for the $15,000 Louve d’Or.
BULLYING EXPERT
Best-selling U.S. author Barbara Coloroso, an expert on bullying, was a keynote speaker at this week’s professional development day for Jewish day school educators, organized by the Bronfman Jewish Education Centre. The theme was “The Teacher as Facilitator: The New Dynamics of the 21st-Century Classroom.” The French keynote address was given by Claude Lamarche, author and Université de Montréal professor. Some 800 teachers from 15 schools and several centres de petite enfance attended the event, held at Bialik High School. Workshops were held on technology in the classroom, learning difficulties and reading, writing and mathematics, as well as on ethics, tolerance and experiential learning.
NOMAD FESTIVAL
Montreal’s first Festivale Nomade, on until Oct. 17, includes the opportunity to learn about Sukkot and how to make a temporary shelter like the ancient nomadic Jews. The festival is being presented by La Khaima restaurant in Mile End, the Ghetto Shul and the Sufi Centre, and is co-chaired by the restaurant’s owner, Atigh Ould, a Bedouin from Mauritania, and holistic wellness coach Myrite Rotstein. The sponsors built a community Sukkah in the backyard of the Sufi Centre, which serves a branch of Islam, on Fairmount Avenue, next door to La Khaima in a project assisted by a Federation CJA grant. Jews and non-Jews were invited to share in food, music, storytelling and even yoga in the spirit of multiculturalism.
Ex-Montrealer Jordan Waxman, 46, swam the English Channel Sept. 28 in 14 hours and six minutes. “Craziest thing I’ve ever done, but the most satisfying,” Waxman said in an e-mail. “The last two miles took three hours and 45 minutes because of the change in tides. It was really cold, and my legs cramped for the last seven hours after every feeding.” Waxman, who captained McGill University’s swim team in the 1980s, tried and failed to make it across the channel last year. He now lives in Rockleigh, N.J., and is a senior vice-president at Merrill Lynch Private Banking and a married father of three. Waxman believes he’s the first Canadian Jew to swim the channel, and probably among the oldest Canadian men to complete the feat… Charles Foran’s biography, Mordecai: The Life and Times, is due out Oct. 23. Richler’s widow, Florence, co-operated with Foran and gave him access to the writer’s papers.