About Town: June 3

 
 
 
Thursday, June 3


AFGHANS HAVE TALENT

The 2009 documentary Afghan Star, about four contestants who risk all to become their nation’s favourite singer, will be screened at the Segal Centre’s CinemaSpace, 7 p.m., by the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors. Tickets, Stefani Novick, 342-1234, ext. 7201.

Friday, June 4


DR. JOE AT CUMMINGS

Joe Schwarcz speaks on “An Apple a Day” at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors at 10 a.m. Joyce, 342-1234, ext. 7318.

CARLEBACH SHABBAT

The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue holds a Kabbalat Shabbat service with singing and dancing inspired by the soulful melodies of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, at 6:30 p.m. A light kiddush follows. Rabbi Schachar Orenstein, 737-3695.

OU PRESIDENT VISITS
Stephen J. Savitsky, president of the Orthodox Union, visits Montreal  this Shabbat June 4-5 with the aim of strengthening the OU’s relationship with the community here and better serving its needs. Shabbat morning, he gives a drashah at Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem at 10:30 a.m. on “Orthodox Jewry at the Crossroads: Will We Meet the Challenges?” Following 11:45 a.m. services at Congregation Adath Israel Poale Zedek, he speaks at the kiddush on “Facing the Demands of Orthodox Jewry in the Next Generation.” Savitsky then addresses an NCSY Jewish teens’ seudah shlishit at the home of its director, Rabbi Binyamin Pinkus, at 7 p.m. His final engagement is at another seudah shlishit at Congregation Beth Israel Beth Aaron, where his topic is “Washington and Jerusalem: Why is the Honeymoon Over?”

Sunday, June 6


BACKGAMMON & WHISKEY

An evening of backgammon and whisky-tasting takes place at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue at 4 p.m., meal included. Tickets, 737-3695, ext. 101.

THE JAZZ SINGER IN YIDDISH
The world premiere of the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre’s musical version of  The Jazz Singer opens at the Segal Centre and continues until June 27, under the direction of Bryna Wasserman. The Segal’s resident composer and lyricist Elan Kunin has adapted the original 1925 play by Samson Raphaelson, which was made into a Hollywood film starring Al Jolson two years later. Kunin also plays the lead role of the cantor’s son who dreams of making it big on Broadway, challenging his father’s wishes. The cast includes talented performers from diverse cultural backgrounds, reflecting the Segal’s mission to build bridges through the arts.
Joel Raphaelson, son of the playwright, guest lecturer at Sunday-@-the Segal at 11 a.m., talks about the important role The Jazz Singer plays in Jewish-American literature.
On June 7 at 8 p.m., the Segal’s CinemaSpace screens the documentary Jolson and the Jazz Singer: Movies Learn to Talk.

Monday, June 7


MEZUZAH EXHIBITION

Anna VanDelman lectures on “Signs Upon the Doorposts,” an exhibition of mezuzah cases, at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom at 7 p.m. Optional light supper at 6. Crafted by members of Toronto’s Pomegranate Guild of Judaica, the cases are on view until Aug. 1. Reservations, [email protected].

GROUP BAT MITZVAH
Girls going into grades 6 and 7 and their parents are invited to an information meeting at Congregation Beth-El at 7 p.m. on a group bat mitzvah program during the 2010-11 academic year. Lessons will be given by Rabbi Ronnie Cahana and teacher Samantha Druzin at the synagogue. 738-4766.

Tuesday, June 8


WOMEN’S BOOK GROUP

Tova Mirvis, author of The Outside World, discusses her wise and funny novel about a closed community, at Conversations, a women’s book group, at the Jewish Public Library at 7 p.m. Presented with the Hadassah Brandeis Institute. Tickets, 345-2627, ext. 3042.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Omega-3 fatty acids and other “brain” foods are discussed by naturopath Kadeja Lefebvre in “Food for Thought” at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors at 1 p.m. Registration, 342-1234, ext. 7305.

Wednesday, June 9


FILM ON UN FAILINGS

The documentary U.N. Me, which exposes “the incompetence and corruption at the heart” of the United Nations is screened at a fundraiser for Kollel Torah Mitzion Montreal, 8 p.m. at the Imperial Cinema. Ami Horowitz, who made the film with Matthew Groff, is guest of honour. Dessert reception follows.The Kollel offers Torah studies to men, women and students of all ages, from all Jewish backgrounds, taught by emissaries from Israel. Tickets, 486-5718.

…Et Cetera…

The Jewish Community Centre of the Eastern Townships holds a Shabbat potluck family picnic June 11 at Uplands Terrace in Lennoxville, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Vermont musician and storyteller Lewis Franco entertains with Ashkenazi and Sephardi music. Reservations, 819-812-3118… Véronique Savard of the Université du Québec à Montréal and Steven Bates of Concordia University are the inaugural recipients of the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art. The two graduates, who recently completed master’s degrees in fine arts, will receive $55,000 each over two years to help them launch their careers, including getting exhibited. Bates, an installation artist, termed the fellowship “life changing,” while painter Savard commented, “When starting out on a professional career, an artist can only dream of being able to  devote her time entirely to… her works.” The recipients were chosen by a jury of representatives of the universities, and an external juror. The Bronfmans have committed $550,000 over several years to the program, which gives newly graduated artists financial independence to start a professional practice.

Dr. Marla Shapiro is honorary chair of the inaugural Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre fundraising gala taking place June 5 at McGill University. Shapiro, who obtained her medical degree from McGill in 1979, is best known as the medical consultant for CTV National News and Canada AM, and as host of Balance: Television for Living Well. She’s also a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2004. “As a physician and cancer patient, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of world-class cancer centres that bring research and state-of-the-art science to the ultimate benefit of people such as me.” Former McGill principal Bernard Shapiro (no relation) will serve as dinner chair. MC is Derek Drummond, gala chair is Penny Echenberg and fundraising chair is Marvin Corber… Businessman and philanthropist Herschel Victor received an honorary doctorate from McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management June 2. A McGill graduate, Victor supports scholarships for students entering the faculty and also funded a renovation of the faculty’s main lobby. Among his many other donations, Victor established a chair in psychosocial oncology at the Jewish General Hospital last year, in conjunction with Hope and Cope… Victoria Kaspi, McGill University’s Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology, has been named to the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of science, founded in 1660. Kaspi is a world-renowned physicist known for her research on neutron stars, pulsars and supernovae remnants… Morris Rosenberg, a graduate of McGill University, the Université de Montréal and Harvard University, becomes federal deputy minister of foreign affairs June 4. He was deputy health minister. He began his career with the Montreal law firm Mendelsohn, Rosentzveig, Shacter in the late 1970s.  –