Thursday, Oct. 8
SUKKAH SPEED DATING
If you’re single and between 30 and 45 years old, how about some speed dating in the sukkah, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Ora? There are only 50 spots available and you’ll meet up to 25 people. Advance registration is required. For details, call 514-748-6559. Reserve at [email protected].
ALL YOU NEED IS LULAV
Federation CJA West Island holds an “all you need is lulav” event, 7-10 p.m., with “pizza and pitchers,” music and more. For young adults 18 to 25. E-mail [email protected].
FOLK, BLUEGRASS @ SEGAL
Well-known local folk/roots singer/songwriter Annabelle Chvostek and urban bluegrass band Lake of Stew perform 7:30 p.m. at the Segal Centre as part of a taping session of CBC’s Routes Montreal program. Details at 514-739-2301, tickets at 514-739-7944.
SO MUCH TO OFFER (& GAIN)
Recently retired or semi-retired? An “empty nester? Maimonides Geriatric Centre has an innovative program for people whose expertise and experience can be harnessed to work alongside staff in all departments: physiotherapy, social services, administration, etc. It’s called being a para-professional volunteer, and details are available at an information session, 10 a.m. at the centre. Contact Roz Friend, at 514-483-2121, ext. 2204.
SHIRLEEN SINGS!
Shirleen sings at 1:30 p.m. for the Chomedey Seniors Club at Young Israel of Chomedey. Toby Banks at 450-688-7020.
Tuesday, Oct. 13
HANNAH SENESH’S LIFE
Roberta Grossman’s 2008 documentary, Blessed is the Match: the Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, will be screened 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim as part of the First Annual Sisterhood Jewish Film Festival, Oct. 13-15. Senesh was a Hungarian poet and diarist from Palestine and a Resistance fighter in World War II who was captured, tortured and killed by the Nazis.
L’ÉTUDE BIBLIQUE
The Communauté sépharade du Québec’s Aleph Centre d’études juives contemporaines begins a four-part introductory series on Bible study led by Haim Hazan, 7:30-9 p.m. at 1 Cummings Square. E-mail Robert Zamler at [email protected].
BETH ORA BINGO
Beth Ora Seniors play bingo for fun and prizes, 1:45 p.m. at the shul. Call 514-342-1234, ext. 7220.
BABYLONIAN JEWS
Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum in charge of cuneiform inscriptions and other Asian antiquities, sheds new light on the Babylonian Captivity and Babylonian Jews, at a 7:30p.m. lecture at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. The fully illustrated talk will look at the circumstances and nature of the Babylonian exile, as well as the impact of Babylonian culture on the creation of the Bible and formation of Judaism in Mesopotamia. Call 514-737-3695.
RELATED TO FREUD
Ann Charney discusses her latest, well-received novel, Distantly Related to Freud,with Stanley Asher, 5:30 p.m. at the Jewish Public Library as part of its Canada Council of the Arts Literary Readings with Wine Reception. Limited seating. Reserve at 514-345-6416, call 514-345-2627, ext. 3010, or visit, www.jewishpubliclibrary.org.
JEWISH LAW LECTURE
Yair Lorberbaum, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, answers the question: “Did Maimonides Consider ‘Decrees of Scripture’ Irrational or Rational?” 7:30 p.m., Moot Court, McGill University law faculty, 3644 Peel St. Visit www.mcgill.ca/jewishstudies/lectures.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Ruth Budovitch begins a series of Health and Wellness Sessions on Thursdays, today through Nov. 5, 7-8:30 p.m. at the YM-YWHA Ben Weider JCC. The sessions cover stress management strategies, anger management, self-esteem and assertiveness. Registration required. Contact Budovitch at 514-487-1280, or Olga at 514-737-6551, ext. 240.
BIG BOOK STUDY
Chabad Project Pride Addiction Crisis Centre starts a Thursday, noon-1 p.m. Big Book Study Group discussion on Alcoholics Anonymous, 4985 Queen Mary Rd. Call Ruth Wienberger, 514-485-5121.
‘LAUGHTER’ CORRECTION
The Jewish Eldercare Centre Auxiliary’s Oct. 25 Evening of Laughter honouring Sid Stevens of Sun Youth is actually taking place at Congregation Shaare Zion, not Beth Zion, as mistakenly stated in Sept. 24’s About Town column. Call Faigie Sadegursky, at 514-738-4500, ext. 8108.
WOODEN ACRES REUNION
Did you go to or work at Camp Wooden Acres, a Jewish camp near Sainte-Adolphe-d’Howard that closed in 1977? If so, you can help organizers who are looking for camp alumni as well as people willing to help out on a reunion planning committee and gather memorabilia and photos from that era. Contact Ken Kates at [email protected] or Sari Medicoff at [email protected].
JPL HELPS ILLITERACY
The Jewish Public Library was one of many local libraries and institutions to benefit from contributions during the recent Raise-a-Reader Day to battle illiteracy and encourage reading. The initiative, launched by Canwest Global Communications in 2002, has raised close to $15 million across Canada.
EAST MEETS WEST
Oct. 19, 8 p.m. is the date for a unique “East Meets West” concert organized by conductor Joseph Milo and his World Symphony Orchestra, at Centre Pierre Peladeau, 300 de Maisonneuve Blvd. E. The theme is a “musical dialogue” encompassing music from China, India, the Middle East, Africa, and South America, as well as Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony. Tickets from Centre Pierre Peladeau, 514-987-6969; via Admission at 514-790-1245, or from the orchestra office at 514-510-1826.
MENTAL HEALTH WALK
Margaret Trudeau will host the first annual Montreal Walk for Mental Health, Oct. 18 11 a.m. at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Park. The walk, meant to raise public awareness about mental health, reduce its stigma and raise funds for participating organizations, is five kilometres long. Organizations to benefit include Agence Ometz and the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors, and sponsors include CSSS Cavendish. Details and a registration form are at www.cssscavendish.qc.ca.
Hebrew Academy recently hosted a reception for longtime friend and supporter Edward Schachter, a Holocaust survivor, businessman and benefactor who recently published his own memoirs, The Charm of a Child Survivor, which chronicle a traumatic childhood that included torture and privations but ultimately survival in Canada. Schachter is known for being a generous and self-effacing man who shuns the spotlight and is humble to a fault. Nonetheless, he has contributed to many causes, such as purchasing Torahs for Hebrew Academy and synagogues, promoting interfaith relations by taking a group of nuns to see a performance of Fiddler on the Roof, supplying food baskets anonymously for the needy. At Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem synagogue, Schachter is known as the “Candy Man” for bringing bags of candy for children who, according to longtime friend Ilan Gewurz, flock to him.
