AROUND OUR REGION : SAINT JOHN
SAINT JOHN NEWS BY SUSAN ISAACS-LUBIN Sincere sympathy to Joe Arditti on the death of his beloved wife, Rene. Rene died in early January. Rene was predeceased by their two children, Eliezer and Perla. We hope that Joe will find peace in his memories of Rene. *** Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family of Ron Levine. Ron died suddenly on April 5th. Ron was a pillar of the Saint John Jewish Community. He served as President of Congregation Shaarei Zedek, vice chair of Chevra Kadisha, and as our Building Chair. Ron is survived by his loving wife, Sandy, and three children: Candace Davis (Nathan), Tammy Earle (Matthew), and Darren (Julie), as well as six grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing. *** Saint John is pleased to welcome several new families who have settled here. Gary and Buffie Lee and their daughter have moved here from Atlanta, Georgia. Benjamin Elbaz is moving to Saint John with his wife and five children, Noa Dror is moving here from Vancouver, and Eric Chambers is moving to St. Andrews from New Mexico. We hope they are all successful in their resettlement. *** We were pleased that we were able to celebrate Purim in the Synagogue with about 35 people in attendance. This was the maximum we were allowed to have due to COVID restrictions. We read the Megillah, dressed in costumes, and had take home goodies for all (since we are not allowed
to serve food in the Synagogue because of COVID). It was really nice to see those who came out, on a sign up first come basis, and everyone enjoyed themselves. *** Pesach Seders this year were held in accordance with COVID restrictions, in small family get togethers. Our thanks to Drew Wall, of No Frills grocery in Saint John for bringing in the wide variety of kosher for Passover items. This enabled all of us to celebrate Passover in our homes with the groceries we have come to expect for this holiday. *** Mazel tov to Dr. Anna Barnea Isaacs on opening her new dental office. Anna and her husband, Dr. Yaniv Isaacs (also a dentist), and their two sons, immigrated to Saint John from Israel in 2015, and in 2017, Anna completed her National Dental Examination Board in Canada. Anna has been working in her field with other dentists in the Saint John area since then. Best of luck, Anna. *** We are all slowly receiving our COVID vaccinations and are looking forward to being able to have the freedom to travel within the Maritimes to see family and friends. *** We send get well wishes to Linda Hamburg, Janet Holtzman, and Norman Hamburg and to anyone else who has been ill this past winter. S
REPORT FROM THE SAINT JOHN JEWISH HISTORICAL MUSEUM BY KATHERINE BIGGS-CRAFT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CURATOR For the first time in over a year, the Museum is opening its doors for a live in-person and via Zoom event—Judaism in Context Lecture Series, Part II—on April 18 and 25 and May 2. These lectures will be presented by Dan Elman on three Sunday afternoons 32
Shalom
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exploring Judaism in the context of world religions and history. In each two-hour session, Dan will discuss the topic in an informative and interesting manner and will then open the floor to questions and comments. theAJC .ca
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5 PHOTOS: 1. Enjoying Purim! 2. Hila Aharon 3. Natanel Yosef and some costumed children 4. Purim! 5. Purim costumes 6. Dr. Anna Isaacs’ dental office opening.
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• April 18, 2021—When Religion Goes Wrong/Conversations reveal our cultural history (words are often houses for similar ideas) • April 25, 2021—An Evolution Towards Today: The Axial Age, Mysticism, Polytheism and Monotheism • May 2, 2021—The Eternal Triangle/From Moses to Plato to Jung Dan Elman served as president of Congregation Shaarei Zedek from 19831984. In the absence of a rabbi, he was the community’s Lay Reader for nearly two decades, leading Sabbath services,
