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ottawa jewish
To Remember • To Congratulate • To Honour • To Say “I Care” •
Volunteer spotlight
page 16
www.ottawajewishbulletin.com Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Publishing Co. Ltd. •
bulletin volume 74, no. 12
april 5, 2010
21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1R9
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Publisher: Mitchell Bellman
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nissan 21, 5770
Editor: Michael Regenstreif $2.00
Sara Vered honoured at sold-out Negev Dinner By Michael Regenstreif “We are honoured to honour her,” said Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka, the event MC, as the sold-out crowd of 471 at the Fairmont Château Laurier stood and cheered Sara Vered. Vered was the honouree, March 22, at the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Ottawa’s annual Negev Dinner. Although the event was held on an early spring night in 2010, it was actually the 2009 edition of the Negev Dinner, which is normally held in the fall. Vered was selected for the JNF
honour – which, she said, she was tempted to decline because she prefers to be behind the scenes – “in recognition of achieving excellence in social and communal leadership, for her commitment to education, for her tireless dedication to the community of Ottawa, for demonstrating an ethic of hard work, for her fundraising initiatives and many accomplishments, and for her lifelong dedication to the State of Israel and its people.” Speaking without notes or prepared text, Vered, a sabra, talked about her childhood in Palestine be-
fore the State of Israel declared its independence and of her service in the 1948 War of Independence. “Growing up in Jerusalem, we hoped we’d have our own country.” But, Vered said, the tenuousness of the Zionist dream became clear to her on a visit to the German Holocaust museum in the Wannsee villa where the Nazis put the Holocaust into motion. “There, I saw where they were planning to put the gas chambers in Palestine,” she said. But, the State of Israel was destined to be and Vered, still a teenager and not yet finished high school, served as a wireless operator in the War of Independence. Stationed first at the Hebrew University, Vered was in Jerusalem during the siege. (Continued on page 2)
Negev Dinner honouree Sara Vered with (left to right) sons Ron, Gillie and Arnie Vered, the dinner co-chairs. (Photo: Howard Kay)
Shalom Bayit Women’s Seder
Kashering for Passover Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum of the Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut (OVH) kashers a kiddush cup for Passover. The OVH offered a free kashering for Passover service, March 24 and 25, behind the Soloway JCC. (Photo: Francie Greenspoon)
By Diane Koven Why was this night different from all other nights? The question took on a special meaning for almost 250 women who gathered for a prePassover seder this year. The first difference was that it was not yet Passover. The second was that all the participants were women. Women’s seders have grown in popularity over the past number of years, with the traditional Haggadah being re-written to emphasize the female heroes of the Passover story. The Fifth Annual Shalom Bayit Women’s Seder, March 24, at Congregation Agudath Israel, was organized by Shalom Bayit, a program of
Jewish Family Services (JFS) that seeks to inform, educate, provide resources and raise awareness about domestic violence in the Jewish community. What began as a gathering of a dozen people at the home of Yaffa Greenbaum has grown from year to year in size and scope. Greenbaum, a social worker with experience in the area of domestic violence, had been involved with women’s seders in Los Angeles before moving to Ottawa. As a volunteer with the Shalom Bayit committee, she suggested holding the first one in her home as “a nice way for our committee to bond.” That first evening was “magical
... we really connected and I said that, if each of us could invite 10 people the next year, we could do it as a fundraiser for Shalom Bayit and transform this into an event that could help educate people about domestic violence,” said Greenbaum. Greenbaum began to collect Haggadahs from women’s seders and to adapt one for her group’s use. The seders have grown each year and the Haggadah evolved as well. This year’s seder, the largest ever, attracted women of all ages from all segments of the Jewish community. The one common denominator was that they were all Jewish women. Greenbaum led the seder with (Continued on page 2)
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