Doug Baum is a founding partner of Addelman Baum Gilbert LLP.
The Naval Blockade of Gaza
10:15 – 11:00 Social Hall B (Savyon)
Daniel Benlolo is the Cantor of Beth Shalom Synagogue, Tamir Judaic Advisor, and Choir Director of Tamir
Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Cantor Daniel Benlolo and his family settled in Quebec in the early 1970′s. Fluent in French, English, Arabic, and Hebrew, he attended the Rabbinical College of Canada and became Chazzan (Cantor) of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal at the age of 17. In 1991, Cantor Benlolo studied Ashkenazi, Yemenite, Syrian and other forms of Sephardi cantorial styles at the Belz School of Jewish Music, an affiliate of Yeshiva University in New York. In addition to his duties at Congregation Beth Shalom of Ottawa he continues to perform at countless community-wide functions while working as an educator at Talmud Torah, Judaic advisor for the Tamir Foundation serving people with developmental disabilities, and various other agencies. He is also the founder of the SJCC Shira Ottawa Choir, The Tamir Neshama Choir and L’ecole Benlolo Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Afternoon School. Cantor Benlolo is the recipient of the Elaine Rabin Social Service Award, the Governor General Caring Canadian Award, and the 2004 United Way Community Builder Award for his dedication and commitment to helping others in the community.
Inclusion Takes Centre Stage: The Challenges and Benefits of Involving People With Developmental Disabilities in the Visual and Performing Arts
3:15 – 4:15 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Menachem Blum is the current Rabbi at The Ottawa Torah Centre in Barrhaven, Ontario.
Rabbi Menachem M. Blum is the founder and spiritual leader of the Ottawa Torah Centre Chabad (OTC) located in Barrhaven. OTC was created with the premise that Jewish education and meaningful experiences are the grass-root method to fighting the forces of indifference, apathy and assimilation that face North American Jewry. Rabbi Blum is known for his non-judgmental approach and for his ability to connect and inspire Jews of all levels regardless of their backgrounds and affiliation.
Where There is a Rabbinic Will, There is a Halachic Way
12:15 – 1:00 Teen Lounge (Netanya)
Barry Bokhaut is an experienced Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) peer support volunteer and spent time on the CCS Executive Board.
Barry speaks from experience, as he has dealt with had two major illnesses, cancer and heart disease. He is an experienced Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) Peer support volunteer, providing support on a one to one basis to those who are battling cancer. He is a CCS trainer who has trained volunteers, developed training material, and trained those who provide training to volunteers. Barry has been a Peer support convener, a community liaison officer, and a board member of CCS Executive Board. He is an experienced presenter and CCS media representative
Dealing With Catastrophic Illness
2:15-3:00 Teen Lounge (Netanya)
Liz Bolton blends her unique combination of skills and experience as an opera singer, voice teacher, choral conductor, cantor and pulpit rabbi. A dynamic service and workshop leader, Rabbi Bolton has served on the faculty of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, as the rabbi of Baltimore’s Reconstructionist congregation Beit Tikvah, at many Jewish workshops, conventions, shabbatonim and retreat as well as multi-faith gatherings. Originally from Montreal, she recently relocated to Ottawa to serve as the first permanent rabbi of Reconstructionist congregation Or Haneshamah.
Jewish Feminism: What’s Been Accomplished and Where Do We Go From Here?
10:15 – 11:00 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Bram Bregman was born and raised in Ottawa and a proud graduate of Hillel Academy and Yitzhak Rabin High School, is currently the Vice President, Community Building at the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. In this capacity, Bram aims to enhance Jewish life in Ottawa by working with a talented team of professionals to strengthen local Jewish organizations and synagogues, Jewish education, the emerging generation, Hillel on Campus, Ottawa’s connection with Israel, Holocaust education and community building initiatives. Bram is known for his innovative thinking, professionalism, customer service, can-do attitude, passion for community, and welcoming personality. Bram enjoys travelling, reading, cooking, entertaining, Jewish learning and playing guitar. Bram is always looking for new ideas and discussions about community.
Who Was the First Jew and Why it Matters Today
12:15 – 1:00 Social Hall B (Savyon)
David Brooks who was educated in geology and economics, spent much of his professional career with the International Development Research Centre. He now advises several Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations, including the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance (University of Victoria). His main research interests are split between water soft paths (an approach to sustainable governance of fresh water) and water demand management in the Middle East, with particular emphasis on Israel and Palestine In 2012 Dr Brooks received an honorary doctor of environmental studies from the University of Waterloo.
What Does Classical Jewish Literature Have to Say About Climate Change?
1:15 – 2:00 Teen Lounge (Netanya)
Deidre Butler is a Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies at Carleton University. She specializes in Jewish Feminist Ethics, Modern Jewish Philosophy, and Contemporary Jewish Women. She is also the Associate Director of the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies.
Jewish Feminism: What’s Been Accomplished and Where Do We Go From Here?
10:15 – 11:00 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Andrew Cohen
Andrew Cohen is a journalist and author. Among his best-selling books are Trudeau’s Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau (with J.L. Granatstein); The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are; Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson; and While Canada Slept: How We Lost Our Place in the World, which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and was named one of the top 12 political books of the last 25 years. His latest book is Two Days in June; John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Made History. A former foreign correspondent and editorialist with the Globe and Mail, he has worked in Toronto, Washington, London, and Berlin. He writes a column for the Ottawa Citizen and appears regularly on the CTV News Channel. He has won two National Newspaper Awards, three National Magazine Awards and twice received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. Professor Cohen has taught at the Carleton School of Journalism and Communications as well as the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.
Germany and Memory: How Modern Germany Remembers Its Past
2:15 – 3:00 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Leah Cohen is the point person for the Lowy Collection and can be found there on Wednesdays. Otherwise, she is responsible for the Legal Deposit of English Monographs.
The Jacob M. Lowy Collection
1:15 – 2:00 Boardroom (Ra’anana)
Michael Goldstein is the Rabbi and co-founder of the Glebe Shul, a community space for students, young professionals, and new families in Ottawa’s downtown core. A native Ottawan, Michael studied at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University in New York. He moved back to Ottawa in August 2010 to help strengthen and build community in his hometown. Outside his work at the Glebe Shul, Michael is also the Assistant Executive Director of NCSY Ottawa.
Daf Yomi
9:15 – 10:00 Social Hall B (Savyon)
Gustave Goldmann is a social demographer specializing in aboriginal demography, the settlement and absorption of immigrants and subjects related to ethnic groups and ethnicity. He has published extensively on these topics in Canadian and international journals. He has also contributed chapters to books on these topics. After an extensive career in the Federal Public Service he accepted two academic appointments: Adjunct Professor in the School of sociological and anthropological studies at the University of Ottawa and Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Policy at Carleton University. In addition to his consulting activities, Dr. Goldmann is an active academic who continues to teach courses in research methods, demography and Canadian society at the senior undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Jews of Canada: Past, Present and Future
11:15 – 12:00 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Dylan Hanley is known as the accidental Zionist. He will tell his story about why he is a strong supporter of Israel now after he spent his undergraduate years being a pro-Palestinian activist. He works at CIJA.
Israel: Shifting Sands in the Middle East
11:15 – 12:00 Social Hall B (Savyon)
Yair Harel is the leader of the Tafillalt Ensemble made up of Harel, Nori Jacoby, and Yonatan Niv. The Ensemble specializes in classical and modern Middle Eastern and North African music. The ensemble is based in Israel, and their visit to Limmud Ottawa is sponsored by the Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies, the Vered Israel Cultural & Educational Program, the Embassy of Israel in Canada, and the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Tafillalt Music Masterclass
1:15 – 2:15 Classroom 1 (Beersheba)
David Harris is a Canadian lawyer with 30 years’ experience in national security and intelligence affairs, David B. Harris is director of the International Intelligence Program of INSIGNIS Strategic Research Inc. Harris has testified at US Congressional subcommittee and Canadian parliamentary committee hearings, and served as an intervener counsel in Canadian terrorism and intelligence inquiries. He has also consulted with intelligence organizations in Canada and abroad. Maclean’s magazine describes Harris as “one of Canada’s leading experts on terrorism.”
Quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and international news services, David Harris has appeared on television’s America’s Most Wanted, CBS’s 60 Minutes, NBC Dateline, The Today Show, The CBS News, CNN, and FOX News, as well as on Canadian networks. Harris appears regularly on the SUN News Network and is a national-security columnist for SUN newspapers. He is heard Fridays, at 1:30 pm, on CFRA Radio Ottawa’s The Intelligence File.
International Islamic Extremism: Ramifications for Canada and Canadian Jews
1:15 – 2:15 Social Hall B (Savyon)
Michael Kent is a dynamic educator with NCSY and Torah High of Ottawa who is committed to fostering critical and independent thinking among his students.
Sympathy for the Devil: Reassessing One of Theology’s Most Misunderstood Characters
9:15 – 10:00 Teen Lounge (Netanya)
Peggy J. Kleinplatz is Professor of Medicine, Clinical Professor of Psychology and Director of Sex and Couples Therapy Training at the University of Ottawa. She is Certified in Sex Education and as a Diplomate in and Supervisor of Sex Therapy. Since 1983, Dr. Kleinplatz has been teaching Human Sexuality at the University of Ottawa, where she received the Prix d’Excellence in 2000. She has edited four books, notably New Directions in Sex Therapy: Innovations and Alternatives, and is the winner of the AASECT 2013 Book Award.
Extraordinary Sexual Intimacy: Which Way to Transcendence?
11:15 – 12:00 Boardroom (Ra’anana)
Betina Kuzmarov is the Associate Dean (Student Success) in the Faculty of Public Affairs and an Instructor III in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University.
Jewish Influence on International Law
3:15 – 4:00 Boardroom (Ra’anana)
Fred Litwin is the founder and President of the Free Thinking Film Society, an Ottawa-based not-for-profit corporation that celebrates films of freedom, liberty and democracy.
Is the Media Biased Against Israel?
9:15 – 10:00 Boardroom (Ra’anana)
Rebecca Margolis
Rebecca Margolis is associate professor in the Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program at the University of Ottawa. Her research and teaching centre on the Jewish experience in Canada, including Yiddish language and culture. This will be Rebecca’s third time contribution to Limmud Ottawa.
The Jews of Canada : Past, Present, Future
11:15 – 12:30 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Seymour Mayne is the author, editor or translator of more than sixty books. His writings have been translated into many languages, including French, German, Hebrew, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. His latest collections include Ricochet: Word Sonnets/Sonnets d’un mot – 2011, a bilingual edition of his word sonnets, and The Old Blue Couch and Other Stories – 2012, a volume of his selected short fiction. As a fervent and leading international innovator of the word sonnet, he has given readings and lectured widely abroad and in Canada on this unique new ‘miniature’ form.
Midrash of Poetry
2:15 – 3:00 Classroom 5 (Caesarea)
Hallow the Fiftieth Year: Launching of Seymour Mayne’s Latest Book
3:15 – 4:00 Classroom 5 (Caesarea)
Allan Moscovitch is a Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at Carleton University, where he has been teaching and writing for many years. He is member of the Jewish Community’s Task Force on Poverty in the early part of the 21stcentury. A former President of Jewish Family Services and the founding President of the Association of Jewish Child and Family Service Agencies of Canada, founding Chair of the Jewish Community’s Allocations Committee and led the committee for its first few years. A first time presenter at Limmud Allan Moscovitch will focus on the most recent (2011) data on Jewish poverty in Canada and will have a few comments to make on Jewish poverty in Ottawa.
The Extent and Nature of Jewish Poverty in Canada
12:15 – 1:00 Social Hall C (Herzliya)
Louis Moscovitz : Ever since graduating culinary studies at LaSalle College in Montreal, Louis hasn’t stopped cooking. His passion and love creating delicacies was well demonstrated at his sister Simone’s wedding where he not only prepared a sumptuous 4 course meal for the entire wedding entourage but added a kosher dimension to the experience. According to father Jason Moscovitz, Louis borscht soup is exceptional as are his incredible savory potato latkes. He will talk about his experiences at the same time demonstrate the fine art of smoking fish.
Kosher Encounters of a Third Kind – cooking demo
3:15 – 4:15 Café Dizengoff
Mark Palmer is Executive Director, Tamir
Panelists
Debbie Applebaum Tamir visual and performing arts participant
Bailey Smith Doiron Tamir choir member
Megan Piercy Monafu Playwright
Katherine Porter Executive Director, H’Art Kingston
Inclusion Takes Centre Stage: The Challenges and Benefits of Involving People With Developmental Disabilities in the Visual and Performing Arts
3:15 – 4:15 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Gina Roitman : With some 35 years in communication, mostly in the field of arts and entertainment, as well as travel and tourism, Gina’s many career paths include work as a journalist, marketing and public relations for theatre (regional theatres and the Touring Office of the Canada Council), radio sales and promotion, sole proprietor of an advertising agency and PR firm (Communication Savoir Faire 1980-1996); and an administrative assistant at a chimpanzee sanctuary (Fauna Foundation). She is an award-winning writer and the author of the critically-acclaimed collection of short stories: Tell Me a Story, Tell Me the Truth. She has written and voiced several radio documentaries for CBC and her poetry, essays and book reviews have appeared in carte-blanche, The Globe and Mail, and the Montreal Review of Books. Finally, she is the co-producer, co-writer and subject of the award-winning documentary film, My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me.
Unpacking Your Suitcase – My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me
Discussion after the presentation of the documentary film My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me
3:15 – 4:45 Teen Lounge (Netanya)
Joyce Schachter has practiced meditation and yoga for the past ten years and has a background in ballet, contemporary dance, and Pilates. She considers herself a retreat junkie, having become hooked after attending her first meditation and yoga retreat at Kripalu in 2009. She has been leading a meditation group for the past year and is actively engaged with Ottawa’s Reconstructionist Jewish community. She has two teenage daughters, and a day job as a women’s health care provider. This will be Joyce’s second year at Limmud Ottawa. We are thrilled to have her back!
Jewish Meditation
10:15 – 11:00 Social Hall C (Herzliya)
Idan Scher is currently finishing up his Masters in Public Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins University where he was the Campus Rabbi. He is a popular lecturer and currently the Rabbi at Machzikei Hadas Synagogue in Ottawa.
Magical History Tour: The Wonders of Jewish History and What the Torah Has to Say About It
1:15 – 2:00 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
Barry Schlesinger is currently the Rabbi at Agudath Israel Congregation in Ottawa, while he and his wife Shira’s home is in Efrat, Israel. They are the parents of six children and have four grandsons. Rabbi Barry Schlesinger will be speaking on the Agunot panel and doing a talk called ‘Pat Schacharit.’ Rabbi Barry Schlesinger comes from a background of modern Orthodox in Englewood New Jersey, and moved to Israel in 1972. He has lived in Tzefat, served in the IDF, and worked in Jerusalem.
Pat Schacharit
8:30 – 9:15 Café Dizengoff
Where There is a Rabbinic Will, There’s a Halachic Way
12:15 – 1:00 Teen Lounge (Netanya)
Gloria Schwartz is a personal trainer, the fitness columnist for the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin and author of Personal Best: Train Your Brain and Transform Your Body for Life.
Jewish Fitness: Strong Mind, Strong Body, Strong Spirit
9:15 – 10:00 Social Hall C (Herzliya)
Tafillalt Ensemble is made up of three members: Yair Harel, Nori Jacoby, and Yonatan Niv. These fine musicians specialize in classical and modern Middle Eastern and North African music. The ensemble is based in Israel, and their visit to Limmud Ottawa is sponsored by the Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies, the Vered Israel Cultural & Educational Program, the Embassy of Israel in Canada, and the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Tafillalt Ensemble Concert
7:30 at the River Building Auditorium (RB 2200), Carleton University.
- Free shuttle service to and from the concert.
- Free parking in Parking Lot #2.
Aharon Trottier is an educator with an interest in social action. He identifies as a Punk Jew, believing that Judaism is a living, evolving treasure that belongs to ALL Jews. He and his partner enjoy hosting Shabbat dinners together and playing various board games.
The Handmaiden, the Pilegesh and the Kosher Concubine
2:15 3:00 Social Hall B (Savyon)
Laurence Wall has prepared and read on-air thousands of newscasts over the years for CBC Radio One listeners in Eastern Ontario and West Quebec. He’s a long-time member of Agudath Israel. Both his children attended Talmud Torah School. In his spare time, he plays cello in the 65-member Divertimento Orchestra and teaches journalism at Carleton University. He also MC’s dozens of concerts and other events each year, including for the Jewish community. Laurence and his lovely wife, aka She Who Must Be Obeyed, live in The People’s Republic of Nepean.
7:30 9:00 Carleton University River Building Auditorium Tafillalt Ensemble Concert
Morton Weinfeld is a Professor of Sociology at McGill, where he holds the Chair in Canadian Ethnic Studies. He has published extensively on matters relating to Canadian Jewish life, as well as to Canadian ethnic and race relations, immigration, and multiculturalism. He is the author of the volume Like Everyone Else but Different: The paradoxical success of Canadian Jews. He has been teaching a course on the Sociology of Jews in North America at McGill since 1977.
The Jews of Canada: Past, Present and Future
11:15 – 12:00 Social Hall A (Tel Aviv)
