Thursday, July 2,1987 — THE BULLETIN — 3
B. District Four to
convene m
oenix
Finishing touches are now being put in place on plans for the 24th annual District Four; B'nai B*rith convention to be held this year in Phoenix, Arizona, July 12-14-
Vancouver^ local delegation will be led by Alec Jackson, vice-chairman, B-B: International Israel commission and past Grand President. Among others attending will be David Chertkow, past Grand President; Joe Sinclair, Executive board member. District Four; Ed Gavsie; president, B.G. Macabee Lodge; Jack Bass, past pi«si-dent; and iz2^ Fraeme, past president. ^_
The four-day confab vrill feature outstanding keynote speakers. Addressing the convention will be: Tom Dine, executive director of the American Israel public affairs committee; Seymour Reich, president of B.B. International; and Burton S. Levin-soo, a member of honor Lodge in Southern California and national chairman of the BBi Anti-Defdmation League.
The critical issues forum will include topics of interest to many. The Ethnic factor: the Jew, American Politics and the 1988 Election be analyzed by John F. Rotb^ mail, a political and foreign policy consultant specializing
JACKSON
BASS
CHERTKOW
FRAEME
SINCLAIR
GAVSIE
in the Middle East and Soviet Afiairs.
A second topic. The Paradox ofa Church —State Society in Israel jwill be discussed by Dr. Shilomo Sha-ran, currently professor of educational psychology at Tel Aviv university.
The convention, themed
.**An Elegant Family Affair/' will include activities for all ages — a golf tournament, sightseeing, fashion show, banquet and entertainment. Children will enjoy a poolside reception, a teenage dance and yideo arcade.
The Canadian delegation will open the event with the singing of O, Canada.
Priiltin^^^^^^^ linfced tome^ couple
SERV^ALEM ^ The — names of the late Hyman and Marion Bessin were, for many decades,; synonymous with total commitment to Jewish causes and values in the Can-siJ^sm Jewish Community.
Their memory has recently been linked with the publication of the niost significaiit Biblical edition of our age^
The Torat Oiaim, a 20th century edition of the Tdrah with eleven classic Cominen-taries, hais recently been released by Mosad Harav Kook of Jeriisaiem^ ^iid is dedicated to tWe inemory of Cfaiaim and Miriam Bessin.
While Torat Ciiaim psten^ sibly is theaggregate results of forty years of research, some would arjgue the correct statistic is 460 years — claiming Torat Chaim is the ultimate end of the long process launched by Daniel Bomberg ill 1517 when he printed the Jirst Kimraot Gedolot Ghu-mash, a test of the Torah accompanied by the major Classic Bible Commentaries.
Wh^t is unique abqiit Torat Chaim? It begins with the text Tof the Chumash itselT In his Mishnah Tbrah. Mainlonides
Courtesy Mizrachi
FIRST COPY OF THE Torat Chaim Is presented by Berel Bessin to Israel president Chaim Herzog.
heads BBW
TORp^ Ruth Rose of Toronto has bieen installed as president of BViai B*ritli Women of Canada, siuxeed-ing Nancy Goopciiierg^^^^b^ Montreal. jta
(HilchptSefer Torah VIII, 4) writes: "Bdaiise I have witnessed the great distbition in all tbe Torah scrolls I have seen in reference to the$e things ... I have decided to list here-in all the sections of the; Torah .::. and the text which we have chosen to rely upon in these matters is the wall-knpvrainanuscrijpt which is in Egypt... and which was examined by ben Asher who jjneticuiOusly reviewed it time^ and a^ain during many years w . and IJiave relied upon it to wnteiny S^r Torah," ; According ta a Syrian Jew^' ish tiaditipn, that lampus Egyfftian manuscript relied upon by the Rambamv lay for many oentiiri»i a synagogue ^iilAteppo.:''::
In 194$ it barely survived a ppgrpm, and was siibses qluehtly brppg^t to Jerusalem it was here that Mordecai
Breuer one of the world's leading experts in the field of Biblical Masoretictext, studied the Aleppo manuscript — or Ketem Aram Tzova, as it is called in Hebrew — for over twenty years.
With the advent of modem Jewish scholarship, it quickly became evident that the texts of the classic Biblical Commentaries as they appeared in the common Mikraot Gedolot Chumashim were extremely flawed; Omissions and errors were so common that the text bore only partial resemblance to their original wording. In isome instances, the manuscripts relied upon in the earliest printings were defective. In others, the poor quality and difficult readability, of the early publications led to faulty ^ and careless typesetting of
UBC offers courses in
Judaism
The U BC Department of Religious Studies will be offering several courses in-Jewish History and the Hebrew language in the fall.
The history courses, taught _by Assistant Prof. Richard Menkis. include Introduction to Post-Biblical Judaism, Jews and Christians, Jewish Responses to Catastrophe, Topics in Medieval Judaism and Topics in Modern Judaism.
Associate Prof. Paul Mosca will teach Biblical Hebrew at the elementary and intermediate levels and will oversee-supervised study in Biblical Hebrew.
Two courses, one each term, will be taught on Monday evenings.
AH those who wish to take courses — either for credit or audit — must register at UBC and should contact the UBC registrar's Office (228-3014) as soon as possible.
JWB SOMWIER fllADLI^
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Toronto cantors trigger protest
FOUR PROMINENT Toronto cantors active in the Union for Tfadltionat Conservative Judaism in Canada: Cantor A. Eliezer Kirshblum.Adath Israel Congregation; Cantor David Bagley. Beth Sholom synagogue; Cantor Louis G. Danto, Beth Emeth BaisYehudah synagogue; and Cantor Paul Kowarsky, Beth Tzedec congregation:
NEW YORK — An informal poll of members of the Cantors Assembly (the Conservative Movements national organization of cantors) has revealed a strong commitment to traditfonal practice, and opposition to the recent move by Dr. IsmarSchorsch, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, to ordain women cantors.
The poll was conducted by Cantor A. Eliezer Kirshblum on behalf, of the Ontario region of the Cantors Assem^ bly, which he chairs. Cantor Kirshblum serves at Adath Israel Congregation in Toronto, and is a member of the steering committee. Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism in Canada.
In a letter to 300 fellow-: members of the Cantors Assembly, Cantor Kirshblum noted that all 10 Conservative cantors of Toronto who are
members of the Cantors Assembly disagree with the Chancellor; he asked his colleagues to reply, indicating whether they supported or opposed Dr. Schorsch*s position. The Canadian cantor received 90 replies (nearly a third of those polled)/ of which 76 opposed ordination of women cantors.
"We were most heartened by the significant number of our colleagues who responded, and by the deep and passion-atejcommitment to traditional J«wish practice they expressed,*^ Cantor Kirshblum said. He noted that the Cantors Assembly has postponed a decision on whether to accept women cantors as members pending a subcommittee report to be heard at the Assembly's May 1988 _ convention.
In a related development, the Panel of Halachic Inquiry
of the Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism has issued a responsum (Jewish legal opinion) refuting the purported /la/ac/iic basis for the Seminary's decision to ordain women cantors.
The responsum was written by Rabbi David Novak on behalf of the Panel, in reply to an inquiry from Cantor Kirshblum concerning the
CANTORS - Page 10
Toronto seminar set
MONTREAL — A seminar for high-school-level educators teaching Holocaust subjects is being sponsored by the Holocaust Remembrance Committee of Canadian Jewish Congress (Ontario Region) in Toronto, August 9-12. The seminar, offered with cooperation of University of Toronto, is open to teachers across Canada.
Lower Rates, Fiaiiw Sij^^
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The Benefits of Tax Reform 1987
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