Jewish Federation: The Ethics of Modern Jewish Life

By Bernice Miller
May 2006

Philosophers' Cafés at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver were held three times this past winter. Each café drew a large and enthusiastic audience of 50 to 80 participants. Dr. Laura Duhan Kaplan, Congregation Or Shalom's Rabbi, moderated all three sessions, which focused on essential ethical issues faced by the Jewish community.

On January 21, the topic of discussion was the rights and obligations we have as Jews and world citizens. How should we express our own values, claim our own rights and, at the same time, respect the needs and rights of others?

On February 11, Shelley Rivkin and Iris Toledano of the Yad B'Yad Council on Poverty joined Rabbi Kaplan to explore the question of poverty. Few believed that we would ever be rid of poverty, but there was a strong interest in finding ways to try to deal with it. Shelley and Iris not only presented statistics on poverty in our community, but raised our awareness and sensitivity to the realities of the poverty experience in our community. Though the 'Tickets to Inclusion' program is successful and gaining support from Jewish organizations, there are still problems that need to be addressed when scholarships are offered. From costumes for dance classes to expensive books that are required for some courses, instructors and community members need to be cognizant of potential problem areas, sensitive to inequalities and more aware of how to handle these inequalities.

On March 11, Rabbi Kaplan was joined by guest speaker, Mark Weintraub, chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. The topic of discussion was whether we, as Jews, are obligated to prevent world genocide. The Talmud says that 'Whoever saves even one life, it is as if he or she has saved an entire world'. It was clear that the audience was against mass murder, committed by any state, with the empathy of a people who will always feel the pain of the Holocaust in their blood.

The Philosophers' Cafés were presented by the JCCGV and Simon Fraser University's Interdisciplinary Programs in Continuing Studies, with generous support from Yosef Wosk and B'nai B'rith.

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