Synagogue Library

LIBRARY HOURS
The Library is normally open from 9 - 11 a.m. on Sundays, except from July 1 - end of the Yomim Tovim and during the winter and spring public school breaks.

PROGRAMS

Books and Bagels

Lola Lemire Tostevin will discuss the two feminine characters from her latest novel The Other Sister. A retired Canadian mathematics professor and a Holocaust survivor in a retirement home, bonded by having been an identical twin, relive their vastly different histories: one marked by prejudice ignorance, the other marked by cruelty and loss.

Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.

FILMS

Films act as a window onto the world. They take you to places and times that would be otherwise inaccessible.

The latest additions to our collection include such instant classics as, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a film that views the Holocaust from the perspective of an upper class German family.

Adams Wall is a movie filmed in Montreal that shows the hidden prejudices of two families that come from cultures in conflict.

A Woman Called Golda, about Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. It was Ingrid Bergman's final and most stirring performance.

Films give you instant access to the secret places of your heart while challenging you to face up to your preconceived notions.

BOOKS

The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace
by Alan Dershowitz
Using his outstanding argumentative skills, A. Dershowitz systematically refutes many claims advanced in Carter's book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, and also identifies and scrutinizes many other enemies for Israel: from Noam Chomsky and Patrick Buchanan to Hezbollah and the Iranian government.

The Accidental Zionist: What a Priest, a Pornographer and a Wrestler named Chainsaw taught me about being Jewish, Saving the World and Why Israel Matters to Both
by Ian Pear
An enlightening read, focusing on monotheism as the "message", and the Jewish people as the "messenger", the book is an enjoyable way to learn more about the role we, Jews as well as Israel our homeland, play on this planet.

Exiles from Nowhere: The Jews and the Canadian Elite
by Alan Mendelson
An investigation into the attitudes of influential 19th- and 20th-century members of Canada's intellectual elite, and their anti-semitism and intolerance.

The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home
by Sadia Shepard
On the background of her own self-discovery, Sadia Shepard documents the history of the Bene Israel and the remaining Indian Jews.

Those Who Save Us
by Jenna Blum
Family secrets of Nazi Germany are at the core of this powerful novel told in two narratives that alternate between New Heidelberg, Minnesota, in the present, and the small town of Weimar near Buchenwald during World War II.

How Jesus Became Christian
by Barrie Wilson
How did a Jewish rabbi from Galilee become a Gentile God-human? Why did early Christianity separate from its parent religion, Judaism? How did Paul's new religion provide the psychological basis for anti-semitism? Answers to these and many more puzzles are found in this gripping investigation into the birth of Christianity.

THE LIBRARY CORNER

It's time to say thank you. We would like to thank the following people and groups for their generous assistance in the refurbishment of the Library. Frank Kollaras, our chief custodian, came up with the idea of a bold colour scheme to transform a drab room into a vibrant place for children and adults. Miriam Telem and Amit Bitnun formed the 'Colour Co-ordination Committee', going through scores of shades to find the right permutation for walls, cupboards and carpeting. Jorge Cerda led the work team that was able to transform this vision into reality.

The assistance of the Library Committee was invaluable as we proceeded along on this task. They acted as a sounding board as the many schemes for library refurbishment were broached, until we finally settled on the one that was both attractive and eminently affordable. Members of the Library Committee came in Sunday after Sunday to do the unenviable task of packing the books, sorting through the collection and then restocking all of our shelves.

The Brotherhood, Board and Executive have always had a close relationship with the Library. Cliff White led the design team that examined library alternatives. It was Brotherhood funds that allowed us to pay for all of the changes that you see around you. A hearty Mazel Tov to Brotherhood for all of the good works they do around the shul.

In a shul, nothing meaningful can be accomplished without the support and guidance of the Executive Director and the President. Miriam Telem was the steady hand behind the tiller advising, guiding and assisting until the project was done. Alex Roth's support was unwavering. He was the enabler, quietly working behind the scenes to allow things to fall into place.

Hag Samei'ach,

Amit Bitnun and Lew Lightstone, your Library co-Chairs.

Lew is far too modest to toot his own horn, so let me just add that nothing would have happened without his initiative, drive, enthusiasm and persistence. The real thanks goes to Lew!!

-- Miriam Telem