LUNCH & LEARN SESSION DETAILS:
 OCTOBER 17 - NANCY MCDONALD
REGISTRATION HAS ENDED FOR THIS DATE
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS:
MEMORIALIZING THE PAST, ONE STONE AT A TIME
In November 2019, Nancy McDonald received an extraordinary email out of the blue. It was from a man in Berlin who explained that he was involved in the Stolpersteine Project, the largest decentralized monument to the Holocaust. He was researching the lives of Jews who had lived in his neighbourhood of Mariendorf, among them, the Avigdor family. Her late husband’s family. Thus began a journey of discovery for Nancy – and the start of a lifelong friendship with a total stranger. Come with her as she unravels the past, one stone at a time.
Nancy McDonald is a former broadcast journalist, turned script writer, turned novelist. Her first two books, Boy from Berlin and One Boy’s War, are based on the Avigdor family’s desperate flight from Nazi Europe. Her next two, Girl on the Run and The Doktor’s Daughter, continue to explore the theme of Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany through the eyes of a young German-Jewish girl
OCTOBER 24 - DAVID EISENSTADT
UNDER THE RADAR – 36 NOTABLE CANADIAN JEWISH MUSICIANS
David Eisenstadt outlines his perspective - the journey of a hobby which began with his first book: "Under the Radar-30 Notable Canadian Jewish Musicians." He will reference the many talented artists in both books, and highlight music selections from his recently-released, second book, "Musicians Under the Radar-36 Notable Canadian Jewish Performers".
David Eisenstadt is a respected Canadian Public Relations Consultant. One of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)’s first two elected Canadian Fellows, and the first of two Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) Fellows, he, and his wife Rhoda Eisenstadt, founded tcgpr - The Communications Group Inc. in Toronto (1973) after managing the PR division Canadian agency, Goodis Goldberg & Soren, headed by advertising industry icon Jerry Goodis.
 OCTOBER 31 - JACOB STEINBERG
THE LOST ARMY
It is the personal story of their only surviving prisoner. The Lost Army was fighting for 34 years in the remote jungles of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
Who were they? What were they fighting for? And are there any Jews in these jungles?
After graduating from University, Jacob travelled around the world for five years. He climbed mountains, crossed deserts, explored jungles and spent more than a year travelling across South East Asia, where his unexpected arrest led to the story he will talk about at his presentation.
Later on, Jacob spent three decades as a Project Finance executive, financing infrastructure projects in Africa, South America, South East Asia and Eastern Europe, where he met small and isolated Jewish communities. He got involved with Kulanu Canada, a non-profit organization that supports such communities.
Jacob is personally involved in supporting the Suriname Jewish Community, the oldest existing Jewish community in the Americas. In 2016 he raised the funds to build a Memorial Monument for the 104 Surinamese Jews who died in the Holocaust.
NOVEMBER 14 - KATHY KACER
BOOK BANNING AND THE HOLOCAUST - A DANGEROUS TREND
It is impossible to talk about Holocaust literature for young people without raising concerns about books that have been removed or banned from library shelves. Award-winning author Kathy Kacer will explore the current dangerous trend toward book banning along with its disturbing implications. In addition, she will talk about her own writing and her many books about the Holocaust that are acclaimed in schools and libraries around the world.
Kathy Kacer has written more than 30 books focusing on the Second World War and the Holocaust, including The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser, Hiding Edith, To Look a Nazi in the Eye, Shanghai Escape, The Brushmaker's Daughter, Broken Strings, and Under the Iron Bridge.
A winner of the Jewish Book Awards (Canada and the U.S.), and the Yad Vashem Award for Children’s Holocaust Literature (Israel), Kathy has written unforgettable stories inspired by real events.
Kathy lives in Toronto and teaches writing at the University of Toronto, (Continuing Studies). She lectures in universities about teaching sensitive material to young people. She speaks to children in schools and libraries about the importance of the Holocaust and keeping its memory alive.
Kathy’s books will be available for purchase after her talk.
Sponsored by: 
NOVEMBER 21 - JOSEPH GILBERT
MEDICINE AND HEALTH CARE IN THE SHTETL
The Shtetls were the home to a large population of Ashkenazi Jews from the 17th to the 20th Centuries. The majority population were in the Pale of the Settlement, a portion of Russia, Poland and the Ukraine. These regions were behind in development compared to western Europe. This also was the situation for Medicine and Health care.
The lecture will discuss what did the Jews in these small towns know about medicine(?): How was illness treated? What methods for public health existed until modern understanding of disease became the norm? How did Halacha, Minhag (custom) influence responses to illness?
Dr. Joseph Gilbert is a retired physician, researcher, research administrator and hospital executive.
He has in recent years as an autodidact concentrated on studying the interface of Judaism and Jewish subjects with opera, music and history and science. He has lectured on these subjects in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Florida, in addition to his hometown of London, Ontario.
Some of his lecture topics include The Music and Legacy of Felix Mendelssohn; The Dybbuk and The Golem, The Portrayal of Jews in Opera. Shostakovich, Stalin and Russian Jews, Solomone Rossi and the Italian Renaissance, Plagues in the Bible other than the Ten Plagues. The Shtetl and many aspects about the shtetl, Darwin, Evolution and Jewish Responses.
NOVEMBER 28 - RABBI ALISA ZILBERSHTEIN
BIROBIDZHAN. THE JEWISH LAND FAR, FAR AWAY
Discover the Fascinating History of the Jewish State in Russia!
"Birobidzhan. The Jewish Land Far, Far Away"
Join us at Beth Tikvah Synagogue for an enlightening and entertaining presentation led by Rabbi Alisa Zilbershtein!
Dive into the rich and captivating history of Jews in Birobidzhan, a Jewish town located in the Russian Far East — a region where Rabbi Zilbershtein was born. She will take you on a journey through time, exploring the unique culture and heritage that emerged in this fascinating corner of the world. Rabbi Zilbershtein will share rare historical and personal photographs, current updates on the life of Jews there, and her own experience growing up in that land far, far away.
This event promises to be both educational and entertaining, leaving you with a deeper understanding and appreciation of Jewish history and culture.
Rabbi Alisa Zilbershtein is the Assistant Rabbi of Beth Tikvah Synagogue. She is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She holds an M.A. in “Jewish Civilizations” from Hochschule für Jüdische Studien, Heidelberg, Germany.
Before coming to North America Rabbi Zilbershtein lived in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she taught "History of Jewish Philosophy"
Sponsored by:  
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