Bulletin October 2005 ELUL-TISHRI 5765/6

President Beryl Tovim 514-877-5000 and then 450-247-2686 Past President Mark Covet 450-462-1409 Vice-President David Gross 450-632-4400 Treasurer Rosalie Miller-Hodson 450-462-7870 Secretary Agathe Benhamou 450-670-8607 Directors Alain Assor Annette Benchetrit Dina Cohen Roger Gilor Herman Lovi Gerry Mintzberg Mike Parker Isaac Sayegh

THIS MONTH'S EVENTS ROSH HASHANAH - SERVICES Monday, October 3, 2005, at 7:15 p.m. (Erev) Tuesday, October 4, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. HEBREW EDUCATION - REGISTRATION Tuesday, October 11, 2005, 7.30 p.m. YOM KIPPUR - SERVICES Wednesday, October 12, 2005 at 7 p.m. (Kol Nidre) Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. SUKKOT - PICNIC Sunday, October 23, 12:00 p.m. at Beryl's home in LaColle SIMCHAT TORAH - CELEBRATION WITH HERSH PERLMAN Tuesday, October 25, 2005, at 7 p.m. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & ELECTIONS Sunday, October 30th, 2005 at 11 a.m. SSJC's first symposium a resounding success The SSJC reached yet another milestone on September 18th when it held its first Symposium, hosted by the Harold Napper School in Brossard, thanks to school principal Mrs. Nicole Saada.

  Beryl Tovim, SSJC's President, opened the symposium with a few words of welcome and introduced Max Benchetrit.
Max Benchetrit, who piloted the symposium from idea to reality, then introduced

The Honourable Jacques Saada, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie, MP for Brossard-Laprairie, and a founding member of the SSJC. Mr. Saada spoke of his own experience as an immigrant francophone and a Sephardic Jew in Quebec, and of his desire to use his portfolio of "Francophonie" to promote and improve relations between Palestinians and Jews.

After a musical interlude offered by the YM-YWH String Quartet, and a tour of the art exhibits, Dr. David Bensousan gave an excellent talk on the history of Jews in Quebec and Canada.
Dr. Bensoussan holds a doctorate in electronics from the University of McGill. He has been teaching in the electrical engineering department at the École de technologie supérieure at UQAM since 1980. He is currently President of the Unified Sephardic Community of Quebec and has long been extensively involved with community and philanthropic organizations.

At 3.45 p.m., we were graced by a visit from Mrs. Fatima Houda-Pepin, MNA for Laprairie. Mrs. Pepin spoke eloquently of her own roots as a Moslem Berber from Morocco, and noted that many Moroccan Berbers are Jewish. She talked of her interest in cultural communities and the need for communication between various ethnic groups. She praised the SSJC for its openness in inviting the general public to its symposium to learn more about Jews on the South Shore, and will continue to follow our community's activities with interest.

The art exhibits were offered by two local artists with greatly contrasting styles: Max Benchetrit, who taught art for many years in Montreal, and Anne-Marie Azoulay, who teaches in Brossard. While Mr. Benchetrit's art draws on personal experiences and a symbolism that is rooted in modernism, Ms. Azoulay's art is more representational, depicting many different cultures. Their exhibition was greatly appreciated by over 150 visitors and, we are told, several exhibits have since been sold. Those who attended the event were given a raffle ticket, and half way through the afternoon there was a draw for the afternoon's prize - a computer work of art by Max Benchetrit titled "Nue Méro UNb", won by Mr. Armando Nathan from Laval.

The chamber music was played by Lilac Brandes, Smadar Brandes, Kali Halapua, and Nicola Manojlovic, young musicians under the leadership of Amihai Brandes, who kindly volunteered their time during three musical intervals. The high quality of their performance and their professionalism was valued by the audience.

Refreshments consisting of cheese and crackers, fruit, various liqueurs and a fruit punch, were kindly prepared by Agathe and Isidoro Benhamou, from the SSJC, and easels displaying the artwork were made by Alain Assor. Their dedication is much appreciated.
Our second speaker, Joe Gabbay, was unavoidably delayed at an earlier event, therefore Dr. Bensoussan kindly picked up the microphone once more and addressed a more pressing subject: the survival of Judaism today in Montreal with an aging population and many valuable institutions to support.
The event ended with a final tour of the art exhibits where the public was given a chance to meet and talk with the two artists.