When Sheila Nemtin Levine began painting, she didn't plan to fulfill the final commandment of the Torah: that every Jew should write their own Old Testament. But, since 2016, that's what ended up happening. She has painted 54 vibrant, mixed-media canvases—one for each chapter—each with a modern take on the ancient verses.

They comprise her new art exhibit, Tablet Tableaux. Nemtin Levine calls it a journey of exploration, complete with inspirational messages and famous quotes. Audience members are encouraged to physically engage with the works by touching the grains of sand, family photos and architectural blueprints for the Israelites' portable desert tabernacle.

Nemtin Levine's work, which has been displayed at several synagogues across Montreal, has recently been used at Jewish high schools for special b'nei mitzvah study modules. The project has also spawned a coffee table book, a free audio guide and a forthcoming documentary video series. On today's episode of North Star, Nemtin Levine shares her story with host Ellin Bessner, who visits the artist in Montreal to see the work in person.

Related links

• Learn more about the Torah Tableaux at the artist Sheila Nemtin Levine’s website.
• Watch the exhibit's launch in Montreal, on YouTube.
• Read and explore the free audio guide to the 54 chapters: https://tablettableaux.orpheo.app/#/

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

The North Star team is taking the day off and will return soon. Please enjoy this recent episode of another podcast from The CJN, Not in Heaven, all about the future of communal Judaism.

Over the last century, North American Jews have poured untold millions of dollars into an alphabet soup of legacy institutions: UJA, CIJA, ADL, JNF, et al. And yet, after 19 months of rising antisemitism—while Canadian and American Jewish communities feel like they’re free-falling through a crisis—many have been asking, “What have we been giving all this money for? Where are the results?”

To wit, two recent pieces published in the New York Post ask these exact questions. Rachel Sapoznik, an entrepreneur, wrote an opinion piece headlined “Why I’m ending my donations to US Jewish groups and seeking new leadership to protect US Jews,” in which she calls for American Jews to support (mostly Republican) pro-Israel politicians instead of the Anti-Defamation League. Kathryn Wolf, a journalist, wrote a similar piece in the same publication that juxtaposes major organizations’ glitzy galas and celebrity endorsements against a growing wave of grassroots Jewish activism.

In Canada, against the backdrop of louder upstart Jewish advocacy groups, the Centre for Israel Jewish Affairs parted ways with former CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel, a diplomatic leader who held the post for nearly 40 years, and replaced him with Noah Shack, who accepted the permanent position on June 27. “We have to be nimble,” Shack told The CJN. “We have to try new things and do whatever we can to win.” But to what extent should the Jewish community pivot away from these legacy organizations, who’ve spent years building goodwill with all levels of government and non-Jewish organizations? Is any support the Jewish community now finds not due to years of quiet, behind-the-scenes bridge-building?

Not in Heaven host Avi Finegold has long been critical of Jewish communal organizations—though he might also find himself disagreeing with the most vocal activists vying to replace them. In this week’s episode, we unpack the pros and cons of how far these institutions have taken us, and what comes next.

Support The CJN

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here)

Although Montrealer Philip Khazzam has never set foot inside his family’s nearly-century old mansion in the Iraqi capitol of Baghdad, he has heard many stories about the lush gardens, fountains, bedrooms to sleep 12, and pool. The residence, built in 1935, was home to his grandparents’ and also to his great-uncle’s families-brothers Ezra and Khedouri Lawee–wealthy Jewish automobile dealers who were pillars of Iraq’s business community. They lived there for over a decade, until growing support for Nazism in Iraq during the Second World War and widespread resentment of Israel in the years afterword made life dangerous for the historic Jewish community. Some 130-thousand Iraqi Jews were forced to give up their citizenship and leave behind all their property, in exchange for a permit to flee the country in 1951-52. The ancestral home, still in the family’s name, was eventually rented out to the French government as an embassy, but 35 years ago, in 1968, a coup eventually brought dictator Saddam Hussein to power. His regime froze the family’s ownership and ordered France to pay the rent directly to Iraq instead. Philip Khazzam has spent years pursuing Iraq for the legal rights to his family’s stolen house. He is also suing the French government for $30 million in back rent. On today’s episode of North Star, The CJN’s flagship news podcast, host Ellin Bessner catches up with Phillip Khazzam to learn why he is continuing this multi-generational fight for his family’s lost patrimony.

Related links

• Philip Khazzam’s uncle Mayer Lawee shows photos and recounts his time living in the family’s now disputed Baghdad mansion, in this interview with Sephardi Voices.
• Learn more about the 1941 Iraqi pogrom against its Jewish community, in The CJN.
• Why another Montreal whose family was forced to flee Egypt, tried for years, unsuccessfully, to sue Coca-Cola for stealing their ancestral property in Cairo, in The CJN.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)