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

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• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here)

While envoys from Israel and Hamas met this week in Qatar to negotiate the latest peace effort for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, a new report warns that Canada should pay closer attention to the millions of dollars in funding that has found its way into our country from Qatar. The report was released by a New York–based organization, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), run by Charles Asher Small, a Canadian scholar. His outfit includes academics from around the world who combat antisemitism, and includes some high-profile Jewish leaders: Irwin Cotler, Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, Israeli politician and human rights advocate Nathan Sharansky, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the U.S.-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. The new report suggests growing anti-Israel sentiment in Canada, particularly at universities, can be traced to funds coming in from several Qatari charities that also support the global Muslim Brotherhood movement and Hamas. The report also suggests the money supporting protests on campuses such as McGill, Concordia, U of T and York, has links to Iran, Russia and China. Previous ISGAP reports have revealed how billions of dollars in Qatari money bought influence on elite U.S. college campuses. In this latest report, released June 26, ISGAP calls for Canada to ban the Muslim Brotherhood—which has already been banned most recently by Jordan, but also the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Austria, and is now under the microscope in France. The authors also name names of some Canadian Muslim politicians and bureaucrats who, it is claimed, exert influence and have ties or even worked for charities that have been linked to the terrorist groups overseas. On today’s episode of The CJN’s flagship news podcast, North Star, host Ellin Bessner speaks with Charles Asher Small about how Canada’s traditional “niceness” has allowed the situation to became a national security threat.

Related links

• Read the June 25 ISGAP report on how Canada has been infiltrated by financing from Qatar, linked to supporters of the banned terrorist group Hamas, and also to the extremist Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement.
• Learn why the Premier of Quebec wanted to ban Muslim public prayers in protests that block traffic, in The CJN.
• Why this former Muslim Brotherhood member is now warning of the group’s threat to Jews, 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)

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)