By Elizabeth Nider, Special to JTNews
It’s perpetually an essential consideration for the Jewish traveler: Where can I travel without neglecting my Jewish lifestyle? Fortunately, for those considering the short trip north to Vancouver, British Columbia for the 2010 Olympic Games, there is plenty of Jewish life north of the border. There are secular and religious Jewish high schools, Jewish day schools, two mikvot, an eruv, a diverse selection of synagogues that each attracts different streams of Jewish practice, even a kosher bed and breakfast in central Vancouver. Vancouver has in recent years become an appealing place for families to settle down.
Usually the first question travelers ask is, where can I eat? When visiting Vancouver, there is an assortment of kosher restaurants to choose from, depending on your mood.
Sabra Restaurant and Bakery offers the community a place to sit and order anything from breakfast, salads, dips, falafel, shawarma, sandwiches and soups, to fish and meat entrees. Feel free to stay for dessert, as Sabra has a bakery section, which makes desserts and challah. The restaurant also provides takeout, delivery and catering services.
Hungry for pizza? Pini’s Pizzeria makes cholov Yisrael pizzas and lasagnas, bourekas, soups, Israeli salads, and other Israeli-inspired foods. Pini’s carries a few grocery items as well, mostly imported from Israel.
Nava Creative Kosher Cuisine is a dairy café located inside the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre. The majority of the menu items are more lunch-oriented, such as sushi, pizza, soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps; but the restaurant also has pasta and salmon dinners available. Nava offers Shabbat meals and delivery.
For those into natural and organic foods, Falafel Plus offers falafel made from organic chickpeas, herbs and onions. They also serve Israeli salads, knishes, soups and breakfast options. This is a dairy restaurant that also provides catering.
The original Omnitsky Kosher was founded in 1910 by Louis Omnitsky in Manitoba, but in 1997 it reopened in Vancouver and has since been the only kosher deli restaurant in the area. Omnitsky Kosher is known for its homemade deli meats, which are made into enormous deli sandwiches. Not in the mood for a sandwich? Omnitsky serves salads, soups, hot dogs and roasted chicken. There is a seating area in the front and the whole back section is devoted to kosher groceries, cheeses and fresh meats.
For the traveler looking to save on accommodation expenses, staying in Richmond (where the airport is located) is a pleasant alternative, especially since it’s only one bridge away from Vancouver.
The Young Israel of Richmond is an Orthodox synagogue that started out quite small, but is now working on plans for a larger building in the near future to accommodate the growing number of families who attend services. Rabbi Yerachmiel Strausberg, who recently moved to Richmond from Japan, has been offering many classes on topics including kashrut, medical ethics and parshat hashavuah, the weekly Torah portion.
The Conservative synagogue in Richmond, Beth Tikvah, has been around since 1972. There is something for all ages at Beth Tikvah: Rabbi Claudio Kaiser-Blueth currently gives a Book of Psalms class for adults and offers many children’s programs, the most popular being the child-friendly Shabbat evening services, which is geared toward toddlers, with a Shabbat dinner following the service. The child-friendly Shabbat service closest to the Olympics is on Feb. 19.
While in Richmond, stop in at the Garden City Bakery before heading into Vancouver. The parve bakery’s best seller is their poppy-seed roll, and they also have a diverse selection of challahs.
The Schara Tzedeck Synagogue is the oldest and largest Orthodox synagogue in Vancouver and gives classes about philosophy, halachah, Kabbalah, Talmud and parshat hashavuah. Schara Tzedeck has a Tykes and Tefillah Shabbat morning program for children aged 2–7. For something different, visit Beit Hamidrash, the Orthodox Sephardic synagogue of Vancouver, to hear Sephardic melodies and prayers on Shabbat. Beit Hamidrash has a children’s Shabbat class after Shacharit, as well as adult classes during the week such as Meisilat Yesharim and parshat hashavuah for women.
Vancouver’s Reform synagogue, Temple Shalom, has a program where families learn about Shabbat traditions from around the world while enjoying a catered Shabbat dinner. Also unique to Temple Shalom is their Men’s Club, where men get together and learn, schmooze, volunteer, race go karts, and participate in other exciting activities.
If you’re looking for some Olympics-inspired affairs, come to Vancouver’s Conservative synagogue, Beth Israel, for two events in particular. The first is a Shabbat dinner, on February 19, in honor of the Olympics, which will be a welcome dinner to anyone in town for the Olympics. The Olympic Purim Extravaganza on February 27 is an all-ages Purim event where Rabbi Jonathan Infeld and Cantor Michael Zoosman will dress up as Olympic athletes, something that the congregants are quite excited to see.