SHTETL MAGAZINE

The Days of Awe are upon us and Jarrod Tanny demands an apology from God for damaged property and ripped underwear. And lo and behold, God has responded.

Read Shtetl’s interview with post-denominational rabbi-in-training Ari-Lev Fornari. We talk about how to forgive when you really don’t want to, trans and gender issues in Judaism, and, the age old question- what is the Torah anyway?

With fear in Montreal at a heightened pitch, Stephen Harper has gotten tough on crime! Murder, drug trafficking, kidnappings, gang-bangings are on the rise- and now, the High Ho’s are invading the city! And they’re particularly horny for the Jews amongst us!!

Have you heard the one about the boy born in New York to two deaf Orthodox Jewish parents, who gets taken on a vacation to Oakland by his mother and ends up in and out of therapy, addicted to drugs, and becoming a criminal to feed his habit? Moshe Kasher’s memories of youth are dark, raw, hopeful and hilarious.

Can one be Jewish and Indian; Jewish and Mohawk; Jewish and MicMac? Yes! Jewish and aboriginal cultures have been intertwined for many moons. In this issue we begin to explore where the two communities have connected historically, culturally and in our lived experiences.

Jews had all sorts of encounters with Native peoples in the West: they forged economic bonds, sometimes peaceably, sometimes exploitatively. They learned Indian languages. They made friends. They scalped and were scalped.

Rachel Rubinstein explores a complicated history of Jews performing their encounters with Native Americans- from the 1895 Yiddish play “Tsvishn Indianer” (Among Indians) to Rob Morrow in the 90’s tv show Northern Exposure.

Howard Adler is Jewish and Indigenous (Anishinaabe). Read What I Learned in School, Guilt Shirt and Cold Feet a sampling of his award-winning poetry. And, watch Honour Song, a short video honouring Native Americans who fought in WWII.

Nathan Adler is an Ojibway/Jewish writer and artist. Read his poetry here, and take a look at Flying Bird and Dinosaur Wings, his works of visual art. Nathan is a member of the Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation.

By the time Passover ends, We, the descendents of the ancient Israelites, inevitably succumb to what psychiatrists and rabbis have called Post-Halachic Stress Disorder.