Local teen Trip to montreal reflections

By: Melissa Herman, Director of Education Melissa Herman, Upper Valley Jewish Community and Zack Brooks, Director of Community Engagement, JCVT

This year’s Jew Crew trip was a great success! We had an amazing time in Montreal. We met over 50 young Jews from Toronto and Montreal, and listened to powerful speakers and musicians at Friday Night Services at Temple Emanu-el-Beth-Shalom in Westmount. We attended Saturday morning services at The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, where some of our kids participated in the service! We did a zip-line across the Saint Lawrence River, and explored Chinatown. We had a beautiful Havdalah service on the roof of our hotel, and explored more of the city at night.

Zack Brooks, JCVT Director of Community Engagement

J-Crew Montreal trip

I had the privilege of leading the Jew Crew on a trip to Montreal over Veteran’s day weekend. Here are some highlights:

We started with a “shul-in,” aka a sleepover at reform temple Emanu-El Beth Sholom with 40 other teens from Toronto and Montreal. Everyone eventually did fall asleep, including me. Their Friday night service included a soprano who sang songs that had been written by and for holocaust victims in commemoration of Kristallnacht.

We attended Saturday morning services at “the Spanish,” a modern orthodox synagogue where one of our students had an aliyah, one carried the Torah around the sanctuary, all the boys sang Adon Olam from the bimah, and the girls kvelled from the women’s section. We met interesting Montreal folks and enjoyed shakshouka and cholent at the kiddish luncheon.

We enjoyed Havdalah with Rabbi David Fainsilber of JCOGS , a Montreal native. He also led us on a food tour of the Jewish neighborhood, Mile End. We compared bagels (St. Viateur and Fairmount), sampled smoked meat and shlishkes, tried babka and rugelach from Cheshkies, ate falafel, looked for hechsures in a kosher grocery store, and heard about musician Leonard Cohen in front of a mural of him in the neighborhood.

At the Montreal Holocaust museum we met a holocaust survivor who had passed away in 2022 but was still able to answer our questions via the magic of AI.

We toured the JCC/YMHA and visited a boys’ and a girls’ yeshiva to see how those students learn differently from the ways we do. My own experience there was fascinating—we saw the second grade girls chanting (not leyning, but reading along in singsong with the teacher) from the week’s parsha. They would sing one Hebrew word and then its English translation, then the next Hebrew word, and its translation.

It wasn’t all Jewish stuff, though. We rode on a zipline next to the St. Lawrence River, toured Chinatown and ate at a restaurant where they stretch the noodles in the front window, and checked out Old Montreal. We were going to attend a McGill basketball game but it was sold out! If only Dartmouth games were so popular maybe they would have some spoils to fight over in their union negotiations…

I’m very proud of our teens. They were respectful, engaging, good sports about walking a lot (even in the drizzle), and didn’t complain about anything. I’m very glad that I was leading this lovely group. Thanks to all the adults who co-led the trip with me, I could not have managed without them: Zack Brooks of JCVT, Scott Hertzberg of the Manchester VT Jewish community, Rabbi David Fainsilber of JCOGS, and Monte Blaustein of Kol Ha’Emek!

Melissa Herman, UVJC

What a joy to be with your teens throughout the weekend, especially for havdalah and to lead the Jewish food tour around the historic area where my parents grew up and to share some of the rich (and delicious) history of Montreal Jewish living.

Your teens are truly fabulous. We are blessed to raise our kids in VT/NH, yet with access to such rich urban landscapes. Thank you for entrusting us with your teens.

An ENORMOUS thank you to Melissa in particular for making this trip possible, along with Beth, Scott, Monte, and all the others who helped out.

Todah rabbah,

Rabbi David JCOGS