This is a blog by Rebecca Berman of A Bit Off the Top. She coordinates a group called The A-Team. For more information on this month’s A-Team discussion and group itself, read on.

This week is Canada’s Mental Health Awareness week. In line with this national day, we are spreading awareness about the stigma imposed on people who have experienced mental health issues. Did you know that 1 in 5 Canadians experience a mental health issue in their lifetime? While 20% of our population has lived experience, we still face discrimination and inaccurate portrayals of mental illness. In the media, people with mental illness are often viewed as dangerous and as needing to be removed from society before they harm themselves or others. Think of the movies like Psycho, Girl Interrupted, Black Swan, A Clockwork Orange, and A Beautiful Mind. How do these images impact how we act around people who have experienced mental illness? How do we perceive people that take a professional leave of absence for mental health reasons? Do we realize that we hold negative stereotypes when most learn to regain control of their mental health? We need to recognize where our judgments come from and how they manifest in our everyday lives in order to put an end to the stigma around mental illness.

Join us for a discussion on “Fighting the Stigma of Mental Illness” on Monday, May 14, 6:30 pm, at Ami Quebec (6875 Decarie #300). Please note: If anyone needs wheelchair access to the third floor, please contact Rebecca before the event. Light refreshments will be served.

The A-Team is a group of socially minded young adults who practice tikkun olam, repairing the world, by bringing awareness to social issues. They uses social media to share images, articles, and videos and meet once a month to discuss the current cause. Previous topics have included: bullying, human trafficking, and food security. The A-Team attracts people with a range of knowledge on the issues. Everyone is welcome to learn about and discuss what challenges our community faces. There is no expectation to have any previous knowledge of the topic.

For more information and to RSVP email Rebecca Berman at Rebecca@abitoffthetop.com.

Just turned around and realized how nice the view is from A Bit Off the Top HQ. A good day.

A collage of GEN J projects

When I began working in the Montreal Jewish community, I wasn’t quite certain what to expect. Religious services?

OK. Birthright? Definitely. Cote St Luc jokes? In abundance! But a diverse, young Jewish community? I wasn’t sure. In University, my young Jewish friends certainly brought diversity (and oranges) to the table with alternative, feminist, queer-positive Haggadahs at Pesach. I had met some people who enjoyed interpreting Judaism for the current Montreal scene. But these were all social interactions. When I started working in the community, would I find the same dynamism, or would it be all old hat? In the past nine months, I’ve been pleased not just to find out about, but to work with some of the most innovative people in the young Jewish Montreal community. Have Montrealers typically imagined turning their city into an interactive museum? Tuned in to the radio to hear about Black history month in a Jewish context? Put on a one-day festival highlighting 70 different Jewish Arts and Culture topics? Speculated about putting a rooftop garden on top of Federation CJA itself (I’m not kidding, I saw them scope it out! See pic for proof)? Not that I know of, but it’s a testament to both the creative minds in Montreal and the funding bodies willing to take a risk on these projects can exist and are flourishing in their respective niches.

Surveying the rooftop for a potential green space

The GEN J Promise Grants, Jewish Community Foundation’s (JCF) Cultural Grants, and A Bit off the Top’s grant-giving branch* are strong supporters of up-and-coming cultural Jewish projects. Recently, funding has gone to flourishing new projects such as The Green Kippah Project: Towards an Eco-Jewish Teaching Garden (GEN J and us), the young-adult aimed Shabbat at the Y (GE N J), the Montreal Jewish Music Festival (JCF and us), the aforementioned LE MOOD (GEN J, JCF and us), the Interactive Museum of Jewish Montreal (JCF) and Shtetl on the Shortwave (JCF, us). These are highlights among a score of initiatives that includes parties, walk-abouts on the Mountain and in the Plateau, art exhibits, Zine productions and food demonstrations, all of which have emerged in 2011 and 2012 in collaboration with young adults that meet the many different ways that speak directly to them. Applications for the JCF Cultural Grants (April 1st deadline) and GEN J Promise Grants (May 1st deadline) are open now! A Bit off the Top takes ideas all year round, so if you want to talk to us about an idea for a cool new project, just email mike(at)abitoffthetop(dot)com.** -Samantha Cook, Social Media coordinator, A Bit off the Top *disclaimer: that’s us! **we’re trying to avoid spam bots.

This is a guest post by Melissa Lonn, who is currently completing her second year of law school at Université de Montreal. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Science from McGill University, as well as a Master Degree in Social Work from McGill University. Melissa’s interest in human rights and the rule of law is longstanding. She has had numerous opportunities both within Montreal and abroad to explore the world of human trafficking, child prostitution and child rights advocacy.

This poster was found on DeviantArt.com posted by RJDaae

This past summer I was one of 10 privileged Canadian law students chosen to participate in a human rights project abroad. With some prior exposure to human trafficking and an enduring interest in the issue, I was selected to intern at an organization in Bangkok, Thailand, dedicated to enhancing awareness and advocacy surrounding child prostitution, pornography, sex tourism and trafficking. Interestingly, and to my advantage, the organization focussed on the global situation of child commercial sexual exploitation, and not solely on the prevalence in Thailand, although it did not take long to realize that I was residing in a country where sexual exploitation was rampant. My work as their legal intern consisted primarily of researching the situation of child sexual exploitation in various countries to which I was assigned, analyzing the emplaced legislation and formulating recommendations to these countries’ governments as a means of improving the situation of children and giving a voice to this silenced population.

With a passion for field work, I found myself venturing outside of the boundaries of my cubicle and into the heart of the streets flooded with underage sex workers. I sat in bars with girls who explained to me how the bar owners paid the police not to enter their bars and check the ages of the girls employed to entertain sex customers flocking to the streets of Bangkok from all around the world. I witnessed countless men walking hand-in-hand with girls who looked barely 12 and tried not to stare at the bruises on the children’s faces and arms. I sat with a famous tattoo artist who told me about Frank, a man who over 4 years had brought 2 young girls into the tattoo parlor and covered their bodies with the name Frank in different sizes and colors all over their bare skin.

At the office I delved into the world of human trafficking and its appalling prevalence. I read about the weak legislations enabling the continuation of this injustice and its surprising pervasiveness here in North America. As I accumulated stories, news reports and documentaries online, compiling a concise and accessible summary of the situation of sexual exploitation in countries, especially countries who have emitted very limited information on the problem, it became quite apparent to me how easy it is to contribute indirectly to sexual exploitation and how simple it is to turn a blind eye to one of the most fundamental values our society holds.

As Passover approaches, we find ourselves recounting the story of Jewish slavery and our triumphant exodus from Egypt. As we sit in the comforts of our homes rejoicing and feasting over our freedom, we must remember all the slavery still permeating this world. Deeply rooted in Judaism is the concept of Tikun Olam. It is our role and responsibility as the future generations carrying on our Jewish values to continue to cleanse this world of its human injustices that our religion knows all too well. Perhaps our consciences are comforted by believing that human trafficking is only occurring on television, in movies or countries far distanced from where we reside, however this is flawed thinking. As a famous Jewish scientist once said “the most important endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions (Albert Einstein)”. The duty is on us to challenge depraved human conduct, for it is those with freedom who hold the power to unlock the shackled chains maintaining human slavery.

- Melissa Lonn

The A-Team is a group of socially minded young adults who bring awareness to a different social issue every month. This month the group will be hosting a discussion on human trafficking.  Guest speakers will include: Annie Robert, Human Trafficking Awareness Coordinator, RCMP Montreal and Liliane Kohl, Temple Committee Against Human Trafficking, Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom. The discussion will take place on Tuesday, March 20 at 6:30 pm (Depanneur Café, 206 Bernard). For more information email Rebecca@abitoffthetop.com

This is a guest post by Emily Litvack. Emily is a graduate of the McGill School of Environment. She has been involved in various environmental research and management projects in Canada and abroad. She is currently engaged in various community organizations and a program director at Teva Quebec, Montreal’s Jewish environmental organization. In her spare time, Emily dances in a Montreal semi-professional dance troupe and teaches dance to children.

I’m 25 years old, an environmentalist, a dancer, vegetarian, female, Canadian (and American by birth) … and Jewish. Like most 20-something Jews (and as many Jews of any age do), I wrestle with my Judaism; it is an ongoing struggle to find that comfortable and meaningful place where I can be proud of my Jewish identity without judgment of myself or others, that place where I can feel included and not alienated from my community.

Recently, I finished reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. The book, for anyone who hasn’t read it, is hilarious in a neurotic Woody Allen sort of way, but also incredibly touching and relevant. Personally, I felt a strong connection with the author and the anguish he put himself through – for a good portion of my early twenties, I did my very best to become orthodox. I would “take on mitzvoth” (as they say in ba’al teshuvah circles) by the dozen. Yet, there was always a nagging feeling that I wasn’t doing enough, that I should do more, that I wasn’t a good enough Jew… it was a tormenting feeling.

So when I read about A.J. Jacobs’ journey, I felt for him and his struggle to find meaning with all the rituals, ceremonies and nonsensical laws we are told to perform and abide by. What I loved about this book was Jacobs’ honest realization as he finishes his year of “holy living” (whatever that means) that we can’t do it all. It’s impossible. No one, not even the most devout person, can do everything the Torah tells the Jewish people to do. In a way (and I hope this won’t be taken the wrong way), every Jew is a “cafeteria Jew” – we choose what we connect to, we pick what’s relevant to us, what inspires us, or makes us feel closer to our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents… Whether it’s lighting the Chanukah menorah every year or making sure to set aside pre-cut pieces of toilet paper before Shabbat, there are parts of Judaism that we want in our lives, that make us say “I am Jewish.”

Finding those special parts of Judaism that speak to us is a difficult process that is ever-changing as we are. However, I have had opportunities that have helped me figure out the points where Judaism and I click. I spent a lot of time at Livnot U’Lehibanot in Israel. To anyone who has been a chevra at Livnot, you can attest that this is a very special place, a real gem. Based in the mystical city of Tzfat, Livnot leads programs for recent graduates who are (yes it’s cliché) searching for meaning and direction. I was drawn to Livnot because many of their programs are set in nature  (not to mention that their rooftop has the most breathtaking view in all of Israel). Having graduated in environmental science, it sounded pretty awesome! I spent two months there, hiking, volunteering, helping to build community. It was there that Judaism and I clicked.

I started learning about Talmudic laws and Kabbalistic notions regarding how to treat the environment and nature with respect. All of it jived with the concepts of sustainability I had been learning about for four years! I even remember coming across something a medieval rabbi wrote about how to use resources that may as well have been straight out of the Brundtland Commission’s Our Common Future, where sustainable development was first coined! That will blow your mind mamash. While most Jewish ideas were (and still are) bewildering to me, these ideas were ones that I could support, internalize and carry out. So my attempt to become frum was very unsuccessful. It didn’t matter because I found something I could take with me, around which I could create my Jewish identity with happiness and confidence.

Tu Bishvat or the New Year of the Trees is coming up. While this holiday is considered a minor holiday (especially when it comes along in the dead of winter here in Canada), it’s pretty special to me. Progressive Jewish movements have popularized Tu Bishvat by calling it Jewish Earth Day. Some people would argue, “the earth is everyone’s, how can there be a Jewish Earth Day?” But, that our culture even has a day, with rituals dating back to the 17^th century, to contemplate our place on Earth, our impact on the Earth, and our connection to the Earth demonstrates that protecting nature, and maybe even environmentalism, has a very real place in Judaism. It’s definitely a holiday I can wholeheartedly celebrate… even if it is freezing outside.

If you and Judaism also click through a love of nature, Teva Quebec is holding “Tu Bishvat Canada Style! Mont Royal Snowshoe Tour for Jewish Earth Day” on February 12^th from 1:30 – 4pm. The tour will be guided by an environmental educator from Les amis de la montagne … and it will be followed by hot chocolate! For more information, check out www.tevaquebec.com.