Growing up in Toronto in the early 60’s, I would frequently hear my parents converse in Yiddish when they didn’t want me to know what they were saying. Before long, I was able to understand a word or two, when it became obvious that the conversation was about my naughty antics. Although annoyed at my parents, I was still captivated with the spirited tone of the Yiddish language, especially when my father told off-colour jokes to his friends. I was even more intrigued when often reminded that Yiddish is considered a dying language.

Now, almost 40 years later, over a cup of coffee and a shtickel (piece) of cake with Helen Smolkin, President of Friends of Yiddish(FOY), I was happy to learn that Yiddish is still thriving in the 21st century.

“What gives me naches (joy) is when we have a good turn out at our events,” says Smolkin. FOY is a Toronto club that celebrates the language and culture of all things Yiddish, offering year-round programming of lectures, concerts, film screenings, sing-along sessions and holiday themed parties for close to 200 members, usually held at Beth Tikvah Synagogue. Non-members are also welcome.

Long gone are the days when a guy could simply pick up the telephone to ask a girl out on a date. The dating game has drastically changed over the last 10 years with the growth and sophistication of the Internet. There are now unlimited options for dating and numerous tools to gain access to one’s potential beshert or soul mate. Facebook gives you a sneak peak of the person in consideration, texting, provides a quick and non-obtrusive way to flirt and kick start the conversation and there are also a multitude of online dating sites to peruse. Sounds like fun, but the question still remains: is all this technology that permeates our lives, a blessing or a curse?

There’s no doubt that it’s easier to meet people these days. Texting, rather than having a face to face conversation, is a more comfortable and less stressful way to communicate, giving the sender and recipient of the message more time to consider what they’re about to say in their reply. Even if you’re not the coolest dude on the planet, no one will ever know, until that is, you actually meet face to face, which is really the point of dating, isn’t it?

Michael Weisbrot, 23, a graduate student at University of Toronto, knows that although texting is the norm now he prefers having face-to-face conversations. “There’s more of a flow when you’re talking to someone in person. Texting is a more lengthy process and it is harder to get to know the person”.

Eyes bright and full of hope, 14-year-old Mahmoud is eager to talk about his life-changing camp experience at a recent closing reception in downtown Toronto, for Heart to Heart, a two-week summer program at Camp Shomria in Perth, Ontario. Mahmoud is one of the 20, Jewish Israeli and Arab Israeli youth, between the ages of 14-16 from Israel who participated in Heart to Heart.

“It’s so beautiful to meet Jewish boys and girls. After being with them, we are a family now and I love them,” Mahmoud beams.

Now in its second year, Heart to Heart is the extension of a larger Israeli educational program, Children Teaching Children (CTC) established over 25 years ago. CTC is operated and funded by Givat Haviva (www.givathaviva.org.il), a non-profit organization created in 1949 as a national education center for the Kibbutz Federation in Israel. CTC facilitates Arab and Jewish encounters for middle school-age children throughout the Wadi Ara region, to nurture an open dialogue between the two groups.