For many Jews in North America, our roots trace back to the Russian Empire. Our language, Ashkenazi culture, traditions, and cuisine reflect centuries of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. The influence of Russian Jewry also helped shape the early pioneers of modern Israel. This course explores the history of Russian Jewry and its enduring impact on Jewish identity, culture, and life today.

ZOOM
FREE for B’nai Torah members | $36 for guests

Click here to register

Rabbi Howard Shub is a first-generation Canadian Jew born in Toronto.  Raised in a traditional Jewish home where Yiddish was spoken as easily as English, his Jewish identity was nurtured from an early age through family, school, and a Labour Zionist summer camp.He earned his undergraduate degree from Yeshiva University in New York and later completed an M.A. in Contemporary Jewish Studies, specialising in modern Jewish history, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After several years in Israel, he spent five years in Australia; first as Hillel Director in Melbourne, and then in an unexpected role as a probation and parole officer working in a maximum security prison. Returning to North America, Rabbi Howard pursued his true calling and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in 1988. For nearly 40 years, he served as a congregational rabbi, retiring in June 2023, only to return to a part-time pulpit and, most recently, as interim rabbi of the synagogue where he served for 23 years. He continues to teach Jewish topics across Florida and serves as mashgiach (kosher supervisor) at the only kosher deli in the area.

​