Province British Columbia | Phone +1 604-325-1812 | |
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Address 6184 Ash St, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3G9, Canada Similar Scottish Cultural Centre, Jewish Community Centre, Roundho Community Arts & Re, Italian Cultural Centre, Polish Community Center | ||
The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture is a centre for secular Jewish culture and humanistic Judaism in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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The stated purpose of the Peretz Centre is to "provide a quality alternative approach to Jewish life through the appreciation of Jewish history and culture in the context of world history, and the celebration of secular (non-religious) and humanist Jewish traditions."
The Peretz Centre is affiliated with the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
It is associated with Vancouver's Jewish left community.
History
The Vancouver Peretz Institute, also known as the Vancouver Peretz Shule, was founded in 1945 at 13th Avenue and Birch Street in response to the threat to Jewish culture and Yiddish language posed by the Holocaust and World War II. The centre was named after Isaac Leib Peretz, a prominent figure in Yiddish literature and culture.
In 1959–1960 it had 118 children, but by 1971 its enrolment had dropped to below 50.
In 2001, a new building was constructed at the same location, and the name was changed to the "Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture".
Programs
The Peretz Centre runs a two-year B'nai Mitzvah program, a coming-of-age ceremony for boys and girls, that focuses on learning about Jewish history and culture.
The centre also hosts the Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir, which performs Jewish songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, Ladino, and English.
In addition, the Peretz centre has Yiddish classes, senior programs, and Sunday School, and regularly hosts secular versions of Jewish holidays.
It is also home to the Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia, Ahavat Olam Synagogue, Bravo Dance, Jewish Food Bank storage and distribution, Kol Halev Performance Ensemble, MOST/Bridge Russian Seniors, Outlook Magazine, and the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival.