Pictured: Stained glass windows by Rob Friedman
The Peretz Centre
The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture was founded in 1945 to establish and conduct a school that provides students of all ages with a progressive and modern Jewish cultural education.
Located in Vancouver, BC, we hold classes, lectures, exhibitions, concerts, holiday celebrations and similar gatherings in order to teach and advance the cause of progressive and modern Jewish learning, culture, and education and the Yiddish language. Our doors are open to people of diverse cultures, beliefs, genders and sexual orientation.
The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture is a registered Canadian charity.
What is Secular Jewish Humanism?
Secular humanism emphasizes human endeavour rather than supernatural intervention. We believe that people have a kinship with all living things and that people working together creatively, adhering to ethical and democratic principles, can make the world a better place.
The first secular Jewish organizations arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in both Europe and the Western Hemisphere. Those organizations defined the Jews as a people whose history, traditions, values and cultures could be researched and understood rationally, using the methods and insights of modern thought and science. The encompassing term was Yidishkayt — Jewishness.
At the Peretz Centre, we believe that Jewish continuity is best assured in a pluralistic, inclusive society where mutual dignity and respect, justice, freedom and peace prevail. This is the lesson of Jewish history and this is why secular humanist Yidishkayt is at the core of Peretz Centre educational and cultural programs.
Secular Jewish Humanism Resources
What is Yiddishkayt?
Yiddishkayt is the Jewish culture that blossomed in Europe from the late 1700s. Yiddish, the daily language of most Jews, began to be used by writers who were often rebels against the old religious establishment and who championed new ideas of social justice and human dignity. A rich literature of poetry, prose, drama, and song thrived until curtailed by antisemitic massacres in the 1930s and 40s.
The Peretz Centre seeks to incorporate and preserve Yiddishkayt through stories, songs, theatre, art, dance, lectures, and discussion in its programs.