The impetus for us to set up a fund under the auspices of the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto was born out of a shared passion, as well as the convergence of some important events in our life together.
Each of us is a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, and our backgrounds are similar. Though Barry grew up in Montreal and Tali in Toronto, we both attended Jewish day schools and summer camps, and our respective Grade 11 trips on the March of the Living were life-changing. Tzedakah was an engrained value for our families, both of which gave back to their respective Jewish communities as well as to Israel. Our parents modelled how to align tzedakah with values, and we came to understand that giving can be personally meaningful.
During the early years of our marriage, we lived in both Montreal and Minnesota. Once back in Toronto, we were inspired by the strength of our city’s Jewish community, and by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s power to touch so many lives. At the same time, we were struggling with infertility issues. During that stressful period, which included time-consuming and upsetting fertility treatments, we recognized how very fortunate we were to be able to avail ourselves of the costly treatments, knowing what a significant financial burden this could be for many families going through this grueling process. We knew that if or when we should be blessed with children, we would want to help other families dealing with this hardship.
Flash forward: our twin daughters, Sloane and Lennon, are now almost three years old, thanks to medical science and the incredible generosity and selflessness of Tali’s sister, Yael Silberman, who served as our surrogate, and her supportive husband, Eitan. It was our turn to give back. Two years ago, we were inspired to set up a fund to help families struggling with infertility, but didn’t know how to implement it. The magic of the Jewish Foundation was its ability to help us execute this idea in a way that was personally meaningful to us.
We would like our girls to understand that the privilege we enjoy is not equally shared by others, and that it is our responsibility to pay forward our good fortune. Doing so underscores our feelings of gratitude and keeps us humbled and anchored. Moreover, we desire to model this behaviour for our children. We want them to learn that community is family, and that we must all take care of each other.
Our community leaders have inspired us to give, and we hope that giving inspires others.