The Jewish community is a beautiful tapestry—infinitely diverse, yet deeply united. Both Farla’s family and mine exemplify this truth. Our backgrounds are different, yet in profound ways, our Jewish story is the same.
Our story began with challenges. My parents fled Morocco during the political upheaval of the 1960s, part of a larger Sephardic exodus. Farla’s grandparents escaped rising antisemitism in post war Europe. For all of them, moving to Montreal was a new beginning, but old traditions remained at the heart of everything. I grew up in a Spanish and French-speaking household, surrounded by Sephardic symbols and customs—Shabbat dafina lunches, a tapestry hanging in our dining room, hamsa jewellery. Yet I’ll never forget visiting Farla’s Ashkenazi home—seeing little figurines of Orthodox rabbis and tasting kugel, gefilte fish, and kasha and bowties for the first time.
Despite these differences, what mattered most was the same in both homes: a love of being Jewish, deep-rooted values, and a commitment to tzedakah.
For Farla and me, though, these values weren’t always at the forefront of our lives. When we moved to Toronto for my career, we became hyper-focused on building our future. Then, in 2019, I had a heart attack. A few years later, Farla was diagnosed with breast cancer. Life confronted us with a choice: continue chasing success or embrace what truly matters. That realization changed everything. From then on, nothing mattered more than leaving a legacy and giving back.
Amid this journey, we were fortunate to reconnect with our rabbi and rebbetzin, who helped us rediscover the essence of Jewish life: faith, community, and purpose. Helping others and engaging with our community became our priority. To put these values into action, we decided to open a fund with the Jewish Foundation—allowing us to invest meaningfully in causes we care about, including health-related initiatives.
Despite our challenges, we feel deeply blessed and look forward to many more meaningful years together. We live now for our Jewish family. Our fund will support those in need, but more than that, it is a promise—to our daughter’s generation and beyond—that the Jewish tapestry will remain strong, vibrant, and ever-expanding.