When we decided to leave apartheid South Africa, we knew we had to go somewhere that had a strong Jewish community. Arriving in Canada was a shock to the system in countless ways. There was, however, one constant that made us feel like this crazy, snowy, new place was home. Being a Jew in Toronto came to shape our future.
When we first attended Chabad of Markham, our services were held at the Thornhill Community Centre. Our son Craig’s bar mitzvah was the first among our family and friend circle, and it was held in a back room somewhere because we didn’t have a bimah to call our own yet. The growth of our shul was symbiotic with the growth of our family, and all those in the congregation.
As the community grew and multiplied, and aged through all the simchas and shivas, we all did so together. We all built families that were inextricably connected through the DNA of Chabad. Judaism was the glue that held the community together, and that’s even more true today than it was back then.
We have been fortunate to have comfortable lives, but we do not leave behind a legacy of a business empire. Rather, our legacy is something more beautiful to us; it is the gorgeous family we’ve built and the impact they have had and continue to have on this world. With a set of shared values rooted in the Judaic principle of tikkun olam, our family tree has grown in every direction. Our children’s generation planting new family trees and building new networks of Jewish life is a joy beyond words. With each generation, these values that are retained and passed down have made us successful in our personal and professional endeavours. And as our legacy continues to grow, the impact we can have on this world grows. It is truly the best we could ask to leave behind us.
This past Hanukkah, as we looked around at a room with more than 50 people in it, we were struck by the amount of love and affection that surrounded us. Siblings, cousins, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents—four generations of a family all together celebrating a Jewish holiday. We have three children, two daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, and seven precious grandchildren. We feel an immense sense of pride in the family we’ve built, knowing they carry forward our values and contribute so beautifully to the world around them. We should all be so lucky!