At every family gathering, no matter the occasion, Jacob S. Ziegel z”l would rise to speak. People came to expect it. The words changed, but the message never did. Again and again, he returned to the same guiding principle: צדק צדק תרדוף – “justice, justice shall you pursue.” It was not a phrase to him. It was a commandment, a moral obligation, and the compass by which he lived.
Jacob’s devotion to justice was shaped early, in a life marked by upheaval and survival. Born near Hamburg to Polish Jewish parents, he was sent to England on one of the last Kindertransport trains. His parents disappeared into the Holocaust. Raised by an English family who sheltered him during the war, Jacob carried lifelong gratitude for their kindness—never forgetting that survival creates responsibility.
He grew into a deeply observant Jew who lived his Judaism with intention. Walking long distances to synagogue was simply part of the commitment. Jewish values were not abstract ideals to Jacob; they were meant to be examined, challenged, and lived honestly, never followed blindly and never abandoned for convenience.
That same integrity defined his professional life. After studying law, Jacob immigrated first to New York and then to Canada, where he found his intellectual home at the University of Toronto. He was a devoted teacher, mentor, and scholar whose influence extended far beyond the classroom. Even after mandatory retirement, his presence never truly faded—his ideas, guidance, and principles continued to shape generations of students and colleagues. He was the leader of commercial and consumer law scholarship of his generation in Canada and beyond, campaigner for social justice, supporter of a Jewish and democratic Israel, and fighter for a proper process for selecting judges in Canada.
Despite his stature, Jacob remained modest and deeply human. He cared little for status or recognition, preferring conversation, learning, and friendship. He loved welcoming others into his home for Shabbat, filling his table and backyard with music, debate, and thoughtful exchange that often stretched late into the evening.
In later years, as a beloved member of the First Narayever Congregation, Jacob’s voice was a familiar and respected one. People sought him out not only for his intellect, but for his fairness, patience, and humanity.
Jacob’s legacy lives on in the lives he touched and the values he taught. Through learning, hospitality, and principled giving carried forward in his name, his lifelong pursuit of justice continues—an enduring reminder that Jewish life is not only about survival, but about how we choose to live once we are here.
As told by his friends Benjamin Geva, David Stein, and Arnold Weinrib