When we were invited to share a story for the Jewish Foundation’s Book of Life, it initially felt counter-intuitive for us. We didn’t see ourselves as having a story that needed to be told. 

But in reflecting we realized we may have a message to share. 

Our story is one of gratitude and personal responsibility.   

First the gratitude: We feel immensely blessed and proud to be part of the Jewish community, and particularly here locally. This is a community that is vibrant, dynamic, and passionate about making  a difference, and preserving and growing the continuity of Jewish life in Toronto and globally. 

So many of our people from earlier and present generations have helped make this happen. Everyone’s actions counted. 

And that is what the second part of our message is about: personal responsibility.

We all have a stake -- and so we all must share the responsibility. Every act, gift, or mitzvah -- small or large – counts and collectively compounds towards an even greater good over time. The potential for impact has nothing to do with the size or visibility of one’s effort.

We do our best to teach these values to our children -- Arieh, Orly, and Tali. We are so proud to see each of them do their part in our community and take personal responsibility to give back. This heartens us.

We hope our story conveys to others that we can all play a part towards a healthy Jewish future.