Temple Kol Ami, Bialik Hebrew Day School break ground together

By Jonathan Ain --

A model of cooperation and shared facilities was unveiled recently as members of Vaughan’s Temple Kol Ami and supporters of Bialik Hebrew Day School gathered to break ground on their new joint building.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the building – part of York Region’s Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus - marks the first time in the GTA’s history that a synagogue and a day school have pooled their resources to create a top-of-the-line building that will be used by – and benefit - both institutions.

The 400 spectators on hand heard from keynote speakers from both the school and the shul, as well as performances from the choirs of both Temple Kol Ami and Bialik. Toronto philanthropists Leslie and Anna Dan, lead donors for Temple Kol Ami, were on hand as they shared a shovel to break ground on the site of the new building.

“It’s a historic day for our community,” said UJA Federation president and CEO Ted Sokolsky. “It’s a model of integration and cooperation that will be used from today forward when we think about building new day schools and synagogues in the GTA and in Canada.”

The Lebovic Campus, an initiative of UJA Federation’s Tomorrow Campaign, chaired by Gerald Schwartz and Lawrence Tanenbaum, continues to rebuild and revitalize Jewish Toronto in three separate areas of the city. The 50-acre campus, home to the recently inaugurated Kimel Family Education Centre – the northern branch of TanenbaumCHAT – will also host the 87,000 sq. ft. Schwartz/Reisman Centre as well as a wide array of agencies and institutions to serve York Region’s Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Once completed, the Lebovic Campus will also host the largest number of Jewish day school students anywhere outside of Israel.

“It’s symbolic that we are having this groundbreaking ceremony today, next to the brand new TanenbaumCHAT,” said Mark Skapinker, chair of Bialik’s Northern Campus Committee. “For a long time now, Bialik has had a partnership with CHAT. There are years when 80 or even 90 per cent of our graduates enter grade nine at CHAT. It’s just wonderful that we are going to be here.”

“This new home has been a dream of our congregation practically since we began meeting in people’s homes, basements and backyards,” said Kol Ami’s Rabbi Danny Gottlieb. “We know already that this will be a success, because wherever we’ve gone, we’ve managed to make our temporary homes holy and spiritual places. Now, in our very own home here on the Lebovic Campus, Temple Kol Ami will finally have a place to grow and to call its own.”

March of the Living: a life-changing experience

By Jo Michaels--
In late April every year, participants from across the globe take part in a unique program guaranteed to change the way they look at the world. The March of the Living (MOL) - sponsored in Toronto by UJA Federation - is a two-week international program featuring a trek to Polish concentration camp sites, coinciding with Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) followed by a trip to Israel to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day).

The goal of the MOL has always been to educate Jewish teenagers about the Holocaust and to inspire them to do what they can to ensure that the Shoah never happens again. Today it is not just young people who experience all that the MOL has to offer, but adults as well. The Adult March of the Living was modeled after the teen March and this year’s sojourn to Poland and Israel promises to be especially exciting and meaningful as Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary.

Participants will march the three kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp built during World War II. Upon arriving in Israel, they will take part in tours of the country and Israel’s exciting 60th anniversary celebrations.

Cyndy Rosenthal, along with her husband Ron, will be chairing this year’s Adult MOL. Rosenthal, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, remembers asking her father, Jack Rapoport throughout her childhood, about the number B4449 tattooed on his arm.

“I didn’t truly understand what he was saying until I took part in the 2007 Adult March of the Living,” says Rosenthal. “This is a journey that everyone should take - Jews and non-Jews alike. It takes you back in time and allows you to see what can happen when power is violently abused. I had no true understanding of who I was or who my parents were until I walked those three kilometers and heard the names of those who had died being read out loud as I entered Birkenau. I felt the stories I had heard all my life come alive inside of me.”

The Adult MOL is open to all who make a minimum family gift of $1,000 to UJA Federation’s Campaign 2009. Those interested in participating in the year’s Adult MOL are encouraged to attend an information meeting on October 23 on the 4th Floor of the Lipa Green Building, 4600 Bathurst Street, or call 416. 631.5671.

Program honours memory of those who perished before their time

This year, through the UJA Federation Holocaust Centre of Toronto, more than 45 bar and bat mitzvah students have honoured the memory of a child who perished in the Holocaust before having the chance to reach this important Jewish milestone.

The Holocaust Centre’s Twinning Program enables bar and bat mitzvah boys and girls to share their special day in memory of a young Holocaust victim by having them select a child with whom to twin. Once they have chosen an honouree, each youngster conducts extensive research about his or her twin and writes about his/her history, background, town and fate. The Toronto youngster also makes contact with a friend or relative of the child who died in the Holocaust, who acts as a mentor to the student.

Recently, graduates of this program were honoured at the Lipa Green Building.

Survivor Bill Glied, who mentored his own grandson, Brandon Glied-Goldstein this year, spoke about his personal sense of gratitude.

“Thank you to the grandparents, parents, but most of all, to the kids, for all that you have done for the noble cause of remembering those who died in the Holocaust," he said. "Promise yourselves that your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren will remember, so that we, as a people, will live forever.”

Ariela Ravek, who had her bat mitzvah this summer, traveled with her family from Ottawa to address her fellow graduates.

“Participation in the Twinning Program was much more than research and education for me,” said Ravek. “It was a way for me to connect with my family. It was a remarkable way to bring to life the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.”

For more information on this and other youth educational and volunteer opportunities at the Holocaust Centre of Toronto, please contact Mary Siklos at 416.635.2883 ext.301 or via e-mail: bnaimitzvah@ujafed.org