Tag Archives: Ontario

Jews of the Week: Zalman Posner and Herb Gray

In Memory of Two Great Jews

Herb Gray

Herb Gray

Herbert Eser Gray (1931-2014) was born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Belorussian-Jewish immigrants. He practiced as a lawyer after receiving a degree from Osgoode Hall, before being elected to parliament in 1962. He became the first Jewish cabinet minister in Canada’s history. He would go on to be re-elected a whopping twelve times, setting a record as the longest-serving Canadian parliamentarian in history. During this time, he served in multiple roles including Leader of the Opposition, Solicitor General, and even Deputy Prime Minister. After retiring from politics, he was the Chancellor of Carleton University. Awarded a great many honours, including the Order of Canada, he was just one of a few people to be granted the title “The Right Honourable”, and was nicknamed the “Godfather of Politics”. Beloved by his constituents and on Parliament Hill, Herb Gray sadly passed away last week.

 

Rabbi Zalman Posner

Rabbi Zalman Posner

Just two days after came the sad news of the passing of Rabbi Zalman Posner (1927-2014). Born in Israel to parents who fled the Soviet Union, Posner’s family later immigrated to the U.S. to help in stimulating Jewish community life. After the Holocaust, Posner went to Europe to help survivors and refugees in DP camps. In 1949, he took up the post as Chabad rabbi of Nashville, Tennessee, and went on to serve as Nashville’s rabbi for 53 years. During this time, he helped open the community’s first Jewish schools, brought Jewish life onto university campuses, became renowned internationally as a profound lecturer, published eight popular books on Judaism, along with penning dozens of intriguing articles, and inspired countless people around the world. Rabbi Posner passed away last Wednesday, and is survived by his five children, and many more grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Words of the Week

A well from which you drank, cast not a stone into it.
– Midrash Rabbah, Bamidbar 22:4

Jews of the Week: Sam & Charles Bronfman

Sam Bronfman

Samuel Bronfman

Samuel Bronfman (1889-1971) immigrated to Canada from Bessarabia, Moldova, fleeing the pogroms of the Russian Empire. From tobacco farming to selling firewood, working in a sawmill, and building railways, Bronfman bounced around to make a living. The family eventually bought a small hotel and Sam soon realized that most of the profit was coming from alcohol. In 1924 he opened a distillery in Montreal which went on to make huge profits, much of which came from bootlegging to the U.S., taking advantage of America’s prohibition era. In 1928, Bronfman purchased Ontario’s Seagram Company and adopted its name. It would become the world’s largest producer of alcoholic beverages (with over 250 different brands), a title it held until the company was bought out by several corporations, including Coca-Cola. Sam Bronfman was also a noted philanthropist and served as president of Canada’s Jewish Congress for over 20 years. One of McGill University’s main patrons, he was awarded the Order of Canada.

Charles Rosner Bronfman

Charles Rosner Bronfman

The same honour was awarded to Samuel’s son Charles Bronfman (b. 1931). Aside from business, Charles is famous for bringing a major league baseball team to Montreal, the ill-fated Expos. More significantly, along with Michael Steinhardt, he founded (and funds) Taglit Birthright, which has now brought over 220,000 young Jews around the world on free trips to Israel. Bronfman has signed the Giving Pledge, vowing to leave more than half of his wealth to charity. Part of that is creating the $100,000 Charles Bronfman Prize, honouring individuals who have contributed to humanitarian causes. A quirky fact: Charles is co-founding chairman of Historica, the company that brought you all those fun ‘Heritage Minutes’ on Canadian TV. He said, “If television can use 30 seconds or 60 seconds to persuade people that Cadillacs or cornflakes are interesting, couldn’t we also use that short piece of time to persuade Canadians that their history is interesting? You tell me how to do it, and I’ll fund it.”

Words of the Week

If you wait until you find the meaning of life, will there be enough life left to live meaningfully?
– Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe