EPSTEIN o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-05-02 published
GOTTESMAN,
Samuel
At University Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, on Friday
April 29, 2005. Samuel
GOTTESMAN, of London. Beloved husband
of the late Freda
GOTTESMAN
(EPSTEIN.) Dear brother of Harry
and his wife
Norma
GOTTESMAN, of London. Loved by two nieces
Diane and her husband Wayne
GOLDSTEIN, of London, and Beverly
KAHN and Rob
KOTZER, of Toronto. Also survived by brother-in-law
Alex KAHN, of London. Predeceased by his parents Leo and Katalina
GOTTESMAN and a sister Mary
KAHN.
Funeral service will be held
at the Logan Funeral Home, 371 Dundas St. (between Colborne and
Waterloo) on Tuesday May 3, 2005, at 2: 00 p.m. with Rabbi Eliezer
GURKOW, of Congregation Beth Tefilah, officiating. Interment
in Or Shalom Cemetery. Friends who wish may make memorial donations
to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Online condolences
can be expressed at www.loganfh.ca A tree will be planted as
a living memorial to Mr.
GOTTESMAN.
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-01-31 published
KIRSHENBAUM,
Betty (née
LANDESMAN)
On Friday, January 28, 2005 at Toronto. Betty
KIRSHENBAUM, beloved
wife of Izzy. Loving mother and mother-in-law of Zahava
LAMBERT,
Naomi KIRSHENBAUM,
Howard and Dyan
KIRSHENBAUM. Devoted daughter
of the late Hersch and Frahdel
LANDESMAN. Dear sister and sister-in-law
of Rachel and Chaim
FLETCHER, and the late Henshi
EPSTEIN,
Shalom
LANDESMAN, and Isaac
LANDESMAN.
Devoted grandmother of Elisheva,
Avinoam, Noah, and Roxy. Services were held at Benjamin's Park
Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Ave W., on Sunday, January 30 at
9: 30 a.m. Shiva 19 Jenkins Dr. Richmond Hill. If desired, memorial
donations may be made to The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative
Care c/o Mt. Sinai Hospital 416-586-4800.
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-04-22 published
EPSTEIN,
David▼
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-05-13 published
WEBBER,
Josephine
Chasnoff
May 10, 2005; beloved wife of the late Joseph
WEBBER; dear mother
and mother-in-law of Alan (Frances
DIEMOZ)
WEBBER and Mark (Janet)
WEBBER; dear sister and sister-in-law of Jane (late François)
OLMER, Jack (Alice)
CHASNOFF and Jules (Martha)
CHASNOFF; dear
grandmother of Adam and Amanda
WEBBER; dear sister-in-law of
late Ronah (late M.L.)
EPSTEIN,
Debbie (late Lennie)
DAVIDOFF
and Samene (Joseph)
LESSER; dear aunt, great-aunt, cousin and
friend of Carolyn
PHILLIPPI.
Mrs WEBBER was a volunteer at the Scholar Shop. Funeral Service
10: 30 a.m., Friday, May 13, 2005 at New Mt. Sinai Mausoleum,
8430 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, Missouri. Interment New Mt. Sinai
Cemetery. Memorial contributions to Scholar Shop or a charity
of your choice. Berger Memorial, St. Louis, Missouri
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-08-31 published
Rabbi Irwin
WITTY
By Bernie M.
FARBER,
Ed
MORGAN and Seymour
EPSTEIN, Wednesday,
August 31, 2005, Page A20
Jewish educator, Torah scholar, family man, raconteur extraordinaire.
Born September 22, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York Died July 30 in
Toronto, of natural causes, aged 72.
Just ask his 22 grandchildren about Rabbi Irwin
WITTY's oratorical
skills. They will tell you the times when the grandchildren would
gather at his home, snuggle up close, and he would tell them
stories of Blackie, a dog who ran into all kinds of ethical and
moral problems but at the end of the story ended up teaching
his human Friends moral lessons. And that was what Rabbi
WITTY
was all about.
Rabbi WITTY had a lifelong passion: Jewish education. He was
born in Brooklyn in 1932 in an area where Judaism imbued all
parts of life. After graduating from Yeshiva University, New
York, he worked as a teacher and principal in Philadelphia and
then in Winnipeg. While in Winnipeg he had a dual role as teacher
and pulpit rabbi.
A story is told about his time in Winnipeg that during the seven
years he served as rabbi, he was the Lou Gehrig of the synagogue
league, never missing a Sabbath service. As an orthodox Jew,
he was not permitted to drive on Saturday. Even though he lived
two miles from the synagogue and despite Winnipeg's blustery
winter weather, he made the trek, often with his four children.
One Saturday morning, with the temperature close to minus 40°C
and a winter blizzard blowing in from the prairies, Rabbi
WITTY
and his daughter Judith ran from apartment block to apartment
block gaining shelter and respite until they finally made it
to the warmth of their synagogue.
In 1969, Rabbi
WITTY was hired as the Executive Director of the
Toronto Board of Jewish Education, which was then a small supervisory
body. Through Rabbi
WITTY's leadership, the Board of Jewish Education
became a leader in Jewish education both in Canada and around
the world.
During his time with the Board of Jewish Education he worked
hand in hand with Canadian Jewish Congress and the United Jewish
Appeal Federation in another passion of his, the right of faith-based
schools to access government funding. Indeed, whether it was
a government bureaucrat or the premier of the province, they
all knew that if Rabbi
WITTY was coming to see them, they had
better have their arguments well-honed. While the Rabbi was a
tolerant man, he would not hesitate to unleash the full force
of his considerable advocacy skills. In doing so, he spoke not
only with great wisdom and moral authority but, as his name suggests,
with a bitingly accurate wit.
Rabbi WITTY led an orthodox lifestyle and while being an orthodox,
recognized the need to identify with Jews of all different religious
backgrounds. He was as much at home in an orthodox synagogue
as he was conferring with reform, conservative and secular Jews
as well as clergy of all different faiths wherever he met them.
Indeed, he was the paradigm of what a Jewish educator should
be.
But Rabbi WITTY was more than a Jewish educator and advocate.
He understood that education needed to use to many tools bring
out lessons of life. He was a man skilled in the languages and
literature of his people, a man of many accents, a man of much
music, and a man of rich humour. It was impossible to follow
him on a podium; the audience was still laughing at his last
joke and remembering his message.
Rabbi WITTY's deep Jewish knowledge, his elegance in communication,
the music in his voice, and his respect for everyone made him
a teachers' teacher, the perfect model for the role he so well
filled.
Bernie M. FARBER,
Ed
MORGAN and Seymour
EPSTEIN are Friends and
colleagues of Rabbi
WITTY.
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-10-04 published
EPSTEIN,
Esther
Peacefully, on Monday, October 3, 2005 at her home in her 91st
year after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Esther
EPSTEIN,
beloved wife of Maurice for 67 years. Cherished mother and mother-in-law
to Jean and Arnold
VERTLIEB, and Philip and Joyce
EPSTEIN.
Loving
grandmother to Jeffrey, Tamara and Andrew, Ilana and Steve, David
and Michelle, Deborah and Aaron, and Sara and Mark. Great-grandmother
to Maxwell, Bailey, Jeremie, Joshua and Ryan. Survived by her
dearest sisters Hilda, Fay, and Beattie, and sister-in-law Sonia.
Special thanks to Dell
MERCADO, Lordes
DELACRUZ, and Dr.
KENDALL
for their extraordinary care and devotion. At Benjamin's Park
Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Ave. W. (3 lights west of Dufferin)
for service on Thursday, October 6 at 11: 00 a.m. Interment The
Farband Labour Zionist section of Mt. Sinai Memorial Park. Shiva
214 Blythwood Road. If desired, donations may be made to The
Esther Epstein Memorial Fund c/o The Benjamin Foundation, 3429
Bathurst St. Toronto, Ontario M6A 2C3 416-780-0324. Esther will
be missed and mourned by all who knew her. Her sparkling personality
and her joy of life will always be remembered.
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-04-22 published
EPSTEIN,
David▲
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-08-01 published
Rabbi 'a father of Jewish education'
Pushed the province to fund Jewish schools
'In his blood he knew the art of teaching'
By Naomi CARNIOL,
Staff
Reporter
Rabbi Irwin
WITTY made sure no Jewish child in Toronto lacked
a Jewish education because of money.
During his years as executive director of the Toronto Board of
Jewish Education, he worked with United Jewish Appeal to ensure
money was put aside for children who could not afford tuition
at local Jewish schools.
After he retired, he continued to push the provincial government
to fund Jewish schools.
WITTY died Saturday night in Toronto. He was 73.
Jewish education was
WITTY's lifelong passion, colleagues said.
"In his blood he knew the art of teaching," said Seymour
EPSTEIN,
the board's current executive director.
Born in Brooklyn in 1932,
WITTY graduated from Yeshiva University
in New York. He worked as a teacher and principal in Philadelphia
and Winnipeg.
In Winnipeg, he was also a pulpit rabbi at a synagogue for seven
years and helped found a charitable organization to support the
Winnipeg
Hebrew
School. In 1969,
WITTY became executive director
of the Toronto Board of Jewish Education. He held the position
until 1997.
In Toronto,
WITTY helped found the Dr. Abraham Shore Academy
She'arim Hebrew Day School, which runs programs for Jewish children
with learning disabilities.
WITTY believed Jewish education strengthened not only the Jewish
community. In a 1985 interview with the Star, he said, "I think
we've learned from other groups that the preservation of collective
ethnic identity enriches society in general."
EPSTEIN praised
WITTY's "vast and deep knowledge of his subject
matter, which was Judaica, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy..."
Howard ENGLISH, a spokesman for the United Jewish Appeal Federation
of Greater Toronto, worked with
WITTY during the rabbi's years
with the board of education.
"He was one of a rare breed of educators who was respected by
the whole spectrum of the Jewish community.... More importantly,
he respected everyone, no matter what their religious denomination,"
ENGLISH said.
EPSTEIN agreed. "He led an Orthodox lifestyle and was an Orthodox
rabbi, but he was beyond tolerant. He truly identified with Jews
of all different persuasions. He was a kind of model of what
a Jewish educator should be."
Bernie FARBER,
Chief
Executive
Officer of the Canadian Jewish
Congress, said
WITTY was recognized around the world as a leader
in Jewish education. That was partly because of the changes he
brought to the board.
"He took a small supervisory body and made it into a major source
of school consultative services,"
FARBER said.
Three years ago,
WITTY became the executive director of the Albert
and Temmy Latner Jewish Public Library.
While WITTY was devoted to education, he also loved music, colleagues
said. And he had a soft spot for a good joke.
"He had a great repertoire of hilarious stories,"
EPSTEIN said.
"It was impossible to follow him on stage because he had a booming
presence,"
FARBER said. "He would tell a joke and when he left
the stage people were still laughing."
WITTY used humour to reach out to people. "He was able to communicate
with people in their language,"
FARBER said.
"He didn't speak at people. He spoke to people."
A memorial service for
WITTY was held yesterday at the Clanton
Park Synagogue. The funeral will be held today in Israel.
WITTY leaves his wife
Shulamith, their four children and 22 grandchildren.
He will be greatly mourned by Jewish educators, and the students
who benefited from his teaching.
Said FARBER: "He was a father of Jewish education in Canada."
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EPSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-29 published
EPSTEIN,
Sara
On December 27, 2005 at Lincoln Place. Beloved mother of Marilyn
and Alvin ABRAM, grandmother to Lisa and Mark
BRESLAUER
(Winnipeg,)
Lori and Philip
BROWN
(New
Jersey) and Jason
ABRAM (fiancée Sandra
SREBROLOW) and great-grandmother to Ally
BROWN.
Funeral services:
graveside at Bathurst Lawn Cemetery, Anshei Minsk section on
Friday, December 30, 2005 at 1 p.m. Shiva: 494 Hidden Trail,
North York. Evening services: Beth David Synagogue, 4:30 p.m.
Visiting hours: 12 noon-4 p.m. and 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Memorial donations
may be made to Jewish National Fund (416-638-7200).
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