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My parents, Solomon (Sam) Penn and Ann Tzveigorn, emigrated
from Lithuania to South Africa before World War II, my father
and his family in the 1920s, and my mother in the 1930s. My
mother was the sole survivor of a large family, and after
the war was only able to track down a few cousins who had
escaped to Russia, the only known survivors of a large extended
family.
I recall the stories of life in the Shtetl that I heard from
an early age, my mother's family was poor, and the weekly
sharing of one apple amongst eight children is an indelible
image. It is from that image that my family's view of charity
and sharing flows.
In the early days life in South Africa was not easy for immigrants.
My father was a tailor and his first bed was a roll of fabric
at the back of the store where he worked. My parents did what
immigrants had to do to survive back then, work day and night
with little time for anything else. As a result of their incredible
strength and perseverance, I was fortunate to be born into
middle-class comfort and privilege, the youngest of three
brothers. Our parents gave their lives to provide the opportunity
of education and a better life for myself and my brothers.
My parents experienced persecution firsthand, to them the
word pogrom was not a word from a history book, but something
to be feared. These experiences, together with the events
of the war made them ardent Zionists. Israel was the only
hope for the salvation of the Jewish people. The very existence
of Israel was a wonder to them, and its failure to survive
would mean the end of the Jewish people.
As difficult as life was for them they were always able to
set aside something for others. As hard as they worked there
was always time for community service. I recall the endless
parcels of food, clothing and other necessities that my mother
packaged and mailed to their cousins in Russia who were trapped
behind the iron curtain until the early 1970s. And of course
there was energy left to work for Israel. Although my mother
worked full-time, helping my father in his business as well
as tending to our family's needs, she made the time to work
for a Hadassah group collecting for Israel. Her group made
a substantial contribution towards the building of an orphanage
in Israel.
It was not just Jewish causes that inspired them. Their experiences
gave them a visceral understanding and empathy for anyone
less fortunate.
And so we come to the year 2006 in Canada. How easy it is
for us in this time and place. Tzedakah is no longer a heavy
burden we must find a way to bear. It is privilege to have
the opportunity to contribute.
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