Volunteers assemble holiday gift bags for Shoah survivors

Pictured, from left, are Hank Rosenbaum co-president of the Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, along with Cheryl Rosenbaum Shapiro and organizers Cindy Osheroff and Dori Ekstein. [SUSAN MINUK PHOTO]

The apples and honey on our tables at Rosh Hashanah are symbols of a sweet new year, but for elderly Holocaust survivors who may be alone in our community, they’re a bittersweet reminder of times past and often tough times in the present.

Some 25 community members gathered Sept. 11 at the Prosserman JCC for the Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants of Toronto’s second annual gift-giving drive for Holocaust survivors in need.

Organizers Cindy Osheroff, Cheryl Rosenbaum Shapiro, and Dori Ekstein, along with Holocaust survivors and their descendants, volunteers from March of the Living, and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) staff helped assemble 200 gift bags.

The Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants of Toronto organization has been in existence for 20 years, and for the last eight years, it’s been affiliated with CIJA. Its purpose is to represent and speak with a unified voice on behalf of Jewish Holocaust survivors.

“As we approach the Jewish New Year, the gift bags will be delivered to 280 Holocaust survivors who are clients of Jewish Family & Child,” said Cindy Osheroff, assistant director of project management at CIJA.

There are some 12,000 Holocaust survivors in Canada. 

Hank Rosenbaum is among the 8,000 survivors who live in the Toronto area. It was only after taking his family to see the movie Schindler’s List in 1993 that Rosenbaum found his voice.

“That movie helped me to mentally speak out about the Holocaust,” he told The CJN

“We must never forget. That is the key to why I am involved,” said Rosenbaum, co-president of the Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants of Toronto.

Last year’s recipients of the gift-giving initiative shared their sentiments with Ivetta Isakovan, a social worker with JF & CS. 

“Thank you very much for the beautiful baskets for Rosh Hashanah. Thank you for being considerate. It is very nice of you to be so thoughtful and caring toward us Holocaust survivors who need your help so much. I wish you a Shanah Tova,” said one written statement.

Another sentiment was expressed this way: “I would like to express my gratitude to the Jewish community and to each and every one of you who was involved in organizing these gorgeous baskets for Rosh Hashanah. I am a Holocaust survivor, and I was so touched, that I had tears in my eyes when Ivetta gave me this basket. I felt very special, and most of all, I felt that we have people who really care. I am proud of our Jewish community, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy and healthy year. Shanah Tovah! God bless.”

Rosenbaum said the initiative is a ray of light for the elderly recipients.

“The mitzvah in assembling these gift bags is knowing [the survivors] will receive a sparkle in their eyes and in their day,” he said.

“There has been too much misery. Let them have a moment of sparkle.”