TORONTO —  Rabbi Stewart Weiss and his wife, Susie, brought the realities of living in Israel closer to home at the community-wide commemoration of Yom Hazikaron and celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut last week.

A table was set up to honour the memory of the Fogel family at the community program at the BAYT.  [Laura Fixman photo]

There was a full house for the program at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) May 9, where other speakers included the consul general of Israel, Amir Gissin, and Thornhill member of Parliament Peter Kent.

Susie Weiss focused on Yom Hazikaron, Israel Memorial Day, when she spoke about her oldest son, Sgt. Ari Weiss, who was serving in the Israel Defence Forces and was killed during a raid on Hamas headquarters in September 2002.

She spoke with Ari every day when he was in the army and sent him packages of food.  After he was killed, she could never have imagined that she would be speaking about his life to people around the world, she said.

“I didn’t then realize how much a part of our lives Ari still would be.”

The rabbi spoke during the Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day portion of the program, describing his pride at living in Israel, which remained unchanged after his son was killed.

“I don’t think that it has radically changed my opinion,” he said. “We always understood that living in Israel included a certain amount of risk.”

This was the first time in 20 years that the couple have left Israel during Yom Hazikaron, Rabbi Weiss said in an interview before the program. When they were asked to come, it was the respect they feel for the Toronto Jewish community that made them decide to say yes.

“I think the Toronto Jewish community is very supportive of Israel,” he said.

The event also honoured the memory of two non-Israelis.

Chezi Goldberg, a Canadian victim of terrorism who was killed in a bus bombing in Jerusalem, was remembered when members of his family lowered the Israeli flag to half-mast.

“We wanted to highlight that victims of terror could be people next door to us,” event chair Jack Samuels said. “We thought the impact would be more profound.”

Torontonian Robert Eisen who left university in 1948 to join the Machal Brigade, volunteer fighters from the Diaspora, in Israel’s War of Independence was also remembered for his contribution in support of the Jewish state. Eisen has since died and was represented at the BAYT by family members.

Rabbi Weiss and his wife have shared their story all over the world, including in the United States, South America and Australia. The rabbi said they would consider going anywhere that had a Jewish community willing to invite them.

He also spoke of the difference between reading things about Israel, and learning from personal experience. He said he feels lucky to have the opportunity to strengthen a community’s commitment to Israel, simply by sharing his story.

“It’s different being with someone who’s gone through the experience,” Rabbi Weiss said. “People are very respectful.”

During the program, there were musical presentations by the Or Chaim choir and by girls from Bnei Akiva of Toronto.

The event also included a display of memorial posters and signs, which guests could view before or after the program.

The rebbetzin concluded her speech by thanking people around the world for what they’ve done in Ari’s memory. She spoke of people they’d never met writing songs about Ari or making paintings of him. She spoke of people who offered her food, their favourite coffees and even cleaning services. Before her son was killed, she assumed that people in her situation would have wanted to be left alone, but she was grateful for what people gave her.

“Somehow they knew that was just what I needed,” Susie Weiss told the audience.

While in Toronto, Rabbi Weiss and his wife spoke at other locations, where they were able to add an interactive portion and allow questions.

To date, 13 children have been named for Ari Weiss, including the family’s first grandson, Ari Yehoshua Weiss.