LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL By Jessie Schoenberg Anna Schoenberg with her grandchildren Lauren, Dana & Jessie In The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank wrote at age thirteen; “It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart

KEEPING MY MOTHER'S STORY ALIVE By Georgina Rosenberg Growing up as a child of survivors is different to say the least. I, unfortunately, spent a great deal of my early life focused on all the things that made me different from my middle-class Canadian school mates, friends and neighbors. After all, we are different. There is no denying that. How can we not be different from those that didn’t endure the Holocaust? Only now, as an adult, can I remotely understand what a grea

FOUR GENERATIONS OF INSPIRATION By Wendy Schneider Editor of The Hamilton Jewish News Jacob Goldblatt (TL), Frank Goldblatt (TR), Marvin Goldblatt (BL), Wendy Schneider (BR) My life has been significantly impacted by the values my parents and grandparents instilled in me. My family story begins in the early days of the 20th century with the arrival in Hamilton of my great-grandfather Jacob Goldblatt. Like many Eastern European Jewish immigrants of his generation, Jacob starte

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND By Jason A. Waxman In writing about my grandfather, Morris Waxman z”l, I am filled with a sense of pride and purpose. I was blessed to have my Zaidie (grandfather) in my life for almost 30 years, unarguably, the most important and foundational ones at that. He was a significant part of my life, and rightfully so. I have no doubt that when many are asked to speak about a role model, they may default to a celebrity, politician or great sage. Perh

CHANNELING MY INNER GRAMMA She did not cure Cancer or establish world peace; she did not build hospitals or invent life-changing technologies; she did not travel the world or wear the most fashionable clothes… but she did teach us that a good life is one focused on friends and family; and she showed us that laughter is really good medicine (maybe even the best); she made the choice to highlight the best in every single person; and she loved altruistically, absolutely no stri

HOW GRANDMOTHER MARGARET STARTED IT ALL My grandmother, Margaret, was a stoic, noble, graceful, loving, and hopeful woman who was the primary source of motivation and inspiration in my life. She modeled resilience and refused to be solely recognized for her Holocaust “victim” status. She preferred the term “survivor”. I wholeheartedly believe that “survivor” isn’t even the right identity. She didn't just “survive” the senseless hatred and violence of the Nazis, she grabbed