With the high cost of living on the Lower Mainland, more and more families are struggling to provide their children with a Jewish education. Our Jewish Education Task Force identified that existing funding for tuition assistance has not been able to keep up with the growing need. Schools and families are crunched, and children are caught in the middle. In response, Leon Glassman has created a living legacy through the establishment of a new endowment fund at the Jewish Community Foundation that helps families provide their children with a Jewish education.
Jonathan Berkowitz and Heather Glassman Berkowitz wrote the following article after speaking with Leon about in the importance of Jewish education to him and what motivated him to make a difference by establishing the fund.
A LEGACY FOR LEARNING:
The Leon Glassman Fund for Jewish Continuity through Education
Written by Jonathan Berkowitz and Heather Glassman Berkowitz
“If it means that one more child will receive a Jewish education, I’ll support it.” That was the response of Leon Glassman when asked whether he would continue to contribute funds to a Jewish school that was struggling to attract enough students to keep operating.
Jewish education is one of the most venerated values of Judaism. The ultimate source text is, of course, the first paragraph of the Shema, “And these words which I command you this day, teach them to your children, and talk about them, when you are at home, when you are away, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deut. 6:5-9.
Jewish education has been a constant theme throughout Leon’s adult life. Right from his early days in small-town Saskatchewan where Jewish identity was, on one hand a challenge to develop, and on the other, something thrust upon one by non-Jews, Leon was fiercely proud of his heritage. From his personal observation, in the absence of Jewish education, most of his friends and acquaintances intermarried, assimilated, and did not remain Jewish. So that his children would not suffer from the same lack of opportunity of a formal Jewish education as he had, Leon moved his family from Regina to Vancouver. He recalls, “As a child, I had a very limited Jewish education so it was always important to me that my children would know their background and have a Jewish identity… We wanted our children to know the history of their people so they could learn who they are. We wanted them to know their own identity so they didn’t grow up believing what others told them. We wanted our children to develop a pride in their ancestry…”
Over 2000 years ago, the Talmud prohibited Jewish parents from moving to a city that lacked teachers for their children. Leon fulfilled the positive side of this, by moving from a city that lacked teachers to a city that did not lack teachers for his children!
Soon after his arrival in Vancouver in the early 1960s he joined the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Talmud Torah. Concerned by the shortcomings of the school building, which also precluded hiring good teachers, he served as chairman of a building committee and oversaw the design and construction of what is commonly called the “new wing” of the VTT on 26th Avenue. (With the recent construction the once “new wing” is now the “old wing”!) It incorporated what were, at that time, the latest trends in education, including state-of-the-art science rooms and a library.
It was not just the bricks-and-mortar of a school that occupied Leon’s thoughts. Even fifty years ago, Leon embraced the principle that all Jewish children should have access to a Jewish education. That principle became policy at VTT and throughout the Jewish community. And over those fifty years Leon has helped to turn that principle into reality.
But another reality has emerged. As our community has grown, and with it the cost of living and the cost of Jewish education, the need for scholarships has outstripped the funding available. Leon was astounded to learn that applicants have been turned away because of insufficient funds. So in April 2016, Leon established The Leon Glassman Fund for Jewish Continuity through Education. The purpose of the fund is “to provide tuition assistance to Jewish day schools in the Greater Vancouver area.”
A legacy is both a gift and something transmitted from one generation to another. This fund is a legacy that reflects Leon’s passion, generosity and lifetime commitment to community and, most importantly, to the continuity of Jewish life and Jewish identity through education.
Why is it important to strengthen Jewish identity? Leon explains it this way. “Anti-Semitism is, sadly, once again on the rise, in part through anti-Israel sentiment. Israel is a big part of who we are. Most criticism of her is unfounded and the younger generation must be able to counter the falsehoods. That’s the negative side. On the positive side, the younger generation should know their background, take pride in where they came from and, above all take pride in who they are.”
But Jewish education is not just for the young. While their children were learning, so were Leon and his wife Rose Marie. They attended adult education classes which Leon explains as reinforcing their own knowledge, but also giving them the ability to discuss that knowledge with their children. As he put it, “There is so much to know about being Jewish.” Judaism has great wisdom and ethical knowledge that are imperative to pass on to the next generations. Knowledge of Judaism gives structure and meaning to life and a community that helps one through life. This is particularly crucial for teenagers who are dealing with all the issues of growing up and struggling for identity.
Why did Leon establish this fund at this time in his life? There is a well-known story about a rabbi who noticed a very old man planting an acorn in a field. When he asked why the old man was planting it, since it was certain that he would not live long enough to see it grow into an oak tree, the old man replied, “If my ancestors had not planted seeds we would not now enjoy the shade and fruit from the trees they became. What my fathers did for me, I will do for future generations."
There is a familiar proverb (most likely of Chinese origin), “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” Maimonides had a similar view of this. In his Mishneh Torah (Hilkhot matanot aniyim), he discusses eight levels of giving. The highest form of tzedakah is helping a person in need by giving a loan, grant, partnership or job so that the person no longer lives by relying on others. Education is a big part of that; a proper education is the surest way of achieving self-sufficiency.
Why did Leon choose Federation as a home for this fund? Federation is entering its thirtieth year of existence and has truly become the central address of the Jewish community. The Jewish Community Foundation is also the central address of endowment funds in our community. With Federation’s mandate for community planning, fundraising and allocations, they are best equipped to administer the fund, to manage tuition subsidies and to make decisions about who receives scholarships to any of the day schools in Greater Vancouver. Putting their trust in Federation is also a logical continuation of Leon’s and Rose Marie’s leadership in the local United Jewish Appeal, Federation’s precursor, more than forty years ago.
In Pirke Avot, Rabbi Tarfon said, “It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to desist from it either.” Leon has “started” this fund for tuition assistance with a generous gift of $1 million, but it is his fervent hope that the community will increase the capital of this fund by making contributions to mark the significant life events of friends and family. In that way, the entire community will be responsible for, and benefit from, this important undertaking.
Moses was the greatest Jewish leader of all time. And he was called, Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our Teacher. If our greatest leader was a teacher, then all Jews are students, and all of us deserve a good Jewish education. Over fifty years ago, Leon Glassman built a “wing” for Talmud Torah. Now he is helping teach children to “fly.” Through the establishment of this legacy fund, Leon Glassman reminds us all that education is how we transmit our heritage, our values, our memories, and our vision for a better future. He invites everyone to join him in this sacred duty.
