“I was born in Edmonton in 1932 and we lived on 112 St and 99 Ave. I attended the Edmonton Talmud Torah school located at 103 St., just south of Jasper Ave. I remember being taught half-day of the English curriculum and half-day of Hebrew, which is something that I never questioned – it was just the way it was. My experience at Talmud Torah was positive in all aspects. It was an integral part of my professional and family life. However, I did not stay connected in a meaningful way with any of my classmates, although Mel Hurtig z”l was the exception, as we were also neighbours growing up. I have lived in Toronto since the late 1950s, although my parents remained in Edmonton for the rest of their lives. I have two daughters who were born and raised in Toronto (Natalie and Rona). My eldest daughter, Natalie (in picture), moved to Edmonton right after getting married to her husband, Ken, who had been living in Toronto for almost three years. Her husband, Ken, is a Class of 1969 Grade 6 graduate of Talmud Torah at the Glenora location. It does my heart good that not only did I benefit from a fine education at Talmud Torah, but both my Edmonton granddaughters, Marlee Soroka (Class of 2010) and Jenna Soroka (Class of 2012) attended there from pre-school to Grade 9. In fact, my first-born granddaughter, Marlee, just finished her second year of teaching at Talmud Torah.

I attended the University of Alberta earning a BSc in Electrical Engineering in 1954. One of my former Engineering Professors was David Panar z”l, who years earlier had taken a sabbatical to actively participate in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. After graduation, I was accepted for a fellowship to train in England from 1954-1956.

Upon returning to Canada, I moved to Toronto and spent most of my career as a partner with the Toronto mechanical and electrical consulting engineering firm, ECE Group (originally formed in 1955), whose founding principals were Jewish. I was the President of the firm until my retirement at age 65. My biggest accomplishment as President was to make the firm 100% employee owned. ECE acquired a considerable reputation for award-winning work. Notable projects include landmarks such as the National Art Gallery of Canada, the National Archives of Canada, and the Toronto Eaton Centre.

I have been retired for 25 years and enjoy living in in Toronto with my beautiful wife, Hyla. We enjoy it when our daughter, Natalie, visits us (sometimes with Marlee and Jenna) and gives us updates on what’s happening at Talmud Torah School. I’m always interested in hearing how Talmud Torah is doing, and pleased that it is strong and viable, 111 years after it was first established in 1912. Living in Toronto it was very expensive, even back then, to send your child to private Hebrew schools. This was one of the reasons my daughters only attended a Sunday Hebrew school. Today, it is over-the-top expensive at any of the private Hebrew day schools in Toronto. When I learned that my granddaughters were going to be attending Talmud Torah School, I was thrilled knowing they would be getting an exceptional Judaic and Hebrew education, along with an equally wonderful education through Edmonton Public Schools. Jewish families in Edmonton are very lucky that they can send their children to a Jewish public school at such a low cost.”

*David passed away August 2024, one month shy of his 92nd birthday.