Montrealers Inspired by Life Stories

Mindy Rubenstein – Chabad.org

Haim Sherrf is a world-renowned artist, rabbi, counselor, husband and father. He helps people recover from drug addiction, teaches Jewish criminals about the beauty of the Sabbath, dismantles gangs and brings peace to the sick and dying. His stories could fill volumes, and Montreal residents got a glimpse into his life’s experience one recent weekend afternoon as he spoke at Chabad-Lubavitch of Queen Mary in the Canadian city’s Cote des Neighes neighborhood.

“We were thinking of something to do different on a Sabbath that would attract new people to come,” explains director Rabbi Ronnie Fine of the new program that sponsored Sherrf’s talk, “and that would also be inspirational for people already coming.”

Sherrf is part of an ongoing series called Montrealers Share Their Lives, which invites interesting and inspiring – and sometimes famous – people from the greater Jewish community to share their quintessentially Jewish stories. Other speakers, more than 10 in all so far, have included a radio host, a psychologist, a prominent executive, a Holocaust survivor, and the founder of the Just for Laughs comedy festival.

Sherrf is probably best known for his Judaic art, including paintings, Venetian glass and silver mezuzah cases, and a kabalistic-inspired T-shirt line.

“The same kind of look, but positive messages,” Sherrf says of his modern-looking apparel. “I took my talent and my knowledge and these powerful images” to create a bold mystical concept that has spread to stores throughout Montreal and online.

He and his wife Yael, who have nine children ranging in age from 3 to 21, typically host upwards of 50 people for Sabbath meals, and their large table accommodates an eclectic mix of guests, from ambassadors to plumbers to ex-convicts. He also provides marriage counseling and serves as a rabbinical chaplain at local geriatric centers and prisons.

Sherrf, who was on the Israeli national volleyball team and served as an officer in the Israel Defense Force, came to Montreal 25 years ago with his non-Jewish girlfriend.

“I was asking G-d to help me not assimilate,” he says. Several minutes later, a man in a black hat was at his door, inviting him to come to New York and possibly meet the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

“I said to myself, ‘Wow, G-d works really fast,” remarks Sherrf.

He recalls his first meeting Rebbe as “an unbelievable experience.” He knew he would only have a few moments and wrote a letter with his questions, including whether or not he should paint, and how to help others strengthen their Judaism, “a weird question from someone not even [becoming religious],” he laughs.

Sherrf, who had a pony tail and two earrings at the time, asked the Rebbe for a blessing to get rid of his evil inclination. The Rebbe said something Sherrf didn’t quite understand, and his chest began to get hot and he turned red. But the encounter affected him so much that upon his return home, he broke off his relationship, put a mezuzah on his door and at the suggestion of Fine, decided to join the Ivy League Torah Study program run in upstate New York by a Lubavitch yeshiva.

The Israeli was “very bothered” about learning so much Torah in English when he was fluent in Hebrew. He was told that it would help him reach others in their native language.

“I understand how selfish my attitude was,” explains Sherrf. “Realizing my request of helping people became the center activity of my life in North America.

“I realized how one Jew can have an effect on the whole world. The things we do make a difference,” he continues. “Sometimes we don’t see it. But everything we do can help make this world a better place.”

Changing Lives
Ryan Solomon recently spoke to a room full of people at Chabad Queen Mary about his journey from club promoter to yeshiva student. He once attracted hundreds of young Jews to go to bars on the weekend, and now he’s bringing many of them for Sabbath meals.

At the pinnacle of his young career, he says, he suddenly crumbled.

“I was putting on a show. It wasn’t the essence of who I was, it was a character,” relates Solomon, 22.

“I cannot keep this up the rest of my life,” he recalls thinking. “From there I started to go figure out who I was. I was looking for the truth.”

Solomon, who grew up with no exposure to traditional Judaism, sought out other religions and came up short.

“Judaism was the last place I looked,” he says.

He connected with a local Chabad House and has been learning with Fine ever since. Today, he keeps kosher and is looking forward to his December start at a yeshiva in Jerusalem.

“I’m sure I inspired them,” Solomon says of his recent presentation. “But it was a sizzle. Rabbi Fine is the one there day in and day out feeding them and inspiring them. He’s a very tough act to follow.”

Hirshel Weil is the program’s committee chair. He says that Sabbath attendance increases by 33 percent when the program’s in session. Activities at the Queen Mary center run all day – from services to Torah classes – and the program is a great way to advertise what’s going on.

“What can we do to make things more special?” he says. “One of the ways to do that is to have these guest speakers.”

Among those presenters who have focused on incorporating religious teachings into everyday life is Rhona Jacobs, a veteran psychiatric social worker and psychotherapist who found a correlation between many aspects of Chasidic thought and healing approaches used in the modern day.

While she relies on the necessary evidence-based practices that guide good psychological applications, she notes, she also grew up with her grandmother’s strong faith and belief in G-d.

Kabalistic teachings, on the one hand, emphasize that “believing is seeing,” she explains, and empirically-based therapies on the other hand are based on the principle of “seeing is believing.” Consequently, she was not surprised to find striking examples of concurrence between teachings found in the Tanya – the 18th century foundational work of Chasidic thought penned by the First Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi – and cognitive behavioral therapy.

So far, Fine, who also runs a highly-successful Tanya daily Tanya class, has been getting excellent feedback about the program.

“It’s drawing more people from the community,” he says. “It’s a unique thing and also something other Chabad Houses can learn from.”