Chabad Toronto @ U of T — Apr, 2011
I went to the U of T Chabad on what I believed was to be my last Shabbat in Toronto (I had been here since Jan 2011 and was thinking about possibly leaving in mid April, but I ended up coming back). I went with one of my few Toronto friends and was excited to show him his first Chabad experience (though he got a preview when we went to a Chabad-sponsored Matisyahu concert the month before).
When we first entered, everyone was in the kitchen (not the dining room) in order to isolate the challah being eaten since Passover was starting soon.
We did kiddush, washed, grabbed our challah, and then we all moved into the dining room for the meal. Jordan and I sat at the end of the dining room table. There were roughly 12 students, the Rabbi, his wife, their daughter, and an older woman at the table. We sat directly across from the daughter and the older woman, who was taking care of the daughter during the meal.
We started with a tasty (and I don’t normally eat this) squash soup and talked to the older woman a bit about Chicago. She admitted that it’s much better than Toronto. I felt proud to be going back and (semi) sorry for the Canadians I was leaving behind.
I actually haven’t met many Torontonians who try to claim to be superior to Chicago and many actually look at me with lots of confusion when I tell them where I’m from. I agree with them 100% —Toronto has a sterile feel, mediocre/expensive restaurants, a bad waterfront, and lacks much of a vibrancy. It is one of the better cities in North America and it’s very clean, with a great international mixture of people, but it’s a clear downgrade from Chicago. [Toronto rant over.]
Then we moved on to the main course of white rice, BBQ chicken, and green beans. This meal should be named after me — it’s my stereotypical meal that I’ve been eating regularly for the past 10 years (though have recently cut out the rice component except for special occasions). Rebbetzin Rose sure did a good job. This was probably the best Chabad meal I’ve ever had and I let that be known by leaving many many bones on my plate as an indicator.
It wasn’t fancy or unique (=my style), but it was really really well done. Everything had a home cooked feel and the chocolate brownie dessert (another of my trademark items) was also unbelievable.
Despite the intimate environment, there wasn’t too much inter-group socializing. During the main course Rabbi Rose came over to speak with us and gave us lots of details about his background and path to Chabad. One memorable comment was that he was considering going into acting, but felt that that sort of entertainment is ephemeral and is only really appreciated during the show, until everyone gets back into their daily life routine.
He felt that while the temporary escape/happiness that show business brings to people is important, the Rabbi position gives a superior opportunity to touch people’s lives in a more important way. I generally agree with this and have lots of respect for both careers, but a great Rabbi can definitely be a very special connection to have for all sorts of situations and important life events.
