I was born in Winnipeg in 1961, the second eldest of four children of Julius and Shirley/Tzipie Morry (née Slotnikov). They grew up here, rooted in this city’s Jewish life and in the values of hard work and quiet perseverance. My father recently retired after a respected half-century career in art restoration. This craft demanded both a patient eye and steady hands. He could mend almost anything - paintings, sculptures, even the occasional family crisis - and he taught me that almost every obstacle can be solved with care and determination. My mother, who was the administrative backbone of my father’s business, led by example, showing me that treating others with dignity and respect are not just ideals, but daily practices. I was very fortunate that my parents anchored every Jewish holiday with warmth and tradition. Some of my happiest memories are of summers at the cottage, first at Falcon Lake and later at Winnipeg Beach, where laughter carried us late into the evening.

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My roots reach back to Russia, where my father’s parents, Saul and Lily Morry (née Steiman), were born before they found a new life in Canada in the early 1900s. Saul, an accountant, helped establish one of Winnipeg’s first Hebrew Free Loan Societies, quietly supporting neighbours who needed a start. Lily was a talented painter and sculptor; her creativity helped shape the way our family sees the world. My mother’s parents, Sam, born in Canada, and Sally/Tzerna Slotnikov (née Wigman), born in Poland, added their own colour. Sally’s tireless energy seemed boundless as she worked at The Jewish Post and welcomed everyone she met. Sam, an electrician and a soldier during the Second World War, was a particularly proud Jew who carried himself with quiet strength. Once, when a much younger soldier taunted him with an antisemitic slur, Sam challenged him to a boxing match and won.

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I grew up in Garden City with my siblings, Howard, Marla, and Karyn. I attended Jefferson Junior High and Garden City Collegiate, where I performed in musicals and played guitar in talent shows. I have many happy memories of time spent at the YMHA and loved connecting with people, which served me well in B’nai Brith Youth Organization. There, I helped establish the Alophim chapter and was chapter vice-president, and at BB Camp, where friendships and late-night campfires left lasting marks.
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My formal Jewish education included I.L. Peretz Folk School, Judaic studies courses at the University of Manitoba, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Florence Melton Adult Mini-School (now The Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning) and two stints at Aish HaTorah’s main yeshiva in Jerusalem.

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I’ve embraced many passions over the years, including Israel, running, playing guitar, camping, cycling, music, theatre, art and reading. Later in life I took up writing with personal essays published in The Globe and Mail and Maclean’s magazine on topics ranging from the love of my wife, the loss of a colossal elm tree in my yard, the emotional toll of losing access to the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the influence of my father’s profession on me, the lifelong resonance of playing the guitar and the impact of an unusual encounter with the actor Anthony Quinn.

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Travel continues to be one of my greatest teachers. I have been very fortunate to visit more than fifty countries on four continents, and each journey has deepened my sense of how vast and varied the human story is. Everyone carries tales worth hearing.

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In 1995, I married Sarah Kroft at Shaarey Zedek. This synagogue has been the setting for nearly every major milestone in both of our families. We met on a blind date when Sarah was under the weather, so I showed up at her home with a peanut butter and Oreo cheesecake. That simple act began a beautiful, loving partnership that has shaped my life. Together we raised three wonderful children - Benjamin, Matthew and Joel - who all live in Winnipeg and make our whole family greater than the sum of its parts.

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I earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Marketing at the University of Manitoba. After graduation, I established a business importing rare poster art from Eastern Bloc countries with diverse clients that included the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the US Library of Congress, then spent nearly a decade in Toronto working for Xerox in sales and as a marketing analyst at the Canadian head office. After returning to Winnipeg, I co-founded and served as vice-president of operations at an investment management firm that worked exclusively with First Nations clients across Canada.

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For the past 24 years, I have worked at The Asper Foundation and now hold the position of Senior Director of Strategy and Programming. There, I have the privilege of meeting and working with extraordinary people, practicing the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, and repairing the world in tangible ways. I’m most proud of my work overseeing the foundation’s Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program and playing a role in establishing the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

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Community involvement has always been central to me. I have volunteered with the Metro Toronto Distress Centre, Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, B’nai Brith Youth Organization, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic and Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, entertained at emergency shelters and have been a member of the Rotary Club and the Arab-Jewish Dialogue in Winnipeg, a group of Arabs and Jews working to improve relations between the two communities. For many years, my family has deeply appreciated the opportunity to volunteer with Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, joining its warm tradition of partnering with the West Broadway Community Ministry to serve Christmas Day lunch to those in need. Each role has offered lessons in empathy, resilience and the quiet power of service.

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I hope to be remembered as someone who treated others with dignity and respect and worked to leave the world a little better than I found it. I tell my sons that life brings obstacles, but with effort and the support of those who love them, they can rise above any challenge. I want them to appreciate the sacrifices of the generations before them. I am confident they will continue to give back to the Jewish and general communities in their own ways.

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Though the Jewish people have always faced challenges, not only do we survive, we thrive and continue to embrace a world that has not always embraced us. It’s baked into our intellectual and spiritual DNA. Our story inspires others: despite so much pain, we have always reached outward to repair the world. I believe our community should stand proudly and continue to grow while helping those in need and welcoming the broader world with open hearts. Whether we have little or much, we all share the responsibility to give - time, resources or kindness - for the simple reasons that it is both the right thing to do and who we are as Jews.
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