You travel to Toronto and settle in an area where many Holocaust survivors live. It is important to you to be able to communicate with others who have shared your experiences. It is as though you belong to a special, exclusive club, a club to which no others can ever belong.
You secure a modest job with the Toronto city government, inspecting restaurants for cleanliness and proper health standards. You are happy in your job because you are constantly meeting interesting people, especially among the many immigrant groups which have arrived in the city.
But the job is only a minor part of your new life. What really matters is
being with your adopted family
of survivors, talking with them
after Shabbat morning services at the synagogue, eating with them
at their homes or at restaurants, sharing their simchas, and
helping them, as they help you, through the difficult times. The most
meaningful time for all of you is the communal commemoration of
Yom Hasho'ah, every spring, when you remember the martyrdom
of European Jewry. You cry bitter tears over the loss of your family, but
you thank God for those who did survive, and you spend as much time as
possible teaching children about what happened during those terrible
years.
END