JULY 28 • 2022 | 15

whatever you want to be involved in,” 
he says. 
The fact that the border is open and 
widely accessible again, which it wasn’t 
for parts of the pandemic, makes it 
even easier to see friends and relatives 
on both sides of the border, he says. “It’s 
more active now than it has been in the 
past,” he explains. “It’s important that 
we maintain those connections with 
family and friends in Detroit as well as 
they maintain communications with 
family here in Windsor.”
Breshgold, who has been on a 
committee through the JCC to attract 
people to Windsor, says being able to 
work remotely, have U.S. citizenship 
and Canadian immigration benefits is 
very attractive to many, and may be 
even more so now. “It’s the best of both 
worlds,” he says.

HOME SWEET HOME
Bethe Jarcaig, who is originally from 
Southfield, has lived in Windsor for 
more than four decades. She met 
her husband, Sheldon, who lived in 
Windsor as a young man, through 
BBYO when she was 18. “There were 
a whole bunch of us that moved to 
Windsor or moved back to Windsor in 
the early ’80s,” she says. 
The exchange rate was a primary 
driver for their move at first, she 
says, but as they became parents, they 
discovered Windsor was also a great 
place to raise children. Her daughters 
went to a public French immersion 
school and became bilingual by the age 
of 12, she says. “It’s just those types of 
small-town facilities we have here that 
made our decision stronger to stay 
here in Windsor, knowing that we have 
this beautiful big brother next door of 
Detroit who is available for us at any 
time.”
Now in their 30s, her three daughters 
also keep close ties with friends from 
Camp Tamarack, where they went to 
camp as children and developed a sense 
of the broader Jewish community from 
an early age. Jarcaig works in Canada, 
while Sheldon commutes to the U.S. 
“My two sisters live in Michigan, so I’m 
there all the time,” she adds. “I moved 

here a long time ago, and I’ve never 
questioned that decision.”

FREE TO FLOURISH
Across these cities in Canada, 
opportunities abound, says Hamilton 
Federation’s Gustavo Rymberg, who 
moved to Canada more than 25 
years ago from Argentina and started 
working at the JCC as his first job. 
 “People not only move to Canada 
to have a better life but to be part 
of the community, to flourish in the 
community,” he says. “Maybe they want 
to have an adventure and try living in 
another country for their own personal 
growth.” 
He’s hoping to help the Hamilton 
Jewish community grow and to 
bring new people in to change the 
community’s dynamics, he says. 
Hamilton has two day schools, two 
supplementary Hebrew schools, three 
synagogues and a Jewish cultural 
center. Hamilton’s had initiatives like 
this underway since 2018 and, by the 
end of 2019, approximately 22 new 
families connected with them, he 
says.
“We want Jewish families to know 
if there is any kind of Jewish need, 
or if they would like to belong to the 
Jewish community or have access to 

the Jewish community, we are open to 
serve them.”
The three Canadian communities 
are working together to help people 
find the right fit, and the Welcome 
Home initiative only strengthens 
their offerings, Rymberg says. “This 
partnership is allowing us to bring 
the best of each one and have a good 
product by partnering and sharing. 
“If I can inspire someone to have a 
better life, I would be happy; and, if at 
the same time, I can help my Hamilton 
Jewish community grow, to bring in 
new people, I would be very happy with 
that.” 

Jewish Windsorites enjoy 
fellowship at this senior 
barbecue event.

The Windsor Federation regularly 
partners with Metro Detroit Jewish 
organizations like The Well, Chabad of 
Greater Downtown Detroit and NEXTGen 
on events for young professionals, such 
as this wine and cheese night.

Youngsters have 
fun at Camp 
Yomee in Windsor.

