The Spadina Avenue area, south of Bloor St. in Toronto, played a large role in the cultural history of Canada's Jewish community. There have been many changes since its heyday as the centre of Canadian Jewish life, but its influence still lives on. One man who grew up in the Spadina neighbourhood is J. Richard Shiff, Q.C. who is responsible for founding the Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry at York's Centre for Jewish Studies. Shiff recently contributed $500,000 towards the Chair and is actively involved in raising the rest of the endowment needed to establish it. His commitment to a Chair is a logical extension of his long-time relationship with York. A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, Shiff lectured here between 1970 and 1985. His connection with York has continued via his family -- three of his five sons studied at York.

    "I have close feelings for York," he says, "especially for the Centre for Jewish Studies, which is a very exciting, very young-thinking place. People there seem really interested in accepting the challenges of today. I'm amazed at how devoted people are to establishing this Chair."

    Shiff arrived in the Spadina area at age four, after emigrating from Poland with his family in 1930.

    "My upbringing was very rabbinic, very Yiddish," says Shiff. "When I was young, it was much easier to feel connected to the Jewish community. Everyone lived within a few blocks of each other. Toronto today is so metropolitan." Toronto's cultural diversity has opened up many areas in which he could get involved -- areas that were closed to him years ago, he says. But he says that same diversity also underscored the need to ensure the voice of Jewish culture is valued.

    "I don't think the history of the Jewish community in Canada is sufficiently well documented," says Shiff. "It is a very important component of Canada's multicultural society. It has an important history that we need to study and preserve and learn from.

    "The purpose of the Chair isn't just to study the history and establishment of the Jewish community through the years. It will also act as a liaison between the academic world and the rest of the community," he says.

    Shiff adds, the Chair is essential to promote greater recognition of the importance of the Jewish experience in the larger Canadian context.