Graduates Return to Campus as Jewish Leaders in Ontario

Little did Yishaya Rose know when he enrolled at New York University nearly six years ago that not only would he meet his future wife, he’d find the deep religious connection that led him to the city in the first place.

But today, after journeys that took both Rose and the former Shira Wasserman – who met at the Chabad House serving NYU – on separate trips to Israel and back, and a shared one to the wedding canopy, the couple will be welcoming their own students as the directors of the new Chabad-Lubavitch center serving the University of Toronto.

Rose, who hails from Toronto, picked NYU after attending a Jewish day school because he wanted a university with a strong community and the availability of kosher food. Soon after his arrival, a friend told him about the Chabad House directed by Rabbi Dov Yona and Sara Korn, and he stopped by for Rosh Hashanah. He quickly became a regular, spending much of his free time volunteering and studying.

A year later, he met the freshman Wasserman, a California native who similarly picked NYU for its Jewish community, at a Shabbat dinner at the Chabad House. Although the pair became friends, any thought of marriage remained unshared.

“It happens we both felt we wanted to become religious, but we didn’t really discuss it,” says Rose.

Article continued at Chabad.org – A Series of Fortunate Events