[00:00:00] Jason: Hello, everybody. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Your grey Matters podcast. I’m Jason here along with your host, Neil. Hey, dad, how you doing?
[00:00:09] Neil: I’m great. Hi, everybody. Welcome back.
[00:00:12] Jason: Yeah. So this week we’ve got a different episode than we normally do. In fact, it’s someone else’s episode. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about that?
[00:00:22] Neil: So there’s a wonderful, uh, presenter, podcaster. He’s got a TV background and a radio background, and I’ve known him most of my life. I’m from Rosenzweig. Asked permission to interview me on his show, and we found it to be so well done, I mean that on his part, that we decided to make it our show this week, and I do dig into a bit of my own life, my own past.
[00:00:53] Jason: Yeah, so what you’ll hear or see next is that whole show in its entirety from start to conclusion, and then make sure to stay tuned afterwards because we’re going to come back and I’m going to talk to my dad about his experience in being interviewed for once instead of doing the interviews. So if that sounds good, make sure you stick around.
Remember to like, subscribe, leave a comment, and get ready. Thanks, everybody.
[00:01:24] Avrum Rosensweig: Hello and welcome to the Avram Rostwijk show.
[00:01:32] Narration: Welcome to one of the internet’s best podcasts, where we dive deep into the lives of the extraordinary and fascinating people who leave an indelible mark on our world. Join us as we explore their captivating stories, remarkable achievements, and unique perspectives that shape history and inspire generations.
Get ready to embark on a journey through the lives of inspiring people. Unlike any other,[00:02:00]
[00:02:00] Avrum Rosensweig: uh, welcome back folks. It’s great to see you I’m over Rosenzweig and I’m here with my friend Neil Silvert. How you doing Neil? Thank God. Just great. How are you? I’m doing great We’re gonna introduce you in one second. But before we do I just want to say that my show We’re into the 32nd episode of this new iteration and it is going quite well We’re very excited about it Um, obviously I’ve had a little bit of a bend towards Israel and the Jewish people since October 7th, and that’s appropriate.
Uh, but the, the goal of the show really is to highlight, uh, humankind, to honor humankind, and I do that through inspirational stories by people who are interesting and compelling. And I, and the goal really of the show is for you and for me to really understand that we live in a magnificent world. We share a really an awesome, awesome earth together.
And I think we need to understand that more. So in particular in these times, because there seems to be a certain negativity, Um, to these generations. As an example, when I go on Netflix, uh, or I go on Amazon or wherever I watch my movies from, I would have to say that 80 percent if not higher of the movies are both destruction, destruction, um, violence and really awful people.
And I could only say that there’s a propensity with humankind nowadays to get out a lot of anger, uh, and that feeling of. That impending feeling of something about to be destroyed and therefore we create such movies. But my goal is to flip that around on its, on its, on its ass really. And to offer to people, the idea, the vision of the audio that in fact, we have much beauty in our world, a lot, that it’s incredible what we’ve created where we’re at in 2024.
[00:04:00] It’s unbelievable where we’re going, uh, is also just absolutely magnificent. So I want everybody to be aware of that. I want everybody to really take a look at their own lives and their soul, their spirit, and see where their gift lies. And how they can make this world a better place and to pursue goodness and kindness
[00:04:18] .: here,
[00:04:19] Avrum Rosensweig: here, right?
Exactly. Thank you, Neil. Uh, the show is brought to you by Avram Rosenzweig art. That’s A V R U M R O S E N S W E I G. You’ll see it at the bottom of my screen. A R T Avram Rosenzweig art. com. Take a look at my brand new website and there you can buy original paintings, uh, that, that I’ve done or, uh, prints or merchandise.
AvramRosenzweig. com. And I’m really deeply excited about it. Mother’s day is coming up father’s day is in June and it’s your opportunity to buy an Alvin Rosen’s white print. And hopefully you’ll enjoy that. So here we go. Uh, one last message before we dive in. Um, I had a guest, uh, a number of weeks ago by the name of near mammon.
You may have remembered, you may remember him. Uh, his picture is up in the corner right there with this little guy. Uh, listen to the podcast near as a brave, courageous warrior. And he’s 47 years old. He’s a father of five, lives in Richmond Hill. And he, after October 7th, he went back to Israel to fight.
Originally he’s an Israeli. And he’s a warrior. Um, guess what? He came back home to be with his family and now he’s back in Israel again, and he will be, um, fighting once again. What I want to ask you is he is raising money to help, uh, soldiers with equipment, and there was a long discussion as to why Israel doesn’t always have enough good equipment.
It’s mostly for reserves. And I would ask you please to consider donating to his cause. And I’m going to leave this up here for a little [00:06:00] while. There’s a bunch of letters and symbols and figures in there. Excuse me. And to consider donating, uh, it’s, it’s out of the States and there is a receipt which will be offered for your donation.
Do so generously and let’s support our, uh, IDF and our Israeli soldiers. And in particular near Mammon, ladies and gentlemen with me today is, uh, is Neil Silver and Neil and I have known each other since, as my mother would have said, since we were a knee high to a grasshopper since we were this big. Neil was born in Hamilton.
Uh, he grew up in Kitchener and of course that’s where I grew up. Um, and I, and I know him from the Jewish community there. He is a mortgage agent. He’s a fellow who has his very own podcast. Um, and we’re going to talk about that throughout the show. And I think he has a lot to say about life, people whom he has met.
And I really want to touch on our growing up years. So let’s do that. Neil, welcome. Thanks very much. You’re welcome. How’s your podcast going?
[00:07:10] Neil: We are having a ball and I’m very excited because actually later this week we begin our second year. Thank you. Thank you. We’re very excited. Can I name the name?
Your grey Matters. Yeah.
[00:07:23] Avrum Rosensweig: Name it throughout the show actually.
[00:07:25] Neil: Your grey Matters podcast. You know,
[00:07:28] Avrum Rosensweig: it’s very interesting. You’ve had, um, here Harvey, uh, Brownstone on it, who I had as well. And that’s courtesy you. And I want to thank you so much because my pleasure. Harvey is renowned really throughout the world for his interviewing of Hollywood stars.
Yes.
[00:07:43] Neil: Yes.
[00:07:43] Avrum Rosensweig: And I was very grateful that you introduced me to him. So
[00:07:48] Neil: we’re the best of the best. I have to tell you, your podcast was fabulous.
[00:07:52] Avrum Rosensweig: That was a good one, eh, wasn’t it?
[00:07:53] Neil: Yeah, yeah, they’re gonna give you your own Hollywood star.
[00:07:58] Avrum Rosensweig: You know, it’s an interesting thing though, Neil, [00:08:00] is that, um, given my druthers, honestly, I don’t think I could do or want to do what Harvey does.
You know why?
[00:08:10] Neil: No, tell me why. Because,
[00:08:11] Avrum Rosensweig: I’ll tell you why, I’ve interviewed some Hollywood stars, And it’s a different breed and it’s a totally different interview. And I let guys like you,
[00:08:20] .: uh,
[00:08:23] Avrum Rosensweig: Harvey’s brilliant at, he’s wonderful at it, but I like to kind of get my hands dirty a little bit. It’s been a little time in, in your Hamiltonian past, your Kitchener past, and what you do today.
And, um, just, uh, I’m a pretty regular folk. That’s what I am. And Harvey is really the elite. He was a judge. It really was a family judge and, and, uh, was magnificent at what he did. So that’s for him. And this is for me, I think
[00:08:52] Neil: he is an amazing accomplisher though. I have to say, he is amazing.
[00:08:57] Avrum Rosensweig: He really is something, isn’t he?
[00:08:59] Neil: Yeah. It’s very special.
[00:09:00] Avrum Rosensweig: Now on your podcast, uh, your grey matters
[00:09:04] Neil: and
[00:09:05] Avrum Rosensweig: your logos behind your head. Right. Yes. I like that. Your grey matters. You’ve had. Uh, your mom on there. Yep, just last week. I interviewed my mom too a few years ago.
[00:09:18] Neil: Ah.
[00:09:18] Avrum Rosensweig: Wasn’t it a very interesting experience?
[00:09:22] Neil: It, it was actually. Um, my mother, uh, is quite detailed and I’m not.
So, periods and commas were still very important to her. But, she tells an incredible story of four months of recovering in the Toronto hospital system which included Three different hospitals. Her message to the community is very joyful about our health care system which is not something that we normally hear and she specifically wanted to talk about it.
[00:09:53] Avrum Rosensweig: I watched some of your interview with her, and very often she would say to you, well, Neil, we’re going off track here. .
[00:09:59] Neil: Oh [00:10:00] yeah. Oh yeah. Yes, yes, yes. I told her that. I told her that she won’t be back on. No, I’m kidding. .
[00:10:08] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah,
[00:10:08] Neil: exactly. We’re not gonna have you again, mom. Yeah. I was like, thanks mom. But I didn’t cut it.
I
[00:10:13] Avrum Rosensweig: could have, but I left it in
[00:10:15] Neil: because that’s the memory of my mom’s.
[00:10:17] Avrum Rosensweig: It’s good you left it in. ’cause my mom, God bless her soul, was exactly the same.
[00:10:22] Neil: Yeah.
[00:10:22] Avrum Rosensweig: She was telling me no matter when we, I, cause I interviewed her, I told you,
[00:10:26] Neil: and
[00:10:26] Avrum Rosensweig: it doesn’t matter if we were on the air off, but she would tell me I’m her son and she’s going to tell me what I’m doing right or wrong.
[00:10:33] Neil: Yes. And my mother has an incredibly detailed mind as I remember, I think your mom did so, and I don’t, so that makes us perfect for a podcast.
[00:10:44] Avrum Rosensweig: Now you had, you had your dentist on there.
[00:10:47] Neil: Yeah, actually two dentists on who happened to be my stepson and his wife
[00:10:54] .: and
[00:10:56] Neil: which we didn’t say on the show, but They’re incredible dentists.
And the whole point of it of room was the importance of the health of the mouth and how that really affects the rest of your body. Most people, oral,
[00:11:10] Avrum Rosensweig: oral health, it’s called,
[00:11:12] Neil: right? I’m probably married to a dental hygienist. So she’s taught me so much, so much. podcast? Well, if you go on YouTube, my channel is called your grey G R E Y your grey matters.
And that’s the easiest way to find us. We’re on the usual audio platforms too. One every Monday morning.
[00:11:36] Avrum Rosensweig: Okay. Well, muzzle tough. Congratulations to you. Now you were born in Hamilton, uh, but soon made your way to Kitchener with your mom and dad and four other siblings
[00:11:50] Neil: who came along in Kitchener.
Basically. Yeah.
[00:11:53] Avrum Rosensweig: They came along for the ride. Yeah. What was your upbringing like? How would you qualify [00:12:00] it? Uh,
[00:12:02] Neil: busy. Uh, it was tough to be honest. We had some real challenges in the family when you have working parents and eventually five children. I like to say I was running a daycare center. By the time I was 13 or 14, and that was because I had four siblings.
And so, it was interesting, many fun times, of course, but it was challenging. Very challenging.
[00:12:32] Avrum Rosensweig: Well, you were the oldest.
[00:12:34] Neil: Still am. Yup.
[00:12:35] Avrum Rosensweig: And are you, are you de facto an older brother? Do you act like one?
[00:12:40] Neil: Well, you know what, at the time I did growing up, then for a long time, I wasn’t that connected to my siblings, but the last few years, uh, I have been again, and we’ve been very close and we generally speak a number of times per day.
And so, yeah, so now there’s a much better sibling relationship.
[00:12:59] Avrum Rosensweig: I mean, there’s nothing like siblings, right?
[00:13:02] Neil: That’s a good and bad comment, but you’re absolutely right. There’s nothing like, and I love mine. They’re very interesting and we’re all extremely different, but we’ve been pulled together, uh, in, in the service of our mother.
[00:13:16] Avrum Rosensweig: Well, what did your father do for a
[00:13:17] Neil: living? So my father, when we originally moved to Kitchener, he opened up a lumber yard, which my grandfather had started in Hamilton. It’s going back to, I think I was four or five years old, so we’re really going back. Then my dad ended up in the retail business and, uh, did many jobs.
At one point he was actually a bartender, but he spent a lot of time in retail.
[00:13:45] Avrum Rosensweig: Do you remember what he sold?
[00:13:47] Neil: Well, at one point he was actually the manager of women’s clothing for the old Kmart company.
[00:13:54] Avrum Rosensweig: There
[00:13:54] Neil: 8 which became the famous Lulu’s many years later. [00:14:00]
[00:14:00] Avrum Rosensweig: That is correct. You know what our relationship was to Kmart, my family’s relationship?
No. Every single summer from the time I was five, excuse me, I um, We’d go to a camp in Michigan called Camp Gun Israel. It’s what’s called the Lubavitch camp, which is a sect of Judaism. And we would, uh, jump on a bus at Kmart and it would take us all the way to Fenton, Michigan. Oh my Lord. And I would go for the boy session.
And my four sisters were to go for the girls session. Wow. And you know, Neil, I mean, times were so different then, weren’t they? Like my sister, Naomi, do you remember Naomi?
[00:14:41] Neil: Oh, I do. Bless her heart.
[00:14:43] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah. So she, she passed away and God bless her soul. And she went to camp in Fenton, Michigan as early as three years old.
Wow.
[00:14:55] Neil: Didn’t
[00:14:55] Avrum Rosensweig: know that. Yeah. Do you believe me?
[00:14:57] Neil: Three years old, my lord. Three years
[00:14:59] Avrum Rosensweig: old
[00:15:00] Neil: and she wasn’t a counselor until she was five. Probably. Yeah, five or six . Wow. What a memory that was.
[00:15:08] Avrum Rosensweig: But times are different. Do you remember being a kid growing up in kitchen, what area of the city did you grow up in, by the
[00:15:15] Neil: way?
So I grew up in Waterloo and I was out around Weber Road and Bridgeport Road, and I always remember the street was called Royal Street, which was an odd name. For the area, but i’ll take it
[00:15:27] Avrum Rosensweig: and what kind of what kind of neighborhood was it?
[00:15:30] Neil: Well, you know, it certainly was a Middle class to not so high income um Residential area, of course, but it was a tough street to be honest We had a steel factory on our street and that steel factory was sort of our playground which was a place to play Well, they, they, they had a parking lot and quite often the kids would just gather there to play, but quite often we’d pick up shards of sharp steel and be throwing them at each other.
So [00:16:00] it was a, it was, I won’t call it a rough, tough neighborhood, but it certainly had its specialties when you have a steel, uh, factory on the street and they love to go hunting the owners. So every year, imagine this nowadays, all summer long, there would normally be a dead. Moose or a dead bear or both hanging outside in the heat the whole summer on our street.
Just Hanging there. Yeah,
[00:16:30] Avrum Rosensweig: so you attracted flies from all over the world. I’m sure
[00:16:33] Neil: Oh, well, i’ll tell you it was interesting. It was
[00:16:36] Avrum Rosensweig: were
[00:16:36] Neil: you in fights as a kid? Yes, I was, and I wasn’t a very good one, a very good fighter, uh, until I actually started taking martial arts at, uh, at an age. And then I learned that you really shouldn’t fight.
Um, but it was tough. I joined a young kids gang for a while. I, uh, to be honest, carried a weapon by the time I was nine, not a serious weapon, but for me it was something.
[00:17:03] Avrum Rosensweig: What was it? What was the weapon?
[00:17:05] Neil: Yeah, it was a knife made out of steel from the factory actually. And I’d never used it. I never took it out of my pocket, but there was this weird confidence building that I had it and fighting.
Yes. I used to have the heck beat out of me by a couple of neighborhood kids. And then to be honest, I lost my temper one day. Okay. And they pulled me off because I was just killing one of the kids. I hate even thinking about that, but I have a brother. I have a brother was a whole lot tougher. Many years younger.
I mean, he rescued me from a gang attack, which was tough.
[00:17:42] Avrum Rosensweig: How do you do that? Do you remember how he did that?
[00:17:44] Neil: I do. We were walking through the old Stanley park mall where my parents actually had one of the original stores. And my brother, uh, saw some guys giving me the gears. And in those days you had like a four gallon [00:18:00] plastic pitcher or bottle of milk.
And my little brother comes up to the leader of the gang, takes this thing and smashes it across his face. Milk everywhere. It says, leave my brother alone. The guy said, I love you, kid. I’ll leave your brother alone. But it was scary. I still remember it.
[00:18:17] Avrum Rosensweig: Well, was there any particular kid within the neighborhood that whom you remember?
Who was troublesome, who bothered you a lot?
[00:18:28] Neil: Not, well, oddly enough, in the beginning that kid, I forget his name, it was Rick. I don’t know his last name.
[00:18:35] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah, I had a Rick too,
[00:18:36] Neil: yeah. It was that kind of a tough group, but actually I ended up joining his group. But the minute that they tried to get me to do what I thought was inappropriate things, I backed right away.
but
[00:18:50] .: you
[00:18:51] Neil: know because thank god I had that moral fiber from my parents to know right from wrong and Somehow I backed away, but in later years, like all of us, I guess, or maybe not had to make that fork in the road decision of which way I wanted to go the wrong way or the right way.
[00:19:09] Avrum Rosensweig: Now, uh, in our discussions prior to the interview, uh, one of the things that I’m asking my guests today, um, nowadays, if they’re Jewish is if they themselves have experienced anti semitism.
And it seems as though you did to the extent that you were dating a young girl in Kitchener, Waterloo. Her father found out he was, uh, German, not happy about it, and started chasing you down the street with an axe.
[00:19:37] Neil: She did. Yelling, die Jew, die. What was the outcome of that? I wasn’t a fast runner, but I was fast enough to get ahead of him and be able to run all the way home, which must have been like five miles.
But it was scary. I never forgot it because the very next day, a mutual friend of mine who had made the [00:20:00] introduction to this young lady called me and said, you know, overnight her dad sent her to Germany and we never saw her again.
[00:20:06] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah.
[00:20:06] Neil: And that, that was the end of it. I didn’t experience. overt anti semitism like that, but I was aware of it around me.
But most of my friends who had a German background were very protective of me. That’s what I found. It was almost like this need to disassociate from what had happened during the war.
[00:20:32] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah. You tell an interesting story that. Some fellow was was beating the crap out of you in school and a very dear friend of yours who was german Um took this fellow on and protected you and you had to break up that fight Because your german buddy was beating the crap out of him, right?
Yeah,
[00:20:49] Neil: and it wasn’t funny It was in high school and it was dangerous that young man is still one of my close friends um And an interesting story Avram, it was many years later when we were teens that he called me one night and asked me to come over and he said that his father had just admitted to him that he had been in the Gestapo and nobody found it out when he came to Canada.
And my friend I think is still dealing with that to this day. How does he deal with that? I don’t know. I haven’t spoken much, but I can tell you at the time, for years, he disassociated from his family. He became from an outgoing, fun, dancing guy, always dancing, to a very depressed, quiet guy who was having a lot of trouble dealing with it.
And the story could be actually a movie, found his long lost mother. It all fell into it. It was amazing.
[00:21:47] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah, that’s a very compelling piece. You’re, you’re from, you’re very proud of your parents and, and your mom is still with us and, but generally you’re very proud of them, right?
[00:21:57] Neil: Yes, yes. I, I [00:22:00] have lots of memories of different types, but I’m proud of my parents because they raised five kids.
They never gave up and they kept going.
[00:22:08] Avrum Rosensweig: So you’re in a position where you can, as we say in Yiddish, K’fell, You can have Jewish pride of your parents. And of course, you’re always hoping that they have and had pride in you. I’ve often thought, what is it like for those kids who wake up one morning, uh, and see their father on the front front front page of the Toronto Star, This is actually a true story in my life.
Um, and their father had been arrested for fraud. There was a buddy of mine and it was a lovely guy and that’s what happened to him. How do you come to grips with having a parent who is criminal versus we who had so much pride in our parents, right?
[00:22:55] Neil: Yeah. You know, it’s a great question. I’m not going to presume to answer because I don’t know how.
You could come to terms with that.
[00:23:04] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah.
[00:23:05] Neil: But there were times that there were real challenges in the family, especially my dad’s health. And sometimes it was not pleasant. So I can somewhat relate to having anger too, uh, at a parent. And a lot of that was in the family too. But my dad was no criminal.
[00:23:27] Avrum Rosensweig: No, no, thank god for that.
Your dad died in 1991. How old was he when he passed? Yeah, just 60. Yeah, so my dad was 61. I know. What was that like, Neil, for you to lose your father, he being so young?
[00:23:41] Neil: It was, I will tell you, it was very strange, Everam, because by then I was in Jewish community work and I had been living away from the family for quite a few years.
I was in Winnipeg and at the time of his passing, I was working in Ottawa. So of course I found it sad. [00:24:00] I rushed home to bury him, but there was a certain amount of space, I think, from, because I, I hadn’t, I’d seen him once in a while. In those days, you didn’t hop on the internet and talk. And. So I was sad.
It was terrible. I still think of it today, but there was um, Perhaps not that closeness because I was almost used to not having my parents in my life, so to speak every single day I’m more challenged by it now. I think about it quite a bit
[00:24:33] Avrum Rosensweig: Oh, how so? How so? How were you challenged by
[00:24:35] Neil: that? I always wonder about what could have been if he had lived another 20 years and seen grandkids and, uh, and, and watched the kids grow up.
That has brought me discomfort. Plus he died of diabetes. I have diabetes. Thank God I’m a healthy diabetic. But you re I relate to some of the pain that I can imagine that he had physical and mental distress that comes with diabetes. So Yeah, I’m sorry that he didn’t live longer to see some of the great, great things that have happened.
What was he like your dad? What was his character like? Well, you know, it’s interesting. He, he was a very good man. I, uh, he was, he was a tough guy. He came from the tough streets of Hamilton, but, and he had some, some health issues, which made him unhappy at times. And, and we knew about it, but at the same time, he was always looking to make it work for his family.
And and it was tough because my mother worked full time too non stop So you have two parents trying to keep it together in a marriage to make a living together financially And to have five kids going of 16 different directions at the same time, but he was a very good man
[00:25:51] Avrum Rosensweig: You know what? I find also very uh fascinating is sort of comparing Our generation growing up.
I’m 64. I was born in 1960. [00:26:00] You’re a bit older. What year were you born?
[00:26:02] Neil: 54. I just turned 70.
[00:26:05] Avrum Rosensweig: Okay. Congratulations. You’re a great looking 70 year old, by the way.
[00:26:08] Neil: Thank you. I hung out with your eldest sister, by the way.
[00:26:10] Avrum Rosensweig: My sister, Eti. Yeah. She’s almost 70. But the point that I was going to make is in those days, whatever your socioeconomic status was, If you wanted five kids, you were going to have five kids.
Exactly. My father was a rabbi. Hence my mother being a Robinson, a woman married to a rabbi. We were middle class at best, not even upper middle class. And my parents again, had five little Bambinos today. What you often hear and you’re a mortgage agent. So you hear a lot of family stories
[00:26:46] .: people
[00:26:46] Avrum Rosensweig: go like this They go, you know what?
We’re planning on having a child probably not more maybe two because we don’t see ourselves being able to afford five or four or three And that’s a big difference, isn’t it?
[00:26:59] Neil: Yes. Yes. You know, it’s funny. I, I, I love all my siblings and my youngest sister is 10 years younger than me and she was absolutely a blessing to come along.
I don’t know if my parents were thinking about five, but they did the right thing. So I’m glad to have her. But as you said, people do think very differently now, and there are considerations that people bring into this whole formula of how many kids They want to have
[00:27:27] Avrum Rosensweig: it’s
[00:27:27] Neil: amazing.
[00:27:28] Avrum Rosensweig: Does that play into your Positioning a client for a mortgage will that come up in a discussion?
[00:27:37] Neil: Not really. I mean we look at the whole situation with income coming in Money going out how their expenses are what they can afford to pay in a mortgage So if you have lots of mouths to feed They don’t really say how much do you spend in groceries, but they do consider the expenses of the family. And there are formula actually to figure out [00:28:00] the cost of living versus the income.
And they’re very specific. And, uh, so it does come into the mortgage that way.
[00:28:10] Avrum Rosensweig: You know, Neil, I, uh, prior to having the interview, I asked myself, the question is, what do I want to find out from my guests? What do I want to learn from my guests? And I say, okay, what do I want to take away? Or what do I, what do I want to impart in my interview with Neil Silver?
Um, and one of the things was I always remember you as a lovely human being, just a very, very kind, generous spirit. And you know, again, when I asked you to hook me up with Harvey Brownstone, there were no qualms on your side. So you know, I felt immediately I wanted to reciprocate by having you as a guest.
Um, but what I like about you is that when you do your podcast, at least in the beginning, Your son, Jason is on it, right? So many discussions that you and I have had is about you and your wife traveling, going to various different islands and how excited you sound about it and how excited she sounds about it.
Am I correct to say that, you know, how to have a good family life?
[00:29:20] Neil: Well, we’ve worked at it. Uh, you know, I went through a divorce and the best part of that divorce is to this day, my first wife and I are very close. Um, Linda, my bride now and my first bride are very close. We did a great job of melding families together.
All the kids are best of friends and we left that up to them.
[00:29:41] Avrum Rosensweig: How do you make that distinction between with your first wife? Well, you know, we were once intimate and now we’re friends. A lot of people have a problem with that.
[00:29:51] Neil: Yup. And that’s okay. They can, if they want. The friendship is a choice. Getting over past [00:30:00] challenges that cause a divorce is a choice.
Yes. And. Uh, one thing that Linda and I both decided from day one is that nobody has the right to speak negatively about our former spouses, which sometimes people do, thinking that they’re being illful, and we very strongly reminded them that our children’s genes come from our genes. Their other parents.
So no negative. And you know what? It worked out very, very well because, uh, in fact, my late father in law once said, geez, if you guys got along that great, when you were married as you do now, you might still be married. And it was a great observation, but it’s a decision and a choice of how you want to live with your children’s other parent, even if you’re not married to them.
[00:30:50] Avrum Rosensweig: You know, what do you think that means? That adage or that saying, or that idea that, um, well, I couldn’t make it with them as a spouse, but we’re great friends. Like what’s the distinction there?
[00:31:03] Neil: Uh, geez, that’s a good question. I would actually have to think about that. I don’t know how to answer that question, Alvin.
[00:31:12] Avrum Rosensweig: Can I wade, can I wade out into that ocean a little bit? Let’s try. Yeah, let’s try. So I think when you’re married and you know this well, you’re basically, it’s not just Neil Silver’s life anymore. You’re building it with somebody else. So if you decide you want to go out and spend 1, 500 on a scooter, you can’t just go do that.
[00:31:36] Neil: Nor would I, but you’re quite right. Yeah.
[00:31:41] Avrum Rosensweig: You’re building a life with them, right? Whereas a friend, there’s not too many friends that we build a life with. So it’s more of an excitement about the interaction, telling a good joke, sharing a good experience. Whereas a wife or a husband or whatever your, your [00:32:00] predilection.
Essentially saying is, well, honey, I want to spend this money. No, we can’t because we’re budgeting for our kids university. It’s what, you become one with somebody. Yes. I think that might be the distinction. I,
[00:32:13] Neil: I, I, well, there’s a definite distinction between being friends and being married for sure. However, and, and I think, and I have to give credit to my, my bride, Linda, she 25 years of marriage.
We made conscious decisions of the kind of relationship that we were going to have With our former spouses. We didn’t always have to do it together We didn’t but it was always around A shlumbai, a peace in the house because we also have the lives of four children to think about there were absolutely Ups and downs there were challenges there were disagreements if there weren’t we’d still be married.
[00:32:54] Avrum Rosensweig: Yes, like the
[00:32:55] Neil: truth is You I believe it’s a conscious decision of, are you going to find a way to have peace in the house? And it’s an extended house, even when you’re married to your second partner. That’s the way Linda and I handled it from day one.
[00:33:10] Avrum Rosensweig: Very good. Very good. There’s a concept within Judaism called Shalom by it, which you just alluded to.
[00:33:16] Neil: Yes.
[00:33:17] Avrum Rosensweig: Shalom by it means peace in the house. And there are many, many laws, instructions. As to what you need to do in order to make peace in the house. Here’s one, the Talmud talks about this compendium of ideas and thoughts and debates, multi generational. Let’s say your wife comes up to you, your bride, you call her your bride.
And I like that after 25 years. Oh, for sure. It’s very beautiful. You keep like Asia cloud, you keep things very, very fresh. And she says to you, honey, I just bought this dress and I adore it. And I just want you to like it too. What do you think about it? And Neil, in your head, you’re saying, Oh, geez, I don’t like that at all.
What do you say to her? [00:34:00]
[00:34:00] Neil: I would say, I’m not sure if that’s the right one, but if you love it, let’s do it.
[00:34:03] Avrum Rosensweig: Okay. So for Shalom Bias, Shalom Buy It, tell her, you know what? You look terrific in it. Well, it’s not
[00:34:10] Neil: just Shalom Buy It. It is actually the way I believe it. It may not be my favorite, but if you love it, then you should do it.
[00:34:18] Avrum Rosensweig: And would Linda be okay with that response? Shalom Buy It.
[00:34:20] Neil: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we, we have no problem having serious talks, but we’re interested in finding each other’s joy. That’s a big part of our life is joy.
[00:34:30] Avrum Rosensweig: What does she bring to you? How does she enhance your life?
[00:34:34] Neil: Well, uh, I was going to say, I love having a massively beautiful woman on my arm.
Yes. It’s a part of what truth is. Linda has a heart that few people have. She understands searching for joy and that people are living their own lives. And that it’s okay for them to live their own lives, search for their own joy. If we don’t like the way that their lives are going, we’re, we don’t have to be with them.
But Linda’s greatness is searching for joy and finding joy for us, for herself, first and foremost, and enjoying it for other people. And we’ve done some serious training to learn how to do that. How well does
[00:35:14] Avrum Rosensweig: she
[00:35:14] Neil: know you? She knows me well. And, and I know her well and it’s one of the great things and yet as you said before I call her my bride and that spark is still there.
Nice. I have to say to her every time I see her It’s like the first time and i’ll answer one other thing. Linda is incredibly brilliant and incredibly talented She is a periodental hygienist Who’s done things for people that I know have enhanced their lives maybe saved their lives You And people wait just to talk with her.
So I’ll brag about her all day long.
[00:35:55] Avrum Rosensweig: Is there still mystery in your relationship?
[00:35:57] Neil: Yeah. I never know what the heck’s happening. [00:36:00]
[00:36:02] Avrum Rosensweig: Not that sort of mystery.
[00:36:03] Neil: No, I mean like sometimes we’re, we’re running in different directions too. I’m like, would you mind telling me what I’m doing today?
[00:36:11] Avrum Rosensweig: But no, but, but, but I’m saying is, are there pockets of you Or are there sort of corners, if you will, within Linda that you just haven’t met yet?
[00:36:21] Neil: You know what? I don’t know that that exists now, but it took a long while to get here. Um, as much as I’m fun loving and joyful, as you said, so are Linda and I. We both had our own thoughts and our own processes and our own, uh, reactions from other things that happened in our life. But right now, communication for us Is clear and and comes forthcoming and also I think one develops a sixth Sense about their partner if they want to so we can sense When things are going on in each other’s head,
[00:36:56] Avrum Rosensweig: do you guys fight at all?
[00:36:58] Neil: I can’t remember the last time well, we we can Talk things out, but we we don’t we don’t fight And we will strive to figure out Where we’re going sometimes, but never in an angry way. Never. Yeah.
[00:37:18] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah. You’re on your life is very different than my life that way. I’ve never figured out a long term intimate relationship.
I’m not terribly good at it.
[00:37:26] Neil: You know, years ago, uh, from Linda and I, uh, started a business when we first got married, we ended up in a multi level, which we built to a six figure income, but that had nothing to do with it. We went through the human training, as well as the business training, that I never got, because I never got to go to post secondary school.
But we went through learning how to talk to people, learned respect, didn’t happen overnight. Great, great authors, great thinkers, great speakers we went to, motivational. [00:38:00] And. It so deeply helped us. I believe that we’re married today with such a great marriage because of the wonderful training and fun that we went through many years ago.
I remember one of my mentors met me. And he said, here’s this book called how to win friends and influence people.
[00:38:17] Avrum Rosensweig: Don’t
[00:38:17] Neil: come back to a meeting till you’ve read it twice.
[00:38:20] Avrum Rosensweig: Yes.
[00:38:20] Neil: And that was a bit of where I was at the time.
[00:38:22] Avrum Rosensweig: Do you remember the author of that book?
[00:38:24] Neil: Yeah. Dale Carnegie. Dale
[00:38:26] Avrum Rosensweig: Carnegie.
Outstanding book. And the
[00:38:27] Neil: family still updates it on a regular basis.
[00:38:29] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah. Outstanding book.
[00:38:31] Neil: Yeah. Written, written, uh, it was originally written during the depression.
[00:38:36] Avrum Rosensweig: That’s correct.
[00:38:36] Neil: But you know what it was of him that was fascinating to me? I have a reading disability. I still do. And my what my mentor was telling me was read this book and I’ll never forget about 60 pages in these I found a handwritten note that said congratulations for getting here.
Give me a call. I’m taking you to lunch Yeah, and that was the message
[00:38:57] Avrum Rosensweig: Nice.
[00:38:57] Neil: Nice. You
[00:38:59] Avrum Rosensweig: know, Neil, the other thing that I really appreciate about you as you’re very authentic, you know, I don’t think there’s any errors about you. Um, so when I asked you to send me information that we could deal with during the interview, there’s a certain, uh, part of the document that you sent me, which talks about things that you feel and thought about yourself And the world in which you live.
Now, here, here’s what you wrote me. The very first line, and I’ll read it verbatim. It said, Avram, I’d like to talk about being a dummy and not even knowing that I was intelligent. Till I was 21 years old. Tell me about that.
[00:39:43] Neil: So, uh, it turns out that I have a reading disability, even to this day. I have a very fine mind, but the stuff that my eyes see doesn’t get up here very well.
So I’ve actually read every book five times to understand it,
[00:39:56] .: but in
[00:39:56] Neil: grade one. In Waterloo, I still remember [00:40:00] to this day the horror of being in a grade one class and every morning for the whole school year At 10 o’clock I would hear the words from my teacher and they were every day. It was the same Neil it’s 10 o’clock time to go to the class for dummies go to the dummy class.
[00:40:17] .: It
[00:40:17] Neil: was a Reading a remedial reading class But the teacher said it’s time to go to the class for dummies. Somehow, unfortunately, that got a hold of me. And I went through school thinking that I had nowhere to go and that I wasn’t smart. And it took someone very close to me. The age of 21, she happened to say to me, You have no idea how intelligent you are, do you?
I said, Well, I think I’m smart. I made my way through. She said, No, you don’t understand. The things that come out of your mouth, some of them are really, sometimes really rude, but it takes an incredible mind to come up with the way that you wittingly answer questions. Avram, to this day, I remember the shock that someone saying to me, you’re intelligent.
I’m sure my parents told me all the time, but it never got infused into myself till I heard that. And if I can be so bold, if you wouldn’t mind, many years later, and I didn’t tell you about this, I don’t know if you know Randy Taylor. Randy’s one of the great motivational speakers in Canada, radio broadcaster.
You’ve told me about him actually. Yeah, and he was the one, I heard him speak, I called him years ago, asked him to come and have lunch and I took him to lunch and that’s how I ended up being on stage as a speaker myself. But Randy heard my story and said, do you have any idea how important your story is?
And I started to tell it, intelligence or not knowing I was intelligence was a part of that. But it was Randy that got me to understand that everybody’s story [00:42:00] is important. Everybody’s story is magnificent. Doesn’t matter where you start. It’s where you want to go. So being unintelligent, turns out I was, just didn’t know it.
[00:42:11] Avrum Rosensweig: In this area of which we are discussing, how did you raise your children? How did you, what did you impart to them?
[00:42:19] Neil: Well, you know what? The biggest thing is love, especially when they’re young and they went through a divorce. And so the biggest thing that we wanted to impart to our children, I certainly did to mine, is that they’re loved, there’s no barriers, there’s no, there’s nothing that they can’t say to me, that they’re always welcome, and that they have great, incredible gifts, which they do.
These were the messages that we wanted to go through, and most importantly, You really do have feelings. People do so have them.
[00:42:51] Avrum Rosensweig: And you were open to what your kids had to say to you.
[00:42:53] Neil: Oh yes. And that’s why I have grey hair. I just got to do this.
[00:42:59] Avrum Rosensweig: Um, what did you do when they told you stuff you didn’t want to hear?
[00:43:04] Neil: Oh boy, you know what? You listen, you I’ve learned a great thing. It’s like medication. You don’t want to react. You want to respond. So sometimes I’d have to think about things and then respond. Not just quickly react. Are you proud of yourself as a dad? I am actually took me a long time To find out that i’m a good dad linda still reinforces it.
But yeah, I am very excited Not only do I have a son who works with me on the podcast, but I have a brilliant daughter who’s so creative I never understand how the heck she does what she does. Well, what does she do? Well, she’s she’s unfortunately not well so she hasn’t been able to Uh leave her home for years, but she’s an artist and for my 70th birthday She created a video History of our life together.
I didn’t know that she knows how to do that and she did it She’s an amazing [00:44:00] speaker. She’s a published writer and so she has incredible ability She’s a strong person for social justice So we get to fight about that all the time and we have just the best fun doing it. But yeah It’s it’s incredible. All four of our kids are so exceptionally talented and bright.
It’s um, it’s it’s wonderful
[00:44:19] Avrum Rosensweig: How old are you in your head?
[00:44:22] Neil: In my head.
[00:44:23] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah, in your head.
[00:44:23] Neil: Uh, 16, 17.
[00:44:26] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah, so am I.
[00:44:27] Neil: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:44:28] Avrum Rosensweig: Why do you think? Pardon me? Why do you think that age?
[00:44:34] Neil: Um, I think 16, 17 were rough in the, when I was actually those years, so I decided to have them now. But I also just like the idea of learning.
Learning, learning, experiencing, experiencing, having fun. Um, but now I get to do it knowing that I’m intelligent.
[00:44:51] Avrum Rosensweig: Nice. Very nice. That partially led to the podcast. I want to just label that for a second and just put it up on our bulletin board. Okay. Our interview bulletin board. What’s the lesson to take away from what you just said about how to speak to your children, what to say to them?
What’s the lesson?
[00:45:15] Neil: Well, the biggest lesson to me is before you speak, listen. And listen with an open heart and both ears. Put down, and I had to learn this, put down your cell phone. Stop doing stuff. Listen. Because feelings aren’t rational. They’re just feelings. It’s one of the great lessons that I learned, and if your children know that their feelings are important to you and they should be as a parent, no matter what you’re hearing, and you might turn grey, you have to listen.
And then, to me, if you don’t like it, it’s better to respond later than react at the time, unless, God forbid, there’s an issue. a health issue or something [00:46:00] terrible that has to be dealt with right away. That’s my takeaway. Children, no matter how old they are, have feelings and they are bright and they have something that you should listen to.
[00:46:11] Avrum Rosensweig: And I’ll add a part B to that for our whiteboard. What I made every effort to do as with my son growing up, he just turned 18. Thank God. Yes. is to point things out to him about himself. Yes. And as much as I could to point things out that were in the positive. So if my son and I were having a conversation, Neil, and he came up with a wonderful opinion, Like very compelling.
You’ve been in those discussions with your daughter. You were just mentioning how smart she is. Um, I will say to him, you know, honey, that is a very well produced or very well presented argument you’re making. And he’ll go, well, thank you, daddy. And I’ll go, no, sweetheart. That means your mind is working.
Like you’re really making an effort to work through a thought and idea. And I’ll go, Oh, okay, good. And I have found that that is one of the most important things. In raising children.
[00:47:15] Neil: Oh yes, yes. Do you know, I was going to say, I really do believe in this joy thing. I didn’t know about it for years, but the kids are just seeking their own joy the same as we all are.
But joy comes from listening to people if they need help or guidance. They’ll let you know, generally. But, you know, I have my son, Jason, who you mentioned on the show. At a young age, became one of the best debaters ever. I mean, he just has this fine mind for for facts. Man, that made it hard on me sometimes because I was just looking for the fun.
But truth is when they’re detailed and they have a brilliant mind, if you want to get along, you have to [00:48:00] listen. And sometimes I would spite my tongue and be shocked, but their thoughts were important. And that’s, that’s what I think is the most important thing.
[00:48:08] Avrum Rosensweig: Would you say to Jason, I don’t know. I just don’t know.
[00:48:12] Neil: Yeah, I would. I don’t know if he would say that when I was younger. Uh, before I started learning things, maybe I didn’t, but because I was also in community work, you learned to be a listener more than a judger. Judging someone to me doesn’t make sense.
[00:48:31] Avrum Rosensweig: So, uh, in terms of the things that you sent me, I’m going to read another piece verbatim.
You said, excuse me, I’d like to talk about how I dream as a child to walk on the moon and ultimately helped in a small way. To build the first Canadian space arm. How so?
[00:48:49] Neil: So I have a brother who’s an incredibly talented mechanical. He is a mechanic, mathematical guy. I had trouble, uh, Russell and brilliant, brilliant.
And he’s the mechanic and the detail and the mathematician, like my mom. And if I see a nut and a bolt, I don’t actually know what you do with them. But for decades, I sold nuts and bolts. And I ended up, before I went into community work, running a factory in Toronto for very specialized little fasteners, things that hold things together.
I really did have a dream of, my whole life, to walk on the moon. In fact, when I’m on stage talking about it, I always ask people, So who, what was the name of the first guy who jumped onto the moon?
[00:49:43] .: Neil Armstrong.
[00:49:44] Neil: Neil. I’m Neil, and I love to say that, but the truth of the matter is, I dreamed about it, people made fun of me, they chortled, they said, because that’s what people did in the early 60s, talking about jumping on the moon.
Fast forward, now it’s in the 70s, I’m running a, a [00:50:00] factory for the company that I work for, and in comes this gentleman one day into my office with the president of our company to say, this gentleman’s from Spar Aerospace. Fast forward. And we need you to have your factory make the following parts, because it’s going into this thing called this Canadian Space Arm.
And we made them. And it went in. And they went into outer space. And in some way, I got to touch my dream. of touching helping in the space race. How was that for you? I talk about it to this day. It was moving. It was at the time. I didn’t realize how it related to my dream to walk on the moon, but to this day, I’m proud of it.
And we would take these little gold fasteners No technology in those days of finding the dust that was escaping from the gold and we would put a little piece of nylon in them. So when the rocker went up and the arm went out, the vibration didn’t knock the fasteners out. And they were tiny. And I worked with a lady who had great eyesight and we were able to put those in.
But they went into the space arm.
[00:51:11] Avrum Rosensweig: Let me ask you a question in your imagination. Would you say your imagination is fertile?
[00:51:16] Neil: I think so.
[00:51:17] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah, mine is too. So in your imagination, can you see in your mind’s eye, the space arm and that little fastener that you contributed? Can you actually see it?
[00:51:30] Neil: I do. I see it all the time in my head.
I don’t see so much the fastener. That’s interesting that you raised that, but I see that arm going out. Doing what it did and knowing that in some small way a part of me was up there. That was fulfilling a dream.
[00:51:48] Avrum Rosensweig: I’m so happy for you. That’s wonderful.
[00:51:51] Neil: Yeah.
[00:51:52] Avrum Rosensweig: How do you see life in those terms, Neil? Like this whole tapestry that we as humankind create.
One person is [00:52:00] involved in the creation of a movie that inspires others to go out and run a marathon. Another person is You know, creating furniture that is cutting edge. Like, how do you see the whole tapestry of humankind in the context of you being part of something that went up in space? Sure. Well, let me
[00:52:20] Neil: tell you Avram, I, I, I’ll go to my podcast and call it, you know, it’s called Your grey Matters, but the theme is that the human mind cannot be defeated.
And that’s actually the answer to your question. Every single human mind contributes. It’s part of that tapestry. And I first heard that from a speaker on stage. The human mind cannot be defeated. We will always find a way. And that was his whole But I didn’t know that day, in 1995, that that would lead To this podcast and to my belief that we will always find a way.
And I think that’s the easiest way to tell you. I have great belief that we will overcome anything.
[00:53:02] Avrum Rosensweig: Are we doing well enough? Neil humankind?
[00:53:06] Neil: No, we can always do better. But while we, while, while we love to try and focus on all the negative. Or as you see being at flexed on. The negative, I see wonderful things that we humans do.
We do know how to feed ourselves. We do know how to take care of others. It comes down to a choice. Yes, we do know how to make bullets and rockets and guns, but we also know how to make peace with our enemies. And even what’s going on in the Middle East, I truly believe will lead to greater long lasting peace among the nations.
I hate what’s going on, but I believe our human mind will figure it out and we will find something better. And that I think is the way that I try to live my life.
[00:53:54] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah. I love that point of view. And I, and I, and I love your sort of mental intellectual [00:54:00] disposition having to do with that because I am on the same page as you.
The thing that I hope for is that all of humankind or much of humankind recognizes what you just said. Yes. Recognizes how brilliant we are.
[00:54:20] Neil: We are touched. We are people with choices
[00:54:25] Avrum Rosensweig: and our
[00:54:26] Neil: choices are ours. What we do with them is for ourselves. It’s also part of a collective.
[00:54:35] .: Very much.
[00:54:35] Neil: My nephew just came out with a book, Jeff Karp.
Uh, he was learning disabled. He had challenges all through school. And today he’s recognized as one of the most important professors at Harvard and MIT. And he’s done businesses and sold them. We just, he just did his book launch last week. A nice Jewish boy from Peterborough ends up being one of the big shots in the world.
And you know what his book’s about? the 12 ways, uh, that our life can be better. And he gets his inspiration from nature. And I learned that from him. He can look at things in nature and come up and he’s done this with medical devices that save people’s lives every day. And he finds the answer and things like the foot of a gecko lizard.
And I love to think of that way too. The answers to everything are right here, right here.
[00:55:26] Avrum Rosensweig: What’s his name? What’s the name of the book?
[00:55:28] Neil: Jeff Karp, and it’s lit, L I T, it’s life’s, oh boy, he’s going to kill me, I’ll send you a picture. Or we
[00:55:37] Avrum Rosensweig: can just, our listeners or viewers can see it on Amazon under Jeff Karp.
[00:55:40] Neil: Yeah, L I T under Dr. Jeff Karp, PhD. And I’ll tell you, at U of T last week for his book launch, there was standing room only and everywhere that he goes, but this is a learning disabled kid who not only conquered it.
[00:55:54] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah.
[00:55:55] Neil: But saves people’s lives every single day [00:56:00] and the book took him seven years He was been on my podcast twice hurrah
[00:56:06] Avrum Rosensweig: Hurrah,
[00:56:07] Neil: what do
[00:56:07] Avrum Rosensweig: you think of my what do you think of my new mug by the way?
[00:56:09] Neil: I love this mug and i’d like to know when i’m getting mine, you know, I love that picture of you You know, that’s a great picture,
[00:56:16] Avrum Rosensweig: you know harvey brownstone. Thank you,
[00:56:18] Neil: by the way,
[00:56:21] Avrum Rosensweig: you know, he could he critiqued My show. And one thing he told me was, Aubrey, you got to clean up a little bit. So you see, I cut my hair.
Yeah, it was a mistake. The barber didn’t speak English. He was Russian and he cut it all off, but it worked out. The other thing was he said, and I, and I really appreciate people who see the nuances of life. He said, you got to get a mug. Yeah, it’s your show’s logo on it. And he’s correct, isn’t he, Neil? Yes.
[00:56:48] Neil: I’m just thinking about my own actually, but everybody, you got to get one. I want to come up with something different. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I’ll find a little screw for a Canada space arm. So your grey matters on it. You know, I will just pay tribute to Harvey because And, and I think that you would know this, uh, uh, when I first opened my podcast, I wrote to him.
I, I didn’t know who he was. Somebody said, write to Harvey Brownstone. So I wrote him. I just, hi Harvey, just started a podcast, uh, I hope someday to meet you. I didn’t ask him to come on or anything. And he wrote back with the words, of course I’m coming on your podcast. Yeah,
[00:57:25] Avrum Rosensweig: he’s great that way.
[00:57:26] Neil: Yeah, he’s, he’s a blessing to all of us.
And his story, uh, I’m trying to get the rights to his movie, but he’s just not playing that card yet.
[00:57:34] Avrum Rosensweig: That’s because he sold them to me. In conclusion. Yes. Here’s another thing that you wrote me. Let’s touch on this to wrap up our wonderful interview. You’ve been great by the way.
[00:57:46] Neil: Thank you. And you too.
Yeah, you’re terrific.
[00:57:48] Avrum Rosensweig: Thank you. You write, you write like this, you go, I’d like to tell you about the hug that I got a couple of years ago from a young Ethiopian man when I was in Kitchener. He figured [00:58:00] out that the work we had done with bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel resulted in him being born in Israel.
He never would have been born if his grandparents had not been rescued, or born in Israel if they had not been rescued, by the type of work that you and I did, Avram. And I guess you were referring to some of the work I did with Ethiopian Jews. So comments on that, Neil.
[00:58:22] Neil: Absolutely. I happened to be in Kitchener many years ago by a referral from a friend to look at a car.
So, Linda and I drove to go and look at this car, and the young sales guy, uh, never did sell me the car. But, we were sitting and having a coffee a few weeks after I fell so in love with this kid that I went back to have a coffee with him. And while we were talking, I said to him, Okay, I know that you’re Canadian, but where were you born?
He said, I was born in Israel. I said, Oh, that’s interesting. Where’s your family from? Ethiopia. And I said to him, Gee, you know, I used to do Jewish community work on my very first job. Was to help in the rescue of when we brought jews from ethiopia to israel to help them In their lives, this kid got up probably in his twenties, came over, threw his arms around me, gave me a kiss on my cheek and said, that’s how my grandparents got to Israel.
They were in danger. And I was born years later. Thank you for what you did. And I’ll say the same to you because uh, but that, that is a moving story that I tell. Uh, and, and. I’ll tell you, sometimes I wonder about the work that you do in Jewish community work lovingly, but I wonder about the time, then I reflect on a story like that, and it makes a difference.
Very good.
[00:59:53] Avrum Rosensweig: Ladies and gentlemen, my guest today has been Neil Silver. He’s a fellow that I grew up with in Kitchener, and it [01:00:00] was wonderful to reminisce and is wonderful to hear your insight. on your life, Linda’s life, your children’s life, and basically humankind. What I find about you, Neil, as I mentioned before, is that you’re extremely rich in spirit.
You’re very, very wealthy when it comes to purpose and meaning.
[01:00:21] Neil: Thank you. Thank
[01:00:22] Avrum Rosensweig: you. And I think that’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. Um, you have lots of ideas about life. I know that you’re learning all the time. You’re in a constant state of growth, and that means a lot to me and it means a lot to many people.
So thank you so much for being who you are, really.
[01:00:42] Neil: Thank you. Thank you. And Avram, I can’t tell you how honored I am, not only to be on your show. But to have connected with you again in the last year, a year and a half, it’s a privilege.
[01:00:54] Avrum Rosensweig: That’s just how I’ll
[01:00:55] Neil: define being with you.
[01:00:57] Avrum Rosensweig: I appreciate you saying that very much.
Thank you. I really do. I want to remind people that the link that you see at the bottom of the screen is that of a near mammons near was on my show a few weeks ago. He lives in Toronto. He has five children. He just went back on Thursday to Israel to fight for the Jewish people and for Israel. And this is not his first time doing so.
So please jot down that link and contribute to his fundraiser, which is to help his colleagues, his fellow warriors, um, you know, purchase equipment that is suitable for war and the defense of the Jewish people. So why that’s necessary. It’s a long story, but, uh, trust me on it. Cause I’ve raised money for similar things.
Israel in some ways lacks in terms of good equipment. I want to ask people to, if they would go to my website at avramrosensweigart. com and take a look at my art. It’s available [01:02:00] in terms of originals, uh, prints, and also merchandise. And there’s some really nice gifts there that are highly affordable for Mother’s Day and for Father’s Day coming up in June.
Other than that, I would request strongly that you pursue your own gift, that you try to find that place, which I call the zone, that area inside of you, which one could say, God created you for that purpose. You know, like Neil was created in order to make sure. that those in space had a reasonable arm to use, right?
To do research, right? Exactly. So that we could, so that humankind could go further. But of course that’s not the only reason, but, um, everybody says every single researcher into, uh, human existence says when you find that place, you find a lot of joy and you find a lot of happiness and interestingly, a lot of things fall into place.
Look for it inside of you. One way of doing it is walk through library stacks and see where you automatically stop. You may stop at cooking recipes. Ah, you might be a chef, right? You might stop in the biology area and pick up a book. I want to read about nephrons. That’s all I remember from grade 12.
[01:03:24] Neil: Boy, you have a good memory.
[01:03:26] Avrum Rosensweig: That’s all I remember. Uh, and you may, who knows, be some medical personnel, a doctor perhaps. Do it. You’ll find your happiness that way. And if you found it, well, good for you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for watching my show. Uh, it’s been a delight to have you. We have a great show coming up in the next couple of days with Nishama Karlbach, who is the daughter of the great Shlomo Karlbach.
And she’s going to speak about her recent participation in March of the living, which is many, many, many young Jewish children [01:04:00] going to Auschwitz, Poland, and then subsequently going to Israel at this time in the calendar when we remember the Holocaust and we celebrate the existence of the state of Israel.
And this week as well, I’ll be speaking to Phyllis Taylor. She’s the prison lady. You know, Phyllis? I had her on my show. You had her on your show. Ladies
[01:04:21] Neil: and gentlemen, get ready for the best ride ever.
[01:04:23] Avrum Rosensweig: Yeah. The good one, right? He is magnificent. It’s like, what’s it called? That, that, uh, crazy ride at wonderland big or something.
[01:04:32] Neil: I don’t know what it’s
[01:04:33] Avrum Rosensweig: called, but it’s fun. You go down backwards.
[01:04:36] Neil: Oh yeah. You’re leaning over thinking that
[01:04:37] Avrum Rosensweig: you’re
[01:04:38] Neil: far. But Phyllis. Yeah. Oh, my God. She is magnificent. What a prison lady.
[01:04:43] Avrum Rosensweig: Prison lady.
[01:04:44] Neil: Okay,
[01:04:46] Avrum Rosensweig: we will see you shortly. Uh, thank you once again. Have a beautiful day and a beautiful week. You’ve been listening and watching the Alvin Rosen swag show.
Take care.
[01:04:56] Jason: Alright, everybody. Thanks for sticking with us, and I hope you enjoyed that episode. Really interesting to learn some of the stuff that I learned about and to hear about your experiences. How did it feel being interviewed as opposed to being the interviewer?
[01:05:14] Neil: I have to admit that I loved it. I didn’t fully know what Avram was going to be asking me about heaters.
Known as a therapist kind of interviewer, so he knows how to dig deeply, but I loved it. I have to tell you, I loved every minute of it.
[01:05:33] Jason: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. And he did reference a couple times to things that you sent him as potential interview topics or just, just conversation starters. How did you decide what you wanted to send him?
[01:05:46] Neil: Well, you know what? I always did have that dream to walk on the moon, and I really did get a chance to touch uh, space a little bit through spar aerospace. The anti semitism, I [01:06:00] knew that he wanted to talk about it. We were both, as you heard, we’re both from the same city. I had a different experience than him, but some of what I experienced was compelling, and I wanted to bring it to all of you.
[01:06:14] Jason: Well, I found the entire thing very compelling. I appreciate you taking time to do that. It sounded like and looked like you enjoyed yourself. And I hope our viewers, our audience, enjoyed it as well, as much as I did, or more. And with that, go ahead. I just want to say the good news is my mom’s okay. She enjoyed it.
Wonderful to hear. Uh, anything else you want to say about the
[01:06:40] Neil: experience? No, I just hope that everybody enjoyed it. And if you do, please like and subscribe to our podcast. We really appreciate everybody who watches us. We thank you. Hey, everybody. Thanks very much for watching today. We appreciate it.
Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us grow and it makes us stronger and we appreciate you doing it.