5 Generations of leadership, service and Tzedakah

Ben Wiseman has huge shoes to fill. His great grandfather, Arthur Pascal C.M.., z"l, was the Foundation's first president. And ever since, Arthur's children and grandchildren have carried on his legacy.

Great-grandson Ben celebrated his Bar Mitzvah by creating the Ben Wiseman B'nai Tzedek Fund at the Foundation.Not quite sure yet where his allocations will go, he  visited the JCF offices with his mother, Kathy Cohen, cheque in hand and, following a short tour of Cummings House, left with a lot to think about.

He comes by his philanthropy honestly. Kathy likes to refer to the Pascal Family as "5 generations of giving to the Montreal Jewish community."

“It all began with Arthur's father, my great-grandfather, Jacob Pascal who moved to Quebec in 1901. My grandfather told me a story about 25 years ago that was my "aha" moment:

“The J. (Jacob) Pascal Hardware company ran retail stores since 1903… When my grandfather was a teenager (mid-1920's) his father, Jacob, wanted to teach him about business. There was a family who had bought merchandise on credit and after many months had still not paid for the goods. Jacob took my grandfather, Arthur, to visit the family to show his son how to collect money from customers so you could stay in business!

“To the word, my grandfather told me ‘They were so poor, we gave THEM money".

Arthur Pascal and Olga Wiener had 2 children, Paula Cohen and Susan Levine who, along with husband Martin, serve on the JCF Board. Paula and Stuart Cohen had 2 children, Michael and Kathy. Kathy credits them and all her grandparents with teaching her how to give, a value which she and husband Gerald Wiseman have instilled in their son Ben.

In 2009 Paula, Kathy and brother Michael, set up an endowment in Arthur’s name.
Ben followed in 2010 with his B’nai Tzedek fund. Kathy says it’s all part of the Pascal family legacy and she hopes to inspire others.

“I want to encourage people to give through the generations and I think we are a good example of that.”

Arthur must have known that. As he wrote in his 1994 Book of Life entry:

“Today, my children share my devotion to our community.” Arthur Pascal