New Torah Honoring Shluchim of Over 40 years in Canada’s Capital

Ottawa’s Jewish community to honor Dr. Yosef and Devora Caytak at a siyum sefer Torah on 18 Shevat to mark Dr. Caytak’s 70th birthday and 40 years of shlichus and community service, founding the Jewish Youth Library, Preschool, and Camp Gan Yisroel.

A meaningful milestone is on the horizon for Ottawa’s Jewish community: the completion and dedication of a new Sefer Torah, the first in the city in nearly a decade. The Torah scroll will be officially dedicated on the 18th of Shevat (February 16, 2025), in honor of Dr. Yosef and Devora Caytak to mark Dr. Caytak’s 70th birthday — a celebration of their decades-long contributions to Jewish life in Ottawa.

For more than 40 years, Dr. Yosef and Devora Caytak have been central figures in the local Jewish community, founding the Jewish Youth Library, the Westboro Jewish Montessori Preschool, and Camp Gan Israel, institutions that have enriched thousands of lives. The new Torah scroll will honor their legacy, not only as dedicated Shluchim and community builders but also as parents and grandparents whose values of Torah and Jewish education continue to inspire so many.

In 1983, Dr. and Mrs. Caytak started the Jewish Youth Library in the basement of their home. Within a few years they purchased a property across the street from their home that now holds a preschool and summer camp through which thousands of children have come through its doors over the past four decades. Inspired by the Rebbe’s vision, they recently purchased another property that is currently under construction and will very soon be open to the public as an expansive Judaica Library with over twenty thousand books – one of the only standalone buildings of its kind in the world.

The Torah will be used regularly at the Family Shul of Chabad of Wellington West run by Rabbi Moshe and Sheina Caytak, and will also serve as a source of pride and inspiration for Ottawa’s Jewish community. “This dedication, in honor of my parents, is a fitting way to celebrate their achievements,” said Yaakov Caytak, the youngest of the Caytak children. “They have raised 12 children to cherish Torah values and follow in the Rebbe’s ways, and they continue to build a future for Jewish education in Ottawa.”

The final dedication ceremony will take place on Sunday the 18th of Shevat, (February 16, 2025), at the Soloway JCC, 21 Nadolny Sachs Pv t. The event will include live music, dancing, and a Seudah.
Friends, family, supporters, and community members are invited to be part of this celebration and contribute to the Torah’s creation through dedications of letters, words, or sections.

To learn more about this event or to take part in the Torah’s completion, visit JewishWW.com/communitytorah.

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