The Charlotte Jewish News - December 2013 - Page 15
Jon and Stephanie Simon
Jon and Stephanie Simon are
among the 181 individuals and
families in our community who
have created legacy gifts to sup
port its future. Please take the
time to read their story and thank
them for their generosity. It is our
hope that you will be inspired and
encouraged to think about how
you can create your own Jewish
legacy.
By Jon Simon
We are proud produets of Char
lotte’s Jewish eommunity. Our
strong eoimeetion to Judaism ean
be traeed to our families’ eommit-
ment to being Jewish and our ex-
perienees here in Charlotte. My
grandfather, Mauriee Weinstein,
eame to Charlotte in 1940 to set
up his law praetiee. Throughout
his lifetime, he was a national
leader in adult Jewish edueation.
All of our grandparents passed
their Jewish traditions and values
to our parents who, in turn, passed
them along to us. I grew up at
tending Temple Beth El while
Stephanie’s family was aetive at
Temple Israel. Our parents (Allan
and Mareelle Oxman and Paul
and Mareia Simon) took on eom
munity leadership roles at their
temples. Federation, Fladassah,
ete., as volunteers and eontribu-
tors.
It was “love at first sight” the
first time I saw Stephanie at her
Bat Mitzvah. It took me many
years to eonvinee her that she felt
the same way. We attended
BBYO together and were friends
throughout high sehool. Stephanie
graduated from the University of
North Carolina and reeeived a
graduate degree from UNC-Char-
lotte and I graduated from Guil
ford College. We began dating
after eollege.
Growing up, Stephanie and I
were infiueneed by a variety of
Jewish experienees and Shalom
Park institutions. Those experi
enees existed beeause of prior
generations of thoughtful people
with the foresight to ereate
Shalom Park. We feel a responsi
bility to keep looking forward like
the previous generations to help
sustain and build upon the inered-
ible eommunity they established.
It has beeome a valuable asset not
only for Jewish Charlotte but for
all of Charlotte.
The same Jewish organizations
that impaeted our lives are now
having a positive influenee on our
three ehildren. They have at
tended pre-sehools on Sardis and
JCC, the Charlotte Jewish Day
Sehool, Temple Israel, and volun
teered at JFS. Our Jewish values
are important to us and play a sig-
nifieant role in our lives. We want
our ehildren to value edueation,
perform mitzvot, and understand
the importanee of tzedakkah. We
want them to be “mensehes.”
Create
"ou^ewish
legacy
c3.
Stephanie and I are determined
to be involved members of our
Jewish eommunity, eontributing
with both our time and finaneial
resourees, when able. Our legaey
gifts are our way of following the
examples set by our family. Our
legaey eommitments aeknowl-
edge and thank those who pre-
eeded us and refieet our
responsibility to our ehildren and
others who will follow us.^
"There is an old saying: If you wish to find out whether your
motive is pure, test yourself in two ways: whether you expect
recompense from God or anyone else, and whether you would
perform the act in the same way if you were alone,
unbeknown to others."
—Bachya Ibn Pakuda, Duties of the Heart
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