JASON C SILVERMAN

Jason C Silverman AKA Rabbi Elyakim Getzl Zilberman Z"L

February 21, 1971 - December 29, 2022

Jason Z"L was born in Philadelphia, PA on February 21, 1971, to Elaine and Bob Silverman of Toronto, ON. The family then lived in London, ON for four years where his brother Michael was born. After that, they moved to Edmonton, AB, where they lived for 20 years with one-year breaks in Palo Alto, CA, and Toronto, ON. He graduated from Ross Sheppard High School in Edmonton and earned a BSc from the University of Alberta. Following graduation he worked for a while on Vancouver Island, BC doing jobs ranging from being a bicycle courier to assisting a biologist. Jason Z"L went to Israel in 1996, pursued a religious education, earned a rabbinical degree (smicha), and became an ultra-Orthodox Hasid along the way. He also completed an apprenticeship as an electrician and worked in that trade.

Early in his journey in Israel, he met Stacey (Shulamit) Wolk, from Kingston, MA through a website called frumster.com and entered an arranged marriage. They had an enormous amount in common and the union bloomed into love. They were married outdoors on top of a hotel overlooking Jerusalem on March 3, 2003. This union produced six wonderful children - Shmuel Dovid, Chana, Yona Malka, Yecheil Meir, Sima Rochel, and Gershon.

If one tried to characterize Jason's Z"L traits, they would begin with great husband, father, son, and brother. He was kind, soft-spoken, humble, wise, devout, witty, and intelligent. At his funeral, the rabbis referred to him as a tsadik (a righteous man), and no one who knew him would neglect to mention his wicked sense of humour. While taking religion very seriously, he never relinquished that sense of humour. It seemed that even during the worst days of his illness, he could make people laugh.

In his youth, he loved all kinds of music and was a fine reed player (saxophone and clarinet). In addition, he had a remarkable flare for writing. He also had what seemed to be a very non-Hasidic interest in high-speed supercars. His non-religious reading often included European and American car magazines.

In 2008, Jason Z"L was diagnosed with a meningioma which, over the next 14 years became malignant. He did not complain and kept his strong faith while undergoing treatments. Jason/Elyakim Z"L died on December 29. The funeral service and interment were held on December 30 in Yavne'el, Israel. He leaves to mourn his wife Stacey and their six children, his parents, Bob and Elaine Silverman, his brother Michael (Kathleen), nieces (Elsa and Amelia), as well as an extended family of father and mother-in-law (Peter and Janet Wolk), sister and brother-in-law (Lisa and Josh), nephew (Saul), aunts, great aunts, cousins and numerous friends all over the world.

Memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice.