JOURNEY: Thornhiller Shlomo Rosenzweig recently launched a collection of jewellery available on www.ruspiritual.com. (Kelly Gadzala/Vaughan Today)
It’s a story with a lot of sorrow, but a lot of heart and soul too.
Seven years after his brother was attacked and murdered in Toronto, Thornhill resident Shlomo Rosenzweig is on a mission to nurture the spirituality he believes is in each of us.
His recently launched website, ruspiritual.com, sells a series of sterling silver jewellery with the word “spirituality” engraved on each piece. The goal is to get people connecting with their inner selves, he says. The website also features an inspiring video with script and images that explores the idea of spirituality.
The website and jewellery is a tribute to his brother, David Rosenzweig, whose 2002 murder made international headlines. Partial proceeds of the jewellery sales will go towards the David Rosenzweig Fund for Victims of Terror, an organization that was formed after David’s death, along with other charities.
Rosenzweig is a practicing Hasidic Jew but says the website and its message are non-denominational. For him, spirituality can be as simple as appreciating the laughter of a baby or saying hello to a stranger on the street. It could be God, he says, but it could also be acts of kindness or simply being in awe of a beautiful sunset or sunrise.
“These are feelings I think people have innately.”
Rosenzweig says he thought of the idea one day shortly after David’s death while driving by a billboard advertising an action character in a movie carrying a gun in each hand.
“Why glorify these types of images when we have heroes who live lives of morality?” he remembers asking himself at the time. “What we need is to promote spirituality within each of us, so we can be more like David.
“He was a very spiritual person,” Rosenzweig says of his brother. “Everybody just loved him.”
Our society doesn’t stress goodness, he says, and that can lead people astray.
“A lot of the crime we have is because people are told they’re good-for-nothing.”
Though the idea of the inspiring messages on his website came first, the jewellery came as the idea evolved. Rosenzweig has been in the wedding apparel business in North Toronto for close to 30 years and fashion is as close to his heart as his new project is.
Jewellery seemed like a good way to express spirituality for many reasons, he says.
“In fashion you try to make the person look good and feel good,” he says. “What’s better than to feel good about yourself when you’re connected to yourself?”
“I could have ‘spiritual’ on a baseball cap,” he adds. “It’s just too precious.”
Jewellery adorns a person and is precious, he says, just as spirituality adorns us and is equally precious.
Imported from Italy and Thailand, the jewellery is for sale on the website and includes seven styles including pendants and ladies and men’s bracelets. Prices range from $25 to $144.
Rosenzweig himself wears the men’s bracelet every day.
“I just glance down and I see it,” he says simply. “It helps one to keep focus.”
