Speaking for the people ...

RORY RICHARDS

This week, the Independent continues our occasional column profiling business leaders in our community. With each instalment, I'll be asking our movers and shakers to spill the beans about what makes them tick and what makes them proud to be Jewish.

On an excruciatingly hot summer day, I had the pleasure of having a conversation with a bright young member of our Jewish business community. As a third generation lawyer, Aren Altman chose his words carefully in our interview and spoke earnestly about what it means to him to be a practising lawyer and a practising Jew in Vancouver today.

He also spoke passionately about the importance for him of finding a Jewish bride and raising a family (shidduch (matchmaker) requests can be sent Attn: Aren Altman c/o the Independent).

Name: Aren Altman.

Hebrew Name: Gedaliah Ben Yosef Michael.

My mother and father were born in: Winnipeg.

Ethnic background: Ukrainian/Russian.

Occupation: Lawyer.

Name of firm? Aren Altman Business Entertainment.

Age: 33.

Kinder? No.

Marital status? Single.

Single and...? Looking for a marital status.

With a nice Jewish girl? Oh, yes!

I take it it's important for you to find a Jewish girl? It's a deal breaker.

Pretty tough talk for a lawyer. I'm serious. I'm looking for someone to be a bubbe to my zayde. I'm not just thinking about her as my wife or the mother of my child. I'm thinking looong term.

Pen and paper or Blackberry? Pen and paper.

How many voicemails a day do you get? 25.

How many e-mails a day do you get? 50.

What book are you reading right now? Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Describe the theory you use in business in a sentence: I see things from my clients' perspective.

Who would you want to have dinner with (dead or alive/Jewish or not)? My brother Jonas, Bill Gates, Rabbi Bitton, Will Ferrell, the future Mrs. Altman.

Do you do any volunteer work? Yes, with Camp Hatikvah. Informally, I'm a big brother to someone.

Haven't the Feds got you yet? Yes, they have actually. I'm the co-chairman of the Jewish Federation's Young Leadership Division of Yada, Yada, Yada - or something like that.

I see you take your Federation work very seriously. Well, I'm sorry but c'mon. Who makes up these titles?

Ever been to Israel? Yes, in 1989.

Is it time to go back? Absolutely!

What do you think about the situation there? These are trying times and Israel has my full support.

Favorite charity? Jewish Family Services Agency.

Why is that? I grew up in Vancouver in a very privileged way compared to those ... [who] grew up in the Jewish community in the rest of the world.

Last time you were in shul? This Shabbat.

What was the occasion? Shabbat.

Nice! That's what we like to hear! Yasher koach! Where did you go? Chabad, downtown.

Wow. You're not messing around. What do you think of the rabbi? Rabbi Bitton is wonderful, the closest I've ever been to a rabbi. He is my rabbi and my friend. And his wife is a wonderful cook.

What role does Judaism play in your life? I wake up Jewish and go to bed Jewish and in between I try to be the best Jew I can be. It guides me in my personal and business life.

What makes you most proud to be Jewish? My parents and grandparents and the fact that their parents were Jewish and their parents were Jewish and on and on back through history. I feel connected to all my ancestors.

What was your first job? Filing in my dad's law firm. And doing birthday parties at the JCC. Use birthday parties at the JCC, it sounds better.

Did your dad get you that job too? No.

What profession other than your own would like to attempt? I have another profession, as an artist.

My Hebrew is: I can understand but am not conversive. My reading is very good.

Favorite place in Vancouver: Sunset Beach and Vanier Park.

As a 33-year-old Jewish man living in Vancouver, what do you think is the biggest problem facing the Jewish community? Apathy and assimilation.

Are they the same thing? They lead to one another. And I don't mean just intermarriage. There is very little that distinguishes a Jew from a non-Jew in Vancouver.

So define the problem. There is a lack of engagement and lack of numbers. The people that are doing everything in the community are the same people and that number is shrinking due to age.

So, what's your solution, counsellor? Engagement of younger people ... that could mean inviting someone to Shabbat or telling me about an opportunity to help a specific charity, attend an event or give money. And I would put giving money last on that list.

Rory Richards is a partner in Richards and Chan, a Vancouver PR and event planning company, www.richardsandchan.com.

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