Twin brothers from Mississauga win big at international Jewish knowledge competition
Published April 24, 2024 at 1:55 pm
Twin brothers from Mississauga took top prizes in a Jewish knowledge competition in the U.S.
Daniel and David Marquez, 8, competed against 4,000 kids from 25 countries at the International JewQ Torah Championship this month and both won top prizes in their age category.
This year’s contest saw an unprecedented number of young scholars, including participants from the United Kingdom, Columbia, France, Australia and Argentina, according to organizers.
The Grade 3 Sheridan Park Public School school students travelled to Samford, Connecticut with their parents for the championship on April 7.
Daniel took the highest prize for his level to bring home the championship trophy. David won the gold medal.
Daniel and David were thrilled to win at the competition.
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“I feel proud,” Daniel told insauga.com.
The championship is a spelling bee-style competition designed to deepen participants’ understanding of Jewish traditions, history and values. The trip also included other outings and activities for the kids.
“We had fun,” said David.
The achievements are more extraordinary given the fact that Daniel and David have only recently started studying their Jewish heritage. The brothers started taking Sunday classes at Miriam Robbins Chabad Hebrew School in Mississauga in September after joining Chabad’s Summer Day Camp.
“We are so proud and also it’s really new for us, this school,” said the boys’ mother, Mariela Ines Benzadon.
After joining the Sunday classes, the boys learned that they had a chance to go to the competition if they studied hard to get a good mark on three preliminary tests.
“They did study really hard and they were determined (to go to the competition) from day one,” said the boys’ father Jaime Marquez.
After they did well on three tests, they were invited to the competition and the family decided to make the trip.
“We were not expecting a trophy,” Jaime laughed.
Originally from Argentina and Peru, the family moved to Mississauga over 10 years ago. Jaime is Catholic and Mariela is Jewish. For a long time, the family didn’t do much to teach the boys about their Jewish heritage.
“We found they need to belong somewhere. They need to have some sense of community,” said Jaime.
Traditionally, Judaism is passed down through the maternal line.
The Jewish community in the Mississauga region is not very large but they found Chabad House and decided to let the boys try out the summer camp.
“We were not sure at the beginning but they loved the place,” said Jaime.
It was the boys who asked to continue with the school in the fall.
The boys were joined by another student from the Chabad House, Sofia Mejia, in the competition this year and Chabad of Mississauga-Oakville is also proud of the three students’ successes.
“Daniel, David, and Sofia’s achievements are a beacon of light for our community and beyond,” said Rabbi Yitzchak Slavin, co-director of Chabad of Mississauga-Oakville. “Their success underscores the importance of our mission to provide every Jewish child with the opportunity to explore and embrace their heritage. It’s a proud moment for all of us.”
The director of the Miriam Robbins Chabad Hebrew School, Sara Slavin, said the victories are for the entire community.
“They remind us of the power of education and its profound impact on our children and that despite challenges, our traditions and values will continue to thrive, led by young future leaders like them,” Slavin said.
Miriam Robbins Chabad Hebrew School at the Chabad Jewish Centre, serves Mississauga, Oakville, Milton and Brampton, and is a part of CKids, the Chabad Children’s Network, the world’s largest Jewish educational network.
For more information on the Miriam Robbins Chabad Hebrew School, see the website here.
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