Ayreh Aaron Wise, 33, of Ontario, Canada, drowned in Haliburton on Monday after his kayak overturned on Lake Kashagawigamog.
Witnesses said Wise's was kayaking when the boat overturned and he began yelling for help. His mother and several other bystanders responded, pulling him from the water in very serious condition. Emergency crews that were called to the lake performed CPR on Wise and a helicopter rushed him to hospital.
He was pronounced dead after a few hours.
Wise left behind a wife and three small children.
"He was a pure soul," recollected Arutz Sheva's Yoni Kempinski, his childhood friend. "We met in kindergarten in Toronto, and since that time all my memories of him are of joy, an open heart and a lot of laughter."
"Aryeh lived in Israel for a while and grew very connected to the Israeli mindset. He often told me how much he wants to go back and visit Israel. Many friends in Canada and Israel are pained by his loss."
Friends noted that he had only recently celebrated the Siyum HaShas.