Jewish Press by Mike Kurov

Page 6

THE JEWISH PRESS

OP ED

Friday, March 5, 2010

Shul, Faith, And Lollipops

Childhood Memories of My Family’s Rabbi By Rabbi AKIVA MALES After receiving a recent e-mail, I found myself awash in a sea of memories. In the course of corresponding with a friend, I realized that the fourth yahrzeit of my family’s rabbi – Doniel Schur, z”l – was rapidly approaching (21 Adar/ March 7, 2010). I began sorting through many childhood recollections of growing up in Rabbi Schur’s shul – the Heights Jewish Center of Cleveland, Ohio. As a child walking with my father to shul on a cold Cleveland winter Shabbos, I found it quite reassuring to know there would always be a lollipop waiting for me while I warmed up. Each Shabbos, I would ascend the podium to shake Rabbi Schur’s hand and wish him “Good Shabbos,” whereupon he would hand me a lollipop. Generally, the rabbi would give each child just one lollipop, but one Shabbos I came up with a clever way to receive more. As I shook his hand one Shabbos HaGadol (the Sabbath preceding Passover), I told him that while I noticed there was a hechsher on his bag of lollipops, there was nothing to indicate they were kosher for Passover. I let him know I would be more than happy to help him dispose of his chametz and toward that end I would be willing to take the lollipops off of his hands. Rabbi Schur had a very healthy sense of humor, and he gladly gave me a handful of lollipops together with a warm smile and laugh. Rabbi Akiva Males is the spiritual leader of Kesher Israel Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. He can be reached at rabbimales@yahoo.com.

Rabbi Schur was a man who was comfortable sharing his emotions with others. I have vivid memories of him dancing exuberantly on Simchas Torah, the softness of his beard and mustache on my young cheek when he would embrace me in a warm hug, as well as the sincere tears he would shed as he would share in his congregants’ pain. The memories of one particular Yom Kippur at Heights Jewish Center will remain with me forever. It is the early 1980s. The shofar has just sounded, signaling the conclusion of the services. Rabbi Schur begins to clap and lead the congregation in a spirited dance around the bimah while we all join him in singing “L’Shana HaBa’ah B’Yerushalayim” (Next Year in Jerusalem). Not everyone is dancing, however, and this does not escape the rabbi’s notice. There are some older men who are too weak to dance after a full day of praying and fasting, but they are not the focus of the rabbi’s tear-filled gaze. It is a young man named Ben, who has been losing his fight with leukemia, toward whom the rabbi is now energetically dancing. Ben and Rabbi Schur hold hands while the entire congregation continues its emotional song. All eyes in the shul are on them, and not one of them is dry. Unfortunately, that was to be Ben’s last Yom Kippur. “Next Year in Jerusalem” is also faithfully sung by Jews the world over toward the end of the Pesach Seder each year, and that brings me to the final childhood memory I will share about Rabbi Schur.

THE COUNCIL OF JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS OF FLATBUSH, INC. 31st Annual Community Legislative Breakfast Sunday, March 14, 2010 – 28 Adar 5770 ~ 9:15 A.M. The Kings Terrace – 815 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY [bet. East 8th and 9th Streets]

When I was about seven years old, our family was all packed and eager to drive our station wagon up to Montreal. My brothers and I eagerly anticipated spending Pesach with my ailing maternal grandfather and the rest of our Canadian relatives. I cannot adequately describe the disappointment I felt when, just two days before the holiday, a major blizzard blanketed the region and forced us to cancel our travel plans. While I felt devastated, my parents’ feelings were much more practical. They had not planned on spending the holiday in Cleveland, and they had no Pesach staples. To make matters worse, this unexpected blizzard forced many other Clevelanders to stay home, and the local stores no longer had a sufficient amount of Passover supplies. Naturally, my father phoned Rabbi Schur to tell him of our family’s predicament. Immediately, the rabbi and his wife invited our family to join their family’s Seder for the first night of Pesach (family friends graciously invited us over for the second). Each year as the holiday of Pesach approaches, memories of the Schur family’s hospitality as well as their warm and welcoming Seder enter my mind. Despite the fact that Rabbi Schur is no longer with us, this year is no different. On behalf of the many children whose lives he enhanced, I thank Rabbi Schur for enabling us to have such warm childhood memories of shul, and for doing all he could to ensure that coming to shul would be such a sweet experience. We are all truly appreciative.

Presidential Community Tour

BROOKLYN, NY Shabbat Parshat Ki Tisa/Parah March 5/6, 2010

The Honorable Kirsten Gillibrand United States Senator

The Honorable Anthony Weiner United States Congressman

The Honorable John L. Sampson

Please join ORTHODOX UNION PRESIDENT STEPHEN J. SAVITSKY when he visits Brooklyn, NY as part of a 10-city tour to bring the OU message far and wide, discussing major issues facing contemporary Jewry, and reflecting upon his personal experiences and strategies as an effective lay leader.

New York State Senator

The Honorable Helene E. Weinstein New York State Assemblywoman

The Honorable Edward Skyler NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations

The Honorable Lewis A. Fidler New York City Councilman

FRIDAY EVENING, 9:00 pm

Ms. Rhona Hetsrony

Forum Discussion: Orthodox Jewry at the Crossroads. Will We Meet the Challenges? Panelists: RABBI DR. AARON LEVINE, Rabbi, Young Israel of Avenue J SHLOMO Z. MOSTOFSKY, Esq., President, National Council of Young Israel STEPHEN J. SAVITSKY, President, Orthodox Union RABBI ELI BARUCH SHULMAN, Rabbi, Young Israel of Midwood YOUNG ISRAEL OF MIDWOOD, 1694 Ocean Avenue

Vice President of Administration On behalf of Continuum Health Partners Beth Israel Medical Center – Kings Highway Division

Mr. Bruce Rudolph

SHABBAT MORNING (Shacharit begins at 9:00 am)

Director of Discretionary Equipment Funding, NYC DDC

Drasha: The Orthodox Union. Touching the Lives of Every Jew YOUNG ISRAEL OF MIDWOOD, 1694 Ocean Avenue

Captain Georgios Mastrokostas Commanding Officer, 61st Police Precinct

Mrs. Surie Lazar Distinguished Communal Leader

For Reservations, Journal Ads, and More Information Please Call 718-377-2900 Exts. 224 & 241 Mr. Moshe Zakheim President

Mr. Zindel Zelmanovitch Chairman of the Board Mr. Leon Goldenberg Breakfast Chairman

SEUDAH SHLISHIT (Mincha begins at 5:20 pm) Topic: The Torah's Secret to a Long and Meaningful Life YOUNG ISRAEL OF AVENUE J, 1721 Avenue J

Rabbi Yechezkel Pikus Executive Director

Eleven Broadway, New York, NY 10004 212.563.4000