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Chaverim y'karim - dear friends,
Hanukkah is coming! There are several resources below for you to consider for your own home and observance. In the meantime, I hope to see you for a special gathering pre-Hanukkah Celebration at the JCC in Sherman on Sunday!
As always, there is so very much to discuss but I want to highlight as seemingly small piece of news that links us to eras long since past and yet ... not so far removed.
Long ago, I learned of a remarkably gifted musician, Danny Maseng, who has served as a cantor in southern California for many years. I have sung his Mah Tovu, which we sing in our community during the High Holy Days. His version of the Jewish wedding's Sheva Berachot (Seven Blessings) are one of my favorite to use for a wedding. But it was his personal and family story that touched me the deepest, which I came to appreciate through an album he created that tells the story of his grandfather, Dr. Rabbi Harry Davidowitz. The one-man show is called "Wasting time with Harry Davidowitz." I highly recommend your listening and taking in the remarkable lives regaled and explained.
This has been a big week for the memory of Danny Maseng's grandfather as a street named in Herzliya, Israel was named for him: Rabbi Dr. Harry Davidowitz Lane.
There are lives and then there are lives ...
Harry Davidowitz's life spans so much of the 20th century and what that meant for a young Jewish boy born in Poland. He was a talmid chacham (a great student/sage), who landed in America, excelled mightily in academics and as a rabbi, and ultimately made aliyah in 1934. He died in 1973. From the battle fields of the First World War to advising on Israel's Declaration of Independence, to being the primary translator of Shakespeare into Hebrew, Davidowitz's impact and life's lessons are nothing short of heroic.
In an era where we search for - and often falsely name - heroes and in a season when we give thanks to God for miracles, recalling this man's life feels fitting.
To learn more, see "What my grandfather Rabbi Harry Davidowitz never told me" (16 Dec 2024) by Danny Maseng in Times of Israel. The blog post and Danny's musical show deserve a fuller discussion but for now - go read, listen, and enjoy. For further understanding of the street name dedication, read from Danny Gordis, "Harry Davidowitz finally gets his street - and there is a story there."
There is a lot to discuss. When is there not? For this week, I wanted to give a piece of news that frames and reminds us of who we are, where we have been, what and who we consider great and worthy of honor, and how one person can accomplish - through strength, determination, joy, deep Yiddishkeit, commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people.
May we find inspiration and pride in this man who was, as the sign reads, "A translator and spiritual man, a Conservative rabbi, one of the composers of the (Israeli) Declaration of Independence."
L'shalom,
Rabbi Mark Cohn
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NOTE: Shabbat Services this week! Friday, 12/20 @ 6:30pm
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