Thursday June 11- Man plans...

Passing of my father z”l

Man plans, God laughs.

I had an enews ready to arrive in your inbox right now. Unfortunately, my father passed away yesterday and instead of spending time polishing off the enews before sending, I am preparing for his funeral later today.

I have much to say about my dad. He spent much of his career in the nonprofit world- as a Rabbi, educator, nonprofit CEO and fundraiser. I learned from him many of the tricks of the trade.

He was a dad to 6, grandfather to 32 and great grandfather to 5. He had multiple degrees, was a scholar who enjoyed learning and was always in “teacher” mode so that conversations with him meant you were learning.

Someone I spoke to earlier this evening told me he “had a good heart.” Pretty sure that is the mark of a good man.

I will be observing the Jewish laws of “shiva.” Shiva literally means seven. In this case it is what we call the seven days of mourning after the funeral. There are many different customs within the Jewish world of how to observe this period. I shall be observing them based on how my dad taught me to do so.

As shiva only ends next week Thursday morning, I will not be sending an enews next week. Next one will arrive on Thursday June 25.

It’s weird to think about my dad in the past. I’m his oldest child and he was always present for the first almost 54 years of my life. Now I have to get used to a new reality.

May his memory be a blessing for our entire family.

Ephraim