A Tribute to Rabbi Harold Kushner, of blessed memory

 


Dear Friends,

This week I want to write a brief tribute to Rabbi Harold Kushner, of blessed memory.  He died a week ago and as most of us know, he wrote, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People."

Many years ago we lived in Tucson, AZ.  One of my mentors, Rabbi Arthur Oleisky, of blessed memory, contacted Rabbi Kushner when one of our children was diagnosed with cancer and was having potentially life and death surgery.  

I will never forget his kindness when he called us to check in and make sure we were supported.  Our son survived and we are very  blessed that he is well.  I will never forget his outreach and how important that was in teaching me that sometimes the Divine appears in the simple acts of kindness that we perform.

I often teach about Rabbi Kushner and want to share an excerpt from his book mentioned above.

"Are you capable of forgiving and accepting in love a world which has disappointed you by not being perfect, a world in which there is so much unfairness and cruelty....are you capable of forgiving and loving the people around you, even if they have hurt you and let you down by not being perfect?....

And if you can do these things, will you be able to recognize that the ability to forgive and the ability to love are the weapons G-d has given us to enable us to live fully, bravely, and meaningfully in this less-than-perfect world?"  (pp. 147-148, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People"

I hope these words inspire us to be more forgiving and loving in our interactions with others.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Bruce Aft

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