Dear Friends,
“This is the line of Isaac, son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac.” (Gen. 25:19)
So begins our weekly Torah portion, which quickly devolves into the sticky drama of Jacob’s contentious twin sons, including our TBJ namesake, Jacob, family manipulation and stresses… just a normal biblical Jewish family!
But, this week, and our Torah portion with its opening reminder that we are tied in lineage to our forebears, comes just as Temple Beth Jacob learned of the untimely death of our long-time Cantor, Bill Satzman – “Cantor Bill,” of blessed memory, who served TBJ in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. And, our Torah portion reflects this moment.
In many conversations this week, I have been regaled with “Cantor Bill stories.” His lineage endures. There are many adults in today’s TBJ who were trained for Bar or Bat Mitzvah by Cantor Bill, and who hold enduring memories. There were crazy or nutty moments which stand out, and which made TBJ a place of reverent irreverence – of holy spontaneity. And, there were operatic flourishes and passion and devotion to children and education and his strictness and his expectation of propriety at the same time there could be, in Bill’s wife Babi’s words, “horsing around in the halls.” This is and was the lineage – and now the legacy – of Cantor Bill.
But more, Bill was part of the life of the TBJ family, and like the drama of our biblical family in the portion this week, moments happen. It keeps us reading Torah and searching it and ourselves for meaning and understanding. Moreover, such is one of the expectations upon clergy – to challenge us to self-encounters. Today’s retelling of “Cantor Bill stories” parallels our retelling the stories of Isaac and his children – stories elide and remind us of our own moments, our best and our worst.
This Friday night, Cantor Wolff and I will dedicate the musical selections to Cantor Bill Satzman’s memory. We invite you to share stories – feel free to respond to this email/posting – or kibbitz before or after services. Thus, we bring a small measure of comfort to Babi, we offer solace to one another, and we continue the lineage which our Torah portion instructs, “This is the line of…”
With the blessing of memory,
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
“This is the line of Isaac, son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac.” (Gen. 25:19)
So begins our weekly Torah portion, which quickly devolves into the sticky drama of Jacob’s contentious twin sons, including our TBJ namesake, Jacob, family manipulation and stresses… just a normal biblical Jewish family!
But, this week, and our Torah portion with its opening reminder that we are tied in lineage to our forebears, comes just as Temple Beth Jacob learned of the untimely death of our long-time Cantor, Bill Satzman – “Cantor Bill,” of blessed memory, who served TBJ in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. And, our Torah portion reflects this moment.
In many conversations this week, I have been regaled with “Cantor Bill stories.” His lineage endures. There are many adults in today’s TBJ who were trained for Bar or Bat Mitzvah by Cantor Bill, and who hold enduring memories. There were crazy or nutty moments which stand out, and which made TBJ a place of reverent irreverence – of holy spontaneity. And, there were operatic flourishes and passion and devotion to children and education and his strictness and his expectation of propriety at the same time there could be, in Bill’s wife Babi’s words, “horsing around in the halls.” This is and was the lineage – and now the legacy – of Cantor Bill.
But more, Bill was part of the life of the TBJ family, and like the drama of our biblical family in the portion this week, moments happen. It keeps us reading Torah and searching it and ourselves for meaning and understanding. Moreover, such is one of the expectations upon clergy – to challenge us to self-encounters. Today’s retelling of “Cantor Bill stories” parallels our retelling the stories of Isaac and his children – stories elide and remind us of our own moments, our best and our worst.
This Friday night, Cantor Wolff and I will dedicate the musical selections to Cantor Bill Satzman’s memory. We invite you to share stories – feel free to respond to this email/posting – or kibbitz before or after services. Thus, we bring a small measure of comfort to Babi, we offer solace to one another, and we continue the lineage which our Torah portion instructs, “This is the line of…”
With the blessing of memory,
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
