Comments on: Can someone help me find a rabbi?

By: Heidi wilcox

Heidi wilcox — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:52:31 +0000

I am weighing in extremely late but found this from google search.Dan Hart was my oldest friend in the world he was not a conservative and would have thought the rabbi’s joke hilarious! those who knew Dan from an early age knew his sense of humor and even keeled politics liberal and conservative non partisan beliefs. I surely hope you never were able to contact the lovely rabbi who officiated his ceremony. I was there and shoveled one shovel of dirt for the number of years I was when I met my friend, six. Leave things you know nothing about alone.

By: BMoon

BMoon — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:50:09 +0000

How do they say “asshole” in Yiddish?

(And that’s from a pastor.)

By: Bailey Yankee

Bailey Yankee — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:37:16 +0000

One must remember that conservative might mean politically, not religiously.

By: Gary Rosen

Gary Rosen — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:08:27 +0000

Bugs, yes the rabbi of a person’s congregation would normally officiate. I had the same thought you did – that he was not observant and the family chose a “convenient” rabbi. It is almost certain his wife’s background is not Jewish – her brother’s name is “Chris”. On the other hand, he was connected enough that the funeral was held at a Jewish mortuary. He came from the region so his family was probably still in the area.

By: somejoe

somejoe — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:38:49 +0000

@bugs proximity and convenience were big factors for me. The other Deleware woman rabbi is 50 miles south and leads a conservative synagogue. Though she has a degree from Vassar and might fit the “old hippy” stereotype, there was no indication she let her politics creep into her rabbinical work.

By: DavidN

DavidN — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:58:46 +0000

On a completely different thread, I missed the original discussion of concerts and pop culture and how they’re becoming pervaded by liberal thought and polemic. Since I logged onto this end of things, I thought I would provide my two cents.

For one thing, I’ve never been able to listen to Garrison Keillor. In addition to the politics involved, to my mind he has a voice that would have been perfect for the silent movie era. Now, the only entertainment job I think he’s qualified for is mime.

Second, I don’t go to concerts really at all, and while I listen to music it either tends to be on the radio or recorded. I do however read a lot, and much of what I read is military history. I’m interested in the American Civil War, World War II, and to a lesser extent some other conflicts. One of these others is the American Revolution. About a year ago, I read a book titled “Patriot Battles”, which purported to be a nuts-and-bolts history of tactics and strategy during the American Revolution. In addition to the fact that it didn’t do a very good job of recounting this subject, believe it or not, in the Introduction the author spent most of his time comparing George III to George Bush, making much of the fact they share the same first name, and insisting that Bush was bound to fail in Iraq just as George III did in America. Yeah, it did damage the author’s credibility in my eyes irreparably, and yeah, it wasn’t a very good book anyway.

P.S. Much better on the American Revolution, by the way, was Fusiliers by Mark Urban. It’s a history of a particular British infantry regiment during the war, and spends a lot of time discussing everything from uniforms and equipment to organization, has a unique premise (he thinks the British army was reforming during the war, discarding the older more dense formations for more loose “light infantry” tactics, and that this led to the British army’s effectiveness in the wars against Napoleon two decades later), and its well-written and interesting. I would recommend Urban’s book highly, the other not at all.

By: Bugs

Bugs — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:10:37 +0000

If this guy was so conservative, why would he or his family have this rabbi at his service? In the Jewish tradition, does the rabbi of a person’s congregation usually officiate? Or maybe this guy was more secular and had no preferences – so the family just chose the most convenient rabbi they could find.

More clarification would help.

By: stace

stace — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:34:26 +0000

Good job, guys. Roger, I hope you get to have that discussion with her. That story was very disturbing. We need to start speaking out against this decline in civility.

By: Lightnin' Hopkins

Lightnin' Hopkins — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:27:42 +0000

Nice work somejoe. That’s almost certainly her.

Commenters here are very respectful by nature as it is, but it would be appropriate to let our host make contact without voicing our own displeasure via phone or email – just yet anyway. Besides, she may look, walk & talk like it and still not be the right duck.

By: Alex Bensky

Alex Bensky — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:46:45 +0000

I should think the funeral home would have the name of the officiating rabbi. Whether they’ll give it to you is something else.