Will There Be a Jewish Future?
My uncle, Leon Huberman, is 98 years old; my mother’s brother. He grew up in an Orthodox home in Outremont in Montreal with my illustrious great grandfather, Rabbi Yisroel Perel, my grandparents, and my uncle’s siblings, a home that was always singing and practicing the Shabbat and Yom Tov prayers, as the whole family led prayer services in various shuls.
They are kohanim. My Uncle Leon was the leader of his shul, Young Israel of Montreal. He has been married for 73 years to my aunt Charlotte, who reside in an assisted living residence in Toronto. He had Covid and pneumonia two weeks ago, and is now recovering, so I flew to Toronto to visit them. During the visit, which coincided with Rosh Chodesh, the new Jewish month of Adar, he told me that he was having a hard time getting back to his old self. I said, “Uncle Leon, I know it is hard for you…you are the leader of our family and we need you to fight to get well again.” He said, “I can’t.” I said, Let’s sing together…”
And I started the words of Hallel…and he began singing with me. It was part of his life since he was a child and came to him gently and naturally. His will to fight revived. Here is the video of our Hallel together.
As we sang together, I wondered…who will carry on his passion and love for “connecting to God through song?” Who will carry on his legacy of love of Judaism?
Speaking of legacy reminds me of a London Times news article, that I read during the time that I served as the rabbi of the New West End Synagogue in London. The article related a story of a State visit to India in 1997, by John Major, then prime minister of Britain, who visited an ancient tribe that inhabits the mountain range between India and Tibet. He attended a poignant coming-of-ge ceremony in which a group of thirteen-year-old boys was being welcomed as men into the tribe. The prime minister watched as the father of each boy walked up to his son and presented him with a symbol of manhood and tribal identity - a Kalashnikov rifle. This ceremony speaks volumes about the values of that society, highlighting their most important value - self-preservation amidst the warring mountain tribes and communal pride in taking part in the tribe’s defense.
And what of my uncle's legacy?
When I flew back to Baltimore, I attended a cousin's wedding, where my son, Dovid, was asked to sing at the Chuppah. The next video is of my son Dovid Roll singing as the bride walked to the chuppah and began to walk around her groom seven times.
• My son, Dovid Roll, gr...
I am moved that my uncle’s love of Judaism and singing the song of Jewish connection to God, is a continuing legacy in my family. It is the ultimate joy for me to see my son continuing the “Song of Judaism” that my uncle and grandparents sang. I know they are singing with him.
13 мар 2024
