The power of tikkun olam
The picture of my late mother, Sylvia Reback, on the front of j. on April 1 was an unexpected but powerful reminder of how an example of purposeful volunteerism from the past can have an influence for many years thereafter.
There is my mother pictured with two other women working together in the 1950s with their hats of that time marking the moment. My mom lived tikkun olum and was a board member and activist for JFCS and many other groups. She lives on as an example for me in my current role as president of the board of JFCS, even though I am more likely to wear a baseball cap to my volunteer activities for the agency.
Nancy Goldberg | Tiburon
One rabbi’s connection
My father, undergoing care at the Printers’ Union Home in Colorado Springs, died in 1956. My mother and I came from San Francisco to arrange a funeral. Malcolm Cohen, a young rabbi who traveled between several Colorado communities, got local people together for a minyan (“Malcolm Cohen, longtime Bay Area rabbi, dies at 83,” April 1).
In 1988 my mother died in San Francisco, and I asked the Sinai Memorial Chapel to arrange a funeral and obtain a rabbi for the service. The rabbi turned out to be the same Malcolm Cohen. A bittersweet reunion.
A gap of 32 years, Colorado Springs to San Francisco. Small world, indeed.
Howard Jarmy | San Mateo
An inspirational survivor
Roni Peskin Mentzer is a “woman of valor” (“Inspired hats help cancer cause,” April 1). May she continue to enjoy the beauty of life for many years to come.
I am a psychologist with years of experience working with women and chronic illness, and I found this article to be an inspiration. I will keep it in my office where I can share it with others who are seeking to find the joy of life.
Blessings to Ms. Mentzer, and thank you to Patricia Corrigan, for excellent coverage.
Dorothea Z. Lack | San Francisco
Condemn all, or none
Rabbi Sheldon Lewis summons his wrathful indignation against those who defaced property of an individual in Berkeley (“No room for nastiness in Year of Civil Discourse,” April 1). I hope that Rabbi Lewis issues equal degrees of condemnation against those who harass, intimidate, threaten with boycotts, demonize, and otherwise target supporters of positions with which he might not agree.
Here is a starter list of such positions: supporters
of Proposition 8, advocates for individual gun rights, defenders of fiscal sanity via converting public sector defined benefit pensions to defined contributions, advocates of FDR’s position that labor unions have absolutely no place in the public sector, proponents of the right to work without being forced to pay union dues against one’s will, and fighters for economic growth by overturning cap and trade legislation.
Larry Yelowitz | Sunnyvale