Archive | Eulogy

A Tribute to Herbert Krasnow

My wonderful stepfather Herbert Krasnow passed away peacefully last week at the age of 99. I want to honor his memory by sharing a few words with you here. My mother was widowed in 1979, and bravely set about creating her life as a newly single person while now being the sole parent of three […]

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A Eulogy for Maya Gold

On October 4, 2015 I had the sorrowful task of officiating at the funeral of WJC member Maya Gold, age 15. After the service, many attendees asked if I could share the words of my eulogy with them. I think others might find value in my message, and so Maya’s parents Mathew Swerdloff and Elise Gold […]

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In Praise of Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger was one of my heroes. I remember attending a solo concert of Pete’s at Carnegie Hall when I was a young man. He stood on a small oriental rug on a bare stage, just him, his banjo, his guitar and a full house of people ready to sing with him. At intermission he […]

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Addressing the Family of a Suicide Victim

Dear Friends of the WJC, Our community experienced a tragic and untimely death this past week when Lee Wind, whose family have been members of our congregation for many years, took his own life. Rather than dance around the tragedy of suicide, I chose at the funeral to speak directly about the extraordinarily widespread incidence […]

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