This eighth day of Hanukkah is ordinarily one of happiness and intense light – when we kindle eight candles, we recite the full hallel and read about the multiple korbanot brought by the princes of Torah times. But with the passing of Rabbi Labaton, our day has been darkened. The light will never be the same.
Some of my favorite memories of Rabbi Labaton A”H were his Motzaei Shabbat classes dealing with issues regarding Science and Religion. When everyone else would bolt out of shul as soon as Shabbat ended, a few regulars such as Stanley, Charlie, Dr. Shamash, Yossi and myself would remain. As Charlie would prepare our teacher’s favorite green tea, I would look forward with the greatest anticipation to this series of special classes, commencing each Winter, when Shabbat ended earlier. Although, I must extend my apologies to the Labaton family for my selfish monopolization of the Rabbi’s time spent away from them, this sublime hour jump-started my entire week.
Rabbi Labaton’s MemorialThe following articles are Loving Memories from the Rabbi’s Congregants, Colleagues and Friends:
Which Rabbi Labaton shall we eulogize? Should we lament the disappearance of the world-class academic mind from our midst? The rabbi was certainly an erudite scholar – a man who spent decades steeped in the study of subtle philosophical writings and concepts. As a holder of a Doctorate degree, he possessed knowledge and understanding that few of us could lay claim to.
In the book of Shemuel (I. 25:29) Nabal’s wife Abigail gave King David a blessing that his soul should always be “bound with the souls of the living”. Rabbi Ezra Labaton’s soul was always bound with those of the living – with his family, his students, his congregants, his community, his people, and the entire world.
My family had the privilege of being around and learning from Rabbi Ezra Labaton every summer for over 30 years. The Rabbi led by example, and his enthusiasm for life was contagious. In every conversation, speech or class I attended, Rabbi Labaton’s approach made learning Torah feel fun and exciting, stimulating to the mind and always relevant to our modern-day lives.
I visited Rabbi Labaton in the hospital the day he passed away, I attended his funeral, escorted him to Staten Island to be buried, and looked at his empty chair with his Talet draped on it in Shul on Shabbat. I attended his Arayat at the end of the Shivah, and still reality has not set in. For so many years, through all his operations and treatments, he never missed a beat. He never led on what he was going through, or let us think the end would come. He clearly put the welfare of his Kahal before himself in every way.
“…[I]n 1982 the Man of the Year in the community of West Deal, New Jersey was Rabbi Ezra Labaton. In August of that year, Rabbi Labaton was invited to become the full-time spiritual leader of Congregation Magen David of West Deal. Thirty years later, Rabbi Labaton remains a beacon not only to his congregants, but to the entire Syrian-Sephardic community.
Rabbi Ezra Labaton has been a constant in my life for over thirty years. He was my family and synagogue Rabbi at Congregation Magen David of West Deal. He was my teacher at Hillel Yeshiva High School. He was my counselor for many life choices including decisions that impacted career, education, and family. He was my mentor in community service and in how to lead a congregation. He was my neighbor. He was the Sandak for my son, Joshua. He was my hero as he dealt with stresses and challenges of all sort with dignity and determination.
During a movie our attention is focused on the acting, scenery and the plot. After a movie, the credits roll giving most of the recognition to the actors and actresses. We rarely notice the names of the director, construction crew or backstage help. Observing the work of everyone who toils tirelessly behind the scenes increases appreciation for the director and his crew. The backstage workers are responsible for the music, clothing, makeup, sound effects and the scenery picked perfectly by the design crew. The writers, director and everyone else who works behind the scenes deserve most of the credit for a successful movie.
It was the morning of the New York Marathon. Everything was going according to schedule, but sometimes even the best laid plans can have pitfalls. I woke up energized and refreshed in Staten Island. A friend recommended I stay in a hotel there to avoid the hassle of getting up super early to scramble to the start line with the other 50,000 runners. It seemed to have paid off because I awoke refreshed at 8:00 and I didn’t have to be there until 10:30.
The Shehebar Sephardic Center (SSC) held a three day rabbinical conference in which 17 rabbis from 11 countries gathered to discuss 21st century problems faced by Diaspora rabbis. The rabbis—graduates of the SSC—hailed from Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, Columbia, the Philippines, Israel and the United States.
An official ground-breaking ceremony for the Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial took place recently at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. Ohio will be the second state after Iowa to have a Holocaust memorial constructed on state grounds. Governor John Kasich attended the ceremony along with memorial designer Daniel Libeskind. Kasich first called for a Holocaust memorial to be built at the Ohio Statehouse in 2011. The $2 million project is expected to be completed in April 2014.
Yehuda Bauer, a pioneer of Holocaust studies, and Xu Xin, who introduced the subject to universities in China, participated in a discussion hosted by USC Shoah Foundation—The Institute for Visual History and Education. Chinese Professor Xu Xin became a scholar in Jewish literature before he ever met a Jew. Czechoslovakian-born Yehuda Bauer has long been regarded as a pioneer in Holocaust studies.
