Posted on May 22, 2025
Herman J. Blumberg, Rabbi Emeritus
Temple Shir Tikva
Wayland, MA
May 16. 2025
1.(Riga Family)
How did it happen that I stand here this day, the grandson of an orthodox, Yiddish speaking, modest Jewish family from a rural village near Riga, Latvia?
How did it come to be that the pudgy kid who grew up in a store-fronted apartment on the main street of a Polish/Jewish/Negro inner city neighborhood, attended Philadelphia’s all-male, exam high school, traveled by trolly car to the University of Pennsylvania and nine decades later stand here, honored as Rabbi Emeritus of the gem of Boston’s Metro-west synagogue community?
How did it happen that my parents, unsophisticated, modest in taste, in pleasures, in lifestyle encouraged and supported my academic journey and qvelled over each step forward?
How did it happen that I was born in 1935 and enjoyed the opportunities of the first post-depression generation, gifts denied my oldest sister, born a decade earlier?
What motivated my father and mother, orthodox Jews by birth and habit, to join the German Jewish, Classical Reform synagogue — no yarmukah, no talis, very little Hebrew, heavy on Protestant style hymns – because they heard that the Sunday School was excellent?
And how did I discover in that esteemed Reform temple a TYG – a temple youth group called RSTY, that was part of MAFTY, that was part of NFTY, the Reform movement’s temple youth program, guided by a generation of young rabbis, breathing new life into the ancient words of Hosea: Pursue justice, practice kindness, walk humbly in search of the Devine?
What did I find in that world that would touch my soul, tilt my education to Hebrew study, catapult me to the Hebrew Union College and ordination as a Rabbi in Israel?
What guided my hand to draw a short stick in my HUC graduated class lottery that said, “You are an Army chaplain now.”
What force brought me to Chaplaincy school in New York twenty minutes from…
Paula Popkin and a joyful summer. Romantic? Yes. Serious? We didn’t think so.
And what inchoate feeling prompted me, only weeks into the Fall, to ask her, without forethought or planning, to marry and for Paula to respond “yes,” equally from a hidden place?
And how did I manage to find such a partner: a beautiful, intelligent, sensitive, kind, strong, courageous, modest woman as my anchor, my most cogent critic, — almost always right! — my most caring and loving friend.
How often over the past sixty plus years have Paula and I wondered: How did happen? Three devoted children, raised from promise to maturity — and now, taking over; six grandchildren in various stages of growth and struggle and discovery; physical illness and emotional pain experienced and mastered; professional success; sadness: deaths of our parents, my sisters, bothers in law, nephew, niece, cousins and friends. Sometimes we feel like we are the “last-ones-standing” and ask, “How? Why us?”
How is it that each day this nonagenarian has the privilege to affirm the words of the Psalmist:
“In old age they remain fruitful; still fresh and vibrant.”
How is it I am standing here, honored by my colleagues: Danny and Andy and Hollis and Lisa, embraced by your kind words and love, buoyed by your friendship?
And one more “How” for all of us here this evening: What alignment of need and vision and hope brought us together thirty-nine years ago: a very young Shir Tikva looking for a rabbi and an energetic rabbi, looking for a promising congregation? What prompted our founders to envision a synagogue in Wayland? How did we build this community to be a vibrant presence of Jewish life for all who choose to enter our doors?
6 A. Bat Mitzvah
6 B Vogel and HJB
I have some answers to these questions:
I am the direct heir of their courage, of their sacrifice, of their vision, of their hope.
Sholem bayis, peace within the circle of family
Gemilut hasdim, gestures of kindness, selflessness
Tzedakah, sharing one’s wealth, however modest, with those in need.
All of this the legacy handed to me. It was passed from generation to generation — extending how far back? Millenia? Sinai? – . This legacy, preserved over the generations, shaped the person I have become, that I bring to this bimah today.
There are other answers, forces that have tilted just the right way and guided me to this moment.
These timeless gifts – and many others — account, at least in part, for my being here with you at this moment.
There are still other answers: Surely, I was not a totally passive recipient of these blessings. I brought my inner self – my n’shamah — to each experience.
Where did these inner dimensions come from? I can catalogue some answers: my emotional resources, the dynamics of my family, economic and social world growing up, specific encounters in my formative years.
But each answer generates new questions, endlessly, without ultimate conclusion, until I acknowledge that rational thought will never fully answer the deepest questions of my existence.
I have come to a place of acceptance of the Mystery of Beginnings, Mystery with a capital M. I. believe that there is a Divine Mystery, beyond all understanding, at the core of existence, of my being here with you this day, of the blessings that have shaped my years. I affirm that there is a Divine Mystery at the core of existence, of my existence. With a sense of wordless gratitude, from the depths of my being, words of our tradition come to my lips again and again:
Within me there is a life force of growth and health, of healing from malady, of discovery, of hope and love. The breath of life — n’shamah – created, shaped, implanted within me. The gift of Divine energy is given for me to discover, nurture, enjoy, guard, expand. N’shamah, that enables me to experience holiness within our created world, to foster it, to add to its strength.
Baruch Atah Adonoy, Blessed is the Divine Source of Life.
12.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה