When I grow up...
Rabbi Jerry remembers Harvey
A young and strapping Harvey Schechter (courtesy of UCSB)
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter...
Harvey was brilliant, compassionate and dedicated. He had a wonderful sense of humor, loved his Jewishness and helped make this a better world....and, he played the piano.
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
Harvey was born in Brooklyn, as was I. He was a fierce Dodger fan, as I am. He went to Thomas Jefferson H.S. as did I, He excelled in his studies, as I did - not, and he attended University of Santa Barbara.....I went to NYU.
He carried his love for baseball throughout his life, even attending Dodger Fantasy Baseball Camp at age 70.
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
Harvey completed his undergraduate studies while living and working on a ranch in Rancho Oso near the UCSB campus. Harvey was a celebrity on campus where he arrived daily on his trusted horse "Chica". Ever passionate about education, Harvey became a trustee at the University of Santa Barbara in 1996, a position he held to his death.
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
In September of 1950, Harvey met his future wife, Hope Mendoza, while working on a grant proposal for the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union where Hope was employed.
They married on March 20, 1955 in San Marino, CA and in 1959 they purchased their first and only home in Sherman Oaks, CA. That San Fernando Valley home served as a backdrop for many memorable backyard parties, weddings, and Seders.
In 1952 Harvey started his long and illustrious career with the Anti Defamation League. Harvey joined The Creative Arts Temple about 40 years ago. Our Board meetings were held at his ADL office. We'd bring sandwiches and discuss how to reach our goal for Tikun Olam - the repairing of the world.
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
Many years ago, I asked Harvey to speak at a High Holiday service. After his first sermon, our congregation asked that he speak every High Holiday. No Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur went by without a sermon from Harvey. When he spoke, God's angels came down to listen. His sermons were enlightening, informative, powerful and delivered by a master spokesman for the Jewish people.
When I grow older
, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
I had the honor of reconsecrating Harvey and Hope's 50th anniversary at their warm and inviting Sherman Oaks home. I have officiated at many 50th anniversaries but Harvey and Hope's was different. We signed the ketubah, they made such a beautiful couple as they appeared beneath the chupah. I said the blessings, they drank the wine, the glass was broken and we partied. It was a magical evening filled with laughter and passion. All of us hoped that the joyous mood of the night would never end.
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
When Harvey retired from ADL after 41 years, his "Schechter Sez" articles kept us informed, His High Holiday sermons made us aware of our ties to our heritage and the need to reach out. His messages were clear, his love for Judaism strong, his dedication unwavering..... We have travelled the road together and now as Harvey takes a slight detour we must remember his love for our people and his endless quest for Israel and her neighbors to live in peace.
When I grow older, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
Harvey left a legacy of a large and committed extended family and Hope. Hope for the future and Hope, that beautiful woman he married 60 years ago and needs our love and continued friendship.
During his lifetime, Harvey Schechter strove for better education, better politicians, more concern for the survival of humanity, Israel and our people. All of us who are gathered here are Harvey's legacy and are a
little better off having had Harvey in our lives. We must follow his lead and continue his dreams and most important, "stay healthy, for everything else," as a very wise man (Harvey) once said, "is bubkis."
When I grow up, I want to be like Harvey Schechter.
Much love, Rabbi Jerry
