We might not be seeing fireworks this year,
but we will see a sparkle!
When we think of pre COVID-19 Friday Shabbat at TBD, we reminisce about the Matzah ball soup
Steve Bermann
simmered for our Ulpan Shabbat families, we think about Shabbat services, and I know some of our learners are missing the Brussel sprouts and broccoli, (don't tell but) otherwise known as
Rabbi Lachtman
’s office confectionary!
This evening would have been an especially sweet Friday night in which
Jan Robertson
and
Ron Robertson z”l
would have enticed us with red strawberries, blue Jello and white ice cream sundaes, and not only in honor of Fourth of July. July 6
th
2008 marked the wedding of our temple grandparents, at TBD, and since their 4
th
of July oneg of that year, their patriotic tradition of treating us in a festive decorated social hall, has made an annual mark on TBD. “Being American Jews”, is a proud statement of the Robertsons. That’s why they chose to marry at TBD, with the American dream represented in their oneg.
Ron was an American mensch because the benefit of others prevailed in his endeavors! As a free American Jew, serving our country was a value at the core of Ron’s heart. He was not drafted, but rather stepped up to serve in the American Air Force in the late 1950’s. He put himself at harm’s risk for representing American justice as a righteous American Jew in Hokkaido. America’s WW2 nuclear attack in Hiroshima left Japan vulnerable, and Ron was there to recuperate, alongside his American values. He rebuilt the Japanese infrastructure so that the country could regain independence, amidst a Rising Sun. He represented a Jewish value of serving one’s country, and providing liberty and justice to others.
The Robertson’s American-Judaic values are marked by their dedication to our temple. Following their wedding, both Jan and Ron continued their adult education at TBD, as students and teachers. Ron was Bar Mitzvahed at TBD following the wedding, and the couple have been committed to celebrating our freedom from Jewish enslavery in Egypt by contributing to our school’s model seders. Ron often put himself in the forefront of TBD's men’s club, building the temple sukkah, arranging delicacies for his fellow TBD brotherhood, fanning BBQs and lighting fireworks at TBD on the Fourth of July.
We might not be seeing fireworks this year, following our pandemic regulations (see
remarks
by
Mayor Eric Garcetti
), but we will see a sparkle. The sparkle of Ron will shine the sky, with the blessing and memory of the American-Jewish dream of independence he left behind. An anniversary of blessings Jan, and a happy and safe Fourth of July to our patriotic American readership!
Shabbat Shalom,
-
Gal Kessler Rohs
, Education Director
(image depicts Jan and Ron Robertson on TBD's Bimah, on the Friday prior to their wedding, Date: Fourth of July, 2008)
