25 Elul 5776
September 28, 2016
Dear Friends,
I was very sad to learn last night of the death of former President of Israel,
Shimon Peres. I was not alone. Shimon Peres served Israel for just about 70 of his 93 years. Although he was never elected Prime Minister (he served in that capacity several times as an appointee, not as the choice of the electorate), he probably held more political offices than anyone else in the country. And in his later years he became a highly respected, popular, and even beloved figure in Israel.
Mr. Peres was an urbane, articulate intellectual. He looked and sounded more like a philosopher than a politician.
I was fortunate to hear him speak three times.
The first time was in 2003, when I was in Jerusalem with a contingent from CJP to attend the General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations. He had recently concluded his service as Prime Minister. I expected Mr. Peres to talk about negotiations with the P.L.O., or relations between Israel and other Arab states. Instead, he spoke about nanotechnology. I had never heard of nanotechnology--yet here I was learning about it from an octogenarian!
The second time was in 2013, when I was on sabbatical in Israel. At the time, Mr. Peres was the President of Israel. One day, I joined a group of Temple Aliyah Solomon Schechter Day School students in a visit to Beit HaNasi, the President's official residence. We heard a warm, welcoming message from Mr. Peres. (I wrote about the visit on my blog,
here.)
(President Peres at Beit HaNasi)
(The TA SSDS eighth graders and I at Beit HaNasi)
The third and last time was in April 2015, when I attended the 30
th anniversary celebration of the Wexner Foundation in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Peres flew in from Israel for the evening. The highlight of the event was an interview that David Gergen conducted with him. Mr. Peres gave a lively, spirited presentation that left all of us inspired and energized by Mr. Peres' hope in the future.
"Hope in the future." That was Mr. Peres' focus. He was always trying to aim for a brighter future for Israel --- whether in politics, science, technology or international relations.
To see an illustration of Mr. Peres warmth as Israel's elder statesman, take a look at the following photograph, which I find particularly affecting. In it, Mr. Peres is comforting the child of Amotz Greenberg, a reservist who was killed early on in the Gaza War of 2014. (For more about Amotz Greenberg, about whom I spoke that fall, see
http://tinyurl.com/hfbshor.)
Below you will find a very fine short tribute to Mr. Peres written by a friend and colleague, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz.
Yehi zichro barukh.
May the memory of Shimon Peres long remain a blessing for us, for the entire household of Israel, for the State of Israel and for all humankind.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
Rabbi Carl M. Perkins
Shimon Peres (1923-2016) was one of the earliest builders of the modern State of Israel. During the course of his remarkable life, he served as the Prime Minister on two occasions, served as interim Prime Minister on two occasions, served as President of Israel, and, most important, served as an ambassador for global peace.
[His] was a voice profoundly rooted in the richness of the Jewish past while at the same time deeply in touch with the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Peres encouraged us to be agitators. "The Jews' greatest contribution to history is dissatisfaction," he once said. "We're a nation born to be discontented. Whatever exists we believe can be changed for the better!" Peres was a bridge-builder, a minister plenipotentiary for global harmony, a visionary, and above all, a mensch. But at heart, he was a dreamer. "For me, dreaming is simply being pragmatic."
As many have become cynical about peace, he kept the dream alive. "A solution of two national states - a Jewish state, Israel; an Arab state, Palestine. The Palestinians are our closest neighbors. I believe they may become our closest friends." At the same time, he never, for a moment, took the urgent needs of Israeli security for granted. During the course of his life, Peres was a major builder of Israel's military strength and strategic positioning. This was not a partisan pursuit: although he believed in military strength, he was not simply a man of the right; although he fought for peace, he was not just on the left. He chose tireless moral pragmatism over simplistic ideological purity.
May his memory be a blessing that inspires us to continue his courageous work!
Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz
