Farewell Memory Ben Wecht

The first time I met Rabbi Jamie, which was also the first time I stepped foot inside Temple Sinai despite having grown up right around the corner, was at a Purim carnival sometime in the early 90s. I was strolling from game to game, minding my own business, when a strange man in a jester's hat and, I believe, a clown outfit, came up to me, shook my hand and shouted, "Happy Purim!" Little did I know that within this festive exterior lurked a scholar, an orator, a Zionist, a spiritual adviser, a musician and a man of unusual heart, mind and soul.

Years later, Rabbi Jamie honored and engaged me by inviting me to develop Temple Sinai's first literary journal, which I edited for three years running. Kol HaNeshama, though now defunct (or, perhaps, just on hiatus), presented congregants with a welcome opportunity to give voice to their own spirits through poetry, essays, short fiction, photography and painting. More than that, as I was not yet in the practice of participating in regular worship services, it gave me a means of getting to know my fellow congregants and of feeling that I had both a role to play and a spiritual home at Temple Sinai. 

More recently, when my mother-in-law's health began to decline precipitously a few years ago, I was introduced to Rabbi Jamie's pastoral side and the comfort he can and does bring to individuals and families in need. From his visit with the late Linda Bushkoff on her death bed, where he held her hands and sang to her, to his meeting with me, my wife, and other family members to discuss practical aspects of the funeral and shiva, to his conduction of her graveside service, his care and attention helped us all through a tough time. 

Rabbi Jamie will be missed, but thanks to memories like these, he will never be forgotten.