Farewell Memory Michele Clarke

The Essence of My Sinai

Our first meeting with this welcoming, extraordinary man made us feel that we may have found a religious home.

So how did we meet him? And why?  In the early 90s at the YMCA Camp Deer Valley, my husband and I were playing bocci against another couple. And I had to pair with the other woman as we were both too noisy for our husbands to partner with us.

When my partner made a particularly bad throw, she said, “Oy veh;” I looked at her and said, “Are you Jewish?” She said, “Yup!” And I said that I was, too. It turned out that neither of our husbands were Jewish, and they even were negative about any religious affiliation. So we had a common ground to meet: marriage and enthusiasm.

As the week at camp progressed, I shared that my husband and I had agreed to raise our children with a Jewish identification and that I was raised with a strong Jewish secular background. I was seeking a shul that would help me to teach our children the values and background of Judaism. I had researched many places in the Pittsburgh area but had not found a religious “home.” We were looking for a school setting that would not criticize or dismiss our own beliefs. We were not sure how we would fit in with the other aspects of the temple. Temple Sinai seemed like a place to take the risk.

Mimi, as in Botkin, enthusiastically told me about her temple and her relatively new rabbi. She invited us to attend the open house in early September. She shared with both Garth and me that Alex, while he did not attend often at Temple Sinai, always felt comfortable and welcome. It was a congregation that was open to many diverse ideas and practices within Reform Judaism and the leadership of Rabbi Jamie Gibson.

Gibson? Seriously? Was he Irish? Garth is English and Irish.  What is this about?

We decided to go the open house, meet the people and the Rabbi. Mimi promised to meet us, so Garth and I felt more comfortable walking into something entirely foreign to both of us.

The building was warm and welcoming, the people were friendly and open to newcomers. But the rabbi was amazing. In just a short conversation when he listened to our concerns and made us feel that this was a sanctuary that we could feel comfortable giving a try.

I knew little about Reform Judaism as I had exposure to secular and conservative beliefs as a child. We signed our boys, Adam and David, up for school and along the way learned so much ourselves. I cautiously entered the world of Reform Judaism learning and practice. And when David was bar mitzvah, our oldest son, Terry, was in attendance on the bimah. Knowing Terry’s history, Rabbi Gibson told him that he shared David’s bar mitzvah as well. Jamie’s Inclusiveness and understanding of our personal family story made me cry with joy.

I do not have to tell Jamie how I have grown as a person and a Jew, nor do I have to tell him and those at Temple Sinai that I am committed to the future of temple. This came to into being because of a man with a good heart, an inclusive system of belief and a love of our religion.

You will be missed, my Yoda.