12 Jan REMEMBERING RABBI YEHUDA KELEMER ZT”L

Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer, the rabbi of the shul in which I grew up, just passed away. I want to tell you a story about Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer zt’l that I will never forget as long as I live. There had been a suicide bombing at a nightclub in Israel. Believe it was the early 2000s. Several people were killed and many more injured. Now here’s the thing: the attack took place on a Friday night, so all the people who were killed were Jews who did not observe Shabbos. I think it was the following Shabbos that we were in shul, when Rabbi Kelemer came in and interrupted our davening. He related that someone in our congregation had asked him if it’s right to daven for the victims. After all, they were publicly desecrating Shabbos! Until my dying day I’ll never forget what happened next. With tears in his eyes he said, “The fact that anyone in this congregation could even ask that question means I have failed in my role as your rabbi.” He then proceeded to daven – by name – for the soul of every single person killed, and for the recovery of every single person injured. I cannot begin to express how fortunate we who grew up in West Hempstead were to have a teacher and role model who so unfailingly displayed such boundless empathy, and who so gracefully, selflessly embraced the responsibilities of moral leadership. May his merit protect us.

Rabbi Ari Lamm is the Chief Executive of Bnai Zion and Founder of The Joshua Project.