Home Home / Tribute to Rabbi Kenneth Brander (2003)

Outline

February 9, 2003

Tribute to Rabbi Kenneth Brander (2003)

Birthdays & Tributes
View The Text

This content is currently available in its original PDF format. As we expand the library, we plan to add a text version as well.

RELATED CONTENT

Speech

Rabbi Lamm's Invocation at U.J.A. Testimonial Dinner to Mr. Jakob Michael (1959)

We pray for Thy blessing upon this assembly, gathered to do honor to one of our number by the practice of righteousness, charity and Ahavat Yisrael. Do Thou bestow the blessings of long life, happiness and continued creativity upon our esteemed guest of honor, Mr. Jakob Michael, and his beloved wife and family. His long record of brilliant achievements in commerce is matched by his many distinguished accomplishments as a philanthropist, builder of religious and educational institutions, a patron of culture and the arts and, above all, a child of G-d who has remained loyal to Torah, Israel, and the Holy Land.To us who are here assembled to pledge our continued assistance to our brethren through the U.J.A., do Thou give Bigness, greatness, and Depth: The Bigness to give without resentment; the Greatness to be grateful that we are those who give, not those who must wait to receive; and the Depth of mind and spirit to know how and why to give.Teach us to give because G-d commanded a Mitzvah, not because man declared an emergency; to give in order to avoid a crisis of the soul, rather than to alleviate a crisis in the community; to respond to the genuine inspiration of virtue, rather than to the artificial stimulus of a campaign.Grant, O Lord, that we be the agents of Thy redemption; that there no longer be in Thy land an outstretched hand, a pleading look, a broken heart; that love and plenty and happiness replace hunger and suffering and want in the world.Oseh Shalom Bimromav – Hu Yaaseh Shalom Aleinu v’al Kol Yisrael, v’imru Amen. May He who creates peace in the heavens create peace for us and all Israel and all the world, Amen.
Birthdays & Tributes

Outline

Tribute to Reb Dovid Lifschitz (1992)

Introd: Highlight of evening... our tribute to Suvalker Rav, our Rebbe R. Dovid Lifschitz שליט"א – period of ספירה... figure רשב"י. 1. גמ' סוכה (מ"ה ע"ב): ארשב"י ראיתי בני עליי' ומועטין הם. 2. Same plaint rises to our lips when we contemplate Suvalker Rav, How few/rare are the רשב"יs of our generation! 3. But singularity Guest Honor even more pronounced as ponder statement of רשב"י acc. Rav Kook: יש בני העלייה – ובני הבית. ומועטים הם בני העליי' שבמקום לשוטט במרומים ולהסתכל רק כלפי מעלה
Birthdays & Tributes

Outline

Tribute to Rev. A. Cardozo (1996)

ST: 50th wedding anniversary. How feel 50 years? Answer: Went by like 2 days – יום כיפור וט״ב... In this case: like 2 days – ר״ה ושמחת תורה. His service is both of solemnity and joy... He has preserved – and taught for future generations – the Spanish–Portuguese–Dutch version of the Sephardic musical and liturgical tradition. Qualifications for a שליח צבור: In Ashkenazic tradition – Cardozo fulfills most but not all prerequisites, as: ...זקנו מגודל. In Sephardic Halakha, as cited by R. Joseph Caro: וידקדקו לחזור אחר שליח צבור היותר הגון והיותר גדול בתורה ומעשים שאפשר למצוא... ושיהא בן שלשים שנים, גם שיהא נשוי. מיהו כל ישראל כשרים הם, רק שיהיה מרוצה לקהל; ואם יהיה לו שונא ומכוין שלא להוציאו, גם אוהביו אינם יוצאים בתפלתו — (ש״ע או״ח סי׳ תקפא–א). Bram Cardozo thus fulfills all qualifications – except that this last point is irrelevant, because not only don't I know anyone who dislikes him or his wife Irma, I can't even imagine that anyone dislikes him! Indeed, another Ashkenazi comes to mind: וקולו ערב – and he not only has sweet voice, he himself is sweetness! All of life is like a Seder... ex: מרור... With him, 3 points stand out: קדש – sanctification, dedication...; הלל – his professional responsibility; נרצה – both to God and to man, certainly this grateful congregation.
Birthdays & Tributes