HESPED FOR DICK ISRAEL
Mona Fishbane
We have lost a wonderful friend and a sweet soul. I am honored to say a few words about Dick, and humbled by the deep sense of loss and vulnerability we all feel today. I speak for my husband Buzzy, who loved Dick, and who is in England, unable to join us in this final journey with Dick.
As I think of Dick Israel, I see his luminous smile and his eyes crinkled up with pleasure at a pun, or at a new understanding of a text, or in savoring a single malt scotch.
Dick's gutskeit, his kindness, his spirit, would shine through in the little moments. His wisdom and depth were expressed through the physical world. In his attention to the smallest of creatures, to new tastes, to the texture of things, he found the ruchaniut in gashmiyut -- the spiritual in the physical.
I associate Dick with texture-his large tallis and white knitted kipa, his collection of shofars, his appreciation of exotic mustards and of course his preparation of his own honey.
Dick as beekeeper fascinated me when I first met him -- a Jewish beekeeper? There was something mysterious, yet down to earth about Dick. He found the Divine in texts, but also in bees.
Dick's fascination with the world was matched by his intellectual curiosity. He loved a chidush, a new textual discovery. He would come to Buzzy at shul with a gleam and a smile, eager to share his latest find.
And Dick was generous with his prodigious knowledge of Jewish texts. People would often turn to Dick with their shailas, and he would graciously find the answers. A few weeks ago my mother was preparing a d'var Torah, and asked Buzzy why we can eat the bees' honey, but not the bees themselves. Buzzy was stumped and said, "I'll have to ask Dick Israel -- he'll know." Alas, Buzzy did not get to call Dick for that shaila.
Dick's passion for life was expressed as well in his love of people. He adored his family, and would light up at the mention of his children and grandchildren. Those of us privileged to be his friends cherished his loyalty, warmth, and generosity.
And then there's Dick and Sherry. I began my relationship with them in awe. I was a college student active in Hillel, they led groups for Hillel student leaders. They were highly respected role models for us.
Over the years, as we have become friends, I have remained in awe. They opened their living room and their hearts to the egalitarian minyan in its infancy. Unobtrusive leaders in the Minyan, they joined with others of us in creating a relaxed, loving, egalitarian davenning community. I have thought of them as elders of the Minyan, though young; as leaders, though making room for others to shape and lead the Minyan as it has grown. And I appreciated Dick's ability to daven in two different places-almost at the same time-to be fully present at Shaarei Tefilla and at the Minyan. Indeed, his balancing act-and Sherry's gracious acceptance of it, has helped me appreciate Buzzy's similar complex commitments.
I have seen Dick and Sherry as soul mates, granting each other room for their differences, but deeply in love and entwined with each other. This makes the loss all the more painful for Sherry. I ache for you, Sherry. And for your wonderful children and grandchildren.
Sherry, you and Dick opened yourselves to a large community of friends, colleagues and shulrnates. And now the community has come to embrace you and your family. We have come together to grieve this gentle man, and to celebrate his life.
We have lost Dick in his gashmiyut, his physical life. His ruchaniyut, his spirit, his luminous smile, will stay in the hearts of all of us who love him.