Sue and David Gordon

Dear Bill,
    This is from Sue and David Gordon.

    We have some vivid memories of Dick--both things he said and things he did.

    My first (Sue here) is a S'lichot gathering, when we'd been at the Minyan only two or three (of our 10) years.  I spoke with Dick briefly during the social hour, and remarked that he'd looked more alert at other times (or to that effect.)  His response was that, yes, he was very tired, and had it not been for the piety of his wife he might not be there.  I didn't know him well at the time, but was so struck by the simple, genuine sincerity of his remark that it has stayed with me.  It didn't take me long to learn that he was VERY warm and sincere as well as very funny, a true "mensch," a truly human being, and devoted to Sherry and their children.

    After his accident, I sent an e-mail telling Dick I could empathize with the problems of recuperation after such an ordeal (cf. my own in 1996.)  He wrote back that he was having to get used to the idea of feeling frail, even though he was already up to 3 miles a day on the treadmill.  In the subsequent correspondence (which, of course, I wish I hadn't lost,) I told him I am still acutely aware of the feeling of frailty--that at any time something could happen to me.  He, true to form, sent back an account of the rebbe (Kotzker, maybe?)with his student going down a precipitous mountain road in a wagon with a driver going at breakneck speed.  The student, frightened, asks the rebbe why he doesn't seem worried, why he isn't praying.  And the rebbe replies that the danger was there all the time, we just didn't recognize it.  That simple story touched me and reminded me of how we easily forget our frailty as humans, no matter the state of our health.

    In addition to that, I remember that Sherry and Dick were among the few who made the trek from Newton to the wilds of Woburn to visit me when I was recuperating in '96.  That touched me a great deal.
    And then there was the time after we moved to Wisconsin when we wrestled with a rabbinical question.  Our rabbi comes here twice a month and yamim noraim and at that time we didn't yet know him well enough to e-mail our question.  We likely asked David's father, and our daughter Deb, but were not certain until we asked Dick his thoughts about whether it was permissible to use a pre-existing framework over the deck where we build our sukkah to support the s'chach.  He said Aliza had just asked him that question regarding their new house in California, and his opinion was that while we are instructed about what to use to cover the roof, and how to use it, we are not told anything about supporting it, so the framework would be fine.  So now, we build the sukkah on the deck and put the branches on top of the wooden framework, and it means we don't have to drag all the old wooden slats out of the garage as we've done in several previous houses.  (Incidentally, all three rabbis agreed.)

    I learned an interesting sidelight from Dick about his background.  Some may know Davida Pekarsky, who occasionally comes to the Minyan in the summer and sits quietly at the side.  Her father was Maurice Pekarsky, whose guidance got Dick into the rabbinate.  She told me she generally isn't comfortable in a large group, but she comes because her minyan doesn't meet during the summer (or didn't at the time we left.)  Dick once told me he used to baby-sit for Davida and her brother.  David is related to Davida through his mother and hers, and we used to talk on the phone occasionally when we lived in Woburn.

    David has more to tell--if he hasn't already written to you.  Dick was there when I got sick, too, but I only know it second-hand as I was pretty out of it.

    Dick's memory will always be remembered for blessing, and we share the loss of a valued friend, a special soul.