When my father died at the age of 53 from a heart attack in 1959, the last image I had of him was him saying good night to my brother and me as he stood in the doorway between our darkened bedroom and his backlit bathroom in naked silhouette. Early the next morning, long before my brother and I awakened, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital, and 24 hours later my mother informed me of his death using these words: “Daddy is no more!” I cried as I’d never cried before and rarely since. I’ll never forget that moment.

Since his passing, I’ve lived a long life of study, reflection, spirituality, Jewish learning, liberal Zionist and human rights activism. My Dad’s lasting image in that doorway will never go away, and through my memoir “From the West to the East – A Memoir of a Liberal American Rabbi” I sought to crystallize images of my life for my sons and grandchildren as I discussed many issues of concern in my own life and in the life of the communities I served as a rabbi in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Hollywood.

I’ll be traveling on a book tour this fall and winter, and if I am in your city, I would love to meet you at one of the following:

-Friday Evening Shabbat, November 15, 6 PM – Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Seattle, WA

-Tuesday Evening, November 19, 6 PM – Stephen S. Wise Free Synagogue, Manhattan, NY

-Friday Evening Shabbat, December 6, 6 PM – Congregation Sherith Israel, San Francisco

-Friday Evening Shabbat, January 3, 6:15 PM – Leo Baeck Temple, Los Angeles

-Sunday, February 23, 10:15 AM – Washington Hebrew Congregation, Washington, DC

As we approach election day and whatever happens following November 5, your reading my Memoir may offer an opportunity to reflect on the essential values and experiences that have enabled me to cope with and address the greatest challenges facing Americans, Israelis, the Jewish people, and the world over the past 7 decades.

Thank you if you acquired already a copy of my Memoir. If not, I invite you to do so on Amazon or on the publisher’s link below (I will have books available at each of my book-talks above). Please leave a review of the book on Amazon, if you find it meaningful. If you’d like to reach out, I’d love the chance to speak in person or virtually with your community about my Memoir.

Publisher – https://westofwestcenter.com/product/from-the-west-to-the-east/

Amazon Books – https://tinyurl.com/2s43mj4p