A mentor who saw the possibilities

Remembering Paul Reichenbach (from the Temple B'nai Shalom (Fairfax Station, VA) weekly bulletin,

Paul J. Reichenbach died on Sunday after a brief bout of ALS. For many of you reading this, that name may have no significance. For some of you, you may never have heard of him, but his work had an impact on your life (as I will explain). For those of us who knew Paul, our sadness at his passing is tempered by the immense pleasure it was to work with him, shmooze with him, and dream with him. And for the world-wide community of Reform Judaism, we have lost a giant of this generation.

For over 44 years, Paul worked for the Reform Movement. Paul severed at one point as the co-director of Kutz Camp, Reform Judaism’s national teen leadership center. For decades, he oversaw the teen trips to Israel sponsored by NFTY, Reform Judaism’s youth wing. For a few years, he led the College Education Department, and then for 17 years, he was the Director of Camping and Israel Programs, overseeing the entire network of the Reform Movement’s summer camps (including Camp Harlam, where generation of TBS members have gone).

Through his work, Paul impacted literally thousands of Jewish kids. If you ever attended a URJ camp, you benefited from his deep commitment to Jewish camping. If you were a participant at Kutz, you were part of a leadership training experience that he helped shape. If you went on a NFTY-in-Israel trip, not only did he oversee all of the arrangements, plan the itineraries, hire the staff, talk with anxious parents, and troubleshoot a million little things that went wrong, he also gathered with your group at the airport to give his “adventure of a lifetime” speech and send you on your way to an incredible summer experience. And chances are that, for that summer at least, he knew your name, your parents, and your home congregation in his encyclopedic memory.

Paul was also the booming voice of the Reform movement. If you ever watched a promotional video for the Israel trips, you heard him inviting you to “walk the serpentine alleyways of the Old City.” He was also the main announcer and voice-over for the Reform Movement’s Biennial conventions. I quote him most Saturday mornings at services, as he used to begin sessions by proclaiming, “And on the 7th day, the Children of Israel silenced their electronics.”

These are important accomplishments and touched the lives of thousands of Reform Jewish kids, many of whom never knew him. But he also was a mentor, a teacher, a boss, and a role model for hundreds of people. I met Paul when I first arrived at Kutz in the summer of 1990 to begin a term as a NFTY vice-president. He was welcoming and encouraging, helping set me up for success. When I was in college and had big ideas about what Reform Judaism could do for college students, he thoughtfully listened and helped me put plans into motion. He had a real knack for seeing leadership qualities in people and a true talent at helping people develop them. Through the decades, I never worked directly for Paul, but whenever our paths crossed, he made me feel like I was an important part of his efforts to positively impact Reform Jewish youth.

Paul’s legacy lives on in the roster of those rabbis, cantors, educators, Jewish professionals, and lay leaders who continue to shape Reform Judaism today. And it lives on in the strengthened Jewish identity of the thousands of campers and Israel trip participants who might never have known his name.

As we do the work of introspection and reflection of these High Holy Days, as we think about the life we want to have in the year ahead, a life of meaning and impact, we would do well to look to Paul’s as a shining example. Zecher tzadik livrachah, the memory of the righteous is truly a blessing to us all.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David S. Widzer, D.D.