Mining for Gold: Essays Exploring the Relevancy of Torah in the Modern World

By Rabbi Daniel Cohen Ed.

Most of us would agree that we want to live a successful life. But what constitutes a successful life? How do we measure a life well lived?

Mining for Gold: Essays Exploring the Relevancy of Torah in the Modern World focuses on these questions of lifes values. Editor Rabbi Daniel Cohen has compiled essays from twenty leading rabbis in North America and Israel to reveal how the gold standard of living well can be reached in the modern world. Their conclusions find that ultimate wealth comes from having a good name or a virtuous character. The time to earn that good name is now, not when one is lying on a deathbed. If ones life is infused with the timeless values of family, friends, faith, and goodness, the end of life will come with few regrets. In this book, new insights on amplifying these values in your life are provided.

One person who lived these values every day was Lester Gold. Mining for Gold: Essays Exploring the Relevancy of Torah in the Modern World is a tribute to his life and the timeless values he embodied. He understood that the answers to lifes mysteries emerge from the Bible, the Torah. These essays and reflections from Lesters friends and family will help you do the same.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491721360

Rabbi Daniel Cohen Ed.

Rabbi Daniel Cohen serves as senior rabbi of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, Connecticut. Throughout his career, Rabbi Cohen has sought to build Jewish community, unlock divine potential, and strengthen Jewish identity. He and his wife, Diane, have six children. For more information, visit www.rabbidanielcohen.com

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CONTENTS

Introduction And Tribute To Lester Gold

Reflections

Essays In Tribute To Lester Gold

The Value Of Family:Community And Continuity

Celebrating The Seder With Abba

Human Dignity

Half A Shabbat Shalom

Life After Death In The Torah

Taking Risks Or Embracing Them

The Value Of Honesty: God Before Me Always

The Benefits Of Beit Din Adjudication

Middot: Ethics For The Real World

The Paradox Of Living Orthodox

Closing A Website For Shabbat And Yom Tov

Right In Front Of Our Eyes

The Value Of Torah: A Way Of Life

Genesis And The Higgs Boson

Kosher Movies: Watching Movies, Religiously

Female Orthodox Rabbis? We Already Have Them!

Unity When Uniformity Is Not Possible: On The Need For Achdut Within Our Community

The Nature Of Tzedaka

Excellence

The Value Of Impact: Building A Legacy

Judaism And Going Green

A Community Of Windows Without Walls

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Goodness Leads To Godliness

Lasting Impression

Personal Tributes From Family And Friends

About The Editor

Gold Family Tree

Photos

In Tribute to

Lester Gold

Home.jpg

Eliezer ben Shmuel Yona and Chana

July 16, 1922—February 28, 2011

He was the center pole of our tent.

May his soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life.

INTRODUCTION AND TRIBUTE TO LESTER GOLD

Rabbi Daniel Cohen

T he wisest man of all time, King Solomon, observed, Better to possess a good name than good oil. It may have been written with Lester Gold in mind. Raised on the West Side in Denver with little oil to his name, he grew into the consummate family man, business leader, philanthropist, and Jew. Lester set the gold standard for the definition of a mensch.

In my over twenty years in the rabbinate I have rarely encountered a person so beloved by family, friends, business, and community as Lester. In this spirit, it is an honor for me to publish Mining for Gold in the Modern World, a tribute to the life and legacy of Lester Gold.

As is well known in Denver, Lester loved to study Talmud weekly and viewed Judaism as central to his life. He deeply believed in the principle of study leading to action. Be it in family, business, charity, or the daily routines of life, he strove to integrate the eternal messages of the Torah and life experience into a road map for life. Lester was a teacher par excellence not only in words but also in deeds. This work honors Lester by embodying his teachings as shared by family and friends and by including essays from erudite rabbis from across the country on the themes of family, business, and personal growth and their encounters with our faith and tradition.

These particular themes emerge from a well-known Talmudic passage on the ingredients for an extraordinary life. In memory of Lester, we will study the text together and learn not only from the Sages but also from Lester himself, in his own words and in reflections about him.

What is the definition of a successful life? How do we measure a life well lived?

Ironically, when a person lies on his deathbed, the answers resonate clearly. Yet then, it is too late to live life differently. As is often quoted, on one’s death bed, no one will wish he spent more time at the office. However, if one’s life is infused with the timeless values of family, friends, faith, and goodness, the end of life will bring few regrets.

Do we live by these values every day or wait until a moment of crisis to recalibrate our priorities? Lester, to his credit, lived these ideals throughout the time his soul graced our world, and for this reason, he continues to live in everyone he touched.

Lester embodied the priorities exemplified in the following Talmudic passage from the tractate Shabbat: The Sage Rava suggests that when a person dies and encounters the Almighty on the day of reckoning, God will ask him four questions.

1.  Were you faithful in business?

2.  Did you raise a family?

3.  Do you set aside time for Torah study?

4.  Did you anticipate the redemption?

Before we analyze these questions, allow me to offer a few words of background. The insight of Rava assumes the following basic tenets of Judaism.

There is a God who not only created the world but also sustains it every day. Mankind is created with a body and soul. There is an afterlife.

As stated in the first book of the Torah, Genesis, God created man in His image from the dust of the earth and instilled within mankind the spirit of life. This spirit serves as a divine honing device or consciousness, which we call the soul. This divine spark desires love, purpose, and connection. We possess free choice in every moment to follow the aspirations of our soul or the desires of our body. Judaism sees this world as an opportunity to harness the power of the soul to elevate the body and make a difference in the world. At death, the body and soul separate. The body dies but the soul lives on. Immediately after death, the Almighty evaluates the success of our time in this world by asking questions highlighting the critical components of a life well lived.

Based on these principles, Rava’s insight gains more resonance. The meeting between God and man at the end of life affirms the centrality of four dimensions of existence: honesty, family, Torah values, and impact. The questions crystallize the essence of life and one worthy of memory. In my humble opinion, when Lester met his Maker, he could answer yes, yes, yes, and yes to each of these four penetrating and timeless questions.

As you will read in the last section of the book, these values were synonymous with Lester. Be it with family members, friends, or acquaintances, his values shone. Unlike many people who lead bifurcated lives, with different personas and values depending on the audience, Lester was a man who achieved one of the greatest praises as expressed by the Talmud—Tocho Kebaro. His outside was like his inside: a straight person, gold inside and out.

We will explore each life-affirming question and how Lester exemplified each one.

The Value of Family

The specific question posed by God addresses whether a person has fulfilled the commandment of Be fruitful and multiply. According to many authorities, this imperative is fulfilled when a person has not only children but also grandchildren. The idea is profound. Bearing children is not simply a vehicle to promote the human race but one that advances a divine mission. Our role in this world is to be a light unto the nations and bring heaven down to earth.

We are tasked with revealing divine sparks and spreading light and love. In fact, the Hebrew word used for multiply, ravu, implies to aim or direct. In modern Hebrew, ravu signifies shooting toward a target. Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch derives from this idea the importance of ensuring that our children and grandchildren lead lives focused on a holy purpose. When this ideal carries through for a third generation, i.e., grandchildren, one truly realizes legacy and eternity.

Lester fully embraced his role as husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. As a rabbi in Denver for a few years, when I first met the Gold family and built relationships with multiple generations, I always sensed Lester’s unabiding love and deep commitment to their spiritual future.

Love of family begins with love of one’s wife. Lester and Cookie, otherwise known as Poppy and Gammy, were inseparable and the love of each other’s lives. Lester met Cookie when she was fourteen. At the time, Lester knew she was so young. They met on Yom Kippur in front of the old Alliance synagogue on the west side of Denver. From that day on, Lester understood that if you treat your wife like a queen, she will treat you like a king. They possessed an ideal love. Their love transcended the physical and embodied a meeting of the minds and souls with common vision and values. Thank God, they were married for sixty-five years. As described by the family, they possessed the greatest love story.

When I spoke with Cookie, she shared with me the following story reflective of the joy in their marriage. Lester and Cookie loved to dance. In the later years, when it was more difficult to walk and they lived in Shalom Park together, Lester called out to Cookie one day from the living room, Do you hear them playing our music? Do you suppose we can dance? Cookie responded, I cannot hear the music. Lester thought it was so funny. We had such a fun life together, Cookie told me. Their love for each other served as a model for their family. Lester’s favorite restaurant was Cookie’s kitchen, and he never missed an opportunity to thank her. He was the consummate gentleman.

Within his family, his principled living deeply affected his children and grandchildren. He loved each one unconditionally but expected them to be true to his values. At times he may have come across as hard on them, but they recognized the wisdom of his ways. It changed their lives. His children and grandchildren did not want to disappoint him.

They all wanted to be in Lester’s army. Their reverence for Poppy stemmed from his love and belief in them. Lester sought to push them all to transcend life’s struggles and be their best.

The Value of Honesty

In Jewish mystical thought, one of the names of God is truth—emes. If we are to amplify God’s presence in the world, every action must reflect this reality. The values of honesty and integrity must reign supreme. A reputation takes a lifetime to build but one moment to destroy.

How do we know if a person possesses a good name? We know if everyone can say that he is a mensch. A stellar character brings glory to God’s name in the world. To his credit, Lester’s life encapsulated this ideal in so many ways.

The following speaks to the depth and breadth of his soul. Lester

•  never uttered an unkind word;

•  lifted people up;

•  wished people the best;

•  delighted in others’ accomplishments;

•  gave people the benefit of the doubt;

•  was inclusive, tolerant, resilient, and pragmatic; and

•  led by example.

He taught through his words and by example. As you will read in the family reflections, he captured life’s truisms in Lesterisms, as his family called them. For instance, in reflection of his commitment to honesty Lester would say, Drive between the white lines. The message was not one of vehicular acumen but a statement of values. Do not determine your behavior based on whether you will get caught, but rather on a timeless set of principles. Once you make an exception to a rule you live by, it is not a rule anymore. If you do not follow the rules in an uncontrolled environment and you will be forced to follow someone else’s in a controlled environment. He understood that your word and reputation had to be gold.

Here are a few more Lesterisms that signify his character and spirit.

•  If you tell a lie, you better have a great memory.

•  Best way to double your money is to fold it over.

•  The harder I worked, the luckier I got. (In Lester’s world, there were no shortcuts.)

•  Never be in business with a cash register.

•  Touch all the bases.

•  Borrow money when you can get it, not when you need it.

•  Shoot a round of golf over one hundred and you have no business on the course. If you shoot under one hundred, you have no business.

Ironically, Lester shared that until sixty, he did not play much golf, as his time was devoted to Cookie and the family, business, and charity. With a smile, he once shared the story of two men playing golf. As a funeral procession went by, one of the men took off his hat. The other fellow commented that it was nice to pay respect to the deceased, and without skipping a beat, the man replied, She was a good wife to me.

Lester’s business success emerged from his character and the value he placed on relationships and trust. As he shared at his seventieth birthday party, After knowing your business and doing it well, we could never have achieved our level of success without relationships. We required a lot of capital. We were able to secure money from banks when others were not because of our reputation. People invited us into deals because they trusted us. As Debbie recalled about her father, If you do the right thing, you will succeed.