I’m writing this after an hour-long Zoom reunion with a number of my classmates who were ordained in 1972. Ours was a most interesting class inasmuch as the person who was the Admissions Director the year we entered served only that year. The faculty said at the time that his was one of the best classes they had ever seen.

But how was “best” defined? Good looks? Maybe. But what they had in mind was cohesiveness. So many of us became good friends across the years we were at Hebrew Union College and remained so. As a matter of fact, a few years ago about a dozen of us went back to Cincinnati for a reunion. We visited places at which we hung out as students; we met with the faculty members under whom we studied. Well, we met with the one faculty member still alive. We intended to visit the others, but it was pouring that day making the cemetery visit impossible.

I have the distinction of being the only member of our thirty-six-member class who remained in the same rabbinic position (pulpit or organization) throughout our careers and also had the same spouse. Some had one or the other, but not both. Every now and then one of our classmates comments on that.

I count my lucky stars that I and Suzy are relatively healthy as are our children and grandchildren. Some of my friends have had some major medical issues, and some of their wives, kids and g’kids have also. But we all look the same as we did when Millard Fillmore was president; only those around us got older.

In 2022 we will be celebrating the Golden Anniversary of our ordination. I remember vividly how we used to gather at our annual conventions looking at the rabbis being honored for their fifty years in the rabbinate. We would comment on their ancient look, how they were probably ordained with Moses himself. Well, if the young whippersnappers dare think the same about us in 2022 we’ll run over them with our walkers and beat them to a pulp with our canes!

Im yirtzeh HaShem, God-willing, we’ll all be around to celebrate