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Jewish Community News
Obituaries: February 2006
Obit
Harry Goldman
Harry Goldman passed away at age 81 on December 30, 2005. Born in St.
Louis, Missouri, Harry was a very committed and proud Jew. He believed
and practiced involvement.
As a very young man, Harry found his own path to Jewish identification.
Without his parents’ knowledge, Harry found a rabbi to train for
bar mitzvah. Later he enlisted in the U.S. Airforce to fight Hitler. After
the war, Harry married a dedicated Jewish partner, Marion, and fathered
three sons: Marshall, David and Evan. Harry and Marion both practiced
action, not words, and were never satisfied with what they’d done
yesterday.
A few years after moving to San Jose in 1960, Harry found his way to Congregation
Sinai. He recognized, with a little ‘push’ from Rabbi Twersky,
the importance of taking, not sending, his sons to synagogue. Initially
for his children (“so they should at least have the experience and
be able to choose”), Harry suffered through a service he did not
understand, generally rejecting ‘ritualism.’ But later he
grew to love the warm and hamish nature of Sinai and its people. He devoted
himself to the synagogue, serving in many roles including two years as
president. His best and true friends were all from this community.
But more than anything else, Israel was his cause and passion. His priorities
were clear: support the Jewish people and Israel. He actively supported
two sons in Israel, gave to Israel and the synagogue much more money than
he could afford, made a few dozen trips to Israel, and longed himself
to make ‘aliyah.’
Harry took great pride in having his grandchildren call him “Saba.”
It gave him a connectedness to Israel that he cherished.
The message of naaseh venishma (first do, and then find understanding)
was Harry’s motto—with or without God at his side.
Donations may be made in Harry Goldman’s honor to Congregation Sinai-Building
Fund.
Obituary Submissions
If you have news to include in this column, please contact Donna Frankel. You can call Donna at (408) 257-3455.
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