In Memoriam: Rabbi David Forman
We invite all those who knew Rabbi David Forman to add their own memorials and comments. You can register at this site in order to post a comment. RHR-Israel also has a tribute. The moving reflections below are by former RHR-NA chair Rabbi Gerry Serotta
Reflections on the Torah and Life of Rabbi David J. Forman
My dear friend and colleague David combined a fierce hatred for intolerance and bigotry with a very gentle soul. We were Chairs of RHR and RHR-NA together and long before that we were soulmates in opposing the Vietnam War and fighting for civil rights in the US South in the 19 60's and 70's. I heard him speak about Judaism and Human Rights dozens of times and virtually every time he spoke he mentioned two texts, one from Deuteronomy and one from Abraham Joshua Heschel, "justice, justice shall you pursue," and that "in a free society, while some may be guilty, all are responsible."
Although David spent his entire adult life as an activist in truth he really wasn't a political person, and although he wrote several books I wouldn't have called him an intellectual. He was a person whose heart and direct personal life experience simply drove him in the direction of the pursuit of justice. He felt he had no choice. Almost every time he spoke he also told two personal stories. One was about one of his daughters, who innocently wore a t-shirt advocating freedom of the press, and who was aggressively hassled at the Jerusalem bus station by right wing activists and forced to change her clothes in public This was one of the prime motives for David to stand up fiercely for civil liberties and human rights in Israel. And second, he would describe his experiences in the artillery corps druing the first war in Lebanon and the agonizing moral choices that he and his friends had to make in distinguishing between innocent civilians (who might actually be human shields) and dangerous combatants. He never left these emotionally complex situations behind as he struggled to define a moral course for himself, for his family, and for the State of Israel which he loved more than anything other than his family and his sense of justice.
David was much more Hosea than Amos in person although when he took up his pen Amos reappeared. This is what he once wrote about the then Prime Minister Arik Sharon, including his most frequently quoted texts:
"Israel has always prided itself in the notion of the “purity of the arms.” This principle has enabled us to build a wall of moral protection against the corruptive influence that any war can have, even a war, which is determined to be morally necessary, like our war on terrorism...The concept of “purity of arms” has turned into a philosophy of “casual concern for non-combatants.” And while one can understand the emotional reaction of a soldier to the death of a colleague, especially in the course of battle, military discipline must contain the natural desire for revenge. The reason that commanders in the field are providing a knowing wink to such aberrant behavior is because there is an approving nod from the highest echelons within the military establishment, which leads directly to the prime minister himself.
"For me, a simple soldier, who fought in the Lebanon War, it is clear that the breakdown of the army ethic that embraced the “purity of arms,” formally began in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps. For Arik Sharon, his disregard for the ethical dimension of warfare began well before June, 1982 – in Gaza, in Kibya. But then, the impact of his immoral ways was only felt on the platoon level. During the Lebanon War, his impact was universal, for now he was Israel’s Defense Minister. But his total disrespect for the “purity of arms” caught up with him, as he was summarily dismissed from his position, as the slaughter of innocent Palestinian refugees was carried out under his watch, under his knowledge, and no doubt, with his encouragement.
"It is twenty years later, and once more, Sharon has assumed a position of power where he can set the standards of Israeli warfare. And that which has guided him throughout his military career, reaching its shameful climax during the Lebanon War, has dictated the way in which he has ordered the IDF to pursue its war against terrorism – with complete contempt for the moral standards that have been at the core of the Israeli army since its formation. Thus, we witness daily the indiscriminate murder of Palestinian civilians: not those caught in a cross-fire, but the sixty-five-year old woman crushed to death in a home demolition and the two-and-a-half-year old child shot dead while playing outside his home.
"For our prime minister, “all is fair in love and war.” Well, we have a Jewish answer to such a crass aphorism: “Justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy. 16:20). The rabbis tell us that the word justice appears twice in order to tell us that a just cause must be pursued by just means. This biblical command is the forerunner of the IDF’s concept of “purity of arms,” which has been trampled by Mr. Sharon.
"The world community may want to charge Mr. Sharon with war crimes because of his role in the Sabra and Shatilla massacre, but it is we, who should charge him with crimes of war because of his violation of the binding moral principles of the IDF that should have prevented that horror then and should prevent the continued killing of innocents now. For undermining the moral integrity of the Jewish people, Ariel Sharon stands accused in the court of Jewish decency. And for those of us who stand silent, in the words of the great Jewish theologian, Abraham Joshua Heschel: “If we are not all guilty, we are all responsible.”
In a obituary published this week in the Jerusalem Post (where David was a regular contributor) some of the highlights of his career were listed and our RHR Executive Director, Rabbi Arik Ascherman was aptly quoted:
"Forman founded Rabbis for Human Rights in 1988, and was its chairman between 1988 and 1992 and between 2002 and 2003. He held a number of key leadership positions during his rabbinic career, including director of the Israel office of the Union for Reform Judaism (1976-2003), where he led the struggle for religious pluralism in Israel. Before that, Forman was chairman of Interns for Peace (1984-1986), founding chairman of both the Jerusalem Council for Soviet Jewry (1973) and the Cincinnati Council for Soviet Jewry (1970), vice chairman of Seminarians for Peace, and a member of Clergy and Laity against the War in Vietnam (1968-1972). In 1964, he joined the Freedom Riders civil rights activists in challenging the US South’s Jim Crow laws and the noncompliance with a US Supreme Court decision that prohibited segregation in all public interstate transportation facilities.
“Rabbi Forman was simply one of those people who stood up for what he believed in, and used the incredible respect and trust that he had from Jews in Israel and in North America, where he was known due to his long-term work bringing youth to Israel and raising generations of rabbis and leaders, to also take a stance on issues that were sometime controversial,” Rabbi Arik Asherman, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, told the Post on Tuesday. “He acted first and foremost out of a deep and passionate Jewish belief in human rights, stemming from the idea that we were all created in God’s image.”
For those who knew David personally we also have in mind his beautiful family, including his son-in-law, our RHR colleague Rabbi Michael Schwartz, the first Rosh Yeshivah of RHR's Human Rights Yeshiva (a project that was spearheaded by David himself) and now RHR's Director for Development. We in RHR-NA and throughout the Jewish world and beyond send his family all of our deepest condolences and our deepest appreciation that they generously allowed us to share in David's great teachings of word and deeds. His wisdom will endure because it was rooted in his acts of redifat tzedek v'shalom.
Following are words shared by the family:
"With great sorrow, we would like to tell our family and friends that our beloved David J. Forman (z"l) died on Monday, May 3, 2010.
He was a wonderful husband to Judy
father to Tamar, Liat, Shira and Orly
grandfather to Binyamin, Yarden, Zohar, Sivan, Tal, Shani and Nitai
brother to Jim and Bill
uncle to Ben, Gabi, Jon, Ruti, Shiffy, Esti, Gali, Moshe, Gerry, Elllie and Nati
father-in-law to Michael, Eran and Gabe
brother-in-law to Debby, Mayer, Danny, Ossie, Michael and Martha
son-in-law to Mom and Dad Haberman [ Rabbi Joshua and Maxine Haberman ]
And he will be missed by many more who were blessed to have him as a colleague, a teacher, a rabbi, and a friend."
May the Holy One grant that his family and all of us who mourn be consoled among the other mourners within Zion and Yerushalaim and among the peoples of the world.
Gerry Serotta
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Recollections
My vivid memory of David was theyear he spent ion Boston way back inthe 80"s, and his teaching in the Solomon Schechter Day school of Greater Boston. He was truly an asset to have on the staff, and we were very fortunate to have his wisdom.
I loved getting to know him that year.
Hamkaom yenachem . .
Josh Elkin
Very sad news
All of us who fight for human rights in great ways and small can draw inspiration from Rabbi Forman's strength and perseverance. We have lost a great heart. My deepest sympathies. Chuck
David Forman
In the winter of 1998-9, I had the great privilege of learning with David and with Melitz to become a mechanech for a NFTY group. David's confidence in me, as a 1st year rabbinical student, meant so much. His knowledge about and passion for Israel have forever impacted my life. His challenge to all Jews, that Israel must be a beacon, a shining light of social justice will forever be a light for us to follow and to radiate. May the Holy One grant David and his family, blessings of peace, of comfort, of love, of compassion and of the inspiration that David transmitted to everyone who was in his midst.
Rabbi Meir Feldman, Temple Beth-El, Great Neck, NY
Remembering and Honoring the Memory of David Forman z"l
I exclaimed with pain and sadness when I read this notice of David's death. He was my boss when I worked for NFTY in Israel in the 1970's, and later he recommended me for a job in the Prime Minister's Office. He was a friend, a mentor and teacher, and I remember his kindness, his thoughtfulness, and his gentle wisdom with so much love. The Pesach seder I spent with him, Judy and the girls in 1978 remains memorable. I was alone in Israel that year, the holiday had come, and I was deeply missing my family in the States. David noticed my loneliness and invited me, at the last minute, to come home with him. The many hours of seder, of reclining on pillows on the floor and singing and sharing stories, was so much different than what I was used to. It influenced me deeply. Today, as a rabbi, that seder and his kindness remain memorable. David inspired me with his energy, his smile, and the bounce in his step. I join Rabbi Meir Feldman in asking K"BH to grant David's family blessings of peace, comfort, love, and compassion as we remember the inspirational force that David was in this world.
Rabbi Nancy Epstein, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Philadelphia, PA
David as a kid
My siblings and I lived in the house next door to David's on Woodfall Road in Belmont Massachusetts. David played touch football with us on our front lawn. I don't recall who used to win, but the games were always fun. Interestingly, in our adult lives we all seem to have given up on football, but my sisters and brother and I, like David, all have nurtured intense interests in Israel and in all things Jewish.
May David's legacy of love for Israel and for our Jewish heritage last throughout the generations of his children, their children, and those who will follow.
Susan McCrensky Heitler, Denver
Rabbi David Forman
He is a great light for all humanity. He will alway be with us. Like Gandi, Martin Luther King and Dali Lama he truely understood the power in non violence.His life is an example to all of us and we are the richer for it.
Love to All
Larry Bolgar
David Forman, z"l
Barukh Dayan haEmet, I knew David at HUC in Cincinnati, where I was a couple of years ahead of him. David was earnest, fun, witty, challenging, and in some ways a thorn in the side of the administration. David, and if I remember correctly (this was 40 + years ago), Bruce Cohen, and a friend who was in the Christian Scholars' program, Sean Warner, wrote and edited a kind of underground journal titled HUC-U News, which poked fun and raised questions . . .
I have a memory of seeing David one Winter break in Boston, and I think we went to David's parents home near the Statehouse / Boston Commons in Boston.
Over the years I only saw David on one or two occasions . . . our paths took different trajectories . . .
He was a good man, hardworking, dedicated, sincere, and very, very humorous.
My sincere condolences to David's family. HaMakom y'nahem . . . he leaves wondeful memories for many people.
David J. Zucker
Goodbye, David
I went to school in Belmont, Massachusetts with David Forman where we were part of a group of
Jewish kids who went to Hebrew School , Sunday school, and regular school together.
We weren't particularly close then, but in the last several years we have been e-mailing each other
because I was fascinated with how David's life had turned out. I really admire his committment and passion
for human rights, and as the aunt of 2 Israeli children, one of whom is currently serving in the army, I had a
particular interest in his "take" on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
But here's what I really want to say: when I began to correspond with David, the FIRST thing he did was
send me a photograph of his extended family in Israel and tell me, with great pride, who each of them was , where they lived, what they did, etc. This was clearly what mattered most to him, despite all of his impressive professional achievements, the books he wrote, the lectures he was giving, the organization he founded, etc. We planned to get together at my home in Princeton last May. For some reason that I can't even remember now, I needed to cancel that, and I will always regret it. Because of course I didn't understand that I wouldn't be getting a second chance. David was a man who had his priorities straight and he dedicated his life to what he thought was right and what he believed in.
What a legacy, and what a loss to his family, to Israel, and to the rest of us. Jane
The Walk and Talk
I met David in the fall of 1987 as I began my first year and visit to Israel. He ran NFTY programs and he had that certain quirk and sparkle in his eye that made you believe that he was just meshugenah enough to believe some of the stories he would tell.
Beyond the character there was the man and the rabbi. If memory serves me correct, he was an artillery brigade officer, yet he also strove to make teaching part of his army service. He walked a path of righteousness in a difficult place and thus his words and actions wove together.
David was justice with a voice and his silence will be missed.
Jim Egolf
david
i met david when i was a sr. in hs in cincinnati(1970) and he was an huc-jir rabbinical student.he led several activities i attended at the time at temple sholom youth group(cinti) and at theovfty(ohio valley fed of temple youth) summer camp in zionsville,indiana.(when i was a madricha there).i remember many "heavy-duty",intense late night discussions with him and others re:how we were going to change the world for the better.(sometimes even with loud words and tears,but always ending in peaceful resolution).i then reconnected with david(and now judy) during the year i spent @wujs inst. in arad(1974-75).i spent a shabbat with them in their apt in jerusalem then and recall comiserating with them that they had yet to recieve their home telephone(see how long ago that was...).i unfortunately haven't been back to israel since 1975,nor been in contact with the formans.so he did change the world for the better;i'm not surprized.my condolences to judy(if she even remebers me).i think they had infant twin daugters then too.(i thought of them as urban chalutzim!).i want to continue the tikkun olam that david began love,deanna rosen,4703 wallace ln,slc,ut84117:deanna.rosen@comcast.net
Love is for all humans, enviroment and animals.
True heroism is remarkably sober,
very undramatic. It is not the urge to
surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever
cost. - Arthur Ashe
David Forman
In so many ways, when my class arrived at HUC in Jerusalem in 1973, we made it through that year because of David's support. He guided us through the realities of the Yom Kippur War so that we could, on the one hand, do what we could to become one with Israel and make our individual and collective contributions, and, on the other hand, gain a greater sense of what the purpose and responsibilities of a "Jewish State" really are. He was kind and caring to all of us "adults" who, even in our better moments, were all a bit unsettled, to say the least, in that particular year. He kept us in focus as individuals, as Jews, as humans and as rabbis and educators to be. David was a tremendous role model for us and continued to be such as we became his colleagues. To his family, my most sincere condolences in this difficult time. May the strength of his legacy of love and commitment bring you comfort.
Neil Comess-Daniels
Beth Shir Sholom, Santa Monica, CA
Shalom! My sincere thanks
Shalom! My sincere thanks to Rabbi David Forman for his labor of love to bring peace to our world. Heartfelt sympathy feelings to his family too. Rabbi David Forman will be sorely missed.
Carlos A. Gomez
Titusville, Florida
I am among the rabbis who
I am among the rabbis who first met David in his capacity as Dean of Students at HUC‑JIR in Jerusalem. In that role, he helped orient many an unworldly rabbinic student to transcend the sometimes aggravating details of an unfamiliar culture so we could come to survive, even embrace, it. He also taught basic liturgy and insisted that we understand the words we prayed. He and Judy also generously opened their home to scores of students over the years, generosity undimmed by their own struggles to eke out a livelihood and grow their beautiful family. In later years, he extended the same ready invitation of hospitality and help to my son and so many other children of his friends and colleagues as they passed through Jerusalem.
Over the years, my admiration for David's inspiring courage, his prophetic voice, and his down‑to‑earth accessibility has grown enormously. More and more, I came to value his lack of guile and his unflinching promotion of the highest of Jewish ethical values without ever denying the challenging nature of the circumstances in which an Israeli Jew is often called to practice them. I often had David in mind when struggling to articulate my own version of a Zionist passion that permits and even insists on self‑criticism but also names anti‑Jewish hatred where it exists. David also impressed me with his ability to exhibit passion for social justice untinged by self righteousness. I think his well honed sense of humor and his refined sense of irony enabled him to maintain a rare degree of equanimity while he unflinchingly marched to the head of so many just causes.
Among many, I will miss David's friendship and good council while feeling the deepest appreciation for having known this remarkable man whose good works live on and whose life continues to inspire. Zichrono L'vracha.
Rabbi David Forman--Thank You
A great soul living from the heart of love.
OUR LEADER
A man of vision and insight. Let us hope that his wisdom lives on to enlighten us all.
Hugs to the family.
Ethical Peoplehood
I was very sad to hear of David's untimely death.
I was always deeply moved by David's commitment to ethics as the core of his Judaism. One of the first times I met him was on one of the first RHR missions to plant trees in Israel. David gave a talk on our first night in which he spoke so passionately about the Jewish imperative to be a collective in which ethical conduct is the core component, as he put it, " to rise above the common denominator" . He deeply believed that the essence of Judaism was about justice and ethics. He was a passionate Zionist and believed deeply in an ethical Zionism. It was this passion for justice and his love of Israel that led him to found Rabbis for Human Rights.
It is a great tribute to him that Rabbis for Human Rights continues to embody this Jewish vision that was so dear to him.
Over the years he would always tell me with great pride about his family. As someone who immigrated to Israel it was such a delight to see his children and grandchildren fully integrated into Israeli society.
Much love to all the members of his family, may God and the love of community and friends comfort you with all who are mourning in Israel and the world.
His memory will always be a blessing,
Brian Walt
DAVID FORMAN'S OBIT.
IT WAS WITH SORROW THAT I LEARNED OF RABBI FORMAN'S PASSING.
THE SLOGAN, '' NEVER FORGET" SHOULD ALSO APPLY TO THE MEMORY OF THE GOOD DEEDS OF PEOPLE LIKE HIM.
IT IS UP TO ALL OF THOSE WHO KNOW THE WORK HE DID ,POLITICS ASIDE, TO KEEP HIS VALUES ALIVE.
MAY HIS FAMILY FEEL THE LOVE AND RESPECT THAT SO MANY ARE SENDING THEM.
VERA (ETTA) DE RUVO
When I was on EIE, Rabbi
When I was on EIE, Rabbi Forman came to talk to us about Rabbis for Human Rights, how it was formed and its work. It was one of the most memorable nights of the semester. I was also lucky enough to have Rabbi Forman's son-in-law Gabe as a teacher on EIE the semester his grandson Nitai was born. Their entire family is filled with kind people. I was lucky enough to experience that kindness for 4 and a half months.
May Rabbi Forman's memory a blessing
a great loss
I was a student at HUC with David. He was a year behind me. While at HUC, I knew David to be witty, irreverent, and extremely astute. He was never afraid to say what he thought and felt and to share his views on many subjects. Over the years, he and I saw one another infrequently-sometimes in Israel and sometimes when he came to the states to speak on behalf of Rabbis for Human Rights. In many ways he didn't change-when we saw one another he had the same qualities I remember him having at HUC. However, in other ways he changed immeasurably. He became a voice for human rights in Israel, taking Jewish values and applying them to what he perceived as unjust in the Jewish State. He wrote beautifully. He loved Israel and his love never faltered. For me he was one of the "G'dolei ha-dor" and it was my privilege to know him.
I offer my condolences to his family which was the center of his life. He will be missed by all.
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