By Josh Basson , , Seattle
Many thanks for the beautiful front page photo of Rabbi William Greenberg, rabbi emeritus of our Congregation Ezra Bessaroth taken by Daniel Levisohn (Sept. 15).
My friends and I enjoyed attending a spiritually uplifting dedication ceremony on Sept. 10 of a sefer Torah commissioned in honor of our esteemed Rabbi Greenberg, who served for 38 years before retiring in September 1990. The ceremony was followed by cocktails and a wonderful dinner.
The rabbi was unique in that he served as an Ashkenazi rabbi for so long in a Sephardic congregation, with a degree as an electrical engineer and a doctorate in education of psychology at the University of Washington. He adapted well to Sephardic customs of worship and prayers. Before being hired by the congregation he served in other states as a congregational rabbi. His son Rabbi Aryeh Greenberg learned a lot from his father and is currently the hazzan of the congregation.
Many of us were honored to contribute for the purchase of this sefer Torah, which will be used at the Sephardic camp. The rabbi was very much involved with Sephardic camp activities. He believed camp experience was different from the classroom. Bringing the religious learning to the camp with a sefer Torah could have a profound and lasting experience to our youth.
Josh Basson
Seattle