Service Information
Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills - TaNaCH Chapel
5950 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, California 90068
Service Date
October 10, 2017
Obituary Viewed 4659 times
Posted by:
Anonymous
Posted on:
October 10, 2017
Baruch and I started as business associates, probably about twenty years ago or so. He had purchased a service from the company that I was working for. Over the years, Baruch educated me on what it meant to be Jewish, the traditions that went with it, the rich history, and what it meant to be a father, a son, a brother, a citizen of the world. I’m not Jewish but I came to understand and respect what that meant. He taught me several Hebrew phrases, none of which I can dare try to pronounce, by the way. We discussed sports, politics, religion, world events, economics; all the things that are often sensitive subjects. He seemed to cherish friendships, admire loyalty, play hard, and play fair. Family was most important and his employees greatly valued. He made sure to recognize my birthday each year. An email from him earlier this year noted that my birthday falls close to Pesach and he suggested that I might want to join him for the Seder, “as we remind ourselves what it is to sit together as free men”. He was ecstatic about his niece Talia preparing her first Seder as a wife and mother, and how his brother was in seventh heaven, with his grandson. He later emailed me to tell me that Talia’s Seder was fantastic as it combined Sephardic Traditions with Ashkenazi tradition. He was amazed how the Kernel of the tradition is the same but the celebration has different flavors. He was going to later tell me a true story of a Rabbi from his old Synagogue who went to Ethiopia to help with the collection of Ethiopian Jews, to save them and bring them to Israel. He noted that this situation illustrates the essence of Judaism. He shared many stories but he didn’t get to tell me this one. We never broke bread together, shook hands, or smiled at each other. A man that I greatly respected and admired from afar is one that I never actually met in person, he living in California and I living in Ontario, Canada. We spoke on the phone many times in the early days of our business relationship but after that, we sent emails back and forth over the years, responding when we just happened to be thinking of the other. I will miss his teachings and his view of the world in which we live. Rest in peace my friend. 'aláv hashalóm