Voices of WRJ: Chayei Sarah

Last month, I received an email from WRJ inviting me to share my understanding of this week’s Parashat Chayei Sarah. I began my research, hoping to uncover a mesmerizing commentary. I knew that many of you were knowledgeable about the early Genesis stories. In Chayei Sarah, for example, we learn that Abraham buys burial ground from his Hittite neighbors, land that gives us Jews a claim to our promised homeland; we meet Rebekah at the well and she becomes Isaac’s bride. I read, I studied, and I reflected. What I felt was a deep tug to travel in an entirely different direction. I finally realized that I wanted, or needed, to share the tale of a contemporary matriarch who was intimately connected to the Reform Movement throughout her 92 years. I needed to tell you her story. Her name was Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Schwartz z''l.  Ellie, who died September 18^th just two months shy of her 93^rd birthday, was the second Executive Director of NFTS (now WRJ), serving from 1976-1992. To me, Ellie was Wonder Woman—minus the outfit! She was smart, strong, resilient, and passionate. Her memory was like a vise; she never forgot details, dates, facts and figures. She vividly recollected events that had occurred 30 and 40 years earlier, never missing a beat. She had a powerhouse personality filled with opinions she willingly dispensed. Using Jewish values and her personal canons, she mentored thousands. Ellie personified a walking, talking history of Reform Judaism. She professionally served Reform Judaism first as an assistant in the Chicago regional office, then as NFTY Associate Director, later as NFTS Associate Director, and lastly as NFTS Executive Director.  But don’t let me get ahead of her story. Born in Chicago, Ellie loved that windy city her whole life. An avid student, she skipped ahead grades and entered college at 16. Her older brother Bill was one of her closest confidants. She enjoyed being the "tag-along little sister."  No doubt, she had friends and experiences far beyond her meager 16 years! Along with other young Reform Jews, Ellie was instrumental in organizing NFTY in its early years. Ellie adored NFTY. She instinctively recognized its potential for fostering future leaders. As a young professional, she traipsed around the country with the Leonard Spring z''l, NFTY’s third president, and Rabbi Sam Cook, NFTY Director. Ellie, Leonard, and Rabbi Cook, three musketeers, visited local youth groups and developed a growing commitment to NFTY. Ellie first served NFTS as Assistant Director to Dr. Jane Evans z''l.  From 1976 to 1992, she led NFTS as our second Executive Director. WRJ Past President Dolores Wilkenfeld, who worked with Ellie on the NFTS 75^th birthday that coincided with NFTY’s 50^th, poignantly shared, “Ellie has been aptly described as an extraordinary leader, mentor, teacher, inspiration, and lover of Reform Judaism; but she was so much more. Speaking very personally, I will tell you that she brought out the best in me during our years of partnership and close friendship.” Like the true leader she was, Ellie took risks. When I was a young, new member of the WRJ Board of Directors, I vividly remember her public condemnation of the term JAP (Jewish American Princess). Hers was the first voice heard from any Jewish women’s organization. She found the term derogatory and degrading so she pushed back, refusing to permit the term to define Jewish women. Ellie’s principles guided her everyday. No doubt, justice and equality were two of her cornerstone values. According to Dr. Carolyn Kunin, former long-time WRJ Staff Associate, Ellie’s commitment to social justice was her essence. Having NFTS lead the Reform Movement in social action was a key priority. Because of Ellie, “NFTS was deeply involved in Women's Plea for Soviet Jewry, in juvenile justice advocacy, and in working on domestic abuse. She never missed an opportunity for a social justice resolution.” Ellie held high expectations of herself as well as those she mentored.  She always spoke with honesty and integrity. Rabbi Richard Hirsch, World Union of Progressive Judaism Honorary Life President and long time close friend and colleague, wrote, “She was intelligent, perspicacious, inquisitive, warm, empathetic, and above all a person of utmost personal and intellectual integrity. There is a well known Yiddish phrase 'Was iz afn lung iz afn tsung'—what is on the lung [in the head] is on the tongue.' One never had to ask Ellie what her position was on any critical issue. She expressed herself without being queried. She took a position on every issue, whether it was a social issue confronting society or the Jewish community or if it was a personal issue in which she had responsibility. And, because she was a person of sound judgment and exceptional sechel, her view generally prevailed.” Over its 100 years, Women of Reform Judaism has benefited from the leadership of many extraordinary women. Rabbi Don Rosoff once wrote about “the immortality of influence.” He said, “We live on in the lives we have created and/or shaped, in the students we have taught, in the institutions we have helped build, and in the people we have touched, even if that touch was momentary or indirect.” Ellie Schwartz z''l was our teacher, a builder of Reform Jewish institutions, and a woman who helped us all be the best we could be. Dear Ellie, may you now rest in peace. Be assured that we, your ‘gals,’ will continue on our journeys, emulating the Jewish values you cherished while calling for justice in the world. And Ellie, may you know that we will remember you with abiding respect, many blessings, a touch of humor, and abundant love for all our days.