Remembering a Giant: Arnold Jacob Wolf
December 31, 2008
Jewish Living | Lifecycle
(2 comments)
by Rabbi Elliott A. Kleinman
Chief Program Officer, Union for Reform Judaism
(First published on the RACblog)
 When I learned of Rabbi Arnold Wolf's death on Wednesday evening, I was overwhelmed by the loss. Arnold was my rabbi. My parents were founders of Congregation Solel in Highland Park, IL, and Arnold has been a part of every moment of my life. It was Arnold who inspired me to be a rabbi and challenged me to be a Jew, and it was Arnold who taught me how to do both.
Some of my earliest memories are of Arnold berating our congregation or our religious school class or the board of the congregation for not doing enough in the pursuit of justice. What I remember most is that we loved every moment of it. God was real and I "had better pay attention" he would remind us. "I am Adonai your God" was not a promise but a challenged to be lived up to every moment in every action.
I remember one such moment in religious school. Our class of fourth or fifth graders was creating our own midrashim for stories about Abraham and Rabbi Wolf walked in. He asked about a couple of the midrashim and then, in response to one, startled us all saying, "Nope, that's not what God was saying." We were crushed. But just as quickly he reminded us that the Torah was ours to own and understand, saying, "You're not listening hard enough. If you listen very carefully, you'll hear what God was saying." Wow - even I, a kid, could hear what God was saying to us. The world was never the same.
In the end though, it was Arnold's smile that gave it all away. The twinkle in his eye that reminded us that he believed in us, hoped for us and was always there to be supportive is us as we journeyed through life.
A review of the daily report from the Union's Development Department on the day of Arnold's death reminded me again of what kind of rabbi Arnold was. The second to last name on the report was Arnold's for having made a donation to the Union's Nothing But Nets campaign. It is only fitting that we were reminded of his many acts of tzedakah on that day.
Arnold and I spoke periodically. We would talk about issues of the day, my work at the Union and our families. Whenever we spoke he asked the same question, "Kleinman, you still Jewish?" If I answered yes he would ask if I could prove it. Over time I learned that, for Arnold, the right response was, "I'm still trying." That answer would appease him and continue to challenge me. Just what he wanted.
Even at this season of light, the world is a bit darker now. I'm still trying, but it is harder now without Arnold's wisdom, advice, humor and vision. The world will never be the same but always be better because of Arnold Jacob Wolf.
(A note: President-elect Barack Obama sent a powerful letter about Arnold that was read at the funeral. You can find it here.)
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I first heard about Arnold Jacob Wolf's teachings in an article by Larry Kushner. Kushner quotes Rabbi Wolf as teaching that "The rabbis job is to teach the Jews whatever he knows about how to grow in the service of the Holy One and then to get out of the way while they figure out for themselves how to make things work".
Ultimately, this is also a teaching about what it means to be a lay leader. We spend our time in the trenches trying to make things work, and then we have to make space for the next generation of lay leaders. We, too, teach those who come after us whatever we know about how to grow in the service of the Holy One.
Rabbi Wolf taught me what it means to be a lay leader. May his memory be for a blessing.