Rabbi Aaron Landes (October 1, 1929 – April 19, 2014)
Rabbi Aaron Landes was a distinguished American rabbi of the Conservative movement, a visionary spiritual leader in the Philadelphia area, and one of the highest-ranking Jewish chaplains in the history of the United States Navy Reserve (Active Duty: 1955-1957; Reserves: 1958-1989). His leadership spanned congregational life, Jewish education, and military chaplaincy, leaving a lasting legacy on both Jewish and national institutions.

Early Life and Education
Born on October 1, 1929, in Revere, Massachusetts, Landes was raised in a Jewish household deeply engaged in religious life and study. He graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva University, where he served as president of the undergraduate student body, and went on to receive ordination and a master’s degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1955.

Congregational Leadership
In 1964, Rabbi Landes was appointed Senior Rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, one of the major Conservative synagogues in the Philadelphia region. Over a remarkable 36-year tenure, he guided the community through decades of growth in worship, education, and communal engagement, becoming a trusted spiritual presence for generations of families. After his retirement in 2000, he continued his association with the congregation as Rabbi Emeritus.

Advancing Jewish Education
Together with his wife, Sora (née Eisenberg) Landes, Rabbi Landes was a founding force behind the Forman Hebrew Day School — today part of the Perelman Jewish Day School system — addressing the need for strong Jewish educational institutions in the Philadelphia suburbs. His commitment to education reflected a lifelong belief in nurturing Jewish identity and learning across generations.

Naval Service and Chaplaincy
Parallel to his congregational work, Rabbi Landes built a noteworthy career in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. After two years of active duty following his ordination, he served in the Naval Reserve until his retirement in 1989 with the rank of Rear Admiral — a distinction that made him among the most prominent Jewish chaplains in U.S. military history. In that role, he oversaw hundreds of chaplains and played a key role in expanding Jewish religious support within the armed forces.

Recognition and Impact
The Times of Israel noted that Rabbi Landes “managed some 700 chaplains as head of the Chaplains Corps” and highlighted his dual success both as a pulpit rabbi and as a senior military chaplain. His daughter described him as “highly intelligent and highly creative” in his professional pursuits.

Passing and Legacy
Rabbi Aaron Landes passed away on April 19, 2014, at the age of 84 after a battle with leukemia. His life and work left an indelible mark on Jewish religious life, education, and military chaplaincy. At Beth Sholom and beyond, he is remembered for his leadership, warmth, and enduring commitment to both faith and service.

Abba Kovner (1918–1987) was a Jewish poet, partisan leader, and one of the most powerful voices of Jewish resistance during and after the Holocaust

He was born in Sevastopol (then part of the Russian Empire) and raised in Vilna (Vilnius), which was a major center of Jewish culture and intellectual life. As a young man, he was active in Zionist youth movements and was already writing poetry

When the Nazis occupied Lithuania in 1941, Kovner was confined to the Vilna Ghetto. There, in December 1941, he issued one of the earliest calls for Jewish armed resistance. In his famous manifesto, he warned that Hitler intended to destroy all Jews and urged: “Let us not go like sheep to the slaughter.” At a time when the scale of the genocide was still hard to comprehend, this was a bold and historic declaration

Kovner helped organize the United Partisan Organization (FPO) in the Vilna Ghetto. After the ghetto was liquidated in 1943, he escaped to the forests and fought as a partisan against the Nazis and their collaborators

After World War II, Kovner was involved in the underground movement Nakam (“Revenge”), which sought retribution against Nazis for the murder of European Jewry. Though large-scale revenge plans were never fully carried out, this period reflected the profound trauma and anger felt by survivors

He later immigrated to the land of Israel, settled in Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh, and became an important literary figure. During Israel’s War of Independence, he served as a cultural officer in the Givati Brigade and wrote influential battle leaflets that shaped morale and national narrative

In the decades that followed, Kovner became one of Israel’s most respected poets. His writing wrestled with memory, loss, moral responsibility, Jewish identity, and the meaning of survival. He testified at the Eichmann trial in 1961, helping bring the voice of resistance and survivor testimony to the world stage

Abba Kovner’s life represents a rare combination of fighter, moral voice, and poet — a man who not only resisted physically during the Holocaust but also shaped how its memory would be understood in Jewish and Israeli consciousness

Born in Cologne Germany 1924
Immigrated to the US (Newark,NJ) 1938
Inducted into the US Army 09/05/1943
Naturalized before going overseas 10/11/1944
Wounded in action in theAsiatic-Pacific campaign 03/19/1945
Received the Purple Heart
Honorable discharge 04/08/1946

Ariel Sharon was a towering and controversial figure in Israeli history whose life spanned the nation’s most critical military and political milestones. Born in 1928, he joined the Haganah at a young age and distinguished himself as a brilliant, daring military commander, famously leading the elite Unit 101 counter-terrorism operations in the 1950s and orchestrating the critical crossing of the Suez Canal during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Transitioning to politics, he co-founded the Likud party, served in numerous ministerial positions—most notably as Defense Minister during the 1982 Lebanon War—and became a champion of the West Bank settlement movement. Elected Prime Minister in 2001 during the height of the Second Intifada, Sharon surprised both allies and rivals by executing the dramatic, unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and forming the centrist Kadima party, a political realignment cut short when he suffered a debilitating stroke in early 2006, leaving behind a complex legacy as both a fierce warrior and a pragmatic statesman.

tetsi

My father who grew up (well at least until age 18 when he was forced to leave) in Europe, in an orthodox home, who throughout his life clung to his Judaism in different ways.

On May 10, 1940, the Nazis invaded Belgium, where my father and his family were living at the time. My grandfather, Israel Lust, came home and told his family to gather their most precious belongings, as they would be leaving their home. And on May 14, 1940, their family of 4, my grandparents, Israel and Helen Lust, my uncle Jack Lust, age 17, and my father, Adolph, age 18 (who later renamed himself Edward for obvious reasons), got into their Citroen and began driving south. They drove through Belgium, France, Spain, and crossed by ferry into Morocco, where .they lived for 3 years

In May 1943, they managed to get visas to leave Morocco, flew to Lisbon, Portugal, and got on the last boat to leave Portugal and travel to the United States. They entered the Port of Philadelphia in November 1943, and went to New York to live with cousins. Just 6 months later my father found himself in the US Army, was naturalized as a US Citizen, and went on to be sent back to Europe where he served as a translator in the third armored division.

On September 26, 1944, my father went to his superior, Major General Maurice Rose, and requested some time to pray, telling the Major General that it was his people’s holiest day of the year. Not only did he get permission, but he learned that the Major General was Jewish, asking my dad to say Kaddish for him (in memory of his lost relatives).
My father, all of 5’4” tall, 120 pounds, spoke with such a commanding voice that he was able to convince a farmhouse full of Germans to surrender their weapons as he yelled at them in German to disarm and exit the farmhouse. For this he was awarded the Bronze Star.
My father – petite but mighty – fought for a country in which he was not born but was now forced to live and defend.

TEST