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Slain Psychiatrist Sought Tikkun Olam
DAVID SACHS
Editorial Assistant
I
talked to my father less than an hour
before he was killed," said New York
attorney Doron Bar-Levav, son of
psychiatrist Dr. Reuven Bar-Levay.
"One of the things we talked about was
making plans in July 2000 to dedicate a
woodland in Israel in his honor.
"That dedication will rake place next
year, but it won't be in his honor. It will be
in his memory."
Dr. Reuven Bar-Levav, 72, of Detroit, a
psychiatrist in private practice since 1966,
was murdered June 11 in his Southfield
office by a mentally ill former patient. The
assailant also shot and killed patient Mary
Gregg, 45, of Huntington Woods and
wounded four people before committing
suicide.
"My father was my guiding light and my
safety net," said Dr. Ilana BaNLevav, a psy-
chotherapist in Washington, D.C. "He was
a great man, but he was also a very, very
good man.
"My brother was a psychiatrist and a
proud Jew," said Israel Tuchman, a Los
Angeles engineer.
"He drew his strength from Pirkei Avot
(Ethics of the Fathers). Many of his writings
had Jewish wisdom. He pointed out that the
ancient rabbis had the wisdom, long before
psychiatry was developed," Tuchman said.
Ilana Bar-Levav said her father used
Pirkei Avot "in his life, his practice, his fami-
ly and his friendships."
Dr. Leora Bar-Levav of Bingham Farms,
a psychiatrist in her father's office, said, "He
knew - he had a wisdom, an accumulated
knowledge, a compassion and a vision that
obligated him to speak." She said he tried
to bring out the good and the healthy
aspects of people, to help them live with
self-respect and dignity.
Congregation Shaarey Zedek Rabbi
Irwin Groner, who eulogized him Sunday at
Ira Kaufman Chapel, had lunch with Dr.
Bar-Levav four days before he died.
"He had an idea for a new book," said
the rabbi. "It was a needed, practical guide
that would extract from the wisdom and
beliefs of Judaism a concise set of moral
guidelines applicable to the new century:
That freedom comes with responsibility and
acts have consequences. That compassion is
our imperative since all living things are
God's creations. That self-respect and self-
reliance are unavoidable requirements. And
that as Jews, we bear a special responsibility,
one that is also a privilege, to continue the
work of creation by tikkun olam, and that
means the repair of the world.
"That book will never see the light of
day," said Rabbi Groner.
"My father strongly believed in tikkun
olam," said Ilana Bar-Levay. He established
the Bar-Levav Family Foundation, which
gives grants to Jewish and non-Jewish con-
cerns that observe Jewish values. He and
other family members would donate to it. It
was also used as a tool to teach his grand-
children the value of charity. His grandchil-
dren recently gave a portion of their
allowance toward grants to their Jewish day
schools in Detroit and Washington, D.C.
Another family project was the wood-
land in Israel. It began as an honor for his
70th birthday and has increased by dona-
tions to nearly 2,000 trees.
He formed the Bar-Levav Educational
Association to train psychotherapists in his
methods. Fogel and his wife Ilana are grad-
uates of the program, as are some 50 thera-
pists Dr. Bar-Levav trained.
Dr. Bar-Levav also was concerned with
the welfare of the greater society. "He had a
prophetic voice as he addressed the moral
failures of our society,' said Rabbi Groner.
He wrote in a journal 'I must speak out.'"
"Reuven had reached that age when
most people slow down. But his mind was
"
Pictured at Passover 1997 are, top row, Doron Bar-Levav, Pamela Torraco, Rina
Edelson, Dr. Leora Bar-Levav, Dr: Gag Edelson, Dr liana Bar-Levav, Dr David
Fogel and Dr: Reuven Bar-Levav; bottom row, Ariel Fogel, Daniel Edelson and
Amir Fogel.
"He felt if you plant a tree, you leave the
world better than you found it," said Ilana
Bar-Levay. It was very personal to him.
That was his own way of living — to leave
more than you use."
Dr. Bar-Levav's wife, Pamela Torraco, a
psychotherapist in his office, explained his
philosophy of therapy. "My husband didn't
like the term 'shrink' (for psychiatrist). He
called himself an 'expander' because he
helped people expand from the limitations
of their backgrounds and irrational feelings."
Dr. Bar-Levav considered himself a
trailblazer in the field of psychotherapy.
Some called him a maverick. He prac-
ticed intense, long-term group therapy.
"He believed that people could actually
change their fundamental character with
therapy," said Dr. David Fogel, a
Washington, D.C., psychotherapist and
husband of Ilana Bar-Levay.
Dr. Bar-Levav was known to go on trips
with his therapy groups. "These were well-
planned therapeutic experiences that includ-
ed group activities such as hiking as well as
group therapy sessions," said Fogel.
Dr. Bar-Levav outlined his theories of
therapy in his 1988 book Thinking in the
Shadow of Feelings (Simon & Schuster).
teeming with ideas and projects and pro-
grams. His calendar was full. He set for
himself many tasks. He was ready to con-
front many challenges."
He attributed a lot of societal problems
to overly permissive child rearing. In 1995,
he published the book Every Family Needs a
C.E.O. (Fathering Inc. Press). The book
may be read on Dr. Bar-Levav's Web site:
www.beabetterparent.corn
In his book, he stressed the need for par-
ents to take the lead by teaching character
and values. For example, one rule for the
involved parents is, "Be a responsible and
steady gatekeeper who limits the corrupting
influences of the street culture from invad-
ing the home:
Dr. Bar-Levav viewed the April shoot-
ings at Columbine High School in
Littleton, Colo., not as a failure of gun con-
trol, but of the failure of society and parents
to instill values of right and wrong in their
children.
Dr. Bar-Levav credited his own parents
for their decision to leave Germany soon
after the Nazis took power. He was born in
Berlin in 1927 to a well-to-do family in the
furniture business. His nursemaid was a
Nazi sympathizer who carved a swastika in
the family's chopped liver one Friday night.
His parents decided to leave their comfort-
able life for the economic uncertainty of
Palestine in 1934.
In 1945, Dr. Bar-Levav joined the
Hagana, the main Jewish resistance dur-
ing the British mandate. He was in the
hall when David Ben-Gurion pro-
claimed the State of Israel in 1948. He
served in the War of Independence as a
demolition expert and a journalist.
Coming CO the United States in 1950,
Dr. Bar-Levav studied at Columbia
University in New York City and at
Wayne State University in Detroit. He
earned a bachelor degree in economics,
a master's in political science and a
medical degree. He interned at Harper
Hospital and did a psychiatric residency
at Sinai Hospital in Detroit.
When he was a Wayne student, Dr. Bar-
Levav was a Hebrew teacher at Shaarey
Zedek. He would also teach haftorah to bar
mitzvah students. Thirty years later, he still
occasionally chanted the haftorah at
Shabbat services at Shaarey Zedek.
"He was very involved with the future
of Judaism," said Fogel. "He was con-
cerned with assimilation in the U.S. and
Israel. He wanted to find a way to recom-
mit Jews to fundamental Jewish princi-
ples. He also encouraged the learning of
Hebrew, the taking of Hebrew names and
frequent travel to Israel."
Leora Bar-Levav's husband, Dr. Gary
Edelson, chief of endocrinology at Sinai-
Grace Hospital, said, "Reuven would invite
Jews from the community to his house for
Shabbat dinner, to inspire people to become
more Jewish."
"He saved souls," said Rabbi Groner.
"Those invited to his home for a Friday
night dinner were introduced to the joy and
spiritual beauty of Shabbat by the warmth
and spirit of Reuven and Pam."
Dr. Bar-Levav is survived by his
wife, Pamela Torraco; son and daugh-
ter-in-law Doron and Roberta Bar-
Levav of New York; daughters and
sons-in-law Dr. Ilana Bar-Levav and Dr.
David Fogel of Maryland, Dr. Leora
Bar-Levav and Dr. Gary Edelson of
Bingham Farms; grandchildren Ariel,
Amir and Leah Fogel, and Daniel, Rina
and Jacob Edelson; brother and sister-
in-law, Israel and Shulamith Tuchman
of Los Angeles.
Interment was at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to the
Bar-Levav Family Foundation, 3000
Town Center #1250, Southfield, MI
48075; the Bar-Levav Educational
Association, 300 Town Center #1275,
Southfield, MI 48075; or the Jewish
National Fund Reuven Bar-Levav
Woodland, 17100 W. 10 Mile Road,
Southfield, MI 48075. El
6/18
1999
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