obituaries

Obituaries from page 78

A Unique Teacher Of Torah

Elizabeth Applebaum

I Special to the Jewish News

abbi Eliezer Cohen — a teacher
at Akiva Hebrew Day School,
the rabbi of Congregation Or
Chadash, a Torah scholar and the father
of 11 — was an independent man dedi-
cated to education and one who looked
out for all Jews.
Rabbi Cohen died on Aug. 31, 2013,
at his home in Oak Park. He was 67.
Rabbi Cohen also was a maverick.
Although he held that Halachah
(Jewish law) was the ultimate guide to
Jewish life, he was known to take posi-
tions outside the typical confines of
Orthodox practice.
He was a rabbi who chose to include
rather than exclude, who welcomed
rather than judged and who never
derided his fellow Jews for not properly
observing Judaism.
Hundreds of friends, students past
and present, colleagues and neighbors
attended the funeral service this past
Sunday at Hebrew Memorial Chapel in
Oak Park. The service was conducted
by Rabbi Eli Finkelman, who described
his friend as "a teacher and an edu-
cational theorist" whose goal was to
make people excited about learning and
inspire them to think for themselves.
Rabbi Cohen was famous for present-
ing a Jewish text and then asking stu-
dents: "Does that make sense to you?"
If they responded "no," he would direct
them to go learn and come up with an
interpretation that did.
At Southfield-based Akiva, Rabbi
Cohen had a reputation as a fair but
demanding teacher who never missed
class and expected the same of his stu-
dents.
He believed so strongly in the impor-
tance of learning Torah, in fact, that
he refused to participate in a teach-
ers' strike, telling everyone that giving
children a Torah education was more
important than enforcing a contract.
But Rabbi Cohen was famously will-
ing to negotiate with students. Rabbi
Finkelman noted how anyone in his
class could raise his or her grades upon
promising to study 15 minutes a day
— for the next 10 years. A few students
took him up on it and were as good as
their word.
Rabbi Cohen was a rational man who
had little patience for trendy Judaism or
notions like charms or magic. He was
a cynic but also an optimist, a person
of great integrity, a modest but confi-
dent teacher who was both kind and
stubborn, Rabbi Finkelman said. He
also was an artist who carved his own

R

wooden cane that he needed when, in
recent years, walking became difficult.
He was a man who not only believed
in the concept of klal Yisrael (the uni-
fied Jewish people) but also practiced
it. Each year, Rabbi Cohen attended
the annual Inter-Congregational Men's
Club Dinner, where
he often was the only
Orthodox rabbi present.
He looked out for any-
one in trouble because
he took seriously the
Torah's commandment
that the community must
take care of those who
feel alone or disenfran-
chised. And he rejected
the concept of a unique
Jewish soul, but rather
saw Jews as part of the
human community, Rabbi Rabbi Eliezer
Finkelman said.

A Cherished Teacher
Eliezer Cohen was born in Denver
and from a young age was interested
in Jewish learning. After graduating
from high school, he attended Yeshiva
University in New York City, where he
received ordination. He married, lived
in Israel for several years and then
came to Michigan in 1974, to teach at
Akiva. He also became rabbi of Young
Israel of Oak-Woods in Oak Park fol-
lowing the retirement of Rabbi James
Gordon a few years later.
"Rabbi Eliezer Cohen was a cherished
teacher who influenced generations of
Akiva students:' said Akiva Principal
Rabbi Tzvi Klugerman. "This would
have been his 40th year of inspiring
Jewish youth to seek the truth, think
critically about their Jewish identity
and develop genuine fluency reading
the sources of our faith, the Bible and
the Talmud. Rabbi Cohen was one of
the few who are truly irreplaceable. He
will be greatly missed."
Elizabeth Kirshner, 19, formerly of
West Bloomfield and now attending
Barnard College in New York, said,
"Rabbi Cohen showed complete dedica-
tion to his students by bestowing upon
us the honor of challenge. By pushing
us to search for answers, he stressed
the importance of the pursuit of truth,
instead of instant resolutions.
"Ultimately, students in Rabbi
Cohen's class learned the value of life-
long questioning and, truly, a sense of
their own capabilities. Rabbi Cohen
demonstrated a belief in the potential
of each student and every Jew by giving
him or her the opportunity to live up to
the challenge."

Eryn Fox, formerly of Oak Park and
now a student at New York University,
said, "I think, more than anything,
Rabbi Cohen instilled within his stu-
dents the importance of being analyti-
cal thinkers. He taught us that popular
opinion was not always synonymous
with irrefutable fact,
and that not only was
it OK for us to question
and doubt, but that it
was precisely our obli-
gation as Jews to do so.
"His class could be
as frustrating as it was
rewarding:' she added.
"We could spend weeks
analyzing a single line
of text only to reach
the conclusion that,
in his words, 'It's not
Cohen
that simple' or 'We may
never know the answer.'
"He was a true
embodiment of emet [truth] and what
it means to live a Torah-valued life, and
he will be missed dearly by all those
students whose lives he has so indelibly
touched."

A Dedicated Rabbi
Rabbi Cohen's work with his students
was, his family said, central to his life.
He was also dedicated to his congrega-
tion. After Young Israel of Oak-Woods
closed, Rabbi Cohen became rabbi of Or
Chadash in Oak Park and Huntington
Woods, where, he insisted, there would be
no dues and no solicitations. He refused
honorariums when he officiated at wed-
dings or at b'nai mitzvah ceremonies, and
everyone — without question — was wel-
comed and treated with honor at his shul.
He also began writing a regular
column of Torah commentary in the
Detroit Jewish News, where he was
never afraid to take on controversial
subjects, such as women's roles.
Friends remembered Rabbi Cohen's
sense of humor and the wonderful and
often curious treasures he discovered
at estate sales. His home was filled with
his finds, including a complete suit of
armor, a large ostrich egg on a pedestal
and a whirling display of tiny, multicol-
ored laser lights he would program to
read: "Shabbat Shalom!" before Friday
night began.
There were dozens of clocks and
thousands of scholarly Jewish books in
his house. His one-of-a-kind sukkah
was cobbled together from different
sukkahs and included twinkling lights
and a chandelier.
At his funeral, his eldest son, Rabbi
Azaryah Moshe Cohen, recalled how

his father "used intellect to understand
God and the world" and how much he
loved being with his grandchildren.
"Too soon he has been taken from
us," said his wife, Aviva, (whose brother
spoke on her behalf). She described her
husband as an independent scholar who
often "walked alone He loved reading,
woodworking, drawing and puzzles.
"I will miss," she said, "the way he
thanked me for a lovely Shabbat meal"
and the surprise gifts he found for her
at estate sales.
Rabbi Cohen's son Saadya described
his father as a strong-willed but quiet
man whose "entire life was dedicated to
bringing kavod [honor] to the Torah";
while his daughter Shoshana said: "The
void you are leaving in our lives is too
big; how can we continue without you?"
His son Hananya Aryeh recalled
how Rabbi Cohen liked to discuss pop
culture and politics and loved classi-
cal music, and he noted his "profound
understanding of what the Torah is
really about ... [that] Torah is not a
hindrance to living but an enhancement
of living.
"I'll miss you, Abba," he said. "We
relied on you for guidance, and now we
are lose
Rabbi Eliezer Cohen is survived
by his wife of 41 years, Aviva; chil-
dren, Rabbi Azaryah Moshe and Aliza
Cohen, Hananya Aryeh and Chana
Dena Cohen, Yedida Chasya and
Yitzie Rabhan, Nehemya Yosef and
Mindy Cohen, Saadya Raphael and
Chava Cohen, Tova Chaya and Nachi
Levitansky, Bracha Alta and Ezra
Drissman, Devorah Leah and Alex
VanNess, Golda Miriam Cohen, Aaron
Dov Cohen, and Shoshana Esther and
Moshe Rothstein; sister and brother-in-
law, Ellen and Ed Zelniker; brother and
sister-in-law, Dr. Dennis and Marilyn
Cohen; grandchildren, Yedidya, Noam,
Ahuva, Aryeh and Esther Liesel Cohen,
Ava Cohen, Hudi and Rikki Rabhan,
Yitzy, Simcha and Naama Cohen,
Chaim, Michali and Mendel Levitansky,
and Dalia Drissman. He also survived
by many loving nieces, nephews and
other relatives.
He was the dear brother of the late
Michael Cohen.
Interment was at Hebrew Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made
to Congregation Or Chadash, c/o
Michael Dworkin, 27340 Harvard
Road, Southfield, MI 48076; Schwartz
Institute Kollel of Jerusalem, c/o H.
Poliakoff, 3737 Clark Lane, Baltimore,
MD 21215; or a charity of one's choice.
Services and arrangements by Hebrew
Memorial Chapel. ❑

Obituaries on page 82

Obituaries

September 5 • 2013

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