56 | OCTOBER 24 • 2019 Soul of blessed memory Congressman Elijah Cummings Dies at 68 JOSEFIN DOLSTEN JTA R ep. Elijah Cummings, a longtime Baltimore congressman who worked to build ties between the African-American and Jewish communities in his district, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, in his home city. He was 68. A spokeswom- an, Trudy Perkins, said in a statement that he died of “complications concerning long- standing health challenges. ” As the head of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Cummings was a leading figure in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. He used his role to investigate the president, and Trump at one point sued Cummings over attempts to obtain information on Trump’ s business dealings. The African American lawmaker had represented his district — the home for more than 30,000 Jews — in Congress since 1996. Many of his Jewish constituents had favorable views of him, and he was known for work- ing to bridge ties between the African American and Jewish communities. Jewish leaders praised him earlier this year after Trump took to Twitter to deride Cummings’ district as “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. ” Many critics of the president said the comment had racist under- tones. The Jewish community “has been able to count on Rep. Cummings time and again for assistance and leadership, ” Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, told Haaretz following Trump’ s comments. Cummings founded the Elijah Cummings Youth Leadership Program in Israel, which is now in its 20th year. As part of the pro- gram’ s prestigious fellowship, African American teens from his district spend two years taking leadership seminars and learning about the local Jewish community, includ- ing by studying black-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. The program also includes a nearly monthlong trip to Israel, where the teens stay at Yemin Orde, a youth village near Haifa. They work with Israeli teens from diverse backgrounds, volunteer and tour the country. “I want to send a message that we cannot as African Americans progress without coalitions, and our great- est coalition partner has been the Jewish people in America, ” he recently told WBAL-TV in an interview about the 20th anniversary of his program. More than 200 people have participated in the fel- lowship and many said the program was life-changing. Among the alumni are CNN anchor Victor Blackwell, who said the experience “recast me” in a tweet after Cummings’ death was announced. LEONARD FARBER, 101, of West Bloomfield, died Oct. 12, 2019. He was born Aug. 18, 1918, to Sadie Belle and Samuel Farber before WWI ended. His family lived in Windsor. His father died at 38 when Leonard was 7 years old and he was raised by his mother and sister Florence, whom he adored. The family got by until the Great Depression caused his mother’ s small hat store to fail. When he was 15 and destitute, they moved to Detroit to live with relatives. Leonard worked at a CF Smith Grocery, where he could eat as much fruit as he wanted while he was at work. He learned the value of hard work and frugality. He wanted to quit school to work more but his mother insisted he stay in school, which served him well in life. He was always good with numbers, learned bookkeeping and studied accounting. When WWII began, he was working as a bookkeeper. He soon realized that he was going to end up in the Army, so he pre- pared to enlist. He was needed to train his war-time replacement. It was then when the most beautiful girl walked into his office and his life, Dolores. On their first date, they walked a mile to save a penny on the streetcar. He was ordered to report to the Army in California. He told her that they were going to get married and move to California. He went to Officers School, was commissioned a sec- ond lieutenant and was shipped to the Philippines. Just before landing, the Army decided it needed three attorneys for different organizational tasks. Of the 200 second lieutenants, there were only two attorneys so they turned to the man with accounting, Leonard. He was tasked with organizing the new Department of Recovered Personnel. He did this so well that he received a Special Commendation from the com- manding general. After the war, he returned to Dolores in Detroit to start a family. There he continued his accounting studies and became a CPA. Lynne was the first child, then came Stuart, Mark and Terri. Leonard worked hard and because of his skill was asked to become president of a home building company. In 1960, the economy was headed into a seri- ous recession but because of his organizational and accounting skills, Leonard kept the company alive. In subsequent years, he shepherded the company through two more recessions, thus earn- ing the respect of his employees (many of whom stayed for 30 years), contractors, competitors and even government officials. Leonard started snow ski- ing at 50. Everyone thought he was nuts. It took him five years to learn to get off a chair lift without falling. Skiing became such a joy to him that he and Dolores bought a second home in Snowmass, Colo. He loved to have his children and grandchil- dren come west in the winters to ski. He and Dolores also had a condominium in Boca Raton. When asked when he would go to Florida in the winter instead of Colorado, he said “When I get old. ” They sold the condomini- um without ever seeing it. They never felt old enough. Leonard drove until he was 98. His driver’ s license was reissued, through the mail, until he would have been 103. Leonard lived for his family and his community. He did everything he could to improve the lives of his family. He never stopped dispensing advice on how to improve their lives. “Let me explain, ” or “There is some- thing I want to cover with you” were two of his favorite expres- sions. Leonard was always working for his community. He was a lifelong member of B’ nai B’ rith. He received the David Ben- WIN MCNAMEE VIA GETTY IMAGES