A German-Trained American Rabbi in Yorkshire

Thank you Mr. Moriwaki. It is an honor to be asked to speak today, although I am not sure you were aware of all the levels of synchronicity involved when you contacted me: Before I moved to Bainbridge Island in 2014 I served as a rabbi in Germany, and as far as we can determine, was the first American Jew to be ordained as a rabbi in Germany. To stand here today is a reminder of how many different peoples share stories of humiliation and horror, and our responsibility to indeed never forget. My story today begins as do most good Jewish stories—with four rabbis arguing. In this particular story, the argument of all things had to do with the purity status of an oven. Of course, we all know a few of those people who are intolerably always right, and Rabbi Eliezer in this story was that person. The other three Rabbis in the argument, however, disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer and as Jewish Law is decided by the majority, you can only imagine the growing frustration of Rabbi Eliezer. In