By Rhea Yablon Kennedy
President Hurwitz stands outside the sanctuary at Washington Hebrew Congregation with (from left) graduate student Jessica Reidies, alumna Esme Farb, Hillel Director Paula Tucker, First Lady Vicki Hurwitz, and undergraduate Chaim Levinson.
Dr. Hurwitz was invited to speak at a Shabbat service at the synagogue on March 11, where he gave the address “Maintaining Jewish Identity.”
In his presentation, Hurwitz related the story of his bar mitzvah ceremony. During a visit to Russia a few years ago, Hurwitz told a rabbi that he had never celebrated that milestone of Jewish identity. The rabbi suddenly declared “We’re going to fix that right now!” He proceeded to coordinate a ceremony, even though Hurwitz was decades older than the traditional bar mitzvah age.
Senior Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig thanked Hurwitz for his words, saying that he was honored to host the first Jewish president of Gallaudet. Rabbi Lustig had learned that he and Vicki did not yet have a membership to a D.C.-area synagogue so, like his Russian colleague, he decided to remedy the situation immediately. The Hurwitzes went home that night with a complimentary membership to Washington Hebrew.
