Rabbi Howard Morrison

Today, Monday June 12, coincides with the twenty-third of Sivan and is the twenty-fourth Yahrzeit of my father, Ruben Morrison, Zichrono L'Veracha. 

Earlier in the month of Sivan, we celebrated the Festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah and is highlighted by reading the Ten Commandments. According to many scholars, it is the fifth commandment, to honor one's parents, which holds all Ten Commandments together. It is the parent who teaches the child one's duties to God and to society at large.

My father was raised by an impoverished foster family. One of six brothers, he and two of his siblings were raised by a loving and caring foster family in the Bronx, NY.  My dad grew up in a Sabbath observant home and attended shul regularly. Years later, after studying in the Boston area, he met and married my mother, Helen Scott Morrison, and together they raised four children, me and my three siblings.

Being a mensch and a committed Jew were supreme values for my dad. He ensured that all four children attended Jewish day school from kindergarten through high school. In my case, the influence of mom and dad inspired me to minor in Jewish studies at the Boston Hebrew college, to major in business and liberal arts at Boston University, and to pursue rabbinical ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

My father visited me in my previous two congregations proudly and had once said to me that I had one more career move to make. He must have known about Beth Emeth in Toronto before I did. My father died on June 7, 1999 - 23 Sivan 5759. During the year that I mourned his loss and recited Kaddish daily, I was interviewed and subsequently hired by Beth Emeth. My mother passed away three months after my father died on Rosh Hashanah - September 11, 1999. I was still reciting Kaddish in her memory when I began my rabbinical duties in Toronto in the Summer of 2000.

While I remember my mom and dad fondly every day, today in particular, I cherish the memory of my father. When I was mature enough as a teenager, he became my best friend and confidante.

Yhi Zichro Baruch - May the memory of my father, Ruben Morrison, Reuven ben Moshe, be a blessing.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Howard Morrison