A teacher and friend of mine was honored at a Met’s game today for his service in the US Military. I learned a little bit more about him and It felt great to be a part of the celebration. Even better, I got to reunite with some long-time friends and have a brief, but very special, conversation.
In order to understand my relationship with Rabbi Ezra Finklestein, you need to turn the calendar way back to my childhood, and perhaps even a little further. Rabbi Finklestein, who is known as Mike to his friends was the son of Louis Finklestein, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary for 32 years. He was also my Rabbi growing up in Whitestone, officiating at my bar-mitzvah and leading my USY Israel Pilgrimage group. He is now 98 years old, and still lives in his home. It was amazing to see him again.
Mike’s son Josh (who is also a Rabbi), Kenny (see adventure #25) and I were close friends, together almost constantly in our childhood and were frequently known by our parents and siblings as the “three musketeers.” We were honorary members of each other’s families and spent countless hours in each other’s homes. We were on a little league baseball team together and even won first-place in the league. Although we have kept in touch, I have not seen Josh for many years.
So, when Josh called, explaining that his Dad was going to be honored at today’s Met’s game, I leapt at the chance to attend. That’s one of the great advantages of being retired, spur of the moment activities can be wonderful. We were sitting on the field level on the first base side with great seats in the shade.
It was a good game! After a lead off home-run by Brandon Nimmo, the Angels tied the game in the top of the third inning with a solo HR from Mike Trout. The play of the game came in the bottom of that inning with a three-run blast by Pete Alonzo.
But the best part came when the inning ended. The very next event was a presentation in honor of Corporal Ezra Finklestein. He was ushered onto the field while he was introduced and several photos of him were shown on the Jumbotron, many that I had never seen before. He was beaming as the crowd stood at attention for him and he was presented with a US flag.
Shortly after the ceremony, Ken, his brother Don and I went to find Josh and his brother Harvey. We met up with them and spent some time in the lounge catching up. It has been at least 3 decades since the “three musketeers” were in the same location and I cannot imagine a greater way for us to reunite. I also enjoyed chatting with Don, Harvey and his nephew Elias as well as Ken’s sister Carol.
An extremely precious part of the day was a few minutes of quiet time with my teacher, friend and mentor. I don’t think people often get to have these types of conversations with the people who made an impact on them. I let him know how much joy it brought me each time I saw a post about him on social media. When I told him I just completed 3 years as a synagogue president, he patted my leg and said yashar co’ach . It was a special moment and a great day. Josh, thanks for inviting me. See you again soon!
Epilogue
One of the things I am learning through this quest for adventure is that having a greater public profile returns unexpected results. Not only did I learn that many of my friends know Rabbi Finklestein, but two different friends were in the stands that day!
In an even better case of “its a small world…” our good friends from Tyler Place Eric and Debbie came to stay with us at our lakehouse for the weekend. It turns out that Eric is a first cousin once removed of Ezra’s, whose father and Eric’s grandfather were brothers!
We had an amazing time together catching up and playing on the lake. Canoeing, power boating and sailing – and of course a lunch at “Down the Hatch.” Grateful for the time to be together.
