By Ezra Rich

There is nothing like a Buffalo summer, a time when our region’s beauty and cultural treasures are in full bloom. If one is fortunate, there may even be a few slower moments to reflect on the past before the High Holidays and back-to-school bonanza.

Last week, while my wife and daughters were away with family for their annual Cousins Week, I marked three milestones with quiet contemplation. Within a span of three days came two yahrzeits and a wedding.

The 4th of Elul marked the 100th yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk, author of the Meshech Chochmah. On that same day, my youngest cousin, Avichai, stood beneath the chuppah with his bride, Sarah, in Israel. Two days later came the 18th yahrzeit of my grandmother, Miriam S. Rich, z”l, whose oldest grandchild is writing these words, and her youngest grandchild is Avichai.

While I don’t often harp on rabbinic yahrzeits, the Meshech Chochmah is mishpacha (family).

Following her father’s passing during her childhood, my grandmother’s family moved in with her grandfather, who was related to the Meshech Chochmah. Before immigrating to America, he had spent time with his distinguished cousin, including on summer holidays. Among his treasured possessions from the Old Country was a photograph of the Meshech Chochmah, which he proudly displayed in his apartment for decades.

When I was last in Israel on a Buffalo Jewish Federation trip, the same story about that photo surfaced twice: first during Shabbat with my Aunt Karen, Uncle Howie, Avichai, and their family, and again while visiting with my late Cousin Henry, z”l, and his family. Those conversations, linked with these three dates on the calendar, left me feeling connected both to my family’s remarkable past and its promising future.

Soon enough, my house was back to full occupancy, and those moments of quiet seemed but a dream. Fittingly, this week’s parshah, Ki Tavo, marks a transition as well.

In its closing verses, Moshe calls upon the Israelites to reaffirm the covenant made in Moav, declaring: “Yet to this day, the L-rd has not given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear” (Deut. 29:3).

The Meshech Chochmah explains that Moshe was reminding the people that, for forty years, they had lived amidst open miracles: manna falling from heaven, a well that traveled with them, clothing and footwear that did not wear out, and divine protection throughout their journey.

While life in the wilderness was hardly a vacation, it was removed from many of the challenges of ordinary existence. Upon entering the Land, the Israelites would have to build homes, raise families, and sustain communities. Their Covenantal commitment would become the foundation for the generations that would follow them.

As summer winds down, may we cherish the memories that connect us to our past, embrace the responsibilities that shape our present, and help build a stronger Jewish future for generations to come.

Shabbat Shalom, L’Shanah Tovah, and I look forward to seeing many of you at Buffalo Jewish Federation’s Kickoff.

Ezra N. Rich is Secretary of Buffalo Jewish Federation and Co-Chair of the Youth Education Committee of Temple Beth Tzedek.