Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

This week’s thought for Shabbat is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Philp Lazowski, who passed away on June 18 at the age of 96. Rabbi Lazowski was a childhood survivor of the Holocaust. He immigrated to this country with his father and brother after the war and was ordained as a rabbi in 1962. He served as a pulpit rabbi for over 40 years in the Hartford, Connecticut area and remained active in synagogue life as rabbi emeritus of The Emanuel Synagogue. He was deeply committed to interfaith relationships and served as the Chaplain of the Connecticut State Senate and the Hartford Hospital, among other communal roles. Rabbi “Laz” as he was affectionately known, was the author of 16 books, including Transforming Darkness into Light: A Holocaust Survivor’s Lessons in Fighting Hate, published last January.  It was my privilege to know him as a teacher, colleague and friend for the last few years of his life.

Rabbi Meir Shapira of Lublin founded the Daf Yomi program in 1923. He offers a remarkable reading of a verse found in our Torah portion for this week.

The verse is as follows:

“This is the law (the Torah) when a person dies in a tent – everyone who enters the tent, and everything that is in the tent, shall be impure for seven days.” (Numbers 19:14)

On the surface, this verse concerns itself with issues of purity and impurity. But the great Talmudic sage, Resh Lakish, interprets this verse homiletically:

He said: From where is it derived that matters of Torah are only retained by one who kills himself over it? From the verse: “This is the Torah: When a person dies in a tent.” (BT Brachot 63b)

Rabbi Shapira asks: If a person literally “kills himself” through Torah study, who will be left to preserve the Torah? His answer reframes the teaching entirely. The verse is not about self-destruction in the pursuit of learning. Rather, it speaks of the one who devotes his life to the “Tent of Torah” by educating children, pouring his strength and energy into raising the next generation in Torah knowledge.

Rabbi Philip Lazowski’s life embodies Rabbi Shapira’s teaching. He devoted himself to the “Tent of Torah” not only through study, but through teaching, writing, and building bridges across communities. The Torah he carried now lodges in the countless people he inspired—students, congregants, colleagues, and readers—who continue his work of turning darkness into light. May his memory be a blessing.

Shabbat Shalom