"To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner.  I am not a teacher, only a fellow student."  (Soren Kierkegaard)

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Happy 50th Birthday Rabbi Aaron

The entire Beth Sholom family joined the Rubinstein family on December 14th as we wished Rabbi Aaron a very happy birthday.  Over 200 friends and family surprised Rabbi Aaron as minyan came to a close and the music of the Red Heifers flowed through the building.  After a quick hora in which Rabbi Aaron was hoisted in the air on a chair, he joined his old band mates and kept the music playing while everyone danced and enjoyed the food and beverages.  Local musicians, Allen Rippe, Claudio Feler, Gary Rosenberg and Jason Northcutt,, joined the Red Heifers through the evening, and local clergy stopped by as well to extend their birthday wishes.  Rabbi Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel joined everyone for some Israeli dancing, and Andy MacBeth from Calvary Episcopal Church brought his banjo and jammed with the band.  Special thanks to Bornblum Solomon Schechter School for lending us their sound equipment!

Earlier in the day, Bruce Newman had lured Rabbi Aaron to Oxford, MS to keep him as far away from the synagogue as possible while a flurry of activity happened at Beth Sholom. Sharona Rubinstein and her team of kitchen helpers, Myra Alperin, Judy Bookman, Goldie Burson, Rose Goldfarb, Bene Kaplan, Paula Miller, Zoe Nadel, Rose Ross, Susan Rossen, Mariette Turetzky and Marilyn Zellner spent the day chopping, mixing and cooking the scrumptious buffet meal while the decorations team, Susan Alexander, Marsha Bender, Kathy Kastan, Leslie Landau, Charlotte Levitch, Deanna McAlexander, and Shelly Robbins, decorated the social hall in red, black and white. Rabbi Aaron’s home prepared vinegars, with proceeds from the sale going to Neve Michael, sat in baskets on each table, and each table centerpiece included a different enlarged photo of Rabbi Aaron from birth to the present,  prepared by Dot & Stanley Bilsky.

We could all tell that our Rabbi was truly surprised, as his face turned bright red as he came into the room and realized what was happening.  In addition to the shock of seeing the large crowd, Rabbi Aaron was also surprised by the appearance of friends and family who traveled for the occasion.  5 members of the Red Heifers made the trip from Macon, Ashville and Philadelphia and former congregants from Macon drove to Memphis for the party. In addition, Rabbi Aaron’s father, and his sister Judy, each flew in that morning from California to add their presence to the celebration.  Judy even came prepared with a poem in her brother’s honor which she shared with the crowd.

What a special evening.  Everyone in attendance felt honored to be a part of the birthday surprise!