Lou Reed’s death on Sunday has made me think not just of his music but of his life, and specifically about when his life and mine briefly intersected, back when my brother Frank and I entertained him at our parents’ Philadelphia home, unbeknownst to mom and dad.
Musician Lou Reed, the frontman for the band Velvet Underground as well as a solo artist, has died.
It was early Monday morning here in the Old City of Jerusalem. We had just finished our minyan in the Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai synagogue, the same synagogue where generations of Sephardic Chief Rabbis have been crowned as the Rishon L’Zion. I walked over to the bookcase, and my heart was drawn to a large volume titled “Yabia Omer.” I sat over coffee studying, and when I turned on the radio, I heard that Rav Ovadia Yosef was in critical condition. I spent the morning immersed in “Yabia Omer,” until the bitter news was announced: “Rav Ovadia Yosef has passed on to heaven.” He was 93.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Israeli sage who founded the Sephardic Orthodox Shas political party and exercised major influence on Jewish law, has died.
Thousands of chickens designated for the pre-Yom Kippur kapparot ritual died in New York due to unseasonable heat.
Rochus Misch, the last surviving witness of Adolf Hitler\’s final days in the Berlin bunker who always referred to the Nazi dictator as \”the Boss,\” has died in his home at the age of 96, his book agent said on Friday.
David Davis died June 27 at 87. Survived by wife Arlene; daughter Andrea (Philipp) Bowman; son Greg; 2 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Helen Abrams died June 11 at 94. Survived by daughters Marilyn Cohen, Lanette Finn, Anna Helfman, Candy Sieroty; sons Bert, David; 8 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren. Hillside
Jack Adelman died June 6 at 89. Survived by sister Sybil (Martin) Sage; brother Joseph; 1 niece; 1 nephew. Hillside
To most people, Dennis Farina, who died Monday at age 69, may be best remembered as a tough-talking Chicago cop (which he actually was, for 18 years, before becoming an actor) or as a tough-talking New York City police detective, which he ably played for two seasons as Joe Fontana on “Law & Order.”
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