{"id":32028,"date":"2013-05-02T15:23:34","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T15:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=32028"},"modified":"2013-06-21T15:17:54","modified_gmt":"2013-06-21T15:17:54","slug":"a-jew-for-all-jews-my-friend-donald-butler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-jew-for-all-jews-my-friend-donald-butler\/","title":{"rendered":"A Jew for All Jews: My Friend, Donald Butler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Donald<\/a>We live in fraught times; times of anger and fear; times of polarization.\u00a0 We see this in the politics of our nation and in the discourse by people of faith.\u00a0\u00a0 In so many aspects of life, people seem to sullenly retreat into those beliefs, feelings or opinions to which they subscribe, without regard for the dignity and value of those who do not hold their view.<\/p>\n

They equate respect and consideration with concession, or with compromise of their fundamental values.<\/p>\n

Few men\u2019s lives stood in such opposition to this hurtful and harmful worldview than my dear friend, Donald Butler.\u00a0\u00a0 With the passing of one of the giants of the Jewish community, we have all lost a genuine mensch<\/i>; someone who by his life and example showed us the better way to live.<\/p>\n

Donald was a fierce upholder of the values of Orthodox Judaism.\u00a0 He had served on the Board of the Orthodox Union since the early 1950\u2019s and played an integral role in revitalizing and energizing the organization.\u00a0 He served as Vice President of the OU\u2019s Central East Region to the mid 60\u2019s; became Vice President \u00a0and then continuing to rise in organization, becoming Senior Vice President by the early 1970\u2019s. \u00a0He became Honorary Vice President in the early 1980s until 2002 when he retired.<\/p>\n

My own relationship with Donald was so much more than professional.\u00a0 Donald was my neighbor when I served as spiritual leader of Poale Zedeck<\/i> in Pittsburgh.\u00a0\u00a0 It was there that I first came to know Donald\u2019s way with words as he would often act as Master of Ceremonies at many community dinners and functions at the shul.<\/p>\n

I can still picture him at his typewriter, honing his prose until it was perfect; determined to make sure that each individual deserving of being honored was honored and that every event received its due with accurate and detailed recognition.<\/p>\n

His expertise with words found expression in his role as publisher for many years of This Week in Pittsburgh<\/i>, which he wrote and edited to perfection, making it a journal we all looked forward to perusing.<\/p>\n

He was passionate about the Jewish community and he became involved in every facet of its growth.\u00a0 And, by \u201cJewish community\u201d I mean the entire <\/i>Jewish Community.\u00a0 Although he was a major Orthodox leader and visionary \u2013 indeed, he was one of the five founders of the Hillel Academy, an astonishing commitment at a time when few could dream of successful day school and yeshiva education \u2013 he was never judgmental about another\u2019s level of observance.<\/p>\n

That was not his way.\u00a0 He loved the entirety of the Jewish community, from the most observant to the most liberal.\u00a0 His big heart and all-encompassing soul related to all.\u00a0\u00a0 Dr. Solomon B. Freehof, Dean of the Reform rabbinate in his day and rabbi of Pittsburgh\u2019s Rodef Shalom Temple, loved Donald\u2019s company and loved even more to schmooze with this \u201creal Yid.\u201d<\/p>\n

His contributions to the Jewish community extended to the larger community as well \u2013 an expression of his fundamental \u201cJewishness\u201d \u2013 bordered on the legendary.\u00a0\u00a0 He was the enlightened, creative and respected leader of Poale Zedeck where he served as president for many years, served on Federation, Jewish Family & Children\u2019s Service as president.\u00a0\u00a0 When Pittsburgh became a major center for liver transplant surgery and we set up accommodations for families accompanying their loved ones for the long hospital stay \u2013 Donald and Chantze were our first primary partners, a role they continued to cherish long after we left Pittsburgh \u2026 caring, sharing, serving and giving all they needed to countless such families who, long after their loved ones\u2019 recovery, continued to talk about what the Butlers \u201cdid for us\u201d .<\/p>\n

Donald Butler personified human decency. \u00a0Everything about him reflected the highest standards of decency, from his impeccable attire, warm and engaging handshake, embrace and conversation, his gentle rapport, demeanor and smile, to his acceptance of all.\u00a0 The home that he and Chantze made was open to so many.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh sure, I was there for Shabbos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes, I stayed for 2 weeks until I found a place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI stayed for 4 months while convalescing from surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who did not feel his warmth and compassion?\u00a0 The Shabbos table he presided over and that Chantze set was a model of warmth, dignity, sophistication, kindness, delicacy and pure love.\u00a0 Just to see the two of them was enough to revive one\u2019s faith in all that is good in the world.\u00a0 Their 67 year \u00a0relationship exuded pure love.\u00a0 Theirs was a marriage that, had I not seen it first-hand, seemed only to exist in romantic poetry.<\/p>\n

Their warmth was apparent to everyone.\u00a0 One of my daughters, who was only a young child when we left Pittsburgh, told me when she heard of Uncle Donald\u2019s passing that being with the Butlers made you feel love and warmth all around you.<\/p>\n

So true.<\/p>\n

I cannot recall Donald ever being negative in his tone or his approach.\u00a0 During the countless meetings I attended with him, I never heard him berate or demean anyone for their views.\u00a0 His manner was always pleasant, understanding and positive.\u00a0 That did not mean that he did not have passionately held views and beliefs.\u00a0\u00a0 He did.\u00a0 But he respected and valued every one of God\u2019s creatures, and his manner made his respect clear.<\/p>\n

He was the epitome of Kiddush haShem.\u00a0 A man of genuine goodwill, he was looked up to in all Jewish circles and beyond as a model of how an observant Jew should <\/i>behave.<\/p>\n

While all of us who knew him and met him felt the warmth of his kindness and were made to feel we were part of his family his deepest love was showered on his mishpocha <\/i>\u2013 his love for his four children and twenty grandchildren and forty-five <\/i>great-grandchildren knew no bounds.\u00a0 All that he deemed valuable and precious, he gave to them.\u00a0 And they accepted his gifts gladly, as evidenced by their own love and commitment to the things that were important to him.<\/p>\n

He was the best kind of parent, one who parented by example.<\/p>\n

But even his love for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren burned less brightly than his love for Chantze.\u00a0 As his across the street neighbor, I often noted that Donald would not leave for \u201cwork\u2019 until well after the majority of people had already put in a good few hours at their place of employ.\u00a0 But he never rushed to work.\u00a0 He knew all too well that there were more important things in life, like the special time he shared with his Chantze over a beautiful breakfast.\u00a0 That, to him, was much more valuable than getting to work \u201cearly\u201d.\u00a0 Or the time he devoted to long chats with his brother Abraham, who lived downstairs in the \u201cbig house\u201d.<\/p>\n

Happy is the man who knows what is important.\u00a0 And Donald knew what was important.<\/p>\n

Reflecting upon his passing, I realize that beyond the rebbeim<\/i>, teachers and masters from whom I learned\u00a0 Torah, chesed<\/i> and more, I was also privileged to learn and absorb so many lessons from my unforgettable, \u00a0devoted and generous friend Donald z\u201dl<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The world is a lesser place for his absence.\u00a0 But we are all enlarged if we can simply embrace the fundamental lessons of Donald\u2019s life and incorporate them into our own existence.<\/p>\n

May his memory be a blessing for all of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We live in fraught times; times of anger and fear; times of polarization.\u00a0 We see this in the politics of our nation and in the discourse by people of faith.\u00a0\u00a0 In so many aspects of life, people seem to sullenly retreat into those beliefs, feelings or opinions to which they subscribe, without regard for the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"featured_media":32468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nA Jew for All Jews: My Friend, Donald Butler - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-jew-for-all-jews-my-friend-donald-butler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Jew for All Jews: My Friend, Donald Butler - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We live in fraught times; 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