By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Rabbi Wayne Dosick, 77, was eulogized by a succession of fellow clergy members Tuesday, March 18, in the chapel of Congregation Beth Israel and in the chat room of an overwhelmed Zoom cast hosted by Am Israel Mortuary that drew 839 remote users.
Easily 1,000 mourners attended the funeral in one fashion or another for San Diego County’s longest-serving rabbi who since 1975 had occupied the pulpits of Congregations Beth El and Beth Am as well as his own Elijah Minyan.
Dosick was ordained at Hebrew Union College, an arm of the Reform Movement, and served as the leader of two Conservative synagogues, before starting the Elijah Minyan, which became part of the Jewish Renewal Movement.
The funeral service was conducted by Rabbi Elie Spitz, emeritus rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel of Tustin, and Cantor Kathy Robbins of the Elijah Minyan.
Spitz said that Dosick, who died Friday night of a heart attack, March 14, had the “gift of creating an awareness of the presence of God in each moment and in each person. … Wayne had vision, irrepressible energy. … So many of his [10] books and so many of his teachings were visionary. Whoever Wayne saw, he elevated.”
When Dosick came upon an indigent person standing at a freeway ramp, he would not only give that person money, but also would “look them in the eye and say ‘How are you?’” Spitz related.
Robbins, who led the mourners in melodious prayers, said Dosick “truly had a knack for creating chants.” One of them, which she led, repeated the phrase “grace and love and compassion.”
Rabbi Dosick’s simple pine coffin was placed in front of the lectern.
Rabbi Sammy Barr called Dosick a man with a “towering intellect” and Rabbi Ori David Gelb said “to me he was a mentor and a guide.”
San Diego Rabbi Yael Ridberg of Congregation Dor Hadash, a Reconstructionist congregation, wrote in the Zoom chat room that Dosick was “a generous and thoughtful soul. May his memory be a blessing as his life surely was.”
The streaming service carried to 839 devices frequently was interrupted by buffering and jumps, which one user suggested was testament to how popular Rabbi Dosick was.
Rabbi/ Cantor Caitlin Bromberg, who served for one year as guest clergy at the Elijah Minyan before moving on to officiate services at Temple Etz Rimon in Carlsbad, wrote: “I love you Rabbi Wayne. You touched so many hearts and changed the world. I am deeply grateful for your life.”
And to Dosick’s wife, Ellen, Rabbi/ Cantor Bromberg wrote: “Ellen, May Shechinah lift you up as she bears Wayne’s soul on Her wings. So much love.”
“Shechinah” is God’s feminine aspect.
There were these other comments from clergy:
Chaplain Candi Wuhrman: “Sending so much love and light to you and your family, Ellen! Wayne’s vibrant spirit will forever be a blessing!”
Rabbi Shawn Zevit: “Bless you holy brother, for the light and justice you brought into the world.”
Rabbi Laura Owens: “What a blessing Rabbi Wayne has been to multitudes, yet with each one of us a personal and individual connection.”
Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray: :What a generous spirit and loving teacher- a hazzanut (cantorial songs) fan and a fan of hazzanim (cantors)- I was so blessed to be inspired by him and to know him.”
Rabbi Stephan Parnes: “We primarily connected online, but when we met at a retreat it was as though we had always been together!”
Lay people also weighed in on the loss of Rabbi Dosick.
Lisa Olszanski: “Wayne will be deeply missed for his Light in the world and for the lives he touched an guided in his lifetime.”
Laurel & Stan Schwartz: “We will remember San Diego’s longest serving rabbi. May his memory be with us always.”
Sandee Ruckersberg; “Man of stories, man of his word, man of men. A man whose kindness and good deeds will live in my heart. He made a difference.”
Martha Brewer-Hong: “Rabbi was the embodiment of love. I aspire to be like him. So much love being sent to Ellen and family.”
Dr. F. Scott Gray: “A blessing and a treasure of a rabbi, teacher and friend. During my recent illness Rabbi Wayne was present and caring- I am so grateful.”
Following the funeral service, Rabbi Dosick was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery in San Diego.
Between the rabbi’s death and the funeral, his wife, Ellen Kaufman Dosick, sent a note to friends and congregants of the Elijah Minyan. It concluded with these words:
“With Rabbi Wayne’s passing, the life of the Elijah Minyan has been foreshortened. And so we are in the midst of two enormous griefs: the loss of Rabbi Wayne, and the loss of our minyan. To have these collide with one another is devastating and overwhelming. Perhaps one of the things that can help is reaching out to each other, connecting with each other, supporting and loving one another. And I am calling upon every one of us to do that.
“Rabbi Wayne modelled and taught us to truly love each other, and to remind ourselves and each other of the ever-Presence of the Shechinah and the Wholeness and Holiness of Anochi [one of God’s names.] We can honor and carry on his legacy by living his teachings, and through our very be-ing, heal our world.
“It has been my very great honor and delight to serve you with Rabbi Wayne, over these 32 years. I love you very much and hold each of you, and our shared Elijah Minyan, close in my heart, with deep appreciation and great joy.”
*
Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World