By Paul J. Condra
Funeral and memorial services were held Monday at the temple, where Saperstein's two sons, who live in Washington D.C., came to remember their father. The current Rabbi, Paul Joseph, and the former assistant, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, also spoke at the funeral. Yoffie currently serves as president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (U.A.H.C), the umbrella organization of Reform Judaism in North America. Acquaintances said Saperstein's wife of 60 years, Marcia, stayed in Washington as she is not well.
In his eulogy, Marc Saperstein played a recording of his father's final sermon to the temple on June 27, 1980, right before he retired. For those who had grown up with the temple, that date marked the close of an important chapter in the history of the congregation as it saw the retirement of the man crucial to its development.
Saperstein Plaza, a stretch behind the Temple, was named after the Rabbi in 1980.
The Hebrew Educational Alliance of Lynbrook was created in 1920. But it was not until 1933, when the temple's first rabbi, Adolph Lasker, Saperstein's uncle, passed away, that Saperstein, then 23, was asked to fill in on a part-time basis.
Part-time quickly grew to more than full-time as Saperstein became crucial to the development of the congregation. He was noted for his heavy involvement in world affairs and an ability to increase the esteem of his work among his peers, bringing a distinguished reputation to Emanu-El.
In 1939, for example, the rabbi took a trip to study Jewish life in Europe and Palestine, during which, the New York Times reported he had been shot in an Arab ambush. He returned slightly wounded with stories to tell.
In 1943, he joined the U.S. Army to head overseas as a war-time chaplain, and in 1967, during a Sabbatical, the rabbi was present to witness the Six Day War in Israel.
Saperstein was married to Marcia in 1940. They were a couple who did everything together, and she was with him during his Sabbatical.
He was always saying, Marcia and I did this, or Marcia and I did that,' said Seena Weisman, who was a longtime friend of Saperstein. They were always together.
For Weisman, who nostalgically points out much of her generation, which is also Saperstein's generation, is vanishing from the halls of Temple Emanuel El, his passing represents the end of an era.
But to those who knew him, his work was always secondary to his humanity. Saperstein was a passionate, humorous and gentle man who taught others to treasure every moment of life.
At the funeral, Rabbi Joseph told the story of how, in his younger years, he asked Saperstein how best to conduct funerals for congregation members without getting nervous.
Saperstein told him, Don't worry, I get nervous all the time, sometimes I even faint. Joseph wasn't sure how true this was, but it sure eased the tension.
Indeed, Saperstein wasn't one to fuss over particulars. Weisman said her husband, Stan, who was ushering one evening, was hesitant to seat a very scantily-dressed woman who was attending a Friday service. He went to Saperstein, and the rabbi told him the important thing is that she was there to worship, and to give her a seat.
Now, those who revered the rabbi, will have only his memory to continue his message. At his funeral, his son Marc repeated what his father said to a new class of rabbis in 1972:
To the young, groping and searching in the darkness of a world they never made; to those of mature years, so engrossed in their problems they have lost sight of their purpose; to the aged, whose eyes are dulled more by loneliness than by the years; to all of them you will have the opportunity of bringing the message that life is meaningful.
Saperstein is survived by his wife, Marcia; his sons, Marc, who is the chair of the program for Judaic Studies at George Washington University, and David, who is the director of the U.A.H.C's Religious Action Center; and his four grandchildren. They all live in Washington D.C.
Burial took place at New Montefiore Cemetery in Farmingdale.
