Blast from the Past

Last night, I went to the MRJ-West Man of the Year Dinner. While reading the list of honorees, I was surprised to see a name from my past, Bernie Kessler. When I was young (and I mean young—we’re speaking under 10), my family belonged to Temple Israel of Westchester (a/k/a Temple Jeremiah). Mr. Kessler was a past congregational president, active in temple brotherhood, and one of the teachers in the religious school. I remember taking classes from both Mr. Kessler and his daughter, Honey. But I haven’t seen him since our family moved to West LA in 1972 and we switched to Wilshire Blvd Temple. So it was quite a pleasant surprise to see him again after 40 years.