THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY PROFESSOR ASHER MATATHIAS IN MEMORIAM OF NAT MURR, Z'L

B"H
                       LONG ISLAND LODGE No. 1353 B'NAI B'RITH
                       Post Office Box 51, Woodmere, NY 11598-0051
                       (516)374-2958 F 0951 E-mail:AsherJmat@Aol.com
                                             www.BBInet.org 
                                                                                                 

 April 8, 2004

   A Tragic End To A Worthy Life ...

On this first Hol HaMoed Pesach (intermediary day of Passover), there is more time to digest distraught news first encountered on the holiday's eve, receiving the April 2, 2004 edition of The Jewish Star. There, amid festival greetings, was Jesse Sherer's story, seemingly innocuous for appearing so common in its headline: Man killed in auto accident after leaving area shul — Fatality deemed an accident.

Dutifully, I read the details and was instantly stunned to reflect that the accident's aftermath was experienced by me, as I was returning from a visit to my Mother Nina, in Astoria, and encountered the traffic that necessitated a detour to reach my home. However, I was infinitely more saddened, crushed, really, to learn that the victim was a saintly man, the distinguished Nathan Murr, of Glen Ridge Avenue, North Woodmere.

For years, this Hungarian immigrant, was the heart and soul of a large circle of emigres from that glorious Old World Jewish corner who joined the late, revered Rabbi Theodore Jungreis who, with his wife Esther (both Holocaust survivors), founded Congregation Ohr Torah, serving as officer and board member. Along with his beloved Sally, z"l (who predeceased him last year, and for whom he cared with such devotion through her protracted infirmity), Nathan Murr graced his congregation with a regal presence — Oh! I shall miss his warm, inviting welcome, smiling broadly, whenever I entered the sanctuary — frequently leading Sabbath and holiday services, always in the forefront of every communal effort to raise needed funds.  

My last encounter with this Son of the Covenant was via a telephonic message he left me. He had just completed reading several articles in the monthly B'nai B'rith Today, a publication of our MetroNorth Region, which either featured my byline or covered my modest initiatives to advance Judaism's never-ending aspiration to care for our fellows, and / or repair any societal shortcomings. He was effusive in his praise, encouraging, and proud of my work!

Yesterday, the second day of Pesach, I trekked to Ohr Torah to be and worship with Nat's fellow congregants, my dear friends. We exchanged felicitations and, with shul spiritual leader Rabbi Mordekai Shapiro — a recent grandfather to two granddaughters, and honoree as "Educator of the Year" by the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls, Jamaica Estates — shared fond recollections of a lovely eighty-year-old man whose life was snuffed out at the pavement, having just said Kaddish for his wife, run over by an automobile.

Then, as Gabbai Neal Neumann was completing the morning Zemirot, I was beckoned to the pulpit to lead Shaharit and Hallel. For this zahut (merit), in gratitude and appreciation, I sought to perform the tasks with evident gusto and emotion (incorporating Sephardic tunes to the Ashkenazic repertoire, learned over many years of wonderful association), in silent dedication to the memory of Nat Murr, z"l.

The Officers and Trustees of our Lodge record with profound regret the untimely passing of Nathan Murr, z"l, extending profound sympathy to his family, personal and congregational, and the myriad of friends and associates. May his memory be a source of inspiration and succor to all who were fortunate to know him, for years to come; and may his sweet soul be bound in everlasting life. Amen.
     
Sincerely, and with fraternal affection,
    
Prof. Asher J. Matathias, President, L.I. Lodge, B'B'