Larry Gritton
My late wife Jennifer’s three most admired men were Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi Samuel Dresner and Elie Wiesel.
Of course she never knew Heschel but she quoted him often and read most everything he wrote or commented on. There is a quote of his on her grave stone – “Build your life as if it was a work of art.” If you knew Jennifer you would know how apropos that quote is – she was an artist, graphic designer, songwriter for toasts, Shakespeare savant, Haftorah chanter and poetry lover, as she could recite the Jabberwocky from memory and even when she was very sick remember word for word poems her children wrote and books she read to them.
Rabbi Samuel Dresner was a disciple of Heschel. He was the first Rabbi at Moriah Congregation in Deerfield in the late ‘70s. Jennifer’s Mother, Millie Levy and her Husband Frank Levy were founding members of Moriah and were very close to the Dresners, and so was Jennifer. Rabbi Dresner put a group of couples together who remain close friends today. Jennifer delivered a eulogy at his memorial service.
And now to the point of this story, Elie Wiesel. We first met Elie at an Elie Wiesel weekend hosted by Moriah when Dresner was Rabbi, as they were also very close and disciples of Heschel. Elie would give a lecture at a Shabbat Dinner on Friday night and then would read the Haftorah at Shabbat services on Saturday, chanting a unique melody in his accented quiet voice that fully resonated with the Congregation, who listened in complete silence. During one such weekend Rabbi Dresner asked us if we would do him a favor and drive Elie to his hotel in Glenview after the Kiddush lunch. Of course we readily agreed. Jennifer sat in the back seat with Elie and for the 15 minute drive to the hotel there wasn’t a moment of silence, as the two of them chatted away.
When Jennifer contracted her illness years later, Rabbi Sam Fraint, who replaced Rabbi Dresner at Moriah, brought Elie at his request to our house to visit with Jennifer, and again the two of them dominated the discussion. A few days later Jennifer received the personal note from Elie pictured above, which meant so much to all of us.
Fast forward to the Shiva at our house in Highland Park on May 9, 2001 after Jen finally succumbed to her disease, when I answered the phone in the afternoon. “Leddy, it’s Elie” he said – that’s how he pronounced my name in his heavily accented Israeli accent. He then apologized for not being able to attend the funeral or Shiva in person as he was in New York on business, including I believe an appearance on The Tonight Show. Imagine receiving a phone call from a Nobel Peace Prize winner, a Holocaust survivor, prolific author and strong advocate for human rights and peace, admired by all. What a thrill, certainly a phone call I will never forget. His note is framed in my bedroom and is another reminder to me of wonderful and difficult times.
Editor’s note: Jennifer would have turned 75 today—7/5/25.