Editor’s Note: The following was written by Rabbi Michael Alper of Congregation Temple Israel and first appeared in TI’s June 23 email newsletter. It is reprinted here with full permission.

An Unexpected Legacy 

I don’t remember when I first met Robert Burg. His was a familiar face from High Holy Days services, where he usually sat close to the front, and occasionally our paths crossed at a local restaurant that we both enjoyed, but we rarely did more than greet each other. Until that is, I gave a sermon one year that included the story of Operation Opera, a surprise Israeli Air Force strike against Iran. Following the sermon, he approached me and asked if we could get together because he too had some stories to share about his own military service.

Mr. Burg served for 3 1/2 years in the Army Air Corps, ending up in Guam with a B-29 outfit. His stories were amazing, and I was enthralled. He was the age of my own grandfather, who had been born in Europe and immigrated to the United States during World War II, but Mr. Burg had been born in St. Louis, and there was something so compelling to imagine him fighting for the sake of people just like my grandfather and so many others, helping fight the Nazis and making the world a better place. During one of our conversations, he gave me the Hebrew Bible that he carried with him throughout his service, and I was so honored that he entrusted it to me.

If you had asked me more about Mr. Burg’s life, I would not have known much more than what he shared with me. I followed his lead in what he wanted to share and was a grateful listener. I knew that he was a widower because he came to services each year to say kaddish for his wife. He always dressed quite modestly, and had you asked me, I would have assumed that he was living with limited financial means. And I would have assumed that while he appreciated Temple Israel since I really only encountered him at those rare services and when we met to talk about the war, I would not have suggested that TI meant a great deal to him.

But apparently it did, because when Mr. Burg passed away, he left an incredibly generous gift to TI in his will, one that will help increase our endowment and help sustain us for many years to come. Because of his generosity, we will be able to continue to be here making relationships, listening to stories, and providing a Jewish home for all who need it. His gift is a beautiful reminder that relationships matter and that the more we honor those in our midst, and listen to the stories of those around us, it is impossible to know how the world can change for the better.