אֲשׁוֹרֵר שִׁירָה לִכְבוֹד הַתּוֹרָה
מִפָּז יְקָרָה זַכָּה וּבָרָה
I shall sing a song in honor of Torah,
More treasured than gold, pure and refined.

—Refael Barukh Toledano (Morocco-Israel, 1890-1970)
Translation by Jenny Golub

Growing up, Silver family car rides were accompanied by one of two soundtracks: Simon and Garfunkel, or Shabbat at BJ. Those who have been part of the community for decades may remember cassette tapes (no, not CDs) with the Shabbat services recorded. Windows rolled down, heading north on the Hutch, on summer Fridays the Silver kids were singing “Lo Yisa Goy” in a loud dysfunctional round, in far-from-perfect Argentinian accents. 

Listen to Lo Yisa Goy from Side 2 of the 1992 Music of Shabbat recording. 

Roly has been my lifelong rabbi, his voice on the soundtrack of Shabbat for my entire life. He blessed my brothers as they became Bar Mitzvah, talked through my questions about God with me when I was in high school and showed so many of us by example how to live a life that honors Torah. Over the last several years, I’ve had the privilege of knowing Roly more closely as I’ve stepped into leadership roles of this sacred community. 

I want to share one story that captures what it has meant to have him as my rabbi. In 2019, when my grandfather, Maks Etingin z”l passed away, he came on the final night of shiva to my grandmother Rochelle’s apartment. Roly knelt beside her as she sat on a low stool and offered her words of comfort in Hebrew, her first language. It was a deeply moving sight in itself. But what stayed with me most was knowing that he had just come off a plane from Argentina, where only days earlier he had been sitting shiva for his own mother, Julia. Still a mourner himself, Roly came to guide my grandmother and our family through our grief. Four years later he then officiated my beloved grandmother’s funeral. Months after that, he blessed me and Adam on our wedding day. And just five months ago he recited the blessing revealing our daughter Nava Rachel’s name to our friends and family, naming her in Grandma’s memory.

This is who Roly has been to so many of us: present in moments of joy and in moments of sorrow and hope, carrying his own burdens while helping others carry theirs. His wisdom, compassion, and humanity have shaped this community in countless ways. His rabbinate has been a beautiful song that honors the Torah.

Now, as BJ enters its next chapter and as we begin raising our daughter within this community, we feel especially grateful for the opportunity to pass those gifts on to the next generation. We want Nava to grow up surrounded by the same music, Torah, friendships, and sense of purpose that have enriched our lives.

Roly, on behalf of generations who have grown up guided by your Torah, thank you for being our rabbi, our teacher, our leader. We are so deeply grateful.

Shabbat shalom,

Leah Silver