'No regrets' and a 1999 Succoth family portrait

Left: Succoth family portrait, 1999.

'A Torah way of life'

"...I have no regrets," Larry told his Aunt Rose in a July 1998 letter, sent only weeks before her death. "I feel grateful to have a way open for me to grow as a person and as a Jew .... "

Making sense of it all
Summarizing how he came to find himself "landing in Israel," Larry explained that it was "a consequence of ... efforts to make sense and relevance of my Jewish identity."

Unbeatable opportunity
The last step was the doing of "an astute Jew," whom Larry described only as "a businessman, a Holocaust survivor, and a Talmud-chacum" or student of the Talmud. So impressed with Larry was this businessman that he offered "... the

opportunity to study in a yeshiva in Israel -- free passage and all!" Before accepting, Larry required only "some initial convincing...." he said. In spite of his view of the challenge as "a possibly overwhelming situation," Larry concluded that he had "enough trust in myself to keep a cool head while examining, debating and experiencing a Torah way of life."

"I was given a round-trip ticket," Larry wrote, "but I haven't yet returned to the States."