I have been mourning the death of our dear Adaire Klein. I have been revisiting my first meeting with her: In 1991 I was newly married, heading from Boston, MA to LA, CA via Teaneck, NJ where my husband's parents lived. I had need of a mikvah in Teaneck and went to one close by. I sat in the waiting room near a woman staffing the desk who said, "Oh I am just here with my daughter, she's the mikvah lady-I'm just visiting and watching the desk here. She'll be back in a minute." I was so struck by this woman's voice. We got to talking and she told me she was visiting from Los Angeles. Adaire asked me what I did and I told her that "I'm a librarian and had just left my research librarian position at Harvard. We're moving to Los Angeles." She laughed and said "I'm a librarian. When you get to LA let's talk about what you're gonna do." Adaire was my introduction to the field of Judaic librarianship in Los Angeles. She also welcomed and encouraged me to be involved with the Association of Jewish Libraries. In LA, we became friends, enjoying shabbat meals together ( I remember her tiny dog named Cinnamon--blind, deaf and three legged), and lunches during the week. We flew to Sacramento together to help a synagogue librarian (Posh) whose library had suffered some damage . We shared ideas and a bond over the idea that if all our kids learn about Jewish life is the Holocaust then they "will head for the hills" (her words). Manny, her husband who preceded her in death, was in my life as well. He was a talented worker and could fix most anything. He created built-in bookshelves in our home, pretty much according to Adaire's and my specs because we could guarantee that the shelves will never sag under the weight of books. In 2013 it was my honor as president of our synagogue, B'nai David-Judea to speak of the Klein role at our shul. Adaire and Manny's work in the shul was vital. Adaire and Manny welcomed all and made newcomers feel important. Every year on Simchat Torah, the children of the shul are called to gather for a blessing under a gigantic tallis. Manny and Adaire contributed that tallis. Adaire's reach went far beyond the walls of our shul. Her work in the Los Angeles community with people who were choosing to become Jews, to teach them week after week the ins and outs of being a Jew--was holy work. And we all know of her work with the Library of the Simon Wiesenthal Center--this too was sacred work. I will cherish the times I spent with Adaire, I will cherish the memory of our first meeting. It was fortuitous. I was lucky to have known her.
On Tue, Jul 18, 2023 at 4:46 AM Elliot H. Gertel via Hasafran < hasafran@lists.osu.edu> wrote: > I'm very sorry to hear of Adiare's passing. As others have mentioned, she > was a kind, very knowledgeable, and caring person. Adaire was one of the > first people I met when I went to my first AJL conference in Miami Beach in > 1991, and > I'm very sorry to hear of Adiare's passing. As others have mentioned, she > was a kind, very knowledgeable, and caring person. Adaire was one of the > first people I met when I went to my first AJL conference in Miami Beach in > 1991, and was a great colleague, always very helpful, when I moved to > Southern California and joined AJLSC later that year. In 1995, when we > held the first joint AJL-ALA program in Chicago, she was one of several > excellent presenters in a session that dealt with a range of different > collections in which Adaire detailed the purpose, goals, programs, and > materials in the Wiesenthal Center. She will be greatly missed by her > family and, of course, the many friends and colleagues she made in AJL over > the decades. May her memory be for a blessing. > > > *Elliot H. Gertel* *עלע־הערש גערטל / אליהו־צבי גרטל* > *Irving M. Hermelin Curator Emeritus of Judaica * > *The University of Michigan * > *Ann Arbor, Michigan * > *eger...@umich.edu* <eger...@umich.edu> > > > On Sun, Jul 16, 2023 at 12:02 PM Robbin Katzin via Hasafran < > hasafran@lists.osu.edu> wrote: > >> I am sorry to inform you that Adaire Klein passed away in Jerusalem on >> Friday. Adaire was the long time librarian at the Simon Wiesenthal Center >> in Los Angeles. Robbin Katzin Chicago, IL >> >> I am sorry to inform you that Adaire Klein passed away in Jerusalem on >> Friday. 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