Sanctuary at Temple Judea Named to Honor Rabbi Donald Goor

When Harriet and Harvey Bookstein invited Rabbi Don Goor of Temple Judea and Cantor Evan Kent to dinner, Rabbi Goor assumed it would simply be a lovely evening with generous and caring congregants whom he has known for years.  Fond of surprises, the Booksteins had another agenda in mind for the dinner: A secret plan that would move Rabbi Goor to tears, or, as he later described, "[It] made me feel completely ferklempt." 

The Bookstein family had made an unusual request when they supported the Legacy project with the gift of our spectacular new sanctuary. As holders of the naming rights, their wish was to name the sanctuary in honor of Rabbi Donald Goor with the stipulation that he remain unaware of the tribute until the very last minute when his name was actually installed on the wall. They understood his deep sense of humility and that such a great honor might initially embarrass him. 

"Rabbi Goor has been such an integral part of our family for years, officiating at weddings, B'nai Mitzvah, funerals and important lifecycles," explained Harvey and Harriet.  "He is really the essence of Judaism and Temple Judea for us, and it was a shared family decision to name the sanctuary for him.  We wanted to pay tribute to our rabbi in a permanent and enduring way so that his legacy would be forever honored at Temple Judea." 

Co-conspirator and Executive Director Ellen Franklin worked with Harvey and Harriet to keep their secret during construction, going so far as scrambling the letters on the order form so the sign company wouldn't accidentally leak the news. Later, Ellen had to creatively stall when Rabbi Goor repeatedly expressed concern that the Bookstein name was not on the sanctuary wall just days before the grand opening.

As dessert was winding down on the night of the big reveal, the Booksteins brought out two large bags of wooden letters, saying that they loved Scrabble and that the game was sort of a family tradition after a special dinner. They had the letters and bags fabricated just for this occasion several weeks earlier.  Rabbi Goor and Cantor Kent opened the first bag and played around with the letters, unaware of exactly what they were doing. 

After some speedy wordsmithing, they realized the letters spelled out "Rabbi Donald Goor" and Rabbi Goor delightedly said he would be proud to hang these nice letters on the wall of his office.  Smiling, the Booksteins encouraged him to work on the second bag of letters which took a little more effort, but Rabbi Goor eventually figured out S-A-N-C-T-U-A-R-Y.  Puzzled, he and Cantor Kent stared at the combination of words for several minutes until the realization hit them.

"I just couldn't believe such generosity that they would want to honor me with my name on our sanctuary," said Rabbi Goor.  "It was emotional, exciting and I was in tears.  I felt tremendously humbled, slightly uncomfortable and a huge sense of gratitude. 

As the letters were installed just before our grand opening, Rabbi Goor stood in front of the sanctuary and saw his name on the sanctuary for the very first time.

"Among all the other feelings that welled up in me was one overwhelming thought. I only wish I could share this great honor with my mom. She would have been so proud."

–Gail Aspinwall