Jacob Robert Handelman

Jacob Robert Handelman, age 58, passed away on Friday, October 16, 2020. Jacob was born in Rochester, New York to Estelle and Stanley Handelman. He earned a BA from Connecticut College and a MA from Antioch College. He married his beloved Jeanne Fawcett on August 14, 1993 in Wellesley, MA. Jacob’s first career was in theater production, culminating in his work for the Wellesley College theater. He then worked and contributed a great deal of his time supporting and serving the Insight Seminars

community in around Boston over the past 30 years in a number of capacities including City

Director. Insight Seminars is a global educational organization dedicated to supporting people

in connecting to their heart's purpose and living their lives from a deeper sense of meaning. He

embodied the heart-centered lessons of Insight in all areas of his life, as a husband, father,

friend and leader and leaving our world a better and brighter place. He also met his wife,

Jeanne, in the Insight community shortly after they each got involved.

Fifteen years ago Jacob established Handelman Construction ( From Tweaks to

Transformations ), helping homeowners in the Boston area build and improve their homes. His

customers praised his professionalism, integrity, and compassion. Jacob formed meaningful

connections with both his customers and employees. One example was his work on a Buddhist

temple where he and his wife Jeanne were invited back for their opening ceremony and service,

and later was invited to lead a class on self-improvement and achieving goals.

Jacob was a spiritual force in our community.

As an active member at Temple Sha’Arei Shalom, Jacob’s deep spirituality and incredibly kind

soul touched the lives of many people in the Temple community.He challenged us all to

approach our faith from all angles, reminding us that if we have kids that don’t want to sit in

services to reach them in a different way, to help them discover their spiritual connection in

their comfort zone. He would often dedicate his time and his woodworking skills to maintain

and repair the Ark, which holds the sacred scrolls of Judaism, the Torah. He became the

resident “sound engineer” for services and was an integral part of the Shabbat Live musical

service. His regular presence in our community was felt by many and will be missed by all.

Jacob is involved in the Men’s Division, a group focused on building and maintaining

meaningful, supportive connections between men. He was a natural leader and a senior

trainer: A man you could go to for counsel, advice and perspective. He had vision, honor and

integrity. He stood up for what he believed. These qualities caused men to line up behind him.

An avid Yoga enthusiast, Jacob walked with Spirit, came from love, and always made time to

engage and inspire those around him to learn and grow. Jacob lived his values and extended

himself to the people he knew. He modeled gratitude and described himself as “PURE JOY”.

We know that his legacy of practicing kindness with an open heart lives on through every life

he touched.

Jacob is survived by his wife Jeanne and five children: Etana, Saria, Becca, Leah, and Joshua; his

siblings and their spouses: Allen Handelman, Bruce Handelman, Paul (Mayumi) Handelman,

Sabrina (Robert) Haber-Karr, Becca (Chris) Lupton; and by his many aunts, uncles, cousins,

nieces, nephews and friends.

Graveside services were private.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances in Jacob's memory may be made to a GoFundMe that has been established, https://www.gofundme.com/f/7ea47-help-jacob039s-family?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1