On 5 April 2020, Rabbi Daniel Fogel - loving husband of Eleanor, father of Kenneth (Nancy) and Caren (Douglas), brother to Miriam and Dorothy, and grandfather of Rachael, Rebecca, Sarah, Ben, Alicia and Arianna - passed away in West Orange, New Jersey. He was 87 years old.
Dan was born in Wyandotte, Michigan, raised on the top floor of “Fogel’s Super Service,” a gas station his father bought after losing the family home in the Great Depression. Dan graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science, where he also developed his passion for Michigan sports, was elected as President of Hillel, and met the love of his life, Eleanor.
Following his calling to make a difference in people’s lives and serve the Jewish community, he received his Rabbinic Ordination and Masters of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College in 1960. From 1960-1966, he was Assistant/Associate Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Roslyn Heights, NY. In 1966, he became the Senior Rabbi of North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, NY where he served for more than 30 years, during which time he also received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity. Upon retirement, he continued as Rabbi Emeritus, enriching three generations of congregants' lives and their connections to Judaism through his warmth, compassion and wisdom.
Beyond North Shore, Dan pursued many opportunities to support individuals within his community, including as a marriage and family counselor and Chaplain at the Merchant Marine Academy.
Dan was also deeply involved in civil and human rights. He was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, marching in St. Augustine at the request of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with fifteen other rabbis. Together they were jailed as part of the largest mass arrest of rabbis in history. His sense of justice led him to actively support refuseniks, or Soviet Jews who were denied permission to emigrate. He traveled to the Soviet Union to meet with them and help provide for their basic and religious needs. He encouraged activism within his community, developing a Social Action Committee at North Shore Synagogue.
His contributions have been honored by the Anti-Defamation League, United Jewish Appeal and Long Island Committee for Soviet Jewry, among others.
Dan inspired countless people, none moreso than his family. He loved his family deeply and was especially proud of all of his grandchildren, who thought of him as their hero. No one could lead a seder like Dan, who ended the Motzi (Jewish prayer before eating) by saying, “play ball.” Dan always was and will always embody the true essence of what it means to be a mensch.
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