Tikva Frymer-Kensky Obituary

Dear Kensky Family,



I am so proud and grateful to have been Tikva's student.



As I told Tikva everytime we met - I have saved every note from every one of her classes- beginning years ago in Detroit when she was one of the first woman scholars to study, think and talk about Jewish women.



I will always hear her voice in her written words. I am so very sad for her loved ones. I am so sad that we will all miss learning from and with her. She had so much more to give!



I will remember her brillance and her courage.



May you find comfort in happy memories.

Dear Rabbi Kensky and Family,

Please accept our deepest sympathies. I will remember this important woman. Dr. Brad Ross

Like Kate Kinser, I heard Tikvah speak in the late 90s I think at a Hadassah meeting...one of the few I've ever attended. She was fascinating and I was thrilled to have the opportunity since I knew of her impact at the RRC and the U of C. She was a rare person who could embrace scholarly and popular culture. She will be missed.

Dear Rabbi Kensky,



Our family would like to express our condolences on the loss of Tikva whose great warmth and intellect touched the lives of so many.



Sincerely,

Gayle and Burt Zis

Dear Rabbi Kensky,

Tom, Kevin and I were very sorry to hear about Tikva. We hope that the love and support of your family and friends will comfort you in the days ahead.

Dear Rabbi Alan and family, Ruth and I were very saddened to hear of Tikva's pre mature passing. We remember her well from her visits to Delray Beach and listening to her words of wisdom. May you be comforted from above. Ruth and Paul Felder

Dear Allan, Meira, and Eitan: Nancy and I found the service yesterday at Beth Hillel to be a beautiful and moving tribute to Tikva. I feel fortunate to have been dean at the time Tikva joined the Divinity School faculty, and Nancy and I send our sincere sympathy. Clark Gilpin

Dear Rabbi Kensky and family, Please accept my condolences. I did not know Dr. Frymer-Kensky personally, but her scholarship had an impact on my studies at RRC, and I appreciate her contributions to Jewish and Biblical studies very much. I am saddened to hear of your loss and wish you comfort and strength.



Sincerely,

Rabbi Maurice Harris

I

remember Tikva so well from our time in Ann Arbor. She addressed the Jewish

Cultural Society once and we were so grateful for her scholarship and for

her inclusiveness. Her death is a loss to the whole Jewish world.

Tikva was not only a brilliant, innovative scholar, but a lovely human being with a great sense of humor who put people of every level of learning at ease in her presence. I was privileged to attend workshops and presentations that she gave at various synagogues and conferences over the years. I will always remember her talk (which I heard at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston back in the 90's) about being in labor, wanting to pray and having to read Babylonian (or maybe it was Mesopotamiam) Goddess texts because there were no Jewish sources appropriate to the occasion. Her presentation was both a plea for a recognition of women's spiritual needs and a please for humor and tolerance as we "worked this out" in our community. She was a blessing to us all. My heart goes out to her family and to all of us who will miss her presence.

Dear Rabbi Kensky, Meira, and Eitan,

Please accept my sincere condolences at this sad time of your wife and mother's death. I remember the vibrant Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky whom I first met when she talked with me about Eitan's coming to University High School. She was a wonderful advocate for her children! And, you, Eitan, were a wonderful addition to our University High student body. May the good memories of the times spent with her be with you always.

Sincerely,

Hanna Goldschmidt

Our thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

Dear Alan, Eitan, and Meira,

I'm so sorry for your loss. My memories of Tikva are strong and wonderful. She was a terrific teacher, writer, and colleague. I loved co-teaching with her and just having time to talk. I always learned something new from her.

I hope that your memories of Tikva and of her vibrant and powerful life give you comfort in the days to come.

Take care and be gentle with yourselves,

Linda and Betsy

Dear Rabbi Kensky, Meira, & Eitan



It was with great sadness that I heard of the passing of our beloved Rebbetzin.



My daughter recalls her passing out the chocolate gelt during Chanukah and her special way of tranlsting the Megillah during Purim



May God comfort the Kensky family among all mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.



With love,



The Noeh Family

Ellen, Kathy & Ed

Dear Rabbi and Family:: We extend our deep sympathies to you and your family for the loss of your dear beloved wife, mother,.... In the short time we knew your dear Tikva - only brilliance emanated.

Dear Kensky Family:



Many years of friendship, many sweet memories, many warm thoughts.

May you all find comfort among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Jeff & Debbie Pike

Dear Eitan and Family,

Our hearts were so saddened to hear of the death of your beloved mother. We think so much of you and share in your sorrow. You have been a special friend to Cody and we love you.

The Hess Family

Rabbi Kensky and Family:



I join so many others in mourning the death of our colleague, Tikva. May her memory be for a blessing and may you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Dear Alan and Family,



With a deep sadness I just learned of the recent passing of Tikva, my teacher. The precious memories of being her student were made sweeter by the many happy hours of socializing at RRC. Her presence was a gift to us all. May her memory be a blessing, and may you find comfort among the mourners of Zion.

Dear Rabbi Kensky & Famuily,

Our sincere condolences to your family during this difficult time!



Bill & Pearl Swidler & family.

Dear Rabbi Kensky,



We met you and your wife when our daughter, Amelia Devin Freedman, graduated from U of Chicago. Please accept our since condolences.

Dear Rabbi Kensky, Meira and Eitan,



It saddens me that one of the great lights of Jewish scholarship has been dimmed. Tikva was brilliant, and her ability to find unique ways to express her love and devotion to Torah was a gift to all of us at BHCBE. The sound of her voice remains with me, even though she is gone. I pray that you find comfort in knowing that she has left us all with a legacy of insight and wisdom. She will be missed.

Dear Kensky family,

Tikva was a wonderful teacher of mine at RRC. She balanced her brillance with her humaness. I carry her teachings and laughter into my own...Karen Landy

Dear Rabbi Kensky,Meira, Eitan

and Family:



The passing away of Tikva is of course a tremendous loss to your family and to the entire BHCBE congregation. It is also a tremendous loss to the world of academia and the Jewish community as well.



Her brilliance, wit, spirit and love of life is an inspiration to all that knew and loved her.



It was a privilege and an honor to know her. She will be missed by all.



Stay well and may God comfort your entire family among all mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Dear Kensky family,



We are so sorry to hear about Tikva's death! The memories of shared moments span studying, eating, dancing, crying and laughing togehter. Her valiant fight is one more example of her uniqueness, strength and amazing legacy.

May you find comfort in the teachings and memories sheleaves behind.



much love,

Dear Rabbi Kensky and Family,

It with with heavy heart that I extend my deepest sympathy to you upon the death of your beloved wife and mother, Tikva. The smile and brillance are gone, but will remain in the community forever.

May God Comfort you among the mourners in Zion and Jerusalem.

Mel F. Seidenberg