Family ties span decades
RANDI BAROCAS
|
 Rachel Fell (right) uncovers a plaque bearing her name at the American Independence Park outside Jerusalem as her family - mother, Sharona (from left), brothers, Jonathan and Avi, and father, Daniel - watches. The Fellers were in Israel to dedicate the forests that were planted with Rachel's contributions to the Jewish National Fund. |
The couple had been active in their synagogue in Park Forest, Ill. Morris served as interim rabbi and Thelma served as cantorial soloist for a year while the congregation searched for a replacement rabbi.
When word got out locally about the newcomers' lay leadership abilities, they were courted by Phil Chapman, then head of Temple Beth Israel's religious school, to fill a need at Kivel Geriatric Center, Thelma Feller says. Residents there, many of whom were unable to go elsewhere, needed someone to officiate at Shabbat and High Holiday services at the facility. Morris' knowledge of Judaism coupled with Thelma's strong musical experience were a perfect fit for the job.
The Fellers' willingness to take on the responsibility led to a long, solid connection to the Jewish community for not just themselves, but for their children, and now grandchildren. The Feller family has become part of Valley Jewish history
For 20 years, Morris and Thelma officiated at monthly Shabbat services, seders and High Holiday services at Kivel. Morris taught Hebrew and Yiddish for the Bureau of Jewish Education and at Phoenix High School of Jewish Studies. Thelma briefly managed the Goldsmith Building at Kivel, and for many years conducted a Kivel residents' choir.
"It was wonderful," says Thelma of the longtime relationship she and her husband shared with Kivel, adding that she never felt as if she and Morris missed out on congregational life at their own synagogue
'A strong thread'
Such ties to the Jewish community impressed the importance of Judaism upon their children from an early age. While Morris and Thelma's sons
Daniel Feller, the only son who resides in the Valley today, says connecting to Jewish life was a "very natural transition" for him, stressing that Judaism is a "thick and strong thread that runs through three generations" of his family.
Indeed it is. Daniel not only pursued his own interest in Judaism
Together, Daniel and Sharona have had a large impact on their own congregation. Blessed through his mother with musical ability, Daniel, an ophthalmologist, conducts the Temple Chai adult choir. He composes music for the choir and for his wife. The entire congregation now sings the Yom Kippur "Alcheyt" prayer music he composed to match Sharona's vocal range, he says.
Sharona has continued the Feller family tradition of service to the community, taking advantage of her position as cantor at one of the Valley's largest congregations to "bring together a variety of religious institutions in Phoenix," says her husband. "She is responsible for resurrecting the community-wide Thanksgiving service. She started the community zimriah (song festival) by inviting choirs of all congregations to come together. She's always trying to create community
Such examples could hardly go unnoticed by the couple's three children, who already are showing signs of dedication to the Jewish traditions of mitzvot (kind deeds) and tzedakkah (charity).
In addition to serving as an officer in Temple Chai Temple Youth, 15-year-old Rachel Feller, a 10th-grader at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, is responsible for the planting of two forests in Israel
Rachel says the choice to give up bat mitzvah gifts for charity was a "joint decision" between her and her parents. "All my friends already had their (b'nai mitzvah), and you don't really need all those things," she says. "It made more sense for all of those things people would have given me to go to the greater good of the community.
"What I contributed to was not just Jewish National Fund," she explains. "It was the greenbelt around Jerusalem which has many things
Following his sister's lead, 12-year-old Avi Feller also has decided to forego bar mitzvah gifts for charity. "My sister having done this, it helped me (make a similar decision) because ... we got to go to Israel to plant her trees. That was an experience for all of us
"You kind of want to be a little different than your sister," he continues. "I wanted to do something by myself and still follow the tradition of mitzvot and tzedakkah. So I chose Mazon, and I'm happy. I think that will make a big impact on a lot of people because hunger is a bad problem today."
The Avi Feller Charitable Endowment at the Jewish Community Foundation will provide money for Mazon for years to come.
It's not quite time for 10-year-old Jonathan Feller to continue along the same path as his older siblings. But his parents are secure in the knowledge that they have raised their children "with a strong sense of Jewish community," and that he will do the right thing.
As for Thelma and Morris, knowing that they are responsible for starting a legacy of dedication to Jewish community pleases them greatly. "That's where it's at. We say, 'Teach it to your children.' And that's what you hope for," Thelma says. "We are just very, very fortunate."
"What more could you ask for?" asks Morris.
