I sat down for a long interview with Rabbi Barry Leff, who is leaving Toledo and Congregation
B'nai Israel to move to Jerusalem. He's only been in town three years but he is a go-getter of the first degree and has been a real asset to the community, not only as leader of the Conservative Jewish Congregation in a pivotal time, when it built a new synagogue, but also active in interfaith and human rights efforts.
On a selfish note, Barry's made my life easier as religion editor. Whenever I needed a comment on breaking news, or background insights into Judaism and Israel, he was almost always accessible and was unafraid to offer a quote, take a stand, or share his expertise. A lot of pastors have to check which way the wind is blowing before they'll offer a comment for publication, but not Barry.

Rabbi Leff, his wife, Lauri, and three of their five daughters (the other 2 are grown) will be living in Jerusalem. He offered me a place to stay if I come over, at least for the first year, when he will be renting a large apartment with extra bedrooms.
I have always thought a trip to the Holy Land would be an incredible opportunity for a series of news stories. Let's see if The Blade has the vision and the support to pull something like this off. If not, I might go over on my own and freelance articles to other publications.
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The controversy continues over the Toledo Mud Hens naming a downtown street in honor of Msgr. Jerome Schmit. The late monsignor helped bring the Mud Hens to town, but testimony in the Father Robinson case showed that Schmit played a key role in stymying the 1980 murder investigation of the priest. Two retired detectives testified that Schmit, Deputy Chief Ray Vetter, and Robinson's attorney at the time, Henry Herschel, knocked on the door of the interrogation room and escorted Robinson out of the Safety Building. That was the last time the priest was interrogated by police.
Local members of SNAP first asked the city, and then the Mud Hens, to remove the honorary sign, saying although Schmit did much for the Hens, there was court testimony that he obstructed a murder investigation of a priest.
The Mud Hens are hemming and hawing, hoping the controversy will fade away. But it's not going to soon. Lee Pahl, nephew of Fr. Robinson's victim, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, has joined the dispute by writing to the mayor and the Mud Hens saying it is an affront to his aunt's memory to give Monsignor Schmit such an honor.
SNAP continues to keep this issue on the front burner.
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I wrote three articles for tomorrow's Religion section of The Blade: One on the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, which is ordaining a priest next weekend; a column of "appreciation" for Ruth Bell Graham, a woman I admire even though I never met her, and a third article about McCord Road Christian Church adding a $2.6 million addition to its building.
In my Ruth Graham story, I quote one of her famous lines: Asked if she ever considered divorce, she once said: "Never. Homicide, but never divorce."
What a terrific woman she was.
While I never had the honor of meeting Mrs. Graham, I did interview two of her daughters, Ruth Graham McIntyre (now just Ruth Graham, after a divorce) and Gigi Tchividjian, and they gave me a lot of insights about their mother.
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Toledo, Ohio June 22, 2007