Rabbi Ronnie Cahana

Watching Kitra Cahana's touching TED talk on her father, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, the rabbi at the congregation in Montreal that my family has been a member of all my life, I was reminded of a meeting that took place some weeks in anticipation of my brother's bar mitzvah. Rabbi Cahana had called our family into his office for a chat. Once we were seated he asked us each individually "what is your relationship with God?". Coming from a less than religious family, my brother and father being proclaimed atheists, I suppose the awkwardness we all felt was palpable. We had been confronted with such a genuine and honest question and we were afraid of disappointing him. I remember giving a similar answer to how I suspect I would respond today: I know its there somewhere but at what capacity and to what extent, well, I guess that changes all the time. 

Rabbi Cahana suffered a stroke in 2011 leaving him in a state of paralysis from his feet to just below his eyes. He has since been recovering slowly, but beautifully. Here is the link to Kitra's talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/kitra_cahana_my_father_locked_in_his_body_but_soaring_free?language=en

Link to Rabbi Ronnie Cahana's website: http://rabbicahana.com

Photograph by Kitra Cahana