by Lori Barbanel, President of Congregation Beth Shalom
Did you celebrate Shabbat, on December 21, 2024, with Congregation Beth Shalom? If you did, you saw David’s amazing accomplishment. Not King David, but our very our David Schutzman. On that Saturday morning, David completed his quest to leyn (chant) the whole Torah in its entirety. Each and every single word. In short, I am in awe of David’s accomplishment.
It took David 30 years to achieve this extraordinary mitzvah for a number of reasons. Congregation Beth Shalom (CBS) reads Torah over a triennial, three-year cycle. This means we read a 1/3 of the Torah each year, or a 1/3 of one of the 54 weekly portions. And some Shabbats have b’nei mitzvah or special services when others chant Torah.
CBS has a number of skilled Torah readers who will learn and chant an aliyah, even on short notice. Most readers study and read one or two aliyot at time. David is particularly adept, as he’s capable of chanting the entire parsha, leyning all eight aliyot on Shabbat.
And David is truly one of our own! David and his wife, Leah, both grew up in Wilmington and first met when they were five years old at CBS Sunday school. Leah’s grandfather, Aaron Finger, was one of the founders of the shul, and David’s dad, Norman (Sonny), was a lifelong member.
Leah and David went to Hebrew school through Confirmation at the same time, but were never particularly friendly. During college and after they would both come back to CBS for the holidays as David’s mom and dad were very active in the shul as were Leah’s aunt and uncle, Louis and Dorothy Finger. When they were in their mid 20s, David’s mother and Leah’s aunt fixed them up on a blind date at CBS, one thing led to another, and they were married a year and a half later. The couple continued their close connection to CBS even though they were living outside Philadelphia.
David’s father Sonny Schutzman was President of CBS in the mid-1970s. Both he and David’s mother, Helen (nee Tomases), remained active in CBS and on the Board until they were well into their late 80s. During the 1980s, Helen managed, with Barbara Yalisove, The Gazebo, a gift shop on 9th Street in Wilmington. Sonny was President of the JCC and active on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Delaware. He was chair of the Israel Bonds Drive for Delaware and was instrumental in establishing Delaware’s the Jewish Fund for the Future.
After their daughter, Abby, was born, David and Leah joined the conservative shul B’Nai Aaron, which was about a mile from their home in Havertown, as it had a wonderful preschool and an active congregation. David was busy as a neonatologist. Leah was busy raising Abby and volunteering in various animal rescue activities. Unfortunately, B’Nai Aaron closed due to declining membership, and despite several shuls in the Philadelphia suburbs, it was an easy decision for them to rejoin Congregation Beth Shalom.
Currently, David works part time as a neonatologist at Einstein, Leah is still running the house and involved with animal rescue, and Abby owns her own veterinary practice, Unity Animal Hospital in Wallingford.
To me, David is an inspiration as a reader of Torah. David—kol hakavod (all the honor/respect)! I’m grateful that our whole community was able to share in this celebration!
