Rabbi Sherwin Wine has died!

Jeffrey Montgomery, Executive Director of Triangle Foundation, has blogged about the death of Rabbi Sherwin Wine.

Although I was not close with Rabbi Wine, I feel very affected by his death. He was on the Board of Advisors for Triangle Foundation. He was killed in a car accident over the weekend in Morocco. He started an international phenomenon called Humanistic Judaism, which bridges Jewish thought and tradition with ideals and principles of spirituality that are more universals beyond Judaism. He was a hero to many and his death is a huge loss.

Sherwin Wine was gay and his partner was in the same car accident, though in surgery from the injuries himself.

As a man with a Jewish father and a student of sorts to humanism, I feel a connection to his work and his mission in life. Charting a course for spirituality that strays from the norm can be scary and isolating. My early years were defined by me leaving the Catholic Church and seeking truth in other faiths. My studies and my professional circle led me to meet Sherwin many times.

I regret that I did not get a chance to spend more time with him and learn more about the early years of the Birmingham Temple, which he founded. I look forward to the upcoming flurry of stories in the news and the tributes around Metro Detroit to this amazing man.