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Community, temple honor rabbi for work
Rabbi David Wucher speaks during the annual Community Thanksgiving Service by the Huntington downtown congregations on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church.
Purchase this photoWhether or not he thought it was a little odd, Rabbi David Wucher followed his wife's advice when she told him he should wear his Yankees shirt to a recent Marshall University football game.
After all, Tori Wucher told her husband, the Yankees had won the series this year. Maybe it would bring the Herd a little luck, make them play like champions.
He didn't really get it until they arrived at the temple later that evening, where a group of about 80 people from the temple and throughout the community had thrown a surprise Yankees party to congratulate him on 20 years of service in Huntington.
In August, Wucher celebrated 20 years as rabbi at Huntington's only Jewish synagogue, B'Nai Sholom Congregation.
For the Connecticut-born avid Yankees fan, there could have been no better anniversary gift.
"The party was a wonderful surprise. Nobody spilled the beans," said Wucher, father of two daughters, Aliza Wucher and Glenda Bernhardt, and grandfather to Jacob Bernhardt.
Yankees stuff was everywhere -- centerpieces, flags, lollipops and the cake. There were even Yankees pencils with the words, "Thank you, Rabbi Wucher."
The itinerary for the evening also had a baseball theme. There were nine innings -- welcome, blessing over bread, blessing over wine, dinner, dessert and then a service led by the youth group. It was a Havdalah, a service that signifies the end of Sabbath.
Then they stretched and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the seventh inning, followed by presentations and an open mic opportunity to talk about the rabbi.
"He's been our spiritual leader for 20 years," said Dr. Gail Feinberg, who organized the event. "I'm president of the synagogue now, and for me and the temple membership, he's been our rock -- spiritually and as a friend, counselor and teacher. We thought it was important to let him know that we cared about him just as much."
Tori and David Wucher came to Huntington from Missouri, where he served in the 1980s. Both were originally from the Northeast, but Tori had worked for a time in Huntington, and they were married here.
"We were looking to make a move in the late 80s, and fortunately there was an opening in Huntington at that time," David Wucher said.
It's a lovely community and a good place to raise children, he said.
"The Jewish community here is wonderful. The congregation goes back 100 years and has a very rich history," Wucher said. He also enjoys the opportunity to teach religious studies at Marshall.
"I've always been happier in smaller cities," Wucher said. "I've preferred cities and congregations where you get to know everybody. Everywhere I go in town, it's, 'Hey rabbi. How are you, rabbi?' I always know they're talking to me."
