Longtime Temple Israel of Natick Rabbi and noted author Harold Kushner passes away

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, congregational rabbi at Temple Israel of Natick for 24 years and author of the book “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” has died at the age of 88. Rabbi Kushner is listed as Rabbi Laureate with Temple Israel.

The New York Times obituary for Rabbi Kushner reads in part, “Several of Rabbi Kushner’s 14 books became best-sellers, resonating well beyond his Conservative Jewish congregation outside Boston and across religious boundaries in part because they had been inspired by his own experiences with grief, doubt and faith.”

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency described Rabbi Kushner as “one of the most influential congregational rabbis of the 20th century whose works of popular theology reached millions of people outside the synagogue.”

The funeral will be held on Monday, May 1, at 1pm at Temple Israel of Natick, 145 Hartford St. There will be livestream access for the service. Burial will follow at Natick-Framingham Jewish Cemetery, Fairview St. in Natick.

Rabbi Kushner’s wife, Suzette (Estrada) Kushner, passed away last year.

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