Ilan’s Saplings
To the Tokayer family, As you mourn the loss of your beloved Ilan, many, in their own ways, mourn along with you. Your loss was felt among so many, as evidenced by the great outpouring of love and support by Ilan’s myriad friends and acquaintances. At this time, many feel inclined to share some of their favorite memories and stories about Ilan, both a painful and cathartic experience at once. I have a special memory of Ilan that I would like to... Read More
A Supermaket Adventure
I keep on trying to come up with my favorite Ilan memory. I don’t know if this one is actually my favorite, but it’s always the first to come to mind. 5 summers ago, 2 weeks before camp officially began, I received a call from Dan Katz, saying that he knew it was extremely last minute, but would i be interested-rather then be a Machal madricha for both months, be a TVI counselor first month, and only join the machal tzevet for the second month.... Read More
Musical Memories
One of my earliest memories of Ilan was when his Shevet was on a mission to Israel and spent Shabbat in Chashmonaim. I was invited to join the Shabbaton, and on Friday night Ilan led the Tfillah. It was awesome, but what stood out for me was this tune by Yosef Karduner, “Vetaher Libenu”. For those who know this song, it is short and beautiful. For me, it was totally “out of the box”. I wasn’t expecting it. After Davening, I asked him for... Read More
The Unsaid Thank You
My Madrich from TVI 2007, Ilan Tokayer passed away suddenly last week. The news was so shocking and scary. I think we are all still stunned and in pain, whispering and asking ourselves the “whys” and the “hows” even though we will never really know the answers. I am going to miss Ilan dearly, we all are- as they said at the funeral, the world just seems a little less sweet now…. I watched and spoke to the grieving family and cannot begin... Read More