`PAINFUL DECISIONS'
City rabbi battles cancer
Rabbi Reuven Bulka, a leading Jewish cleric in Ottawa for more than 50 years, is facing late-stage cancer.
The Jewish Federation of Ottawa has released a statement saying the prominent spiritual leader has been diagnosed with “advanced” cancer in the pancreas and liver.
He has travelled to the New York City area, where he spent his childhood and early formative years, to be with family.
An attached message from Rabbi Bulka says, after a fainting spell at home, he spent four weeks at the Ottawa Hospital and was discharged on Jan. 4 with the serious diagnosis.
“Now comes the hard part,” the father of five writes. “During my stay, precipitated by fainting at home, the diligent crew at the Ottawa Hospital examined me quite thoroughly and started to uncover some serious issues.
“Without getting into unnecessary detail, they found advanced cancer in the pancreas and liver. Needless to say, it came as a shock. I have waited till now to share this with you as I wanted to do this only after meeting the oncology doctor to get the full picture.”
He tried to remain hopeful about the future, saying this was not a “goodbye” letter, but added:
“It is obvious that in these circumstances some painful decisions have to be made.”
Rabbi Bulka, who is 76, led Ottawa's congregation Machzikei Hadas from 1967 until his retirement in 2015, but he remained as Rabbi Emeritus.
He maintained an active career in media, writing a column in the Citizen and hosting a weekly radio program on CFRA. He was for two years (2007-2009) the co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress and took part in dozens, if not hundreds, of ecumenical services in Ottawa.
He has received the Order of Canada, the keys to the city and an honorary doctorate from Carleton University. In 2019, Rabbi Bulka Kindness Park was named in his honour in Alta Vista, not far from his home synagogue. He is also the author of more than 30 books.
One of his successors at Machzikei Hadas, Rabbi Idan Scher, says the leadership of the community is working on ways to honour and support Bulka.
“We are currently working on creating opportunities in these three areas — prayer, acts of kindness, and sharing our voices with Rabbi Bulka — in an organized fashion and in the `Rabbi Bulka' way.”
He writes that a “virtual day of prayer” is being organized and will include all faiths.