Chicago Sun-Times,
October 25, 1997,


DENVER SHOWED HOW TO REACH FOR HEAVENS
       by Stewart Weiss
The singer/songwriter once proved how kindness can help us be 
all that we can be, writes former Chicago area rabbi Stewart 
Weiss

   There is a lot of simple, genuine goodness in this world.  
The tragic death of singer-songwriter John Denver brought back 
vivid memories of the help he once gave to a refusenik 
musician in Leningrad in his struggle to obtain an exit visa.  
I pledged at the time to keep his role a secret, but now the 
whole story can be told. I was the rabbi of a synagogue in a 
Chicago suburb in 1985 when I went to the Soviet Union with a 
partner to meet with the refusenik community.  One of the most 
memorable people we encountered was Sasha.  It was at a 
gathering in Leningrad of about 50 refuseniks.  Taking out his 
guitar, Sasha led the assembled in a medley of Israeli songs.  
Sasha talked to us about his longing for Israel and his dream 
of playing in the symphony in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.  We vowed 
to help him.
   Our chance came the next day when we learned John Denver 
was to appear that evening in concert - the first U.S. artist 
to tour the U.S.S.R. since cultural ties were cut years 
earlier.  We told the Soviet usher that we were musicians from 
Chicago named John Prine and Steve Bromberg, and wondered 
whether we could meet the star. When the last encore was over, 
we went backstage.  Denver was triumphantly holding court in a 
room crowded with Soviet and American dignitaries.  Our hearts 
dropped when Denver said, "You two aren't Prine and Bromberg.  
I know them; we played together at a concert in Chicago."    
Denver's security staff moved toward us, but Denver waved them 
off, and told us to come into his dressing room.  We told him 
who we were and made our pitch.  We knew he was going to be 
coordinating culture exchanges, and we ashed whether Sasha's 
name might be put on the list of approved performers.  Denver 
shook his head.  "It took guts to come here, but I'm afraid I 
can't help you." I had always been a fan of Denver's. I stood 
up and quoted these lines from his song, "The Eagle and the 
Hawk": "Sail o'er the canyons,  and up to the stars; reach for 
heavens, and hope for the future, and be all that we can be, 
and not just what we are."  "Let Sasha reach for the heavens 
and be all that he can be," I implored.  Denver looked at us 
for a while and then called in his manager: "There's a 
guitarist named Sasha who'll be coming to see me.  Make sure 
you tell me when he gets here.  As as for you two" - he 
pointed his finger at us, grinning - "this conversation never 
took place."  Some time after we had returned home, we 
received word that Sasha had met with Denver, and that several 
months later, he had arrived in Israel, guitar in hand.
   Our tradition holds a special place for those among the 
nations who demonstrate strength of character and the courage 
of conviction.  We called them "hassidim," from the Hebrew 
word for kindness and caring. Wherever you are, John Denver, 
we say: "Thank you and rest in peace."

[Stewart Weiss, formerly a rabbi at Buffalo Grove (IL) 
Congregation B'Nai Shalom, is director of the Jewish Outreach 
Center in Ra'anana, Israel. This first appeared in the 
Jerusalem Post.]