For the past couple of Februarys I had the pleasure of attending the kick off to Kindness Week with Rabbi Reven Bulka at the Accora Recreation Centre in Bayshore. It was a concept started by Rabbi Bulka who wanted to do something more than Valentines Day. He believed we needed to pronounce kindness to each other. What a great idea.
Sadly this past Sunday, Rabbi Dr. Reuven Bulka passed away after a long battle with advanced stage of pancreatic and liver cancer. He was surrounded by his five children.
Rabbi Bulka had a profound impact on the lives of all those who knew him on making the world a better place and he received many accolades for his contributions including the Key to the City, the Order of Canada and the Diamond Jubilee Medal to name just a few. His voice could be heard every Sunday evening on CFRA Radio as he hosted Sunday Night with Rabbi Bulka. He chaired the Trillium Gift of Life Network, responsible for organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Ontario. In addition to all of this Rabbi Bulka has made over 340 blood/platelet donations, has authored over 35 books and over 100 articles, he was the founder and chair of Ottawa Kindness Week, and chaired the Hospice Ottawa West fundraising campaign.
Rabbi Bulka’s motto was to be filled with goodness, optimism, humility, and devotion to making the world a better place to live. “Being kind is nothing more than being truly human. The kinder we are, the better all humanity will be.” To learn more about acts of kindness that Rabbi Bulka prioritized please visit the following link. I hope that you will join me in honouring Rabbi Bulka’s memory and his lifelong journey by continuing to spread kindness to each other.
