Melvin Wax Was ‘Pure Soul’ Who Was First In Line To Help Others
Melvin Wax, 88, was killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
By Aiden Pink October 28, 2018
Even at age 88, Melvin Wax knew how important it was to stand up for others.
Wax, who was killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue rampage, was among the first to volunteer to help the shul’s partner, Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church, when it held a clothing drive to help people in North Carolina affected by Hurricane Florence.
Wax not only pitched in his own clothes, but made sure others in his building donated too.
“A very pure soul,” said Beth Kissileff, a friend.
Wax was also fixture at religious services with Pittsburgh’s New Light Congregation.
“He was always the first one in shul,” said Beth Kissileff, a New Light community member (and Forward contributor.
In fact, Wax was leading the Shabbat service when the gunman burst in and started shooting, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“He went Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, when there were Sunday services,” friend and fellow congregant Myron Snider told the Associated Press. “If somebody didn’t come that was supposed to lead services, he could lead the services and do everything.”
Wax was killed on Saturday by a gunman who opened fire at the beginning of New Light’s Shabbat services, which took place in the building of a fellow Conservative congregation, Tree of Life.
Kissileff said Wax chanted the Haftarah, the weekly selection of readings from the Hebrew prophets, every week.
A retired accountant, Wax also helped out others at tax time.
“He was such a kind, kind person,” Snider told the AP. “When my daughters were younger, they would go to him, and he would help them with their federal income tax every year. Never charged them.”
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward A Jewish city attorney is going after pro-Palestinian protesters. Her Oct. 7 tweets are making it complicated.
-
Fast Forward Kehlani responds to Cornell concert cancellation: ‘I am not antisemitic’
-
Fast Forward David Horowitz, ’60s radical turned right-wing firebrand and critic of Islam, dies at 86
-
Fast Forward Senate committee approves amendment to Antisemitism Awareness Act stating criticism of Israeli government isn’t antisemitic
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward A Jewish city attorney is going after pro-Palestinian protesters. Her Oct. 7 tweets are making it complicated.
-
Fast Forward Kehlani responds to Cornell concert cancellation: ‘I am not antisemitic’
-
Fast Forward David Horowitz, ’60s radical turned right-wing firebrand and critic of Islam, dies at 86
-
News Pro-Nazi singer sells out Zagreb arena as Croatia’s collaborationist past sheds its taboo
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.