My Memories of Growing Up With Robert Frost
with Jonathan Reichert, son of Rabbi Victor Reichert - long time friend

RSVP to secure your spot!

Join this special event on Sunday, March 2nd at 11:00 AM, either via Zoom or in-person at The Adams Street Shul, for a truly special event.

The event is free.  Donations to The Adams Street Shul are appreciated.  

Jonathan Reichert, now 93 years old, a long-time friend of the legendary poet Robert Frost, will be sharing his memories and insights into the life and works and spirituality of this literary giant.

Robert Frost and Cincinnati Rabbi Victor Reichert met in 1939. They discussed religion, poetry, and philosophy. This began a 24-year close friendship that lasted until the end of Frost's life.

Their families enjoyed summer vacations together at Frost's family farm in Ripton, Vermont. Rabbi Reichert even gave sermons at the Methodist Church in Ripton. And Frost delivered a sermon at Reichert’s synagogue in Cincinnati.

Thus Jonathan, the rabbi's young son, developed a personal friendship with Frost, at first through the shared family vacations -- where (among other things) they played tennis together.

Frost sought and took counsel from Rabbi Reichert on interpretations of Torah and other Jewish texts, including before the publication of his 1945 play “A Masque of Reason,” in which Job puts God on trial. It is a comedy whose dialog pretends to be the 43rd chapter of the Book of Job (which actually has 42).

In 1958, when naming the five "Books That Have Meant the Most" to him, Robert Frost's #1 was "The Old Testament." None of his other four were religious texts.

In 1960, Rabbi Reichert was instrumental in awarding Frost an honorary Doctorate at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

As Jonathan grew up, he and Frost remained in contact, having dinner together and exchanging correspondence. Among other things, Frost sent personal messages to Jonathan when Frost mailed poems to wish holiday season greetings.

Jonathan became a physicist and later a physics professor at the University of Buffalo. In 2013, he donated all his Frost correspondence, manuscripts, and recordings to the university's library.

Scholars say the materials – officially called the Victor E. Reichert Robert Frost Collection -- provide an important, missing link between Frost’s poetry and his religious views, which had been the subject of debate for decades.

At this event, Jonathan Reichert, now 93 years old, will share stories of his vacations and conversations with Frost, and insights into the poet's personality, spirituality, and his works.