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From Birth to Earth, God Has Been Blessing Us – Kevin Metzger
 
July 10, 2024
 
By Carol Felixson

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Many members of Mishkon Tephilo know that Kevin Metzger is a physician (though they may not know what kind), is a member of Mishkon’s Tephila Committee, has a beard and a ponytail, serves as a Shabbat coordinator, and is married to his great love, Malgosia.

“What they may not know,” Kevin said, “is that I am a happy and proud father and grandfather, I’ve served in the U.S. military, I am a musician, and I even perform once a month with some older guys in a group called Nineteen Again at the Torrance Antique Street Faire in front of the Cozzi Cafe.”

A doctor of osteopathic medicine, Kevin is well-organized and goes with the flow in a thoughtful manner.

“I often take my time making decisions and acting on them,” he said. “It took me awhile to decide on my career as a doctor.”

While still in high school, he became an emergency medical technician and a paramedic volunteer. Then he went to the Temple School of Maryland, becoming a medical lab technician.

“I also earned a B.A. in the physician assistant program at George Washington University,” Kevin said.

He loved the sciences, believing that, if people pay attention, they will see those principles all around them.

He said that, during his medical training, he joined the Air National Guard. “In my first two years,” he said, “I was full time and then went on temporary duty.”

After that, Kevin enrolled in the Army Reserve, where he served in many locations: Belgium, Iceland, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Maine, where he went to medical school. With limited time, he decided to not to re-enlist in the military so that he could finish medical school.

He explained how he moved from the East Coast to the West.

“I studied for two years at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, then transferred to Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific,” he said.

He was glad to come west because he considered the East Coast a cold, dark place.

Kevin said he served his residency in Osteopathic Medicine at the Pacific Hospital of Long Beach. After that, he explained, “I worked for a time in a clinical capacity as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Harbor Community Health Center, serving mostly low-income and homeless individuals.

“Now,” he said, “I am Chief Medical Officer at the Hurtt Family Health Clinic, which supports four locations.” He works in the executive offices and goes to the other clinical locations.

He summarized his work and philosophy as a healer: “I help from birth to earth.”

In other words, he is there for all ages. His kindness, big heart, and wanting to help people is evident in his caring for his patients, his friends, and his family.

In thinking of his family, he said, “My father and grandparents came to the U.S. from Germany shortly before Kristallnacht.”

It was his grandmother who realized it was a problem for Jews to remain in Germany and wanted to get out. In Germany, his grandfather was a dairy farmer and first-line butcher. (Metzger means butcher in German.) But when they came to the states, initially to Jamaica, New York, they lost everything.

Kevin said, “We found out, unfortunately, that Jews and Germans were not welcome in Jamaica, New York.”

Kevin’s mother learned in later life, after some members of her family put together a family tree, that she was Jewish. But rather than practicing Judaism, his nuclear family became members of the Ethical Culture Society. His mother initially believed herself to be a Unitarian/Humanist.

“I never perceived that as a religion,” Kevin said.

Kevin’s uncle came to the U.S. around the same time as his father. His aunt was born in the U.S. They were observant Jews, and Kevin received his early Jewish education from them.

Eventually, his father moved the family to a Jewish neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where the prevailing denomination was Modern Orthodox. Kevin was given the Hebrew name of Israel when he was born.

“I like my name, Yisrael ben Emanuel,” he said.

He believed it fit him – more so when he found out after his father’s death that his father’s name was Eric E. (Emanuel) Metzger.

Kevin and Malgosia had a rom-com encounter when they met in 2012. The doctor (Kevin) and the nurse (Malgosia) sat side by side on a Life Flight to and from Cabo San Lucas, picking up a patient who needed to be transported.

When they returned to Los Angeles, they went out for breakfast and, as they say, “the rest is history.”

As unplanned as their meeting was, the opposite happened when they chose a wedding date and time. His and Malgosia’s favorite numbers are 12, 13, 14, and 15. They married on December 13, 2014, at 1500.

“It was a good start to our marriage,” they both said.

The Metzgers first came to Mishkon when Malgosia was looking for an Introduction to Judaism class. They tried many shuls in Southern California, and when they came to Mishkon, they knew we were the one.

“It was worth the close-to-one-hour drive to and from the South Bay,” Kevin said.

They joined in 2018. They felt Mishkon was the right place to be. They liked the vibe and how they were treated.

“Jeff Gornbein and Morley Berenbach greeted us warmly,” they explained. “No other shul did that!”

They wanted to be a part of a community and liked Mishkon’s style of congregant participation. Right away, Kevin joined the Tephila Committee, figuring that would be a way to meet lots of people.

Being Jewish is one of the most significant parts of his and Malgosia’s lives and identities, he said. Initially studying on his own and with his family members, Kevin felt more and more Jewish as life went on.

“Judaism is many things to me,” Kevin said, including a way of life, a method of being present in the here and now.

He said, “It provides values that are important to me, including good ethics and a guide to repairing the world.”

The traditional practice of Judaism reminds him every day that there are commandments to follow and that rituals and symbols help him live his life. Judaism has provided an anchor for him in a world where, like the sea, one can be tossed about and lose one’s way.

“I feel a visceral connection to the ancestors, mine and all the way back to Abraham,” Kevin said.

He believes that, since he joined Mishkon, God has been an active part of his life.

Behind the scenes – behind his medicine and Judaism – art and music provide a creative outlet and spiritual joy. Kevin plays the guitar, the mandolin, and a little keyboard, and he is learning to play the violin. He likes drawing: pen and ink primarily and acrylic more than oils.

“I enjoy cartoons and nature, humor and political topics,” Kevin said.

He’d like to do more art but doesn’t have the space or time, so he concentrates on his music as an avocation. His musical group, in addition to playing in the Torrance art fair, plays in retirement communities, for fun, and at parties.

“Of course, I love jamming with Mishkon musicians,” he said.

A multi-faceted man, Kevin summarized his and Malgosia’s lives: “From birth to earth … God has been blessing us!



Mon, February 10 2025 12 Shevat 5785