The Karan Family Legendary Powerhouse

The story of my father’s family coming to this country from Lithuanian is not unlike many other immigration success narratives. My paternal grandfather Yerachmiel Kagan was born into a large family of eleven siblings. Sometime in the early 1900’s, my grandfather heeded some clarion call and left his wife and small children and set off for America. Probably many of his brothers made the pilgrimage at the same time. They settled in the Midwest in Wisconsin, a state that had job opportunities for laborers and blacksmiths, like my grandfather, and that had temperatures that resembled their native Lithuania. Working in a junk yard, my grandfather was able to save money that was somehow shipped back to Lithuanian so that my grandmother had the means to shlep my father and his siblings to America to rejoin their husband and father. The rest of the Kagan brothers and sisters did largely the same thing. Once they arrived at Ellis Island, many of the Kagans found their name was changed to Karan because the Russian “G” resembled the American “R.” This suited most of the family members although my grandfather was Ray Cohen until his dying day.

From such beginnings in this land of opportunity, the Kagan/Karan progeny prospered. They spread across the expanse of America, and some settled in Israel. Although somewhat disengaged from each other, they shared common values of hard work, of honoring parents, and of identifying as proud if only nominal Jews. Over the years they produced a panoply of successful professionals in fields of medicine, psychology, and creative arts as well as prosperous entrepreneurs and businessmen. 

But this roster of stars in divergent fields included one man whose accomplishments easily eclipsed the achievements of everyone else in the Kagan/Karan family. That person was Ben Karan. Sadly, Ben passed away on November 2, 2021, at the age of 72. What he did in one lifetime made him a legendary figure who had an impact on everyone he encountered.

The Jewish faith believes God has a task for each of us. Discerning that task, hearing God’s often still small call, is what gives life meaning and purpose. Ben was not only called for one task but for multiple tasks, and each stage only added to his legend.

I personally remember Ben when he was still a young kid, several years younger than me, living with his father Harry, his mother Beatrice, and his brother Ken in Milwaukee (his sister Chana had not yet been born at the time). Ben’s father Harry and my father Herman were first cousins, close in age and looking more like brothers. I don’t recall my father getting along with any of his many cousins as he did with Harry. So, I got a ringside seat at seeing the future superstar Ben in action. There is a legend in the Karan family that Ken would like to build or put things together while Ben would like to break things apart. Little did I know at the time that that was sneak preview of the role Ben would play in life of shaking the status quo and being a magnet for innovation and a leader for change. 

The first time Ben heard a calling and had the courage to say to “Hineini, here I am,” was when he volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War in the late 1960’s. The fact that at his funeral in his hometown of Glendale, Wisconsin, he was given full military honors is a testament to how heroically he served in the 101st Airborne Division, 2/327th, B company. One of the soldiers with Ben in the company command post Near Hue, in the Northern part of Vietnam, described in a letter to Ben’s sons how their father saved his life:. “On May 13, 1970, I tripped a land mine. It blew off my right leg below the knee and nearly blew off my right arm. Your dad ran across the same area in which I had been blown up, he put a tourniquet on my upper leg and gave me a shot of morphine and stayed with me until a helicopter picked me up. I owe my entire life to your father; he saved my life and set me on a course for recovery. Your father was a great medic and a great friend. My sadness can't be described in words. I mourn your loss as I know your family does.” 

Ben also served years later in the IDF, the Israel Defense Force. There, too, he was such a legendary warrior that he was awarded medals of honor; fellow soldiers and commanders reportedly cried when they heard he had passed away. Incidentally, Ben was humble and did not believe he was worthy of the praise he received; he reportedly did not accept all the medals he was awarded. Ben was buried in a cemetery in Tzfat, Israel, laid to rest near the grave of a nephew who passed away tragically as a young child.

To be a heroic veteran in both the American and Israeli armies is a milestone in itself, but Ben’s callings were not over with being a military warrior. He became a warrior for God and Judaism.

I recall Ben telling me that God called to him in Vietnam but in a rather oblique way. He remembers being called to the office of a Christian chaplain. Ben was not an observant Jew then and Rosh Hashana was approaching. This non-Jewish chaplain informed Ben that he had arranged for Ben to have two days off to celebrate his holidays.  That was a wake-up call for Ben. If the Jewish faith meant so much to the Christian chaplain, Ben felt it was incumbent on him to investigate what being a Jew really meant. 

Once again, when Ben was called and undertook a mission, he did it with a passion and whole-hearted approach that became legendary. Endowed with a phenomenal memory, he became fluent in Hebrew in just two years. He became a student of the legendary Orthodox Rabbi Noah Weinberg. But Ben was not just an ordinary student.  Rabbi Weinberg believed that the times called for the call up of "kiruv soldiers" who would be given a few years of basic education training and then sent out to give introductory classes to other young Jews at risk of assimilation and intermarriage. This was known as Aish HaTorah, and Ben was one of the Rabbi’s main outreach emissaries. 

One summer in the 1980’s, my family was traveling to Toronto; and we stopped off at a kosher Chinese restaurant. Being the only patrons, the proprietor kibbitzed with us and asked our names. When I said our name was Karan, he said there was someone with the same name living down the block. Out of curiosity, after we left the restaurant I went to the address the proprietor gave us and knocked at the apartment. Lo and behold, there were Ben, his wife Sara, and their young family! Here again Ben was the legendary warrior, fighting for the continuity of the Jewish people around the globe.

Ben had a very supportive wife. Sara Karan (nee Smilovici) was an instrumental force in Ben’s development as a scholar, a woman devoted to her husband and determined to cultivate his innate intellectual talents. Together they raised 6 boys and had 16 grandchildren at the time of Ben’s passing.

The next calling that Ben responded to was to return to Wisconsin and help with the family business. Kenco Label & Tag was founded by Ken with Ben's encouragement, and it has been in business for over 40 years; it is one of the most advanced label manufacturers in the world. Ben was needed in the business, and he became, in the words of his sons, “the world’s greatest salesman.” He was described as a great schmoozer and an even better listener. His family told how every moment was precious to him, and he was never late. He would get up 4:30 for 5:00 prayer services or to learn Torah on weekdays before going to work. At the same time, he did not ignore the needs of his local Jewish community, serving on many boards. Guess who was the shofar blower at his local synagogue? Ben, of course, and he was legendary at that as well, holding the last trumpet blast for over 30 seconds!

He was always prepared to deal with any challenge or emergency that might arise, and he did so with equanimity. Case in point: One of his sons described an incident when he was driving with his father, and they saw a horrific accident. Ben immediately swung into action as if it was no big deal. He was totally calm under fire as if he was on a Sunday stroll and he actually saved the life of a little girl enabling her to walk again. The grandfather of the family he rescued spoke at the funeral and told how Ben made such an impact in that one encounter. “Experiences can destroy you or define you” Ben believed. People spoke of his amazing ability at guiding people through obstacles. Ben was an ultimate example of strength, energy, courage, character, honor, honesty, and readiness; and that’s how he prepared his sons. 

Ben always had infinite time for his family. He had a special relationship with his grandchildren who were the joy of his life. He shared his love of music with them (did I mention that he played the piano and French horn?); he played pool with them (he was legendary at that, too); he taught them to read and study the Torah; he did drawings and doodles with them; and he shared his love of nature as a fisherman and turkey farmer. They remembered him as a pizza connoisseur and someone who made them feel special because he was so proud of them. As serious as he took life, he was also a jokester and goofball often at his own expense. He had a mischievous sense of humor. At social gatherings, he was the life of the party; and he loved putting smiles on the faces of others. His heart and his house were open to everyone, and there was nothing like Shabbos at the Karan home when Ben was alive. The atmosphere was filled with song, Torah, even heated discussions.

The writer of the classic book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl, said it best: the question each of us should ask is not “What do I want from life?” but “What does life want from me?” Ben was called time and again to fulfill multiple missions, and he did so spectacularly. As a Torah scholar, Ben was undoubtedly familiar with a tractate listing mitzvot whose reward we enjoy in this world like interest, while the capital is stored up for the world to come. The word the Mishnah uses for “capital” is “Karan” which among other things refers to a source of power. 

Blessed with many outstanding achievers, my father’s extended family also produced a legendary powerhouse by the name of Ben Karan. His passing before he was able to finish his life work, including the writing of a Torah Scroll (one single letter short of completion) leaves a darker and smaller world without him. We seek comfort by praying that Ben be a Melitz yosher for his family, meaning, an ambassador of righteousness, a faithful defender of the living before God in the highest court. I cannot think of anyone I would rather have to advocate on our behalf.