Doc and roll: Retired physician seeks fellow Jewish motorcyclists

by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

For those Jews who love motorcycles and community service, Larry Karasic has two words: Let’s roll.

Karasic, 71, of Ocean Township wants to start a county-wide chapter of Hillel’s Angels, a Jewish motorcycle group that has established chapters throughout the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region. A retired anesthesiologist and rookie biker, Karasic was inspired by the growing number of Jewish motorcycle clubs that have roared into life in recent years.

In addition to the love of two wheels, Hillel’s Angels, like many of the clubs, strives to promote community service and raise funds for Jewish causes. The first chapter was initiated two years ago by Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff.

In May 2005, Hillel’s Angels joined other motorcycle groups from the United States and Canada in a drive to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of the concentration camps. The riders also made a donation to the museum. The trip caught the attention of Karasic, who had previously read about the King David Bikers, a Jewish motorcycle group based in south Florida.

Karasic, an anesthesiologist at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch until his retirement last year, gathered material about Jewish motorcycle groups and discovered the Jewish Motorcycle Alliance, which was founded in 2005 and encompasses nine clubs. In addition to Hillel’s Angels and the King David Bikers, JMA members include the Chai Riders of Southern New York; the Tribe from the Washington, DC, area; the Sabra Riders from Atlanta; the Chaiway Riders from Chicago; ChaiRiders Detroit; and Yidden on Wheels from Toronto and Melbourne, Australia.

Last summer, Karasic purchased a Ridley motorcycle with an automatic transmission (the automatic transmission cinched the deal, he said). He enrolled in a safety course conducted at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and then obtained his motorcycle license.

“I was the oldest of the 12 students who took the safety course,” he laughed. “And although I may have been the oldest one in the class, I think I was the most enthusiastic.”

Although Karasic’s wife, Honey, was less enthusiastic about her husband’s new interest, the couple’s four adult children were in favor.

“The kids convinced my wife,” he said. “They told her that it was okay for me to ride a motorcycle at this stage of my life — particularly if I was careful on the road. They told me to go for it.”

In April, Karasic attended a Hillel’s Angels meeting in Bridgewater, during which the group made preparations for this year’s May road trip to Whitwell, Tenn. There the group planned to honor the Whitwell Middle School students who made national headlines — and became the subject of a theatrical documentary — when they set out to collect six million papers clips as a memorial to those killed in the Holocaust.

The motorcycle group conducted several fund-raising efforts and subsequently made a donation to assist the Whitwell Middle School’s maintenance of its Shoa museum; the donation was also earmarked for the school’s purchase of electronic teaching aids.

Although Karasic was unable to participate in the trip to Whitwell, he became even more determined to organize a Hillel’s Angels chapter in Monmouth County.

“Like the other Hillel’s Angels groups, a local chapter can be a source of fun, social activity, and tzedaka,” Karasic said. “It’s a fun way to educate Jews about what it means to be part of the Jewish community.”

His own links to the Jewish community include serving on the board of directors of the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal and the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County; he has also held the presidency of both organizations. In addition, Karasic is a board member at Temple Beth Torah in Ocean Township.

While serving as a physician in the U.S. Navy during the early 1960s, he was stationed in Cuba, where the base chaplain asked him to conduct Shabbat services on Friday evenings. As he prepared for his new role, Karasic experienced a reawakening of his interest in Jewish culture and heritage. When he returned to the United States in 1965, he and his family immediately joined a local synagogue.

“While I was thousands of miles away, I realized how good it is to have a temple close to home,” Karasic said.

Meanwhile, he has been adhering to his commitment to motorcycle safety. He usually rides in the Monmouth County vicinity during daylight hours; his furthest destination was a daytime trip to Seaside Heights. He has accumulated a total of 2,600 miles on the Ridley.

Karasic hopes to conduct the first meeting of the Monmouth County Hillel’s Angels chapter in late July; the meeting will take place at the JCC in Deal. Those interested in joining the chapter may call Karasic at 732-539-2522 or 732-531-6312.