About Rick

Richard A. Light grew up in a small mountain town in Colorado, as a member of the only Jewish family in town.  After graduating from the University of Colorado he spent time studying Judaism in a yeshiva in Jerusalem and in the rabbinic program at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles (now called the American Jewish University).  Today he is a leader in the community of those who prepare Jewish bodies for burial, has published four books in this regard, and for 18 years was President of a local Chevrah Kadisha he started in 1996. He is a Vice President of Kavod v’Nichum, and continues to teach and raise awareness about Jewish death and burial practices at the local, state, and national levels.  He is an instructor for the Gamliel Institute who teaches online classes to students residing in Israel, Canada, and many states in the U.S., including the territory of Puerto Rico.

Richard A. Light is an instructor of backpacking, rock climbing, and other outdoor skills. He has been backpacking, climbing, hiking, skiing, and generally active in the outdoors for more than 50 years. He is an REI Outdoor School Instructor who especially loves telemark skiing, rock climbing, backcountry backpacking, canyoneering, snowshoeing, building igloos, and reveling in the beauty and majesty of nature. Rick taught skiing as an RMSIA/PSIA fully certified alpine instructor in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He has been designing and leading multiday backpacks in remote areas of the Grand Canyon since 1993. He loves playing in the high country above timberline, canyoneering through slot canyons, exploring backcountry with no trails, teaching and helping others, and, especially, just being in the silence and wonder of wilderness.