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September 20, 1979

Eulogy for Max L. Friedman (1979)

Eulogies & Memorials
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Eulogy for Dr. Hyman Kirschenbaum (2000)

Tu B’Av = semi-holiday; required not over-indulgent expression of sorrow. I and my wife knew Hy and Judy >40 years. Admired him for his professional competence, humanity, family, Yiddishkeit. Born London, Ont.; public school; Western Ontario Medical School. Yiddishkeit – from intensely Jewish home; father taught him. Major part of career – BIH, neurosurgery. Intensely devoted to patients; his surgery saved thousands; not only professional care, also personal attention... Patients = humans... רופא נאמן / רופא רחמן... so: imitatio Dei. Humble: never affected by professional arrogance, though earned undying gratitude of patients and their families. When federal anti-religious cuts impacted kashrut in 1981, recall – Hy was outraged. Fought at the peril of his own career, but never relented until he won. When Russians came to New York – spared no effort: classes, lectures at BIH, highest pass rate – all free. Continued several years. Honored often – awards, plaques, etc., loved and admired – yet never sought such rewards. Passionate for honor, not honors.Three anomalies:Died of an aneurysm – the very condition he so often treated. Very busy surgeon, yet always made time for the family he loved. We take leave of him in sadness... on a happy day in the Jewish calendar. Mishna at the end of Taanit: לא היו ימים טובים לישראל כט״ו באב וכיום הכיפורים שבהם בנות ירושלים יוצאות וחולות בכרמים. Such contradiction! But see it as part of the progression – Tu B’Av → Shabbat Nachamu – Tu B’Av with its theme of shidduchim, marriage, children, family = continuity of Am Yisrael.So, no anomaly: today is a Tu B’Av; but be confident – eventually נחמה – and then, his family will continue in health, strength, and devotion to his ideals. The grandchildren he so adored... will live, achieve, and be a blessing to Hy’s memory. In your sorrow, know consolation will come – and then... for generations.
Eulogies & Memorials

Speech

Eulogy for Henry Lindenbaum (1982)

I rise to speak the eulogy over Henry Lindenbaum out of pain, of course, and out of love and sympathy – but mostly out of numbness. We read from the Torah that when Aaron, brother of Moses, lost his two children, va-yidom Aharon. The accepted translation is that Aaron was silent. Silence, indeed, is the most sensible reaction to the enormity of the disaster that has overtaken this family and our community. What can one say about this terrible coincidence, this repetition of an unspeakable tragedy: his father was killed in a crash at the age of 47, and now Henry is killed in a crash at age 45, leaving a wife in the prime of her youth; mothers and brothers and a sister to relive the pain of the old wound even as the new one sinks its teeth into them; and children bereft of a father whom they idolized.But there is a second translation of that Scriptural term va-yidom (attributed to the Jerusalem Targum) and that is, ve'shabbach, "and Aaron praised." The plain meaning of that commentary is that Aaron, despite his grief, praised God. But why not interpret that to mean, as well, that he praised his deceased children?We are here to say farewell to Henry and to bemoan him but also to give him the praise he 80 richly deserved.Perhaps the most salient feature of his short life was his capacity for growth. Orphaned of a wonderful father when veryyoung, angry and resentful at his harsh fate, a rebellious child — he grew and matured to a pleasant, warm, gracious, tranquil, loving, and loveable adult.He gallantly overcame his childish pique to become a splendid human being -- and, as well, a highly successful businessman.In his business dealings and in all his relationships he was impeccably honest. He conducted himself with unsullied honor and uncompromised integrity. He was fair, straight, ethical -- a true gentleman.Henry never spoke an evil word about another person, and no person ever had anything bad to say about him. His character was never touched by envy. No matter wha…
Eulogies & Memorials

Speech

Eulogy for Ludwig Jesselson (1993)

There were no eulogies spoken at Luddy Jesselson's funeral, because it was the eve of Passover when Jewish law forbids excessive mourning and therefore prohibits eulogies; hence this memorial meeting assumes double importance, and the moving tributes we have heard this afternoon are all the more meaningful. Yet, despite the absence of formal tribute at that time, there were eulogies offered for him. As I walked with and through the throngs that came to honor him, from Presidents and Prime Ministers and professors and communal leaders to the most ordinary of ordinary folk, I heard comments that came from the heart, with an eloquent simplicity born of honesty and pure respect and gratitude for this unusual, historic personality. In effect, therefore, there must have been several hundred private eulogies—all of them sincere, heartfelt, and heart-warming. This formal event is in the nature of a public confirmation—a collective "amen"—to those spoken that dark day in Tel Aviv, and in the homes and hearts of thousands of individuals around the globe.And all these tributes were and are offered not because Luddy needed them for his reputation to be secured, but because we need them to satisfy our own need to be humbly grateful to a humble and great man.I got to know Luddy and Erica best when I came to Yeshiva University as President over 16 years ago, and found Luddy as a Trustee and later Chairman of the Board, and Erica as an indefatigable leader of our Museum and an advisor on most other aspects of university life. But I remember them when they were first courting—I was a youngster then. How impressive Luddy was! He was a conservatively dressed but dashing young man, with a diamond tie pin in his perfectly tied tie, the same kind of up-turned brim on his hat that he always favored, a benign but highly intelligent smile on his face, and speaking convincingly and brightly and with good humor on almost any topic. These characteristics hardly changed in the course of the de…
Eulogies & Memorials