Boruch Dayan HaEmes
With regret, we must share condolences with:
The Herzberg family, on the passing of Arthur Herzberg a”h.
Jonathan Rosenblum and family, on the passing of his father, Paul Rosenblum, a”h.
Rabbi Joel Feldman and family, on the passing of his wife, the family’s mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Shoshana, a”h. She was the sister-in-law of our writer, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman.
Regardless of C r and Dr A Hertzberg’s hashkafos, his books on the the French Enlightenment and the Jews and Zionism are classics. His work on the French Enlightenment and the Jews is still a very important book for anyone interested in the rise of secular anti-Semitism.
I find Rabbi Hertzberg to be a fascinating personality. I would be curious to hear from anyone who knew him what he was like on a personal level.
While your at it, a great tzadik and one of the last European Rebbes died last nite, the Satmar Rov.
JO, Arthur Hertzberg was my wife’s uncle. He is an equally fascinating enigma in person — he loved our traditions, much as he had left them. He affected a sophisticated accent and stoic professional demeanor, while being very down to earth and loving with his family. I saw him moved to tears on two occasions, both having to do with his father.
Yaakov: Two occasions? Uncle Arthur Z’L would be moved to tears pretty much any time he spoke about his parents. He was very emotional on that topic.
In addition to your comments, what I found most fascinating about him is that he considered himself simultaneously a Belzer Chussid and a pillar of the Conservative momement. Somehow he was able to harmonize those two seemingly contradictory hashkafos in his mind. I never fully understood how, and now I never will. Baruch Dayan Emes.