D’var Torah at a Memorial for Martha Hadassah Ribalow Nadich – Meir Lakein

נפל עטרת ראשינו

The crown of our head has fallen.

I never had the zechus to know either of Nommi’s parents, so I know them through her.  Through the stories that Nommi has been kind enough to share with me, yes, but that’s only part of it.  I also know them through the way that Nommi carries on their work, the way that she models who they are.  Talking to Nommi after her mother was niftar, I said that the more I learn about her parents, the more I understand where she came from.

Hesped (Alexander Nadich Levin)

My brothers, my cousins and I are the luckiest group of grandchildren in the world, and I am so grateful today to be able to share a few words about our grandmother – our Savta.  There are so many memories, experiences and stories to share, each reinforcing that we were all so blessed with the most wonderful grandmother.  She showed each of us so much love and affection, and was wise and graceful in every way that she participated in our lives.

Hesped (Leah Nadich Meir)

This is altogether too soon to be here once again in mourning. After our Aba and Saba left our lives seven months ago, Ema (Savta) truly lost her anchor in life. She simply had never been able to imagine living without him.

But today we need to tell you about our Ema and Savta as she had been: a woman of regal bearing and sharp intellect, a woman of independent mind and spirit. She served as a leader in the Jewish community in a lifelong partnership with Judah, the love of her life. She was raised by parents who dedicated their lives to the renewal of the Hebrew language; her father and brother were both gifted literary critics and essayists. Her family was the “yichus” into which my father married.

Hesped (Nommi Nadich)

As I sifted through my treasure trove of memories, looking for stories that might capture my mother’s unique essence, I kept running into the same problem. The anecdotes are frequently not about her alone, but about her in combination with my father. It’s the same dilemma one runs into in looking through family albums in search of the perfect picture of a loved one, but finds that he or she is never captured on film solo. The image is of someone who is most radiant and alive in relation to others. But seldom is the spotlight shone on that person alone.

Hesped (Shira Nadich Levin)

My Ema was a woman with so many focuses and interests in her life, and she excelled at them all. She adored her parents and was a magnificent daughter. She was devastated when her father died when she was 31 but remained utterly devoted to her mother, who spent almost all her time with us. My mother saw her mother, my Savta, almost daily and we spent all our vacations together. My mother and her brother, Uri, had a relationship that rose above brother and sister. While my uncle was a wonderful and loving man, he was honest in judging others - but could find no fault in his sister. My mother loved so very deeply her other siblings, whom she acquired through marriage. Her brother’s wife, Shoshana, has been a critical figure in my mother’s life for about 70 years and my Aunt Esther was such a sister to my mother, as she showed again only this past Sunday when she traveled back and forth from Baltimore to be able to say good-by to my mother.

Jonathan Sarna on Rabbi Judah Nadich

(below is a speech given at a sheloshim service for Rabbi Judah Nadich)

RABBI JUDAH NADICH (1912-2007)

I did not know Rabbi Nadich personally.  Nommi and I sat in class together at Ramaz (along with Diane Richler, then Comet), but in the antediluvian days when we were in grade school, only Mothers came to visit the class, not fathers.  I do remember Nommi’s mother and I even remember her grandmother, Mrs. Ribalow, who lived near us in Manhattan, and who my parents used to occasionally visit on lonely Shabbat afternoons.

Hesped (Leah Nadich Meir)

There is no way to prepare for this moment, even knowing of my father’s advancing age and frailty. He always seemed to bounce back from health crises, so we thought he could do it forever. It seems an impossible task to distill such a full, rich and meaningful life as was my father’s into a few words, especially when his gift for elegant, powerful and compelling speech overshadows any attempt of ours.

Hesped (Natan Meir)

I speak on behalf of all the grandchildren, when I ask:  Could there have been a better Saba?  We were truly blessed.

We had a Saba who named us each individually in the Birkat Ha-mazon – הרחמן הוא יברך את כל בני משפחתי – — each of us with our own special adjective: hamud, matok, dagul, pikhit, adin….

Who was so, so proud of each of and our achievements.  But no matter what we did, or didn’t do, loved us with a gentle, unceasing love that knew no bounds.

Hesped (Nommi Nadich)

For over 50 years, my father preached one, and often two sermons every Shabbat. He had a lifelong love affair with Torah and was fascinated and delighted by the myriad tales spun by the rabbis over the generations. As he re-encountered the same parshiot every year, he never failed to uncover new gems and jewels. Through them, he would bring the Torah to life anew, bringing its message to bear on the issues of the day and touching the lives of all who heard his masterful words. Some of my most treasured memories are of sitting side by side with my father in the “barcalounger” in his study, as he patiently and skillfully taught me Chumash and Talmud – in the process making the content ever so much more compelling than suggested by my classroom experience.

Hesped (Shira Nadich Levin)

Where do I begin? Somehow, in a few minutes, I have to try to describe my father, a wonderful combination of a man who contributed so much to this world, a leader in the Jewish community, a man who saw so much history take place before his eyes, and had a chance to play a role in shaping it, while at the same time giving endless love to his beloved wife, children, grandchildren, parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, and to his dear friends. I leave the description of my father’s career and his role in the community to Chancellor Schorsch, but hope that my sisters, my nephew and I describe adequately this loving, sweet and purely good man.