To the Editor:

It was wonderful to read David Berger’s tribute to Milton Himmelfarb and his contributions to the world of ideas [“Missing Milton Himmelfarb,” April]. Most powerful for me were Mr. Berger’s closing lines:

Milton Himmelfarb’s public voice fell silent a decade before his death last year. I do not know if we have been sufficiently conscious of the loss. [The essay collection Jews and Gentiles] reminds us of a learned, witty, committed, passionate, and wise presence missing from the communal lives of Jews and Gentiles alike, but especially of Jews. He has not been replaced, and he is probably irreplaceable.

As Milton Himmelfarb’s rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of White Plains, the Orthodox synagogue where he was a member for the last twenty years of his life, I had the privilege, along with my congregants, of continuing to benefit from his insight, imagination, and wisdom long after his “public voice fell silent.” Knowing that he would be present on a Shabbat morning was an extra reason to take care in shaping the words and ideas of a sermon. Hearing his reflections on a given topic (perhaps a reference to a Septuagint translation that might support or counter my reading of a verse in the Bible) was the most rewarding part of our chats following services and our e-mail exchanges the following week.

His wit and good humor, his vast and varied knowledge, his integrity, modesty, and generosity of spirit—these are the traits that we at the synagogue are privileged to remember. He is, indeed, irreplaceable. May his memory be a blessing.

Chaim Marder
White Plains, New York