Kindness and Truth have met, righteousness and peace have kissed

In memoriam of my dear friend rabbi dr. Leo Mock – Yehuda ben Chaim, alav hashalom by rabbi dr. Tzvi Marx 

The feelings capsulized in the Talmudic expression oh chavruta, oh meetuta – ‘either a (dear) friend, or death’ (Babylonian Talmud Ta’aniet 23a). Those words pierced my heart when I learned of my chaver Leo Mock’s untimely death last week. 

Spiritual bondedness

Our relationship here in the Netherlands extended for more than twenty years.  Besides an instant instinctive spiritual bondedness from our first encounter, we shared professional activities together at the Folkertsma Stichting voor Talmudica, and within the LJG’s Levison rabbinic training program. 

At the Folkertsma we co-edited an extended series of study texts on rabbinic concepts; and one on the psalms: de Psalmen: Worstellng met God, met hart en ziel. In the Levisson program we planned and taught the five year talmud  curriculum. 

Interactive discussion

But far beyond these, our relationship consisted of a permanent interactive discussion on everything connected to Judaism, from Talmud to kabbalah, from Torah to heresy, from ethics to ruach ra’ah (the ‘evil spirit’ on which he wrote a dissertation). We argued, laughed, mocked, agreed, disagreed sometimes in face-to-face meetings, but mostly by phone. 

I feel an emptiness even as I write this, an emptiness that began when I heard the news and saw his remains lowered into the pitiless grave. With whom  can I now shamelessly share my reflections, my criticisms, my wrestlings with the halacha, the kabbala, the midrashim, the d’rashot, knowing that he too shared many of these and was at home in the rabbinic discourse, at my advanced level?

I do not expect any relief from this sad emptiness for a time to come and I would like to explain why by describing this friend of mine. 

Illusion of timeliness 

We laughingly discussed the most serious ideas and seriously laughed at ourselves when we thought to have somethings, religiously, theologically, or halachically pinned down. With Leo, nothing was ever finally pinned down, not even the time for his appointments. Coming late was not a mistake, it was an existential need. Why create the illusion of timeliness when the events that impinge upon us are so untimely. 

Let me illustrate his constant shifting of perspective, his incorporation of uncertainly into his ‘zits-im-leben.’ This small passage is in his words from a the Psalm series in the unit- Ps. 25, 27- of which Leo was the primary author, De dynamiek van een spirituel leven:

Wanneer we Tanach nog beter bestuderen komen we tot de ontdekking dat de weg synoniem is met het leven, met de hele Schepping… Opvallend is verder de veelvuldige herhaling dat God de psalmist de weg toont die hij moet bewandelen, en hem op deze weg leidt. Dat lijkt een paradox te zijn. Want, blijkbaar is er aan de ene kant toch twijfel wat die weg is, terwijl anderzijds wel wordt gezegd opwat die weg inhoudt – liefde en trouw” (Ps. 25: 10)

Twijfel

One word ’twijfel’ (doubt), is the key to Leo’s spiritual search for truth as a historian, as a Talmudist, as a comprehensive reader of rabbinic commentary and responsa, plus even kabbalah. 

It is no wonder that Leo, as a one time yeshiva student, connected himself deeply into the university as a lecturer, but also as an educator in every format of Jewish activity in Holland: Crescas, Pardes, Ojec, Sha’ar. 

Cooperation and mutuality

He sidestepped no opportunity to converse with Jew and non-Jews alike on the matters of the mind and spirit. Unlike me, his was not the way of confrontation, but of cooperation, not of conflict but interactive mutuality. 

He was intellectually a reincarnation of Aaron and Moses. On the one hand  of Aaron’s soul: ohev shalom ve’rodeef shalom – ‘loves peace and pursues peace.’ No matter how vigorously I would press Leo on the centrality of medinat YIsrael in the contemporary Jewish reality even for him, while he considered his basis The Netherlands, he never lost his temper, got upset, but listened patiently, to my arguments, all the while calming me down, while stirring me up. 

Let justice split the mountain

On the other hand he had something of Moses’ hardheaded zealousness for truth yikov hadin et ha’har – ‘let justice split the mountain’ when as a historian he debunked the religious myths of Jewish perfection, or superiority that are bandied about in some religious circles. 

In Leo, the person, one could find the embodiment of the psalmist’s vision Kindness and Truth have met, righteousness and peace have kissed. (Ps. 85:11). 

Knowing this decent, kind, smart family man one could conceivably overcome one’s skepticism to consider that perhaps the quest for seemingly incompatible ideals of emet and shalom might one day be reconciled. 

May his memory be blessed. יהא זכרו ברוך