Farewell to a great Torah teacher

RABBI RAMON WIDMONTE

Maureen was part of a team from the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) who came to South Africa six years ago to give input into the founding of what would become the Academy of Jewish Thought and Learning. At the time, the dean of LSJS was Britain’s then chief rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, and he put together a formidable team of Torah educators. Maureen was among them.

As Rabbi Dr Raphi Zarum, the current dean of LSJS, puts it: “Thousands learned from Maureen’s many talks and lectures. She was an incredible teacher, a sensitive listener and a wise counsellor. Teaching was in her blood. She inspired many young women when she was on the faculty at North London Collegiate School. Then she was head of Jewish Literacy at United Jewish Israel Appeal, where she was the star teacher on the Melton Programme. Here at LSJS, she transformed Adult Jewish Education. She broadcast regularly on BBC Radio.”

What was most impactful for me were the hours spent at LSJS being trained and guided by Maureen. She and Rabbi Zarum pushed the Academy faculty to become accredited in courses and to reach for excellence. I still remember her impact when giving shiurim at Yeshiva College on the Book of Iyov (Job) and on the idea of “the field and the city” throughout Tanach at Investec. People were astounded at her mastery of Tanach, her love for Torah and her commitment to our community.

At that time, who had even read Iyov? And how many female Torah teachers did we have who had read Iyov? It is a testament to Maureen that as of this writing, more than 500 men and women have learned Iyov (and the rest of Tanach) in South Africa as part of the Academy Tanach course, of which more than 300 are women. Moreover, it is also a tribute to her that so many female Torah teachers learn so powerfully with students at the Academy and other adult Torah schools.

Maureen enabled so many other teachers in a profound manner. She was open to, and encouraged us to be open to, the ways that different teaching styles connect to different people. I remember chatting to her after the first interviews she conducted with potential faculty members for the Academy; she saw so deeply into what each person could offer – one person’s knowledge, another’s vibrancy, a third’s self-containment.

To quote Rabbi Zarum, who concluded his tribute thus: “Anglo-Jewry just lost one of its finest. A smile, a warmth and a depth that will be unforgettable. Maureen quoted widely but, I think, one of her favourites was from [British playwright] Alan Bennett’s The History Boys. Hector [a character in the play] taught his pupils a lesson that Maureen embodied through every single class she gave: ‘Pass the parcel. That’s sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That’s the game I want you to learn. Pass it on.’ And we will pass it on, as she taught us to do.”

May her memory be a blessing and an inspiration for us all.

• Rabbi Ramon Widmonte is dean of The Academy of Jewish Thought and Learning. For details, visit www.theacademy.org.za