COVID-19 claims the life of Judge Ralph Zulman

The Honourable Justice Ralph Hirsch Zulman passed away in Johannesburg last Shabbat from medical complications caused by the coronavirus.

At the feet of this man, many (including myself) learnt so much. We read in the Ethics of the Fathers, Pirkei Avot, “Let thy house be a house of meeting for the sages, and sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.”

This depicted my association with Zulman for more than 35 years, in which he freely shared his knowledge of the law over countless cups of tea. He told of aspects in previous legal cases, and how they have a bearing on today’s practices. I drank in his words, and the wisdom they imbued. It shaped my thinking to this very day.

Yet Zulman, too, with boundless humility would himself “sit at the feet” – as it were – at the regular shiurim he attended. This was recounted by Rabbi Yossi Chaikin of Oxford Shul, Johannesburg, in Zoom prayers which were held in his memory. Zulman’s parents, the late Mosie and Annie Zulman, were founding members of Oxford Shul after they moved up from Durban where he was born.

Chaikin tells how Zulman was an absolute sponge at the shiurim, and would debate and seek an understanding of the teachings that, quipped the Rabbi, would always keep him on his toes.

A further tradition upheld by Zulman – and he was indeed the last remaining congregant to do so – was the wearing of a Homburg hat at the Kol Nidrei Yom Kippur service, says Rabbi Chaikin.

As an advocate (barrister) beginning in 1962, he had a well-established practice as senior counsel at the Johannesburg Bar. Paying tribute to his colleague in a spontaneous written message over the live Zoom funeral service, Judge Ezra Goldstein, the father of Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein, told the story of how as advocates they opposed each other in a case on a restraint-of-trade matter that came before the court.

Zulman won the action. Goldstein, as the opponent, encountered no adversarial hostility, only respect and kindness from his peer.

During prayers, Judge Percy Blieden told how he and Zulman appeared alongside each other before a very pompous judge. Zulman delivered to the court a powerful, stellar argument. He indicated that he had three further points to put to the court. The judge asked him if his first argument was so strong, why he had three in reserve? “Well, M’lord, you see it’s like chicken soup, it can’t do any harm!”

My memory of Zulman’s advocate chambers in Pritchard Street was of an entire wall of shelves containing tens of lever arch files pertaining to a single case. It involved the battle of the titans, and Zulman was in the camp of one of the giants, Lever Brothers, as it was then known. It was Colgate Palmolive versus Lever Brothers. One toothpaste manufacturer was suing the other for what was considered baseless claims that the product of the opponent had better protection from decay-causing plaque.

As my late paternal grandmother would say in Yiddish, “Unt fun dis het geworen un ganse case!” (And from this an entire case arose). The matter ran for five years around 1967, and was settled.

Later, Zulman was appointed to the Bench as a Supreme Court (now High Court) judge. In August 1996, about 24 years ago, then President Nelson Mandela appointed Zulman to be a judge of the then Appellate Division (now Supreme Court of Appeal) in Bloemfontein.

That was the pinnacle of his legal career. He enjoyed his time there the most. The caseload was reduced as sitting times were less than the lower courts. They heard cases as a panel of five judges, and if the decision was unanimous, only one judge would be tasked to write the judgement with which they all invariably concurred.

In 2010, Zulman was invited by the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) Weinstein Fellowship Foundation to present a fellowship lecture on conflict resolution in the United States.

Zulman was an internationally renowned expert on cross-border insolvency matters. He represented South Africa at the forum of cross-border insolvency of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“the Model Law”).

A highly esteemed colleague, The Honourable Michael D Kirby AC CMG, who retired from the High Court of Australia in 2009, presented Zulman a copy of a book he had authored. In it, Kirby inscribed, “For Ralph, whose big-heartedness, generosity of spirit, good humour, and high intelligence are an example to other judges, and an inspiration.”

Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, who fondly referred to Zulman as “my boss” in a Facebook post this week, outlined his considerable “dedicated communal service” that he performed with “great zest and loyalty”. Zulman was a member of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies constitution and legislation subcommittee, a member of the editorial board of Jewish Affairs, and the former chairperson of the South African Yad Vashem Foundation.

Zulman is survived by his wife, Lynette, whom he married in 1965, son Jeff Zulman, daughters Adrienne Louise Kaplan and Charlene Hilary Wingrin, and their families.

• Anthony Chait is the chief executive of Zeridium, a niche tax and exchange-control consultancy.