In the last few days, I have lost another and perhaps my most influential teacher, Rabbi Dr Irving Jacobs. Rabbi Jacobs was the Principle of Jews College, now the London School of Jewish Studies where I spent four wonderful years studying as an undergraduate and post graduate in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
I have probably taught thousands of Tanach lessons over the last more than 30 years and not one goes by that I am not influenced by Rabbi Jacobs. By his deep understanding of Torah and Rabbinic texts, by his clarity of thought, by his ability to bring a text to life and by his humility and wonderful sense of humour. He asked us what we thought about a text and always respected what we said, he put what we were learning into the relevant historical period and used the zeitgeist of the text to shed light on and expand its meaning.
What I know and what I can do as a teacher of Tanach is almost all thanks to him, I can’t look at a midrashic comment or at the book of Iyov without hearing his voice. Each time I teach a piece of text and remind my pupils to be careful to differentiate between that which is Tanach and that which is Rabbinic interpretation and every time I try to mimic his style in bringing a text to life and realise I can’t do it the justice he did, I realise how lucky I am to have had him as my teacher and guide.
As teachers of Limudei Kodesh, may we all live up to the incredibly high standards he set and may his name be a blessing.
Spencer Lewis, headteacher of Yavneh College, MA graduate of Jews college and student of Rabbi Dr Jacobs
