60 | DECEMBER 5 • 2019 

Soul
of blessed memory
T

he death of Henry Sobel, 
Brazil’
s iconic rabbi and 
human rights activist, 
was mourned by Jewish and 
non-Jewish groups across Latin 
America’
s largest nation.
“Sobel was a noted spokes-
man for our Jewish community. 
His performance undoubtedly 
made him one of the great-
est references for Brazilian 
Judaism and for our society in 
the defense of human rights,
” 
said Brazilian Senate’
s President 
David Alcolumbre, who is 
Jewish.
The charismatic 75-year-old 
spiritual leader died Nov. 22, 
2019, of lung cancer in a Miami 
hospital. Sobel made history 
by challenging Brazil’
s military 
regime in 1975 by refusing to 
bury journalist Vladimir Herzog 
at the Jewish cemetery’
s suicides 
wing for rejecting the official 
version that he had hanged 
himself.

“Breaking pro-
tocols of Judaism, 
facing resistance 
within the Jewish 
community, Sobel 
was one of the 
protagonists who 
paved the way for 
the end of dictator-
ship in Brazil, one 
of the great heroes,
” 
said Herzog’
s son, Ivo, about the 
rabbi, who later joined an inter-
faith act in honor of Herzog, 
putting his own life at risk.
Minutes after Sobel’
s death, 
Brazilian Jews started to narrate 
life stories and post pictures 
from weddings and bar and 
bat mitzvah ceremonies with 
the rabbi, whose trademarks 
were his red yarmulke posi-
tioned close to his forehead and 
his heavily English-accented 
Portuguese.
“The mission of us Jews is not 
to make the world more Jewish, 

but rather to make it 
more human,
” was one 
of Sobel most famous 
quotes.
Sobel used to wel-
come and be welcomed 
by global Jewish and 
non-Jewish figures, 
including presidents, 
prime ministers and 
popes. On Nov. 23, 
admirers released a video clip 
showing him with Shimon 
Peres, Mahatma Gandhi, Pope 
John Paul II, Kofi Annan, 
Mikhail Gorbachev and others.
“
A unique figure who left an 
indelible mark on the coun-
try’
s history,
” said Fernando 
Lottenberg, president of the 
Brazilian Israelite Confederation, 
the country’
s umbrella Jewish 
organization. “The greatest com-
munity leader of all time,
” added 
Jack Terpins, honorary president 
of the Latin American branch of 
the World Jewish Congress.

Sobel’
s death drew widespread 
media coverage across the 
nation. Brazil’
s primetime news 
show Jornal Nacional dedicated 
three minutes to summarizing 
Sobel’
s life. The country’
s leading 
news portal G1 released a long 
list of condolence messages.
Born in Lisbon to a family 
of Polish immigrants during 
their escape path to the United 
States, Sobel eventually studied 
to become a Reform rabbi in 
New York. He arrived in Brazil 
in 1970 and took the helm of 
Congregacao Israelita Paulista 
synagogue, which he helped 
become the largest Jewish con-
gregation in Latin America with 
2,000 families.
Sobel established dialogue 
and built bridges between 
Judaism and the other religions, 
participating in numerous ecu-
menical services as an effusive 
representative for interreligious 
dialogue. 

Brazil’s Iconic Rabbi Dies 

COURTESY OF CONGREGACAO 
ISRAELITA PAULISTA

Henry Sobel 
pictured in 2011.

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA)