52 | FEBRUARY 10 • 2022 

T

here are lives that are 
lessons. The late Henry 
Knobil’s was one. He 
was born in Vienna in 1932. 
His father had come there in 
the 1920s to escape the rising 
tide of antisemitism in Poland, 
but like Jacob fleeing from 
Esau to Laban, he found that 
he had fled one danger only to 
arrive at another.
After the 
Anschluss and 
Kristallnacht, 
it became clear 
that, if the 
family were to 
survive, they 
had to leave. 
They arrived in 
Britain in 1939, 
just weeks before their fate 
would have been sealed had 
they stayed. Henry grew up in 
Nottingham, in the Midlands. 
There he studied textiles, and 
after his army service went 
to work for one of the great 
British companies, eventually 
starting his own highly 
successful textile business.
He was a passionate, 
believing Jew and loved 
everything about Judaism. 
He and his wife, Renata, 
were a model couple, active 
in synagogue life, always 

inviting guests to their home 
for Shabbat or the festivals. I 
came to know Henry because 
he believed in giving back to 
the community, not only in 
money but also in time and 
energy and leadership. He 
became the chairperson of 
many Jewish organizations, 
including the national Israel 
(UJIA) appeal, British Friends 
of Bar Ilan University, the 
Jewish Marriage Council, the 
British-Israel Chamber of 
Commerce and the Western 
Marble Arch Synagogue.
He loved learning and 
teaching Torah. He was a fine 
raconteur with an endless 
supply of jokes and regularly 
used his humor to bring 
“laughter therapy” to cancer 
patients, Holocaust survivors 
and the residents of Jewish 
Care homes. Blessed with 
three children and many 
grandchildren, he had retired 
and was looking forward, with 
Renata, to a serene last chapter 
in a long and good life.
Then, seven years ago, he 
came back from morning 
service in the synagogue to 
find that Renata had suffered 
a devastating stroke. For a 
while, her life hung in the 
balance. She survived, but 

their whole life now had to 
change. They gave up their 
magnificent apartment in 
the center of town to a place 
with easier wheelchair access. 
Henry became Renata’s 
constant caregiver and life 
support. He was with her day 
and night, attentive to her 
every need.
The transformation was 
astonishing. Before, he 
had been a strong-willed 
businessman and communal 
leader. Now he became a 
nurse, radiating gentleness and 
concern. His love for Renata 
and hers for him bathed the 
two of them in a kind of 
radiance that was moving and 
humbling. And though he 
might, like Job, have stormed 
the gates of heaven to know 
why this had happened to 
them, he did the opposite. He 
thanked God daily for all the 
blessings they had enjoyed. 
He never complained, never 
doubted, never wavered in his 
faith.
Then, a year ago, he was 
diagnosed with an inoperable 
condition. He had, and knew 
he had, only a short time to 
live. What he did then was 
a supreme act of will. He 
sought one thing: to be given 

the grace to live as long as 
Renata did, so that she would 
never find herself alone. Three 
months ago, as I write these 
words, Renata died. Shortly 
thereafter, Henry joined her. 
“Beloved and pleasant in 
their lives, and in their death 
undivided.” Rarely have I seen 
such love in adversity.
In an earlier Covenant and 
Conversation, I wrote about the 
power of art to turn pain into 
beauty. Henry taught us about 
the power of faith to turn pain 
into chessed, loving-kindness. 
Faith was at the very heart of 
what he stood for. He believed 
that God had spared him from 
Hitler for a purpose. He had 
given Henry business success 
for a purpose also. I never 
heard him attribute any of 
his achievements to himself. 
For whatever went well, he 
thanked God. For whatever 
did not go well, the question 
he asked was simply: What 
does God want me to learn 
from this? What, now that 
this has happened, does He 
want me to do? That mindset 
had carried him through the 
good years with humility. Now 
it carried him through the 
painful years with courage.
Our parshah begins with 

Crushed for 
the Light

Rabbi Lord 
Jonathan 
Sacks

SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH

RABBISACKS.ORG

