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Writer's pictureDavid Taylor

Less nonsense please

On Sunday 27th October, Havering residents met to pay tribute to the late Rabbi Lee Sunderland. I was, kindly, asked to speak.


Below is the speech I gave, sharing my memories of Rabbi Lee.

 

I have spent a great deal of time wondering how best to honour the memory of Rabbi Lee, with my words today.

 

I have so many memories of the man, despite only knowing him for a short amount of time. He became a friend and a mentor, not just to myself but also to my wife. He was one of the few people who was able to see us both as equal, looking past the position of ‘Councillor’ to see us both us individuals.

 

Rabbi Lee didn’t befriend us because he wanted anything or needed anything. He did so because he was a man filled with love

 

That love extended to all that he met, no matter whether they were in positions of authority or whether they were abandoned by society. He stood up for the weak, and he stood up to the powerful.

 

I recall, with fond memories, his powerful sermons in the synagogue during events such as Remembrance Sunday. It won’t be the same this year.

 

Rabbi Lee used those messages, used his voice, to challenge us to do better as individuals and as a society.

 

I have a copy of one of his sermons at home in my office. In it he outlined that it was each of our responsibility to make the world a better place.

 

As we stand here today, at this memorial, I ask myself “what would Rabbi Lee think of all this?”

 

Truthfully, I don’t think he’d want this. He wouldn’t want it because he didn’t think he was doing anything special, by championing unity and standing up for people. He felt it was simply his duty.

 

In fact, in the time I knew Lee, he was more worried about how we could remember the good works of others.

 

However, I am glad that this memorial is here and I am glad that it is in such close proximity to the town hall.

 

When my wife and I went to see Rabbi Lee in hospital, the second time, when he was far more up and about, we had a brief conversation about the mayoral elections.I say brief because all Rabbi Lee wanted to say was this;

 

“Too much nonsense”.

 

Too much nonsense sums up, well, his belief of the state of things. There is too much nonsense. We bicker, we divide, we hold grudges, and we fail to forgive. We don’t turn the other cheek, we poke each other’s eyes out.


So, I come back to the question of what would be the best way to honour the memory of Rabbi Lee.

 

A man of conviction, who used his position to champion those without. A man who forgave, who saw the individual, and who constantly gave his all for others.

 

Rabbi Lee was a light to us all, and he gave us a very clear message in his last Remembrance Sunday sermon.

 

“What use”, he said “is a minutes’ silence?” “We should spend it with a minute of action instead.

 

I will remember Rabbi Lee fondly. But, I will not spend my time stood still in remembrance.

 

I will spend it forgiving those who have cause hurt, reaching out in love. I will spend it working across boundaries and standing up for those who have less.

 

In my mind, the best way for us all to remember Rabbi Lee would be for us to do all we can to ensure that there is “Less nonsense”.

 

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