This lecture was given by Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh HaYeshiva and Head of Academics at YCT Rabbinical School. Rabbi Dov Linzer is a recipient of both the Javits and Wexner Graduate Fellowships. Rabbi Linzer has published in Torah journals and lectures widely at synagogues and conferences on topics relating to Halakha, Orthodoxy and modernity.
This lecture is a program of the Henry Guttman Memorial Lecture Series on Modern Orthodoxy at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School established through the generosity of Henry’s friends.
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HENRY GUTTMAN
1951-2003
Henry (Chanoch ben Chaim Yosef Halevi) Guttman was born in Munich, Germany on August 14, 1951 to Josef and Goldie Guttman. He graduated Yeshiva College in 1973, and immediately entered Hofstra Law School. In May of 1974, after the Yom Kippur War, Henry volunteered to construct huge turkey coops on Kibbutz Be'erot Yitzchak. These coops stand today, home to thousands of birds. During his stay, he volunteered to go to Ma'alot with the kibbutz construction crew to build youth centers for Ma'alot’s children.
Upon graduation from law school, Henry became a member of the New York State Bar, and toiled long hours in his solo private practice for many years. Tiring of private practice, he became an Administrative Law Judge for New York City's Environmental Control Board.
Henry Guttman was a man of many diverse interests. He devoted over a decade to serious study of the martial arts. Henry became proficient in English-style horseback riding and jumping. He enjoyed years of hustle, salsa, and ballroom dancing. He worked out with weights, and read voraciously on numerous topics. Henry was learned in Talmud, Mishna, and the Bible. He needed more than 24 hours in a day. The subway was his Beit Midrash, his house of study, and he attempted to make the most efficient use of his days and nights to pursue his interests, and to increase mirth and joy in his world.
Look at his friends and you see Henry. Look at his parents and grandparents, and you see from where he came. Henry Guttman came into a complicated world, simplified the small garden that was his plot and lot in life, and returned to his Maker in much better shape than when he entered this life. May his memory be a blessing and source of joy for all Israel.
