In memory of Lawrence Miller

Lawrence Miller

Lawrence Neil Miller was born in George on 17 November 1941, lived in Cape Town, and passed away in George on 15 December 2011 (19 Kislev 5772). Lawrence’s life was seamlessly intertwined with the affairs of South Africa’s Jewish community, first as National Chairman of the South African Federation of Jewish Student associations (1962- 1963); then as Vice-Chairman of the World Union of Jewish Students (1963-1967); as honorary president of the Western Cape Associates of Ben-Gurion University; and after joining the Board of deputies (Cape Council) in 2003 (where he served on its country communities, legal and public relations and lobbying sub-committees) being elected Vice-Chairman in 2009.

Lawrence’s professional life as an attorney was devoted to cross-border financial and commercial transactions, which he cultivated with artisanal refinement, attracting a fair share of envy from his colleagues. Whether it was in his communal or professional life, Lawrence was spectacularly a Court Jew of an ancient dynasty, with the manners of a white gloved concierge and always the perfect gentleman. In this respect, Lawrence’s character might have been appreciated in Japan and Washington DC more than it was in this country!

But Lawrence’s biographical details are less relevant to this attestation. With Lawrence’s death, I lost my mentor. From 1994 to 1995 I served as his candidate attorney at Miller Gruss Katz & Traub, which Lawrence founded. In truth, I was articled to Lawrence until his final hour. The more inadequate I was as his clerk, the more I understood the depth of Lawrence’s patience, which he sometimes exercised with cunning wiliness, wearing me out in the process! Lawrence often commented in self-deprecation that he was so thin no shadow followed him. But while Lawrence enjoyed a shadow like every other person; he remaining uniquely a man without a faribel, never bearing a grudge.

Wisdom and diplomacy
As I was Lawrence’s candidate attorney, he was supposed to teach me all about solving legal problems, but Lawrence taught me no such thing. I learned the universe from him. As the years passed, it was to Lawrence’s office that I would often go ostensibly for tea (which he would insist on brewing himself), but in reality for counsel. Never once did Lawrence answer my questions directly, but invariably I finished my tea refreshed and satiated, knowing the answers. A myriad other politicians, international bankers, and captains of industry made the same discreet pilgrimage. The identities of some were made a matter of public record when they attended Lawrence’s funeral on 18 December, which was in itself an event befitting a grand potentate.

What struck me about Lawrence was his unique way of solving problems. It is uncanny that the Torah portion of the week of Lawrence’s death, Vayishlach, is preoccupied with Jacob’s rapprochement with his estranged brother Esau. The manner in which Lawrence was able to bridge differences with his opposition reflected the biblical diplomacy of Jacob; being carried out with calmness, patience, balance, discretion, wisdom, and unbridled energy. Indeed, he completed no fewer than 15 Argus races. He was also an honorary ranger of South Africa’s National Parks, a past trustee of the South Africa Foundation and a past president of Sea Point Rotary.

Lawrence’s approach to Jewish affairs was characterised by the prudent restraint of the Israeli statesman Abba Eban: “Reason without passion is sterile, but passion without reason is hysteria.” Lawrence’s love for Israel and the Jewish people was axiomatic to his daily regimen. Whether in Cape Town, Haifa (where his sister Barbara resides), London (where he kept an office for many years) or Geneva, each day began with the laying of tefillin.

And with his Jewish mind and refined Anglo-Saxon manners, Lawrence was born a negotiator, outwitting the best of them, formulating strategic and financial solutions on scraps of paper in microscopic long hand — like a Talmudic scribe — which could never decode. Lawrence’s baritone, sonorous voice always carried its message in unhurried unexcitable tone, with its gentle authority. It was this calmness that invariably excited the listener.

‘Energy’ was Lawrence’s imprimatur. One of his principal attributes was that he kept himself in constant motion — on the golf course and tennis court, in planes, trains, automobiles, and on the phone, allowing him to assume the role of consummate communicator, like an oracle in a state of sublime ambulation.

Lawrence leaves behind his wife, Daphne, two children, two step-children and an unforgettable legacy. His wisdom round the Board table will be sadly missed. May his memory be as a blessing.

Gary Eisenberg is the current Vice- Chairman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape Council).