I believe my friend the president of Turkey’s Jewish community, Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, spoke for much of his community when he posted last week “I lost not only our chief rabbi but also my spiritual father.”

As soon as he started speaking Ladino, a language even few Turkish Jews still speak, his eyes lit up and a wonderful smile came to his lips. At the end of our conversation he thanked our interpreter profusely for giving him the uncommon chance to speak a language he loved so dearly.

to ask the US Consulate’s interpreter who accompanied me, if her Spanish was as good as he remembered. It was and thus he started speaking in his mother tongue — Judeo-Spanish or Ladino.

I was also touched by his deep connection to the traditions of the ancient Jewish communities that were once part of the Ottoman empire in Asia Minor and the Balkans. During our conversation he started speaking in English and Turkish but after a while paused

I left the meeting feeling that I must be the most interesting person he had met all week. I was only a little deflated when I subsequently discovered that he brought the same intensity, wisdom, respect and kindness to every person he met.

I had the good fortune to meet Rabbi Haleva during my time at the US State Department and I can attest to the accuracy of all this praise.  When we sat together I was struck by his charm and his intense focus on my remarks.