[Eliezer Elmaleh was the brother of the Reverend L.H. Elmaleh to whom tribute is paid elsewhere here. Eliezer worked for many years as a collector for Lit Bros., a now defunct Philadelphia department store.]
It would be out of place to deliver a complicated eulogy for Eliezer Elmaleh, because he was not a complicated person. His life was guided by three attachments. I hardly know to which priority should be given, because all formed an equal part of the fabric of his life.
The first I will mention is his attachment to religion. He was a devout and observant Jew, who practiced Judaism for no other reason that than he knew it to be the right thing for him to do. He never claimed any special merit for his punctilliousness in religious duties, although he was properly proud that during his long life he had never worked on the Sabbath. He was a regular attendant at service at the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, and a benefactor of synagogues in his native city [Gibraltar.]
His second attachment was to principle. He guided his life by a code, and it mattered little to him if he lost or gained as a result. He respected other peoples' convictions, but he expected them to have some. He disliked garrulous, insincere people, and if one appeared, he would quickly take himself off. I must add that his judgments in this respect were pretty sound.
His last attachment was to family and friends. He was a warm person, capable of deep affection, which he showed in many ways. He took pleasure in the phenomena of life, whether in an orange tree or a baby, and this too was an expression of his capacity for love. This evoked a response in those who knew him and loved him. Above all, his sister-in-law cared for him in a way that made his life truly blessed.
I shall remember him in many characteristic situations: dodging in and out of the traffic on [Philadelphia's] Broad Street in a manner unexpected of a man in his eighties; opening the front door, and giving a spontaneous welcome; reading the services on Kippur day at Mikveh Israel; or just quietly contemplating in the evening of a blameless life. He was one of those people who are just a little different, and add savor in a subtle way to the lives of others. He lived the life of the righteous, and died the death of the righteous, and we are left the poorer by his departure, but the richer by having known him.