Danny
We called him Danny.
If a stranger came into town, we referred to him as “Mr. Abraham.”
S. Daniel Abraham, lover of Zion, kindhearted, generous, modest, has died.
The obituaries will call him “billionaire founder of SlimFast”.
But we, first congregants of the Palm Beach Synagogue (1994) knew him as a funny, approachable man.
His philanthropy is well-known. He gave millions of dollars to Bar Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, Harvard Medical School, Yeshiva University and many other charities. His loves, aside from his wife and six children, were education, health, Israel (he lived in Netanya for several years) and empowerment of others.
Although our politics grew to differ (I changed parties and he remained a Democrat) we never let that drive a wedge between us. I understood his donations to the Democrat Party. They expressed his belief it was the best suited to help people (especially the Arab inhabitants of Israel) advance. Economic empowerment, he was convinced, would lead to peace. Maybe, to some degree he was right. The political parties in the late twentieth century were not the parties of today. Republicans are now embraced by the working class and the Democrats have moved far left.
But I never discussed politics with Danny.
I loved him.
We saw him every Shabbat, nearly all the holidays. We shared many meals and if truth be told, joined in many more “Kiddush Clubs’ than I am willing to admit.
He always had a jolly smile on his face.
He shared our family simchas, bnai mitzvoths. He was there for everything.
The last time I saw him, before he moved back to New York, we hugged, just as we had hugged one day when I had experienced a family loss. I had kept my heartache to myself, but when he entered the schul he walked right up to me, embraced me and asked “What do you need?” I fell on his shoulder (not an easy task as he was about 5’5” and I am 5’9”), moved by his compassion.
Yes, he was instrumental in so many monumental undertakings (business, education, Jewish life in the Diaspora and Israel) but I will always remember his humanity and his great sense of humor.
I once asked him, with a bit of cheekiness, “Does that stuff (SlimFast) actually work?”
He smiled and said ‘All diets work if you follow them.”
That was Danny!
He was a blessing to all who knew him and benefitted from his warm heart and open hand.
