Rabbi Yosef Heun simply went to bathe in Lake Dietenbach in the state of Baden, Germany. He did not know that he would not emerge from this routine bath alive.
A man who was accompanying him noticed that the pigeon was not coming out of the water and called the rescue forces. After a long search, divers managed to pull his body from the river. He was evacuated to a nearby hospital with CPR efforts, but the resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful – and they had to declare him dead.
Rabbi Yosef Heun [52] was the chief cantor of the Freiburg community in Germany, and his funeral was held in the city of Strasbourg, France, where he was laid to rest in the city's Kronenburg Jewish cemetery.
Rabbi Yosef Hiun, late
Last week, eight months after the beloved cantor passed away, family members gathered and produced a cantor concert at the synagogue where he used to pray.
Participants: his four older brothers, Rabbi Eliyahu Heun, Chief Rabbi of the city of Mulhouse in France, Aharon Heun, cantor of the Great Synagogue in Paris, Elkon Heun, cantor of the city of Metz, Moshe Heun, cantor of a synagogue in Germany, and Elkanah Heun, nephew of the deceased, cantor of the synagogue in Freiburg and acting as uncle.
The event was led by the community president, Mrs. Katz, who spoke in German and French for the benefit of the family members from France and the local community in Germany, and the brothers sang solo sections from the prayer in memory of their little brother, both alone and together.
Cantor Elkon Heun noted that the event is chillingly taking place in the episodes of Yashav Mekatz, the episodes in which the tribes lost their little brother – Joseph. Rabbi Eliyahu Heun mentioned the days of Hanukkah, the Menorah and the light that shines forever and expressed a prayer that these spiritual forces will accompany Joseph’s family and his five young children.
A sad moment was recorded in the audience, when the community president played a section of the song "Soul Friend" by Cantor Yosef, the late. The ancient melody and the young man's clear voice caused many tears in the audience, and his elderly mother as well as his children wept bitterly.
Simply righteous
Rabbi Yun has five children, and a few years ago his wife passed away suddenly.
His brother Aharon, the cantor of the Great Synagogue in Paris, said that "when he was a boy of about 14, he fell and was between life and death. He survived the injury, and now he has passed away suddenly. He had noble qualities and an immense fear of God. I recently met him buying 600 kilograms of kosher food. When I asked him, he replied that he purchased all this food from his own pocket for the benefit of his community, which could only eat kosher.".
His nephew, Eliezer HaYun, tells of a special personality of a happy, kind-hearted and God-fearing man. "I knew him in my childhood, when he studied here in the yeshiva. After his marriage, he went abroad where he served as a rabbi, teacher, and cantor.".
A large crowd attended the funeral, led by all the city's rabbis, led by Av Beit Din Rabbi Schlesinger and Av Beit Din Rabbi Michael Shmerla. The head of the court, Rabbi Shmerla, is the deceased's nephew and even studied with him. In his eulogy, he explained that although eulogies are forbidden during the month of Nissan, he only wishes to tell about the deceased's noble qualities, his fear of God, and his being a scholar.
The article was also published on the 'Association of Synagogues' website.
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