In fact, it was my father who was my first singing teacher, having taught me all of his nusach hatefillah, as well everything he knew about vocal technique. Later, he sent me for professional training but he remained engaged, even periodically taking off from work to sit in on my lessons.
Throughout the years I always kept him up to date on all developments in my music career, which was something special we always shared. My thirty-plus years in the music business had some truly great moments, but I can honestly say there is little that came close to the feeling of looking out into the audience and seeing my father’s proud face.
In 2005 I decided to go to law school and in 2008 joined Heller, Horowitz & Feit. My two brothers – older brother Maury and younger brother Alan – both already accomplished lawyers, had been working with my father for more than twenty years. I was privileged to work with him for only five, but for that priceless opportunity alone it was worth getting a law degree.
It was during this time that I was able to truly experience, up close, what made my father so exceptional at what he did. Where others might have run out of ideas, my father had that extra sense that enabled to think outside the box or find that one possibility nobody else had thought of. Working with him helped me understand that greatness lies in that small step beyond excellence.
What I found most significant about my father’s shining 54-year legal career was not only the way he shared his extraordinary talents but how he gave of himself. Whether representing one of his big clients or simply an individual in need, he always gave his entire heart. When a yeshiva or charitable organization found itself in a bind, Jacob Heller was the go-to address. He was also widely known as a “lawyer’s lawyer,” frequently sought out by other lawyers who themselves needed counsel.
He possessed not only wisdom but also a deep sense of compassion. When someone came to him in distress, he never turned that person away and always managed to find a way to help.
On the outside he usually bore a serious expression, typical of a tough litigator. From afar people revered him, but those who were privileged to get to know him inevitably came to love him.
He was the patriarch of our family, a mountain of strength for whom nothing in the world was more important than making sure we were all well and taken care of. It was fitting, therefore, that like his namesake, the archetypal Patriarch Yaakov, he was surrounded by his family when he passed to the next world. We were all gathered around his bed in the final hours prior to his passing; we reminisced, sang the songs he used to sing, and each of us had the opportunity to whisper our personal thoughts into his ear before his neshamah departed.
In the end, a person’s greatest accomplishments in life are surely measured not by what he amassed for himself but by what he gave to others. He and my mother, his beloved wife of nearly 57 years, were inseparable. Together they raised three boys, all of whom followed in their path, establishing homes of Torah and mitzvot.
Above all, the crown jewels in his life were his grandchildren, and he had unique and special relationships with each of them. They competed among themselves as to who could make Grandpa Jacob laugh the hardest, and each insisted that he or she was his favorite. In truth, they were all correct.
His giving heart extended well beyond his family. At his funeral, which took place on an early Thursday afternoon, the sanctuary was filled well beyond its capacity, the crowd swelling out of every door and into the parking lot. Nearly all had a story about how Jacob Heller had been there for them in a time of need, how he saved their businesses, their livelihoods, and in some cases even their lives.
In the world of show business, the final tribute afforded to a life as successful as my father’s would be a rousing standing ovation, and it would go on and on. Dad, it has been an enormous honor and privilege to be your son, and I am so very, very proud of you. Bravo, Dad, bravo!
