The 34-year-old son of a prominent rabbi tragically drowned in the sea while on honeymoon in the Philippines.
Rabbi Romain told the Jewish Chronicle that his son Benedict Hayyim Anidjar Romain died on Sunday after the weather “suddenly turned” and he was caught in a riptide.
The rabbi last saw his son two weeks ago, just before leaving with his wife Stella, 30, for their honeymoon in the Southeast Asian island country.
The couple were married last summer by Rabbi Romain, together for four years.
Benedict Hayyim Anidjar Romain, son of Rabbi Romain, died on Sunday after the weather ‘suddenly turned’ and he was caught in a riptide while on his honeymoon in the Philippines
Rabbi Romain last saw his son two weeks ago just before leaving with his wife Stella for the honeymoon
Benedict was a talented sculptor who studied fine art at Cardiff School of Art and Design and Oxford Brookes University.
His “totally distraught” widow Stella works as an online designer.
Stella’s parents were on vacation near the island where the newlyweds were staying, and are still there with their daughter.
Rabbi Romain and his wife Rabbi Sybil Sheridan, a part-time minister at the Newcastle Reform Synagogue, are awaiting details on the repatriation of their son who has decided not to travel to the Philippines.
The couple were married last summer by Rabbi Romain, together for four years
Stella, Benedict’s ‘totally distraught’ widow, works as an online designer
‘It is deeply painful. But I know, having seen so many others suffer massive grief, that one day we will laugh and sing again. Although I have to admit I don’t feel like that right now,” the rabbi said.
“By the time we get there, a 17 hour flight and then another half day trip, hopefully he will have been brought home.”
Rabbi Romain and his wife have three other sons and are both former presidents of the Assembly of Reformed Rabbis and Cantors.
The father said his son, who lived in London, grew up at Maidenhead Synagogue and was part of Reform Synagogue Youth (RSY) where he had been camp madrich.
His son’s work as a sculptor included making art props for movies.
Benoît was a sculptor who studied fine art at Cardiff School of Art and Design and Oxford Brookes University.
He also made a sculpture of a prayer book turning into a dove for the Maidenhead Synagogue. “I love walking past it every day,” said Rabbi Romain.
The minister added that being a rabbi helps him cope with his grief. “I have officiated at several hundred funerals and have mourned with many worshipers over the years, which brings home to me, although it is really obvious that my grief is not unique and that many ‘Others also suffered excruciating pain,’ he said.
Members of the Maidenhead Synagogue paid their respects to Benedict, who was a chedar volunteer and high holiday shofar blower at the shul.
John and Susie Dunston described Benedict as full of “kindness, kindness and modesty”.
Stella’s parents were on vacation near the island where the newlyweds were staying and stayed there with their distraught daughter
Members of the Maidenhead Synagogue paid their respects to Benedict, who was a chedar volunteer and high holiday shofar blower at the shul
“We both have the most vivid memory of the last time we saw Ben, vigorously blowing the great shofar on Yom Kippur,” they said.
Another Maidenhead devotee, Sheila Veniar, described Benedict as the “gentleest of giants”.
“Sometimes there are people who seem to fit so much into a life, who seize every moment to do what they love, it’s like they know their time is limited, and I think Ben was one of those souls,” they said.
“Thank you for creating such a gift and blessing for all of us.”
