Robert L. Sadoff, MD: renaissance man of forensic psychiatry.

If we are lucky, we will encounter some extraordinary people in our lifetimes. Some may have a profound effect on our lives, others may alter the course. Robert Leslie Sadoff was born in the wake of the great depression to Midwestern parents who emphasized the value of doing good for others. They exposed him to a unique set of humanistic qualities that later contributed to his acquiring an unyielding commitment to those in need. His family espoused traditional Jewish principles of charity (tzedakah), repairing the world (tikkun olam), and respect for others in need. His parents influenced him significantly through their professional and personal values. They were graduates of the University of Minnesota School of Pharmacy, and his maternal grandmother was an herbalist. Many of his cousins became physicians or attorneys. His maternal aunt was one of the early women graduates from the University of Minnesota Law School. Sadoff has always been guided by his religious beliefs and his faith. He recalls, with great wonder, what might have been had his father not taken a morning off in 1941 to say prayers for a recently departed relative. Having decided to carry out this good deed, his father left his post at the prescription desk of the small neighborhood drugstore that he owned in South Minneapolis. At the same time, a fire engine was racing to an emergency when it missed the turn and careened into the drugstore, ending up in the prescription department. He lived to tell the tale, and the family welcomed the miracle. Sadoff was a Hebrew scholar who graduated from the University branch (Beth Midrash) of the Talmud Torah of Minneapolis, where most of the other students in his class either became rabbis or married rabbis. He matriculated at the University of Minnesota at the age of 16, after graduating as valedictorian from North High School. He had to overcome a stuttering problem to deliver his speech. He began with a biblical saying: “Everything is foreseen and yet the freedom of choice is given” (Avot 3:19). These words became a guiding creed for his future lifestyle. He carried his beliefs to the university and became the president of the Hillel Foundation, the Jewish student organization on campus. He was uncertain about his vocational direction until his father reDr. Dattilio is Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, and Clinical Associate in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Gutheil is Professor of Psychiatry and Co-founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law BIDMC, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Address correspondence to: Frank M. Dattilio, PhD, 1251 S. Cedar Crest Boulevard, Suite 304-D, Allentown, PA 18103. E-mail: [email protected] Robert L. Sadoff, MD