Put Chabad on the map, Shluchim, Generous, helped the little man, 2nd generation Holocaust survivor

this is a tribute to the of R Yehuda karki Kari was the vice chairman of Mer lead's educational arm that started in the 1940s under the fredb and the Reb and continues till today thriving and educating yeden Jews all over the world katar's parents his father a perel katarski was a Survivor he learned in the laab Yesa in in Poland near waro and he came with a group of other students survivors to Montreal to Canada and for there they came to New York he worked in the Yesa office for's brother-in-law was a loyal and devoted employee and someone who really added to the development of not just one to many throughout the world RAB karski if after his marriage he was appointed by the re radov to work for the amus and his job consisted traveling around and raising the awareness of the kabad laich movement worldwide movement his personality his thoughtfulness and his Keen perception of people made him truly the right Ambassador he knew how to make a joke he knew when to say words of T he knew when to talk politics he kept squore and understood what the person he was seeing or the group of people what they needed and so he developed relationships in places and countries throughout the world in particular I know that in in in Central America he had a big impact on people in Bogata Colombia and the first name that comes to mind is Sammy Roar Mr Sam Roar and of course his son re Cil Roar and together with theu B Rosenfeld who went there on they made a big impact my uncle lives in Costa ricaa and I remember him telling me how rabari would come and new people there as well so he was a Glo a glob trotting for Lich but let me just share a little a little you know like personal thoughts and also thoughts that my friends of mine shared some of his unique things that he did not just in the 1970s or 1980s when I went on but particularly from giml was on almost 30 years where he heightened the bar of laich by putting kabar on the map now you'll ask what is that mean there Wasim before there schim after what does it mean that he put laab on the map so let me tell you when I went out to California to Marin County which is north of San Francisco in 1984 the rebba wrote to the my baltim to be in touch with raban his Regal director under the americ and my employer my boss was reab Cunin whose boss was the re right during those years it was still the beginning of the of in fact I remember I think the third kinis in 1985 there were only 78 of that's it people I remember like now was small it was it was more intimate away and I was you know you know you had older still poisoner you know but it was small the proliferation of kabad came you could say directly and because of RHA katarski who took the Reb's directives and words believed in them and didn't care to the attacks that maybe he got or complaints from the right and the left and the center and up and down NADA he looked forward and because he was a man of stsk skite stsk skite means strength personality he had a backbone he wasn't thwarted and he wasn't impacted by the negativity that at times Rose what did he do he made kabad laich a household name in every single corner of the world not just the United States the world you know many people in my community here in burrow Park oh they talk about kabad laich yeah I need a good meal I need I need a place for shabas a Davin or a minion or something like that I call the kabad house I look up at kab.org vtic great that's also true but it's much more than that he took a kernel that was just budding and he turned it into a beautiful flower and a beautiful tree that keeps on blossoming and giving out pretty roses beautiful fruit smells delicious and people are attra attracted to it iead what did he use to do this in addition to what I said earlier so one of my friends who a in a relatively small state that's very large but you know doesn't have many um Jewish people there compared to other states told me how he would come to his simus both there and other places from time to to time he would send him some money and whenever he saw him he he asked him what's going on and whenever he would he the would call him he picked up the phone but listen to this not only did it pick up the phone for a head of a state but he picked up the phone for the small guy for the schak schak the third generation or the fourth generation of schak you could call rabari I mean he couldn't always answer your call but when he wasn't in a meeting or he wasn't on an airplane you could get him and he would talk to you and they would talk to you genuinely he cared for the little person for the small schak theak in a little corner somewhere in the world without many people to support him Etc that that that is a unique thing that he had and he did and he cultivated and made it part of the world of schas today other things that he did was he cared for the's families he created funds for their weddings and bar mitzvah and Bas mitzvas to give each one extra money sometimes the fund was out of funds but he he worked hard to do that he thought of the personal needs of theim another example he made a program for special needs children of schim to have once a year I believe a Kos shabbaton a get together all paid free and he covered the budget he made my and he paid the B and the students in 770 to become kind of of personal Confidant masim teachers mentors counselors for younger boys and girls for younger girls to look after them another a friend of mine was going through a very rough time with this kabad house and RAB karski noticed on one of the kabad sites that he needs hundreds of thousands of do to to stay to stay there otherwise he could lose the kabad house unsolicited he sent them $55,000 and this was someone who he had had in the past disagreements with on certain issues they they couldn't see eye to eye regardless he went out of his way to send him $55,000 now I ask you we have everyone is great everyone's great everyone's beloved everyone is the best but which other person in the last 40 50 years of 60 years do you know that did these things no one what sometime someone came up with an idea it lasted for a few months and then it became quiet or even if even if it lasted a little while it end and no one's to blame there isn't money there isn't interest whatever people get busy I understand both RAB with there was no such a thing he keep kept on pushing the envelope and not only did he do that but he got his other staff members to push the envelope and not only that he announced that the programs of magnitude while he became already ill and wasn't well we're going to do uh going to get people to do a million Mitzvah with people things like that kind of things that were not in the reality seem to be in the reality of of theim and and and their families to accomplish he pushed the envelope I'm saying these things not to put him on a pedestal because the way ofab we don't put people on pedestals but nevertheless for the sake of our Outreach that the holy want it's important to recognize the way this individual orchestrated these things and we particularly the new and the new young people that are going out can learn should learn to keep these methods alive and to augment them to in a way that's Way Beyond even everything that's been done until now finally kariha had met many friends in many different places for example my neighbor here a block away caner healthcat the world's greatest caner today the greatest kin when I see him he literally starts when he starts talking about theim he says to me I'm a I'm not a why am I going to the K I don't get my pay from the I go there because my dear invites me and I see firsthand the tremendous work that laich is doing for yish kite and he says for me and for us G to learn of the Jerusalem tal we can only do it because of the and and when he says this to me he had he cries he tears up he becomes emotional and I saw him at the funeral going over to the to the Hearst and to the casket to the Aron and I can hear him saying the Psalms and breaking down mha had a knack and he came from a time and a place he was a second generation Survivor he had the feeling and that came along with it and there's another Point Raa could have lived a very very rich life he brought in millions and millions of dollars to the kabad organization usually such a person has a big fancy house and a beautiful car and his office is glitzy take a look at the office of rebea clari it's it's balab batish it's it's proper it's you know but it ain't a uh Parkplace a Wall Street uh Manhattan office his house is a modest house the way he dressed was very simple my friends I remember being amazed you know his suit was IR regular didn't seem to be a pure kadan or fancy suit it was a pretty simple suit with a tie that looked you know uh very very uh Antiquated to put it simply no stuff we focus on the cause so his ability to not hoard money for himself and his family and yet and and and and give it away to schim to build laich my friends this is a very rare thing and we should learn from this the generosity so will he be missed absolutely however through his son his staff and we wish them strength and his wife everyone else to not only continue in his ways but to to go even further and to the supporters of kabad laich please not just continue your donations up your donations up your donations because it's money well spent may hasem help that the the sh of Kari should go into the Reb's chamber and knock on the door and ask the Reb to lead us to Mia a happy way in a healthy way and will sing and dance in the rebuilding of the third B mikdash speedily in our day the they will awake and rise and he will be amongst them