Meeting Rabbi Lapian, Litvishe Rosh Yeshiva, COR Kashrus of Toronto #3- RC Dalfin

so I'm here with Rabbi Lawrence this is the third part of an interview it's been really uh fascinating um we could sit here for hours I could for sure and hear details upon details but this is a good beginning so I have two questions about some of the things you said in the previous two segments m one is did you return to leads and to Gates said and to did you visit uh the the rash Vis did other people in those communities once you became aicher and if you did what was their reaction anything that comes to mind that you could tell me about well uh I did value my life so I never went back to Gat said okay although I respected it by the way they were nice guys um but I will tell you an interesting story that happened with this uh Russia shiv in schneiders Rel aapan after I went to bich many years later he came to Toronto he was collecting for one of his yes Shivers that he opened up he opened up many yes Shivers in all in in England in different places different places so it was lagba and I was sitting there I used to translate in those days that we came through the telephone the fabr FBR so I would translate for the people and he was sitting there thought oh maybe he did TOA so I wait my time I said hello he knew who I was obviously and afterwards I said do you have a ride home and he said no said I'll give you a ride home see what he's going to say now at that particular fing the Reber said a m and the Mima was an hour long now even if you know cidus it's very hard to you know to follow to follow we see what he's going to say so I didn't say anything soly he say he sat through the MIM for an hour he was sitting for an hour because we're collecting money you know you you'll do anything for money right so so um he starts up and he says how come the re was speaking cabal cabala M he doesn't understand it himself and I I didn't say anything this is what he says to you in the car that's what he said to me in the car so it was stupidity so I didn't say anything what am I going to say and so afterwards uh you know he said it's been nice seeing you etc etc and that was it mhm but by the way I should say that Gates it did change because a little while ago I saw there was a video they actually asked somebody from Crown Heights to come to Gates that I'm pouring to FBR with them and I saw the whole yes Shiva was at the FBR wow so they did to sha I I once met one of the guys from Gates and he said DAV he said what happened to you you used to be a good B I said I did to sh and I got out of there quick um and then somebody else came over and he says is he Lage I said not yet what do you mean by that he says well we have a principle ultimately we'll all do to Sher and of course I got out of there quick um so that so so but but but by and large you didn't have any connection you never saying you came and and leads what have you gone back to leads well no because my first of my father unfortunately passed away and my mother she was living in a different city because she had gone blind she and so I really never got back to leads uhhuh um y so I never kept contact and do you have any connection to either Rabbi dub shm any of those figures the older rabbi sudak did anyone any of them have a interaction with you uh no but I do remember wasto and who knows uh where the the the spark begins when I was in Gat said he would become and he would come and sell records well like every week no no he came once a year he would sell records as far as we were concerned he was selling records the were bar records well the records I didn't know what they were but what we didn't know is that he was giving a Shir in Tanya like two in the morning to select B so that I found out later H now even in leads by the way and this also could be set the seed for L pavich the rebber told an old balos to go to leads who when I I don't know who it was I would this is before um this is while I was in Gates said but he told an elderly guy to go to leads and live in Leeds B I got to know the guy it was a nice guy again he never spoke about the re Etc but who knows the where the seeds are planted uhhuh yeah and I want the other thing I want to ask you is what what your relationship with rabar sabransky was and how it impacted you if you can say a few words about that because you said you were close to him right I was very close to him uh it's in the 60s in Brooklyn in Brooklyn while you were in Yeshiva in 770 and he was already married and he was a mamed in the teacher in the Bronx in the Bronx um I used to learn with him we used to learns together often spoke together and also when I went to the of the Bronx one time again um you went there as a teacher you mean no I went there first of all to engage right and um the kids were Gather in were gathered together I forget the occasion and I said I'll tell them a story so I told all the kids a story and they saw that I had a relationship with the kids old was the principal sh he needed a teacher so he he hired me as a teacher when you still were single I was still single yeah um and then over the years I kept in contact with r bransky and of course eventually he left he went to Melbourne to Melbourne 1970 and I remember when I first went to Melbourne cuz you have a daughter married there daughter pin pin pinch over he's a doctor pinchover he's a doctor yeah and he again some how did my daughter meet him I don't know so if you have known you so how did how did my daughter meet him so we were living in Toronto and it was very difficult for my daughter to find Chaka in Toronto she was 24 already my wife was walking up the wall you can see the foot marks on the wall and and your wife is a sister to Mrs Janowski M Janowski yes go ahead now my daughter to see U trained as an occupational therapist and she had a good job in Toronto so I said you know we'll ask the Reber should you move to New York we asked the Reber and he said yes she moved to New York within two weeks she got a a better paying job three weeks later is when she met um Dr pinchover because he came to New York to finish SM he was still the doctor and they met the they met and of course the rest is history um so when you went to Melbourne you you reconnected with I remember I hadn't seen him for years and as soon as I walk in the base of medish he stands up he sees me he jumps over the tables just gives me a hug and so so we uh you know even though he did make my sh I still remained friendly with him but yes I know by the way he used to visit in the Bronx he used to visit my wife's family so they did have some connection with LA that way as well so that was good yeah and what uh any any any connection that you had relationship with RAB M Altin at all or rabbitson old time she uh I just knew yeah I knew them well I knew them yeah okay I'll continue with uh the next part of your life please um after the insurance after the insurance I was approximately 70 years of age how old 70 70 and I deci I was to retire to retire what am I going to do I'm not going to stay in the same house as my wife because otherwise it would be D do something World War I would be in World War 4 so again hashak Pro is all the way through I came very friendly with a rabbi H in Toronto disciple CID with a tri yeah and I used to pick him up he didn't have a car I used to pick him up every morning at his house take him to the mikah take him to the bakery and then take him home he was older than you younger he was younger than everybody was younger than me um yes and I did this for about 10 years from 70 to 80 no this is before right I got it so when I retired I said to him again um quite innocently his brother-in-law was head of the co organization this is the kosher uh the Kosh organization just like OU Etc in Canada Co the co so I said see if he's looking for somebody and uh I forgot about it didn't expect too much two weeks later he said I spoke to him and because we're so close I told him he has to hire you H so we met and he s you know was looking for a good-looking guy and an intelligent got the right customer well he got the right customer right I told him when I met him I'm intelligent and good-look he hire me yeah H me right so they were looking for somebody at that time there was a Chinese uh fish factory and they wanted to provide um kosher salmon and tilapia and fish so he said okay I want you to take that over so fine I took it over that was my the beginning in the co and then of course it expanded from there so I do events and I could do a lot of industrial now and you say you're the mash I'm a mash but but for uh all different areas so you travel a lot I travel within Toronto yeah within within Toronto or just outside Toronto as well now again the the way that I look for my job is an opportunity to meet Jews and have no non-jews and to spread the word and I had lots of lots of interesting stories I was going to an industrial Bakery and I meet the manager there and uh of course we get speaking about religion I don't start it but uh look for your ways in right you know by the way what religion are you and so I say to him and by they never tell somebody your religion is wrong because it's a vacuum what you say is you know we the total was given it was given to you too the seven mitz by I just happened to have a card on me the sh mitz ban and they very they say thank you very much anyway so I gave him the card and then is by the way look up on Google look up this particular Rabbi RAB look it up thanks very much I go back there this is about 2 ladies oh am I glad you're here I lost the piece of paper can you write it down again rather saying Bram I lost it no he asked me again so I told him again um and I me I meet one time I gave this um this company I gave the the owner a picture of the rabber and he put it up and I go in next time the secretary is oh we have your picture on the wall say not my picture it's a picture of to re um and then I tell them I'm going to the oil Etc I ask for a blessing for your business Etc but the surprising thing is is that nobody ever said to me it's not my religion and I tell them stories I tell them particular one story that one story that they um they like and that is there was a couple who went to the Reber and they had no children and the Reber gave them a telephone number and he says call this number and the guy puts the number in his pocket goes home forgets about it a long time later years later this is probably after G Tas he was cleaning his jacket and he finds this number I'll call the number nothing to lose he calls the number it's an orphanage oh we just got two Jewish children in would be interested in adopting them he say yeah he said by the way how did you um find out our orphanage says well I was by this famous Rabbi in New York about probably eight nine years ago he gave me your number excuse me and they said you couldn't have we only opened up two weeks ago and I tell them this story and they go really so whenever you tell stories of sikim they have nothing themselves literally and they're always impressed by this and so you're still working for the co I'm still working for the co the bad thing is that I do a lot of events and you know the food is good and if you want to diet it's not the best way to do events but I do do a lot of industrial and the uh they have a lot of respect you know for Judaism Etc and there's no problem speaking about Torah speaking about sheph MIT not the only thing is you have to get into it in a in a way indirect way yeah you're not Fally with but I I do tell them what you should do is to validate your religion look at the source if your source is valid your religion's valid if it's not I'll tell you a story that happened to me again but this was in the insurance company but it's worth telling the story I got to a bus one day and I see a non-jewish guy reading a Jewish book you know one are those readers so I think hm strange I get into the uh bus the next day the bus is full the only seat that's available is next to this guy I sit next to him I said I so you're reading your book How come Jewish book oh well I used to hate the Jews but when I found that the our leader is Jewish I love the Jews and I want to learn my about um religion directly from your Hebrew Source huh I says now that you're learning Hebrew you know that the word for truth is Ms starts with an alive finishes with a laugh and the middle of M you know why because to be truth there has to be truth all the way through if anything changes it's not truth look at your religion for example it's changed how many times has it changed how many religions do you do you have Christian religions so that's not truth fine I get into the bus the next day again the same thing bus is crowded one seat vacant next to him sit down and he has one of these books juice for J know for J and he shows me it and he shows in the front there's a picture of this Rabbi oh he was impressed I said I'll tell you a better story we have a high priest for 80 years it was a high priest it became a a heretic sometimes there's something in there it comes out Etc and then he shows me a posc from to h capital kuud where it says somebody is sitting at the right hand of Hashem says who's that that must be obviously you know who okay fine so I researched it a little bit and a very good translation and I see that it says in the back of this translation this is one of the proof text that the njws try and prove but then it then it gives the realu explanation so I take this make a photocopy for him get on the bus the next day same thing bus is full one seat available bable I sit next to him and you give you give I said by the way you know the proof you gave me here's the the explanation and we can find explanation for everything that you bring Etc that was the last I saw of now in Toronto um did you develop uh certain connections with like who was your love uh or you know I'm saying did you have any rabbis people you know that the Ravid I was very close to him you were uh um unfortunately you know he pass was very close to him and by gansburg and so yeah to toes were particularly you live in Thornhill you live in Thorn no I I live in the middle bany between by the way when I was looking for a house in Toronto I asked the rabbert a number of times should by this house he said no this house speak to somebody and the house that I actually bought that he allowed me to to buy and that is between the two little aves and um so where did you DAV so I DAV in for many is in laich but now they need a minion where I am and I also give many classes there Casas and rambam which what kind of sh is it a l Fisher sh it's a lisher sh but it's near your house it's near my house S minut Walk and the rabbi and you get a well uh the rabbi passed away not because I was there by the way he got uh I was close to him um what was his name um you know he just RAB er no no Rin Miller he's in the coil Etc uh it'll come to me after the video okay yeah um you had a connection I had a connection with him and I used to tell him stories and things of the Reber the Russian I don't you know Rabbi I knew him well he was my cyer I used to was my tan to him my misas to him so I was very very close to him as well um of course laic changed a lot in Toronto when I went to Toronto the laic which was in one area a few few families and then it moved up Thorn Hill now most um most la which has mov live in Thornhill right and I uh my brother-in-law is a sansky he Ellie sansi I know him I know him well yeah yeah he lives there yeah and I but I gave I gave a lot of uh in Toronto I gave a lot of sh to to women for many years I still do bavos and um so we did I you're active oh yeah have to have to be active yeah active your mind's thinking and you're working and your health depends who you [Laughter] ask that I'm still anything anything any final uh thing you want to say before we finish the interview yeah if the rebel once mentioned one of the mentioned that you see hashak bratis more when you're in in the business world and when you're sitting alone yes and if somebody looks back at his own life he will see hashkes all the time and this is one thing I've seen with my own life is how Hashem was involved the Reb was involved all the time so I'm very you know happy for that and you feel and you must feel elated that you know as much as you got in your youth learning in AA you had the Merit is of coming toich to being alich becich that's the thing that I'm most happy about is I was able to DOA become because you see saying I was able to do cha that's a Lish they wouldn't understand that but I couldn't imagine if I would have remained who knows what I I would have been so it was only that the rabba kept me uh you know he kept me on the D right and a lot of people don't with a quick story RAB vior Miller yes who's a very famous RAB yeah in Brooklyn so yes um he wrote the REO youth like that that work so um somebody asked him he said how come that the Reba can send hisim to places all over the world right far places you find you don't find any other rebers do that or any other rebers do that the vision ET even though they yeah and the answer he gave was interesting he says because when he sent his out there he's with them there withit he's with them and I see that thank you RAB Lawrence for your time it's been wonderful there'll be another time we will go further and for now and all the best you're welcome