Rabbi Josh Gordon. 10th Yahrtzeit, 29 Shevat- The mistake I made abt him, 1982- RC Dalfin

Today is the 10th yard site, the 29th of Benisham [clears throat] Gordon Josh Gordon the master of.org work. His father was Ben Gordon to to Newark from 1942. But I want to talk about Josh Gordon a personal story just for for his and I want I want to tell you that this was such a special person. I knew him. Let me tell you the story. So it's 198182. I'm a student in the yeshiva in Los Angeles and somehow I was invited uh to by some of the people that had come to the yeshiva to learn with us Bob Sherman, Dennis Brown, some people that uh maybe some of you remember and they were part of a kabura with Josh and and they were Josh brought them closer to Yiddish kite a whole group that's a story for itself uh during the 1970s anyway and they wanted to learn more and he told them to come to yeshiva I befriended them I was involved with the adult education as a extracurricular activities for in the yeshiva. Our main job was of course to learn. Anyway, so so I was there for a shabas. I was invited to the valley somehow and um we had a fabang fabang and here I am a ber I'm coming from 770 coming from Marista. I'm coming from the yeshiva I'm coming from Khan. I'm coming, you know, it's it's a different world and I'm aspired and I want to share my inspiration and we're and we're taking a little and we're singing and I'm trying to to get these guys to these American bales to uh to get, you know, TO REALIZE THAT IS it's so much so DEEP AND SO SPECIAL AND SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO WARM. In comes Josh Rabbi Gordon. Now my view of Rabbi Gordon at that time as a buck was that he was a modern. He had frontal hair which we call a chup. You know he had a full beard but it was rolled up. He had a nice red tie. He he was you know he spoke English beautifully and just his mannerisms you know he wasn't on my top 10 of you know these was our idols of uh the the 70s going into the 80s. I didn't know Josh and he's called himself Josh Gordon. He doesn't call himself a Yeshua bin yam and Gordon at least not what was known and he comes into the fabang and it was 2 2:30 in the afternoon and you know I thought he would have been sleeping no it was shabas he comes in this is after he went home we and he went home to to have the suda with the meal with his parents with his family he comes in and we're singing We we we eat automatically. We sleep automatically. We gravitate to the bed and to food. We don't need any preparations, but it's automatic. When it comes to praying when it comes to to learning, it's a whole big deal. We we're not going to learn. We're not going to pray. And that's a song of old sang this. It's a beautiful tune. It's sung today. Anyway, and then we're getting into we're singing this to to to arouse that feeling of of adopting and learning and all that. And all of a sudden, he comes in and he joins us and he starts singing the non with us as though he was the biggest which he was from Russia from Lubavich. It blew me away. It changed my entire thinking and and realizing that I'm thinking so narrow. I'm looking at his external what we call his his superficiality the way he dresses and the way he has his hair and the way he's slick and cool you know he did all that to attract the people which he did and now so many years later 20,000 hits every day on kabad.org for his learning. And I know people who who are in a pool suntanning and they're learning. So you'll say, "Well, that's disgusting for some maybe, but that's the level they're at." The point is people are learning. Or the Joshnik from from Port Washington from community that the video just came out. When Yeshua By Gordon, Rabbi Gordon sang with us the SNS. I I just melted. I melted. I realized that this man is bend. That's what we we the word ble means a bone doesn't translate well in English meaning in other words HE'SIDIC STOCK. HE'S THE REAL MCCOY. JOSH GORDON WITH HIS NAME JOSH. HE'S THE REAL ABABER NOT DOLPHIN. AND I'M NOT talking about Gan and lineage and that his father his grandfather and Gordon learned in in Lupage and the other grandfather was a Shabra Simpson who I had this having by Mitzv here IN BARON PARK. I'M NOT TALKING about that. The man was but it was expressed in a different way and his the sh the 10th yard I open up and share for everyone the story to know not just about him that sometimes we see a child a teenager a young adult who has a modern edge to him don't judge him and I asy mas my my shortsightedness of Josh Gordon 44 years ago. I asked forgiveness from from him because I was wrong, completely wrong. And the lesson that we take for our lives is not to judge a not to judge a book by its cover. Although I write books and I have nice covers [laughter] and covers sell books, but look inside. Read the read the content. May Hashem help that this story will be a a a a gateway so that we will listen to his shiim and and and I and I want to say it's not just they the biggest labatures men and women listen to his shim in the cars in the home the women in the kitchen the men the men in the kitchen the WOMEN IN THE CARS THE WOMEN AT DOING KABAD WORK THE EVERYONE a men andim he has the witism to him. He's very he was he was learned and also another point because of his father bear Gordon who's needs a a conversation for himself. He was such a and a and smart he was a chaplain in Newwork the hospitals over 50 years but he was I once wanted to bring someone to the borrow a group of people and I asked Mosha grown label grown's youngest brother and he said you want a real and I thought of someone and and said to me you want a REAL bring Gordon so THAT'S THAT'S WHAT JOSH COMES FROM A SHAMAN BEAR Gordon he was a bala Josh I believe he knew ka well and those basic basic ideas of tra that you get from from a from home an educated home aid in addition in addition to he had that so let us let us emulate his way into his family his son Yasi and the others and all the children and grandchildren great-grandchildren know what you come from know who you are, KNOW WHAT TO ASPIRE TO and will help together Gordon on his 10th yard to date. Thank you.