Reb Yoel's 95 birthday, 16 Shevat, 2025 - Was he a warm person? Yes as I experienced it- RC Dalfin

a good of shabas today is T it's the 95th yite of known as I'd like to share a few memories and particularly about his warmth because usually when people speak about speak about his intellectualism his memory I experienced with him all all of that but of course being close to him not only as a student but as someone who was kind of uh a Ben bias in a way eating with him many times privately at his home and other times I got to see another part of this this this individual and in honor of his y his 95th birthday I share a few thought a few stories and allow you to come into this uh realm and that is that I once asked him a question and he told me let come let's go for a walk and usually he would walk down Kingston like most people cuz he lived on Montgomery Street from 770 down Kingston instead this time he took me for a walk all the way down EAS Parkway till Brooklyn made a left and we went up on Brooklyn all the way to Montgomery and then a left on Montgomery to his house I don't know why but I assume because there was less people and L noise and it was a fascinating conversation conversation I was listening to him explain something that I didn't understand regarding amus but I remember feeling so special and you know I was uh 18 19 I was a young a a young uh teenager older teenager but I was you know I was just uh beginning to to learn and to to to to hear from them and things like that and just walking with them oneon-one was was very special it made me feel good simply it made me feel good I recall on during that that walk I also asked him in a way with a little because I had that relationship and I felt I could I asked him you know about the myor the myit the edit six volumes that he produced forb that he edited not edited he prepared for the Reb to to edit and to finalize and all of that so the the kind of the last willing Testament of theb the that we learned for gim just like the for the when the re said the mimer 1981 the mimer was I remember that was a I got the M it was two sides it was a Pap one a paper that was two-sided 8 and half by 11 that was the whole mimer and when it came out as a mimer it was it is 10 pages or so whatever so I asked I asked him how did you come to how did the M from two pages become 10 you know and it got very very uh kind of I know angry but very very you know his his whole face changed and he said if you would really understand he said it to me yish of course if you would really understand you would see that everything that's in the in the in the edited version of the MIM was already in the in the mimer as theb said it as it was published in 1981 and he said to me then and the proof is he said I asked greenblood who was the day in Argentina who he had great respect for was a m and and was close to him he was go to anyway he said you could even ask GRE blood he he he told me that that's that's the case again this type of the conversation you know wasn't just an intellectual conversation was very emotional it was very emotional he got he got all worked up another story I remember walking with him down Kingston it was Kingston and Union in front of at the time there was wlcc they were selling the tapes of the re and there was something going on in the community a what somewh consider a political issue involved the's Health this is when I was already married and had children I came back and I had a meal with him and we walked to uh to M down Kingston on shabas and he on the corner of Kingston and and Union he stops me and he starts screaming like we will never let this happen and I was so embarrassed you know cuz people are walking to sh and going this way that way and they hear AB raising his voice to me and it wasn't it wasn't at me he was it was CU he was very passionate about a certain idea that we were discussing that was taking place in the community in the world of laich but again that too showed me that that he was real real meaning you know something bothered him he he spoke about it and he spoke about it to to me meaning because I don't mean to me that I'm something special to me that I happen to be walking with him so that that was on his mind he shared it another time he was 2 2 in the afternoon or so it's shabas afternoon there was no faan this was probably in the 1983 or so 82 83 and um most of 770 was gone they went home to eat the shabas comes down and he says who's doin who's doin and and and and a few told me they heard he was looking for me to to bring me home with him so I could have the suda with him he was searching he was searching for me where am I so this too is is another example how you know he wasn't he wasn't going to go home to have his sud with his wife without finding me you know I recall another time was night this was earlier I think well no actually no was 1987 or so and I was talking to him like 3: 4 in the morning you know after being up all night and he says come come with me come back with him and uh I said okay but he stops and he he says one moment and he goes over to Marlo and he discusses some issue I imagine some issue I don't know what but again there I saw and I printed I sent a a beautiful settle from RAB to RAB Marlo later when there was also controversy about uh different things but I saw my own eyes how he he asked the shot and I saw the I was standing on the side it was hardly anyone else there in 770 also at the time and I saw that what I'm getting at is that here you have a person who's so intellectual a genius a genius literally a genius not only a genius in in TAA but mathematics I I heard from people who know him as a young child in Tel Aviv it was like a genius of mathematics okay in you know in in I don't know the Sciences astronomy you know he could figure anything out it was so bright so you would think that you know and and and and and he's involved all his life in in the so you would think that that emotional side is not there and I've heard this from my own friends and and students you know if Jo wasn't you know of course he of course he wasn't to you warm because you didn't invest into that but if you invested and you spent time with him and and and and you rubed shoulders the the the the V kite came out I'm telling you what I saw in him was the V kite of for example with sense of a heart's he's he's so heart warmed you know andite I saw I really did so on his 95th birthday as much as we we we we we remember his teachings in Yeshiva in B Park in other places all over the world it was but you have to get to know him so my message today for those that are Reach Out bring your T in create a bond and I know many of you do this but you can't imagine the the Elation that a 17 18yearold B has when a Masia puts their H hand around them like AB did to me when I was that age he didn't do it every Monday and Thursday but you imagine I'm thinking to myself here is theer the genius of geniuses who puts his hand around me exuding love and warmth I felt a million bucks I want to be next to him I want to learn I want to be with the I want to be with I'm sharing these personal feelings because not only do I owe in a way most of what I have to and what most of what I do but because this is what kabad is this is what I callab in its pure sense in its unadulterated form of genuine kabad and for this you don't need any accolades and any positions and any formalities this is em mayem help that should bring to all of his and his friends and his relatives and cl and literally today there are hundreds and thousands of people who are learning because of this one man and we have to give credit to their who's been publishing his and his his his T his his teachings having people presented properly and we have to give credit because of that so much has gone out and Lael all Etc also basically the who's who of the babage today as far as teachers ofid Etc are all most 99% are his students so look we don't you know eulogize anyone today it's a birthday it's not a yard site but it's just that it it always bothers me that people look at him as an intellect and cold and some do you know many do and and I want to you know try to change this to to understand that this was a very very vam mench simply as a person he was a warm person really a Gak you know he was so gmak he was so delightful it was so Gat to be around him that that it just rubbed off he's should already go with the and to Masia and bring m shabas shabas